The discussion covers the rapid growth of the U.S. fast charging network, highlighting 600 new stations in Q1 and government funding boosting infrastructure. Ford's commercial EV sales surge with the e-Transit van, while European auto markets see mixed results, including a decline in battery electric vehicle sales but growth in hybrids. Toyota's new Camry goes hybrid-only with improved fuel economy. The U.S. pressures Mexico to limit Chinese EV plant incentives amid trade concerns. Innovations like DS Automobiles' low emission zone auto-switching and Google's enhanced EV charger features on Maps are also explored.
Topics:fast charging network expansionford e-transit commercial evseuropean auto sales trendstoyota camry hybrid onlyus mexico chinese ev trade tensionsev charging infrastructure technologylow emission zone ev featuressoftware challenges in legacy automakers
- Commercial EVs Cheaper to Operate Than ICE - EU Sales Drop in March, EVs Fall the Most - Fast EV Chargers Growing Fast in the U.S. - Google Maps Adds Charging Stations, Availability - Another Wild Van Debuts in China - DS Adds Geo-Fencing to PHEVs - New Toyota Camry Goes Hybrid Only - Mexico Facing U.S. Pressure Over Chinese EVs
"...it made its standard in twenty twenty. The Toyota Camry is now hybrid only. It comes exclusively with the..."
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This is out Aligned Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Are evs really cheaper to operate than ice vehicles? You bet they
are, especially for commercial operators. Bloomberg interviewed the fleet owner of a company
called Elite Home Care, which uses Ford e transits, who says he saved sixty five hundred dollars every year on fuel and maintenance compared to vans that run on gasoline. That's one reason why sales of commercial evs are going so strong,
while the growth rate of retail electric sales has slowed, and Ford's CEO, Jim Farley says they can't build e transits fast enough. First quarter sales
hit nearly three thousand vans, up one and forty seven percent, though Ford is not yet making a profit on those vans. Ford Pro, which is
the company's commercial vehicle business unit, will become the biggest profit center at Ford this year, generating a profit somewhere between eight and nine billion dollars. A
key reason for that is the subscription services at selling to fleet customers, which should account for twenty percent of Ford Pro's profits by twenty twenty six. The
European auto industry hit a bit of a rough patch last month as sales fell two point eight percent, and if you exclude the UK and the Scandinavian countries, sales fell more than five percent. However, for the whole first quarter
they're up four point four percent. The UK was a bright spot where sales
were up more than ten percent in March. In fact, the UK market
actually came in I had a Germany which was down more than six percent, and that made the UK number one in the greater European car market. But
it was a dismal month for battery electric vehicles. Sales fell eleven percent to
one hundred and ninety six thousand, four hundred and eleven units, but for the full quarter they were up three and a half percent. Plug in hybrid
sales were essentially flat and March at just under one hundred thousand units, but hybrid sales shot up fifteen point four percent to nearly four hundred and twenty four thousand vehicles. As a result, market share for pure ice vehicles fell below
forty eight percent for the first time ever, with diesels falling to only twelve percent market share. You know, one of the biggest complaints about EVS is
the lack of a public charging infrastructure, but the US is quickly expanding.
According to Bloomberg, six hundred fast charging stations opened in the first quarter, a seven point six percent gain over the end of twenty twenty three. There
are now eighty two hundred public fast charging stations across the country, or one for every fifteen gas stations, and Tesla accounts for a quarter of the stations, and the EV charging network will continue to grow thanks to the Biden administrations five billion dollar National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, which is providing states with funds to build even more EV chargers, and with more EVS out on the road, analysts say these charging stations are close to turning a profit, and Google
is adding new features to Google Maps to make it easier to find those chargers.
In the coming months, it will start showing AI generated summaries in Google Maps that give a detailed description on where a charger is located. The info
is gathered from millions of reviews provided to Maps every day to help keep it accurate and up to date. Google is rolling out another feature that will show
nearby chargers on the INCR map display how many chargers are available and charging speed.
