A shortage of parts means GM is shipping full-size pickups with a missing fuel saver module, and that means better fuel economy. Everything to get pick-ups out the door! All that and more in it The morning shift before March 16, 2021.
1st gear: chip shortage means no fuel-saving module
The global shortage of semiconductors has wreaked havoc on the automotive industry huge production cuts and factories are even closing here in the United StatesDon’t Stop: GM’s production of full-size pickups. Nothing stands between America and its pick-up trucks. No global pandemic, certainly no shortage of parts! Even if it means that trucks have to send out the door with lower fuel consumption, such as Reuters reports:
General Motors said on Monday that because of the worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips the US automaker is building certain 2021 full-size light-duty pick-up trucks without a fuel management module, affecting the fuel efficiency of those vehicles.
The lack of the Active Fuel Management / Dynamic Fuel Management module means that the affected models, equipped with the 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 engine with both a six-speed automatic and an eight-speed automatic transmission, will have reduced fuel consumption of one mile per gallon, said spokeswoman Michelle Malcho said.
Malcho stressed that all trucks are still under construction, something GM has repeatedly stressed it would try to protect, given that pickups are among GM’s most profitable models. She declined to say how many vehicles were affected.
GM will likely have to use credits from past years that were more efficient to still meet federal CAFE fleet fuel economy requirements. GM told Reuters it’s not worried about meeting CAFE for 2021, but if I were someone to buy a new pickup I’d be pissed off missing this snap.
2nd gear: what’s up with Byton? Let’s check in
Last night Jalopnik’s limp channel blew up: Remember Byton? What is going on?
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Well, the little startup that BMW’s man had until he left, claiming that the Chinese government had taken over the company, comes another strange step closer to (or more adjacent to) production. Byton is partnering with iPhone manufacturer Foxconn, and Foxconn may set up a car factory here in the United States, as Bloomberg reports:
Foxconn Technology Group will decide between Wisconsin and Mexico for the location of its first electric car plant this year, and make a big bet on the emerging company at a time when technology giants including top customers Apple inc. want to expand to vehicles.
The Taiwanese manufacturer already has operations in the central US state and Latin American country, and could use its existing structures, said Young Liu chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Foxconn’s flagship unit, in a briefing in Taipei on Tuesday. Availability and affordability of a skilled workforce and technical talent will be one of the determining factors, he said.
[…]
In January, Foxconn signed a manufacturing agreement with controversial Chinese electric vehicle startup Byton Ltd. with the aim of commencing mass production of the Byton M-Byte by the first quarter of 2022. A week later, Foxconn and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. said they would join forces to provide manufacturing and consulting services to global automotive companies.
Last month Foxconn signed another deal with the American EV startup Fisker Inc. on a car built by the Apple partner targeting multiple markets, including North America, Europe, China and India. Production of the vehicle, which will be sold under the Fisker brand, will start in the fourth quarter of 2023.
None of this is a clear announcement that exactly something is going to happen. Still, I am intrigued.
3rd gear: VW follows Tesla in Boast Quota
VW’s playbook in entering the electric car world is still just “copying absolutely everything Tesla does”, right down to VW with its own copycat from Battery Day this weekNow VW continues that trend and reflects Tesla’s ability to boastfulness. It’s not enough to to build electric cars, you see. You should spend all your time promising even bigger EV plans.
“VW sees global EV lead by 2025 in platform push,” Bloomberg reports, with VW claiming it will be the largest electric car manufacturer in no time:
Volkswagen Group plans to expand cost savings by standardizing key technologies as the German manufacturer wants to accelerate a seismic shift to electric cars to combat Tesla and keep traditional rivals like Daimler at bay.
VW is aiming to sell 1 million electric vehicles this year and aim to become the global leader in electric vehicles by 2025, the company said. By 2030, the share of fully electric vehicles in Europe will increase to as much as 60 percent of group deliveries.
To put this in perspective, here’s how the two companies currently sit:
If you deal with electric cars, you have to shout “This is just the beginning!” always forever.
4th gear: Toyota explains why switching to electric vehicles is not as easy as you think
Toyota is generally not as big as ‘electric car’, and it is heavily invested in hydrogen(Japan as a nation is also big on hydrogen.) Does that make it very biased in this conversation? Of course it does! But you won’t hear this honest truth from a company like VW, which has invested heavily in you, thinking EVs will just magically fix all of our transportation and climate problems at the same time.
At the very least, Toyota wants you to remember that making electric vehicles is not particularly easy Reuters reports:
A senior Toyota manager will express skepticism to US senators on Tuesday about rival carmakers’ aspirations to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles, saying those goals have many obstacles to overcome.
Robert Wimmer, director of Energy & Environmental Research at Toyota Motor North America, will testify at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
“If we are to make dramatic progress in electrification, huge challenges will have to be overcome, including refueling infrastructure, battery availability, consumer acceptance and affordability,” he said, according to an advance transcript of his remarks.
Okay, it’s less that Toyota wants you to think that making electric cars is difficult. It’s more that Toyota wants the government to think that and make some leeway.
5th Gear: NYC Taxi protests continue through Day 8
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance is taking to the streets today, as it did last week, protesting for debt cancellation:
The city’s reaction so far to the yellow taxi drivers drowning in debt that the city has only helped create is to … give tens of millions to a hedge fund in Connecticut
Reverse: Hey, we have to put people at the top of one of these
Neutral: How are you?
I’m building a raised planter on my back porch because I’ll do anything – anything – to watch something grow and bloom when spring rolls in. All tips are welcome!