Automotive industry New teams and sponsors take heart as number of spectators more than doubles in a year Briton Alex Lynn races the Jaguar I-Type 3 in the Formula E Championship race in Paris this year. Photograph: Handout/Getty Images Formula E, the electric-powered racing series, has revealed that its pretax loss widened by 26.7% to… Continue reading Formula E losses reach £140m as green racing attracts fresh interest
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Jaguar CEO Points To Battery Supply For Slow I-Pace Sales
JLR head says EV take rates will also depend on prices before they’re widely accepted While the Jaguar I-Pace has garnered a lot of attention from critics and awards, it hasn’t been exactly tearing up sales charts in many markets. But the CEO of its parent company said in a recent interview he isn’t worried… Continue reading Jaguar CEO Points To Battery Supply For Slow I-Pace Sales
GM joins Tesla, Ford in building EV pickups — but Texas ranchers don’t want a ‘playboy’s truck’
Rivian EV Pickup Truck.Adam Jeffery | CNBCGeneral Motors, the nation's largest automaker, is joining Ford, Tesla and start-up Rivian in adding an all-electric pickup to its portfolio.
But Detroit's Big Three and their challengers may have a hard time persuading the ranchers, roughnecks and handymen who make up a lot of their core clientele to trade in their diesel duallys for a battery-powered 4X4 pickup.
Arguably, the most critical question, said Sam Abuelsamid, a senior automotive tech analyst with Navigant Research, is “whether there's a market for an all-electric truck.”
GM CEO Mary Barra didn't offer any details about the pickup, but said GM “will not cede our leadership” in the pickup segment, leading to widespread speculation about what GM is developing and when it will come to market.
Slow to catch onConsidering the heavy use that many buyers subject their pickups to, that's no easy question.
Electric vehicles, in general, have been slow to catch on with American car buyers. While sales of all plug-based vehicles — including all-electric and plug-in hybrid models — jumped from 195,226 in 2017 to 360,353 last year, according to industry data, that was still less than 2% of the overall new vehicle market. And pure battery-electric vehicles alone generated barely half of that total.
The vast bulk of the market is currently made up of a single vehicle, the Tesla Model 3 sedan. But manufacturers hope to spur growth with the addition of new products as diverse as the Audi e-tron SUV, the Porsche Taycan sports car and the Jaguar I-Pace crossover that was named World Car of the Year at the New York International Auto Show last month.
Tesla pickupNow, manufacturers want to add all-electric pickups to the option list. Tesla has been hinting at its plans for a truck for several years, and CEO Elon Musk is promising to reveal more in the coming months. Detroit-based Rivian got a leg up on Tesla and other competitors by unveiling its own battery model, the R1T, at the Los Angeles auto show last November. Ford, which is investing $500 million in Rivian, has confirmed it is working up what is expected to be an all-electric version of its best-selling F-150.
Abuelsamid is one of those speculating about what GM might have in store. While a battery-based version of the big Chevrolet Silverado seems likely, he said the automaker could deliver a surprise. By opting for a midsize model, along the lines of the smaller Chevy Colorado, said Abuelsamid, it “would give them a chance to have a unique product in the market because everyone is focusing on full-size trucks.”
What is all but certain, however, is that GM — and Ford and Tesla, for that matter — will have to echo Rivian's lead, delivering a vehicle that boasts plenty of horsepower and stump-pulling torque with great range and significant levels of towing and cargo capacity. The start-up's R1T will make “close to” 800 horsepower, CEO RJ Scaringe said in Los Angeles, enough to hit 60 mph in 3 seconds. Its roughly 1,000 pound-feet of torque will let it haul a trailer of up to 11,000 pounds, and it is expected to get up to 400 miles on a 180 kilowatt-hour battery pack.
Rivian R1T electric pickup truckSource: Rivian'Playboy's truck'Those are the sort of numbers that would seem to play well with classic pickup users such as rancher Frank Helvey, who raises cattle and is active in the livestock auction community near Pearsall, Texas.
“I wouldn't buy one at all. It wouldn't make sense for me. It sounds like a playboy's truck, instead of a work truck,” he said in an interview.
In Texas, where everything is bigger, the truck market is no exception.
The Lone Star state is home to the Dallas Cowboys, the world's best barbecue and the biggest truck market in the U.S. Texas buyers account for 15.7% of the nation's half-ton pickup market, according to Stephanie Brinley, principle auto analyst at IHS Markit. That means one out of every six half-ton pickups — like the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado and Ram 1500 — are sold in Texas.
Jeff Williams, another Texas rancher, said the technology interests him, “especially if they can make an electric that has the same power and range as a one-ton diesel.” But he remains skeptical of Rivian's claims and the promises made by other automakers that their electric pickups will offer capabilities matching their gas and diesel models.
