+++ Let’s take a close-up look at the ELECTRIC FUTURE . It’s called Norway. There, 80 percent of new-car sales last year were electric cars. In shifting its focus from combustion-powered to battery-powered mobility, Norway, has become “an observatory for figuring out what the electric vehicle revolution might mean for the environment, workers and life in general”. In Oslo, greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 30 percent in the past 4 years. The city is even quieter. And activist groups have debunked the theory that climate change involves “grim” sacrifices. As one representative said, “With EVs, it’s not like that. It’s actually something that people embrace”. The story suggests parallels with the States, certainly. City residents who want to go electric are challenged to find sufficient numbers of chargers. Sirin Hellvin Stav, Oslo’s vice mayor for environment and transport, says that the city “wants to install more public chargers but also reduce the number of cars by a third to make streets safer and free space for walking and cycling. “The goal is to cut emissions, which is why EVs are so important, but also to make the city better to live in”, she says. Norway will end the sales of internal combustion engine cars by 2025. The piece is a useful preview of what may soon encounter, both the good and the bad, here in the United States. +++
+++ FERRARI doesn’t care about technology for an autonomous vehicle, its boss says, reinforcing the company’s intention to never build self-driving cars. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna was asked whether the company’s push to make luxury electric cars would require it to look outside for software capabilities. “In a cabinet, there are 4 kinds of software. There is performance software, there is comfort software, there is infotainment software and there is autonomous”, Vigna said. “The last one, we don’t care”. Ferrari, one of the world’s biggest luxury carmakers, has historically kept the bulk of its production in-house. He suggested the company’s shunning of self-driving software helped the group mostly stick to that tradition. The CEO said the company had the requisite software intelligence in-house to make its EVs. He added the group had also made the necessary partnerships with battery developers to produce an EV by a 2025 deadline. Vigna, who became Ferrari’s boss in September 2021, told reporters last year that the company would never build an autonomous vehicle after it unveiled its EV strategy. “The AI guys had a ride with our test driver”, Vigna said last June. “When they got out from a Ferrari they told me, OK Benedetto, our presentation is useless”. The company’s stance on EVs clashes with other companies building self-driving cars, like Ford and Tesla. Vigna, who often spoke about the “soul of the car” during the summit, also reinforced Ferrari’s focus on exclusivity even as it moved into the EV space. The company typically manufactures far fewer cars than are in demand. This too diverges with price wars raging in the wider car market, driven by Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s decision to up production in a bid to gain bigger market share. +++
+++ FISKER lowered its 2023 production target on Tuesday, the latest sign that U.S. electric-vehicle startups were struggling to ramp up output in the face of supply chain constraints, easing demand and a tight cash position. Shares of the company slumped 12% in premarket trading. This comes just days after the automaker announced it had delivered its first Ocean SUV in Denmark, followed by its first vehicle registration in Germany. The results follow weak earnings and a production outlook cut overnight from Lucid Motors, sending its stock tumbling 10%. American EV startups’ hopes of shaking up the industry collided with rising interest rates and sluggish demand, with many grappling with production challenges. Market leader Tesla has also cut prices to stoke demand. Fisker now expects to produce between 32.000 and 36.000 units in 2023, compared with its previous target of 42.400 cars. The company blamed the cut on supply chain issues and an updated timing for homologation, or the certification for roadworthiness. Its 32-cent per share adjusted loss for the first 3 months of the year was also larger than Wall Street estimates for a 30-cent loss. As of March 31, Fisker had about $652.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared with $1.04 billion a year earlier. The company expects to produce between 1.400 and 1.700 vehicles in the second quarter. +++
+++ LAND ROVER hasn’t offered a convertible since the roof-less Range Rover Evoque retired in 2018, and nothing suggests that a drop-top is in the company’s pipeline. Dutch coachbuilder Heritage Customs stepped in to fill this void by giving the Defender 90 unlimited headroom. Known as the Valiance Convertible, the off-roader looks a lot like a run-of-the-mill Defender from the tip of the front bumper to the front edge of the roofline. Beyond that, the sheetmetal gets replaced by a hand-made folding soft top that’s available in several different colors. Buyers who want to keep the factory look can even order a white top. It’s power-operated, though the latches need to be released manually, While only the short-wheelbase 90 is eligible to receive a power-folding soft top, it sounds like Heritage Customs is willing to chop up any example regardless of what’s in the engine bay. And, every convertible it builds gets a roll cage for improved safety and structural rigidity. Heritage Customs stresses that the Valiance Convertible is a made-to-order model; the brand won’t keep a single example in its inventory. That’s partly because every unit built will be designed jointly with the person ordering it to ensure a high degree of customization. Buyers can choose from a wide palette of paint colors, mix and match different exterior trim options, and select the wheel design that best suits their taste. Inside, the coachbuilder offers numerous upholstery types and colors, different interior trim options, and even front sport seats. The trade-off is that turning a Defender into a Valiance Convertible takes at least 3 months depending on how it’s configured, and pricing starts at €82,500 (about $90,600 at the current conversion rate) excluding taxes and the cost of the donor car. +++
