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Runtime: 12:39
0:00 Stellantis Warns It Could Abandon UK Market
1:14 ONE Gets Lifeline from Foxconn
1:57 Automakers Say No to High-Speed AEB
2:53 BYD Struggling to Sell EVs in Japan
3:38 XPeng Says 2025 is ChatGPT Moment for AVs
4:04 CDK Cyberattack Hurts Financials of Dealer Groups
5:02 BlackSuit is Hacker Group Behind CDK Hack
5:46 VW Updates Jetta
7:05 Rivian Slashes Manufacturing Costs
8:47 U.S. Consumers Want to Own Their Vehicle Data
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STELLA WARNS IT COULD ABANDON UK MARKET
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has been critical of new tariffs imposed on Chinese-made vehicles, calling them a “trap” and a “defensive” strategy. In order to compete he has turned to aggressive cost cutting strategies and pressuring governments to step up. We’ve been told he’s told suppliers to cut costs up to 30%. And now reports say Stellantis could stop production in the UK or possibly even pull out of the region altogether if the government doesn’t do more to boost demand for EVs, so it can more easily comply with new regulations. Those regs say 22% of all new cars sold this year have to be EVs or automakers could face fines of up to 15,000 euros for every vehicle they sell that doesn’t comply with the rules. However, data shows that EVs only made up just over 16% of sales in the region through May of this year. So, Stellantis could mess with its UK production in order to hit the 22%.
ONE GETS LIFELINE FROM FOXCONN
EV battery startup Our Next Energy or ONE is getting some much needed help. While the company showed early promise, last year it replaced its CEO, cut headcount, stopped production lines and said it only had enough money to last until the end of this year. But Automotive News reports that Foxconn is investing and taking a partial stake in ONE, which it will use to help scale up production. However, ONE no longer plans to make batteries for electric vehicles. As part of last year’s restructuring, it announced a switch to stationary storage devices with LFP batteries and said it hopes to make 20 GWh of cells by 2027.
AUTOMAKERS SAY NO TO HIGH-SPEED AEB
Automakers say that high speed automatic emergency braking isn’t feasible with current technology. So, The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most automakers in the U.S., sent a letter to NHTSA urging it to back off speed and nighttime rules. NHTSA is mandating AEB in all new light cars and trucks by 2029. The vehicles have to be able to automatically stop to avoid a crash with another car up to 62 MPH and automatically apply the brakes up to 90 MPH when a crash with another vehicle is imminent. They also have to detect pedestrians at speeds up to 45 MPH and the systems must work at nighttime. NHTSA says the rules will prevent 360 deaths and 24,000 injuries annually–but that will only be if the systems work.
BYD STRUGGLING TO SELL EVs IN JAPAN
Japanese consumers are highly nationalistic, as BYD is learning that the hard way. It only sold 2,200 EVs in Japan last year, and this year is looking worse. Sales were down 26% in April and 28% in May compared to last year. But BYD is in it for the long haul. It just introduced a third model in the country, the Seal, with an 82 kilowatt hour battery and a price tag of only $33,100. And it’s opening more dealerships. It wants to have 90 dealerships in Japan by the end of this year and 100 next year, up from 55 today.
XPENG SAYS 2025 IS CHATGTP MOMENT FOR AVs
Is autonomous technology finally going to take off? The Chairman of XPeng thinks so. He predicts that 2025 will be the “ChatGTP” moment for autonomous driving. Gasgoo reports he rode in Waymo’s AV in San Francisco, and tested Tesla’s FSD V12.3.6 in Silicon Valley and said he admired the rapid progress Tesla is making.
CDK CYBERATTACK HURTS DEALER GROUP FINANCIALS
Car dealers are warning the cyberattack on CDK’s dealer management system could impact their finances. Dealer groups Sonic, Penske, Group 1, AutoNation, Lithia Motors and Asbury Automotive all filed disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission warning of a potential “material” impact to their finances because of the attack. All of the groups, with the exception of Penske, have seen their stock drop since the attack. Last week, CDK was hit with a cyberattack that took down its dealer management system, which is used by 15,000 dealers across the U.S. The system generates sales leads, handles trade-ins, car loans, vehicle registration, orders service parts and schedules service appointments. CDK says it expects the service to be restored in the coming days.
