Jeep Slowly Killing Diesel and Petrol Engines in France

Posted on 4 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on First Ever Jeep EV Teased by Stellantis

The growing EV parade. Click to Enlarge.

Jeep® will be is the first brand of the Stellantis group to market a 100% electrified range in France today the Group said. The e-Hybrid versions of Renegade and Compass will replace pure internal combustion engines, including Diesel versions. However, ordering of all ICE versions is open until 30 May. Hybrids, of course, remain part of the global warming problem. They are not the answer.

“The electrification of our ranges is no longer an option, it is obvious dictated jointly by supply and demand,” said Guillaume de Boudemange, director of Jeep in France, who will preside over the slow five year transition to pure EVs.  (AutoInformed.com on: Finally – First Jeep EV Teased by Stellantis; Stellantis Doubles China Sales, Bolsters and Consolidates Aftermarket as Jeep Sales Plunge) Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in electric vehicles, global warming, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hertz, Polestar Announce Global EV Partnership

Posted on 4 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Hertz, Polestar Announce Global EV Partnership

A performance EV in the rental market? Remember Carroll Shelby in 1966 with the Shelby GT350H in the notorious Hertz Rent-A-Racer program?

Hertz (NASDAQ: HTZ) and Polestar, a Swedish electric performance car maker, today announced a new global partnership that includes purchasing up to 65,000 electric vehicles (EVs) over five years.

Availability is expected to begin in Spring 2022 in Europe and late 2022 in North America and Australia. Polestar builds on Hertz’s announcement last October to offer its customers the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in electric vehicles, marketing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Stellantis Consolidates Financial Services for All Brands

Posted on 2 April 2022 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE / MTA / Euronext Paris: STLA) has signed binding agreements with BNP Paribas Personal Finance (“BNPP PF”), Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance (“CACF”) and Santander Consumer Finance (“SCF”) reorganize its current financial services platform in Europe.

All these are supporting Stellantis’ desire to develop a full-service captive finance arm. To provide customers, dealers and partners with a complete range of financing options in the near-to-medium term, including retail loans, leases, and floorplan financing. (AutoInformed: Floorplan – Stellantis Buys First Investors Financial Services. First Investors has been renamed Stellantis Financial Services US Corp.) Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in customer satisfaction | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

NA Q1 Light Vehicle Sales Rate at 14.1M, -2.7M YoY

Posted on 1 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on NA Q1 Light Vehicle Sales Rate at 14.1M, -2.7M YoY

Click to Enlarge.

Sales reporting day for most automakers in North America saw GM Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg say industry light vehicle volumes will grow this year and top 2021 levels, thanks to a strong labor market, higher vehicle production and pent-up demand.

But that didn’t reflect the immediate quarter, especially the month of March. Wards Intelligence, notes the average capacity utilization rate in a North American assembly plants during Q4 2021 was 70.3%, down from 85.4% in Q4 2020. The SAAR appears to be 13.3 million units, down from 14 million in February and a drop of 24.4% from March 2021’s SAAR of 17.6 million.  Simply put the supply chain is a mess, and with Putin’s war on Ukraine it remains chaotic.  Following the jump are the preliminary results from firms that reported. The rest of the results will trickle in next week. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in sales | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Uwe Pichler-Necek Next MD of Porsche Engineering China

Posted on 1 April 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Pichler-Necek to Be Managing Director Porsche Engineering China

Porsche Engineering has worked on the development requirements of the Chinese market for thirty years.

Uwe Pichler-Necek today joins the Chinese subsidiary of Porsche Engineering*, an international technology service provider. He will take over as Managing Director on 1 July 2022. Pichler-Necek succeeds Kurt Schwaiger, who has headed up Porsche Engineering’s Chinese activities since 2015. Schwaiger is returning to Germany to retire after more than six years as Managing Director of Porsche Engineering in China.