Google will introduce that feature in the coming months globally, starting with vehicles with Google built in, and if you're planning a long road traine with multiple stops, Maps will suggest the best charging stops along the way based on the vehicle's battery charge. This feature will also be rolled out globally in the coming
months for vehicles with Google built in. The Tajin Automotive Technologies we combine world
class composite materials expertise with cutting edge designs because frankly, there are better ways to lightweight vehicles, so lighten up with Tajing Automotive Technologies, the formula prove better mobility. Check Out this wild van that's going to debut at the Beijing
Auto Show next week, called the EO eight. It was developed by Exceed,
which is a brand under Chinese automaker Cherry. It's basically just one giant
rectangle, but designers added a lot of character with a long, slick back look, a massive front grill, and large front rear lighting elements. We
bet if it makes it to production it won't look that different from the this because wild vans like the EO eight are quite popular in China. But we
also find it interesting that the EO eight was styled by both Exceeds Shanghai and European Design Teams. Well, here's one way to get plug in hybrids to
operate on battery only power more of the time, make the switch automatically.
P have versions of the DS four, seven, and nine from DS Automobiles, which is part of Stillantis, will now get a warning before entering a low emission zone which limits access of polluting vehicles to certain areas, and then the vehicle will automatically switch to battery power once they enter the zone. DS
says plugins represent nearly forty to ninety percent of all sales for those models, so it seems like a service its customers will get some use out of, and dozens of countries in Europe have or will introduce more low emission zones.
But DS is not the only automaker offering this servis. BMW has had what
it calls E drive zones since at least twenty nineteen, and then it made its standard in twenty twenty. The Toyota Camry is now hybrid only. It
comes exclusively with the automaker's fifth gen hybrid system that includes a two and a half liters four cylinder engine and combines for two hundred and twenty five horse power in front wheel drive models. The new all wheel drive model ditches the old
mechanical setup that linked the engine to the rear wheels in favor of an electric motor generator on the rear axle. It delivers a total of two hundred and
thirty two horse power, which is thirty more than the outgoing model. Because
Toyota went hybrid only reduce motor weight and increased power from the lithium ion battery.
It estimates the new camera will have a combined fuel economy rating of fifty one mpg, and if you're wondering how that compares to the Prius, it's rated at fifty seven mpg for front wheel drive models, but the all wheel drive Camry at fifty miles to the Galan combined, is only four mpg off the all wheel drive Prius, so it will be interesting to see if Camri sales cut into Prius when it goes on sale this spring with a starting price of twenty nine thousand, five hundred dollars, which includes destination charges. US
government officials are concerned about Chinese automakers gaining access to the US market by setting up shop in Mexico and exporting cars from there to the US to avoid terrace.
They say that could cause a flood of low cost evs entering the market that could hurt the US auto industry. And now Reuters reports that the US
is pressuring the Mexican government to cut off incentives two Chinese automakers that want to open EV plants in the country As a possible result, Mexican officials last met with a Chinese's automaker byd in January and have paused all future meetings with Chinese automakers. About twenty Chinese companies sell vehicles in Mexico, but right now none
of them have a plan. All the legacy auto makers seem to be struggling
to write software for their cars. It's causing production delays, stop sale bulletins,
and customer headaches. So why so many problems with the software? That's
what we're going to get into on Autoline After Hours Today. We've got Scott
Tobin from a company called Envorso coming on the show. It helps automakers figure
out how to navigate the software minefield, and Scott spent most of his career at Ford in a variety of product development roles, so he really understands why legacy auto makers are struggling with software development. Keith Notton from Bloomberg will also
be on the show, So join John and Gary when the show goes live at three pm Eastern Time today on the Autoline website or on our YouTube channel.
But that brings us to the end of this show. Thanks for tuning
in. Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Bridgetone Solutions for your Journey,
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