+++ ASTON MARTIN has committed to dropping its pure-ICE engines within 4 years, according to reports. The firm has stated that it will be fully electrified from 2026, although an element of combustion engines will remain because hybrids will form part of the mix. Nevertheless, it represents a change of heart from the British sports car manufacturer, which had previously said electrified vehicles would form only part of its line-up. However, rival Bentley has gone further, with a target of being electric-only by 2030. Chairman Lawrence Stroll told: “I can’t tell you that 100 % of Aston Martin customers want an electric vehicle. People still want the smell, the noise of combustion-engined cars. We’re gradually going to get to full EV, but we will continue offering both electric and hybrids. “There will still be an electrification component, but if someone wants an internal combustion engine in 2028, that will happen”. Stroll was speaking at the launch of the DBX 707, the most powerful luxury SUV from a mainstream manufacturer. Despite all the focus on future electrification, the 707 uses a significantly uprated twin-turbo V8 producing 707 hp and 1.000 Nm. CEO Tobias Moers told that he expects this version to make up 60 % of DBX sales when deliveries start in the second quarter of 2022. Further updates are also on the way for the popular DBX, which will be the first hybridised Aston Martin when a mild-hybrid version is added later this year. That DBX will be for China only, due to that country’s high import tax on performance vehicles, before a PHEV DBX appears in 2024 for all markets as part of the SUV’s facelift. +++
+++ A radical reshaping of AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTION LINES, to include flexible manufacturing cells, robotic guided vehicles and automated parts warehouses moved to trackside, are the key to making electric cars affordable, Europe’s second-biggest maker of robots, ABB, believes. ABB is pushing a radical new production system that abandons the traditional assembly/trim line, with its dozens of sequential assembly stations, in favour of multiple flexible manufacturing cells between which vehicles and parts bins are hauled on trolleys by automated mobile robotic vehicles. Rethinking production to drive manufacturing costs down will compensate for the high cost of essential componentry in electrics, and is emerging as a key pivot point in automotive manufacturing, believes ABB. “OEMs have got to reduce the price of battery-electric cars and that means more efficient factory operations”, said ABB global powertrain group manager Patrick Matthews. “The velocity of change in electrification technology right now is unbelievable and the EV transition is the main catalyst”. ABB has commissioned research into the extent to which electrification will be introduced into the world’s car plants and predicts that 86 % of European car output will be EVs in 2035, with the comparative figures for Asia and North America 86 % and 45 % respectively. With 13 years until 2035 (that’s just 1.5 model cycles in car industry terms), the industry is under pressure to make this changeover sooner rather than later. ABB uses the initialism HSFS (Highly Standardised Flexible Solution) for the system, which it has been working on for a few years, and which has gained partial traction with at least 2 plants (1 in Europe and 1 in the US) adopting the new way of working in a limited number of sections of the factory; in one case, a body-panel pressing plant. “We are having conversations with many car makers who are looking for expertise on how to organise the shift to manufacture of electrified cars. This is a big challenge for them”, said Jörg Reger, ABB’s managing director of automotive robotics. Automotive industry consultant Peter Wells of Cardiff Business School agrees there is a need for car plants to find new ways to build electric cars and believes automation companies like ABB are “pushing on an open door” as OEMs grapple with implementing major changes in their manufacturing operations. “The push for more flexible assembly systems is ongoing”, said Wells, “and is well suited to battery-electric cars as the core platform [including battery pack, motors etc] stays much the same”. Wells is referring to the possibilities of spinning multiple body variants off a skateboard-type chassis platform built around a standardised battery pack, and occupying less factory space than is typical today. Audi demonstrated a version of the flexible cell-manufacturing system to the media in 2018, as part of a proposed ‘Industry 4.0’ rethink that links smart automation equipment to high-power data processing and artificial intelligence. In a fully implemented version of ABB’s HSFS system, the body-in-white construction and final assembly would be organised into robotic cells operating flexibly, with some cells capable of multiple operations. There might even be 2 cells operating side by side completing the same procedures, if the process is sufficiently complex and time-consuming to warrant doubling up. In a conventional plant, that would be highly unusual. A key change to the traditional way of working would be to break away from the standardised ‘tact’ time, typically one minute in a high-volume car plant. “It is possible to