Show #1302
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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 8th December. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don’t have to.
Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.
VOLKSWAGEN’S DIESS TO REMAIN CEO, BUT WITH FEWER POWERS
– Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess will likely stay on to lead Europe’s largest carmaker as part of a solution that will see him cede some responsibilities following a clash with labour leaders, two people familiar with the matter said.
– The solution would potentially end the carmaker’s latest leadership tussle, which has caused uncertainty among investors and led the group’s preferred shares to fall significantly in recent weeks.
– VW brand chief Ralf Brandstaetter is slated to join the management board – confirming what sources told Reuters last month – while Diess will focus on strategy, the sources added.
– Diess already ceded responsibility for the Volkswagen brand to Brandstaetter last year after weeks of squabbling between the company’s powerful labour leaders and managers over the pace and scale of cost-cutting plans.
– Diess’s future has hung in the balance since he mentioned the risk of far-reaching job cuts in September, complicating the carmaker’s efforts to draw up a five-year investment plan that will be discussed by the supervisory board on Thursday.
Original Source : https://uk.news.yahoo.com/vw-settles-power-struggle-diess-161811083.html
NISSAN ON ‘GOOD’ PATH WITH PROFITS, EV INVESTMENT: COO
– Nissan Motor Co.’s profit recovery and electric-vehicle investment plans are placing the automaker on a good path toward future growth, Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta said.
– The COO’s remarks follow statements made Monday by former Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn. Joining an online briefing from Lebanon, Ghosn, who was removed from Nissan following charges of financial misconduct three years ago, said the automotive industry is undergoing a monumental shift to battery-powered cars and questioned whether Nissan’s current management is capable of guiding the company through the period of disruption.
– Nissan is allocating “production to profitable markets and markets where customers are waiting,” Gupta said in response to questions on output cuts due to the pandemic, which has disrupted supplies of chips and raw materials for automakers across the globe.
Original Source : https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-07/nissan-is-on-good-path-with-profits-electrification-coo-says
AUDI TIES UP WITH ALIBABA, BAIDU, TENCENT
– German luxury car brand Audi has formed tie-ups with several leading mainland technology companies to leverage their strengths and make its vehicles more attractive to Chinese buyers.
– Giorgio Delucchi, head of sales for mainland China and Hong Kong, said the marque was pursuing the best infotainment, autonomous driving and digital connectivity technologies for its upcoming electric vehicles (EVs).
– The company has formed tie-ups with Alibaba Group Holding, Baidu and Tencent Holdings to collaborate in the fields of big data, Internet of Things and urban mobility.
– Tesla and China’s home-grown EV start-ups such as Xpeng, NIO Li Auto are emerging as game-changers in the market, where young drivers have a penchant for intelligent features like driver assistant systems, voice recognition technology and huge screens.
Original Source : https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3158679/audi-ties-alibaba-baidu-tencent-car-technology-it-eyes
AUTO JOURNALISTS PICK GENESIS’ GV 60 AS CAR OF MONTH
– The Korea Automobile Journalists Association said Monday that it has chosen Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis’ GV 60, its first electric car based on its exclusive EV-dedicated modular platform, as its car of the month.
– Every month, the association selects its best model among new vehicles and updated versions that were launched within the past month, based on five criteria including exterior and interior design, powertrain performance, safety and comfort features, energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, and product marketability and purchasing intent.For December, the BMW New X3, BMW iX, and the Genesis GV60, which were launched last month, were nominated.
Original Source : http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20211206000615
STELLANTIS PLANS HUGE REVENUES WITH NEW SOFTWARE-DRIVEN CARS
– Stellantis has announced it is developing connected technologies for its next-generation vehicles that will generate significant revenues for the group through new software and technology pillars, called STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit and STLA AutoDrive.
– Stellantis plans to invest more than €30 billion (£25 billion) in its software and electrification technology between now and 2025. As part of this process, the firm says it’ll start to operate more like a technology company and less like a traditional car maker.
– Stellantis’s new software-focused business model will be based on three new technology platforms, called STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit and STLA AutoDrive. The first is a new vehicle control system, which is faster than the system used in the company’s current cars and future-proofed thanks to its support for over-the-air updates.
