+++ ASTON MARTIN is celebrating a successful start to the 2023 Formula One season by releasing a limited-edition version of the DBX 707. Called AMR23 Edition, the 707 hp supercar on stilts gets an eye-catching exterior design inspired by the brand’s Formula One car. You don’t need to be an experienced car spotter to tell the AMR23 Edition apart from the regular-production DBX 707. Designed by Q, Aston Martin’s in-house personalization division, it stands out with Podium Green paint, lime-colored exterior accents inspired by those also seen on the company’s Formula One car, and Aston Martin Racing Green brake calipers. Subtle fender-mounted Q emblems complete the look. The interior gets a makeover as well. The seats are upholstered in two-tone Inspire Sport Duotone Onyx Black and Eifel Green leather, there’s lime-colored contrast stitching, and carbon fiber trim everywhere you look. The door sills feature the AMR23 logo as well. Don’t expect to find Formula One-like power under the hood, though the DBX 707 isn’t exactly lacking in this department to begin with. Power comes from a twin-turbocharged, 4.0 liter V8 borrowed from Mercedes-AMG and tuned in-house to develop 707 hp at 6.000 rpm and 900 Nm of torque at 4.500 rpm. Bolted to a 9-speed automatic transmission, the 8-cylinder sends the DBX 707 from 0 to 10 kph in 3.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 310 kph. The standard carbon fiber driveshaft without a center bearing saves weight. The 2023 Aston Martin DBX 707 AMR23 Edition is on sale now. Pricing and production figures haven’t been announced yet, but don’t expect it to come cheap. If the Formula One-inspired look isn’t hardcore enough, there’s always the aftermarket. Mansory makes a DBX with a love-it-or-hate-it body kit that includes wider fenders and 2 (!) spoilers and a heavily-modified, 800 hp evolution of the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine. +++
+++ HONDA ’s profit for the fiscal year that ended in March dropped 1.7% as sales took a hit from a semiconductor shortage and restrictions in China related to the coronavirus pandemic. But the Japanese automaker said Thursday that recovery was on the way, forecasting record sales and operating profitability for the current fiscal year. Net profit for the fiscal year that just ended totaled 695.2 billion yen ($5.2 billion), as declining auto sales and rising research costs offset the perks of a favorable currency exchange rate. A cheap yen is a plus for Japanese exporters like Honda because it raises the value of overseas revenue when it is converted into yen. Sales for the fiscal year grew 16% to 16.9 trillion yen ($126 billion), lifted by healthy motorcycle sales. Tokyo-based Honda projected record sales revenue for the fiscal year ending in March 2024, at 18.2 trillion yen ($136 billion). The 1 trillion yen ($7.5 billion) operating profit projected for the fiscal year, if achieved, would also be a record for the company. The maker of the Civic is expecting fiscal year net profit to improve to 800 billion yen ($6 billion). Although auto sales dropped on-year for the fiscal year just ended, they are expected to recover, chief operating officer Shinji Aoyama told reporters. Also Thursday, Honda announced it has signed a joint venture agreement with GS Yuasa, which makes batteries for cars and motorcycles, to set up a new company to research and develop batteries for electric vehicles. The company will focus on collaborations in lithium-ion batteries, including coming up with production methods, both sides said. The new company, which is receiving capital of 2 billion yen ($15 million), is 50% owned by Honda and 50% by GS Yuasa. The move comes as the world’s automakers are scrambling to keep up with a major consumer shift toward EVs, as demand grows especially in China, but also elsewhere like the U.S. and Europe. “The new company will fully leverage the strengths of the two companies and establish a strong presence in the rapidly expanding battery market”, said Koichi Yamamoto, president of the new company. +++
+++ Hyundai captured more than half of the global HYDROGEN fuel-cell vehicle market in the first quarter, according to energy market tracker SNE Research on Thursday. A total of 3.737 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles were sold worldwide in the first 3 months of 2023, up 4.5 percent on-year. Among manufacturers, Hyundai sold a total of 2.042 vehicles, of which it sold 2.013 units of the Nexo; an 19.8 percent increase on-year. Hyundai’s market share increased from 47.7 percent to 54.6 percent, ranking first. Toyota’s Mirai ranked second with sales of 902 units, down 32.6 percent year-on-year. Its market share also decreased from 37.4 percent to 24.1 percent, widening the gap with Hyundai to 30.5 percentage points. China’s No. 1 truck maker Foton (110 units) and Chinese bus manufacturer King Long (24 units) followed. Hyundai’s Nexo has taken over more than 90 percent of sales in the domestic market, and it will widen the gap with overseas automakers due to the upcoming subsidy policy for 16.000 domestic hydrogen vehicles this year and the start of Q2, the peak season. By country, Korean automakers took more than half of the global market share, growing 32.7 percent on-year due to high domestic sales of Hyundai’s Nexo. For China, sales of commercial hydrogen vehicles (which had slowed down in January and February) recovered again, showing a 109.2 percent growth on-year. The worldwide hydrogen vehicle market has shown gradual growth overall in Q1 this year, with global sales surpassing 20,000 units for the first time last year. Major automakers have announced their willingness to develop hydrogen vehicles and challenge the market dominated by Hyundai. BMW unveiled a prototype of the iX5 Hydrogen, developed based on Toyota Mirai’s fuel cells. It also announced its strategy of maximizing mileage and lowering unit prices of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to match that of EVs. Honda announced plans to jointly develop next-generation fuel cell systems with General Motors and mass-produce new hydrogen vehicles based on Honda’s subcompact sport utility vehicle, the CR-V, next year. Toyota plans to add hydrogen cars to its lineup for its flagship model the Crown in the second half of this year. +++
