+++ ASTON MARTIN will venture into the world of SUVs with the release of the upcoming DBX and, according to company chief executive Andy Palmer, it could be the most important vehicle it has ever made. Quizzed about whether or not the huge demand for luxury SUVs will force the automaker to make the DBX the foundation of the brand, Palmer stressed just how significant the model is in its line-up. “We put our heart and soul into making that car the most beautiful SUV in the world and, more importantly, making sure it’s an Aston Martin”, he responded. “It will probably become the most important car in our history, because it will become the car that transforms us as we try to address all parts of the high-luxury market. It will target the U.S. and China; 2 critical markets and it will change the dynamics of the company”. Aston Martin’s chief executive went on to acknowledge that while there is a global slowdown in demand for cars, the market for vehicles like the DBX is expanding and will continue to do so. “Go back 4 years, before the Bentley Bentayga existed, and sales were nothing, the market was zero. You might have said there was no demand for the Lamborghini or the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, or the model Ferrari is coming with. Clearly, the market grows along with the supply of high-luxury SUVs”. The DBX will be unveiled in December and will have a familiar face. Power is expected to come from an AMG-sourced, 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 510 hp that’s already utilized by the new Vantage and the DB11 V8. +++
+++ AUDI says its AI:Trail offroad EV concept that will debut at the Frankfurt auto show will have a “radical” design. The concept will preview an “electrically driven off-roader of the future”, Audi said in a statement. Audi gave no further details ahead of the concept’s first public outing at the Frankfurt show on Sept. 10. The AI:Trail is Audi’s fourth EV concept that looks at how autonomous driving will reshape transportation over the next 10 years. The concept series started with the Aicon long-distance autonomous electric sedan with an 800-km range at the 2017 Frankfurt show. It was followed by the PB18 e-tron low-slung sports car at last year’s Paris show. At this year’s Shanghai auto show, Audi showed the AI:ME self driving city car. The show cars have been developed for a singular purpose or to test ways to meet future mobility needs, Audi design chief, Marc Lichte, told earlier this year. Speaking about the Frankfurt show concept, he said: “I cannot remember a show car concept at Audi that was so radical and progressive in its design. We believe that will change in the future with autonomous driving and gradually, not overnight, we will begin to see cars like these concepts”, Lichte said. “There will be new business models for Audi that we can’t even imagine at this point”, he said. All concepts will be on display at the Frankfurt show. +++
+++ Chinese AUTONOMOUS DRIVING company Pony.ai struck a partnership with Toyota in a boost for the startup seeking to take on U.S. rivals such as Alphabet’s Waymo. Pony.ai and Toyota are teaming up on a pilot project as they attempt to accelerate the development and deployment of self-driving vehicles, according to a statement from Pony.ai. The companies will start the pilot in September on public roads in Beijing and Shanghai, using Lexus RX vehicles and Pony.ai’s autonomous driving system, said Toyota spokesman Maki Niimi. The startup is among the front-runners in autonomous driving in China, which is getting a late start in the burgeoning field compared with the U.S. Founded in 2016, Pony.ai had raised about $300 million as of April, with a valuation of $1.7 billion. It received robotaxi operation permits for California in June. Toyota is accelerating its push in China through investments in emerging areas such as electrified vehicles and transport services. In July, the company agreed to invest $600 million in Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing, and has also said it would sign onto the Apollo self-driving platform led by Baidu. Toyota aims to become “a mobility company firmly rooted in China” and will accelerate its business in China via collaboration with many local companies, the automaker said in an emailed statement. +++
