Canada: Electric Car Sales Growth Slows In Us As Inventory Builds Up

ELECTRIC CAR SALES GROWTH SLOWS IN US AS INVENTORY BUILDS UP

Electric vehicle sales growth, while still brisk, has begun to slow in the US as inventory of battery-powered models piles up on dealer lots. Sales of plug-in models grew by nearly 50% in the first half of the year, according to data from researcher Motor Intelligence. That's less than the 65% growth rate for all of 2022 and well off the 71% gain in the first half of last year over the same period in 2021.

Source: Bloomberg

US STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL CLASH OVER EPA EMISSIONS PLAN

A group of 25 Republican state attorneys general on Thursday urged President Joe Biden's administration to abandon plans to sharply cut vehicle tailpipe emissions, while a group of Democratic counterparts from 20 states urged more stringent requirements. The Environmental Protection Agency in April proposed new 2027-2032 vehicle standards that would be the most dramatic reductions in history. The EPA estimates that to meet the new standards, automakers would need to have 60% of new production be electric vehicles by 2030 and 67% by 2032.

Source: Reuters

STELLANTIS GOES FULL IN ON TRAINING

Stellantis NV employees say training from the automaker's "academies," ranging from data and software to electrification, is accelerating their careers as the global auto industry undergoes a massive transformation. The maker of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and other vehicles globally has hired more than 2,000 people in software and has more than 1,000 employees signed up to participate in the training to learn a new field or update their skills through the academies, Chief Software Officer Yves Bonnefont said. Stellantis has at least nine of them, partnering with the likes of Amazon.com Inc., Oakland University, Ohio State University, consultant firms and other suppliers to support the education that comes at no financial cost to employees.

Source: The Detroit News

GM WIDENS U.S. SALES LEAD OVER TOYOTA

General Motors is showing that the end of its nine-decade reign as the U.S. sales leader was just a one-year blip, not a groundbreaking shift in the industry's pecking order. For a second consecutive year since, GM is solidly No. 1 at the halfway point. And the automaker is widening its lead over second-place Toyota amid signs that the market is strengthening.

Source: Automotive News

EVs – DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW

Unsold Electric Cars Are Piling Up on Dealer Lots
The auto industry is beginning to crank out more electric vehicles (EVs), but there's one big problem: not enough buyers. The growing mismatch between EV supply and demand is a sign that even though consumers are showing more interest in EVs, they're still wary about purchasing one because of price or charging concerns.

Source: Axios

More unsold EV observations
The U.S. electric vehicle market is growing, but not fast enough during the latest quarter to prevent unsold EVs from stacking up at some automakers' dealerships or to allow Tesla to avoid new price cuts, according to analysts and industry data. Rising inventories and price-cutting could represent only a short-term pause in EV market growth. But they could be signals that boosting U.S. EV sales above the current 7% market share level will be more costly and difficult than expected, even with federal and state subsidies.

Source: Reuters

EV Demand Has Big Factory Projects Churning
The number of new electric nameplates that will launch by decade's end continues to grow. Each encouraging monthly sales and registration report emboldens an automaker somewhere to revise its EV strategy upward or push ahead with schedules.

Source: Automotive News

Buick Envista Targets Young Buyers Ahead of EV Transition
By the end of 2024, Buick will have overhauled its vehicle lineup and, it hopes, be on its way to cementing its image among younger consumers as an aspirational brand of premium SUVs. The accelerated cadence of fresh products Buick is bringing to the market — five new, updated and redesigned models over 18 months, including its first electric vehicle — is the first step toward getting new and younger buyers behind the wheel of its crossovers on the way to becoming an all-EV brand by the end of the decade.

Source: Automotive News

Ford's Electric Mustang Mach-E is Piling Up on Dealer Lots as the Automaker Confronts an EV-Inventory Problem
In a sign that Ford's EV ambitions are still outpacing demand, the company's sales numbers, amount of EV supply, and dealer sentiment all indicate that the Blue Oval is sitting on more Mustang Mach-Es and F-150 Lightning pickup trucks than it can sell. Ford dealers sold 86.4% of their Mach-E inventory within 30 days in the second quarter of 2022, but that figure — known as a turn rate — dropped to 27.7% in the same period of 2023 even as the automaker had more than twice as much inventory on the market, according to data from the analytics firm Cloud Theory.

Source: Business Insider

ARE YOU READY TO PARK YOUR CAR WITH REMOTE CONTROL?

Supplier Continental previewed automated valet parking, connected and sustainable tires, and more at its recent tech expo in Germany.
Continental's history stretches back 150 years, but there's no doubt the German automotive supplier's primary focus is on what's coming next. In addition to next-generation tires, the supplier recently showcased around two dozen technologies that will make their way into new cars in the coming years. From garages that take control of your vehicle to tires that talk, here are some highlights of what Continental is working on.

Automated parking technologies available today, like Tesla's Smart Summon and Hyundai's Remote Smart Park Assist system, require in-vehicle sensors and intelligence. Continental is working on these intelligent vehicle (Type 1) systems, but that's not the only strategy to get cars to park themselves.

Called Automated Valet Parking Type 2, Continental's intelligent infrastructure system uses an entirely different method of having cars move themselves through a parking garage. It's so different that many modern vehicles can be turned into slow-moving, 1:1 scale RC models with the proper software updates. "The [intelligent] infrastructure system has the advantage that almost any car today has most of the equipment needed to drive," said Continental's Kent Young. That equipment includes an automatic transmission, a way to control the steering and propulsion, and a wireless communication module. A smart parking garage can be outfitted with software, transmitters, and a new kind of QR code that lets the garage take control of a vehicle and move it into an empty parking space at speeds of up to around seven mph. Today, anyway. Continental's system can simultaneously control a few dozen vehicles at speeds up to 12 mph

Type 1 systems are more expensive for car buyers because of all the hardware and computing power that needs to be installed in the vehicle at the factory, Young said. Type 2 systems are more expensive for builders and operators of parking garages, but they allow more cars to take advantage of auto parking.

Source: Autoweek

TOYOTA TO MAKE HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS IN KENTUCKY IN DECEMBER

Toyota Motor Corp. said it will start production of hydrogen fuel cell drivetrains in the U.S. in December, but before that output even begins, the Japanese carmaker is already planning a next-generation hydrogen system that slashes cost while boosting range and durability. This year's startup of hydrogen fuel cell production on a dedicated line at Toyota's assembly plant in Georgetown, Ky., is the automaker's first venture into building the systems in North America.

Source: Automotive News

UAW PRESIDENT SAYS UNION PREPARED TO STRIKE DETROIT THREE

The head of the United Auto Workers, which represents 150,000 U.S. hourly workers at General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler-parent Stellantis, said the union is not afraid to strike any of the automakers without a fair contract. "The Big Three is our strike target. And whether or not there's a strike, it's up to Ford, General Motors and Stellantis," UAW President Shawn Fain said Tuesday in online remarks.

Source: Reuters

FORD CLAIMS $1 BILLION U.S. COST DISADVANTAGE VS. GM, STELLANTIS

Ford Motor Co. officials are quick to brag that they employ more UAW workers and build more vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker. But manufacturing 80 percent of its vehicles in the U.S. puts Ford at a $1 billion annual cost disadvantage vs. General Motors and Stellantis, company sources told Automotive News.

Source: Automotive News

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