Rising car repossessions in the US highlight financial strain from high interest rates and inflation, while subprime lending remains a concern. The EU auto market struggles with declining sales and plant closures. CDK paid hackers $25 million after a cyberattack. CATL claims its new LFP battery can last up to 2 million kilometers, potentially easing EV battery life worries. Tesla introduces protective accessories for the Cybertruck tailgate. Fisker sells off its Ocean SUVs at steep discounts following bankruptcy. Cadillac refreshes the Escalade with a massive 55-inch display and advanced safety features. The episode also previews upcoming discussions on innovative brake rotor technology.
Topics:car repossessionssubprime lendingeu auto market declinecyberattack ransomlong-life ev batteriestesla cybertruck accessoriesfisker ocean bankruptcy salecadillac escalade refreshautomotive cybersecuritybrake rotor technology
- U.S. Repos Surging - Biden Admin to Shut Door on Chinese Connected Car Tech - Valeo To Sell 3 Facilities in France - CDK Paid Hackers $25 Million - CATL Battery Lasts For 2 Million KM - Cybertruck Gets Jumpseats, Bike Protector - Fisker Dumping Oceans For $16,500 - EU to Lower Tariffs on VW, BMW EVs From China - Cadillac Escalade Gets Major Refresh
"Cadillac Escalade is going through a major refresh. There are some ..."
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This is outline daily. The show is dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive
industry. New car repossessions in the US are up twenty three percent this year.
High interest rates, inflation, and higher car prices are squeezing some consumers enough that they're skipping car payments. Cox Automotive says buyer's budgets are being squeezed
at the same time the car payments are soaring, and Edmunds says the average interest rate for a new car is seven percent and eleven and a half percent for a used one. That translates to average monthly payments of seven hundred and
thirty nine dollars for new cars and five hundred and forty nine bucks for a used one. A big problem is subprime lending. Fitch Rating says the percentage
of subprime borrowers who are at least sixty days late with five point six percent in June, just slightly down from the records at in February, when the Biden administration added one hundred percent tariffs to imported evs from China, it left the door wide open for Chinese cars and parts that are made in other countries, and as we reported, yesterday twenty nine. Chinese suppliers are investing seven
billion dollars into Mexico to make parts that they hope to also ship to automakers in the US. To close at least part of that loophole, the Commerce
Department is likely to impose limits on connected cars and software technology made by Chinese automakers no matter where the vehicles are made. Connected cars have Internet access that
allows them to capture and upload a lot of information it gets from the car itself, from the onboard cameras, and from devices paired to the car, and the Commerce Department says that poses a national security risk and is working on rules to prevent Chinese connected car tech from being sold in the US. The
European auto industry is going through tough times, and here's two stats that help tell the story. The EU has a population of almost four hundred and fifty
million people, and last year's sales of new cars, trucks, and vans hit ten million units. Compare that to the US, which has a population
of almost three hundred and thirty five million people or one hundred and fifteen million less. But last year, new vehicle sales in the US hit fifteen point
five million, which is significantly higher. In recent times, almost as many
new vehicles were sold in the EU as the US, but the European market never recovered from the COVID pandemic, and now we're starting to see the consequences.
In a move that would have been unheard of just a few years ago, French supplier Valeo wants to sell two manufacturing plants and an R and D center in France, which collectively employed about one thousand people. Last week we
reported that Audi is looking to close an assembly plant in Belgium, and car production in Italy is down thirty six percent so far this year. We think
this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that we'll see a lot more layoffs and plant closings coming over the next few years. CDK paid way
more for the cyber attack that took out its dealer software management system than we expected initially. When the attack first happened in June, Bloomberg reported that CDK
was ready to pay millions of dollars, but it was really tens of millions of dollars. CNN reports that it paid the hacker group black Suit roughly twenty
five million dollars by sending it about three hundred and eighty seven bitcoin that was then split up and moved around, following a common path of money laundering.
Intrepid's Neovipie allowing automotive engineers to interface, capture, and monitor vehicle data using Raspberry Pie. As a matter of fact, it's the automotive industry's first robust
platform for Raspberry Pie. Featuring Intrepid canefting technology and Raspberry Pie compute module.