+++ What we have here is a case of dueling CHEVROLET Corvette rumors. I recently posted on a report claiming the coming C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 could have as much as 800 hp and more than 900 Nm produced by a twin-turbo DOHC V8 of unknown displacement. Following a years-long trail of rumors, and a chart of engine and horsepower progressions starting with the C6 Corvette Z06, I wrote that getting “800 horses for the C8 generation is eminently reasonable” from a presumed 5.5-liter displacement. Now another rumor confirms an 800 hp C8 Corvette is on the way, but it won’t be the Z06, it’ll be the ZR1. This alternate Corvette universe rearranges the entire lineup. The ZR1 engine “could be larger than 5.0-liters”, could use a flat-plane crankshaft “if for nothing else than an exotic soundtrack” and shift through the entry-level C8 Stingray’s 8-speed dual-clutch. Plenty of Z06 fans weren’t happy that the C7 version added a supercharger and a lot more curb weight. However, it’s hard to separate how much of that unhappiness came from the fact that the Z06 overheated during hard track use, the issue so dire and widespread that owners filed at least 4 class action lawsuits. Steering well clear of that possibility for the C8, Chevrolet will take the Z06 closer to its lo-fi roots with a naturally aspirated V8 producing somewhere around 600 hp. It’s safe to assume that a target for the C8 Corvette Z06 engine output would be to one-up the Ferrari 458 Speciale engine as the most power-dense atmospheric V8 production engine”, which would mean besting 597 hp from 5.5 liters. I have 2 questions about this Z06 intel. The first is that all of the engine rumors for the C8 Corvette have posited 2 twin-turbo V8 engines in 4.2-liter and 5.5-liter displacements, and one naturally aspirated 6.2-liter, so where does the NA engine come from? Yanking the turbos off the TTV8s seems far-fetched, since wringing high power out of an atmospheric, small-displacement engine would be another huge change to the Corvette playbook; the C6 Z06 got 505 hp from a 7.0-liter NA V8. If Chevrolet used the 6.2-liter in the Z06, beating Ferrari’s 132.67 hp/l means getting at least 823 horsepower, putting us right back at the beginning of all this rumor back-and-forth. The second issue is that I think it’s strange Chevrolet would want to fight a power battle with a 4-year-old, out-of-production Ferrari, but hey, these are strange times. There is room left for the C8 ZR1 as the purported all-wheel drive, electric-motor-assisted Corvette with 1,000 horsepower or so at the top of the range. However, that could be the Zora, which “could be GM’s take on the Porsche 918, for a sliver of the price”. Aside from the fact that competing against the Porsche 918 would be fighting a different, even more irrelevant battle, I don’t know what to make of any of this, but I do find it all rather exciting and I can’t wait for answers straight from the Bowtie’s mouth. +++
+++ CHINA unveiled measures to help boost consumption, including the possible removal of restrictions on auto purchases, as growth in the world’s second-biggest economy falters amid mounting U.S. trade pressures. The State Council or cabinet said in a statement that local governments that have restrictions on auto sales should explore gradually relaxing or removing those curbs, while they should also encourage the purchases of new energy vehicles. European auto stocks rose on the news that Beijing was looking to loosen vehicle purchase restrictions. China’s economy stumbled more sharply than expected at the start of the third quarter, as Beijing’s trade dispute with the United States took a heavier toll on businesses and consumers. Second-quarter economic growth slowed to a near 30-year low. The automobile sector, a pillar of industrial growth, has been a casualty of falling demand, with overall car sales down for a 13th consecutive month in July. Analysts expect more economic support measures in the coming months, including steps to boost domestic consumption. “China data weakness will likely be more visible in August and September, and policymakers will likely lean toward more intensive easing”, said analysts at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch in a note. “We expect policy loosening to resume in infrastructure investment, consumption stimulus and monetary easing”. Retail sales in July pointed to consumer caution, growing at the weakest pace since April. Sales of automobiles and jewelry declined from a year earlier, while sales of garments, home appliances and telecommunications equipment posted low single-digit growth. The State Council added it would encourage commercially struggling malls, stadiums and old factory zones to be transformed into commercial complexes, gym and entertainment centers, as well as renovating commercial pedestrian streets across the country. It said Beijing would extend retail hours to promote “the night economy”, with convenience stores and restaurants open longer. Beijing will additionally allow city-level governments to approve retail sales of refined oil products, it said, adding that it would also encourage credit support for purchases of new energy vehicles and smart home appliances. +++
