Nutson's Weekly Auto News Round-up Week October 1-7, 2023
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Here are Larry's picks among the past week's important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy-to-understand automotive universe news nuggets. for Nutson's Auto News Weekly Wrap-up October 1-7, 2023
* Major automakers posted double-digit Q3 sales gains, buoyed by September's 20% increase. Automakers sold an estimated 3.9 million new vehicles during the quarter as retail inventories improve and fleet shipments rebound. The UAW strike which began in mid-September has yet to impact sales. GM reported a 21% sales increase. Ford reports a near 8% increase. Toyota Motor is up 12%. Honda Motor is up 53%. Stellantis is down 1%. There's renewed interest in smaller, lower priced subcompact cars and compact SUVs. Sales of battery-powered cars have plateaued at roughly 8.5%.
* Meanwhile, sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles are increasing. Nearly 24% of Honda's sales were hybrid. Toyota counted Q3 sales of "electrified" vehicles as 31% with the vast majority being hybrids. The Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid variant managed a 329% bump over the year-ago period. Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe as the best-selling plug-in hybrids in the U.S. market. Ford hybrid sales, led by F-150 and Maverick hybrid, posted Q3 sales of 34,861 vehicles – up 41.4%. F-150 Hybrid sales expanded 46.9% on sales of 12,311 trucks. Maverick Hybrid now represents 56.5% of all Mavericks sold.
* Tesla sales this summer are up, selling 435,059 vehicles from July through September, an increase of 27%. Tesla sales consist primarily of the Model 3 and Model Y, which have benefited from price cuts. Sales of the aging Model S and X fell 14%. Analysts anticipate Tesla will sell 1.84 million vehicles for the full year, down from Musk's target of 1.97 million.
* Meanwhile: Tesla, which has lowered prices for its flagship cars in key markets around the world multiple times this year, is cutting prices again due to declining sales. The EV sales leader cut $1,250 off Model 3 base, Long Range trims and $2,250 off Model 3 Performance. Both the Model Y Long Range and Performance trims saw a $2,000 reduction.
* Automotive News reports, three weeks into its strike against the Detroit 3, the UAW signaled for the first time that contract talks with all three automakers had achieved major progress and chose not to send more workers onto picket lines. Ford Motor Co. has increased its wage increase offer to 23 percent, which would bring workers near $40 per hour by 2027, and offered to give new hires top pay after three years instead of eight. Both Stellantis and Ford have agreed to reinstate a 2007 cost-of-living adjustment formula. General Motors, according to the union, has agreed to put electric vehicle battery production under the terms of the national contract — a key priority that has so far tripped up talks with Ford. GM did not confirm the offer, but UAW President Shawn Fain said the company acquiesced minutes before he planned to order a strike against its "largest money maker": the Texas plant that builds full-size SUVs. "Our strike is working," Fain said on his weekly Facebook broadcast on Friday. "But we're not there yet."
* From Autoweek we read Shell has opened its largest EV station in the world outside the airport in Shenzhen, China, with 258 fast-charging stalls. The energy company is experimenting with converting gas stations to EV charging stations, complete with solar cells on canopies for extra power generation. Some efforts are under way in the US to bring large charging plazas with dozens of connectors to the US East Coast, but such projects have yet to come online.
* Reuters reports: The Biden administration proposal to hike fuel economy standards through 2032 is not feasible and could cost automakers a total of more than $14 billion in fines, an automotive group said. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai and others, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Corporate Average Fuel Economy proposal "exceeds maximum feasibility" and that the agency projects "manufacturers will pay over $14 billion in non-compliance penalties between 2027 and 2032". The fines would impact one in every two light trucks and one in every three passenger cars in 2027-2032, the group added.
