Auto industry diversification

Issue #237, February 4, 2024

The auto industry is diversifying beyond highways, from shipping to the outer space! Chinese car maker Geely launched 11 low-earth satellites for high-precision positioning of cars for autonomous driving. Electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD has its own ships to manage the logistics. Zinc is emerging as an alternative to lithium, with claims of low cost, high energy density and long life. Subscription-based business models continue to be experimented with to manage the high price of EVs. Software continues to dominate the EV and auto world - positively and sometimes negatively too! Toyota would have to foolproof the software used for diesel engine testing, with an affiliate mishandling it to make “values appear smoother with less variation”. There is no immediate impact because of it. Tesla used over-the-air upgrades to fix issues font issues with visual warnings in the dashboard. Below are some interesting updates that take the auto industry beyond the highways to the seas and outer space!

From roads to outer space

Chinese automaker Geely Holding Group launched 11 low-earth orbit satellites, its second dispatch, as it expands its capacity to provide more accurate navigation for autonomous vehicles. Geely said it expects 72 to be in orbit by 2025 and eventually plans to have a constellation of 240. In addition to providing high-precision positioning support to self-driving cars, Geely said its network will also serve other commercial functions such as connectivity to the consumer electronics sector. The satellites have AI remote sensing functions, providing 1-5 meter (3.2-16.4 ft) clear high-resolution remote sensing imaging. - Nikkei Asia

Own shipping for EVs

BYD, founded by a Chinese metallurgy researcher named Wang Chuanfu in 1995, started out making small batteries for mobile devices. It later expanded its business to automobiles and eventually combined the two to make electric vehicles. In two decades, it became China’s largest EV maker. By the fourth quarter of 2023, it was the world’s. BYD has become so popular abroad that the company now needs its own fleet of RORO (roll on/roll off) boats to meet demand. - MIT Tech Review

Zinc batteries as an alternative

Zinc has emerged as a candidate material for next-generation batteries, with major Japan-based players Sharp and FDK testing products using the metal that can reduce costs by half compared with common lithium-ion batteries. Sharp is developing a zinc-air rechargeable battery, aiming to start trials in fiscal 2025. Energy density per unit volume is similar to that of mainstream lithium-ion batteries, but its roughly 20-year service life is about twice as long.

Subscription models for EVs

Governments are spending billions of dollars to encourage the shift to EVs. Uptake is growing — in the US and Canada, 1.7 million battery EVs and plug-in hybrids were sold last year, up from just over 1.1 million in 2022. However, the rate of growth is starting to slow and many US carmakers have recently moderated their EV expansion plans. Potential buyers are held back by the high upfront costs for new EVs and anxiety about the technology and infrastructure. German tech startup FINN is betting that it can get more people to go electric with its six- to 18-month subscription service, letting consumers try before making a permanent switch to electric. - WSJ

Wrong usage of software

Toyota Motor said it had halted the global shipments of 10 vehicles after it discovered that an affiliate had mishandled the testing of diesel engines. The affiliate used software to measure horsepower output that made “values appear smoother with less variation,” Toyota said in a statement. The vehicles “meet engine output standards,” and there is no need to stop using the engines or vehicles, the company said. - New York Times

Over-the-air software remedy from Tesla

Tesla is recalling nearly all the EVs it has sold in the US because the font for some visual warning lights is too small, a safety issue. The affected Tesla vehicles will receive an over-the-air software remedy. US auto-safety regulators also are stepping up their investigation into reports of drivers losing steering control in newer Tesla Model 3 and Y vehicles. - WSJ