+++ Automakers around the world are pushing hard for new networks that can charge ELECTRIC cars fast. In Europe, some power companies and grid operators are testing whether it might be smarter and cheaper to move into the slow lane. A 15-month study of electric car charging behavior in Germany has concluded that consumers can be persuaded to accept slow, overnight recharging that could help avoid brownouts from surges in electricity demand or costly upgrades to power grids. The prospect of millions of EVs hitting the roads as governments gradually ban new diesel and gasoline cars is seen as a major challenge for power companies, especially in Germany which is switching from nuclear and coal to less predictable sources of energy such as wind and solar. The small study in the wealthy Stuttgart suburb of Ostfildern-Ruit though has helped alleviate the concerns of some grid operators that too many electric vehicles (EVs) charging at peak times could cause network crashes. The engineers at Netze BW, the local grid operator behind the trial, found that all the households involved came around to leaving their electric cars plugged in overnight and only half ever charged simultaneously. “Since the experience with the project we have become a lot more relaxed. We can imagine that, in future, half of the inhabitants of such a street own electric vehicles”, said Netze BW engineer Selma Lossau, project manager for the study. Still, with limited EV battery ranges for now, slow, overnight charging doesn’t get around the problem of how to persuade drivers to ditch petrol cars altogether. Without a network of fast-charging stations offering quick refuelling, drivers may be wary of using EVs for long trips; which is why some automakers want lots of fast-charging stations to encourage the widespread adoption of electric cars. Slower, or delayed, charging has already gained traction in Norway, Europe’s leading EV market, where nearly 50 % of new car sales are zero-emission vehicles. A study by energy regulator NVE showed that Norway faces a bill of 11 billion crowns ($1.2 billion) over the next 20 years for low- and high-voltage grids, substations and high-voltage transformers, unless it can persuade car owners to charge outside peak afternoon hours. The investment cost to the country of 5.3 million people could drop to just over 4 billion crowns if cars are charged in the evening, and may fall close to zero if batteries are only plugged in at night, NVE said. NVE is now working a tariff proposal which will penalize peak-hours charging. Tibber, a Norwegian power company, already offers cheaper electricity for EV charging if you let it decide when your car is charged while firms such as Zaptec offer ways to adjust charging to the available grid capacity. Some of the 10 households participating in the Stuttgart trial said they initially wanted to keep topping up their cars for fear of running out of juice, but soon adapted to leaving the power company to handle it as it saw fit overnight. “At the start, I did not want to take any risks and charged frequently in order to feel secure. Over time, I changed my outlook”, said Norbert Simianer, a retired head teacher who drove a Renault Zoe during the trial. “I grew used to the car and became more at ease in handling the loading process”. Simianer and his neighbors were given electric cars and 22 kW wall-boxes for their garages, alongside 2 charging points in the street, all free of charge. In return, they gave up their normal cars and allowed Netze BW, which is a subsidiary of German utility EnBW, to monitor and carry out a deferred and down-scaled charging process during a seven-and-a-half-hour period overnight. Netze BW tried various options, either slotting cars in at the maximum 22 kW charging flow one after another, or lengthening the charging time for individual cars by adjusting the power flow, or combining both methods, Lossau said. The participants, who used apps to check the status of their car batteries, grew accustomed to the lack of instant charging capability because their vehicles could always handle their everyday commutes of up to 50 km. EnBW said nine of the 10 households in the trial on Ostfildern-Ruit’s Belchenstrasse had opted to keep the wall-boxes and most were exploring leasing an electric car. Lossau said monitoring 10 households did not in itself provide the “empirical mass to draw conclusions for the load profile of all of Germany”. She also said there would need to be better 2-way communication between EVs, the grid and consumers for the system to function efficiently on a large scale. “There will have to be more exchange of