Williams operates two farms and six ranches in what he called “far West Texas,” 275 miles from El Paso and even further from San Antonio. So, for him, the two critical challenges are range and charging. And out in his part of the Lone Star State there are few public chargers, especially the high-speed ones he'd need access to when hauling his livestock to market.
City dwellers “The other issue, out in the remote area where I live, is access to a mechanic,” Williams added. He employs a mechanic who can handle his diesel and gas trucks, but if an all-electric model “breaks down, what do I do?”
For his part, rancher Helvey says he does expect there'll be a market for all-electric trucks “for city dwellers and weekend warriors.”
But even some of the folks that might fall into those categories remain skeptical.
“I like the idea” of a battery-powered truck,” said Jennifer Stevenson, an emergency room physician at a suburban Detroit hospital and an owner of a new Ford F-150 Lariat. And while she rarely hauls much cargo or tows a trailer, Stevenson and her fiancé take frequent trips in remote places, such as Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and “I don't want to have to worry about finding a place to plug in.”
So, if ranch owners and weekend warriors remain skeptical, who might be ready to plug in with an all-electric pickup? The most likely target is fleet owners, said Brendan Jones, the chief operating officer of Electrify America. That's the company funded by $2 billion out of Volkswagen's settlement of its diesel emissions scandal, and it is spending most of that money to set up a nationwide network of EV chargers.
Workhorse W-15 Electric Pickup Truck.Source: WorkhorseElectrify AmericaFleet owners “know how and where they use their trucks” and whether they can deliver on their daily needs, both in terms of payload capacity and range, said Jones, during a conversation at Electrify America's headquarters outside Washington, D.C. They may also find the lower operating costs and reduced maintenance that battery-electric vehicles require attractive.
Jones pointed to the fact that a number of fleets are already moving to larger commercial trucks, or at least testing them out. That includes delivery services such as UPS and FedEx. Amazon has also teamed up with Rivian, leading a consortium that will pump $700 million into the start-up. While the online retailer hasn't said what it has in mind, it has been widely speculated it wants to launch a fleet of battery-powered delivery trucks.
Fleets have the advantage of not only knowing their daily needs but also the ability to set up their own charging systems. For work-oriented vehicles such as pickups to gain traction with retail customers, said Jones, “You're not going to see (that happen) until you have an infrastructure.” And that's something Electrify America and competitors such as EVgo and ChargePoint hope to put in place over the coming decade.
Paul Eisenstein is a freelancer for CNBC. His quotes from Electrify America COO Brendan Jones came from an interview in Washington, D.C., where the company paid for Eisenstein's travel and accommodations.
Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Norway Down Due To PHEVs In April
720 Tesla Model 3 sold in April keeps Tesla in charge as the #1 brand after the first four months of 2019. Plug-in electric car sales in Norway decreased a little bit in April, but it’s all because the plug-in hybrids dropped, as the all-electric are doing well. In total, some 5,596 new passenger plug-ins… Continue reading Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Norway Down Due To PHEVs In April
Part Of Sweden’s Saab Lives On In Jaguar I-Pace Electric – InsideEVs
In the bankruptcy ashes of the long-suffering Swedish car brand rose the electric part Jaguar needed. About a year after General Motors unloaded Saab to the tiny Spyker Cars consortium in 2010, the company showed the PhoeniX concept car. A preview of a replacement for the 9-3 line, the PhoeniX had some ideas that were… Continue reading Part Of Sweden’s Saab Lives On In Jaguar I-Pace Electric – InsideEVs
Pendragon to sell two JLR dealerships in California for £60m
Pendragon has struck deals to sell off two Jaguar Land Rover dealerships in California for £60m as part of its strategy announced two years to pull out of the US. The group has sold Mission Viejo to Lithia Motors for £29m in cash and Newport Beach for £31m. Lithia Auto had previously bought Pendragon’s Aston… Continue reading Pendragon to sell two JLR dealerships in California for £60m
Audi E-tron electric SUV gets discounts just as it goes on sale
2019 Audi e-tron first drive – Abu Dhabi UAE, December 2018
Just as the 2019 E-tron SUV starts arriving at dealerships, Audi is already offering big discounts on them.
The biggest incentive so far is 1.9 percent financing on the E-tron for up to 66 months, which is significantly cheaper than most other models in Audi's lineup, according to our partners at CarsDirect.com. The similar-sized, gas-powered Q5 SUV only qualifies for a 3.99 percent annual percentage rate for the same 5.5 years, which is more typical in Audi's lineup.
On top of that, current Audi owners of 2009 models or newer can already receive a $750 owner-loyalty discount.
