+++ Renault’s longstanding alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi confirmed plans to invest in the French car maker’s electric vehicle unit AMPERE and use it to develop EVs for the European market, the companies said on Wednesday. After years of contentious partnership, the announcement confirms that the new alliance between the 3 automakers is smaller and more pragmatic, focusing on regional cooperation. Nissan and Mitsubishi confirmed they would invest respectively up to 600 million euros and 200 million euros in Ampere, which has been carved out from the rest of Renault and is due for a public listing next year. Nissan will become “a strategic investor” in Ampere, Makoto Uchida, CEO of the Japanese car marker told reporters, adding the company may use the EV unit’s software and connectivity innovations in other markets outside Europe. “Developing electric vehicles all over the world alone would be very challenging”, he said. Ampere will develop and manufacture an electric version of the compact Nissan Micra for the European market and a medium-sized electric SUV for Mitsubishi. Renault CEO Luca de Meo said Ampere will cut the costs for the Micra for Nissan by 50%. The alliance partners also confirmed their joint projects in Latin America and India. In September, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi ended their common purchasing agreement, which they said would allow them to focus on individual projects and adapt more quickly to regional differences in automotive markets. At the end of July, Renault and Nissan finalised the terms of a restructured alliance after months of negotiations. Talks dragged on for months longer than expected due in part to Nissan, which was concerned about protecting its intellectual property in future collaborations. +++
+++ CATL announced that its CIIC skateboard platform completed testing in China and achieved a 1.000 km range, consumption of 10.5 kWh/100km and managed to charge 300 km in 5 minutes. The car it was sitting on was a sedan. The CIIC (CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis) skateboard integrates batteries, electric motors and other critical units into a single platform that underpins the EV (Electric Vehicle), lowering production cost, vehicle weight and energy consumption while maximizing passenger space. In January, the first partner that signed an agreement with CATL to use their skateboard chassis was Chinese EV builder Hozon Auto, who owns the Neta brand. Both companies partnered to develop the platform together and announced the first CIIC-powered model will be launched in the third quarter of 2024. CIIC is supposed to bring a high level of integration between the car and chassis, reducing cost and the overall development cycle. On November 30, CATL’s chief scientist Wu Kai announced at the Dishui Lake Summit of the International Automotive Conference that they had reached a breakthrough in CIIC development. It completed the winter testing in Heihe, northern China, and summer testing in Turpan, revealing the trial results. CIIC achieved a 1.000 km range, and battery pack efficiency was 75%. In low temperatures of -7 degrees, the range was reduced by 30%. The consumption was 10.5 kWh/km and it can add 300 km in 5 minutes, according to CATL. The company also announced that the CIIC integrates high-voltage and low-voltage systems, steering and braking systems, and chassis domain controllers and uses CTC (cell-to-chassis) tech. The mass production of the first EV with CIIC will start in the third quarter of next year. +++
+++ Time and again, American consumers say that one of the biggest barriers to entry to the ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) marketplace is Range. Compounding the potential for range anxiety in an EV purchase is the fact that estimates are just that, and many have found that their electric cars frequently offer less real-world range than advertised. To help keep them honest, Consumer Reports (CR) decided to evaluate the highway range of its EV test fleet and see just how far each of its cars would go until they just couldn’t go anymore. The team tested EVs from the U.S., Korea, Japan and Germany and the best (and worst) performers just might surprise you. While CR breaks down its results very matter-of-factly, I’m going to (somewhat arbitrarily) arrange them into 3 categories: those that convincingly beat their estimates (30 km better than advertised or more), those that didn’t (30 km or worse than expected), and those that managed to fall almost exactly where CR expected (within 30 km of their WLTP figure). With that out of the way, let’s dive in. The good: Score 1 (or 6?) for the Germans. Always eager to sandbag, BMW (i4 and iX) and Mercedes (EQE, EQE SUV, EQS, EQS SUV) had excellent showings here, and while we’re at it, let’s give