Delphi Technologies reports fourth quarter and full year 2018 financial results, provides full year 2019 outlook

LONDON, Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Delphi Technologies PLC (NYSE: DLPH) (“Delphi Technologies” or the “Company”), a global leader in vehicle propulsion, today reported fourth quarter 2018 U.S. GAAP earnings of $1.52 per diluted share. Excluding special items, fourth quarter earnings totaled $1.06 per diluted share. The Company also reported revenue of $1.2 billion for the… Continue reading Delphi Technologies reports fourth quarter and full year 2018 financial results, provides full year 2019 outlook

Argonne develops lighter, cheaper, more efficient motor for EVs, charging

Wind farm outside Fort MacLeod, Alberta, Canada [photographer: Joel Bennett]
Saving weight and increasing efficiency and power are among the most common goals for electric-car engineers. The biggest breakthroughs in those specs generally come in batteries. But it's not the only place.

Now scientists at Argonne National Labs have developed a lighter, cheaper, and more efficient motor, called HyMag, that can give equivalent gains and could also be applied to renewable energy generation.

CHECK OUT: Wind and solar cost less than coal for power

The HyMag motor adds “enhancing layers” to the structure of the materials that make up a permanent magnet motor to improve its magnetic flux density. What's more, the scientists can vary the structure and materials to maximize efficiency for different applications, such as electric cars or wind turbines. (HyMag can work either as a motor or a generator.)

The scientists say their new material design can improve flux density by 10 to 30 percent compared with conventional permanent magnet motors. That could give electric cars more range without bigger batteries.

HyMag Motor design from Argonne National Lab

Depending on the application, HyMag motors can require 90 percent fewer rare-earth materials, which can help bring down costs, Argonne says.

“In the past 15 to 20 years, the increase in magnet energy product reached a plateau due to lack of material solution,” said Yuepeng Zhang, one of the Argonne scientists who invented the HyMag motor.

READ THIS: Report: Battery production could offset emissions gains from electric cars

“You have to have higher flux density in order to have more efficiency,” added Argonne group leader of Nanomaterials, Devices, and Systems Kaizhong Gao, co-inventor of the motor. “This additional efficiency will translate into either more energy produced, or you will have less loss.”

The greater efficiency can have compound benefits. In addition to fewer materials, the motors can be lighter for the same amount of power, further reducing materials and cost. The lighter motors can also require smaller housings, saving even more weight and cost. In a statement announcing the HyMag motors Argonne notes that this could allow bigger wind turbines that can run in higher winds to produce more power.

In 2018, Groupe PSA contributed nearly €5 billion to France’s trade balance

Nearly €5 billion automobile trade surplus Surplus of 362,000 vehicles exported 14 Peugeot, Citroën and DS vehicles earn “Guaranteed French Origin” label Groupe PSA is a key contributor to France’s trade balance in 2018, with a surplus of €4.9 billion[1]. The five vehicle assembly plants produced 1.2 million vehicles, an increase of 6.4% on 2017,… Continue reading In 2018, Groupe PSA contributed nearly €5 billion to France’s trade balance

Interview with Bram Schot: Audi CEO plans radical austerity program: “We have too many executives on board”

Audi boss Bram Schot The new CEO Bram Schot plans a drastic austerity program at Audi. (Photo: AUDI AG) Ingolstadt If the AudiSupervisory Board meets on Thursday, then the management report for 2018 will probably be sobering. In the third year of the diesel crisis, sales are declining, yield in the basement, and the prospects… Continue reading Interview with Bram Schot: Audi CEO plans radical austerity program: “We have too many executives on board”

Elon Musk: Full Self-Driving Teslas This Year, “Unequivocal” Tesla Autopilot Improves Safety

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on February 20th, 2019 | by Steve Hanley
Elon Musk: Full Self-Driving Teslas This Year, “Unequivocal” Tesla Autopilot Improves SafetyTwitterLinkedInFacebookFebruary 20th, 2019 by Steve Hanley

Credit: ARK Invest via Twitter
Elon Musk sat down with Tasha Keeney and Cathie Wood of ARK Invest February 19 for a podcast session that focused primarily on Tesla’s Autopilot technology and when Musk sees it being capable of driving cars with no human interaction.
ARK Invest is a financial management company whose stated mission is identifying “disruptive innovation in the public markets,” according to its website. “We research a global universe that spans sectors and market capitalizations to offer investment solutions with low correlation to traditional index-based strategies, because we believe innovation is key to growth.” Currently, about 8% of ARK’s portfolio is invested in Tesla. The group’s target price for the stock in the long term is a highly aggressive $4,000 per share.
“I think we will be feature complete — full self-driving — this year,” Musk said in the podcast interview. “Meaning the car will be able to find you in a parking lot, pick you up, and take you all the way to your destination without an intervention, this year. I would say I am certain of that. That is not a question mark. However, people sometimes will extrapolate that to mean now it works with 100 percent certainty, requires no observation, perfectly. This is not the case.”