DON'T MISS: 2019 Audi E-tron first drive: Redrawing the electric-vehicle boundaries
It is unusual for any automaker to offer big discounts on a brand new model. More often, automakers have to offer increasing discounts after a model has been on the market a few years and rival automakers have introduced newer competition.
The E-tron, which stickers for a base price of $75,795 including destination, is saddled with a 204-mile range between charges, while older and cheaper competitors such as the Jaguar I-Pace and Hyundai Kona Electric have between 230 and 260 miles of range. Tesla last week upgraded its competitive Model X SUV to include a minimum of 250 miles and up to 325 miles of range.
READ THIS: 2019 Audi E-tron EPA range revealed: Nothing to brag about, but aiming for the real world?
To offset that shortfall, Audi says the E-tron offers faster charging, up to 150 kilowatts, which can restore up to 160 miles of range in about 20 minutes. But relatively few public fast chargers are available yet that can provide that much power.
Lease rates for the E-tron are not as attractive as the sales incentives. Audi hasn't revealed complete lease terms, including monthly payments. The money factor of 0.0023, however, equates to 5.5 percent annual interest. Lower trim models, which have not yet arrived at dealerships, are likely to be significantly more attractive to lease, with higher residuals as well as lower prices.
Meanwhile, Jaguar is offering 0 percent financing on the I-Pace.
Continental’s powertrain business now Vitesco Technologies; partial IPO planned for the 2H 2019
Continental’s powertrain business now Vitesco Technologies; partial IPO planned for the 2H 2019
Vitesco Technologies: Distinct focus on electric drives together with further optimization of internal combustion engines aimed at halving CO2 emissions by 2030
REGENSBURG, 1-May-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Continental has just announced that its powertrain business has become an independent entity and will trade under the name of “Vitesco Technologies” as the introduction of the new name is scheduled to happen during the second half of 2019. The unit is the first part of the group that has completed its realignment. The new entity’s management team has fully been assembled and is in place since April 1, 2019.
Establishing its powertrain activities as an independent group of legal entities is part of Continental’s far-reaching organizational realignment in response to the profound changes in the automotive industry. Furthermore, rapid changes that are expected to occur in the powertrain industry over the next few years have also played their role into the move of having the powertrain unit transformed. Government targets for emission limits will largely determine the way the powertrain market evolves ahead.
The reorganisation of the division has taken place as planned at the start of 2019. The new company’s management team, led by Andreas Wolf, is in active preparations for the planned partial IPO, with further details likely to be made available to the capital market in the second half of 2019 while the new company could begin trading in 2020.
Commenting on the Powertrain transformation, Andreas Wolf who will be the CEO of the newly established Vitesco Technologies, said:
“We completed the transformation of Powertrain into an independent group of legal entities in record time. We could not have done this without the support of our people. The fact that over 99 percent of our employees moved to the new company demonstrates their confidence in the path that we have chosen to follow. The decision to become an independent business and the preparations for the partial IPO clearly show that we are both willing and able to change. These qualities will provide us with a competitive advantage.”
Andreas Wolf commented further on the Government regulations:
“The pace of regulation varies from one region to another. This calls for a great deal of flexibility on the part of the industry. As an independent company, we have more freedom as a business to react quickly and individually to the many different requirements.”
What’s in the name
“Vitesco” comes from vita, which is the Latin word for “life”, building on the image of energy, speed and agility while the “Technologies”, which is in the second part of the name, highlights the company’s ambition to be a supplier of innovative, groundbreaking technologies, systems and services.
Leader in powertrain electrification technology with strong market positions
The business areas of Vitesco Technologies will be continuously and systematically developed and improved to meet the future requirements of the market and society, specifically when it comes to local and global emission targets.
Vitesco Technologies will include within the scope of its activities all future business that involves hybrid and electric drive systems as well as all current battery activities in addition to the combustion engine business.
Continental’s powertrain business, which will from now own be Vitesco Technologies, is a longstanding technology leader in the field of powertrain electrification. Few system suppliers in the industry are capable of offering full electrification of the powertrain from a single source and one of them is Vitesco Technologies. Starting from the 48-volt system and integrated hybrid solutions for transmission systems and axles to fully electric drives that are combined with highly efficient power and charging electronics up to a battery management system that is optimized through intelligent energy and thermal management.
The electric powertrain in the Jaguar I-PACE, which was voted European Car of the Year 2019, relies on innovative power electronics from Continental Powertrain.
Continental Powertrain (Vitesco Technologies) order book stands at approximately €11 billion in 2018, and out of it around €2 billion was attributable to the electric mobility segment.
Andreas Wolf on the business of Continental Powertrain (Vitesco Technologies):
“We are starting from a good position and are confident that the realignment will allow us to build strongly on this position. We plan to maintain an excellent range of products for a wide mix of drive technologies going forward. While the main focus will be on electrification, our intention is to cover everything from electrified internal combustion engines to full-battery electric and fuel-cell drives, as well as synthetic fuels. The reason for offering such a wide range of systems is to cater to the diversity of the markets and the different rates at which they are evolving, and the highly individual usage patterns of car drivers around the world.”
