At this week’s BMW Group Annual Conference the upcoming BMW i4 was teased. The fully electric 4 door Gran Coupé will go on sale later in 2021, including a BMW M Performance model. The i4 model line will be available in different versions covering ranges of up to 590km (WLTP) and up to 300 miles* (EPA). With a power output of up to 390kW / 530HP the BMW i4 can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in around 4 seconds. Continue reading
All-new F-150 Limited. Too bad about the missing control modules.
The global semiconductor supply collapse has its teeth into Ford Motor, which is now building F-150 trucks and Edge SUVs in North America without some parts. These include electronic modules that contain scarce semiconductors.
Ford will build and hold them for a number of weeks, then ship them to dealers once the modules are available and quality checks are complete. Continue reading
Click to Enlarge.
During February 2021, new passenger car registrations in the European Union dropped by 19.3%, as COVID containment actions, a botched vaccination program and overall uncertainty continue to negatively affect demand of a key industry.
With 771,486 units registered across the EU region, according to ACEA, this marked the lowest February total on record since 2013. All four major EU markets recorded losses last month. Italy posted the smallest drop (-12.3%), while the other markets faced stronger deterioration: Germany (-19.0%), France (-20.9%) and Spain (-38.4%). Continue reading
Space technology at space exploration costs?
The California Energy Commission (CEC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) have released the first joint agency report and a summary document examining how the state’s electricity system can become carbon free by 2045.
The report is the initial analysis called for in Senate Bill 100 (SB 100, De León, Chapter 312, Statutes of 2018), the state’s policy requiring that renewable and zero-carbon energy resources supply 100% of electric retail sales to customers by 2045. The bill was signed into law in 2018 and calls for these resources to replace fossil fuels for generating electricity in the state. Continue reading
“The most cab-forward and space efficient” on the market?
Canoo Inc. (Nasdaq: GOEV), a firm developing purpose-built electric vehicles (EVs), showed its fully-electric pickup truck during the Motor Press Guild’s Virtual Media Day (VMD) in partnership with Automobility LA late last week. The production version of the pickup truck will receive pre-orders in Q2 2021, with deliveries beginning as early as 2023. With more than 350 employees from technology and automotive companies, Canoo says it has designed a modular electric platform purpose-built to deliver maximum vehicle interior space and adaptable to support a wide range of vehicle types and applications for consumers and businesses. The pickup truck is the third vehicle that will be based on the company’s proprietary multi-purpose platform architecture.
The larger story, perhaps, is the company, not the vehicle. Canoo is a Los Angeles-based company that has, arguably, pioneering technologies. Its business model drops traditional ownership and is a glimpse at the future of automobility that other companies are also pursuing. Canoo will not have a physical sales network. The company will offer its product directly to customers via subscription, not ownership. Continue reading
In a drunken flying incident, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration wants a $14,500 civil penalty against an airline passenger for allegedly interfering with flight attendants who instructed him to wear a face mask and stop consuming alcohol he had brought on board the aircraft. The incident occurred late last year on a jetBlue Airlines flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York to the Dominican Republic. The FAA says the passenger “crowded the traveler sitting next to him, spoke loudly, and refused to wear his face mask.” (Trump Legacy – FAA Adopts Stricter Unruly Passenger Policy)
A flight attendant warned the man that jetBlue’s policies required him to wear a face mask, and twice warned him that FAA regulations prohibit passengers from drinking alcohol they bring on board an aircraft. Despite these warnings, the passenger continued to remove his face mask and drink his own alcohol, the FAA alleges. Continue reading
Shrapnel is on the left side of this screen capture from NHTSA Takata testing. Click to Enlarge.
Late today, Ford Motor Company announced that it will proceed with safety recall for multiple vehicles with certain Takata driver-side front airbag inflators after NHTSA denied its petition of repeal earlier this year. In another unrelated safety defect recall, Ford is recalling Continental tires.
In the affected Takata vehicles, the driver-side front airbag inflators were installed as original equipment and contain a calcium sulfate desiccant, which differed in design from the earlier recalled Takata airbag inflators that spewed shrapnel into a vehicle’s interior. Continue reading
GM’s next-generation lithium metal batteries could enable higher range in a similarly sized pack or comparable range in a smaller pack.
General Motors President Mark Reuss announced a joint development agreement with lithium metal battery firm SolidEnergy Systems (sic) or SES. To accelerate Li-Metal battery commercialization, GM is working with several companies and making investments that will allow it to scale up to production quickly. GM’s lithium metal battery with a protected anode will have a combination of affordability, high performance and energy density, it’s claimed. The initial prototype batteries have completed 150,000 simulated test miles at research and development labs at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. This GM claims demonstrates real-world potential.