BLACKSUIT IS HACKER GROUP BEHIND CDK HACK
And we’re learning more about the group that pulled off the attack. Bloomberg reports it’s called BlackSuit and is demanding tens of millions of dollars from CDK, which the company plans to pay. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently warned that BlackSuit should be “closely watched” as a threat, because of the organization’s association with other extortion groups.
VW UPDATES JETTA
Volkswagen is making some modifications to the 2025 model year Jetta. You’ll notice minor changes to the front and rear styling and to the interior as well, including a new 3-bar dash design with 8-inch standard displays and more powerful wireless charging with built-in cooling. The powertrain lineup remains the same for 2025. The base engine is a 1.5L 4-cylinder that makes 158 horsepower and is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The manual is only available on the GLI now, which comes with a 258 horsepower 2.0L 4-cylinder engine. Or it can be paired with a 7-speed auto. When asked during a presentation for the new Jetta why it didn’t do more to update the model, Volkswagen said it’s all about keeping it affordable because that’s what customers seem to want. And it’s working. So far this year, VW has sold more than 17,000 Jettas, which is up 121%. To keep that momentum, it cut the starting price of the base automatic by $250 to just under $22,000. Production kicks off soon and 2025 Jettas will go on sale at the end of the 3rd quarter.
RIVIAN SLASHES MANUFACTURING COSTS
Even though the exterior styling has barely changed, the second generation of the Rivian RS1 and RT1 have significant changes under the skin that will slash manufacturing costs. By dropping its domain electronic architecture and going with a zonal layout, Rivian got rid of 60% of the ECUs and 1.6 miles of copper wiring, and now writes 85% of the software for its vehicles in-house. It also added a heat pump for greater efficiency. The battery pack was redesigned using high pressure castings to eliminate parts and welds and that cut the weight of the pack by 155 pounds, or 70 kilograms. At its factory in Normal, Illinois, it removed 100 processes to make the batteries, eliminated 500 pieces in the pickup’s and SUV’s body and got rid of 52 pieces of equipment in the body shop. Rivian says it cut the cost of materials 35% for those vehicles and the electric vans that it makes. While the company will likely continue to lose money in the short term, these changes are going to greatly reduce its losses. But not all the changes were made to cut costs. Rivian added air springs and redesigned the suspension to significantly improve the ride. It added different wheel and tire packages for more range, higher performance or all-around driving, depending on what the customer wants. In fact, Rivian made so many changes that we’ll have to report on more of them in tomorrow’s show.
U.S. CONSUMERS WANT TO OWN THEIR DATA
Automakers believe they can generate big bucks in the future from collecting consumer data and offering owners features based on their preferences. But according to a new survey from insurance savings app, Jerry, consumers aren’t on board with giving up their data. It polled 1,300 adults and 96% said they want to own any and all data generated by their vehicle. 80% said they were uncomfortable or extremely uncomfortable if automakers shared data with law enforcement without their knowledge. And the same amount said they would be uncomfortable or extremely uncomfortable if vehicle data is used for insurance rates. Eight in 10 drivers also said they’d be less likely to use a vehicle for sensitive or private trips if they knew the location data was being shared. But we’d like to point out that anyone who uses a smartphone has already pretty much given their location away.
ZF CUBIX ON AAH
As automakers move to software defined vehicles, they’re finding they can significantly slash the time it takes to calibrate the steering, braking, traction and chassis dynamics. ZF, which is a sponsor of this show, has developed a tool called CubiX which allows an engineer to control all those features with a laptop. We’ve got Kyle Williams from ZF coming on Autoline After Hours this Thursday to explain how it all works. And we invite you to join the action live at 3PM EST.
But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Considering how often my self-braking feature already has false brakes at low speeds I cant imagine high speed braking. Being on a curvy country road at night doing like 50 mph and have the system pick up a mailbox and slam on the brakes.
VW Jetta; Yawn! That car is the definition of bland. Maybe a very good car but certainly nothing to get excited about. Even the colors shown on today’s show were a dull blue and off white.
Looks like Rivan took a page right out of the Tesla handbook.
Lambo,
Agreed. That Jetta may as well be any other brand car. Extremely generic and boring. At least it is cheap.
The Jetta is for those who want a Corolla or Civic, but want something “different.” I had a pre-scandal TDI Jetta wagon, which was a great car. Of course, the wagon, and the TDI are long gone from the US market.