Ford and Rivian some credit for hanging with the luxury brands from overseas. While the R1T is hardly a mainstream pickup, the Mach-E is a bit more bread-and-butter. Just goes to show, you don’t have to spend premium money to get a good EV these days. The bad: This list is surprisingly short, but it’s populated by some big names. Ford certainly won’t be happy to see the F-150 Lightning hanging out down here, especially when you consider that Consumer Reports wasn’t even doing truck stuff when they tested it; things undoubtedly get worse with a payload or trailer to contend with. The Lucid Air and the Tesla Model S Long Range were neither able to meet the advertised range. The shockingly accurate: Many of the cars CR tested managed to come so close to their estimates that they might as well have been right on the money. Both the Genesis GV60 and the Kia EV6 beat their estimates by just 5 km; others, like the Hyundai Ioniq 6, fell short by just a few. All of these were within 30 km of their prescribed range, however, which is pretty darned good for a real-world result. And while I’m certain Audi (Q4 e-Tron) and Volkswagen (ID.4) would have preferred to stand alongside their brethren in the “Good” category, this will have to do. Other cars in this class were the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Kia Niro EV, the Lexus RZ 450e, the Nissan Ariya and the Subaru Solterra. +++
+++ Electric-vehicle maker FISKER said it will scale down production this month and produce fewer cars this year than its previous guidance, to prioritize cash for working capital needs. Shares of the EV maker, which has been struggling with a cash crunch, rose 7% in premarket. “Fisker has made a strategic decision to reduce December production to prioritize liquidity to unlock over $300 million of working capital”, the company said. Fisker cut its production target for the year (at least a second time) to just over 10.000 units, compared with its earlier forecast of 13.000 to 17.000. The company said it delivered 123 vehicles, adding it plans to accelerates sale and deliveries despite the tough market conditions for EVs. Some EV firms are facing dwindling cash reserves, pressured by high costs related to production ramp-ups and inflation and price cuts by rivals such Tesla. In its most recent financial results, which were filed after a delay due to the departure of its former accounting chief, Fisker reported a loss of $91 million and revenue of $71.8 million for the third quarter, both missing expectations. +++
+++ The JEEP RENEGADE will be discontinued from the American line-up after the 2023 model year of production concludes, according to a company spokesperson. This elimination moves the Compass into the entry-level position in Jeep’s American lineup. While the Renegade is smaller than the Compass, their starting prices were nearly identical for 2023, with the Renegade starting at $29.445 and the Compass at $29.995. There is no increase in the base price for the 2024 Compass, so that means that Jeep will still technically offer a vehicle that starts under $30,000. Jeep sent us a statement with a bit of explanation for the Renegade being discontinued: “In the U.S. and Canada, the Renegade will reach the end of its lifecycle after the 2023 model year as the brand focuses its resources on SUV segments in North America that continue to grow”. And while the subcompact SUV segment sure has a ton of entries, the Renegade has lost favor in it as the years have gone by. Its best year of sales was in 2016 (just a year after it launched) with 106.605 sales. In 2022, Jeep only moved 27.551 of them and 2023 isn’t looking any better. Jeep isn’t quitting the Renegade globally, as the U.S. and Canada are the only 2 countries that will see its sales stop. Europe, Mexico, South America and Asia will still be able to buy new Renegades for the foreseeable future. +++
+++ TESLA is planning to restart construction of the third phase of the Giga Shanghai factory, which is dedicated to producing a new $25.000 vehicle, local media reported. In April, Tesla announced it would build a new energy storage factory in Shanghai with an annual output of 40 GHw, starting production in the second quarter of 2024. At that time, Tesla didn’t mention any plans for phase 3 of the Giga factory expansion. People familiar with the matter confirmed that Tesla started preparations for phase 3 in 2021 and formed a team but suspended the actions in the summer of 2022. The team responsible for factory expansions has been transferred to other departments. The production capacity of the third part of Giga Shanghai will be dedicated to a new €25,000 vehicle, which Tesla teased in 2020 and is essential to reach the company’s target of 20 million EVs sold annually by 2023. Currently, Tesla’s Shanghai plant produces only Model 3 and