The NEOVIPI is designed for automotive environments, allowing use with relative power ranges and applications. In addition, the NEOVIPI enables you to use the Raspberry Pie for
compute while avoiding additional development to adapt to network environments. That makes the NEOVIPI
powerful enough to solve your vehicle network problems, yet small enough to fit in your backpack. One of many Intrepid tools used for developing zonal architecture and software
divined vehicles could concern over battery life become a thing of the past. CTL
says its long service life battery likely. It's LFP pack employs technology like low
lithium consumption and a self repairing electrolyte to help extend the life of the battery.
In fact, it claims the packs can last up to sixteen years or two million kilometers, which is over one point two million miles. Knowing a
battery could last that long could make a used EV more attractive, But to be fair, Coatl's battery warranty is about half of its claims at eight years or eight hundred thousand kilometers or about five hundred thousand miles, but that is still quite good. Tesla is also looking at ways of extending the life of
batteries with a manganese rich cathode material which are cheaper, have a high voltage and a lower environmental impact. However, they would degrade fast. Bought Electric
reports that Tesla filed a patent for dope manganese rich cathode active materials that provided better capacity, retention, and tasks. The amount of charge and discharge cycles
was pretty low, so more work will need to be done before we see an EV powered by one of these batteries. But speaking of Tesla, we
saw it's offering a couple of accessories for the cyber truck that are kind of interesting. It must have found out that owners were damaging the tailgate when transporting
things like a bike because there's a new tailgate shield. It wraps around the
entire tailgate with straps and features large pads to protect it from things like strips or scratches, as well as loops on the backside to fasten stuff too.
That includes new tailgate jump seats with enough loops to put three seats set side by side, and when you're not using them, they zip up into their own little pouch. Fiskers sold its remaining ocean inventory for a fraction of its
original price. The electric suv originally sold for thirty nine thousand to seventy thousand
bucks, but a bankrupt court judge just to prove the sale of thirty three hundred oceans for as much as forty six point two five million dollars that's going to American Lease, a company that leases vehicles to uber and lyft drivers in New York. The judge said the vehicles quote in reasonably good working order can
be sold for as much as sixteen five hundred dollars, but oceans requiring at least five thousand dollars in repairs can be sold for as little as twenty five hundred dollars. Fisker filed for bankruptcy last month because it ran out of cash,
and it's making this deal to clear out its remaining inventory. Well.
Good news for Volkswagen and BMW. The European Commission is considering lowering tariffs on
the automaker's imported Chinese made evs. BMW builds electric minis, while VW produces
the Cooper Taviscan EV in China. Those models were automatically slapped with the highest
thirty seven point six percent tariff because they weren't included in the EU's investigation into imported Chinese made evs, But now the EU is considering lowering the terrace for the minis and Cupra to twenty point six percent. However, a final decision
isn't expected until later this year. Three years into its product cycle, the
Cadillac Escalade is going through a major refresh. There are some minor exterior styling
changes, including a boulder front end with different lighting, but the real upgrades come inside the vehicle, including a massive fifty five inch display that stretches from pillar to pillar. Like the Celestic. About sixty three percent of that display
is for the driver, with the remainder for the front passenger who can look at content that would otherwise distract the driver. Another novelty is radar sensors built
into the doors that can open at the touch of a button or via the central display. The radar prevents the doors from hitting something or someone. Supercrews
GM's hands free driving system is now standard, as is the latest version of its magnetic ride control. Suspension power continues to come from a six point three
liter V eight with four hundred and twenty horse power, while the V series adds a supercharger that bumps that up to six hundred and eighty two horses By the way, Cadillac says it will increase production of the V series when the refresh model goes on sale later this year. Earlier in the show, we
talked about Caatl making a battery that can last for two million kilometers. Well,
would you be interested in new break technology that prevents the rotors from wearing out? That will be one of the topics on Autoline After Hours when Gordon
Heideker from Pure Forge will be on the show to talk about their metallurgical treatment that can make rotors last for the life of a car. Alan Amichi from
the Center for Automotive Research will also be on the show. Oh so be
sure to tune in tomorrow. And that's a wrap for this show, but
thanks for tuning in today. Autoline Daily is brought to you by bridge Stone
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