Tag: Electric vehicles

Car manufacturer: VW finds software board in its own ranks

VW As head of the e-Mobility series, Senger has been responsible since 2016 for the development of the modular electrical construction kit MEB, on which the new electric cars of the ID family are based. (Photo: AP) HamburgVolkswagen According to an insider, a candidate for the announced board position for auto software has been found.… Continue reading Car manufacturer: VW finds software board in its own ranks

Ford executive raises doubts about VW deal for electric vehicles

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Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company Executive Vice President and President of Global Markets, reveals the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 at the 2019 North American International Auto Show during Media preview days on January 14, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan.

Ford and Volkswagen appear increasingly unlikely to pull together a deal to work together on battery-electric vehicles, a senior executive with the Detroit automaker said this week.

The two companies announced plans last month to team up on the development of light commercial vehicles and confirmed that other projects were under consideration. It has been widely reported that a key focus was on battery-electric vehicles, a move that could help Ford and VW save billions of dollars by sharing R&D efforts.

But their programs are out of sync, “almost like snowboarding and skiing,” Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets, said Monday during a taping of the local TV show “Autoline Detroit.”

Automakers around the world have begun looking for ways to partner with erstwhile rivals in order to address an increasingly challenging environment. Many of these alliances focus on the development of new technologies, such as electrification and autonomous driving, areas in which Ford and Volkswagen aim to take a lead.

But the two carmakers are taking markedly different approaches with their electrification programs, said Stephanie Brinley, principal auto analyst with IHS Markit and a participant in the “Autoline” panel discussion.

“They have two very different strategies,” Brinley said, and the “timing issues that just won't mesh.”

America is falling back in love with trucks and SUVs, and that's causing big changes at big car companies
10:38 AM ET Tue, 5 Feb 2019 | 04:45

VW has committed over $50 billion to develop more than 50 pure battery-electric vehicles by 2025. They would be sold through the German automaker's dozen passenger car brands, including Porsche and Audi, as well as the flagship Volkswagen marque.

But the majority of the products will target mainstream markets using a high-volume vehicle platform known as the MEB. “This is meant to be a car for the millions, not millionaires,” Matthew Renna, vice president of e-Mobility for Volkswagen's North American Region, said during a media briefing last week at the Chicago Auto Show.

Ford was itself an early proponent of electrification but initially focused on hybrids, plug-in hybrids and relatively short-range battery-electric vehicles. It now plans to introduce its first long-range model in 2020, and then expand its lineup over the course of the coming decade.

While VW is primarily targeting low-cost, passenger car segments with its battery-car program, “Ford's bet is on commercial vehicles and performance vehicles,” said Farley.

There is still the possibility they could eventually find common ground, “if we could find platforms where it makes sense,” said Farley, but, at least for now, “we're in different timing.”

VW declined to comment about Farley's remarks.

Morgan Stanley: Why GM and Amazon may be investing in ‘the next Tesla’

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A person places items into the front trunk cargo area of the Rivian Automotive Inc R1T electric pickup truck during a demonstration at a reveal event at AutoMobility LA ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show.

General Motors and Amazon are reportedly in talks to invest in Detroit startup Rivian Automotive and that indicates a massive shift in the “next and potentially imminent” electric vehicle market of pickup trucks, Morgan Stanley said on Wednesday.

“The highly lucrative and US-dominated pickup truck market” is “an important area of investor focus” due to the “culmination of battery cost reduction, architecture, duty cycle, and price point,” Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said. Jonas earned a wide following on Wall Street due to his early calls on Tesla and the rise of electric vehicles.

Morgan Stanley featured Rivian earlier this week as the “next serious competition” for Tesla. The startup's “clean sheet” approach could make it “the next Tesla,” Jonas said.

“We have focused considerable research effort on the theme of electric pickup trucks in recent days,” Jonas said. Rivian emerged as the firm's top pick to challenge Tesla in the coming years, due to Rivian's “access to talent & capital focused on the fastest growing segments of pickup trucks & SUVs,” he said.

