+++ China’s leading new-energy vehicle manufacturer BYD saw surging NEV sales growth in September, company data showed. Last month, the sales of NEVs, including purely electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, surged 276.4 % year-on-year to 70.022 units, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement on its website. In September, the company’s sales of passenger vehicles rose 93.2 % year-on-year to 79.037 units, it said. +++
+++ HYUNDAI took over half of the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) market in the first 8 months of the year, led by strong demand for its SUV model, industry data showed. Hyundai, the maker of the Nexo, sold about 5.900 units in the January-August period; up 34.5 % from a year earlier, according to the data from SNE Research. Hyundai accounted for 52.2 % of the global FCEV sales over the cited period, far surpassing its Japanese rival Toyota’s 39.2 %. Hyundai briefly slipped to second place in the FCEV market following Toyota in the first quarter, but it regained the top spot in the first half thanks to the robust sales of the 2021 modelyear Nexo model released in January. Japanese automaker Honda came in a distant third place with a 1.6 % share over the period. With the FCEV market still at a nascent stage with a lack of competitive models and charging infrastructure, market watchers expect tougher competition between Hyundai and Toyota, which represent a combined market share of over 90 %. “Hyundai continues to lead the FCEV market this year, but its dominant position shrank due to rise of Toyota”, SNE Research said in a release. “Hyundai needs to step up its R&D activities and realign its FCEV market strategy”. An FCEV is an eco-friendly vehicle that only emits water vapor as it converts stored hydrogen into electricity, which powers the vehicle’s motor. +++
+++ NISSAN is planning to spend more than ¥130 billion ($1.2 billion) implementing new technologies that will make its global factories more efficient, less polluting and ready to produce next-generation cars such as electric vehicles. As part of its “Intelligent Factory Initiative”, Nissan has spent about ¥33 billion over the past 2 years installing advanced equipment at its plant in Tochigi Prefecture. The company now plans to bring the same initiative to major plants in Japan and the U.S., Nissan Executive Vice President Hideyuki Sakamoto said in an interview. The plants Nissan is looking to furnish with new investment include its Oppama and Kyushu factories in Japan and its Canton and Smyrna plants in the U.S. Investment in those latter two plants will top ¥70 billion while each Japan plant will receive around the same amount injected in the Tochigi site, Sakamoto estimated, adding that new equipment will be introduced at the sites gradually over a period of around 7 years. Nissan took the wraps off its revamped intelligent factory in Tochigi on Friday. Technologies introduced at the site include production facilities for EVs, efficiency-boosting VR training systems and new automated parts of its production lines. Nissan will also electrify plant equipment and source electricity from renewables and fuel cells as part of its plan to cut factory carbon dioxide emissions by 41 % in 2030 versus 2019 levels, Sakamoto said. Nissan first announced in 2019 it would begin installing advanced technologies and equipment at its Tochigi plant. The 2.9 million square meter site produces around 250.000 vehicles annually, including several Infiniti brand models. The Nissan Tochigi plant and its technologies are designed to serve as a model for global plants. Nissan is scheduled to start production of its flagship Ariya electric vehicle at Tochigi this fiscal year. The crossover EV is one of 12 new models Nissan plans to bring to market as part of its Nissan Next turnaround plan. Analysts have highlighted the model as key to the automaker’s future performance. Nissan touts the car as embodying its decades of experience producing electric models. Because the Tochigi plant will be producing electric cars, there are several ways lines have had to be modified to churn out both battery and gasoline-powered models. This is noticeable in the section of the production line that mounts powertrains (the assembly of every component that pushes a vehicle forward). Automated pallets are programmed to install electric and conventional car-oriented powertrains. The system measures the car’s dimensions and makes micro-adjustments to ensure the assemblies are installed to within a fraction of a millimeter’s accuracy. There are also machines installed to produce parts specifically for the Ariya. For the first time ever in mass-produced cars, according to Nissan, the Ariya will replace magnets commonly used in rotors with tightly-wound copper wire. That improves the efficiency of the motor component when traveling at high speeds and means expensive and supply-risky rare earth metals can be reduced. To boost efficiency at the Tochigi plant, mixed-reality headsets are being used to train workers to perform processes such as checking complex auto parts for scratches or deformations. When using the headset to look at machinery, instructions appear suspended in the air and arrows point to areas of the part that need to be checked. Workers can also pace around and inspect a simulation of a car. In another attempt to increase efficiency, Nissan has installed human monitors in a control room on the second floor of a building on the site. They monitor 27 screens for any issues occurring on production lines. Sensors scattered throughout the factory floors warn of any problems, and workers using a camera headset and tablet are dispatched to the site and given instructions by the monitors on how to fix an issue if it occurs. Nissan estimates this system reduces equipment recovery time by 30 %. +++
