Nutson's Weeklky Automotive News Round-up December 10-16, 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 December 10-16, 2023.
* Joe White writing for Reuters shared this about the 2023 EV reality check. "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. That aphorism, coined by former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, now applies to the World of Electric Vehicles. Legacy auto industry executives just two years ago were boasting about the billions they planned to spend on waves of new electric vehicles and EV battery giga-factories. Now the same executives are racing to reassure investors that they are reining in runaway EV budgets and are committed to returning to shareholders more of the cash generated by their combustion engine trucks and SUVs. The EV strategy detours – led by GM, Ford and Volkswagen – do not mean the end of the shift away from combustion vehicles, industry executives and analysts agree. Forecasts vary, but they all point to significant increases in EV sales and production globally over the next decade – led by China. What’s changed are expectations for how soon mainstream, middle-income car buyers will adopt electric vehicles, and how quickly the costs for EV batteries will drop to allow automakers to turn a profit on vehicles that sell at prices average families can afford. The answers as of now: Not yet, and not fast enough. What’s ahead in 2024? More wrangling over government EV subsidies. In the United States, there will be an election year brawl over EV policy. Western automakers, meanwhile, will be racing to slash EV production costs before China’s automakers make their lead even wider." (SEE ALSO: The Future For American Motorists Should Be Determined By Their Choices, Not By Temporary Political Employees and Their Appointed Bureaucrats)
* More than two years after President Biden signed legislation allocating $5 billion for a nationwide network of taxpayer-funded electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, the first one finally opened in Ohio. The first NEVI-funded station, which opened Dec. 8, is located at the Pilot Travel Center along I-70, on the western outskirts of Columbus. It includes four EVgo fast chargers under an overhead canopy, plus access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, food, beverages and other conveniences. Twenty-six states have made an effort to spend their share of the money so far, according to the Biden administration's new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, which was created to facilitate the EV transition. Of those, 17 are in the process of soliciting bids, while seven others have issued "conditional awards" for new stations worth $101.5 million. Ohio and Hawaii are the furthest along, with firm contracts in place, but only the one station in Ohio is up and running. PS: A charging station in Kingston, NY also just opened.
* Bloomberg reports electric vehicle inventories on US dealer lots reached a new high in December, with a 114-day supply that was more than double what it was a year ago. The nearly four-month inventory of EVs is up from a 53-day supply a year ago and compares to 71-days worth of inventory for the overall auto industry, researcher Cox Automotive wrote in a blog post. US consumers are growing increasingly wary of EVs, balking at high prices and the spotty charging infrastructure. Ford Motor Co. this week told suppliers it is cutting 2024 production in half for its F-150 Lightning plug-in pickup, its signature EV. General Motors Co. also is delaying production of some of its new EVs, including the Chevrolet Equinox SUV and Silverado pickup truck. A coalition of US auto dealers last month wrote to President Joe Biden asking that he “tap the brakes” on EV mandate because the cars are “stacking up on our lots.” At the end of November, Ford’s electric Mustang Mach-E had among the highest inventory, at a 284-day supply, while the company’s F-150 Lightning had a 111-day supply, Cox reported. The Nissan Leaf had 183 days of supply, while the Kia EV6 had 145 days of supply, according to Cox.Cox Automotive’s inventory numbers do not include Tesla Inc. or Rivian Automotive Inc. because those automakers sell directly to consumers, rather than through dealers.
* Data indicates the new-vehicle market is shifting to a buyer’s market, not a seller’s market. The U.S. new-vehicle average transaction price in November 2023 was $48,247, an increase of less than 1% month over month and down year over year by 1.5%, according to data released from Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive company. November marks the third consecutive month that new-vehicle transaction prices were lower year over year, a unique milestone for the industry. In fact, the past three months mark the only time in the past decade that the monthly new-vehicle ATPs did not increase year over year. The average price paid for a luxury vehicle in November was $63,235, an increase of less than 1% from October but down 7.5% year over year, when the inventory shortage began to ease. The average price paid for a new electric vehicle in November was $52,345, up from a revised $51,715 in October and supported by incentive levels well above the industry average.