split one 1-minute operation into two 30-seconds operations, and maybe changeover tools, and add an extra step into the process”, said Reger. Parts and modules to feed into the assembly cells would be stored in the assembly building within easy reach of automated guided vehicles and parts would be picked into a complete component set, which would follow the car on AGVs as it moved between manufacturing cells. If ABB’s calculations are correct, the system could reduce manning in factories, which would feed into a reduced hours-per-vehicle figure; a benchmark for factory efficiency established for decades. “This is the big challenge for OEMs to get overall costs down to compensate for the high price of components like lithium ion battery cells, and make electric cars more affordable”, said Matthews. The man-hours for a medium-sized electric car is currently stabilising at around 10 hours, compared with the combustion-engined equivalent of 25 to 30 hours. Nissan, for example, has stated its new Leaf is a 10 man-hours car, while the Tesla Model 3 is also understood to be a 10 hour car. For comparison, that is even faster than a low-cost small car, like a Nissan Micra, which is in the 12- to 15-hour range. Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess has said VW will have to target 10 hours for future electric models, a huge efficiency increase for a company that currently takes 30 hours to build the ID 3 at its Zwickau plant, and is targeting a reduction to 20 hours. Diess has said Wolfsburg, VW’s main plant with a capacity of at least 800.000 cars, will have to become much more efficient to survive the onward march of electric cars, which has caused unease with labour unions. “If OEMs compensate for the high cost of componentry in electric cars with more automation, the risk is significant labour unrest”, said Wells. The man-hours figure is a complex calculation and takes into account all the staff employed in a production plant, so workforce reductions (especially in non-frontline positions like warehouses) can make a significant difference to productivity. Increasing off-site assembly of modules can have the same effect, but BEV battery packs are seen as a strategic component that an OEM should remain in control of. “But it is proving very difficult to automate the production of the individual modules, with intricate wiring and small componentry”, said Matthews. “And we are now having the battery pack built in the final trim and assembly plant”, added Matthews. “We never had that with combustion-engine cars. That brings more complexity into the plant and that’s also where robotics can help”. +++
+++ Electric vehicle firm FARADAY FUTURE Intelligent Electric said on Tuesday its review had identified certain inaccurate statements made by its employees to investors and announced changes in its leadership structure. Faraday said it had appointed Susan Swenson, currently an independent member of its board, to the newly created position of executive chairperson of the company. The company said its chief executive officer Carsten Breitfield and founder Jia Yueting would both be handed a 25 % cut each in their annual base salary. Both Breitfield and Yueting would report to the newly appointed executive chairperson, according to Faraday. Faraday in November had delayed the filing of its quarterly report and said it had formed a special committee to review allegations of inaccurate disclosures, including claims made by short-seller J Capital. The short-seller had called Faraday “a new EV scam in town”. On Tuesday, Faraday said statements made by some of its employees to certain investors describing founder Jia Yueting’s role within the company were inaccurate, and his involvement in the company’s management post its merger with blank-check firm Property Solutions Acquisition Corp “was more significant than what had been represented”. However, the company maintained allegations made in the short-seller report were not supported by the evidence reviewed. Several EV companies, including Lordstown Motors, Nikola, both of which went public via acquisitions by special-purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), have found themselves under investigation for misstatements by former top executives and are under the scrutiny of short-sellers. The chairman and CEO of Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc, which also went public through a SPAC, resigned on Tuesday following an investigation into their share purchases. Further investigation based on the special committee’s findings would be under the executive chairperson’s direction, Faraday said. Faraday went public in July through a SPAC deal with Property Solutions Acquisition Corp. +++
