• Tag Archives Luxury Vehicles

  • Tesla Sets New Records with Q1 Results

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    Tesla set another quarterly record for deliveries during the first quarter of 2021.

    As predicted by many, Tesla Inc. set another quarterly record for production and deliveries during the first quarter of 2021 while rolling out another profitable quarter.

    The delivery numbers eclipsed the previous record by more than 4,000 units, coming in at 184,877 vehicles during the quarter. The overwhelming majority of the deliveries were Model 3 and Model Y at 182,847 vehicles – at 140% increase compared to the year-ago number. It’s also a 21,000-plus unit jump compared with the previous quarter.

    The company’s automotive revenue came in at $9 billion, an increase of 75% compared with Q1 2020. Overall, the company’s total revenue came in at $10.4 billion with a net income of $438 million or 39 cents per share. It also reported an adjusted EBITDA of $1.8 billion for the quarter with operating income reported at $594 million with a 5.7% operating margin.

    Big results — again

    Tesla’s Elon Musk is taking on a new role: host of Saturday Night Live.

    Quarter-end and cash equivalents to $17.1 billion in Q1, driven mainly by a net cash outflow of $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) purchases, net debt and finance lease repaymenbts of $1.2 billion, partially offset by free cash flow of $293 million.

    “There’s no guarantee that Elon Musk’s appearance on SNL will garner big laughs, but it’s certain that he’s laughing all the way to the bank,” said Jessic Caldwell, Edmunds’ executive director of insights.

    “Tesla had a record-breaking first quarter, and seems to be doing particularly well compared to its more traditional OEM competitors who are starting to flounder in light of the unique market conditions squeezing the industry right now. It’s pretty ironic that as an automaker known for producing computers on wheels, Tesla’s deliveries in a quarter marred by a global chip shortage have proven to be so strong.

    The big numbers came despite the fact the average selling price for one of its vehicles fell during the quarter. However, officials seem almost pleased by that, noting that lowering “the average cost of the vehicles we produce is essential to our mission.”

    The exterior of the new Model S is a little more angular than its predecessor.

    Big sales — again

    The company was quick to note that with production of its Model 3 basically coming from one plant (Shanghai), it is the best-selling premium sedan “in the world.” It outsold its top competitors, the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes E-Class.

    “This demonstrates that an electric vehicle can be a category leader and outsell its gas-powered counterparts. We believe Model Y can become not just a category leader, but also the best-selling vehicle of any kind globally,” the company told investors.

    With the strong performance of those two, production of the 2021 Model S — the vehicle that really started it all — “should start very shortly.” Officials noted that production of the Model Y production rate in Shanghai continues to improve and “two new factories — Berlin and Texas — are making progress. There is a lot to be excited about in 2021.”

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  • Genesis Goes Electric with Electrified G80 Sedan’s Debut in Shanghai

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    Genesis G80 EV front

    Genesis is looking to make up some ground when it comes to electrification with the new Electrified G80.

    The Genesis brand is determined to go from catch-up mode to leaving its competition behind. After an initial delay, it’s rolled out an assortment of new SUVs and its now getting into the battery-car game with the launch of the Electrified G80 at the Shanghai Auto Show.

    The name of the Genesis Electrified G80 sedan might confuse some folks, making it sound like the automaker simply stuffed some batteries inside the conventional, gas-powered G8. However, the new model gets a major makeover to ensure it gets the range and other benefits offered by switching to battery power.

    “Today is very special because it represents a variety of firsts for the Genesis brand, not only because this is Genesis’ very first appearance at Auto Shanghai, but also as the first time we are unveiling a new product outside of Korea,” said Jay Chang, Global head of the Genesis brand. “The Electrified G80, the perfect balance of athleticism and elegance, marks the beginning of our journey into the EV market, representing Genesis in the era of electrification.”

    Filling in gaps in the product line-up

    Genesis G80 EV side charging

    Genesis has been on a product roll in the last year or so, but an EV was a hole in the line-up — until now.

    Genesis has been on a roll this past year, expanding its SUV line-up, updating initial sedans, including the gas-powered G80, and rolling out concepts like the all-electric Genesis X coupe revealed last month.

    The one thing missing has been a production battery-electric vehicle, something the automaker has long signaled was in the works — though it also was known to be considering different options, including a crossover, a city car or, as it now turns out, a relatively conventional sedan.

    There are some questions left to be answered, such as what platform the Electrified G80 rides on. Parent Hybrid Motor Group has developed the E-GMP architecture for use on products including the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.

    It’s not clear whether it also underpins the Genesis Electrified G80. But the luxury member of the family has clearly found a way to squeeze in plenty of batteries, claiming the BEV sedan will deliver as much as 500 km, or 310 miles, range using the global NEDC standard. That likely would drop to something at or under 250 miles using the U.S. EPA test cycle.

