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Runtime: 11:43
0:00 Virginia Backs Out of California EV Mandate
1:06 New York Axes City Congestion Plan
1:47 Republican Group Wants to Ban CATL & Gotion
2:45 J.D. Power Finds EV Charging Getting Better
3:57 Zoox Expanding Robotaxi Testing
4:44 Mercedes to Use Chinese AV Tech
5:22 GM-SAIC Develop AV Validation Process
6:06 ZF Packages Airbag Into Steering Wheel Rim
7:11 Mercedes Dethrones Tesla with Profit/Car
8:06 Toyota Expands Crown Lineup
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VIRGINIA BACKS OUT OF CALIFORNIA EV MANDATE
U.S. politicians are watching which way the political winds are blowing and some are backing off on efforts to fight climate change. In Virginia, Republican governor Glenn Youngkin announced that Virginia will back out of the California EV mandate starting next year. But Democrats promise to keep the plan in place. The standard requires 35% of sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2026 and 100% ZEV by 2035. About a dozen other states still adhere to the California standard. But Virginia will now follow the federal standards, which are not as strict. Governor Youngkin says the government shouldn’t tell consumers what type of vehicle they should buy and he also cited low demand for EVs for his decision. Last year, EVs accounted for 9% of car sales in Virginia, or slightly higher than the national average.
NEW YORK AXES CITY CONGESTION PLAN
And in New York, Democratic governor Kathy Hochul, just axed New York city’s plan to start charging congestion fees to try and reduce traffic jams in the city. The city was planning to start charging $15 to drive into Manhattan starting on June 30, to help pay for improving public transportation. Hochul says she made the decision because inflation has increased the cost of living in New York and she says the fee would hurt middle-income people the most. Traffic jams or not, the fee was highly unpopular, so it was an easy decision for her to scrap the plan.
REPUBLICAN GROUP WANTS TO BAN CATL & GOTION
No doubt about it, EVs are a political flashpoint in American politics, and as we get closer to the November presidential election, the heat will only get hotter. A group of Republican Congressmen and at least one Senator want CATL and Gotion banned from the United States. Both companies are involved in battery plants in Michigan. CATL is helping Ford, and Gotion, which is partially owned by Volkswagen, could supply VW with batteries for its assembly plant, and possibly for Scout Motors as well. The Republican group calling for the ban, accuse both companies of using forced labor by Uygher people in China, which both companies deny. Now it’s up to the Department of Homeland Security to determine if the companies should be banned. If they are banned, it’s going to put a big dent in Ford’s and Volkswagen’s plans to build EVs in the U.S.
J.D. POWER FINDS EV CHARGING GETTING BETTER
One of the biggest complaints against EVs is that there aren’t enough public chargers and that they’re not reliable. But a new study from JD Power shows that charging networks are actually making improvements. It found that satisfaction with public DC fast charging and Level 2 charging networks was up significantly in the first quarter of 2024 compared to Q4 of 2023. EV drivers say charging speeds are up, they’re easier to use, and there’s more chargers available. At the same time, broken or malfunctioning chargers dropped from 71% in Q4 2023 to 59% in Q1 2024. And while Tesla is the leader among EV charging networks, JD Power says the biggest gains in satisfaction were with non-Tesla networks.
ZOOX EXPANDS ROBOTAXI LOCATIONS
Autonomous vehicle startup Zoox, which is owned by Amazon, announced that it’s expanding testing in the U.S. Austin, Texas and Miami, Florida are the fourth and fifth cities where it will launch a fleet of Toyota Highlander test vehicles with safety drivers on board. That fleet will map the areas so Zoox can determine the best geo-fenced part of the cities to deploy its robotaxis in. Zoox first started testing in San Francisco in 2018, then went to Las Vegas, then Seattle and now comes Austin and Miami. But it has not launched commercial operations yet or, in other words, it hasn’t started charging people for rides. It says that will first happen in Las Vegas and San Francisco.
MERCEDES TO USE CHINESE AV TECH
Speaking of autonomy, reports out of China say that Mercedes is teaming up with a Chinese company to improve the autonomous capabilities of the new CLA, which is expected to go into production in April of next year. Mercedes will reportedly use AV tech from Momenta that will give it hands-free driving ability on both the highway and city roads. Here’s a video from Momenta of its system on another Chinese automaker’s car. It uses multiple lidar, radar and cameras, but the system seems to be able to navigate some pretty complex driving situations.