+++ FORD is planning a major reorganization to prepare for the electric future, using Tesla’s success as a road map and accelerating EV spending by as much $20 billion. The effort, led by a former Apple and Tesla executive, calls for Ford to spend an additional $10 billion to $20 billion over the next 5 to 10 years converting factories worldwide to electric-vehicle production from making gasoline-powered cars, according to people familiar with the plan. That would be on top of the $30 billion Ford already has committed to EVs through 2025. The move is part of chief executive officer Jim Farley’s initiative to challenge Tesla’s dominance in EVs even as he takes pages from the playbook of the electric-vehicle pioneer, now the world’s most valuable automaker. Investors have bought into Farley’s vision for Ford, briefly lifting the company’s market value above $100 billion in January. The new plan also envisions a reworked Ford organizational chart, including the hiring of an unspecified number of engineers specializing in disciplines relatively new to the company, such as battery chemistry, artificial intelligence and EV software. As part of the reorganization, the company has evaluated spinning off a small portion of its EV business to capture some of the immense value investors are giving electric startups, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations aren’t public. The potential move would involve lower-volume models, allowing the company to focus its efforts on mass-market EVs, the person said. Ford declined to comment on the planned reorganization and potential spinoff. “We are executing our Ford Plus plan to transform the company and thrive in this new era of electric and connected vehicles. We would not comment on speculation”, Mark Truby, the company’s chief communications officer, said in an emailed statement. Doug Field, the former head of Apple’s car project, is leading Ford’s overhaul, the people said. Field was also a top executive at Tesla, where he engineered the Model 3. Ford’s EV plans have accelerated since Farley, 59, became CEO 16 months ago. It has tripled output of the electric Mustang Mach-E model and doubled production of the F-150 Lightning plug-in pickup coming this spring. The company also is spending $11.4 billion with South Korea’s SK Innovation to build three battery factories and an EV truck plant in Tennessee and Kentucky. Ford poached Field from Apple in September to disrupt the 118 year-old company. He’s working closely with Farley to make the legacy automaker more nimble, like Tesla, by adjusting Ford’s operational and manufacturing structure, the people said. The restructuring is a work in progress and some elements may be changed or dropped, including the EV spinoff idea, the people said. The Ford family, which controls the automaker through a special class of supervoting stock, would have to be convinced a spinoff is worthwhile. Farley has expressed admiration for Tesla CEO Elon Musk and acknowledged Ford is rethinking its mission as the company prepares to manufacture 600.000 EVs a year by 2024. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker wants to generate as much as half of its global sales from electric vehicles by the end of the decade. To drive home his desire to emulate Tesla, Farley has taken to sharing news articles about the electric-vehicle maker with others internally, according to one person. Farley, who did not comment for this story, has said he’s learned “a lot” from watching Musk transform his company from a struggling startup to a high-profit, global EV leader that investors value at more than $1 trillion. “I really admire, frankly, the difficulties they had and the way they managed those difficulties into the success they had”, Ford’s CEO said in an interview last week. “They are now making more than $10.000 a vehicle, because of their scale. I like that kind of business”. It’s unclear which Tesla practices Farley plans to adopt as Ford builds out its own EV manufacturing capacity and accelerates its shift from a mechanical engineer-led workforce to one that increasingly is made up of software engineers. Unlike Tesla, Ford also must manage the slow decline of vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, which now generate all of the profit necessary to fund the company’s EV aspirations. That’s an area Ford also is intensely focused on as it reinvents itself. Farley sees gasoline-fueled vehicles as a core part of the company for many years to come and still intends to invest enough to keep it competitive with rivals, he said in a seperate interview last week. One way is to boost the services Ford sells to car owners; a business that could generate $20 billion a year in revenue. That could include selling drivers software to upgrade their car’s performance or enhance dashboard touchscreens. Or it may involve getting more business in the service bays at Ford’s dealers, which see 90% of owners go elsewhere for maintenance after their warranties expire, Farley said. Ultimately, Farley wants even more of Ford’s customers driving electric vehicles, and that’s the future he and Field are preparing for. Ford hopes to eventually overtake Tesla, but for now is trying to solidify its standing as America’s No. 2 seller of EVs. “What it takes to succeed in this digital, connected, electric product are talents and know-how and a way of managing the business that’s different than what we’ve done in 118 years”, Farley said last week. “It’s kinda like snowboarding and skiing. We both share the lift, but as soon as you get off the lift the intuitions are wrong between both businesses. You have to really relearn to how to get down the slope”. +++