    Quicker charging

    Genesis G80 EV interior

    The interior of the new electric G80 sedan features a slew of technology.

    The powertrain also aims to address concerns about charging times. The Electrified G80’s drive system can flip from 400 to 800 volts, allowing it to plug into the latest public quick chargers. Using the newest 350 kilowatt systems it can go from a 10% to 80% state-of-charge in just 22 minutes, Genesis claims.

    The Vehicle-to-Load, or V2L, system also lets a motorist tap energy stored in the battery to power electric tools or, if need be, appliances should a home suffer a power outage.

    Genesis isn’t ready to reveal specifics about the motor drive system, though it does note the all-wheel-drive system has a “Disconnector Actuator” that lets it switch from AWD to just rear-wheel drive. That suggests there is a single motor mounted, most likely, on the rear axle.

    In Sport Mode, the automaker claims, the Electrified G80 will launch from 0 to 60 in 4.9 seconds.

    Lots of unanswered questions

    While the battery model looks much like the conventional G80, it features a sealed version of the familiar Genesis Crest Grille. That reduces aero drag since there’s no need to send air to cool and feed a gas engine under the hood. The charging port is hidden within the grille’s upper right corner.

    Inside, the automaker switched to sustainable materials, including fabrics made of PET from recycled soft drink bottles.

    Calling electrification “one of the key strategies” for the brand, Genesis said the Electrified G80 will be followed by “additional EV models.” It also said it will share more information about the BEV and plans to bring it to North America “later this year.”

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  • Bow. Wow! One-Bow Design Takes Mercedes EQS in an Entirely New Direction

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    Mercedes EQS with Thomas Kuppers

    The new Mercedes-Benz EQS battery-electric sedan makes its formal debut April 15.

    One thing’s for sure: there’ll be no mistaking the new Mercedes EQS sedan when it rolls down the street.

    Think of the EQS as the all-electric alternative to the German automaker’s familiar S-Class flagship. But you clearly won’t confuse the two when it reaches showrooms in autumn. Some new battery-electric vehicles share the same design language as conventional, gas-powered products. With EQS, Mercedes goes off in an entirely new direction, one it’s been hinting at with concept vehicles like the 2019 Vision EQS.

    The production model adopts what the automaker calls a “one-bow” design. It takes the look of the coupe-like Mercedes CLS to extremes. The result could have rolled off the set of a sci-fi film. But there are practical benefits in terms of range and interior roominess, as well.

    “We said we have to go further” than just packing batteries into a conventional looking product,” Steffen Kohl, Mercedes’ director of advanced exterior style, said during a media webinar. The EQS “carries the future of Mercedes-Benz,” he added, noting the “one-bow” language of the EQS will strongly influence other products to come from the new, all-electric Mercedes-EQ sub-brand.

    Plenty of power and range

    Mercedes EQS with Robert Lesnik

    Robert Lesnik led the exterior design effort for Mercedes new EQS battery-electric sedan.

    EQS rides on a skateboard-like platform, mimicking virtually all new battery-electric vehicles. Its batteries, motors and other key electrical components sit below the floorboards.

    The automaker will reveal full powertrain details during a formal unveiling April 15. But EQS uses twin motors, one on each axle, drawing power from a 108 kilowatt-hour battery pack. That provides about 435 miles of range using the European WLTP test cycle. The EPA rating should come in somewhere about 350 miles, according to industry observers.

    The layout moves the sedan’s wheels close to the vehicle’s corners. It also frees up space where a traditional gas or diesel engine would be mounted, providing significant flexibility to the Mercedes design team.

    Shorter wheelbase, longer cabin

    The cab-forward design features a short nose, the angled, one-piece aluminum clamshell hood rising aggressively to flow into a steeply raked windshield. Instead of a traditional, two- or three-box layout, the look is like that of a single bow line, explained Robert Lesnik, who led the exterior design effort.

    The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS concept provided a framework for the company’s new electric luxury sedan.

    “EQS will be the world’s best production car ever in terms of aerodynamics,” with a drag coefficient of 0.20 significantly better than even the sleekest of today’s supercars, he explained.

    The effect “looks optically lower than it is,” Lesnik added.

    The front end features a new grille with “abstracted, three-dimensional star pattern(s),” according to Mercedes. It’s framed by slit-like headlamps flowing into the front quarter panels.

    “When people ask why we need a grille anymore,” Lesnik explains that it is “not an air intake. It’s a face.”

    “Coming from the future”

    The side panels lack the normal creases found on conventional Mercedes models, though the greenhouse does pinch in towards the trunk, giving the EQS a sense of muscularity.

    Mercedes-Benz EQS interior

    The new EQS features Mercedes’ newly introduced Hyperscreen technology.