GM-SAIC DEVELOP AV VALIDATION PROCESS
And one last bit of AV news. Gasgoo reports that GM and its Chinese joint venture partner SAIC have launched what they call the RoboTest autonomous vehicle testing platform. The way I understand it is, a person comes out and equips a vehicle with devices, radars and cameras that allow it to drive on its own. Then the vehicle can be run through various development and validation procedures by another person in a control center. The benefit is less variation in the testing compared to a human and the ability to test multiple vehicles at once. GM and SAIC expect the RoboTest platform to speed up their R&D cycle.
ZF PACKAGES AIRBAG INTO STEERING WHEEL RIM
Remember when airbags first went into cars in the late 1980’s? Well, I don’t because I was only a few years old. But I’m told by a source I trust pretty well that they were awful, at least from an appearance standpoint. Big, ugly and heavy. It looked like there was a shoe box in the center of the steering wheel. Designers hated them. But fast forward to today, and ZF, a sponsor of this show, has come up with an amazingly compact airbag design for steering wheels that we think designers are going to love. It actually deploys from the top of the rim of the steering wheel, not from the center hub. ZF says this frees up space on the center and spokes of the wheel, allowing designers to use that space for something else, like an interface similar to a smartphone. ZF recently rebranded its passive safety division as Lifetec, and this is one of its newest products since it got rebranded.
MERCEDES DETHRONES TESLA WITH PROFIT/CAR
A couple of years ago Tesla made the most profit per vehicle of any automaker in the world. $9,557 to be exact. But in early 2023 it started cutting prices to offset slowing sales, first in China, then elsewhere in the world. And that really hurt its profit per unit. Now, Mercedes-Benz makes the most money per car, $8,560. And Tesla has dropped to Number Three on the list. So where does everyone else stand? Check out our Industry Report Card, which has all the data on the biggest automakers in the world. You can find the video on the Autoline website, or on the Autoline Network on YouTube. The video is 18 minutes long, but it will give you a great understanding of how the car companies stack up against each other.
TOYOTA EXPANDS CROWN LINE-UP
The vehicle that replaces the Venza in Toyota’s North American lineup is now on sale. The Crown Signia starts at just under $45,000 including destination. That’s a bit more than the Venza, but it comes standard with a hybrid powertrain and AWD. The 4-cylinder engine is a 2.5L unit that when paired with the electric drive system makes 240 horsepower. The setup returns an EPA-estimated 38 MPG. And if buyers want to step up to the Limited grade, prices start a little over $49,000.
AAH: WHO SUPPLIERS LOVE. WHO THEY HATE.
Most automakers rely heavily on their suppliers for cost reduction and innovation, but some do a better job of it than others. Suppliers prefer to work with Toyota and Honda, while relations at Stellantis and Ford are the worst in the industry. So, what’s working and what’s not? That’s what we’ll be getting into on today’s Autoline After Hours. Dave Andrea from Plante Moran, which does the annual supplier survey, will be on the show, digging into the details of that report. Ken Zino will also be on the show. And John and Gary welcome you to join them when it all goes live on the Autoline website and the Autoline YouTube channel at 3PM EST.
But that’s a wrap for this show. I hope to see you later.
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Alright! Some common sense is finally starting to creep back into politics. Allowing free market to dictate EV growth and not mandates that force us to buy products we don’t want. The back-peddle of charging people to enter NY city which was one of the dumbest solutions I’ve ever heard. Then to start banning companies that use child labor sounds like a proper move to correct that problem.
Rather than better packaging for airbags maybe figure out a way where they can be more easily and cheaply swapped out so that a vehicle doesn’t get totaled from a 30 mph crash that does minor damage to the car but replacing the airbags totals it.
Surprise, surprise, Republican congress people want to ban CATL, because they are in Michigan. If they were in Texas, Oklahoma, or Florida, the same congress people would be for them a 100%.
Before it’s all over, all states will back off on the 35% EV mandate for 2026. Not only is the market not there, but even production capacity isn’t there.
It is the various side/A pillar/seat edge air bags that result in very expensive repairs when they blow. A few years ago, my sister was in a crash in a Subaru Forester which was totaled, partly because of the cost of putting the interior back together. The air bags worked, because she was unhurt, but the car was damaged enough that I wouldn’t have wanted it as it would have been repaired, never mind the interior.
It’s unfortunate that they needed to back off on the congestion plan in NYC for political reasons. Such policies are useful in some cities in Europe, and would be in New York.