information between e-cars and the grid to update the loading status in real-time, because otherwise, there can be the wrong impression about the speed of loading”, she said. Utility companies developing so-called vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services, however, are struggling to persuade some automakers to use technology that allows 2-way flows of information, and power, between batteries and grids. Carmakers such as Volkswagen, Daimler and Ford, for example, are prioritizing one-directional fast-charging instead to overcome consumer resistance to EVs. Nissan has been leading the way among carmakers exploring V2G though Germany’s BMW has now decided to develop it too, saying cooperation between cars and grids will be key to making e-mobility ready for mass markets. “It is about making sure there is enough supply for the electric cars and that the lights do not go out elsewhere”, a BMW spokesman said. “The cars don’t just load when it’s best for the market, but they can also supply power back to the grid to help even out demand spikes. There has to be more progress on the data exchanges, however. It is not yet the standard”. Nevertheless, the Ostfildern-Ruit trial has raised hopes that power grids might be able to cope with an influx of electric cars, especially if the consumers play ball. Even if drivers resist overnight charging, suppliers of software and equipment to power grids, such as Germany’s Siemens, are also looking at safer and more efficient ways to manage how and when power is used to charge cars. The German city of Hamburg, for example, started a 3-year pilot project this month with Siemens to preemptively identify overloads on transformers and along cables, and manage EV charging points accordingly. “Loading processes offer so much flexibility that the overload on the networks can be reduced by deferring loading times or reducing the load that is supplied”, said Thomas Werner, expert at Siemens Digital Grid. “This happens through the digitization of hardware and software and with communication technology”, he said. Using software to help protect aging power networks from predictable surges could also avoid costly hardware upgrades to parts of the 1.7 million km of distribution grids in Germany. With few than 100,000 electric-only cars in Germany at the moment, there is little threat of blackouts from over-demand. But the Transport Ministry in Berlin envisages up to 10 million electric cars on the roads by 2030. The number of charging points across the country also only stands at 21,000. That’s up 50 % over the last year but still barely a fraction of future needs. Next up for Netze BW is a trickier test. Managing the power for 10 households with electric cars in a suburban street of 22 homes is one thing, now the power company is launching a study of car charging behavior in an apartment block with 80 flats, where quarrels over access are likely. It is also looking at a study in rural areas, where the longer cables required present challenges in maintaining stable voltages for charging. But that’s still only part of the story. Lossau said power companies would have to work more closely with carmakers to fill knowledge gaps and exchange information. “It can only work if we get more data from each other”. +++
+++ EUROPE ’s new car market saw a return to growth in July, with new registrations rising 1.2 % over the previous year. Figures released by analysts Jato Dynamics revealed that 1.325.600 models found homes in July, with the increase largely driven by the demand for electric and hybrid cars. Battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and other electrified vehicles totalled 96.600 units; an increase of 29 % over July 2018, but it was pure electric cars that saw the biggest gains. Volume has increased 98 % to 23,200 units, with Renault’s Zoe the top-selling model and Tesla the top-selling brand. “Even if they still makeup a comparatively marginal part of the overall market, electric vehicles are definitely becoming the industry’s bright spot during these challenging times”, Jato global analyst Felipe Munoz explained. The increased sales helped boost the fuel type’s overall market share from 5.8 % to 7.4 %. Sales of diesel models continue to fall as the fuel type falls out of favour with customers, holding 31 % of the overall market; a 5 % drop compared to 2018. July’s growth wasn’t enough to offset the market’s overall performance for 2019, which has seen a 2.5 % drop in year-to-date sales compared to 2018. “There is uncertainty in Europe. After many years of growth, the market shows signs of deceleration that is likely to continue if the German economy fails to grow again”, Munoz said. The Volkswagen Golf remains Europe’s most popular car, with the Polo coming in second and the Tiguan and T-Roc SUVs making it into the top10. The Dacia Sandero saw a 22 % year-on-year increase to reach third place, while the Opel Corsa continues to see increased demand from Germany and Spain, despite its old age and a forthcoming replacement model. The VW T-Cross was among the most popular new cars, with 12,600 sales. The BMW 3 Series (8,300 sales) and Citroen C5 Aircross (8,100 sales) held off the Peugeot Rifter from a podium position, while the Range Rover Evoque made it onto the top 5 most popular (mild) hybrid cars for July. +++
