Autoline This Week

Autonomy is a startup that provides subscriptions to a Tesla Model 3. Customers can learn firsthand whether an EV meets their driving needs, without a big, long-term financial commitment. And it’s cheaper than renting a car. Scott Painter, the CEO of Autonomy, explains the advantages, and also warns that the shortage of inventory in the used car market is about to get a lot worse.

You cannot believe how many laws regulate the auto industry. So many that it’s almost impossible to keep track of. But two legal eagles, Kevin McDonald from VW Credit and Karl Hochkammer from Honigman LLP, have compiled a very complete catalog of laws and they explain what they’re about in plain English that anyone can understand. They’ve managed to take a boring topic and make it very interesting.

You’ve heard of the chip shortage that crippled automotive production. But you probably haven’t heard about the critical shortage of headlamp engineers. And you also probably didn’t know that thanks to consolidation in the industry, there aren’t many headlamp manufacturers left, either. All automakers are struggling with this problem, but that’s especially true for the EV startups. They can’t get the lamps they need. Klaus Matauschek from Forvia HELLA, Wolfgang Huhn from Driving Vision News and Michael Pickholz from MagWerks Vision, talk about how the industry got into this mess.

Lordstown Motors changed its business plan. Instead of building electric trucks, it’s going to have Foxconn build them for it—in the plant that Lordstown used to own. It raised the money it needs to launch its truck by selling the plant to Lordstown. That truck, called the Endurance, will start production in Q3, 2022. But Lordstown is already working on other commercial models that will use a skateboard chassis. Edward T. Hightower, the President of Lordstown Motors, explains the new direction the company is going in.

Automotive suppliers have strong opinions about the automakers they sell parts and services to. Some automakers have great relations with their suppliers, others not so much. Plante Moran, the consulting company, does an annual supplier survey that captures what suppliers are saying. Dave Andrea and Mark Barrott from Plante Moran go through their latest findings.

Powered roads, where EVs pick up electric power from the road as they drive, is a dream that goes back decades. But now a convergence of technologies could turn it into reality. Prefabricated road sections with embedded sensors and inductive charging are the game changing technologies. By collecting data that can be monetized and by selling electricity, private industry wants to build these roads—at no cost to taxpayers. Tim Sylvester from Integrated Roadways, Jeremy McCool from HEVO and Michele Mueller from the Michigan Department of Transportation, talk about the latest developments.

Every year the SAE Foundation chooses a recipient for its Leadership Award. This year it chose GM President Mark Reuss. At the awards banquet, Reuss sat down with Autoline to talk about his career, GM’s transition to electric vehicles, and the challenges that lie ahead for the automotive industry.

Five years ago, foreign automakers saw China as an unending source of growth and profits. Not anymore. Today, companies like Volkswagen and General Motors are seeing sharp drops in sales and profits. And Chinese automakers are emerging as world class competitors. So, are foreign automakers in trouble in China? Michael Dunne, CEO of ZoZo Go and Tu Le, the head of Sino Auto Insights, provide their insight and analysis.

In addition to the terrible loss of lives, the tragic lines of refugees and brutal war crimes, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is upending the auto industry. Automakers and suppliers felt the impact immediately, and the long term implications could take years to resolve. Joe McCabe, the CEO of AutoForecast Solutions, and Justin Cox, the director of Global Production at LMC Automotive, go through the details of what we’re likely to see.

It takes a certain type of person to be an entrepreneur. But even those people need to know their strengths and weaknesses and how to avoid common pitfalls. Three start-up experts discuss what sets entrepreneurs apart from everyone else: Khanjan Desai, CEO and Co-Founder, Alchemy; Adrien Cote, Executive Director, Velocity; and Helge Seetzen, CEO, TandemLaunch.

Gill Pratt, Toyota’s Chief Scientist, says we’re going to hear a lot more about the company’s move into electric cars. Up to now Toyota’s public statements have focused on hybrids and fuel cells. But it’s been quietly developing EVs behind the scenes. And now it’s ready to talk about them. Gill Pratt lays out Toyota’s strategy on solid state batteries, recycling, EV platforms, EV manufacturing and more.

Batteries for electric cars are extremely expensive. But Tal Sholklapper, the CEO of Voltaiq, a battery design consultancy, says that cost is coming down fast, and will soon reach $50-60 per kilowatt-hour. That’s about half of what it is now, and that would give EVs cost parity with piston powered cars and trucks. He also talks about battery recycling, a potential raw material shortage and other topics. Chad Kirchner from EVPulse.com also joins the discussion.

Despite the perception that auto shows are losing their appeal, Foresight Research says the public is just as interested in auto shows as it ever was. Moreover, people are hungry to learn more about electric vehicles and auto shows are the perfect place to learn more about them–especially when that includes ride-and-drives. Auto shows are an effective way to reach consumers without the sales pressure they’ll run into at a dealership.

Multimatic, PEM Motion and Ettractive are three Canadian companies with expertise in turning ideas into reality. Here’s their advice on what startups need to keep in mind, from the typical kinds of problems they’ll run into, to how to meet the standards set by the automotive industry.

General Motors is jumping into online retailing with both feet. It’s launching a web portal called CarBravo to sell used cars, including non-GM brands and models. Dan Ahearn, the senior manager in charge of CarBravo, explains why they’ll happily sell you a car that was made by a different automaker.

They used to call it the Rust Belt. But Midwest states like Michigan are actually at the leading edge of a revolution in new mobility. Smokestack factories are giving way to modern manufacturing facilities and R and D centers. Garlin Gilchrist, the lieutenant governor of Michigan, gives a detailed account of the initiatives going on in the stat

The public is hyper aware that a wave of electric cars is about to hit the market. But the public doesn’t know a lot about the public EV charging infrastructure. And in many cases what it knows is flat out wrong. Mark LaNeve, the president of Charge Enterprises, and Sarah Nielsen, the executive director of Transportation, Renewables and Storage from Consumers Energy, set the record straight.

CES is renowned for being a mecca for tech companies. Even so, for 2022 it’s attracting a record amount of automotive exhibitors and speakers. One out of three attendees will be coming from automotive and mobility companies. Gary Shapiro, the CEO of the Consumer Technology Association which runs CES, talks about why automotive companies are so devoted to the show and why they want to be there. Also joining the discussion are Pete Bigelow from Automotive News and Sam Abuelsamid from Guidehouse Insights.

There is a critical shortage of automotive technicians in the US. Car dealerships, body shops and automotive repair facilities can’t find the people they need. But a high school and community college in North Carolina have figured out how to get students excited about working on cars. In fact, they have a waiting list of students who want to enroll. Roy Jennings and Dustin Ford from the Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, as well as Erik Mortensen from Watauga High School, explain why the program is so successful.

The auto industry is learning how to slash the time it takes to develop new cars and components with a technology called Digital Twins. By simulating a product or a process, automakers and suppliers can perfect the design before it’s actually used in the real world. Digital Twins are revolutionizing the product development process. Prith Banerjee from Ansys and Ashish Naik from NI discuss the impact it’s having.