“Powertrain already enables extremely eco-friendly conventional drives. In both gasoline and diesel vehicles, our technologies deliver emission values significantly below the relevant limits. In the medium term, our comprehensive support for mild and full hybrid solutions will help to optimize the high-volume car market.”
“And looking ahead to the long-term need for zero-carbon mobility, we are already developing next-generation electric drives and laying the groundwork for carbon-neutral, hydrogen-based fuels for use either in fuel cells or in the form of synthetic fuels for combustion engines.”
“Through electrification and the optimization of internal combustion engines, we want to help achieve a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030.”
Andreas Wolf
Continental’s powertrain division has been under the lead of Andreas Wolf, 58, since October 2018. Wolf has been appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the new entity following the change of the business into the new corporate setup on January 1, 2019.
Andreas Wolf is coming from the Body & Security business unit at Continental’s Interior division where he served as its head since 2007.
Under Wolf’s leadership, the Body & Security business unit trebled its sales, exceeded its break-even point and continually achieved attractive profit margins.
Werner Volz and Ingo Holstein
Werner Volz and Ingo Holstein have both been with Continental on leadership roles for many years. Werner Volz will be the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the new entity. He served as head of Finance and Controlling in the Chassis & Safety division from 2008 and had a significant role in the restructuring of the division during the financial crisis of 2008/2009, as well as in the successful growth management of the driver assistance systems business.
Ingo Holstein has been appointed Chief Human Relations Officer (CHRO) of the powertrain business (since January 2019). Previously, he was the head of Human Relations for the Tire division since 2010. Holstein has extensive expertise in shaping businesses through HR work, as well as in management guidance and development.
Engine & Drivetrain Systems (E&DS), Powertrain Components (PTC), Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (HEV)
The newly established Vitesco Technologies will have three business areas that will operate economically independent. In order to strengthen their portfolio and boost their performance, the former Engine Systems and Transmission units have now been merged to create a new “Engine & Drivetrain Systems” (E&DS) business area. The E&DS portfolio will range from engine and transmission control units to injection systems, turbochargers and exhaust gas aftertreatment. The head of the E&DS will be Wolfgang Breuer.
The former Sensors & Actuators and Fuel & Exhaust Management units have also been transformed to form the new Powertrain Components (PTC) business area. The PTC portfolio includes fuel delivery modules, catalytic converters and SCR dosing control units, as well as sensors and actuators for all types of vehicle and drive system. Klaus Hau will lead the Powertrain Components (PTC) business area.
There will be no changes to the Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (HEV) business area as a strategic growth area. Under the HEV unit are all the main components for drivetrain electrification in hybrid and electric vehicles. The Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (HEV) business will be under the leadership of Thomas Stierle.
Certain central functions, previously handled at group level, have also been affected by the structural changes. The Powertrain business has established a number of those functions as a part of the organizationally independent Vitesco Technologies. As part of the new organisation, one of the most important will be the new Operations unit, which will be responsible for all production and logistics functions. It will provide support to the global production facilities, which are now operated by Vitesco Technologies. The company will also have its own Sales & Marketing, IT and Quality & Environment functions.
All the major OEMs are clients of the Continental’s Powertrain business. Vitesco Technologies will run over 50 production and development facilities across all the regional markets and will employ some 42,000 people worldwide. The Powertrain business (Vitesco Technologies) will remain under the overall stewardship of its head office in Regensburg, a Bavarian city in southeast Germany.
Continental’s powertrain business new organisational structure
Media contacts:
Simone Geldhäuser
Press Spokesperson
Powertrain
Phone: +49 941 790-61302
Fax: +49 941 790-9961302
E-mail:
Simone.Geldhaeuser@continental-corporation.com
Dr. Anne-Kathrin Bräu
Vice President Communications
Powertrain
Phone: +49 941 790-4623
Fax: +49 941 790-994623
E-mail:
Anne-Kathrin.Braeu@continental-corp..
STRAIGHT-SIX PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENT MILD HYBRID REFINEMENT FOR RANGE ROVER
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Jaguar to move Land Rover Defender production to Slovakia
The plant was built with an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles and started by taking over production of the carmaker’s Discovery model.The British government has been wary of carmakers moving production outside the country after the industry warned that it would face possible risks if Britain’s impending exit from the European Union is disorderly.The risks, including delays to the supply of parts and finished models, new customs bureaucracy, the need to re-certify cars and an up to 10 percent tariff on finished vehicles, have forced carmakers to draw up contingency plans and even briefly shut production at their plants.