+++ In the lead-up to the new FORD Mustang EcoBoost High Performance Package launch, there had been talk about it being dubbed the ‘SVO’. That wasn’t meant to be. Ford Mustang director Jim Owens says: “SVO was an engineering organization. SVE, SVO, SVT: those were all engineering entities that actually did the work”, Owens said. “The High Performance Package was the base Mustang team working weekends at the Arizona Proving Grounds, taking the engine out of a Ford Focus RS and putting it into a Mustang”. Ford’s reorganization of the SVT led to the creation of Ford Performance and because the ‘SVO’ organization no longer exists, it wouldn’t have made sense for the carmaker to label a new Mustang model the ‘SVO’. The Ford Mustang EcoBoost High Performance Package was introduced at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. The car uses a de-tuned version of the Focus RS’s 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and pumps out a total of 330 hp and 475 Nm; an impressive 20 hp jump on the standard Mustang EcoBoost. Ford says the car accelerates to 96 km/h in the mid-4 second range while the top speed sits at 250 km/h. The original Mustang SVO is fondly remembered for out-powering the V8 powered Mustang models of the day, despite only using a 2.3-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder. Watering down the ‘SVO’ badge for use on a new EcoBoost variant well down on the current Mustang GT’s performance could have been rather short-sighted of Ford. +++
+++ Former NISSAN chief Carlos Ghosn built a business in Silicon Valley with his son, investing in startups with millions of dollars he received from a Nissan business partner in Oman. Bank transfer documents and emails show how the money ended up in the investment fund in Silicon Valley. People familiar with the matter told that Ghosn did not inform Nissan he started the investment business with the Nissan distributor, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles in Oman. The Oman-related criminal charge alleges Ghosn stole Nissan money by arranging for the automaker to pay $10 million to the Nissan distributor in Oman, and having $5 million of those funds sent back to Ghosn through a Lebanon-based company, Good Faith Investments. Japanese authorities arrested Ghosn in November for financial crimes after an investigation by Nissan. His trial is expected to begin this year. Ghosn has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. “The prosecutors, in collaboration with Nissan, have stepped up their campaign to attack Mr. Ghosn and sully his reputation through leaked fabrications, falsehoods and misrepresentations”, a spokesman for Ghosn wrote in an email. “We intend to present our case in a court of law, not the press. Mr. Ghosn is innocent and will be vindicated if given a fair trial”. Meanwhile, a judge in the British Virgin Islands issued a provisional order to prevent Ghosn from selling his 120-foot yacht. The Ghosn family broker found a tentative buyer for the yacht, according to people familiar with the matter. The order stated if the Ghosn family sells the yacht, the family would need to transfer proceeds to the court until the dispute is resolved. The Ghosns own the Navetta 37 vessel through Beauty Yachts in the British Virgin Islands. The boat was bought with funds from Good Faith Investments for $11.2 million in 2015, the report said. +++
+++ Horacio PAGANI , the founder of Italy’s most extravagant hypercar maker, has confirmed that a fully electric hypercar is in the works, but the highly regarded V12 engine will stick around for some time. Pagani is a man who has always found it difficult to say no to his customers. His company’s first hypercar, the Zonda, had its retirement delayed for years because affluent buyers, including Lewis Hamilton, begged for the chance to buy one. Now we’re facing what is meant to be the last version of the Huayra, the BC Roadster, although Pagani himself admits that plan may slip. “It is scheduled to be the last production model”, he told. “But I am also listening to some private collectors who are asking maybe for a one-off or a limited