    Around back, the most distinctive feature is a light band connecting what Mercedes calls “curved, 3D helix” taillamps.

    From nose to tail, the new EQS measures 5.2 meters, or 204.7 inches. That’s about 3.5 inches shorter than the U.S. version of the latest Mercedes S-Class. But the electric sedan has more room for four passengers, its cabin pushed forward into what would normally be the engine compartment.

    As distinctive as the exterior might be, the interior takes things even further, said Peter Balko, who oversaw development of the cabin. “We wanted our interior to be modern,” he explained, “as if coming from the future.”

    Buyers will have numerous options

    Buyers have several key options to choose from. The showpiece layout uses the new hyperscreen concept first shown on the latest S-Class. It features a seamless digital cluster running the entire width of the instrument panel. The organically shaped glass blends three different displays, starting with the digital gauge cluster, the touchscreen infotainment screen and a separate display for the front passenger.

    Mercedes-Benz EQS gauges

    The gauge cluster on the new EQS is configurable based on the wants of the driver.

    EQS offers a digital gauge cluster and a large, free-floating, Tesla-like infotainment screen for those seeking a more conventional look. The space in front of the passenger can be outfitted with an assortment of different woods and fabrics and even a version of the Star Pattern grille.

    The EQS will “touch almost all of your senses,” said Kohl. Among other things, the product development team has come up with three distinctive, user-programmable “soundscapes.”

    Sounding off

    While battery cars aren’t entirely silent, they are significantly quieter than vehicles with conventional internal combustion engines. Motorists can enjoy the lack of noise or they can opt for one of the soundscapes, “depending upon the emotions of the moment,” said lead sound engineer Thomas Kuppers.

    • Silver Waves is meant to be soft and soothing;
    • Vivid Flux is “shimming and explosive,” a bit “techie but (with) warmth,” said Kuppers; and
    • Roaring Pulse is “pretty raw, with “the growl of thunder,” especially under aggressive driving.

    “We haven’t finished yet,” Kuppers added, noting that, “There will be new soundscapes over the life of the vehicle that we will download through over-the-air updates.”

    The new EQS will borrow from the conventional S-Class by also appealing to the sense of smell, Mercedes officials noted. The new BEV will have the ability to inject scents into the cabin, including some designed specifically for the new model.

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  • BMW Launching New i4 EV Three Months Ahead of Schedule

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    BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse with iX and i4

    BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse revealed the new i4 alongside the iX — three months early.

    BMW is clearly anxious to regain momentum in the small but growing battery-car market, the Bavarian automaker revealing plans Wednesday to bring the new i4 to market three months earlier than originally scheduled.

    The announcement came hours after BMW provided new details about the launch of another all-electric model, the iX. All told, the luxury brand plans to have electrified options, including hybrids and battery-electric vehicles, available in 90% of the segments it competes in by 2023. And it expects BEVs alone to generate “well over 50%” of its annual sales by 2030.

    “We have a clear roadmap for making the transformation of our industry a real competitive advantage for BMW in the coming years: uncompromisingly electric, digital and circular,” Chairman Oliver Zipse said during the automaker’s annual meeting.

    Early pioneer now playing catch up

    BMW’s Zipse laid out the company’s electrification plans, including BEVs making up at least 50% of sales by 2030.

    BMW was an early pioneer in electrification with products like the all-electric i3 city car and i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. But it has slipped behind some key rivals in recent years, in part, due to internal debate over the approach to take with electrified drivetrains.

    It had been planning to use platforms capable of handling everything from gas and diesel to all-electric but future BEVs now will ride on unique, skateboard-like platforms.

    The transition begins this year, BMW getting ready to start taking orders for both the i4 and the iX, the latter the production version of the iNext concept.

    The i4 will reach showrooms in Germany and some other key markets before the end of this year, a full quarter ahead of the original target. Deliveries of the iNext begin in early 2022.

    They will join the three all electric models the company currently offers, the BMW i3 and iX3 and Mini SE, said Zipse. That will “signalise the start of our technology offensive in 2021: these two all-electric vehicles will set the bench

    2022 BMW i4 annual meeting pic

    The new i4 debuted three months earlier than expected and is part of the company’s “neuer klasse” of vehicles.

    mark for BEVs going forward,” the BMW chairman said in a statement.

    The “Neue Klasse”

    By 2023, BMW expects to have “around a dozen fully electric models” in production worldwide, he added. It also will have various hybridized products.

    In the “third phase” of its electrification program, BMW will launch what it described as the “Neue Klasse,” or New Class, of vehicles. These are expected to use an entirely new platform developed specifically for all-electric products.

    Additionally, they will use a “completely redefined” electrical and software architecture, “a new generation” of batteries and electric drivetrains, and will adopt a “radically new approach to sustainability across the entire vehicle life cycle.”