+++ Big news in the world of LEXUS : a new SUV is coming soon, as Lexus teased a new TX model today. We’ve known another 3-row Lexus SUV has been in the works, and we even knew it was going to be called TX, but today marks our first look at the vehicle. The recently revealed Toyota Grand Highlander is expected to serve as the base of this Lexus TX, as it paves the way for a properly spacious third row and respectable cargo space. That’s something the Lexus RX L never had. Of course, Lexus sells the GX and LX, too, but those are body-on-frame SUVs, while the TX will be a more traditional unibody 3-row crossover with the greater interior space and more car-like driving dynamics that come with such a design. This teaser shows us a long SUV with a straight roofline, a slightly angled rear window and strong body lines. There’s a distinctive kick-up as the body traces its way back to the rearmost window, and the fender cladding is done up in body color, emphasizing this model’s on-road purpose. Some LED taillights stretch around into the rear fender, and that’s about it for notable items to point out. The sheer size of the rear end suggests ample space in the third row and cargo area, but we’ll see about that once we get to lay eyes on the new SUV. Lexus didn’t provide a reveal date in its teaser, but I expect that the big day is coming soon, perhaps as soon as next week. +++
+++ MCLAREN recently announced that it would be extending its partnership with engine manufacturer Ricardo “into the next decade.” The relationship will produce V6 and V8 engines, including both hybrid and non-hybrid variants, at a time when most automakers are eying partial or complete electrification. The 2 companies are intimately acquainted, having worked together since the McLaren 12C in 2011, and the partnership has already spanned 34.000 engines. Ricardo builds the engines in its facility in Shoreham, England, and ships them 80 km to McLaren’s base in Woking. The engine builder said it would “make further significant investment” in its production facility and noted that it already employs more than 100 engineers and technicians on the McLaren powertrains project. McLaren Automotive’s CEO, Michael Leiters, said that the new “high-performance, hybrid V8 powertrain will form an integral part of McLaren’s next-generation product lineup, delivering best-in-class performance and thrilling driver engagement”. Ricardo’s CEO, Graham Ritchie, echoed that excitement: “We are extremely pleased to have concluded this new engine supply agreement with McLaren Automotive for their next-generation high-performance V8 powertrain, which extends the long-term relationship between both companies into the next decade”. Despite the enthusiasm, it’s interesting that McLaren is still homed in on gas V8s. Lamborghini’s entire product catalog will be electrified by the end of 2024, and the Italian supercar maker said it would release its first EV before the end of the decade. Ferrari plans to release an EV in the next few years and noted that 40 percent of its sales will be electric by 2030. McLaren confirmed plans to design hybrid powertrains with this agreement, so it will be interesting to see how the company transitions over the next few years. In any case, the McLaren-Ricardo partnership has produced some impressive vehicles thus far, so there’s plenty to be encouraged about with this extension. +++
+++ VOLKSWAGEN defended its record in China and its decision to jointly own a plant in the Xinjiang region after activists and investors lashed out at the carmaker at a volatile annual general shareholder meeting on Wednesday. About 10 activists, including one topless woman with ‘Dirty Money’ painted on her back, interrupted executives’ speeches, shouting that the carmaker’s vehicles were built with forced labour and waving banners that read: ‘End Uyghur Forced Labour’. The United Nations said last year that China’s “arbitrary and discriminatory detention” of Uyghurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity. Rights groups have documented abuses including mass forced labor in detention camps which China has denied. Investors called on Volkswagen to request its joint venture partner SAIC seeks an independent external audit of the Xinjiang plant. “Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean”, said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka, a top-20 Volkswagen shareholder. China chief Ralf Brandstätter said: “We do not see any evidence of human rights abuses at the plant”, adding that the carmaker was not able to implement an audit without agreement from SAIC. Brandstätter visited the plant earlier this year and said on Wednesday: “I have no reason to doubt my impressions or the information available to me”. Still, activists including Haiyuer Kuerban of the World Uyhur Congress highlighted the reports of mass internment camps and links between Volkswagen suppliers and companies with a presence there, as well as the difficulty for locals to speak openly given the state’s restrictions on free speech. Investors also raised fears that Volkswagen was falling behind in China’s increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, with BYD outselling Volkswagen as the top passenger car brand earlier this year. Chief executive Oliver Blume acknowledged the fast pace of China’s electrification, and outlined Volkswagen’s strategy to hold on to its position as market leader; tailoring products to Chinese tastes and building local partnerships. Some investors reiterated their longstanding criticism of Oliver Blume’s dual role as head of both Volkswagen and Porsche, and the low valuation of Volkswagen stock, which has been in freefall for the past two years with no respite since the listing of Porsche last September. Blume said he saw “high added value” in running both companies. The chief executive also said the carmaker had a clear plan to increase its capital market valuation which will be presented at a capital markets day in June. Meanwhile, activists from the ‘Last Generation’ climate group glued themselves to roads leading to the location of the shareholder meeting in Berlin on Wednesday and protested outside the entrance. One activist, whose affiliation was unclear, threw a cake at Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of Porsche SE, sending bits flying in the direction of Volkswagen supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch as he was speaking at the podium. All of the activists were rapidly escorted out of the meeting by security staff. “A constructive dialogue is important. And a general meeting offers a good opportunity for this. With the exception of a few people, everyone follows the designated guidelines”, a Volkswagen spokesperson said. +++