GM faces multiple challenges including production issues with its EVs, costly UAW contracts, and safety concerns halting Cruise's US robotaxi operations, though testing continues abroad. Despite losses, Cruise robotaxis show fewer accidents than human-driven taxis. The NTSB urges speed limiters to reduce speeding fatalities, sparking debate over safety implications. Tesla wins dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit over repair monopolies. Meanwhile, Mercedes digitizes leasing in Germany, Honda invests in EV battery tech, and China expands battery swapping infrastructure. EV range loss in cold weather is highlighted, with heat pumps proving effective in mitigating this issue.
Topics:gm ev production problemsgm cruise robotaxi safetyntsbs speed limiter proposaltesla antitrust lawsuit dismissalmercedes digital leasinghonda ev battery investmentchina battery swapping growthev cold weather range lossheat pump technologyautonomous vehicle testing abroad
- GM’s Barra Faces Big Problems - Cruise Continues in Japan, Dubai - NTSB Wants Speed Limiters in Cars - Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Tesla - Use A Phone to Buy Your Mercedes - Honda Invests in Making Batteries - NIO Hits 2,100 Battery Swap Stations - NIO Targets Maybach S-Class - ONE Gets into LFP Storage Business - Heat Pumps Help EVs In Cold Weather
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This is out Aligned Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. GM CEO Mary Barra probably can't wait for this year to end.
First, GM's ultm ev launches have been riddled with production problems. Second,
it just went through bruising contract negotiations with the UAW and ended up with a contract that will significantly raised labor costs. And Third, GM Cruise, its
robotaxi business, ran into buzz saws of safety complaints, especially in California, and that led GM to stop all rides in the US pending a review of its processes and procedures. And then yesterday, Kyle Vote, the tech entrepreneur
who helped found and run Cruise, resigned from the company. So far this
year, Cruise has lost two point six billion dollars. It still has two
point one billion in cash, but that means it either has to start generating a lot more revenue or get a lot more investment before that money runs out.
Not surprisingly, Wall Street doesn't like what it's seeing. GM stock is
down seventeen percent this year and its market cap has fallen to only thirty eight billion dollars. But maybe GM's pause with Cruise is just related to the American
market. Reuter's reports that Cruz is still testing autonomous cars on public roads in
Japan and Dubai, countries that are not known for their product liability lawsuits.
As we said before, Mary Barra is probably shy when it comes to any kind of safety problem because of the disastrous way that GM handled its ignition switch defect nearly a decade ago. She has to tiptoe carefully. GM has poured
billions into Cruz and Bara is counting on it to generate fifty billion dollars a year in revenue by the end of the decade, so she has a lot riding on this, maybe even her job. But a study done by the
Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan shows that Cruise robotaxis get in about one third fewer accidents than taxis with human drivers, which were operating within the same geo fenced areas. So even if robotaxis aren't perfect, it looks like
they're still safer than cars with a human being behind the wheel. Speaking of
safety, the National Transportation Safety Board wants NITZA to mandate speed limiters in cars to help prevent speeding The NTSB is citing a fatal crash in Las Vegas where a driver was traveling one hundred and three miles an hour in a thirty five mile an hour zone and ran a red light, striking a minivan and killing a family seven. The driver, who also died in the crash along with
a passenger, was found to be high on PCP and cocaine. The NTSB
doesn't have the authority to make new laws and regulations, so it's calling on NITZA to mandate technology that would warn drivers if they're driving above the posted speed limit, or even automatically reduce a car speed to the limit. The NTSB
also wants more educational campaigns about speeding, tougher punishments for speeders, and make speed limitter technology a part of the new Car Assessment Program rating system. But
we think that mandating speed limiters could be dangerous. For just one example,
what do you do about those times when you've got to stomp on the guests to avoid getting hit by another vehicle. An antitrust lawsuit against Tesla was dismissed
by a US judge. The suit accused test of forcing customers to pay high
prices and endure long wait times for repairs because the EV maker monopolized the market for maintenance and replacement parts. The complaint also said Tesla vehicles must be repaired
