The discussion covers a wide range of automotive news including the potential union vote at Mercedes' Alabama plant, the surprising import of Chinese cooking oil for biofuels, and a Cox Automotive survey revealing 80% of new car buyers are interested in EVs but plan to purchase in 3-5 years. Toyota faces production issues due to supplier labor shortages in Mexico. Renault is focusing on Level 2 autonomy and launching Level 4 self-driving shuttles in Europe. VW and Opel introduce new plug-in hybrids, while Great Wall Motor debuts a unique V8 motorcycle. Tesla shifts its FSD data strategy in China, aiming to process data locally with a partner.
Topics:union vote at mercedesbiofuel feedstock importsev buyer interesttoyota production challengesrenault autonomy plansplug-in hybrid launchesv8 motorcycletesla fsd china data strategy
- Will the UAW Organize Mercedes’ Alabama Plant? - Biofuel Companies Upset Over China Cooking Oil Imports - 80% Of U.S. New Car Buyers Interested in an EV - Used EV Sales Growing in U.S. - Supplier Work Shortages Hurt Toyota In Mexico - Renault Bullish on AV Shuttles - Renault Launches Rafale PHEV With More Power - VW Introduces New Golf PHEV in EU - Opel Frontera Starts At €24,000 In Germany - Great Wall Motor Reveals 8-Cylinder Motorcycle - Tesla Shifts FSD Data Strategy in China
"...at's for the mild hybrid version with forty eight volt technology. But the Fronterra shares a platform w..."
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This is Outline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
We've got a lot of news to report on, but we won't know the details of the biggest story of the day until later tonight. That's because
the National Labor Relations Board will count the votes at the Mercedes Benz plant in Alabama to see if workers there decided to join the union. Everyone in the
industry is wondering if the UAW can score another victory after it won at VW's plant in Chattanooga. So what do you think will happen? And we'll be
sure to report the full results on Monday. Say, did you know that
the United States is importing oil from China? But it's not crude oil,
it's cooking oil, and it's got American farmers really mad. That's because biofuel
companies that make biodiesel from soybean oil and green jet fuel are turning to cheaper Chinese cooking oil instead. Farmers and eggs culture groups are calling for terrace,
but the biofuel industry says there's a shortage of low carbon feedstocks and it needs that cooking oil right now. One of the arguments against electric cars is that
nobody wants them. But according to a survey by Cox Automotive, nearly eighty
percent of Americans who buy new cars say they want an EV. But the
only thing is they don't want one right now. They say they won't be
ready to buy one in another three to five years. That means EV sales
could really take off at the end of the decade. Two key things from
that Cox Automotive survey. Most car buyers aren't very aware of the incentives that
are available to buy eves, so automakers should really hammer home in their advertising the incentives that are available. The other tidbit is that people are far more
likely to be interested in buying an EV if they already know someone who owns one. While the numbers are still small, used EV sales are rising in
the US. Last year, used EV's only accounted for one percent of all
used vehicles sold, but Carvana says used EV's accounted for four point three percent of its sales in the first quarter of this year, and while the gap is still big, the difference between used EV and IC average vehicle prices is narrowing. In the first quarter of twenty twenty three, the gap was thirteen
thousand dollars, but in Q one of this year it dropped to seven thousand.
Toyota has been forced to idle production in Mexico several times this year due to workers' shortages at suppliers. Writers reports the automakers shutdown production at its plant
in Tijuana for a total of nineteen days in February in March because it can't get the parts that it needs. That plant builds the Tacoma, which accounted
for about ten percent of Toyota sales in the US last year and is its third best seller in its lineup. Suppliers in Mexico are facing high employee turnover
because workers are frequently changing jobs for better paying ones. As a result,
production of parts is being impacted due to declining worker skills. Toyota says it's
working with its suppliers to help with the challenges and to see what kind of support that they need. Don't expect to buy a self driving Renault anytime soon.
The company says it's developing Level two and two plus, which will provide some hands free driving in certain areas, but it thinks going to level three will make vehicles cost so much that people won't want to buy them, and it claims complete autonomy is quote unquote unlikely. However, Renault feels completely different
about autonomous public transportation and is going to kick off a Level four self driving shuttle at the French Open tennis tournament on Monday. It's partnering with we Ride
for the trial, and the shuttles features several rows of seating and display screens, but no onboard safety driver. They are, on the other hand,
supervised remotely. Renault sees a market for these electric and autonomous minibuses in Europe.
Just in terms of the need for self driving public transportation, it estimates there's demand for several thousand minibuses a year for the next few years. Plus.
More cities in Europe are implementing low emission zones where gas burning vehicles have limited access and Sticking with Renault, it also revealed details about a new Sportier plug and hybrid version of the Rafallae, which is a brand new suv that had debuted last year called the rafale Etech four x four to three one hundred hp. I think you can pretty easily guess how much horse power it has.
The setup combines a turbocharge one point two liter three cylinder engine with two electric motors, one on the front axle and the other on the rear.
Compared to the standard plugin Rafale, which has two hundred horse power, the four x four three hundred hp will do zero to one hundred kilometers an hour over two seconds faster at six point four seconds. It also features a twenty
two kilo hour battery pack that provides up to one hundred kilometers or sixty two miles of all electric range on the WLTP test cycle. No word on pricing,
but sales kickoff in autumn. Speaking of PEVs VW is launching the new
plug and hybrid versions of the Golf in Europe, and kind of like Renault, it has a standard and sport y version. Both feature a turbocharged one
and a half liter engine and an electric motor that drive the front wheels, but the standard E hybrid makes about two hundred horse power, while the Gulf GTE makes roughly two hundred and seventy at nineteen point seven kilowat hours. The
battery is about double the size of the previous version and provides up to one hundred and forty three kilometers or eighty eight miles of range. Orders for both
models are open now in Europe, the E hybrid starts at a little over forty four thousand euros and the GTE tax on another twenty five hundred euros.
And while I'm talking about pricing, Opal's newest electrified suv, the Fronterra, will start at twenty four thousand euros in Germany including taxes. That's for the
mild hybrid version with forty eight volt technology. But the Fronterra shares a platform
with the Citro and C three and like that model, it also comes as a pure battery electric and that version starts at twenty nine thousand euros. And
now it's time to get off electrification for the moment and let piston heads rejoice.
There's a brand new eight cylinder engine hitting the market, but in this case it's in a motorcycle. Great Wall Motor is coming out with a touring
bike called the sou Oh, which means Soul. It has a two liter
flat eight boxer engine, a shaft drive, a cast frame and dual wishbone front suspension. The first eight cylinder motorcycle came from a company called Curtis all
the way back in nineteen oh six and it only had about thirty or forty horsepower. But who would have ever guessed that Great Wall, which is known
for making off road SUVs, when make a V eight motorcycle. Tesla is
shifting its strategy to collect data in China for its full self driving system.
Reuter's reports that the company is planning to power the global development of FSD with data from China that would be processed in the country to help it achieve that.
Tesla is working on plans to open a data center to train algorithms needed for self driving cars, but Tesla will have to work with a local Chinese partner to open the data center. Up until now, Tesla was focused on
getting approval from Chinese regulators to transfer data created by its vehicles out of the country for its FSD system. But that brings us to the end of today's
show. Thanks for making autoline a part of your day and I hope that
you have a great weekend. Autoline Daily is brought to you by Bridgestone Solutions
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