Model Y cars. It has an annual capacity of 1.1 million units, and between January and November, it delivered 853.603 vehicles; up 30% from the same period last year. Shanghai is Tesla’s most efficient production plant. It takes 76 seconds for Tesla’s Texas factory to roll off a car, while it takes only 37 seconds for the Shanghai factory. The 40 GWh Megafactory in Shanghai, as Tesla calls its energy storage plants, will be the first outside the US market. It will produce energy storage for global and domestic markets. Late Auto reports unnamed sources saying that Tesla will initially buy cells from CATL before switching to its batteries. Tesla planned to boost the output of the Shanghai plant to 2 million EVs a year, starting the phase-3 mid-year, but the plan was put on hold because of Chinese government concerns over Musk’s Starlink. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, said in an interview that “significant progress has been made” in the mass production of this new $25.000 model. According to previous information from the supply chain, this car will not be delivered until mid-2025 at the earliest. Tesla is facing brutal competition in China. Model 3 sales declined during 2023 as dozens of other electric sedans ate their market share, such as the BYD Seal and the BYD Han. The Model Y is holding pretty well, and Tesla China sales rely heavily on this electric cross-over. However, many Chinese EV makers are preparing their competitor for 2024. +++
+++ After years of waiting, the TESLA CYBERTRUCK is finally here, but European Tesla fans shouldn’t get too excited. Although deliveries began in the United States, it isn’t available in Europe, despite the European Union being both an important manufacturing hub and a key market for Tesla. There are a few reasons why it’s unlikely to be sold across the Atlantic anytime soon. The first is simple: the Cybertruck is extremely heavy. Documents submitted to American regulators show that the minimum gross vehicle weight range is 4 to 4.5 tons, which could prove an issue if Tesla wanted to sell the pickup in Europe. “The vehicle’s gross vehicle weight for the dual-motor version is high, above 3.5 tons”, Pedro Pacheco, vice-president of research at Gartner, told. “That has implications for European regulations, because it means that, most likely, a passenger vehicle driver’s license will not do”, he added. To drive a vehicle heavier than 3.5 tons in the European Union, drivers must have a category C1 license, meaning that to drive a US-built Cybertruck on European roads, you may need to apply for a truck driver’s license. Another obstacle is that the Cybertruck’s charging port isn’t compatible with European chargers. The Cybertrucks rolling off Tesla production lines in the US work with the Tesla NAC standard, which has been widely adopted across the US, but not with the CCS network used by most European nations. Pacheco added that Tesla would probably seek to make adjustments to ensure that an EU Cybertruck could drive on European roads, including making their charging tech compatible with CCS and reducing weight. The bigger question is whether Tesla can be bothered making these tweaks, considering the relative unpopularity of hulking pickups like the Cybertruck in Europe. “Pickup trucks are somewhat small in terms of market adoption in comparison to what you see in the US market”, said Pacheco. “For a vehicle in the category of the Cybertruck, there’s not a huge market in Europe, because pickup trucks generally are not very common”. The European market for pickups is mostly focused on what Pacheco calls “entry-level pickup trucks”: small by American standards but better suited to European roads and cities. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has floated the prospect of producing a smaller version of the Cybertruck for the European market before, describing it as “highly likely down the road” in 2020. However, there have been no updates since, and Pacheco said he thought the small size of the market was probably a factor in Tesla’s disinterest. At any rate, Tesla is likely going to have enough trouble satisfying demand for the Cybertruck in North America without worrying about other continents. The American carmaker stopped taking orders for the electric pickup outside the United States last year; a step Musk said it would only take if demand exceeded supply “to a ridiculous degree”. Since then, the Tesla boss has admitted that the company faces enormous challenges in scaling up production of the Cybertruck and satisfying the more than 2 million preorders Tesla has received. In an earnings call last month, he said that the automaker had “dug its own grave” with the Cybertruck’s unique design, and said that it would likely be years before Tesla hits its target of making 250.000 Cybertruck a year. +++