America is falling back in love with trucks and SUVs, and that's causing big changes at big car companies
10:38 AM ET Tue, 5 Feb 2019 | 04:45

Rivian previewed its R1T electric truck prototype in November. Rivian CEO R.C. Scaringe said the R1T will deliver 400 miles of range, with four individual motors allowing for all-wheel-drive. The R1T will be able to hit 60 miles per hour in 3 seconds and tow up to 11,000 pounds. Rivian is also building the R1S, an electric seven-passenger SUV. Rivian says the R1S will also have a range of over 400 miles.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
RJ Scaringe, founder and chief executive officer of Rivian Automotive, speaks after unveiling the R1S electric sports utility vehicle (SUV).

The Amazon and GM deal would value Rivian between $1 billion and $2 billion, according to Reuters on Tuesday.

Morgan Stanley believes Amazon's involvement represents the e-commerce giant seizing the opportunity to use its own technology “to shape electric delivery vehicles to support its own logistics efforts,” the firm said.

“Amazon has spent the last few years building out and expanding its logistics network and recently invested in autonomous driving startup Aurora,” Jonas said.

As for GM's involvement, Morgan Stanley pointed to comments from GM CEO Mary Barra on electric pickup trucks. Barra said GM believes “in an all-EV future,” while GMC VP Duncan Aldred said an electric pickup truck is “certainly” an opportunity the company is considering.

In full, Morgan Stanley is very bullish on the future of electric pickup trucks.

“EV powertrains have yet to be applied to the most profitable segments where established US automakers generate profit and cash flow,” Jonas said. “We estimate the full sized pickup truck segment accounts for well over 100% of global auto profit for GM and Ford and the majority of [Fiat Chrysler]'s global profit.”

T esla's pickup truck plans

Tesla may unveil an electric pickup truck this summer, CEO Elon Musk said during the company's fourth-quarter conference call. In December, Musk talked extensively on Twitter about what he would like to include in a pickup truck design, including all-wheel drive with “crazy torque & a suspension that dynamically adjusts for load.”

The buzz Jonas has seen about Tesla's pickup truck “suggests there may be greater excitement around the” pickup than for Tesla's anticipated Model Y. Based on the luxury Model X SUV, the Model Y is an “entry-level” crossover that would be comparable in price to Tesla's Model 3.

Elon Musk plans a truck he says looks like something out of 'Blade Runner'
3:05 PM ET Fri, 2 Nov 2018 | 01:11

Claim that Tesla’s crash rate dropped with Autopilot contested, Tesla responds

NHTSA released a report two years ago claiming that Tesla‘s vehicle crash rate dropped by 40% after the introduction of Autopilot. Now a strange report is contesting the claim following a FOIA (freedom of information act) lawsuit to release the data, but Tesla defended the claim in a statement. Tesla Autopilot Crash Rate Claim It… Continue reading Claim that Tesla’s crash rate dropped with Autopilot contested, Tesla responds

BMW Group global sales increase in January

Munich. The BMW Group has started 2019 with a positive sales result: global deliveries of the company’s three premium automotive brands increased by 0.5% in January, with a total of 170,463 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce cars delivered to customers. This is the company’s strongest-ever start to a year, achieved despite the current headwinds affecting the… Continue reading BMW Group global sales increase in January

Japanese self-drive cars map developer to acquire US rival Ushr

February 13, 2019 Japanese map platform developer Dynamic Map Platform plans to acquire Detroit-based Ushr for nearly 20 billion yen ($181.1 million) in a bid to cement a stronger position in the burgeoning self driving cars market, the Nikkei newspaper said. Dynamic Map Platform would acquire U.S. map startup Ushr as it seeks a stronger… Continue reading Japanese self-drive cars map developer to acquire US rival Ushr

Electric car production racing ahead of car buyers’ desires – The Irish Times

Car makers could be looking down the barrel of massive oversupply of electric vehicles in the market. According to a new report from Deloitte, a “significant expectation gap” is growing between the production ramp-up of electric vehicles by the world’s major car makers, and the actual serious sales prospects for those vehicles. The report says… Continue reading Electric car production racing ahead of car buyers’ desires – The Irish Times

Why Ford Hired a Furniture Maker as CEO – The Atlantic

Todd St. John If, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “an institution is the lengthened shadow of one man,” the story of the American economy can be told by the types of people who run its corporations. The early days of mass production belonged to mechanically minded men such as Henry Ford. The creation of mass… Continue reading Why Ford Hired a Furniture Maker as CEO – The Atlantic