– Developed in collaboration with the Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn, the system will feature navigation and voice control functions, as well as an application store and payment services.
– Stellantis’s CEO, Carlos Tavares, said: “Our electrification and software strategies will support the shift to become a sustainable mobility tech company to lead the pack, leveraging the associated business growth with over-the-air features and services, and delivering the best experience to our customers.
– This new business model will require Stellantis to sell more connected vehicles that support monetisable features. These can be anything from a monthly subscription service that provides live traffic updates to feature-on-demand optional extras that lock certain infotainment or driver assistance functions behind a paywall, accessible when consumers need them for a fee.
Original Source : https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/356806/stellantis-plans-huge-revenues-new-software-driven-cars
CHRYSLER AIRFLOW EV CONCEPT PREVIEWS STELLANTIS’S MACH-E RIVAL
– Chrysler’s first new model in several years looks to be an electric crossover that could wear the historic Airflow nameplate. First shown during Stellantis’s EV Day event earlier this year, we now have more information on this concept car that’s meant to showcase new technologies including electric platforms, driver-assistance features, and infotainment software.
– Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said during the company’s Software Day presentation that it’s “more than a pure concept” and hinted that this vehicle could make its way to production by 2024, which is backed up by U.S. trademarks for the Airflow name filed in 2019 and 2021.
– Inside, the Airflow features an onslaught of screens, with a giant central infotainment display that’s flanked by separate screens for the driver and passenger. There are also rear-seat entertainment screens. Connectivity features will likely include over-the-air updates and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
Original Source : https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a38451274/chrysler-airflow-ev-concept-revealed/
NIO EXPANDS ITS EV BATTERY PROGRAM IN CHINA
– Electric car maker NIO Inc. announced a new battery exchange program in China that allows customers to upgrade the battery in their vehicles for a small monthly fee, Chinese news outlet Gasgoo reports.
– The new battery upgrade program allows NIO customers with the standard 70 or 75 kWh battery pack in their vehicles to upgrade to a more powerful and longer range 100 kWh battery by paying an additional 880 yuan (US$140) a month. The 100 kWh battery pack has a NEDC range of 615 km (382 miles) and is available as an option on NIO vehicles.
– NIO’s newest 100kWh battery pack features cell-to-pack (CTP) technology and was jointly developed with Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL).
– Under the BaaS model, if a customer decides to purchase a NIO electric vehicle and subscribe to use the 70kWh battery pack under the BaaS model, the purchase price drops by 70,000 yuan ($10,450). Customers then pay a monthly fee of 980 yuan ($146) for the battery pack itself. For example, a customer that wants the bigger 100kWh battery can deduct 128,000 yuan ($19,105) off the sticker price and pay a monthly subscription of 1,480 yuan ($223) per month for the battery.
Original Source : https://www.futurecar.com/5046/Tesla-Challenger-NIO-Expands-its-EV-Battery-Program-in-China-Allowing-Drivers-to-Upgrade-to-a-100-kWh-Battery-Pack
WHY TOYOTA IS TURNING TO BYD’S BATTERY TECHNOLOGY FOR NEW EV IN CHINA
– Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to launch an all-electric small sedan in China late next year, having turned to local partner BYD for key technology to finally make an affordable yet roomy vehicle, four sources told Reuters.
– Two of the four people with knowledge of the matter described the car as an electric holy grail for Toyota, which has struggled for years to come up with a small EV that is both competitive on cost in China and doesn’t compromise on comfort.
– The sources said the breakthrough was chiefly down to BYD’s less bulky lithium-iron-phosphate Blade batteries and its lower-cost engineering know-how — a turning of the tables for a Chinese company whose popular F3 sedan was inspired by Toyota’s Corolla back in 2005.
– It will be unveiled as a concept car at the Beijing auto show in April and will then most likely be launched as the second model in Toyota’s new bZ series of EVs, even though it will only be on sale in China for now.
– The fact Toyota has been compelled to turn to BYD to solve its low-cost EV conundrum shows how far the competitive balance of the global auto industry has tipped in the past decade
– At BYD, engineers do far less prototyping — there are typically just two — and designs can be changed as late as two years into the process, which is a definite no-no at Toyota, one source said. A BYD spokesperson declined to comment.
