Good morning! It’s Monday, June 5, 2023 and that is The Morning Shift, your every day roundup of the highest automotive headlines from world wide, in a single place. Listed here are the necessary tales it’s worthwhile to know.
1st Gear: The Return Of The five hundred
Keep in mind the fanfare to which Fiat launched the final 500 to the States? For however one treasured, fleeting second, an automaker actively tried to market a small automobile to Individuals with intent to its design. You bought the sense that simply perhaps this nation didn’t hate small vehicles; we merely wanted any person to place within the effort once more. These hopes have been rapidly dashed, however Stellantis has been loath to surrender on the five hundred on these shores. As a result of it’s about to come back again — this time, as an EV solely. Automotive Information dove into Fiat North America’s efforts to reinvent itself across the new 500e this week:
The stage is ready for Aamir Ahmed, a former Fiat Chrysler Vehicles marketer appointed to go Fiat’s North American operations final month. Ahmed left FCA in 2017 to work for Harman Worldwide and Amazon. Ahmed succeeds Larry Dominique, who had been main Fiat along with his position as senior vice chairman for Alfa Romeo in North America.
There’s a troublesome job forward.
Though the model has been a significant participant globally, it hasn’t been capable of finding its footing within the U.S. market, the place it sells solely the 500X. Fiat bought simply 138 autos within the first quarter of 2023.
Regardless of Fiat’s rocky observe report since its 2011 return to the U.S., trade observers say the 500e might convey viability to the model as automakers transfer aggressively towards electrification. The 500e, in response to Fiat CEO Olivier Francois, is coming again to the U.S. to capitalize on the trade’s EV revolution.
138 vehicles in three months. Yikes. A reliable, reasonably priced EV with any advertising in any respect ought to smash that. Even Nissan moved 2,300 Leafs within the first quarter of this 12 months. Whereas the final 500e bought Stateside was very clearly a compliance automobile with a pitiful 84-mile vary, the brand new one has a WLTP vary of 200 miles. In EPA numbers, the brand new one ought to journey for about double its predecessor’s distance on a cost. Not fairly the Bolt, however not terrible.
At present, the European model of the 500e, known as the New 500, is amongst that continent’s top-selling EVs.
“If they might come to market with one thing very small and electrical and [with] higher vary, that’s the form of automobile that may flip some heads,” Ivan Drury, director of insights for Edmunds, instructed Automotive Information. “Proper now, the common ATP for an EV is $60K, and whereas [EVs are] pulling in loads of patrons and some huge cash, we all know there’s those who don’t need to spend that. They’re not trying to purchase a used one, both.”
We’ll see what occurs. With the Bolt gone, the entry-level EV house is about to get significantly worse but additionally extra aggressive for everybody else. I’d like to see the five hundred lastly flourish and actually declare that area for itself, however Stellantis can’t simply throw the little man on the market. It has to come back out swinging this time.
2nd Gear: Volvo On The Up
Volvo’s gross sales elevated 31 p.c in Could of 2023 versus the identical month final 12 months, good for 60,398 vehicles. Courtesy Reuters:
The 31% rise comes after a strained 2022, when the corporate, like different automakers, felt the consequences of persistent COVID-lockdowns in China, chip shortages and different provide constraints that hampered manufacturing.
As Volvo, majority-owned by China’s Geely, has begun recovering from 2022’s setbacks, gross sales figures have persistently been up for the previous few months.
Nonetheless, automakers’ worries usually are not but over as excessive prices linger. That pressured the corporate not too long ago to begin a cost-slashing effort that has seen 1,300 jobs being minimize.
It additionally introduced in Could that manufacturing of its totally electrical SUV was delayed till 2024.
Europe and China posted the most important good points, at 40 and 49 p.c respectively. Within the U.S., Volvo solely moved 15 p.c extra autos. The factor is, it’s not like Volvo is missing for American-friendly product. In reality, its lineup grew to become almost all-SUV so slowly, the world barely seen.
third Gear: VW Needs China Out Of Its EV Provide Chain
Each producer that primarily does enterprise in North America and Europe is shifting to focus its EV and battery manufacturing within the West, to capitalize on authorities incentives. Volkswagen’s new vitality subsidiary PowerCo (actually) is main the corporate’s efforts to make that occur. From The Wall Avenue Journal:
[VW board member and technology chief Thomas] Schmall and PowerCo chief Frank Blome have traveled the world to safe sources. They’ve met authorities officers and mining operators from Canada, South America, Indonesia and Australia. There are massive deposits of lithium in South America, the place Chile in April stated it will nationalize the nation’s lithium trade to keep up management of the useful resource. Mexico has additionally taken steps to nationalize lithium deposits.
Schmall stated VW has spoken to plenty of lithium suppliers in South America.
One of many lithium producers that VW has been chatting with, in response to folks accustomed to the matter, is Sigma Lithium, a Nasdaq-listed Canadian mining firm with operations in Brazil that has begun mining laborious rock lithium, which consultants say is much less environmentally damaging than different strategies of extraction.
In March, PowerCo stated it will construct its largest deliberate battery manufacturing facility so far in St. Thomas, Ontario, which is close to deposits of lithium, nickel and cobalt. Schmall stated one other issue for selecting the positioning was a commerce settlement between the EU and Canada that will allow VW to export battery supplies or cells from Canada to Europe in a pinch.
That is actually a continuation of Volkswagen doing what Volkswagen has at all times finished: advertising itself as a purveyor of inexperienced mobility, when the one purpose it ever began was as a result of some authorities pressured it to.
