08 Dec 2021 | VW Keep Their EV-Loving CEO

Episode 1302,   Dec 08, 2021, 01:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories:
• Volkswagen's Diess to remain CEO, but with fewer powers
• Nissan on ‘Good’ Path With Profits, EV Investment: COO
• Audi ties up with Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent
• Auto journalists pick Genesis’ GV 60 as car of month
• Stellantis plans huge revenues with new software-driven cars
• Chrysler Airflow EV Concept Previews Stellantis's Mach-E Rival
• NIO Expands its EV Battery Program in China
• Why Toyota is turning to BYD's battery technology for new EV in China
• Former Tesla Employees Say 2016 ‘Full Self-Driving’ Video Was Staged
• Porsche IPO On The Table As VW Group Seeks Funding For EV, AV Shift
• Report: Acura will make EVs a bigger piece of its future, sooner than Honda

Show #1302

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 8th December. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.

VOLKSWAGEN'S DIESS TO REMAIN CEO, BUT WITH FEWER POWERS

- Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess will likely stay on to lead Europe's largest carmaker as part of a solution that will see him cede some responsibilities following a clash with labour leaders, two people familiar with the matter said.

- The solution would potentially end the carmaker's latest leadership tussle, which has caused uncertainty among investors and led the group's preferred shares to fall significantly in recent weeks.

- VW brand chief Ralf Brandstaetter is slated to join the management board - confirming what sources told Reuters last month - while Diess will focus on strategy, the sources added.

- Diess already ceded responsibility for the Volkswagen brand to Brandstaetter last year after weeks of squabbling between the company's powerful labour leaders and managers over the pace and scale of cost-cutting plans.

- Diess's future has hung in the balance since he mentioned the risk of far-reaching job cuts in September, complicating the carmaker's efforts to draw up a five-year investment plan that will be discussed by the supervisory board on Thursday.


NISSAN ON ‘GOOD’ PATH WITH PROFITS, EV INVESTMENT: COO

- Nissan Motor Co.’s profit recovery and electric-vehicle investment plans are placing the automaker on a good path toward future growth, Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta said.

- The COO’s remarks follow statements made Monday by former Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn. Joining an online briefing from Lebanon, Ghosn, who was removed from Nissan following charges of financial misconduct three years ago, said the automotive industry is undergoing a monumental shift to battery-powered cars and questioned whether Nissan’s current management is capable of guiding the company through the period of disruption.

- Nissan is allocating “production to profitable markets and markets where customers are waiting,” Gupta said in response to questions on output cuts due to the pandemic, which has disrupted supplies of chips and raw materials for automakers across the globe.


AUDI TIES UP WITH ALIBABA, BAIDU, TENCENT

- German luxury car brand Audi has formed tie-ups with several leading mainland technology companies to leverage their strengths and make its vehicles more attractive to Chinese buyers.

- Giorgio Delucchi, head of sales for mainland China and Hong Kong, said the marque was pursuing the best infotainment, autonomous driving and digital connectivity technologies for its upcoming electric vehicles (EVs).

- The company has formed tie-ups with Alibaba Group Holding, Baidu and Tencent Holdings to collaborate in the fields of big data, Internet of Things and urban mobility.

- Tesla and China’s home-grown EV start-ups such as Xpeng, NIO Li Auto are emerging as game-changers in the market, where young drivers have a penchant for intelligent features like driver assistant systems, voice recognition technology and huge screens.


AUTO JOURNALISTS PICK GENESIS’ GV 60 AS CAR OF MONTH

- The Korea Automobile Journalists Association said Monday that it has chosen Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis’ GV 60, its first electric car based on its exclusive EV-dedicated modular platform, as its car of the month.

- Every month, the association selects its best model among new vehicles and updated versions that were launched within the past month, based on five criteria including exterior and interior design, powertrain performance, safety and comfort features, energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, and product marketability and purchasing intent.For December, the BMW New X3, BMW iX, and the Genesis GV60, which were launched last month, were nominated.


STELLANTIS PLANS HUGE REVENUES WITH NEW SOFTWARE-DRIVEN CARS

- Stellantis has announced it is developing connected technologies for its next-generation vehicles that will generate significant revenues for the group through new software and technology pillars, called STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit and STLA AutoDrive.

- Stellantis plans to invest more than €30 billion (£25 billion) in its software and electrification technology between now and 2025. As part of this process, the firm says it’ll start to operate more like a technology company and less like a traditional car maker.

- Stellantis’s new software-focused business model will be based on three new technology platforms, called STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit and STLA AutoDrive. The first is a new vehicle control system, which is faster than the system used in the company’s current cars and future-proofed thanks to its support for over-the-air updates.

- Developed in collaboration with the Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn, the system will feature navigation and voice control functions, as well as an application store and payment services.

- Stellantis’s CEO, Carlos Tavares, said: “Our electrification and software strategies will support the shift to become a sustainable mobility tech company to lead the pack, leveraging the associated business growth with over-the-air features and services, and delivering the best experience to our customers.

- This new business model will require Stellantis to sell more connected vehicles that support monetisable features. These can be anything from a monthly subscription service that provides live traffic updates to feature-on-demand optional extras that lock certain infotainment or driver assistance functions behind a paywall, accessible when consumers need them for a fee.


CHRYSLER AIRFLOW EV CONCEPT PREVIEWS STELLANTIS'S MACH-E RIVAL

- Chrysler's first new model in several years looks to be an electric crossover that could wear the historic Airflow nameplate. First shown during Stellantis's EV Day event earlier this year, we now have more information on this concept car that's meant to showcase new technologies including electric platforms, driver-assistance features, and infotainment software.

- Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said during the company's Software Day presentation that it's "more than a pure concept" and hinted that this vehicle could make its way to production by 2024, which is backed up by U.S. trademarks for the Airflow name filed in 2019 and 2021.

- Inside, the Airflow features an onslaught of screens, with a giant central infotainment display that's flanked by separate screens for the driver and passenger. There are also rear-seat entertainment screens. Connectivity features will likely include over-the-air updates and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.


NIO EXPANDS ITS EV BATTERY PROGRAM IN CHINA


WHY TOYOTA IS TURNING TO BYD'S BATTERY TECHNOLOGY FOR NEW EV IN CHINA


FORMER TESLA EMPLOYEES SAY 2016 ‘FULL SELF-DRIVING’ VIDEO WAS STAGED


PORSCHE IPO ON THE TABLE AS VW GROUP SEEKS FUNDING FOR EV, AV SHIFT


REPORT: ACURA WILL MAKE EVS A BIGGER PIECE OF ITS FUTURE, SOONER THAN HONDA



MIDWEST TRANSIT EQUIPMENT & SEA ELECTRIC TO POWER 10,000 ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES


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