+++ Advanced driver assistance systems ( ADAS ) are an acquired taste, with many finding features such as lane keeping assistance (LKA) an irritation they could do without. But car makers are continuing down the road to autonomy. Mercedes buyers in Europe can now order an automated overtaking feature on the new E-Class. It’s already available on the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class and EQ series in North America, but Mercedes says it has been adapting the function to suit European traffic conditions. Mercedes’ Automatic Lane Change (ALC) system is part of ‘Active Distance Assist Distronic with Active Steering Assist’. If the car is going at between 80 and 140 kph, and it detects a slower vehicle ahead, it can initiate a lane change automatically if it detects lane markings and ‘structurally separated directional lanes’ (ie dual carriageways). That can be a full overtake if the lane markings are good and there’s enough clearance. The car must be fitted with MBUX Navigation to use the feature and the road on which it’s performing the automatic lane change must have a speed limit. The driver doesn’t have to do anything else to initiate the manoeuvre, but their hands must remain on the wheel. The system can also assist with navigating road exits and merging from one highway to the next. ALC is classified as SAE Level 2 in autonomous driving-speak, which is the last of the levels (above level zero and one) where the driver is considered to be in control even if the car is steering and feet are off the pedals. Familiar examples are adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking. The jump to Level 3, which is defined as the driver not in direct control but the car driving itself in certain conditions (if not all), is a big one, so over the past few years automotive engineers have coined the phrase ‘Level 2+’, which is what Mercedes deems ALC to be. Executing a lane change on a multi-lane road is a big step up from LKA’s mix of lane centring and cruise control that combine a degree of automated steering, braking and acceleration. But at the same time it’s not going so far as to take complete hands-free control. It’s not a new feature to the industry, though. As well as Mercedes already having the feature in other markets, Tesla has an assisted lane change function available, while JLR developed a prototype ‘driver-assisted overtake’ manoeuvre back in 2016. Those not completely (or even a little) sold on autonomous driving may take heart from knowing that progress towards the roads being full of robotic cars through the evolution of ADAS is even slower than first thought. That Mercedes had to adapt its technology to suit European rather than American roads gives an indication of just how complex the development of autonomous vehicles really is, without attaching so many conditions that it hardly becomes worth it. +++
+++ 2 years ago, electric vehicle startup FISKER seemed to have hooked a giant when it announced a deal with Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn to build a sub-$30.000 crossover in the United States. It turns out that deal hasn’t been finalized, according to comments Fisker founder and CEO Henrik Fisker. “In the Foxconn deal specifically, we don’t yet have a final conclusion to this deal”, Fisker told during an interview on the sidelines of an event in Huntington Beach, California, to showcase its future EV portfolio. While Henrik Fisker is still confident it will come together, his comments show just how precarious and complex automotive manufacturing deals can be. And considering Foxconn’s history of backing out of other factory agreements, there’s reason for some caution. Foxconn and Fisker signed in February 2021 a memorandum of understanding agreement, with the goal of producing 250.000 vehicles annually. While it wasn’t clear which vehicle Fisker might build with Foxconn, the automaker had said that it was working on the Personal Automotive Electric Revolution (Pear); an EV built for cities and urban environments that would cost less than $30.000. The Fisker-Foxconn deal came together relatively quickly following the announcement of the memorandum, and by May 2021, Foxconn and Fisker had a signed agreement, setting those expectations in writing. A few months later, Foxconn made a separate deal with EV maker Lordstown Motors that included buying its factory in Ohio and helping the struggling company manufacture its Endurance electric pickup. Fisker became a beneficiary of the deal when, in May 2022, the company announced it reached an agreement with Foxconn to build its Pear at the Lordstown factory. But cracks soon formed in Foxconn’s agreement with Lordstown Motors. Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy and has sued Foxconn for “fraudulent conduct”, stating that the Taiwanese company had made a litany of “broken promises”. Foxconn currently still owns the manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio, and Fisker says that plans to build the Pear in the Lordstown plant are still on track. Foxconn is no stranger to scuttling done deals. The company withdrew from a $19.5 billion agreement with Indian company Vedanta last month. It also famously received a $3 billion incentives package to build a factory in Wisconsin that was supposed to create 13.000 jobs. The state ended up reducing incentives when Foxconn failed to deliver on its initial promises. Fisker still appears bullish on its Pear vehicle and the prospects of finalizing its deal with Foxconn. Executives said the company wants to eventually build up to 1 million Pear vehicles, per year, at plants around the world, including those in the U.S., Europe, China and India. The company is even taking preorders for the Pear. According to a Fisker spokesperson, the ongoing suit between Foxconn and Lordstown Motors won’t prevent Fisker from building the Pear in the Foxconn Lordstown plant at this point. “For the Pear, because we have this reduction of parts in the vehicle, we also need to change the assembly line slightly”, Henrik Fisker told. “The line is a different type of assembly, and the good news is that Foxconn doesn’t have much in that plant. So we need to set all this up. So that’s the discussion that’s going on”. However, Henrik Fisker told there are some outstanding questions that both Foxconn and Fisker need to resolve. “Part of it is that both parties want a lot more information”, Fisker said in the interview. “So we need a little more information for some suppliers because, don’t forget, once you have a deal, somebody’s saying, that’s how much it costs to assemble it, and we’re saying okay, we agreed to that, right? So we’re still working on exchanging information and getting to, “This is how we’re going to do it”, Fisker continued. It’s important to note that no other automaker has successfully created a sub-$30.000 electric vehicle yet. General Motors tried with the $26,595 Bolt but reportedly lost a considerable amount of money on every Bolt sold. Hyundai has a couple of affordable EVs in their lineup, including the Ioniq 5 and 6, but both start in the mid-$40,000 range. Tesla killed off its never-existent sub-$30,000 Model 3 in 2022. Fisker has priced the Pear at $29.900 before incentives and tax rebates. After incentives, the price drops to $22.400, according to the company. That’s a goal fraught with potential cost overruns, including locking in suppliers and retooling manufacturing plants. The company said it has cut the cost of manufacturing the Pear by using an internal development process that helped it reduce the number of parts needed in the vehicles by 35%. Fisker said it will also save money by building its own supercomputers for the vehicles and by making the Pear easier and faster to assemble. Henrik Fisker confirmed Friday during the company’s Q2 earnings call that the Foxconn deal was not yet completely buttoned up. “The Pear will be built here, in the U.S., but we are still in final talks with Foxconn. When you deal with contract manufacturing, it’s a little different because you have to go through all the details of each vehicle to understand the exact cost of assembly”, he said on the call. Later in the call, Fisker said that he expects the deal to be finalized in the next3 months. Fisker also noted that overnight, the company took in around 1.000 orders for the new Alaska pickup, which will be built and sold in the U.S. “The chance for us is let’s get these cars to market as fast as we can. Grab as much market share, because once you grab market share, you have a much bigger chance to hold on to it”, Fisker told. “Nobody can make a car in 2 years now. We started all these programs 2 years ago. So they’ve all been under development and kind of in skunk works, so they’re all ready to go. Ready to go to suppliers and get into production”, he continued. “We still have to select certain manufacturing sites, and we’re in the middle of all that. But the strategy is really let’s get great product to market, really innovative product that excites people and let’s take a big market share”. +++