+++ JAGUAR LAND ROVER received an astonishing £68.000 from each car built and sold in the three months ending 31 December as Range Rover models dominated sales. The figure was up from an already impressive £61.000 from the previous quarter and reflects the extraordinary juggling JLR has overseen to go about its normal business in the face of chip shortages globally. “This is probably the richest per unit data we’ve had for more than 11 years”, JLR chief financial officer Adrian Mardell said on a call with analysts on Monday. The extreme focus on higher-end models didn’t quite push JLR into profitability but the £9 million loss was far better than the massive £302 million loss the company posted the previous quarter ending 31 September. The focus on high-end models saw Range Rovers (including the Range Rover Sport, Velar and Evoque) account for 56 % of wholesales for the 3 months, compared with 11 % for Discovery-badged models and 14 % for Jaguar models. Even the Land Rover Defender had to take a back seat at 17 %, compared with 26 % for the previous 3 months. The reason for the bumper quarter in terms of revenue-per-model was 2-fold, Mardell told investors. First was the need to prioritise cars for the scarce chips and that meant ignoring cheaper models. “We’re consciously not allowing customers to order lowest-value derivatives because they’re the last vehicles to be built and we do not want customers to wait 12 months or more”, said Mardell. “Building the cars that sell quickest and most valuably has worked very well”. If you wondered how the chip crisis was affecting prices, then there was a big clue. That meant JLR barely built any Jaguar XE or XFs at all, with sales figures showing that the few they did build were all in its China joint venture, meant for Chinese customers. Second, JLR was switching over production from its outgoing Range Rover to the highly anticipated new version. Mardell said there was a “huge bias” in production for the outgoing model to make sure all customer orders were fulfilled. “That really has lifted the average revenue”, said Mardell. The new Range Rover has yet to filter through in results, although JLR said it has 31.000 orders for the model within its overall 155.000 order backlog amid the chip shortage. Defender is currently at 37.000, up from 33.000 in the previous 3 months. JLR production from January to March will be dominated by the Range Rover Sport as the company clears orders for the outgoing version ahead of production of the new one, said Mardell. The focus on high-end models meant that JLR got a £293 million boost from what car makers call the ‘mix’; i.e. selling higher-priced versions. It also saved money on what’s called variable marketing, which includes discounts. No need to entice people to buy your cars when there’s such a shortage that every model built finds a willing customer, and most are built to order anyway. JLR spent just 1.6 % of revenue on variable marketing, compared with around 5 % normally. The negative hits to the bottom line included higher manufacturing costs, as JLR wasn’t able to enact efficiencies with the manufacturing capacity only at 60 % (car factories are more efficient when they run closer to capacity). Also affecting finances was the fact that, now all the work is largely finished on the MLA High platform underpinning the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, it had to book more of its R&D cost as an expense. Under accounting rules, if engineers are working flat out on a new platform, the company can ‘capitalise’ those costs – ie book them as an asset, rather than an expense. That will increasingly happen “over the next three to six months”, said Mardell, when more engineers are working on the forthcoming EMA platform for smaller Land Rovers and the Jaguar electric platform, known as Panthera internally. JLR also had to deal with that old bugbear of unreliability, which cost it £33 million for the quarter for recalls on “pre-2018 model year” cars. The incredible boost in revenue per vehicle meant that JLR hit a break-even point for just 73.000 vehicles for the quarter, meaning anything sold over that would be profit. It got tantalisingly close at 68.200. Given it has booked losses on sales of far more than that in the past, it proves that, one, the company’s Refocus cost-saving strategy is working, and two, that if you’re forced to make fewer cars, then selling the most profitable ones is not a bad strategy. A lesson that nearly all car makers, not just JLR, have learned in an extraordinary year. +++
+++ The first bespoke LEXUS electric car, arriving in the first half of the year, will be a sleek, performance-oriented SUV called the RZ. Already previewed in near-production-ready form when Toyota and Lexus unwrapped 15 all-new electric concept cars late last year, it’s based on Toyota’s e-TNGA platform but with bespoke modifications aimed at taking “the driving experience to the next level”. It’s a similar size (and is a close visual relation) to the existing NX crossover. New photos released as part of Lexus’s 2021 global sales data give us a clear view of the RZ. The design is unchanged from the concept shown back in December, featuring an overall look similar to the Subaru Solterra and Toyota BZ4X with which it shares its platform, although a black C-pillar helps to create a more streamlined look. Like its Toyota and Subaru siblings, it sits closer to the ground than a traditional SUV. It also carries