Ford is exploring a four-door Mustang variant along with V8 convertible and off-road AWD versions, aiming to expand the iconic model's appeal without diluting its essence. The SAE has introduced a wireless EV charging standard that could enable efficient, plug-free charging, even on the move. Acura unveiled a striking new EV concept with a fresh design direction, signaling a shift for the brand. The episode also covers rising EV sales in Brazil, Leap Motor's growth fueled by a partnership with Stellantis, Rivian's production halt due to parts shortages, and Lincoln's refreshed Navigator featuring a massive interior display and wellness-focused features.
Topics:ford four door mustangwireless ev chargingacura ev conceptev market brazilleap motor growthrivian production issuessodium ion batterieslincoln navigator refreshautomotive design trendsev platform development
- OMG! A 4-Door Mustang? - EV Sales Growing Strong in Brazil - SAE J2954 Sets Wireless EV Charging Standard - Acura EV Concept Signals New Design Direction - Leapmotor Revenue Leaps 52% - Rivian Pauses Amazon Van Production - Natron Energy Builds Sodium-Ion Battery Plant - Lincoln Navigator Gets Needed Refresh
"...or power, industrial and grid energy storage. The Navigator SUV, which is the flagship for the Lincoln brand,..."
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Speaker 1: This is online daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Mustang purists are going to be horrified.
But Ford's looking at bringing out a four door version of the fabled pony car, which could be called the Mock four. It's also considering a V eight convertible, and
it's even thinking of bringing out an off road all wheel drive version two. Automotive News reports that Ford showed
these future concepts to its US dealers at a meeting in Las Vegas, and the dealers loved what they saw.
By the way, these are icy engine concepts, not evs.
And you know, it's a time honored tradition in the auto industry that when you have a successful product, extending the product line with additional models can be very profitable.
But the trick is not to dilute the appeal of the original. But the meeting wasn't all about ice vehicles,
for it also showed three different top hats for the low cost EV platform that it's developing, including a sedan, a crossover, and a pickup truck. That platform is supposed
to be Ford's answer for how to compete on cost with Chinese automakers. Legacy automakers pretty much ignored South America
as a potential EV market, but then byd and some other Chinese automakers started selling evs in Brazil, and the sales numbers made everyone sit up and pay attention. Last year,
almost eighty four thousand BEVs were sold in Brazil, and the segments just getting going. They could hit one hundred
and fifty thousand this year. According to the Brazilian Electrical
Vehicles Association, as many as two point eight million evs could be on Brazilian roads by twenty thirty two. As
we reported last month, GM is going to start shipping Chevrolet Blazer evs to Brazil to test the waters. Now
we think it's likely that other legacy automakers will be right behind it. Speaking of evs, the SAE or the
Society of Automotive Engineers, just came out with its standard for wireless EV charging for light vehicles. The new standard
is called J two nine fifty four, and the SAE says it could be a game changer because it will allow for the commercialization of wireless charging where you just park a car in a specific spot and it starts charging without having to plug it in the SAE says it allows for up to eleven kilowatt transfers of power with ninety three percent efficiency. The standard is based on
what they call DIPS or differential inductive POSS system, and it could even charge an EV while it is in motion.
And you know, that's one of the dreams for future evs, having a road system with inductive charging, so EV's could be equipped with smaller batteries to cut weight and slash cost without sacrificing range. Accura pulled the wraps off a
performance EV concept that shows the brand will be embracing in all new form language with its future designs. Accura
calls it an SUV even though it truly looks like a two door fastback. A production version, which will be
built in Ohio, will hit the market late next year.
It's built on a platform that Honda developed in house, not the GM Ultium platform that the current Accura ZDXEV uses.
The styling, which was done at Accura's design studio in Los Angeles, is a dramatic departure from what the brand has now. Accurate points to its long wheelbase and short overhangs,
and says the front end design was inspired by hydrofoil super yachts.
Speaker 2: So when we did our research for the talent that we need for this program, Michigan was really the top of the list. In order to be successful in this space,
you really have to have the right people, the right mindsets, the right environments.
Speaker 1: Chinese ev maker Leap Motor posted a big jump in revenue in the first half of the year. Revenues were
up fifty two percent to one point two billion dollars due to a surge in sales. It delivered eighty six thousand,
seven hundred vehicles in the first six months of the year, up ninety five percent from a year ago, and things are looking even better for the second half. Leap average
fourteen four hundred and fifty deliveries a month in the first half, but in July those deliveries jumped to twenty two thousand, one hundred vehicles, and it also reported a net order increase of twenty eight thousand vehicles. We think
a lot of that's got to do with its partnership with Stilantis. Leap Motors started building vehicles at Stalantis's plant
in Poland in June, and last month they began shipping vehicles jointly produced in China over to Europe. You know,
just when we thought all those problems with part shortages were over, Rivian suspended production of that Amazon electric van because of a parts shortage. Bloomberg reports the company halted
production earlier this month at its plant in Normal, Illinois, and while Rivian will not say which parts are involved, it says it expects to make up for any loss production in the meantime. It's our one pickup and suv
are not affected and remain in full production. Rivian, as
you know, has a deal to supply Amazon with one hundred thousand electric vans. So far it's delivered fifteen thousand
of them. Sodium batteries could be a great alternative to
NMC batteries, and Nietron Energy is investing one point four billion dollars to produce twenty four gigawatts of sodium ion batteries annually at a new plant in North Carolina. That's
forty times higher than the current production capacity it has in a plant in Holland, Michigan. While sodium ion batteries
are only half as energy dense as lithium batteries, they don't require minerals like lithium cobalt, nickel or copper, and they are none flammable. Despite some of their advantages, though,
the International Energy Agency forecasts that sodium ion batteries will be equipped in less than ten percent of evs globally by twenty thirty, and that's because they're expected to be used more for power, industrial and grid energy storage. The
Navigator SUV, which is the flagship for the Lincoln brand, just got a mid cycle refresh. While the exterior styling
gets some updates, the real story is inside, where a forty eight inch display stretches from pillar to pillar and dominates the interior. The display is set far back on
the instrument panel, creating a large shelf in front of it, which really adds to the feeling of spaciousness. Lincoln says
it wants the Navigator to be something of a personal spa for its owners, so when you put it in park, you can also put it in what they call Rejuvenate mode, which moves the driver's seat back, reclines, starts warming, and begins massaging. The steering wheel moves away. The ambient lighting
comes on, and soothing sounds emanate from the twenty eight speakers of the Revel Sound system, or you can put it in Waterfall Meditation mode or Aurora Borealis mode where waterfalls or northern lights play on the giant video screen.
One other notable design change is that the rear lift gate is now split in two. The top half can
open like a lift gate, while the bottom half opens like a tailgate. Lincoln really needs a refresh to give
the Navigator a shot in the arm. So far this year,
sales are down twenty percent in the US market, even though Lincoln's overall sales are up by more than twenty three percent. And with that we wrap up this week
in the automotive industry. Have a great weekend, and we
hope to see you back here again on Monday.
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