4th Gear: Tiny Lexus
Lexus has a brand new subcompact SUV for Europe and Asia, primarily based on the good-looking Yaris Cross that we additionally don’t get right here. It’s known as the Lexus LBX, and its total goal is to money in on the section dominated by the likes of the Mini Countryman and Audi Q2. That’s, to say, be small however not look small, as a result of trying small is loss of life these days. From Automotive Information:
We failed miserably on the primary run,” admits Simon Humphries, who as chief branding officer at Lexus dad or mum Toyota Motor. He oversees design for the Lexus and Toyota manufacturers.
He stated that when executives gathered to assessment the primary full-size LBX design proposal, “it dawned on us … we had fallen into the lure of creating a small automobile with small automobile proportions,” he stated.
The undertaking went again to the drafting board, with in depth engineering work on the platform. Consequently the wheelbase was prolonged by 20 mm in contrast with the Yaris Cross however its overhangs have been lowered to maintain its size at 4190 mm.
“The large tires, the broad shoulders, the ratio between the physique and cabin are calculated to provide the automobile an air of confidence and energy properly above its dimensions,” Humphries stated.
The Audi Q2 is form of lovely, insofar because it appears like a Q3 that’s been smashed on the entrance and rear in equal proportion. The Mini Countryman is, in fact, a Mini. The thought of a small Lexus is unusual for some purpose and the title might definitely use some work. It’ll even be fairly gradual. There shall be two powertrains: a 136-horsepower three-cylinder and a hybrid model of that, with 0-60 mph instances simply north of 9 seconds.
fifth Gear: Toyota Received’t Give Up Hydrogen
Toyota will accompany the shockingly svelte Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell sedan with a hydrogen-powered model of the Crown sedan. That’s to not be confused with the Crown crossover that the corporate simply began providing in North America, which continues to be the one Crown you should buy right here. Take it away one final time, Auto Information:
Toyota hopes the Crown will assist propel its worldwide gasoline cell automobile gross sales to eight,000 models within the present fiscal 12 months ending March 31, 2024, from 3,440 the fiscal 12 months earlier than.
Gasoline cell gross sales are rising from a tiny base and nonetheless have meager numbers. Toyota’s full electrical automobile gross sales, in contrast, are anticipated to rise greater than fivefold to 202,000 this fiscal 12 months.
In a briefing about Toyota’s drivetrain technique in April, Govt Vice President Hiroki Nakajima stated the corporate sees mass manufacturing of gasoline cells being pushed by business autos.
“The vitality supply, hydrogen, is light-weight, so even when touring longer distances the automobile just isn’t as heavy as a battery EV, and fewer house is required,” Nakajima stated. “Refueling can also be a lot faster. Profiting from these strengths, we’ll work with enterprise operators to advertise FCEVs by beginning with business autos corresponding to medium- to heavy-duty vans.”
Gasoline cell expertise was one key thrust of Toyota’s determination final week to agree with Daimler Truck on combining their business truck subsidiaries, Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso.
For as a lot as Toyota pushes hydrogen significantly in its house market, North America is definitely the corporate’s largest territory for such autos. Toyota moved almost 4,000 Mirais world wide final 12 months, and greater than half of these gross sales hailed from North America. That stated, it nonetheless hasn’t been confirmed whether or not we’ll get this model of the Crown, not to mention any Crown sedan in any respect. You’d determine the corporate gained’t attain its self-imposed goal for FCV gross sales with out American participation.
Reverse: A Messy, British Divorce
On this present day in 1998 — 25 years in the past — Volkswagen didn’t know precisely what it purchased. See, the German automaker acquired Rolls-Royce Motor Automobiles, however critically that entity didn’t embody the Rolls-Royce model. The latter went to BMW, and so Volkswagen’s newly-acquired luxurious automobile division ended up being folded into Bentley. From a CNN story dated June 5, 1998:
Vickers PLC shareholders overwhelmingly voiced their assist Friday to promote its Rolls-Royce Motor Automobiles Ltd. to Volkswagen AG for 430 million kilos ($700 million).
The London-based industrial concern stated the official depend was 5.1 million for the Volkswagen bid and 109,000 in opposition to.
Vickers stated Volkswagen gives a dad or mum for the British luxurious automobile maker with the engineering functionality, sources, model experience and world attain to match Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG, whose rival bid of 340 million was rejected.
However Rolls-Royce PLC — a separate firm that makes jet engines and controls the model title and brand — has made it clear it will fairly see the automaker go to BMW, which occurs to be its companion in a jet engine enterprise.
Rolls-Royce PLC hasn’t stated whether or not it is going to negotiate with Volkswagen or attempt to block its use of the model title. Requested about that, Vickers Chairman Sir Colin Chandler insisted {that a} 25-year-old contract that will let Rolls-Royce PLC veto the acquisition of Rolls-Royce Motor Automobiles Ltd. by a international purchaser is legally unenforceable.
“The trademark can’t go anyplace else,” Chandler stated. “We solely personal the radiator, the flying girl and Bentley.”
Impartial: Fiat’s Probabilities
To these of you who’ve lived with or shopped round for tiny EVs earlier than, just like the Bolt, BMW i3, and many others., I supply a query: Would you welcome the 500e with open arms? I’d, however would actually clinch it for me is the three+1 model with its rear-hinged half doorways. We’d like extra rear-hinged doorways on this world. Additionally, an Abarth model wouldn’t harm.