+++ LAND ROVER ’s long-mooted and highly anticipated ‘baby Defender’ program, which will take the 4×4 brand boldly into a new segment, will arrive as the Halewood firm’s mysterious 4th model line. The rugged, compact 4×4 is rumoured to have been on the cards for several years but has never officially appeared on JLR’s product roadmap presentations. However, it is now finally expected inbound as a sibling model to the next-generation Range Rover Evoque, Velar and Land Rover Discovery Sport, and it will share with them the company’s new EMA electric vehicle platform. The move to expand the Defender family into the compact 4×4 segment was confirmed at JLR’s recent investor conference by CEO Adrian Mardell, who said the “Range Rover, Defender and Discovery brands will come off that platform”. The revelation shed further light on the mysterious 4th model line due to be built alongside the 3 electric SUVs, which are new-generation variants of current models, at the firm’s Halewood factory. Mardell gave no further details, but the confirmation that the smaller Defender will use the electric-only EMA architecture reveals much about the new model. It could adopt the Defender Sport moniker, in keeping with the more road-focused versions of the Discovery and Range Rover, and arrive in dealerships as soon as 2027. Most importantly, it will be much more compact in all dimensions compared with its full-size namesake, today’s combustion engine-powered ‘L663’ Defender. That car uses a variation of the D7 platform that also underpins the Discovery, but the promised electric variant, which is due in around 2026, will use the MLA structure from combustion engined and future electric variants of the Range Rover. The EMA-based smaller car, in turn, will be a similar size to its platform-mates. It is likely to measure around 4.6 meter long and 2 meter wide and stand at less than 1.8 meter tall, therefore making it similar in size to (albeit no doubt a good deal more expensive than) the upcoming Dacia Bigster and Skoda Kodiaq. The move to introduce new Defender models is reflective of JLR’s ambition to separate each of its core brands (Jaguar, Discovery, Range Rover and Defender) into 4 distinct product lines. As part of this separation, which comes under the brand’s so-called ‘House of Brands’ retail strategy, the Defender strapline will be ‘embrace the impossible’, in a nod to the original car’s storied off-road heritage. JLR’s marketing director, Anthony Bradbury, said: “It’s an explorer’s vehicle, it’s always pushed boundaries, it’s always physically allowed you to do things no other vehicle can. It’s about that spirit of embracing the impossible, and it has been like that for 75 years”. Defender-badged cars, he said, must have “that feeling of activation, of doing”. Even the smallest entrant into the family will embody the rugged, go-anywhere ethos that made the Defender a household name. Squared-off lower quarters, purposeful body cladding and bluff, simple panels are likely to be employed both to draw a link with the full-size car and enhance the crossover’s off-roading credentials. Even despite its inherently more road-focused billing, an expansive suite of outdoors-themed add-ons is likely to be available. Recent updates on the EMA platform suggest it is a ‘simple’ structure engineered to accommodate the advanced battery and propulsion technology needed to make it competitive against an increasingly crowded field of mid-sized SUVs. EMA-based cars will be equipped with 800 Volt charging architecture and capable of topping up as quickly as any EV currently on the market, most likely with a peak rate of 350 kW, while the batteries themselves (supplied by Tata’s new UK-based factory) will have a significantly higher energy density than those used by today’s Jaguar I-Pace. That will allow them to be slimmer and therefore make a smaller incursion into the cabin, which will be a boon for any Defender model given the nameplate’s long-standing affinity with family buyers and commercial operators. Slimmer batteries will also facilitate a raised ride height, which will again aid Land Rover’s aim for even its smallest cars to offer newly accentuated ethos of the Defender brand. Today’s Defender accounts for a significant proportion of JLR’s global sales, and the model is listed as 1 of 3 high-margin cars (the others being the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport) that make up the bulk of the company’s 185.000-car order bank. Being priced from significantly less than its full-size sibling but with a comparable set of attributes and a tangible familial link, the Defender Sport has the potential to quickly become a key volume player for JLR globally. That outcome is especially significant from a UK perspective, given that the model is tipped to be built in Merseyside, using batteries manufactured in Somerset. JLR has not said what proportion of global sales it hopes for its EMA-based models to achieve, much less each specific car using the platform. But the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport have been consistent strong sellers since their launches in 2011 and 2015 respectively. That lends credence to the notion that volume-friendly, downsized interpretations of iconic full-size SUVs hold appeal for a substantial portion of the premium car market and no doubt strengthens the case for a new take on the formula. +++