+++ HYUNDAI said on Thursday it will invest 200 billion rupees ($2.45 billion) in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu over the next 10 years, to beef up electric vehicle production in the world’s most populous country. Tamil Nadu is a hub for automobile manufacturing with the likes of Ashok Leyland, TVS Motor, Hyundai and Renault-Nissan making thousands of two- and four-wheelers every year. Hyundai, through its Indian subsidiary Hyundai Motor India, will also set up a battery pack assembly unit with an annual capacity of 178.000 units and install 100 EV charging stations across the state in the next 5 years, it said in a statement. The carmaker’s move comes a few weeks after the federal government said it would raise taxes on imported cars and motorbikes, including electric vehicles (EVs), as it seeks to boost local manufacturing. India’s EV industry has grown rapidly, with domestic carmakers Tata Motors and Mahindra as well as global rivals BYD and SAIC’s MG Motor lining up launches. However, the market is still small, accounting for roughly 1 percent of the total car sales in the country in 2022. The federal government aims to push that number to 30 percent by 2030 as it looks to reduce pollution and fuel imports. As of April, Hyundai had a nearly 15 percent market share in India’s passenger vehicle space, only behind Maruti Suzuki. Hyundai rivals Nissan and Renault in February said they would invest $600 million to fund the development of 2 electric models and four sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) for sale in India and abroad. +++
+++ KIA outpaced Tesla in operating profit margin in the first three months this year, shedding light on how a legacy carmaker could challenge the world’s top electric vehicle company, an analyst report showed Tuesday. mKia’s first-quarter operating profit margin came to 12.1 percent, surpassing that of Tesla’s 11 percent, according to the Samsung Securities report. “Kia could be the only traditional auto maker that can compete head-on with Tesla in profitability”, said Lim Eun-young, a Samsung Securities analyst and author of the report. Kia was able to boost the profit margin by cutting costs, Lim said, adding that it posted the lowest manufacturing cost per car at $19.000 among global carmakers, as of last year. Kia’s average selling price of $24,800 was almost half of Tesla’s $46.000 during the January-March period. But it recorded a higher gross profit margin of 22.7 percent than Tesla’s 21.1 percent, the report said, suggesting Kia succeeded in maintaining profitability even though it lowered car prices. In terms of fixed costs, Kia cut labor expenses to take up 6.7 percent of sales revenue, as of 2022. It reduced workers at production lines and improved work efficiency through facility modernization. On the other hand, Tesla has seen fixed costs surge to make up 17.6 percent of revenue. Last year, the number of employees came to 127.000 under the goal to produce 1.8 million units per year, almost double that of Hyundai’s 72,600 workers with the same production capacity. Tesla’s revenue per employee in 2022 was $637,000, half of Kia’s, the report said. Lim said Kia’s annual operating profit margin is expected to increase to 13 percent in 2025 as a growing number of factory workers at home are expected to start retiring in 2024. As for Kia’s EVs, Lim said the clean car models will generate more profit than its combustion engine cars from 2026, as the carmaker has set out an aggressive target of launching two to three new electric cars every year. Kia attributed its success to the leadership of Hyundai Motor Group executive chair Chung Euisun, who emphasized the “cost-efficient strategy” when he served as the president of the smaller affiliate in 2005. “Facing challenges of domestic and global economic slowdown, Chung had led Kia to reduce the overall production cost in the manufacturing phase such as the price of car parts, after discussing with partner companies as well as in the design phase”, said an official. “Kia has saved expenses in research and development because we share the same EV platform made by Hyundai and have been able to create synergy with the parent company in research and car designs”, the official said. Also, Kia’s budget-friendly cars have garnered traction with high-quality features including an advanced driver assistance system, user-friendly infotainment setup and state-of-the-art design, the official added. Experts agreed that Chung’s leadership had played a critical role in getting Kia’s business back on track, however, suggested it might not be a fair comparison between Kia and Tesla. “Kia’s success lies in Chung’s push to make fine-quality and cost-efficient vehicles”, said Park Cheol-wan, a car engineering professor at Seojeong University. “But I’m not sure if it would be meaningful to compare a legacy carmaker to an EV maker, because they compete in rather different car markets. Tesla, in particular, is playing a chicken game in price, so we’ll have to wait and see if Kia’s EVs will be well received in global markets”. +++