“Affordability and range are two major barriers to mass EV adoption,” said Reuss. “With this next-generation Ultium chemistry, we believe we’re on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation improvement in energy density and cost. There’s even more room to improve in both categories, and we intend to innovate faster than any other company in this space.” Reuss was speaking one year after the reveal of the first-generation Ultium Platform. Continue reading
During the pandemic lock-downs during 2020 many vehicle owners drove fewer miles and thereby extended service intervals. Nonetheless, dealer service visits are only down 6% from 2019 and overall satisfaction increased to 847 (on a 1,000-point scale) from 837 a year ago, according to the J.D. Power 2021 Customer Service Index (CSI) Study released today. Overall satisfaction also increased for a sixth consecutive year. However, EV owners are dissatisfied with service. Their overall service satisfaction is 69 points lower than the average customer and 76 points lower for service quality. Hmn. Continue reading
An auto company that plans to compete with, well, all other transitioning automakers to mobility companies. Click to Enlarge.
Volkswagen says it has now earmarked around €16 billion for investment in the future trends of e-mobility, hybridization and digitalization in a strategy that goes up to 2025. To be able to finance the sizable future investments required, it gave a presentation last week using a lot of EV hype. This was clearly designed to assure the financial markets. VW said it will systematically work on increasing its efficiency with ACCELERATE – its latest reorganization.* The targeted operating margin of at least 6% is expected to be achieved by 2023 and will be secured long term. Time and financial results will tell.
VW says it is becoming more resilient to fluctuations in the market that have pummeled it for the past couple of years. To achieve this, Volkswagen is seeking to trim its fixed costs by 5% before 2023, increase factory productivity by 5% per year, optimize material costs by 7% and bring all regions into the black in the long term. In South America and the United States, Volkswagen is trying to break even in the current fiscal year. The company says it can now post a profit in North America with a decrease in sales volumes of around 15% and in South America with sales volumes down by as much as 30%.
Its latest strategy says that ‘by turning the vehicle into a software-based product, Volkswagen is setting the scene for new, data-based business models aimed at lowering entry barriers to individual mobility while offering very attractive service packages for the customers. Volkswagen thus aims to generate additional revenue over the service life of the vehicle through charging and energy services, through software-based functions that customers can reserve as needed, or through automated driving.” Continue reading
Cash needed at Daimler and BMW? Two German companies their own interests? Inability to fit and manage the joint venture under future plans? Take your pick or picks. The timing seems odd.
BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG have agreed to sell their joint venture PARK NOW Group to EasyPark Group, subject to the usual regulatory and antitrust approvals. PARK NOW is the digital “find a parking spot” of the German carmakers’ YOUR NOW Joint Ventures – along with services for car sharing (SHARE NOW), ride hailing and trip planning (FREE NOW/REACH NOW), as well as charging (CHARGE NOW) in Europe and North and South America. PARK NOW operates under the brands RingGo, PARK NOW, Park-line and Parkmobile in 11 countries.
PARK NOW Group offers a digital services related to parking − both in car parks and on-street in more than 1,100 cities. Customers can reserve, book and pay for parking spaces online in advance via the app. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction. The timing is questionable given the headlong auto industry rush to survive and then thrive in the transformation to mobility companies. Continue reading
The failure of an ideology that doesn’t govern for the people?
The latest data from the US Census Bureau Pulse survey* show that Texas small businesses were disproportionately hurt by the winter storms of February. The first wave of data from Phase 4 of the Small Business Pulse Survey arrived on February 25th – clearly showing the significant impact recent winter storms had on Texas.
There were, however, no questions about their impact on Cancun Ted Cruz’s taxpayer-funded vacation that was widely documented in the media. Consider that while Pulse was designed to measure changing business conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, the SBPS also captures the impact of natural disasters on small business. The picture above documents the damage Texas Governments did to their own small businesses by letting big oil have its cheaper non-regulated way. Consider Houston – roughly 4,000 energy companies, are based there. A dozen of those companies are in the Fortune 500. Carbon fuel firms are like dinosaurs – doomed. The future is green energy supported by a national strategy and a national grid. Millions of jobs are at stake. Continue reading
Choctaw Nation was the first tribal government seen by the FAA as a Public Aircraft Operator.
The FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma today. It is partnering with the Choctaw Nation to study how Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) can best transport cargo, including parcels, at lower altitudes. This allows the Monroney Aeronautical Center to work with the Choctaw Nation to study human factors, supply chain management and air traffic control.
The parties will use virtual simulated urban environments for research. Another aim of the MOU is to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs for students seeking possible careers in aerospace. Continue reading
Catching up with Ram in the screen wars…
Ford Truck is adding an optional 12-inch touch screen plus cloud-connected SYNC 4 with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and navigation to a mildly tweaked 2022 F-Series Super Duty pickup scheduled to be on sale this summer. New colors are available inside and out.
Carrying over, so to speak, are what Ford claims is the highest available payload, and maximum conventional and fifth-wheel towing. AutoInformed guesstimates the price range won’t be best in the value class at, oh, $35,000 to $60,000. Continue reading
Hyundai, Shell to Expand Cooperation on Clean Energy
Hyundai Motor Company in Goyang, Korea has signed a five-year global business cooperation agreement with Royal Dutch Shell to increase clean energy projects. The deal, which runs through 2026, marks the fourth extension of the partnership that began in 2006, but this time with a different “focus on clean energy and carbon reduction in response to market changes.” Continue reading →