    BMW said it is taking steps to ensure that the entire manufacturing process of future products will be more environmentally friendly, starting from the mining of raw materials. That it will put a premium on recycling of critical materials such as the lithium in its batteries, while turning to renewable energy to power its factories.

    BMW iX - driving

    The BMW iX uses a two-motor setup to put out 500 horsepower and is expected to travel 300 miles.

    Other BMW brands going electric, too

    While Wednesday’s announcement primarily focused on the flagship BMW brand, the automaker noted that its British-based marque, Mini, is set “to become a fully electric brand by the early 2030s.”

    Last September, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös revealed that the ultra-luxury brand is working on its own BEV. It is under pressure to electrify at several levels, archrival Bentley itself planning to go completely electric by the end of this decade.

    Bentley parent Volkswagen AG is accelerating its overall electrification program with a goal of being the industry leader by the middle of this decade.

    Its own high-line brands are rapidly shifting to battery propulsion, including not only Bentley but also Audi and Porsche. Industry observers question whether that could force BMW to move even faster than the plan it outlined Wednesday.

    BMW with its joint venture partner Brilliance is charging ahead with iX3 production in China.

    Like its rivals, BMW acknowledged it has ramped up spending on its electrification program. That is expected to strain industry profits in the coming years, according to various analysts. Complicating matters, the higher production costs have made it difficult to maintain traditional profit margins on BEVs.

    Making money on EVs

    But Zipse was optimistic about BMW’s finances, despite the increase in R&D and related spending. If anything, the company’s statement said that, “Despite the volatile situation brought about by the global spread of coronavirus, the BMW Group expects business to develop positively and the risk situation to remain stable in the financial year 2021.”

    If anything, the automaker described “electric mobility” as “a key growth driver in 2020.” It sold 192,662 battery-based vehicles last year through the BMW and Mini brands, a 31.8% year-over-year increase. In Europe, it added, those hybrids and BEVs now account for a full 15% of total sales.

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  • Chicago Auto Show Postpones 2021 Gathering Due to Pandemic

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    Chicago Auto Show organizers have postponed the 2021 event indefinitely.

    In what has become an all-too-familiar scenario, the coronavirus pandemic claimed another automotive event: the 2021 Chicago Auto Show.

    The pandemic has forced nearly every major show since the 2020 Chicago Auto Show in February to either reschedule, cancel all together or shift to an online format. No new dates have been set and the website for the show simply shows the dates as “Spring 2021.” It was initially set to run Feb. 13-21.

    “We are working with our partners at McCormick Place as well as state and city officials to develop a plan that allows us to open the 2021 Chicago Auto Show in a safe and responsible manner,” Mark Bilek, senior director of communications and technology for the Chicago Auto Show, told TheDetroitBureau.com in an email.

    (Detroit Auto Show organizers moving NAIAS again.)

    The 2020 Chicago Auto Show was basically the last full-on, in-person auto show.

    “State officials are currently reviewing our plan. While our traditional February dates are unlikely, we are hopeful to be able to stage the show sometime in the spring.” Bilek told Automotive News show organizers were hoping some time in March, April or May.

    Chicago is one of the larger shows on the North American circuit of global auto shows, and very focused on consumers. Bilek noted the show organizers are working with healthcare officials with the city and state to determine when the show can be held.

    Not only does the show have to deal with the always changing impact of the pandemic, it’s also got to find a space between other auto shows that have already been forced to reschedule dates. The most immediate show between now and the now postponed Chicago event is the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

    Organizers now say they plan to go to an “all-digital” format for CES in January. Better known as the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual show has become a major event for automakers at a time when their vehicles are becoming increasingly high tech. Dozens of automakers and auto suppliers filled an entire wing of the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center in January 2020.

    (CES goes digital — but will automakers (virtually) stick around in 2021?)

    “Amid the pandemic and growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it’s just not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CTA, the group that runs the annual show.

    Nissan showed off the Ariya Concept at CES last January. Will automakers go with the show in 2021 when it becomes an internet-only event.

    The New York International Auto Show, normally held in April, moved to Aug. 20-29 at the Javits Convention Center. Show organizers tried to push back its 2020 show to this fall before ultimately cancelling it. They got proactive and delayed the 2021 event.

    The North American International Auto Show in Detroit for 2021 moved its projected June date to now late September in what organizers are calling a “reimagined indoor and outdoor show.”

    Public days for the show will now be Sept. 28 – Oct. 9, 2021 with the media preview and other events actually kicking off Sept. 24. Organizers say the NAIAS will be a “fall show going forward.” When it finally opens, it will be 2.5 years between Detroit auto shows.

    (New York Auto Show postponed until August due to coronavirus.)

    Other shows are still formulating plans, and those plans don’t even account for large classic car shows like the Pebble Beach Concours and others.


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