* US DoE factoid of the week: The number of U.S. electric school buses has more than doubled from March 2022 to June 2023. According to the World Resources Institute, the number of electric school buses operating or delivered in the United States rose from 598 in March 2022 to 1,285 in June 2023. The number of electric school buses that have been ordered or awarded funding nearly tripled in the same period. Forty-nine states had electric school bus commitments as of June 2023. There were nearly 450,000 school buses in the U.S. in 2023.
* Volvo Car USA and Starbucks have followed through on their plans to open the first public electric-vehicle fast charging network located at some of the coffee company’s U.S. stores. Fifty Volvo Cars-and-Starbucks-branded DC fast chargers at 15 Starbucks locations along a 1,350-mile route between the Denver area and Seattle make charging Volvo and other fully electric vehicles as easy as going to Starbucks. These chargers, placed about every 100 miles on average, can add up to 110 miles of charge in as little as 15 minutes on 2024 model year and newer Volvo XC40 and C40 Recharge models. Drivers of fully electric Volvo models with Google embedded can use the car’s integrated ChargePoint app to find and access stations at participating Starbucks locations, while drivers of other EVs equipped with a standard CCS1 or CHAdeMO receptacle can use the ChargePoint smartphone app.
* Paris intends to triple parking charges for large sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in order to push them out of the city and limit emissions and air pollution, the mayor has said. “It is a form of social justice,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo said of the plan to deliberately target the richest drivers to tackle the climate breakdown and air pollution. “This is about very expensive cars, driven by people who today have not yet made the changes to their behavior that have to be made [for the climate].” Paris will hold a referendum on 4 February asking residents to vote for or against a specific parking tariff for heavy, large and polluting SUVs. Earlier this year, Paris held a similar vote on whether to ban rented electric scooters and subsequently became the first European capital to ban them.
* Large cities are notoriously noisy. New York City is among them. However, some noise is obnoxious and not an unavoidable part of daily life. Excessive motor vehicle noise coming from modified exhaust systems and excessive horn honking is among them. The Big Apple is cracking down with a new tool: noise cameras. The cameras are activated when they record a sound louder than 85 decibels. The technology identifies the offending vehicle and a ticket is issued, much like a speed camera. A pilot program that's been in place for a year is being expanded to install at least five noise cameras in each of the five boroughs of New York. Other US cities are considering to use noise cameras.
* The NY Times reports that tiny vehicles are leading a big shift away from oil. In Asia and Africa tiny vehicles that run on three wheels are going electric. Gas-burning motorcycle taxis and rickshaws are being replaced with battery powered trikes. The shift to electric mobility overall has reduced global oil demand by 1.8 million barrels every day. Two-and three-wheelers account for 60 percent of the reduction, or 1.08 million barrels. Transportation accounts for 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Electric vehicles are big part pf the changes being made to slow global warming.
* Three midsize luxury SUVs offer solid protection for front and back seat occupants in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s updated moderate overlap front crash test, which now includes a dummy positioned in the second row behind the driver. The Lincoln Aviator, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class and Volvo XC60 earn good ratings, while the Acura MDX and BMW X3 are rated acceptable. The Audi Q5 and Lexus RX earn marginal ratings, and the Cadillac XT6 is rated poor. IIHS launched the updated moderate overlap front test last year after research showed that in newer vehicles the risk of a fatal injury is now higher for belted occupants in the second row than for those in front. https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/three-midsize-luxury-suvs-excel-in-back-seat-protection
* Automakers often display a warning in commercials when showing a car executing incredible stunts: "Professional driver on a closed course. Please do not attempt." Rising car crash deaths could force companies to rethink stunt driving in commercials. Car crash deaths surged 27% over the 10 years ending in 2021. Experts are considering everything from new technology to changes in advertising to stop it. The National Transportation Safety Board called for a study of car advertisements, saying the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) should try to determine if there is a link between commercials that show unsafe driver behavior and real-world speeding or reckless driving.