But as a result of those last-minute changes, the technology in a BYD car is much more up to date than in a Toyota when it hits the market, and is often cheaper.
Original Source : https://www.autonews.com/cars-concepts/why-toyota-turning-byds-battery-technology-new-ev-china
FORMER TESLA EMPLOYEES SAY 2016 ‘FULL SELF-DRIVING’ VIDEO WAS STAGED
– famed video published by Tesla in 2016 that showed its Autopilot system driving without human interaction was staged according to a group of former employees recently interviewed by the New York Times.
– On Monday, the news broke as part of a more thorough investigative story that alleges Tesla may have sacrificed overall safety to fit the vision of Autopilot conceived by CEO Elon Musk. The report takes into account information gathered by 19 former Tesla employees, each of whom spoke under the condition of anonymity. Reportedly, eight were employed as former Autopilot engineers at Tesla.
– At the front of the accusation are two former Autopilot engineers who both claim the car in the video was driving a route that had been not only charted ahead of time, but 3D mapped before the drive. This made use of technologies not commercially available to Tesla’s customers.
– Three people who allegedly worked on the video also told NYT that the vehicle being used was involved in a single-car accident during filming. The Model S reportedly hit a roadside barrier on Tesla property, requiring a repair to the vehicle.
Original Source : https://www.thedrive.com/tech/43408/former-tesla-employees-say-2016-full-self-driving-video-was-staged
PORSCHE IPO ON THE TABLE AS VW GROUP SEEKS FUNDING FOR EV, AV SHIFT
– A Porsche IPO is apparently back on the table as the Volkswagen Group looks for ways to fund its costly shift towards electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles.
– Reuters reports that the German auto giant is still exploring a possible initial public offering of its luxury brand Porsche, which could be valued between €45 billion ($51 billion) and €90 billion ($101 billion), according to various reports.
– German business paper Handelsblatt reported on December 7 that the Porsche and Piëch families, who control VW Group’s largest shareholder, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, are considering selling a portion of their VW holdings to fund a substantial stake purchase in a possible Porsche IPO.
– The families own 31.4% of VW Group shares and have 53.3% of voting rights via the Porsche SE holding company. According to Handelsblatt, Porsche SE could sell enough shares to raise roughly €15 billion.
Original Source : https://insideevs.com/news/553147/vw-group-mulling-porsche-ipo/
REPORT: ACURA WILL MAKE EVS A BIGGER PIECE OF ITS FUTURE, SOONER THAN HONDA
– Acura is moving to embrace electric cars at a faster rate than parent Honda, Emile Korkor, the brand’s assistant vice president of national sales, said in a recent interview with Automotive News
– The premium Acura brand is “going much faster” than the main Honda brand in having EVs make up an increasingly larger percentage of sales, Korkor said, adding that Acura is going to bypass hybrids going forward and solely focus on EVs.
– Acura’s first EV will reportedly be made in Tennessee at a former Saturn plant, alongside the Cadillac Lyriq. The Acura EV will use a General Motors platform, as part of a partnership between the two automakers that will allow them to more rapidly reach economies of scale for EVs and share in development of other technologies—including a version of GM’s Super Cruise driver-assist system for Honda.
Original Source : https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1134375_report-acura-will-make-evs-a-bigger-piece-of-its-future-sooner-than-honda
MIDWEST TRANSIT EQUIPMENT & SEA ELECTRIC TO POWER 10,000 ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES
– SEA Electric and Midwest Transit Equipment (MTE) have partnered to update 10,000 school buses with battery-electric power-systems, the biggest deal of its kind to date, which paves the way for a zero-emissions future for children’s transport in North America.
– MTE, one of the largest school bus dealers in the country, will be able to provide clients with a near new 100% electric bus at a fraction of the cost of a new electric school bus. The deal will cover both Type A and Type C school buses, with the deliveries scheduled over the next five years.
Original Source : https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/midwest-transit-equipment–sea-electric-to-power-10-000-electric-school-buses-301437670.html
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