In other words, he is talking about Level 4 autonomy not Level 5, which presupposes that the car can do everything a human driver can do under all conditions. That goal is still a few years away, Musk suggests, and depends on certain factors over which Tesla has no direct control, such as state and federal regulators. “My guess as to when we would think it is safe for somebody to essentially fall asleep and wake up at their destination? Probably towards the end of next year. That is when I think it would be safe enough for that.”
Autonomous cars are the holy grail for most automakers today, as well as Waymo, the self-driving arm of Google (er, Alphabet). What makes Tesla so sure it is able to keep up with all those heavy hitters? “The reason Tesla is making rapid progress is because we have vastly more data, and this is increasing exponentially.” As each new Tesla hits the road, its onboard computer begins sending streams of data back to Tesla, where engineers can use it to verify the functionality of Autopilot and compare upgrades that are in the works with real-world experience.
Musk has stated repeatedly that Autopilot is already safer than a human driver and will only get better over time. “No matter how you slice the data, it is unequivocal at this point that it’s safer to have autopilot on.” Finally, Musk told Tasha and Cathi, “People think sometimes that I’m like a business person or finance person, or something like that. I’m an engineer. I do engineering, always have.” Seems to be working out reasonably well for him so far.

About the AuthorSteve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. His motto is, “Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away!” You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

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Renault’s outlook cut to ‘negative’ by rating agency Standard & Poor’s

FILE PHOTO – The logo of French car manufacturer Renault is seen at a dealership of the company in Illkirch-Graffenstaden near Strasbourg, France, January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) – Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook on carmaker Renault to “negative” from “stable”, citing broader challenges within the automotive sector… Continue reading Renault’s outlook cut to ‘negative’ by rating agency Standard & Poor’s

Volvo Cars raises $215 million in bond issue months after failed IPO

FILE PHOTO: A Volvo S60 is displayed during the inauguration of Volvo Cars first U.S. production plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, U.S., June 20, 2018. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s Volvo Cars has raised some 2 billion Swedish crowns ($215 million) in a bond issue just five months after the Chinese-owned carmaker terminated… Continue reading Volvo Cars raises $215 million in bond issue months after failed IPO

UPDATE 3-Garmin shares surge 15 pct as new direction fuels strong forecast

(Reuters) – Garmin Ltd on Wednesday forecast full-year revenue and profit above expectations along with strong fourth-quarter results, sending its shares up 15 percent to their highest in more than a decade. A Garmin GPS watch is shown on a display at a store in Encinitas, California, U.S., October 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake The company bounced… Continue reading UPDATE 3-Garmin shares surge 15 pct as new direction fuels strong forecast

Ford Exits Heavy Truck Business in South America; Key Milestone in Global Redesign of Company

Confirms exit from heavy commercial truck business as a key step toward returning its South America operations to sustainable profitability Ford remains committed to South America with a lean and agile business model, strengthened product offerings, and global partnerships Ford expects to record pre-tax special item charges of about $460 million as a result of… Continue reading Ford Exits Heavy Truck Business in South America; Key Milestone in Global Redesign of Company

Bill Gates calls Tesla “an amazing product,” doesn’t see electric trucks working quite yet

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Bill Gates
Electric cars may be seen by some as part of a seemingly unstoppable, powerful technological wave that will disrupt not just the auto industry but most other forms of transportation.

Don’t count on Bill Gates as one of those bright-eyed EV cheerleaders; on the other hand, don’t dismiss him as someone who doesn’t want to see transportation remade in a dramatically carbon-reduced form.

DON’T MISS: Iron Man 2 reunion: Musk friend Larry Ellison named to Tesla board

Gates, who was recently interviewed by tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, takes (as on many things) a pragmatic view with respect to how battery-electric tech will transform transportation. The Microsoft co-founder, turned humanitarian and philanthropist, called Tesla “an amazing product,” and noted that while it’s catching on it’s still a very small percentage of the market—and the loss of the $7,500 federal tax credit is making it tougher.

He sees other automakers getting more involved because of the California regulations that cover a significant portion of the U.S., and says that “there’ll be a lot of really great electric cars to choose from.”

The video didn’t feature Gates’ answer to Brownlee’s question about whether he had gone electric or not.

Freightliner eCascadia electric semi-truck

While electric power may soon catch on for cars, Gates prognosticates that trucks may be more of a reach: “Eventually batteries might work for a truck, but it’s a far more difficult problem because the weight is a lot higher there.”

CHECK OUT: Bill Gates Backs EcoMotors’ New OPOC Engine With $23.5 Million Investment

For the transportation sector as a whole, he pointed to the wide range of innovations we’re going to need. And he refers to an essential relationship that we often note here at Green Car Reports—that electric vehicles are only as clean as the energy source used to generate the electricity used to charge them.

The electricity grid remains dramatically different regionally in the U.S., but on a national basis, according to data updated by the Union of Concerned Scientists last year, the average electric car now produces the equivalent greenhouse-gas emissions to a gasoline vehicle that achieves 80 mpg. Further, 75 percent of Americans now live in areas where the average EV has lower carbon dioxide emissions than a gas car that gets 50 mpg—although in some regions the other “criteria emissions,” from coal plants in particular, continue to be an issue.

READ MORE: From Apple To Tesla: Woz Follows The Trend, Buys Model S

A report last year from Bloomberg New Energy Finance projected that 50 percent of new cars, worldwide, would be electric, and that renewable solar and wind will generate half of the world’s electricity by 2050—enabled by more affordable batteries and energy storage. BNEF anticipated that the share of renewable sources will be higher in China and India than in the U.S.

That won’t be enough to meet global climate targets. But with some help from big-picture innovators and problem-solvers like Gates, we might get a lot closer.