+++ Electric vehicle maker LUCID cut prices of its Air luxury sedans by as much as $12,400 amid rising competition in the American EV industry and a price war sparked by Tesla. Lucid reduced the price of the Air Pure by $5,000 to $82.400 from $87.400, and cut prices of the more powerful Touring and Grand Touring versions by $12.400 to $95.000 and $125.600, adding that the offer would be valid as long as supplies last. Tesla’s Model S and its performance version Model S Plaid (direct competitors with the Air) are priced at $88.490 and $108.490 down from $104.990 and $135.990 at the beginning of the year. Over a year ago, Lucid, which is majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and its peers had to raise prices of its cars as rising raw material prices and nagging supply chain bottlenecks sparked by Covid-19 hit the automotive industry hard. But rising interest rates to curb inflation and fears of recession have dampened consumer demand, prompting market leader Tesla to slash prices this year. That has sent ripples through the industry, making it difficult for money-losing startups such as Lucid, which also face competition from traditional automakers launching electric models, to grab market share. Helping some lower-priced models woo customers is a $7,500 federal tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act, but more expensive cars such as Lucid’s Air are not eligible. Newark, California-based Lucid is expected to show deepening losses in its second-quarter earnings on Monday after reporting a fall in April-June production due to supply-chain problems. +++
+++ MINI is returning to its roots with a simple, retro-futuristic cabin arrangement for its Cooper EV, inspired by Alec Issigonis’s design for the original 1959 car. Revealed ahead of the car’s official debut in the coming months, the new Mini’s cockpit is described as “more Mini than ever before”, and the firm has revealed the electric supermini will receive an exhaust note and 8 different drive modes. Using Mini’s new 9th generation operating system, which the firm says has been optimised for touch and voice controls, the new model will feature a new ‘Mini Experience’ feature with various drive modes to adjust the car’s system’s colour theme, driving characteristics and interior lighting. Mini claims one mode, Balance, is based on noises from a forest at either day or night. It features a rippling stream, crickets and rustling wind. Another mode, dubbed ‘Go-kart’ mode, drapes the Mini’s interior with black and red, visually swapping the car’s head-up display with a speedometer, optimising the car’s throttle response for more dynamic driving. Meanwhile, ‘Timeless’ mode mimics the exhaust note of internal combustion Minis, samples together into what Mini describes as a “futuristic interpretation of the Mini”, and an “acoustic journey through time”. Another, ‘Vivid’, sees the car’s ambient lighting colour auto-sync with the album art of any song being played and project those colours across the cabin. Other modes include ‘Trail’, ‘Core’ and ‘Green’, which transforms the interior lighting to green, while optimising the accelerator pedal for more economical driving. +++
+++ PLUG-IN ELECTRIC CAR sales in Europe continued to increase in June, far outpacing the general market and gaining more share. According to EV Volumes data, in June 311.897 new plug-in electric cars were registered in Europe, about 42 percent more than a year ago. That’s about 25 percent of the total volume; the highest share so far this year. Growth of all-electric car sales is even higher (57 percent year-over-year to 212.000 units and 17 percent marketshare), but what was also interesting, is the growth of plug-in hybrid car sales at 17 percent year-over-year (to 100.00 units and 8 percent marketshare); the highest this year. So far this year, 1.436.712 passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in Europe (up 27 percent year-over-year), which is about 22 percent of the total market. BEVs did about 0.93 million sales and had a 15 percent marketshare. PHEVs sold about 0.49 million times and had a 7 percent marketshare. For reference, in 2022, more than 2.6 million new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in Europe (about 23 percent of the total volume). The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling plug-in model in Europe for 8 consecutive months. In June, 33.523 units were registered, significantly exceeding all other models. The Tesla Model 3 (14.163) and the Volkswagen ID.4 (10.252) were also very popular, attracting more than 10.000 sales. Next came the Fiat 500e (7.954 units sold), the MG 4 (7.799), the