+++ The boss of SEAT and Cupra has confirmed that the 2 firms will continue to offer brand-specific models in the future, following the success of the Cupra-only Formentor. The all-new electric Cupra Born will not be appearing as a Seat, and nor will the upcoming Tavascan large SUV. The future of the Urban Rebel, the small, ID Life-based concept, is yet to be decided. Sitting at a lower price point, it could be that the little electric car is badged as a Seat. When asked if a simple proposition of a brand-specific model helped buyers, the boss of Seat said: “The simple answer to that is yes. You can see that in that the Cupra Formentor is a Cupra only. I think having the products being more specific going forward will help clear a differentiation between the brands. It helps to clarify what is a Cupra. Our brands are evolving and Cupra is still a young brand. It takes a while to establish ourselves in a clear way, but it’s very encouraging early signs for Cupra”. He said Seat and Cupra will continue to diversify from a pricing point of view: “The decision around Born was based on the positioning of the brands. Seat’s is more at the value end of the market and Cupra’s is in between mass market and premium. For the cost of producing the Born with the electric technology and so on, it makes sense to redesign a car that sits more naturally at its price position and more in line with its production costs”. Seat, meanwhile, is continuing to expand into micro-mobility as a further point of differentiation from the Cupra name, offering an e-scooter moped. It is also looking into the possibility of a launch for the e-kicks scooter but that will largely depend on whether legislation will allow for electric scooters. +++
+++ In SOUTH KOREA , the carmakers’ association has sent a letter to the US House of Representatives, asking it to reject a legislative bill to offer tax incentives for US-made electric vehicles, arguing the proposed plan could unfairly disadvantage foreign carmakers and limit customer choice. The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said the written letter, directed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Richard Neal, concerns the $4,500 tax incentive plan for American electric vehicles proposed by labor groups. “We request the house to delete the clause related to the tax incentives, which could discriminate between imported cars and US-made ones, and between EVs produced in factories without labor unions and EVs produced in ones with labor unions”, wrote Jeong Man-ki, president of the KAMA, in the letter. A House panel last month approved the legislation to boost electric vehicle credits to up to $12.500 per vehicle, including $4,500 for US-made vehicles made by unions and $500 for US-made batteries. If realized, the scheme would give disproportionate favors to General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, while weakening the price competitiveness of non-US brands, explained the KAMA. “The legislation will reduce the number of EVs available in the US market, eventually limiting customer choices and contracting the EV market as a whole”, Jeong was quoted as saying by local media. He added that discriminating against a company for not having a labor union is equal to discriminating against its workers and their family members. In the letter, Jeong also argued the tax incentives plan goes against the Korea-US free trade agreement, which stipulates that “the two sides shall treat products produced from each other’s country equally”. It could also be a violation of the World Trade Organization’s regulation that prohibits providing incentives that could “hinder or exclude” foreign-made products from entering the market. Meanwhile, 12 foreign automakers (including Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen) jointly sent a letter asking the US House of Representatives to reject the proposal, according to international media outlets. +++
+++ The impact from a global semiconductor shortage on STELLANTIS ‘ Italian car production this year will be worse and longer-lasting than the damage to output caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Italy’s FIM-CISL union said. A global microchip shortage is pushing automakers to slow down production, with Stellantis halting operations at several facilities across Europe and the United States. The carmaker forecast it would make 1.4 million fewer vehicles this year. “The semiconductor hurricane is causing production stoppages that are weighing more than the lockdown in 2020”, FIM-CISL head Ferdinando Uliano said. “The forecasts are that such situation will carry on for the whole first half of 2022”. FIM-CISL said Stellantis had produced 319.000 cars in Italy in the first 9 month of this year, 11% more than in the same period of 2020, when operations where frozen for several weeks following the Covid-19 outbreak. But Uliano said 2021 full year production would hardly match the 461.000 units produced last year. “It’s practically impossible, the chip situation is getting more serious and we’ll have further heavy closures”, he said, adding a similar situation was expected with van production at the Sevel plant in central Italy. Stellantis, formed earlier this year through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA, will operate the Melfi plant, its largest Italian facility, for an equivalent of only 6 days in October. On the other hand, Turin’s Mirafiori, where the electric 500 is produced, is among the few plants which have not suffered major stoppages. “Production of the 500e must go on to meet targets on carbon emission reduction”, Uliano said. The world’s fourth largest carmaker has also decided to close one German plant until the end of the year. “The main risk is that Stellantis decides to delay planned investments and new model launches, as the chip crisis pushes sales down”, Uliano said. The carmaker will present Maserati’s Grecale SUV next month, followed by Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV, with sale due from June 2022. Italian unions will meet Stellantis at Italy’s Industry Ministry to discuss production and jobs in the country. +++
