The changing auto landscape

Issue #136, Mar 25th, 2022

The automotive industry landscape continues to undergo changes. Charge or Swap? One big question for charging of electric vehicles (EVs) is whether to use stations or swappable batteries. China seems to push for battery swapping as a strong option, throwing questions in the minds of OEMs planning for proprietary batteries. Volvo and Starbucks are piloting charging stations in coffee shops along a 1,350-mile route from Denver to the coffee company’s Seattle headquarters, to encourage EV usage and address range anxieties. Volvo is at the crossroads in branding its EVs. Ford has decided to carve out its autonomous vehicle division. The pandemic times have seen a drop in leasing of vehicles as OEMs dropped discounts. The shortage of truck drivers may lead to autonomous driving on highways in the U.S. Here are some recent updates on the changing landscape in the automotive sector.

Proprietary batteries or interchangeability for swapping?

China is pushing hard for swappable batteries for EVs as a supplement to regular vehicle charging, with the government throwing its weight behind several companies advancing the technology. If China is successful in making swapping successful on a large scale, though, the shift could undermine the business models of global brands like Tesla, Volkswagen and GM, whole EVs are designed for and powered by their own proprietary batteries and in Tesla's case, its own charging network. - ET Auto

EV charging over a cup of coffee

Volvo Cars and Starbucks are partnering on a pilot program to research the usage and potential scalability of EV chargers at the coffee giant’s stores nationwide in the U.S. The plan is to establish a charging location about every 100 miles, well within the battery range of most EVs. Volvo and Starbucks will monitor stations closely and assess usage by EV owners to determine potential expansion of the program. - CNBC

EVs and branding

Branding is important in the pioneering world of EVs, where image can count as much as track record because often there is no track record. Against this backdrop comes a Volvo spinoff, a new car company also named Polestar, which calls itself “an electric performance brand,” and which is jockeying to compete with Tesla. The challenge, said Polestar’s chief executive, Thomas Ingenlath, is that the modern Polestar is not easily reduced to a single trait. “It is a sophisticated product,” he said. - NY Times

Ford's autonomous vehicle spin off

Ford CEO Jim Farley has reshaped the company’s internal operations to accelerate development of autonomous vehicles and foster new technology businesses. Farley formed 'Ford Next' late last year and put it under the direction of Franck Louis-Victor, hired from Renault SA. The unit contains Ford’s stake in autonomous-auto startup Argo AI and will develop startups in mobility services and other businesses. - Bloomberg

Drop in leasing

The percentage of new cars and trucks leased during the Covid-19 pandemic has declined, dropping to 19% of overall retail sales so far this year through March 13—the lowest since 2009, according to J.D. Power. Leasing accounted for about 30% of the broader retail market in the years leading up to the health crisis. The car shortage has prompted many auto makers to drop the discounts and other types of promotions they typically offer to make leasing attractive to car shoppers. - WSJ

Robot truckers to manage driver shortage

Amid a severe driver shortage, a new study says 90% of long-haul trucking could be replaced by self-driving technology. The robots will take the most tedious, most dangerous jobs first, in most things. Trucking is no exception. Autonomous driving engineers are squarely focused on long-haul freight, the interstate runs with almost no complexity save for a slow curve or an E-Z Pass lane. As such, those routes are some of the simpler challenges on the self-driving spectrum. The biggest hurdle may be infrastructure. - Bloomberg