at approved service centers and can only use Tesla parts, but the judge dismissed the suit because she said the plaintiffs couldn't prove they were unaware of the problem before they bought their vehicle, and the judge said they didn't prove Tesla force them into using its services and parts. At Scheffler we Pioneer Motion Electrifying mobility,
manufacturing smarter, reducing CO two emissions, making energy production clean Scheffler Pioneer's Motion to advance how the World Moves. Mercedes is making it easier for customers
to lease its vehicles in Germany by allowing them to do it digitally. It
says every step of the leasing process can be done online within a few minutes and it's all legally binding. It plans to offer the service to other markets
and for business customers, but it did not say where or when it will happen. Honda is buying shares in a company that it plans to make EV
batteries. With it's purchasing nearly two and a half million shares in Yuasa,
a company that makes batteries for all kinds of products. Honda will now control
about five percent of Uasa shares, and the two are also forming a new battery joint venture. In particular, they plan to research and develop lithium ion
batteries and battery production methods for evs. But Yuasa also makes batteries for motorcycles
and power products like ATVs and wave runners, so I could see the partnership spilling over into other areas. Battery swapping continues to grow in China. Neo
has opened nearly eight hundred new swap stations this year, which brings its total to over two thousand, one hundred. It says it has completed more than
thirty two million swaps to date and now averages sixty thousand in a day.
Chinese automaker GAC also started getting into battery swapping last year, and just signed a deal with a tech company that will provide it with a digital platform where users can locate and pay for its charging services, which includes battery swapping.
GAC has been slow to roll out the services, though only two of its models offer battery swapping and it's not available on every trim level of those two models. It also cut back on initial plans and will build five hundred swap
stations by twenty twenty instead of one thousand, but GAC has partnerships with Honda and Toyota, so there's potential to expand. However, incentives also play a
role in the adoption of the technology. China currently exempts anyone from the EV
battery tax if the model they buy has battery swapping capability. Speaking of Neo,
it's drawing a bead on the my boch S class for Mercedes Benz.
Car News China reports that Neo will unveil a flagship luxury sedan next month to compete with the my boc in China. It's said to cost about one hundred
and forty thousand dollars, will sit on Neo's NT three EV platform and will use an autonomous chip that Neo developed in house. Neo probably gave us a
hint at its proportions in packaging two years ago when it unveiled the EVE concept car. How are battery companies going to make up for a pot possible slow
down in EV demand? Well, one or our next energy is partnering with
General Electric Sustainable Energy division called ge ver Nova to supply it with LFP battery modules for its solar and storage solutions business, and energy storage is going to play a big role in upgrading electrical grids all over the world. I think
by now everyone knows that evs lose range in cold weather. Yes, I
know, ICEEE vehicles lose range in cold weather too, but we're talking about eves and according to data from Recurrent, the average EV today loses about thirty percent of its range when temperatures fall to zero degree celsius or thirty two degrees fahrenheit. The best performer is the Audietron, losing just sixteen percent of its
range, and the worst is the VWID four it forty six percent. What's
surprising is that both of those vehicles are based on the MEB platform, but the e Tron features a heat pump which helps keep the battery at optimal temperature, and the ID four doesn't have it. So it's amazing how big of
a difference that one bit of tech makes. Tesla, which also uses a
heat pump, performs well, with the Model three, Y and X all losing twenty four percent of the range in the cold that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for tuning in. Auto Line Daily is brought
to you by Bridgetone Solutions for your journey, Intrepid Control Systems over the air, engineering boost your game, Borg Warner Propulsion solutions that support a clean, energy efficient world, Scheffler we pioneer motion, and by Tagent Automotive Technologies The Formula for Better Mobility The Tajin Automotive Technologies. We combine world class composite materials
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