Sean, if you freeze the video, you will see that air bag does NOT deploy from the top of the rim of the steering wheel, it deploys from the top of hub of the steering wheel.
The side air curtains and front passenger airbag do a lot of secondary damage when they deploy. Seat belt assemblies also need to be replaced at the internal load limiters and pre-tensioners are sacrificial. It makes a lot more sense to put the passenger air bag in the shoulder harness, akin to the rear seat air bags that were offered from Ford and M-B… BUT the US government wants air bags to save unbelted occupants! The shoulder harness bag is safer than the instrument panel bag.
Kit- Maybe you didn’t watch the same ALD I just watched. But banning CATL is about forced labor practices not anything to do with them being in Michigan. Which seems bad unless you’re okay with forced labor?
Also on the NYC fee even the Democratic governor Kathy Hochul said it was reversed over the economic climate inflation and cost of living increase. (which is due to the current administration). Not political reasons. Well unless you are insinuating, she reversed it to save her political career. Which considering the support it got it probably was more political and less about impact to the people she represents.
Lambo, I saw the same show, and what the congress people said was political BS. They would “overlook” the alleged labor practices if the plant were to be in Texas. Also, the NY governor came up with reasons, but backed off on the plan to save others’ careers, more than her own, like maybe whoever replaced George Santos. BTW, poor people don’t commute into Manhattan by car, where it costs $500-1000/month, probably more for “prime” locations, just to park a car.
London was a pioneer in congestion charge, but other cities have done various things to reduce inner city traffic, some banning most vehicles completely from some areas. Most of these actions have produced desirable results.
https://mileus.com/blog/10-european-cities-implementing-traffic-restrictions-congestion-charges
Lambo, I saw the same show, and what the congress people said was political BS. They would “overlook” the alleged labor practices if the plant were to be in Texas. Also, the NY governor came up with reasons, but backed off on the plan to save others’ careers, more than her own, like maybe whoever replaced George Santos. BTW, poor people don’t commute into Manhattan, where it costs $500-1000/month, probably more for “prime” locations, just to park a car.
London was a pioneer in congestion charge, but other cities have done various things to reduce inner city traffic, some banning most vehicles completely from some areas. Most of these actions have produced desirable results.
https://mileus.com/blog/10-european-cities-implementing-traffic-restrictions-congestion-charges
Thank you George Ricci for pointing out that the airbag does actually come out of the top of the hub, there is even an arrow in the illustration showing this, but if you hadn’t of mentioned it I probably would have continued thinking what Sean told us was true when it is obviously not. I’m sure he will correct himself tomorrow so that nobody else repeats his mistake.
Regarding air bags, do all of them always blow, regardless of what sensor(s) trigger the deployment? I think they did in my sister’s Subaru, in what was, basically, a frontal crash, when someone turned left in front of her.
I just came across a nugget of information suggesting that the Cadillac Escalade’s average transaction price is north of 100K. If the 3l Duramax ever needs some traction, a 500hp hybrid would fit the bill.
Lambo, thanks for your recent comment on supplier squeezing snafus. I’m always amazed that production doesn’t completely break down when people start to tinker with fundamentals in that way. Then again, one just has to look at some of Boeing’s travails say in this millenium.
Yeah, a diesel hybrid Escalade would be interesting.
A few diesel hybrids have been sold in Europe, but they seem to come and go after one generation. They would seem to be a great option, combining the high efficiency of diesel engines with a hybrid powertrain, but they haven’t “taken off,” even in Europe. It’s probably partly because of diesel emissions, but also, gas engines get closer to the efficiency of diesels with the use of Atkinson cycle tuning in hybrids. It looks like Mercedes still sells a couple diesel plug-in hybrids.
https://www.carwow.co.uk/hybrid-cars/diesel#gref
Regarding the airbag, I was questioning that too. The ZF link is a little clearer (though you can tell it was originally in German and translated to English). It states “the driver airbag deploys from the top side of the steering wheel through the upper steering wheel rim towards the driver”, so it does not deploy from the top rim, it just goes through the opening made by the upper rim. Essentially, its coming from the same place, just exiting the top of the hub instead of the front.
Kit, it’s likely a matter of price. With Diesels inherently more expensive, adding hybrid powertrain components probably works only on high-priced cars. Which is why the Escalade looks like such a great fit to me.
The airbag exiting from the top of the hub is much better for the drivers. Theoretically if you are using the horn and the airbag deploys, your hand will be forced into an area of your body which would be damaging. If it came from the top it would force your hand downwards and be safer for the driver.