+++ TESLA says it will relocate its headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas, though the electric car maker will keep expanding its manufacturing capacity in the Golden State. CEO Elon Musk gave no timeline for the move late Thursday when he addressed the company’s shareholders at Tesla’s annual meeting. Musk noted that cost of housing in the Bay Area has made it tough for many people to become homeowners and that translates into long commutes. Last year, tech giant Oracle decided to move its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, saying the move would give its employees more flexibility about where and how they work. “We’re taking it as far as possible, but there’s a limit how big you can scale it in the Bay Area”, he said. “Just to be clear, though, we will be continuing to expand our activities in California. This is not a matter of leaving California”. Musk stressed he plans to expand the company’s factory in Fremont, California, where Tesla’s Model S and Model X cars are built, in hopes of increasing its output by 50 %. The announcement drew cheers and applause from a small audience at Tesla’s manufacturing plant in Austin, where Musk delivered his remarks, which were webcast live. Musk touted the company’s record vehicle deliveries this year, while noting that global supply-chain disruptions that have led to a shortage of computer chips remain a challenge. “It looks like we have a good chance of maintaining that into the future”, he said. “Basically, if we get the chips, we can do it”. As a result, production of Tesla’s angular Cybertruck pickup isn’t likely to begin before the end of 2022, Musk said, estimating that the company would reach “volume” production on the vehicle in 2023. “We should be through our severest supply chain shortages in 2023”, he said. “I’m optimistic that will be the case”. Tesla said last week that it delivered 241.300 electric vehicles in the third quarter even as it wrestled with the shortage of computer chips that has hit the entire auto industry. The company’s sales from July through September beat Wall Street estimates of 227.000 sales worldwide, according to data provider FactSet. Third-quarter sales rose 72 % over the 140.000 deliveries Tesla made for the same period a year ago. So far this year, Tesla has sold around 627.300 vehicles. That puts it on pace to soundly beat last year’s total of 499.550. +++
+++ Major automakers in Japan are promoting VEHICLE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES to stimulate demand for new cars at a time when vehicle ownership is no longer coveted by consumers, especially young people. Toyota launched its Kinto auto subscription service in February 2019, followed by other leading domestic automakers. An auto subscription service provides customers with exclusive use of a vehicle in exchange for a monthly fee. It holds the initial cost low because monthly vehicle subscriptions include taxes, auto insurance and maintenance. Such services have attracted demand from young people as they curb costs resulting from the ownership of a vehicle to a set amount and enable subscribers to keep tabs on related expenses easily, according to industry officials. Toyota allows customers to choose from 32 new vehicle models, or almost all of its lineup, including top-end Lexus cars, in the Kinto service requiring a 3-, 5- or 7-year commitment. Monthly subscriptions start at about ¥20,000 and include compulsory liability and voluntary insurance premiums. As voluntary insurance premiums are high for young people, the subscription service greatly benefits them, a spokesperson for Toyota said. Kinto had 16.800 subscribers as of March this year and has since been receiving applications from more than 1.000 people per month. About 40 % of all subscribers are people in their 30s or younger. In May, Honda began a subscription service involving new vehicles from 17 popular models, including minivehicles, with an option allowing subscribers to purchase the vehicles. Honda previously limited its subscription service to used cars. Other major automakers, such as Nissan and Mitsubishi, have also launched subscription services. The Covid-19 pandemic is behind the growing trend in the automotive industry, as an increasing number of people are using vehicles for commuting due to fear of getting infected with the novel coronavirus in crowded mass transit systems such as trains and buses. “Young people tend to shun rent-a-car and car-sharing services, fearing that joint use of vehicles with other people increases the risk of infection”, said an executive at a leading automaker. But vehicle subscription services are still not widely used outside urban areas, because “people in the countryside still believe that automobiles should be purchased and owned”, an industry official said. The outlook for a shift in consumer demand from vehicle ownership to vehicle usage will likely be affected by how far subscription services can find ways into rural areas. +++