This time, it requires a little more effort from the driver. . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
The bicycle industry is in some ways like the auto industry in the context of electrification.
On the one hand, there are the traditional human-powered bicycles, which are analogous to vehicles with internal combustion engine.
On the other, there are electric bikes, just as there are electric cars.
In both bikes and autos the traditional dominates by a considerable amount.
And in both there is growth in the sales of electrified versions.
But what seems to be a bit of a difference is that electric bikes are still moving upwards on the sales charts while in autos there is a considerable moderation.
Audi EVs in Q1
Audi, like any good European luxury brand, has a full suite of EVs.
Audi of America announced that its Q1 2024 sales were down 16% year over year, but its EV sales were up 29%.
However, the combined sales of the e-tron GT, Q4 e-tron, Q4 Sportback e-tron, Q8 e-tron, and Q8 Sportback e-tron is 5,714 vehicles.
While sales of the Q5 were down 33% year-over-year, it still sold 11,473 of them, considerably more than the five EV models.
Two-Wheelin’
Ride electric with Audi. (Image: Audi of America)
Audi has added a new model to its lineup: the Audi eMTB.
It is an electric mountain bike.
Audi worked with Italian motorcycle and e-bike manufacturer Fantic on the bike, which features an aluminum frame, full suspension (Öhlins shocks in the back and fork up front), off-road tires, Sunstar Braking’s F.I.R.S.T. calipers and S3 Batfly rotors, and other elements.
There is a 720-Wh, 36-volt lithium-ion battery pack that powers a Brose S-MAG 250-watt motor, which delivers up to 90 Nm of torque.
The electrical setup provides four levels of assistance at speeds up to 20 mph.
The battery range is between 12 and 90 miles. Yes, quite a spread there, but how far one will go depends on such things as the terrain, amount of assistance used and rider weight.
Like an Audi with four tires, the engineering comes at a price: MSRP for the eMTB is $9,795.
The bike is being sold through Audi Genuine Accessories.
Maybe if the EVs aren’t moving at the dealership the eMTB will.
This car looks like something out of a video game. Elaborate. Expressive. Excessive.
But it is what the TWR Supercat is supposed to look like—the physical version, in all of its carbon fiber glory, will be introduced by the British builder of vehicles this summer.
Deliveries of the £225,000 limited-build vehicle (base price) are to start in Q4 2024. Prospective owners can place a £10,000 deposit (refundable) to get in the queue.
One of the more interesting aspects of the Supercat is it lead designer: Khyzyl Saleem.
TWR describes Saleem as “among the world’s leading digital and 3D car concepting stylists.”
According to his LinkedIn page he specializes in “Vehicle Design using 3D software.” He has worked as an artist for a gaming company. He is the co-founder, director, head of 3D for digital design firm FUZE Studio.
All of which is to say that at least so far as limited-run vehicles go, it very well may be that designers like Saleem may be the ones whose imaginations are in greater demand than traditional car designers who come from a more mechanically based background.
Although people have not stopped buying electric vehicles, there is an inverse relation between the amount of proclamations about the electric future and the purchase of the vehicles.
It sounded as though by now everyone would own an EV or be on a waiting list to get one.
Which is leading some automotive executives to mumble their way through excuses about “choice” and “listening to the customer.”
The folks at Ferrari are not shy about their continued development of vehicles powered by gasoline as evidenced by the Ferrari 12Cilindri.
Ferrari 12Cilindri: yes, 12 cylinders. (Image: Ferrari)
About this new two-seater the company says:
“The Ferrari 12Cilindri is aimed at driving enthusiasts, but also at those who demand new standards of performance, comfort and design: long-standing Ferraristi, loyal to the unique emotions that only the Ferrari V12 can deliver, as well as new clients dreaming of combining comfort and Italian design with exhilarating driving pleasure. The Ferrari 12Cilindri is designed for connoisseurs with a very clear vision of what Ferrari’s DNA has always been, truly making it a car for the few.”
That’s right, here is a car with a naturally aspirated V12 engine that powers a vehicle that provides a “clear vision of what Ferrari has stood for in the motoring world since 1947.”
Last year Ferrari announced that by 2026 some 60% of its vehicles will be either EVs or hybrids.
Which leaves 40% for things like the 12Cilindri.