The move in the totalitarian state comes as German automakers are scrambling to adopt to the disruptions caused by Russian totalitarian Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine rages on slaughtering civilians. German automakers are bearing the direct brunt of this war and scrambling to adjust to production and supply disruptions.
 Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in engineering, people | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mission Impossible to Ignore – Almost All SUVs Struggle in First IIHS Seat-Belt Reminder Ratings

Posted on 31 March 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on SUVs Struggle in First IIHS Seat-Belt Reminder Ratings

 Among 26 vehicles, only two Subarus, Ascent and Forester, earn a good rating. Click to Enlarge.

A new ratings program from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released today is designed to coerce automakers to improve seat belt reminders in order to save lives.

Federal motor vehicles safety standards say that seat belt reminders must include an audible signal that lasts for 4-8 seconds total and a visual alert that lasts at least 60 seconds whenever the driver’s seat belt is unbuckled. Almost half of the drivers and front-seat passengers killed in crashes in 2019 weren’t belted.

However, previous IIHS research has shown that more noticeable and persistent alerts could increase belt use among those who do not routinely buckle up by as much as 34%, preventing ~1500 fatalities a year. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in safety | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ford Issues 2022 Integrated Sustainability and Financial Report

Posted on 31 March 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Ford Issues 2022 Integrated Sustainability and Financial Report

Click to Enlarge.

Ford Motor Corp. (NYSE: F) released  its sustainability report this morning. Supplementing the report is a standalone human rights report, a first for Ford and the U.S. auto industry, as well as a combined task force on climate-related financial disclosures and climate risk scenario report. Ford said it has committed to achieve carbon neutrality no later than 2050, backed by interim targets it will meet by 2035.

The problem with all such reports is that saying something doesn’t mean that other areas of the company are actually supporting the stated goals. “Combining sustainability and financial performance in a single report,” Ford said, “is significant.” Well, given this, Ford has actively opposed attempts by stockholders at the last few annual meetings to reveal its PAC contributions. Is Ford dispensing shareholder money to politicians or companies that are actively opposed to its stated goals? Given the vast complexity of Ford’s, Democracies’ and the globe’s survival threats, it’s a key measurable in AutoInformed’s view. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in environment, global warming, milestones, mobility company | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Goodyear Expands Eagle Exhilarate Performance Tire Line

Posted on 31 March 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Goodyear Expands Eagle Exhilarate Performance Tire Applications

Ultra-high-performance line expands.

Goodyear today announced the addition of 16 new sizes for Eagle Exhilarate, an ultra-high performance, all-season tire that claims excellent performance in wet and dry cornering grip, as well as wet and dry handling. With the addition of the 16 new sizes, the Eagle Exhilarate is now available in a total of 52 sizes, ranging from 17 to 22-inch rim diameters.

Popular vehicles that Eagle Exhilarate tires will now fit include the Acura TLX, Audi A5 and RS5, BMW 3-Series and X5, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette, Dodge Challenger and Charger, Ford Mustang, Infiniti Q50, Mercedes E-Class, Porsche 911 and Volvo S60.
 Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in aftermarket, performance | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Genesis Opens First US Standalone Retail Store

Posted on 30 March 2022 by Ken Zino

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Genesis Opens First US Standalone Retail StoreGenesis has opened its first standalone retail location in the United States, Genesis of Lafayette, Louisiana.

It has, says Genesis,  “distinct brand elements, a transparent, open floorplan, an indoor vehicle delivery area, and infrastructure to support the upcoming portfolio of Electrified Genesis models… unique design elements are on full display, such as a private brand cube where customers may review material samples, vehicle specifications, and more in a stress-free environment.”
 Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in marketing, milestones | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Volta Trucks Road Show Heading to Madrid

Posted on 30 March 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Press Release EVs - Volta Trucks Raises €230M Capital Funding

Ambitious production plans clouded or helped by Putin’s war against Ukraine?

Volta Trucks said today it will be in Madrid on the 5th  and 6th April, hyping the Volta Zero 16-ton truck at the Circuito del Jarma, home to the Spanish Grand Prix between 1968 and 1981. This follows the conclusion of a Series C funding round of €230 million last month.