* Starting in January, the IRS will make the $7,500 federal EV tax credit available immediately via dealers. The Treasury Department announced the update, noting that dealers will have the option to “reduce the purchase price of the vehicle or provide cash to the buyer.” The update also applies to buyers taking advantage of the $4,000 credit for used EVs. Congress established the electric-vehicle credit when it passed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, but to date the IRS has only offered it via tax returns. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1783
* A thought: Under the new law, new vehicle buyers can get up to $7,500 off certain plug-in electric vehicles or fuel cell vehicles if they make less than $150,000 (or $225,00 for heads of households and $300,000 for married couples). Consumers can also get $4,000 off a used EV or fuel cell vehicle priced less than $25,000 if they make less than $75,000 for individuals, $112,500 for heads of households and $150,000 for married couples. Car buyers can receive the credit if they attest to meeting the income limits, but will have to pay it back to the IRS if they exceed the income limits when the file their taxes the next year. Will those folks who earn an amount close to or slightly over the upper income limits entertain deferring compensation for that purchase/tax year so as not to jeopardize the $7,500?
* Gas Buddy reports average gas prices are dropping everywhere. The national average is down 8 cents from last week and stands at $3.743/gal. By the end of the week we should fall under $3.70, with a further drop of about 20-50c/gal, but out west, larger declines of 55-95c/gal! In other news, it is reported that gas prices at convenience-store type gasoline stations may be a bit high to offset other losses, such as reduced cigarette sales, increased wages and higher credit card fees
* Reuters reports Federal and state authorities are investigating an incident in San Francisco that resulted in a Cruise robo-taxi rolling over a pedestrian who was first struck by another vehicle. The Cruise robo-taxi, a Chevy Bolt, was not able to stop in time to avoid the victim who was thrown into its path by the initial collision. The injured pedestrian was taken to a hospital. Authorities said Cruise is cooperating. For the robo-taxi business, any incident involving an autonomous vehicle striking a pedestrian is a crisis. Uber’s efforts to develop its own self-driving vehicle technology were derailed after one of its self-driving vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona in 2018. In Cruise’s case, the incident Monday happened as city and state authorities had already pushed the General Motors (GM) autonomous vehicle unit to park half its fleet.
* Stellantis is recalling nearly 273,000 Ram trucks because radio software can stop the rear-view camera image from being displayed. The recall covers certain Ram 1500 pickup trucks and some Ram 3500 chassis cabs from the 2022 and 2023 model years. Ram 2500 trucks from 2022 through 2024 are also affected.
* The seventh Rennsport Reunion has drawn to a close in spectacular style, breaking records to become the biggest Porsche gathering ever. Over 91,000 people attended between Thursday, September 28th and Sunday, October 1st watching over 300 race entries and the US debut of the Mission X concept, the Vision 357 Speedster concept and the new 911 S/T. The global debut of the new 911 GT3 R rennsport was a highlight and a crowd favorite, supported by vibrant and engaging new exhibitions and activities with over 100 Porsche racers from around the world and from the past and present participating.
* Formula One's governing body, the FIA, backed a bid by American Michael Andretti, son of 1978 world champion Mario, to enter a new 11th team subject to approval by the commercial rights holders. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that Andretti Formula Racing LLC should progress to the next stage of the application process and commercial discussions with Formula One Management. Liberty Media-owned Formula One said separately it would carry out its own assessment. Andretti's Andretti Global and General Motors announced in January that they planned to compete using the Cadillac brand and employing at least one U.S. driver. Renault-owned Alpine have said they will supply the engines if the Andretti Cadillac team wins approval from the FIA and commercial rights holder.
* NASCAR has released its 2024 schedule for the Cup, Infinity and Truck series. The Chicago Street Race, site of the Cup Series’ inaugural street-course event, returns for a sophomore year. NASCAR and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have reached an agreement to keep the street race, which was a big TV hit but disrupted the city’s traffic and programs at Grant Park for nearly a month, in Chicago for at least another year. In a statement, the mayor's office said the street race would be back in the city on July 6-7, 2024. "NASCAR has agreed to shorten the event’s set up and tear down windows, reducing travel disruption for impacted communities and other residents," according to the statement. "NASCAR has also committed to addressing costs." The 2023 Chicago race drew more than 47,000 unique attendees from 15 countries and all 50 states. It generated nearly $109 million in economic impact.
Stay safe. Be Well.