And it is fairly clear they’re not making any excuses about their offerings.
One of the things that gets far less attention than it deserves is the family vehicle, the type of transportation that provides three rows of seats and room to accommodate plenty of stuff when just two of the rows are needed.
Consider the Chevy Traverse. During the first quarter of this year–as the current generation of the crossover was being sold down as it is now being replaced by a reengineered model, the 2024 third-gen that is rolling out to dealers–there were 17,475 units delivered. Or alternatively calculated as a 44.6% decline from Q1 2023.
That may be a cause for gasps, but it shouldn’t be: let’s realize that when an existing vehicle is being replaced by a new one, the switchover means there are fewer of the current one being built, so a large decline is simply a natural consequence.
But keep that 17,475 figure in mind.
However, staying within the Chevy showroom, it is interesting that the models that seem to garner the most attention are not those that are powered by a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 328 hp and 326 lb-ft of torque mated to an eight-speed transmission, like the new Traverse, but those with electric propulsion systems.
Vehicles including the Chevy Blazer EV, the Bolt EV/Bolt EUV, and Silverado EV.
While those all have their roles, it should be pointed out that in Q1 2024 the sales of those models were, respectively, 600, 7,040 and 1,061.
That’s a total of 8,701 vehicles, or almost precisely half of the Traverse sales.
So even with the changeover, the Traverse racks up solid numbers, which means solid interest. And should absolutely be more interesting with the new model.
Spatially Aware
The 2024 Traverse is a vehicle that should be top-of-mind, particularly for those who are looking for something that is capacious without being as maneuverable as an ocean liner.
(As we will get to in a moment, the Traverse can be precisely controlled.)
2024 Chevrolet Traverse Z71–you can take it off-roadish. (Images: Chevrolet)
Here’s something to know about the third row in the Traverse, which makes it a bona-fide vehicle for the fam. In far too many three-row vehicles, the third row is something that would make toddlers feel uncomfortable due to the limited space. But the Traverse offers 32.13 inches of legroom, 38.27 inches of headroom, 57.72 inches of shoulder room, and 48.62 inches of hip room.
Or said another way: It offers reasonable room for those who sit way in the back, so the claim that it seats up to eight is real, not a statement that is factual but lacking in actual functionality.
And as previously mentioned, if you fold that third row down, there’s 56.6 cubic feet to accommodate all of that stuff you picked up at Costco, and if you fold the second row, too, then there’s a massive 97.6 cubic feet of cargo room, which means you can stop at Home Depot on the way back from Costco, too.
“Roughing” It
One of the things that has become increasingly popular as Covid led people to wanting to do partake of activities in the great out-of-doors is adventuring off of paved roads. So to that end, the ’24 Traverse is available with Z71 trim, which makes it more capable of handling those sorts of dirty, gravelly conditions.
Going that route brings features including 1.2 inches of increase ground clearance (although this in not something that will have you reaching for purchase to climb into the vehicle), 18-inch wheels wrapped with all-terrain tires, specific tuned shocks from ZF, skid plates below (both steel and aluminum protectors), a Terrain mode that modulates performance for the conditions, and a twin-clutch AWD system that allows torque distribution to where it is needed.
Having taken a Z71 Traverse on route that merely suggested being drivable, I can attest to its ability to (a) not only go there but (b) do so in a way that provided considerable comfort (I know that the shocks were doing their job, but I must say that I found the driver’s seat excellent in all conditions).
One of the things that made maneuvering through trees far more manageable is a 360-degree camera system that provided an image on the 17.7-inch display so that it was clear where not to go. (To describe this as “threading a needle” would be a bit of an exaggeration for something that is 204.5 inches long and 87.87 inches wide (with mirrors extended).)
And a shout-out to the electric steering system is deserved, as well, because it could do the work at low speeds—which people are more likely to commonly experience in the parking lots of the aforementioned shopping centers—while not requiring constant adjustment at higher speeds. Let’s not kid ourselves: manuevering large vehicles can be trying. The Traverse setup makes it easier.
Sleek Look
For those who are looking for something that looks sportier and premium, the 2024 Traverse is also available in the RS trim. This puts the ute on 22s (black high-gloss aluminum) and even provides a flat-bottomed steering wheel (yes, the sort of thing you’d find in a Corvette). Black and red accents both inside and out telegraph the sporty style of the RS. And from the ride and handling standpoint, the engineers tuned the shocks to accommodate what one can experience while on road (paved) that are other than rectilinear.
