Ford Credit Bank is Ford’s new banking operation. The episode says it will handle things like car loans and leases, and also offer savings-style accounts. It’s part of Ford building more financial services around buying and owning vehicles.
A holding company is basically a company that owns other companies. Instead of one business doing everything, it owns separate businesses under one umbrella. Investors may value it differently because each part can grow or earn money in its own way.
Direct lithium extraction (DLE) is a lithium-mining approach that pulls lithium from brine using a more controlled process than traditional evaporation ponds. In the segment, DLE is described as a closed-loop system that returns water to the Great Salt Lake. That’s important because it’s presented as reducing environmental impacts like lowered water levels and dust.
Brine is salty water that’s very concentrated. The episode says older lithium mining methods use brine and let the water evaporate in ponds to concentrate the lithium. It’s mentioned because that process can affect the local environment.
Synthetic oil is a type of engine oil that’s made to work well across a wider range of temperatures. The episode connects synthetic oil supply and refining to how expensive oil changes could become. So it’s part of the story behind rising maintenance costs.
These are service plans where you pay ahead of time for maintenance for as long as you own the vehicle. The episode says higher oil prices can hurt the businesses that promised that service at the old price. That could lead to changes in pricing or coverage.
A diagnostic trouble code is like a “check engine” message with a specific label. It tells the car’s computer what kind of problem it thinks it found, which makes it easier to diagnose.
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) lets an electric vehicle send energy back to the power grid. That enables utilities to use the car’s battery as a flexible energy resource, often with compensation for the owner.
Vehicle-to-home means your EV can act like a backup power source for your house. Instead of only charging the car, you can also use the car’s battery to help run home energy systems.
BMW Alpina is Alpina’s upgraded, standalone brand identity inside the BMW group. Alpina is famous for making BMWs feel more special with better materials and distinctive tuning.
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Speaker 1: This is ut alying daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. They call it the Ford
Motor Company. But is there more than motors in the
company's future. Consider the following last week, Ford made a
big splash announcing a new subsidiary called Ford Energy. Ford
is pivoting its Evy battery plants to make batteries for energy storage for utilities and other businesses. In January, Ford
created an industrial bank called Ford Credit Bank that is headquartered in Salt Lake City. It will offer savings, accounts
and time deposits in addition to car loans and leases.
General Motors and Stilantis are also creating industrial banks, and this has got some insiders in Detroit thinking that over the next decade Ford is going to evolve into a holding company, one that owns an energy company, a banking company, and of course a car company. Ford as a car
company trades at less than half the price to earnings average of the companies on the New York Stock Exchange.
Maybe as a holding company it could trade at a lot more. Remember when there were warnings that there wasn't
enough lithium in the world to make EVY batteries. Well,
you don't really hear that anymore.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Reuter's reports that a company called Compass Minerals, along with a startup called energy X, are gonna mine lithium from the Great Salt Lake in Utah. But they say, don't
worry all you Bonneville Salt Flat speed freaks. They're gonna
use DLLE, or direct lithium extraction technology, which uses a closed loop system that returns the water to the lake.
Up until now, lithium mining and the Great Salt Lake involved pumping brine into evaporation pools to get the lithium.
That lowered the water table, left toxic dust storms in its wake, and was shriveling up the Bonneville Salt Flats.
And by the way, there are an estimated two point four million metric tons of lithium in the Great Salt Lake, which would be enough to make batteries for over three hundred million evs. If your car is due for an
oil change, you may want to do it now before the price goes up. Even though the US is the
biggest oil producer in the world, it turns out that the base oil that's refined into synthetic oil for car engines mostly comes from the Middle East. According to the
Independent Lubricants Manufacturers Association, forty four percent of the synthetic engine oil that's used in the US comes through the straits of Horror Moves, and the biggest refinery for synthetic oil and Katar, which is operated by Shell, was partly damaged by an Iranian ballistic missile attack. A big spike
in engine oil won't only hurt motorists, it will hurt fleet operators and car dealers who offer prepaid, in lifetime maintenance programs. So while there's been a lot of attention
on the price of a barrel of oil and the price of a gallon of gasoline and diesel, next on the list will be the price of an oil change ad.
Speaker 2: Intrepid we produce network hardware and software solutions enabling vehicle manufacturers to innovate and design the next generation of modern mobility.
Delivering scalable next generation solutions requires thorough testing and validation of vehicle platforms. Intrepid's Neovi cloud platform helps manufacturers quickly
identify diagnostic trouble codes and defects by pinpointing which vehicles have specific software versions. This allows them to isolate non
compliant vehicles in real time using analytics, part numbers, DTCs, and organized secure cloud based data. All of these steps
ensure vehicles are cleared for production and ready for the road, taking your fleet testing into the future of mobility intrepid control systems driven by your data.