+++ We all knew this was coming. MASERATI announced it was going all-electric by 2030, so the end was definitely in sight for the V8. But now it’s crystal clear. Maserati will end production of its V8s at the end of this year. The company says that there will still be some V8-powered models on sale into 2024. We’re assuming that’s based on inventory that may not have yet sold or been delivered by the end of 2023. Maserati will have a little something, though, to celebrate its road-going V8 history, which dates back to 1959 and its 5000 GT coupe. It will launch two special editions, the Ghibli 334 Ultima and the Levante V8 Ultima. These will be revealed in July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Those models will join the existing Trofeo versions of the Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte that are on sale now, all with V8s. Maserati didn’t say anything about upgrades to the V8 itself. So presumably, it will remain the familiar twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 making 580 horsepower that is available in other trims now. Any additional changes to the special edition cars will probably be colors, trimmings and maybe handling tweaks. Even if Maserati wasn’t going all-electric, the V8’s days were probably numbered. The new top-dog engine is the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 used in the Grecale Trofeo and the MC20 supercar. In the MC20, it makes 620 horsepower; more than the V8. But of course, even that new V6’s days are numbered. All of Maserati is going electric, and while the internal combustion models aren’t being phased out just yet, every model has electric versions on the way under the Folgore name. That includes the mainstream models such as the new Grecale as well as the sports cars including the new GranTurismo and the MC20. Those electric models aren’t far away, either. Maserati’s goal is to have electric versions of all its models by the end of 2025, and hybridization isn’t part of the plan. +++
+++ POLESTAR has lowered its 2023 production guidance on Thursday and said it would cut headcount by 10%, citing a delayed production start for its Polestar 3 and a challenging environment for the industry. The automaker said it now expected to produce between 60.000 and 70.000 cars this year, versus the previously predicted 80.000. It has been a tough quarter for EV startups, who face mounting competition from new Chinese players as well as from more established brands. An ongoing price war started by Tesla, in addition to high interest rates, has put a further squeeze on the already cash-strapped startups. Polestar peers such as Lucid and Fisker, have both cut their production forecasts, with Lucid in March also trimming 18% of its workforce. Polestar said the production start of its Polestar 3 would be delayed until the first quarter of 2024 instead of the initial mid-2023 start. The company said the delay was due to Volvo (which produces its cars and is delaying its own EX90) having to do further software development and testing. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first quarter were $884.3 million, compared with $973.9 million in the preceding 3-month period. An operating loss of $199.4 million was narrower than a loss of $257.9 million a year ago. Worries of cash running out have been a prevailing issue with EV startups, where many players have seen their initial market valuations evaporate, with few options for funding in a turbulent economy. Polestar has said previously it has sufficient funds to see it through 2023 after it received $1.6 billion in financing in November from its 2 biggest shareholders Volvo and Li Shufu-controlled PSD Investment. However, it will still need further funding to get through the next few years. Shares in U.S listed Polestar were down over 10%. +++
+++ The VOLKSWAGEN ID.7 range will grow with the addition of an all-wheel-drive, GTX-badged model. Due out before the end of 2023, the electric sedan will be positioned as the company’s range-topping EV, and its drivetrain and chassis are being tuned with a focus on performance. Volkswagen promises that “sporty design elements” set the GTX apart from the standard ID.7, but the preview images it released leave a lot to the imagination. The model depicted in the photos is finished in red with a black roof, which is the color combination seen on other GTX-branded members of the ID family, and it features a redesigned front bumper as well as black “GTX” emblems on the front doors. We’re guessing that trim-specific wheel designs are among the visual changes made, but we’ll need to be patient to discover the full design. While interior photos haven’t been released, Volkswagen notes that the GTX receives red contrast stitching on the seats, the dashboard, and the door panels. Technical details remain under wraps as well; all we know is that power will come from a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. In contrast, the rear-wheel-drive ID.7 uses a single, rear-mounted electric motor rated at 290 horsepower and 550 Nm of torque. The Volkswagen ID.7 GTX is scheduled to make its official debut at the Munich auto show taking place in September 2023, and sales in Europe will start shortly after. Looking ahead, the ID.7 range will grow again with the addition of a station wagon inspired by the 2019 ID. Space Vizzion concept. We know that the ID.7 sedan will be sold (and even built in) the United States, but Volkswagen hasn’t announced plans to bring the wagon here yet. +++