* The last of a legend, the Chrysler 300C, rolled off the line at the Brampton (Ontario) Assembly Plant, with Brampton team members gathered to commemorate final production of the HEMI-powered vehicle — a Velvet Red 2023 Chrysler 300C. Production of the 2023 Chrysler 300 will come to an end no later than December 31, 2023. The 6.4L HEMI-powered 2023 Chrysler 300C, first announced at the 2022 North American International Auto Show, pays tribute to the nearly 70-year legacy of the Chrysler 300, as well as the Chrysler 300C’s crucial role in the 300 lineup as one of the seminal muscle cars. Reservations for the special-edition 2023 Chrysler 300C were fulfilled in just 12 hours after the 2022 vehicle reveal, with a limited-production run of only 2,000 units offered in the U.S. and 200 available in Canada. First introduced in 1955 and reborn in 2005, the Chrysler 300 has represented iconic American luxury and performance for decades.
* The end after 57 years. Production of the 2024 Chevy Camaro Coupe ended this week, with the final vehicles rolling off the assembly line on December 14th, according to information obtained from knowledgeable sources by GM Authority. The end of production for the 2024 Chevy Camaro Coupe brings the muscle car’s sixth generation to a close as GM permanently discontinues the vehicle in its ICE configuration. Coupe production was extended after repercussions related to the UAW Stand Up Strike disrupted fulfillment of the final Camaro orders. While production of the 2024 Chevy Camaro Convertible wrapped up on schedule on November 22nd, some Coupe units still needed to be produced. The General missed its original December 7th deadline for assembling this final batch of cars. While the 2024 Chevy Camaro retires the internal combustion engine configuration of the muscle car, GM has provided official confirmation the nameplate will be resurrected as a future model at some point, possibly as an EV. Scott Bell, the vice president of Global Chevrolet, remarked that “while we are not announcing an immediate successor today, rest assured, this is not the end of Camaro’s story.” The Camaro will continue to be used competitively as well, providing the vehicles for a lineup of races that include NASCAR, IMSA, SRO, NHRA, and the Supercars Championship.
* The Hagerty Bull Market List is their annual selection of vehicles likely to appreciate the most over the next 12 months, and amid the pandemic-fueled spending spree of 2021 and 2022, that was basically shooting fish in a barrel. Things look a little different this year. Adhering to the most fundamental of investing principles—what goes up must come down—the collector car market as a whole softened in 2023. The Hagerty Market Rating, their monthly measure of the heat of the market, dropped to its lowest point in two years primarily due to inflation and declines in prices achieved at auctions. Meet the Bulls: 2024 Lineup here. HERE
* In mid-November we mentions the finalists for the NACTOY awards. Recently there has been a slight twist. A change in product timing has resulted in an update to the list of finalists in the running for NACTOY’s Utility Vehicle of the Year award. Because the Volvo EX30 will not reach customers until 2024, it is ineligible for this year’s award. The NACTOY Board has voted to replace it with the Hyundai Kona/Kona EV. Volvo now expects deliveries in the U.S. and Canada to begin by summer, past the time of eligibility for the awards.
* According to Gas Buddy the national average price for a gallon of gasoline is still going down. The average stands at $3.109/gal, while the median U.S. price is $2.95/gal. 26 states have average gas prices at $2.99 or lower, the 5 most common U.S. gas prices (in order): $2.99, $2.89, $2.79, $3.09 and $2.69!
* Tesla is recalling nearly all of the vehicles it sold in the U.S., more than 2 million across its model lineup, to fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot. Documents posted by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the problems. The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. Some were deadly. The contention is the system can be misused by drivers in roads not suitable for automated control. The recall covers models Y, S, 3 and X produced between Oct. 5, 2012, and Dec. 7 of this year.
Stay safe. Be Well.