edition, which will probably extend the lifespan a little more”. Pagani remains ultra-exclusive even by the standards of Italian hypercar makers, producing around 40 cars a year. But the company is profitable and has always taken a long-term approach to planning, with Pagani saying that work is well advanced on the Huayra’s replacement (known internally as the C10) ahead of a launch scheduled for 2022. “This next model will have a similar philosophy. It will have a traditional combustion engine, a new-generation Mercedes-AMG V12 twin-turbo”, he said. “We have a very close relationship with Mercedes already and this new V12 engine will be homologated until 2026”. Pagani is also working on an EV that will be developed from the same core architecture as the conventional hypercar. “The C10 will have a regular V12 but, at the same time, there will be a full-electric vehicle”, he said. “It is not going to be exactly the same platform. It will be modified”. Horacio Pagani said the company’s changing customer base has been integral to the move to electrification, as well as environmental legislation. “At the beginning, our clients tended to be car collectors in Europe in their 50s or above”, he said. “Now the average age has dropped significantly and we have a lot of younger buyers in Asia Pacific and also in North America and Silicon Valley”. Beyond 2025, Horacio Pagani said, the brand may do something radically different and he even admitted that plans for an SUV have been considered. He said: “If I had to come up with a Pagani SUV, it would need to have a price tag of €3 million or above to be in line with our current strategy. We don’t know if there is any market for such a product, but there could not be any compromise. If there is a Pagani badge on a vehicle, it must be the highest quality. But it is something that has been discussed a number of times with collectors. We would access the technology of Mercedes-Benz because they produce SUVs, and because of the close relationship we enjoy, we could maybe use the big SUV platform. It’s something that has been in the back of my mind, but the journey from concept to reality for anything like that is a long one”. +++
+++ SUZUKI has confirmed it has discontinued 2 models: the Celerio and the Baleno in the UK in a revamp of its product line-up. The Skoda Citigo and Honda Jazz rivals are still visible on the company’s UK site, but a spokesman said that from the end of this month, no further new, unregistered cars will be available to buy from stock. A limited number of ex-demonstrator cars will be sold, though. Suzuki says it is “refocusing its model range to cater for the high popularity of its best-selling models”; those being the Ignis, Swift, S-Cross and Vitara. “This has resulted in sales of Celerio and Baleno being discontinued for the UK only. Suzuki is also preparing its range for future emission regulations in 2020, of which details will be confirmed and announced in the future”. The Celerio and Baleno, launched in 2015 and 2016 respectively, were never strong sellers for the brand in Europe. Suzuki registered around 15,000 Balenos across the region in 2018, compared with 37,000 Honda Jazzes and 55,000 Swifts. The Celerio did better, with 21,000 finding homes in 2018, but that was still outranked by most core rivals. Suzuki registered more than twice the number of Ignises in the same timeframe. +++
+++ Could TOYOTA actually be giving some serious thought to offering the new Supra with a 6-speed manual transmission? The new Supra is sold exclusively with an 8-speed automatic transmission but during a recent press event, Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada said: “What you’re experiencing today is the first iteration of the new Supra. From this point on, as with all other sports cars, every year we will have a new iteration of it that comes with new upgrades. For the GT86, for instance, every year there were a few evolutions and upgrades, all the way to the GRMN model. “With regard to upgrades, there is an order we can introduce things in. The only question is in what order should we go with?” Tada-san’s response is interesting to say the least. The chief engineer behind the GT86 and revived Supra has previously said that a manual transmission is not on the agenda but this latest statement seems to indicate that he is at least pondering the possibility of a manual. He also seems open to the idea of making a more powerful Supra with the engine of the new X3 M and X4 M despite BMW M Division president Markus Flasch recently saying it was “unlikely” it would supply this engine to Toyota “for now”. What would you prefer? A Toyota Supra variant with 500 hp or the introduction of a manual transmission? +++