The Jetta GLI is one of the sportier “affordable” sedans, with the same engine as a GTI. You can even get a manual in the GLI for 2025. Inexplicably, the GTI will be automatic only next year.
Sean, Just curious if you know how much or little narrower ‘EV’ tires affect range. I have a Honda Accord Hybrid and have been told that narrower tires improve mileage noticeably. No one seems to have a definition of what noticeably means in terms of percentages.
Kevin, I don’t know about “EV” tires, but tire width seems to make a significant difference in mpg with efficient cars. A Camry LE hybrid with 205 width tires gets substantially better EPA mpg than an SE hybrid with 235 width tires, 52 vs 46 mpg combined, and of what I know, similar difference in real world driving. I’d expect similar differences with an Accord hybrid. If you have some 16 inch wheels that fit your car, you should try some 205/65R16 tires and see what mileage you get, if your car is a recent one with the wide, 40 series tires. Handling would be compromised a little, though.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=47092&id=47093
As far as I can tell, the wheel/tire combination is the only difference between the Camry hybrid trims, except for a very small weight difference. The non-LE versions might not come with LRR tires, but I think they do.
Kevin A, you will find that tires with a low rolling resistance will have a much bigger effect on range than a tire that’s narrower. Also wheel/tires are unsprung weight. Lighter tire/wheel combination will improve range.
Teslas with larger diameter wheels have less range the those with smaller wheels, but the tires are also wider with the big wheels. Probably both make a difference. Do larger wheel/tire combinations weigh significantly more than smaller wheels with taller tires, and same overall diameter? There are multiple things going on.
Anyway, the difference is significant between 19 and 21 inch wheels with the Model S Plaid. The 21s have 10mm wider tires. I doubt if those have LRR tires.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=47911&id=47912
Stellantis is strong arming the politicians as opposed tobthenother way around!
I guess the genie is out of the bottle when it comes to having computers doing all the paper work! After letting all those employees who process that type of information go, going back to it is just out of the question?! Wanting to get around human error, companies have opened themselves up to hackers! I’m sure the cost associated with fixing something as a result of human error, is a loooot cheaper then paying a hacker! Just a thought.
While I’m glad Rivian has been able to find saves by reevaluate/updating how they build their vehicles, want are the chances that buyers will be able to benefit from those savings, with a modest decrease in the price of there vehicle?
A friend with a ~one year old Rivian R1T will be hoping that the new, cheaper ones aren’t a lot better, which would crash the value of his.
How do EV (or any car buyers) deal with orphan cars? For example, Saturn, a good idea, that was killed.
Another example, the growing list of EV startups who having sold their production prototypes but are not yet profitable. When they go out of business, what do their early adopters do?
Bob- Saturn probably isn’t a good example as it was a division of GM so those owners still had dealerships that could service and honor the warranty plus GM continued to make parts. Similar with joint ventures like Daewoo that GM was involved in. As for the start-ups that go under. Thats where the risk is. No different than Delorean. Unless a large manufacturer takes over after bankruptcy it could become very difficult to get service or worse parts. A small fender bender could essentially total the vehicle due to lack or repair parts. If enough are sold and the part has a fair demand a parts supplier might make a replacement that’s not OE but that’s only going to happen unless demand is there, and rarity always drives price up.
If you have issues with proprietary software finding a mechanic that can resolve the issue may become just about impossible and certainly very expensive.
The Delorian sold for around $25,000 in 1982 (equivalent to @ 70k today) and I had the opportunity to buy one for $9000 in 1985 before “Back to the future” came out. The depreciation was incredible. I bought a brand-new Datsun 510 for $5100 instead. 9k for a defunct 2-seater sportscar on a 20-year-old income didn’t seem like a good decision. If not for that movie I’m not sure anyone would be making replacement parts for the car, and they would have faded off into obscurity. Being an early adopter has its risk for sure.
I remember Studebaker parts being available for a while after they folded in about 1966, but would have been mostly parts already at dealers. Studebakers depreciated much faster than Chevies and Fords after Studebaker shut down, and that would be the case with the recently orphaned brands.
Bricklin might be more like the recently orphaned startups. I’ll check to see what they are worth.