forward a number of new design cues seen for the first time on that concept. The rear, however, is radically different from the other 2 cars. A slim rear light bar and spelled-out brand name, features originally found on the LF-Z concept, are likely to define Lexus’s EVs. The brand’s Europe vice-president, Pascal Ruch, told that a priority for Lexus is offering “exhilarating driving performance” and hinted that it will offer variants of future EVs that “support the sporty position of the brand”. The RZ will have fully variable four-wheel drive and steer-by-wire technology and promises “incredible cornering and roadholding”. Bespoke modifications (including “lighter and more compact motors”, increased body rigidity and Lexus’s own Direct4 fully variable four-wheel-drive technology) are aimed at providing “an engaging and rewarding on-road driving experience”. The Direct4 system allows the RZ to apportion power delivery across both axles “in the blink of an eye”, essentially switching instantly between front, rear and all-wheel drive as the situation requires. Lexus will employ this set-up on all future bespoke EVs, suggesting that each will use a twin-motor set-up. +++
+++ PEUGEOT key focus is on improving customer service and expanding globally, according to CEO Linda Jackson, and it is also setting its sights on the number one spot in Europe. In 2021, Peugeot came second in the European rankings, selling 649.514 vehicles, behind topseller Volkswagen, which sold 1.08 million units. Jackson said: “We always want to do better. We’re in this game to win. We believe we have great products. But it’s a long way to go to number one and I have a lot of respect for VW”. Aside from its European success, Jackson (who took over the top role in January 2021) said 4 out of Peugeot’s 6 global regions have growing market share and 2 are stable. She said: “20 % of Peugeot sales are outside Europe. We have a real opportunity to grow while, of course, not reducing our footprint in Europe, particularly across South America, the Middle East and Africa, as well as rebuilding in China”. Jackson’s other goal is to improve customer service: “We’re very strong on product and I want us to be very strong on customer experience, whether that’s dealerships, websites: all the customer touchpoints. That’s a real focus for us. Our positioning is towards the upper part of the mainstream, which means not only excellent products but also excellent customer service”. There are no plans to expand the vehicle line-up, said Jackson when asked if there was any truth in a rumoured 3008-based coupé, possibly called 4008: “We work on a core model strategy, that is: key models in the volume profit pool. Peugeot is very fortunate to have representation in most of the key profit pools. I am very happy with what we have. “The one model we have added, but not for Europe, is the Landtrek pick-up, specifically for Africa, the Middle East and South America, where the pick-up market is enormous”. Peugeot’s recent success in Europe is partially attributed to its electrified models. The Peugeot e-208 in particular was top of the sales charts sporadically throughout 2021. While full figures for last year have yet to be announced, EVs made up 20 % of sales in December, said Jackson. That figure is likely to rise as uptake accelerates further and the electric version of the 308 arrives in 2023. The zero-emissions compact model is expected to have a range of 400 km and will be able to be fast charged at up to 100 kW. +++
+++ RAM ’s answer to the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Chevrolet Silverado EV is due out in 2024. Official details about the electric pickup are few and far between, but a recent trademark filing might have revealed the nameplate that the model will wear when it lands in showrooms. Parent company Stellantis asked the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to trademark the name “Ram Revolution” in January 2022. The filing applies to “motor vehicles, namely, passenger trucks” so it’s not for a toy or an event. The filing has fueled speculation that Revolution will be the name given to the 1500’s electric sidekick. It’s a move that would make sense; Ram pledged to redefine the segment, so the pickup will be more of a revolution than an evolution, and the word “revolution” has “EV” in it. Unlike rival Ford, Ram doesn’t have an EV-friendly nameplate in its attic that’s waiting to be dusted off. Dodge’s trucks were lumped under the D-Series umbrella for decades, and its limited-edition models wore names like The Dude, Warlock, and Macho Power Wagon. We suppose that the Li’l Red Express could become the Li’l Green Express, but that territory is arguably best left unexplored. And, following Chevrolet’s lead by tacking “EV” after the “1500” nameplate is seemingly not creative enough for the company’s marketing department. As always, a trademark filing is not a guarantee that a nameplate will see the light that awaits at the end of a production line. If it was, Volkswagen would sell the Amarok in the United States and the Falcon would again be part of the Ford lineup. Ram hasn’t commented on the trademark filing, and it hasn’t revealed what it plans to call its first series-produced electric truck. More details should emerge in 2022. +++