Skoda Enyaq iV (7.119), the Volvo XC40 (BEV + PHEV = 6.615), the Volkswagen ID.3 (6.456), the Audi Q4 e-Tron (5.805) and the Renault Mégane E-Tech (5.032). After the first 6 months, we can see 2 Tesla models at the top: the Model Y with 138.814 sales and the Tesla Model 3 with 43.131 sales. Next came the Volvo XC40 (BEV + PHEV = 42.207 sales), the Volkswagen ID.4 (41.733), the Volkswagen ID.3 (35.415), the Fiat 500e (32.289), the Audi Q4 e-Tron (32.176), the MG 4 (31.341), the Skoda Enyaq iV (30.259) and the Dacia Spring (26.994). Tesla was the most popular plug-in car brand in Europe, by registration volume, but as an automotive group, it remains slightly behind Stellantis (when counting BEVs and PHEVs together). The top plug-in brands (share year-to-date) were: Tesla – 13.1%, Volkswagen – 8.5%, BMW – 7.9%, Mercedes-Benz – 7.4%, Volvo – 6.2%, Audi – 5.3% and Peugeot – 4.7%. The top plug-in automotive groups (share year-to-date) were: Volkswagen Group – 19.9%, Stellantis – 14.3%, Tesla – 13.1%, BMW Group – 9.5%, Geely – 8.7%, Mercedes-Benz Group – 8.3% and Hyundai Motor Group – 8.2%. +++
+++ VINFAST has ambitions to establish itself as a serious player in the EV space but it’s now likely to get a little less coverage in the European media after cancelling plans to attend the IAA Mobility show in Munich, Germany next month. The Vietnamese car manufacturer has not revealed why it is backing away from the event but it comes in the midst of a continued shift in focus to the U.S. market due to snags it has experienced in launching across Europe. Indeed, VinFast initially set out to start deliveries of the VF 8 and VF 9 in Europe last year but could not meet homologation requirements quickly enough. In June, VinFast chairwoman Le Thi Thu Thuy noted that planned launches in Germany, France and the Netherlands had also been slowed due to more challenging safety regulations that were recently introduced. This year’s IAA Mobility event is shaping up to be quite a significant one despite auto shows falling out of favor in recent years. German brands like Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen have all confirmed their attendance at the event. Other car manufacturers set to display their vehicles at the show will include Tesla, BYD, Dongfeng, Hongqi, Leapmotor and Seres. Key technology companies like Google, Luminar, Qualcomm, Nvidia and Amazon Web Services will also be there. While VinFast won’t be in Munich, it does have quite a lot on its plate. On July 28, it held a groundbreaking ceremony at its U.S. factory in Chatham County, North Carolina. The car manufacturer is initially investing $2 billion in the first phase of the site which will include a body shop, a general assembly area, a press shop, a paint shop, and an energy center. +++
+++ The next-generation VOLKSWAGEN California camper, based on the Multivan, will be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain when it goes on sale next year, the brand’s commercial vehicles arm has confirmed. It has released a pair of design sketches ahead of the California’s reveal at the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon trade fair (25 August), confirming it will feature a pop-out roof and gazebo. VW also hinted that the new California will feature 2 sliding doors, stating “no one has ever claimed that a California should have only one sliding door”. This would resolve a key grievance for California buyers in right-hand-drive markets: the outgoing T6.1 model only opens on the right-hand side, which can complicate kerbside drop-offs. A removable tablet features inside the California Concept, giving passenger access to climate and lighting controls, as well as a ‘camping mode’. In the T6.1, this setting deactivates the exterior lights so you don’t disturb fellow campers when unlocking the van late at night. The interior of the new California is otherwise expected to mirror the T6.1, including a kitchen area with stovetops and a cool box, plus a dining table and sink. Given it is based on the Multivan, the new California is anticipated to use the same plug-in hybrid powertrain. This pairs a 150 hp 1.4-litre petrol engine with a 115 hp electric motor, for a combined 218 hp. Production of the next-generation California will begin at VW’s Hannover plant in Germany next year, the firm confirmed in a statement. When it arrives, prices are expected to open at a significant premium compared with the T6.1. As for the long-awaited all-electric California based on the ID Buzz, the CEO of VW Commercial Vehicles, Carsten Intra, confirmed in March that this will arrive in 2025. Speaking at the company’s annual press conference, he said: “We want to expand the range around the business with our camper models and offer what people really like in our products – what we call the ‘California feeling’. It includes digital services for the California community, new services to complement the purchase of a vehicle and the presentation of a new California vehicle based on the Volkswagen Multivan. This is what we are planning for later this year”. +++