With Orphan cars it can be tricky. I have a Saturn and it is not difficult to maintain because so many parts are shared with other GM cars. Same story with people that own SAAB cars. There are so many shared parts. Where it gets tricky is body, interior, lighting and glass that are specific to that model.
For instance; a Fisker Karma has a lot of shared GM parts, but wreck the body, damage the interior, or get a crack in a windshield and you are facing a total loss of your vehicle. Same with ECUs of the Fisker that are unique to that model. Luckily for those owners there are people who decided to make a living around that orphaned model and bought up every wrecked Fisker ever sold. They then refurbish and sell the unique parts to owners who still have their Fisker Karma and want to keep it on the road for very high prices as it is a captive market.
Similar story for persons who own say a Sterling 827 SLi. There is a person who created an entire business around keeping Sterling cars on the road. That person grabs every wrecked or abandoned Sterling that they can find so that parts can be refurbished/resold and keep others on the road. If you ever see a Sterling on the road, just know that the owner obviously loves it because the parts to keep it running are not cheap. In fact they can be more than a Ferrari in some cases.
Then there are the people that love Hudson or Nash cars. Same story with those persons as well. They all go to a parts specialist that has a bunch of old Nash/Hudson cars laying around. Luckily there were hundreds of thousands Hudson/Nash cars made so parts are still plentiful so many years later. The same cannot be said about a Fisker Karma or a Sterling 872 SLi. Those are cars that were low production when new, they are next to zero these days.
My biggest fear with a Fisker Karma is that when the battery goes, there will be no replacements available. It will be a model that nobody will want to make in the aftermarket. It may be very expensive or even dangerous to refurbish with way too much liability involved. So when the battery dies on a Fisker Karma, the music is likely to stop. The same with the Tesla Roadster is happening now. The music has stopped and when you have a battery failure on them, they are no longer a viable vehicle. They will forever be garage art that you can maybe drive of 5 or so miles. Same story for the Saturn Impact EV. The ones that escaped the crusher cannot be driven because there are no battery replacements available, nor anyone interested in making one for the 10 or so that are left. So all of those Impact EVs are driven for 5 or so miles as that is all their batteries can handle. Some even less than that. There will be zero 50 year old EVs cruising on Woodward Avenue as their batteries will not let them do such activity.
It should be possible to keep old EVs running, but with reduced range, by assembling battery packs of the right voltage, but less well packaged than the original. That would only be worth the bother for certain cars.
According to Hagerty, a Bricklin in “good” condition is worth $23,000. They cost ~$7900-9900 new, so would need to be worth ~$50K to have kept up with inflation. They used AMC and Ford powertrains, so keeping them going, mechanically, should not be a problem. Body and interior, not so easy. Of course, it probably isn’t easy to get body parts for most 1975 non-orphans either.
Here is a video of a person that tried exactly that. He has a concept car that was a hybrid using a standard, for the time, battery pouches. He found new pouch cells on craigslist to repair his battery. Those were near impossible to find and he bought every pouch cell that was available. There are no more. It didn’t really work. Only a total replacement is going to work for that van. Ultimately it was moved on to the original company that made the concept van which has deep pockets and can install a complete new redesigned battery to make it truly function. Nobody will do that for a Model S and they are not even doing that for a Roadster now. You would think the Impact EV would be worthy, but nope, nobody is making batteries for those either. Not sure what EV would be worthy of someone developing an entirely new battery pack design, but apparently nothing built to date has been worthy of the effort.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXhC-CkVe6w
That was the issue I had with Cash for clunkers program. Those vehicles didn’t just get taken off the road but were to be crushed destroying many valuable parts. So even if you were building a Resto mod Chevelle and putting a more modern EPA compliant LS engine the fenders, hoods, frames etc were destroyed.
I agree though that most defunct EV start up vehicles will likely become disposable cars. Once the batteries are spent, short of a specialty shop building a replacement battery specifically for that vehicle at a huge cost the car is worthless. Might even see a few shops pop up that convert old spent EVs back to gas. Just like now as a few folks have converted old muscle cars into Tesla powertrains.
Smaller, less efficiently packaged batteries can be made for any EV, as is done for VW Beetles, etc. with Tesla powertrains. The charging electronics might need to be a little different from original, or not, depending on the battery cells used.
Yeah, some EVs will be converted to ICE. I’ve seen a video of a Model S with a Chevy V8. Similar conversions will be done with a few cars of most models.