A shortage of parts means that GM delivers full-size pickups with a missing fuel-saving module, and that means lower fuel economy. Anything to pick up pickups on the door! All this and much more in Morning change for March 16, 2021.
First step: the lack of chips does not mean the fuel saving module
The global shortage of semiconductors has wreaked havoc on the automotive industry huge production reductions and factories being closed even here in the United States. It doesn’t stop: GM’s production of large trucks. Nothing is between America and its trucks. It is not a global pandemic, certainly no shortage of parties! Even if this means sending trucks to the door with lower fuel economy, as Reuters reports:
General Motors said Monday that because global lack of semiconductor chips the US carmaker is building some large light trucks for 2021 without a fuel management module, affecting the fuel economy performance 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 six-speed and eight-speed automatic transmission, will have low fuel consumption. at one mile per gallon, spokeswoman Michelle Malcho said.
Malcho pointed out that all the trucks are still under construction, something GM has repeatedly stressed that it will try to protect, as pick-ups are among GM’s most profitable models. She declined to say the volume of vehicles affected.
GM will likely have to use credits from previous years that have been more efficient to further meet its federal CAFE requirements for fuel economy across the entire fleet. GM told Reuters that it is not worried about the meeting with CAFE for 2021, but if I had bought a new pick-up, I would have been upset that this module is missing.
2nd Gear: What about Byton? Let’s check
Just last night, the weak Jalopnik canal exploded: Remember Byton? What’s up with that?
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Well, the little startup the BMW guy had until he left claiming that the Chinese government had taken over the company, takes another strange step closer (or more adjacent) to production. Byton is partnering with iPhone maker Foxconn, and Foxconn could set up a car factory here in the United States, Bloomberg reports:
Foxconn Technology Group will decide between Wisconsin and Mexico for the location of its first electric car factory this year, making a big bet on start-ups at a time when tech giants, including top customers Apple company. seeks to expand into vehicles.
The Taiwanese manufacturer already has operations in the US central state and in the Latin American country and could use its existing structures, President Young Liu of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Foxconn’s pilot unit, said on Tuesday. He said the availability and accessibility of skilled labor and engineering talent will be among the deciding factors.
[…]
In January, Foxconn signed a manufacturing agreement with Chinese electric vehicle startup Byton Ltd. to begin series production of the Byton M-Byte by the first quarter of 2022. One week later, Foxconn and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. they said they would join forces to provide production and consulting services to global automakers.
Last month, Foxconn closed another deal with American startup EV Fisker Inc. on a car that will be built by partner Apple and target several markets, including North America, Europe, China and India. Production of the vehicle, which will be sold under the Fisker brand, will begin in the fourth quarter of 2023.
None of this is a clear announcement that something, exactly, is about to happen. However, I am intrigued.
Third step: VW follows Tesla in praise
VW’s playing card to enter the world of electric cars is still “copying absolutely everything Tesla does” to VW having his own copy of Battery Day this week. Now, VW continues this trend, reflecting Tesla’s boasting ability. It is not enough to build electric cars, see. You have to spend all your time promising even bigger EV plans.
“VW looks at global EV leadership by 2025 in the push platform” Bloomberg VW reports that it will be the largest manufacturer of electric cars in the short term:
The Volkswagen Group intends to expand its cost-cutting efforts by standardizing key technologies as the German manufacturer seeks to accelerate a seismic shift to electric cars to combat Tesla and keep away traditional rivals such as Daimler.
VW is targeting 1 million electric vehicle sales this year and aims to become the global EV market leader by 2025 at the latest, the company said. By 2030, the share of fully electric vehicles in Europe will increase to 60% of group deliveries.
To put this in perspective, here are the two companies at the moment:
If you deal with electric cars, you have to scream “This is just the beginning!” always forever.
Fourth step: Toyota explains why switching to electric vehicles is not as easy as you think
Toyota is not big on the issue of the “electric car” and it is strongly invested in hydrogen. (Japan, as a nation, has a high hydrogen content.) Does that make it very biased in this conversation? Of course yes! But you will not hear this truth from a company like VW, which is very invested in you, believing that electric vehicles will magically solve all our transports. and climate problems at once.
In any case, Toyota would like you to consider that making electric vehicles is not as easy as it sounds. Reuters reports:
A senior Toyota executive will express skepticism to U.S. senators on Tuesday about rival carmakers’ aspirations to phase out gasoline vehicles, saying those goals must overcome many obstacles.
Robert Wimmer, director of energy and environmental research at Toyota Motor North America, will testify at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
“If we want to make dramatic progress in electrification, it will need to overcome huge challenges, including refueling infrastructure, battery availability, consumer acceptance and accessibility,” he will say, according to an anticipated copy of his remarks.
All right, Toyota wants less you to think that doing EV is hard. Moreover, Toyota wants the government to think about this and reduce it.
5th step: New York taxi protests continue on the 8th
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance took to the streets today, as it did last week, protesting the debt forgiveness:
The city’s response, so far, to its yellow 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 should put people on top of one of them
Neutral: How are you doing?
I am building a planter raised on the back porch because I will do anything – anything – to see something grow and bloom as spring creeps in. Any advice is welcome!