Following the promised start of production this year, the vehicles could be in circulation in Madrid during  2023, a city that exceeded the EU’s air quality standard in 2021. Volta Trucks plans to produce 5,000 vehicles throughout Europe in 2023, increasing to 14,000 in 2024, 27,000 in 2025. The 16-tonne vehicle is the first of the four variants which range between 7.5- and 18-tonnes. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in electric vehicles, global warming, marketing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Clean Truck, Bus CALSTART Incentives Available at CARB

Posted on 30 March 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on CALSTART Incentives for Clean Trucks, Buses

HVIP has funded more 9,000 clean trucks and buses.

The California Air Resources Board and CALSTART reopened incentives for clean trucks and buses today with more than $400 million now available to speed California’s move to zero-emission vehicles.

This  is the biggest funding round in the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) to date. Launched by the California Air Resources Board in 2009, HVIP provides for first-come, first-served incentives that reduce the incremental cost of commercial vehicles. The project is administered by CALSTART. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in electric vehicles, environment, global warming | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chinese Hyper EV – the Lotus Eletre SUV Debuts

Posted on 29 March 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Chinese Hyper EV- Lotus Eletre SUV Debuts

Click to Enlarge.

The all-new and all-electric Lotus Eletre, billed as a progressive Hyper-SUV has debuted. It’s the first of a new line of pure electric SUVs from, ahem, Lotus. Known until now by its Lotus code-name, Type 132, the Eletre claims to be a “globally relevant product of sustainable mobility for a worldwide audience.”  Hyper, because Eletre joins select ‘Two-Second Club’ – capable of 0-100km/h (0-62mph) in less than three seconds.

“The Eletre, our Hyper-SUV, is a new performance car from an iconic performance car brand and it will appeal to independent-minded and adventurous driving enthusiasts -those who love the thrill of driving. It is a unique combination of beautiful design, exceptional dynamic performance and everyday usability, for those who dare to look beyond the conventional, and marks a turning point for our business and brand,” claimed Qingfeng Feng, CEO, Group Lotus. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in connected vehicles, electric vehicles, milestones, new vehicle, performance | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

US Department of Transportation Budget for FY 2023 – $142B

Posted on 29 March 2022 by Ken Zino

The Biden-Harris Administration today submitted to Congress the President’s Budget for fiscal year 2023 of $5.89 trillion that included $142 billion for the Department of Transportation – a key government agency for the US’s vast automobile industry. (AutoInformed: President Biden Targets 50% Electric Vehicle Sales in 2030; Building Forward Better – President Biden, DOT, DOE Announce $5B National EV Charging Network; President Biden to Attend GM Factory ZERO Grand Opening; EPA Publishes Plan to Achieve Biden-Harris Priorities)

Automobility moves America by supporting a total of 10.3 million American jobs, or ~8% of private-sector employment; direct, indirect, and stimulated jobs supported by the auto industry create $650 billion in paychecks for millions of workers; Every job for an auto manufacturer in the United States creates ~11 other positions in industries in the economy. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in news analysis, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commerce Releases Plan to Boost America’s Competitiveness

Posted on 28 March 2022 by Ken Zino

Today the Department of Commerce released its fiscal year 2022-2026 Strategic Plan laying out an “agenda for innovation, resilience and equity to strengthen America’s competitiveness in the 21st century.” Commerce also published the first-ever learning agenda, whereby all bureaus will build evidence on program outcomes.

While Commerce has revised its mission statement to underscore the connection between its programs and all Americans, specifically the Department’s mission is to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities, AutoInformed thinks it’s going to take a lot more than publicity releases. Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in AutoInformed Editorial, economy, environment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

German Automakers Bearing Brunt of Putin’s War on Ukraine

Posted on 28 March 2022 by Ken Zino

“The war in Ukraine has led to plant closures across Germany and a likely loss of around 150k units in March alone,” James Norris, Senior Analyst, European Light Vehicle Production at the respected LMC Automotive consultancy said today.

By the beginning of March this year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, almost all automotive production in the two warring countries had come to a complete standstill. The problem for German automakers is that are dependent on Eastern European suppliers, including Ukraine.   Continue reading →

Tweet
Posted in manufacturing, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment