Success and failure

Last week's good and bad car news

Sunday afternoon, and relax behind the computer with a delicious iced coffee. At Greenchoicess we look back on the week in which Tesla still surprises with a new model and Volvo loses its faith. Good news, bad news. Success, and failure.

Success – The Tesla Model 2 goes into production in early 2025 (but won't be cheap)

Tesla's new affordable model will come out in 2025. During the financial results presentation, Elon Musk confirmed this.

Tesla Model 2 is finally coming. Soon. This news surprises us, because the rumor mill has been spitting out mostly bad news lately. Reuters reported that Tesla's plans for a cheaper Tesla were on hold because they were focusing on the Robotaxi.

The actual timeline for Tesla looks like this: the Robotaxi will debut on October 10, 2024, followed by the entry-level model in the first half of 2025. There's no way Tesla's calendar will have "Model 2" scribbled on it, as it's colloquially known, but the official project name: Redwood.

There won't be a super cheap Tesla Model 2

Elon Musk promised in 2020 that a cheap Tesla was coming. Tesla would make their products more accessible for a wider audience with a $25,000 price tag. It's likely the Model 2 won't be built at its cheapest, so the price might be higher than $25,000. Tesla's main focus is on increasing production. Therefore, the Model 2 has a similar platform and rolls off the same production line as other Teslas. Tesla chose this so it can increase production numbers. With the Model 2, Tesla will be able to make almost 3 million cars a year.

Success – Making electric cars cheaper without reducing battery size

The battery of an electric car is so expensive that the entire car immediately becomes very expensive. The parts manufacturer Bosch knows how to make EVs cheaper without sacrificing range. By simplifying the drivetrain, like Chinese brands have been doing for a while.

By simplifying the drivetrain, you can reduce the cost of electric cars. By only using mass-produced parts. According to Mathias Pillin, CEO of Bosch.

Chinese car brands are already using this cost-saving strategy and are saving 30 percent compared to Western car brands. Make sure you use affordable components in your electric drivetrain instead of developing all the little things.

Affordability is key for Chinese car brands

As a major car parts supplier, previously for combustion engines and now increasingly for EVs, Bosch is on the front line. EV production is being standardised by Chinese brands, while Western brands are increasingly asking for special parts.

Bosch doesn't make battery packs. Therefore, the brand can't influence the price of EVs in that area. In order to make battery cells cheaper, we look to companies like LG Chem, which is developing a new production method that will make electric cars more affordable from 2028.

Success – Cheap cars come with this Chinese brand

You probably find it just as puzzling as we do: all those new Chinese car brands are so expensive! Sales are down. Maybe Leapmotor will be a hit. The first model, the electric T03, is going to be dirt cheap thanks to Stellantis (Peugeot and Fiat). Here's a crash course in Leapmotor.

I'm sure we'll hear a lot more from Leapmotor. Developed with Stellantis, the Leapmotor T03 is a dirt-cheap electric car, with a price that will probably stay below 20,000 euros. We'll see the Dacia Spring competitor as early as 2024. What was it with this Chinese brand that speaks a little French? Let's refresh your knowledge with these five things.

1. Stellantis teams up with Leapmotor. Stellantis, the company that owns Citron, Fiat, Opel, and Peugeot, isn't active in China anymore. In 2023, it bought Leapmotor. Chinese brand that makes cheap electric cars. Leapmotor and Stellantis also created a joint venture for the international market: Leapmotor International. Leapmotor T03 is the first product of this joint venture.
2. Leapmotor T03 production in Poland. Stellantis isn't waiting for bickering about Chinese car import duties. The large car company is making the Leapmotor T03 in Poland with Leapmotor. It rolls off the production line in the Tychy factory, where the Alfa Romeo Junior and Fiat 600 are also built. The Leapmotor T03 will start production in September 2024. Later this year, it'll probably be driving around the cities.
3. The price of the Leapmotor T03. Stellantis says it'll keep the price of its 3.62-meter-long Leapmotor T03 below 20,000 euros. So it's targeting the Dacia Spring, as well as Stellantis' own cheap EV, the electric Citro?n C3. There's a good chance the T03 gets a 39 kWh battery, which already beats the Spring. In contrast, the latter uses 26.8 kWh. The final price hasn't been released yet. What about Leapmotor C10? That's a five-seater SUV that's about the same size as a Tesla Model Y. Almost nothing is known about the Leapmotor C10, except that it's electric. The car should have a range of 420 kilometers and 230 horsepower under the hood.
4. There's a 'European' Leapmotor on the way. In the first quarter of 2025, the collaborating partners plan to build another Leapmotor in Poland. It'll be a compact SUV called the Leapmotor A12. The design will be similar to the C10 (the dark green car), but it'll be smaller. Leapmotor A12 is also expected to be very competitively priced.
5. Soon, leapmotor T03 sales will start. Stellantis will start selling Leapmotors in nine European countries in September, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain. Every year until 2028, Leapmotor will launch a new model in Europe.

Failure - Jaecoo J7: what to do?

We stay in China because we keep getting news from there. Jaecoo is a new car brand aimed at rich young city dwellers. They do this with a big SUV, the Jaecoo J7, which competes with the Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai. A unique selling point is its off-road capabilities. Eh, we find that choice remarkable. From 2025, Jaecoo can prove us wrong, because then the brand will come to the Europe.

There's a new Chinese car brand. The Jaecoo J7 will be released in 2025 and compete with the Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, and Nissan Qashqai. How likely is it? Here's some order: Jaecoo is part of the huge Chinese car group Chery. Chery makes Omoda, which we got to know this spring.

Jaecoo - what does it mean?

There's a sense of humor in Chinese brands. J?ger (the German word for hunter) and cool (the English word) make up Jaecoo. By targeting young people in cities with money, the brand doesn't make it easy for itself. You'd think you'd come with a cool city car you can park anywhere along the narrow canals of Amsterdam. However, the Jaecoo J7, the first model to arrive, is a medium-sized SUV. Hopefully the rich young people can parallel park well.

Kia Sportage's biggest rival is the Jaecoo J7.

Korean competition is Jaecoo's main focus. Jaecoo's J7 is a plug-in hybrid (with a plug) that should appeal to Kia Sportages and Hyundai Tucson buyers. Just like Kia, electric bicycles can be charged via your car with V2L technology. Even crazier, Jaecoo says you can drive off-road very well with the J7. Compared to the big city oat milk elite, we're not quite as adventurous.

Failure - Volvo has doubts about electric cars.

EV doubts were rampant this week. Audi and Porsche are back to investing in petrol engines. Volvo was one car brand we didn't expect to have doubts about. Sweden promised to make every new car electric by 2030. But that might not happen.

Another car brand adjusting its electric ambitions is one thing, but Volvo not doing everything it can to go fully electric by 2030 is sacrilege. Porsche already said it: "Electric driving is taking longer than we thought". Audi says it'll be a while before we all drive electric cars. But if there was one car brand we didn't expect to have any doubts, it was Volvo. Swedes promised to make every new car electric by 2030.

Volvo keeps investing in hybrids.

It's still Volvo's goal to be fully electric by 2030, but it also recognizes that it matters where the showroom is. The bridge to full electrification will take time, says Volvo CEO Jim Rowan. Now Volvo's director is torn. On one hand, he's a big fan of electric driving and thinks electric motors are better than combustion engines. However, he sees a future for hybrid cars: "Hybrids are the perfect bridge for customers who aren't quite ready to switch to electric." And then: "Our plug-in hybrids and mild hybrids remain popular with our customers, and we continue to invest in these models."

Volvo dealers in America have to.

According to Automotive News Europe, Volvo is investing in hybrid cars so it can accommodate American dealers. Volvo will keep selling combustion engines after 2030. It's essential, otherwise we won't survive," says an anonymous dealer. The transition to electric driving is not happening fast enough there. Governments might also label plug-in hybrids with a long EV range as 'green' in the future. That'd make Volvo want to keep building PHEVs.

More interesting car news next time!

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