Speaker 1: Mitsubishi has been on a steady decline in the US over the last few decades. The brand sales peaked at
nearly three hundred and forty six thousand vehicles in two thousand and two, but last year its sales tumbled to about ninety five thousand vehicles of fourteen percent dropped from twenty twenty four. As a result, Mitsubishi's US dealer network
is also shrinking. The automaker now has two hundred and
ninety seven dealerships, which is fifty six fewer or sixteen percent lower than in early twenty nineteen, and the company's CEO of North America says than network could shrink more before it grows. Dealers are upset with the brand's aging lineup,
with some voluntarily giving up their franchise because the models aren't competitive. Dealers are also frustrated by the brand's heavy
reliance on fleet sales out for sixty percent of sales in the first quarter. The company has promised new products
to roll out by the end of the decade, but dealers are skeptical it will deliver them on time. BMW's
new class architecture is unlocking bi directional capabilities for its customers.
In March, it launched a vehicle to grid solution in Germany that allows IX three owners to earn up to seven hundred and twenty euros a year by giving energy providers access to their vehicle's battery. Now, it's partnering with
a company called solar Watt to launch a vehicle to home function also in Germany that will allow both IX three and I three owners to integrate their vehicle's battery with their other home energy solutions like solar and stationary storage, so owners will be able to tap into any of those sources to help power their home. At the beginning
of the year, BMW made to Lpina, an exclusive standalone brand within the group. The company knows for making souped
up BMWs with nicer materials and a few unique touches.
Now we'll sit above BMW, but below Rolls Royce. Its
first model will launch next year, a vehicle inspired by the BMW seven series but said to be unmistakably Alpina.
We're likely getting a little flavor of what that will look like with the vision BMW Alpina concept. The two
door Grand Tour is five point two meters or just over seventeen feet long. It features especially tuned V eight
under the hood and a variation of Alpina's classic spoked wheels, but under the skin is all BMW. For example, the
interior electronics are powered by BMW's latest version of its Eye drive system. And let's go over the results of
our latest poll with US lawmakers and automakers wanting to ban Chinese cars from the American market. We asked what
you think US policy should be. Twenty one percent said
to keep Chinese automakers out, sixteen percent said keep them out for now, but start opening the door in five years, and sixty three percent said to let them in now.
Here's some of your feedback. There was a lot of
suggestions similar to USA. One mac who says, quote, let
them in, but require them to partner with GM or Ford or Tesla and force them to give half their profits to them. It worked for China's marketplace for decades
and would be fair to do here. Brennan Harvass says
got to get our house in order to compete, so a delay of five years should help. Irvin Wright commented,
this is a tough one. Capitalism is all about free
markets and competition so that the best rise to the top.
If they can meet all the safety standards and they are not being subsidized by their government, then they should be allowed to compete. But a lot of you also
had concerns, like Py Wright, who wrote, I don't trust them to keep software and devices the CCP. He can
use the spy out of imported cars and electronics. Thanks
for participating and for your feedback. It's interesting to see
all your opinions. And remember Cherry says, all Chinese automakers
want to get into the US market. But that brings
us to the end of today's show and a quick programming update. There won't be an Autoline Daily on Monday
because of the Memorial Day holiday. We'll be back next Tuesday.
But thanks for making Audoline a part of your day and I hope that you have a great weekend.
Speaker 3: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Alex Partners When it Really Matters, bridge Stone Solutions for your Journey, CSP, the composites solution partner Intrepid Control Systems over the year engineering boost your game and thanks to the following YouTube and Patreon on members.
Speaker 4: At CSP, we work with OEM engineers across the country on their journeys to lighter, safer, and more eco friendly vehicles.
Learn more at VCSP dot com.
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About this episode
Ford is expanding beyond vehicles, with a pivot of its EV battery plants toward energy storage for utilities and other businesses, plus moves into banking via Ford Credit Bank. The show also connects global oil supply and refining constraints to potentially higher synthetic oil and oil-change costs. Mitsubishi’s U.S. presence is shrinking, while BMW highlights EV “vehicle-to-grid” and “vehicle-to-home” features in Germany. Listeners debate whether Chinese automakers should be allowed into the U.S. market.
- Ford Becoming a Holding Company? - Lithium Extracted from the Great Salt Lake - Oil Changes Could Get Expensive - Mitsubishi Shrinking in the U.S. - BMW Unlocks Bidirectional Charging - Sleek New Alpina Grand Tourer Concept - Results of Our Latest Poll