2024 Chevrolet Traverse RS: Sizeable, but looks sleek.
Regardless of the trim, the styling of the ’24 has a contemporary look that echoes the sheet metal found on the Chevy pickups—the Silverado and the Canyon.
While that might seem questionable, consider that—to go back to where this began—in Q1 ’24 Chevy delivered 129,987 Silverados (including the 1,061 EVs) and 14,922 Canyons, so clearly people find the design language appealing.
But a good vehicle is more than the sum of its parts, more than the styling of the sheet metal, more than the available technologies.
It is an entire package. And the 2024 Traverse wraps it all together and delivers.
The verb whelm means to roll over something so that it is submerged.
Which gives rise to the terms overwhelm and underwhelm, with the former being a sense of being overcome by something and the other, well, provoking a shrug.
However, it doesn’t seems as though whelm on its own has the sense of being in the middle of those two conditions, one being, in effect, excited and the other indifferent.
If you are submerged, then there’s a bit of overwhelming going on.
This exercise in the state of whelmedness is provoked by the VW Tiguan S, which left me feeling in a neutral zone between like and dislike.
It is just sort of there.
Some people give the compact crossover high marks for styling which resembles the midsize VW Atlas. While the Atlas is a handsome vehicle, somehow the scaling down the lines for the Tiguan doesn’t seem to be an distinct advantage for a vehicle that is competing in one of the most fierce of all, the compact crossover.*
VW Tiguan: Credible compact crossover. (Images: Volkswagen of America)
There are nice touches, such as the LED lighting fore and aft.
But inside—and recognize that we’re talking about the S, the base model, so that needs to be taken into account here—things are a little iffy.**
Like the 6.5-inch infotainment display that resembles what one found on a Game Boy—which has been out production since 2003. The backup camera display lacks the sharpness that is now common in vehicles in this category.
There is an 8-inch digital instrument display that, like displays when there were physical gauges, with needles that moved around a spindle, is nonconfigurable.
For years, German interior design was by far best-in-class. The fit, finish and particularly materials were top-notch, and it seemed as though this was not only an Audi thing, where it began, but was manifest just as well in Volkswagen products, too.
While there is still the appearance of this execution, the plastics are a bit, well, plasticly, which is not a good thing unless you are a fan of plastics. (Lest it be thought that I am being a bit persnickety about this, a friend, who is not in the auto business, climbed in the Tiguan and immediately commented about the “hard plastics.” Admittedly I wouldn’t have likely used his observation if it didn’t tally with mine, but that’s why you should take impressionistic reviews with a boulder-sized grain of salt, no matter what the source.)
Staying on the inside, as this is a front-drive version of the Tiguan (there are also AWDs), there are three rows of seats (the AWD version gets the more reasonable two): the first row with 40.2 inches of leg room, the second row with 36.6 inches of leg room and the third, with 27.7 inches of legroom—which really isn’t much in the way of legroom at all.
Cargo capacity, however, when you fold that third row flat is a good 33 cubic feet; with that seat up it is 12. If the second and third are folded it goes to 65.3 cubic feet, which means a lot of stuff can be swallowed.
Where German engineering comes to the fore in the Tiguan is under the hood. The 184-hp turbocharged four (mated to an eight-speed automatic) responds to right-foot input with remarkable alacrity. You want to merge: no problem. This was my favorite aspect of the Tiguan.
If there was a pleasant surprise, that is it.
Look: as stated, this is a tough category. But it is worth noting that the third-generation Tiguan will be introduced later this year, so. . . .
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*This “familial resemblance” is something that many vehicle manufacturers pursue with their products, presumably thinking that if someone likes X but can’t afford it or X is the wrong size, then having W and Y that look like X is good. To be sure there can be cues from one to the other, but shouldn’t something have its own visual characteristics that make it special? The Beetle became the icon it did because it looked like nothing else, not something else.
Icons don’t look like something else.
**Car and Driver recently did a comparison of The Dodge Hornet, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-50, Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4, and VW Tiguan and the Tiguan came in number two. . .but it was the upper trim SEL R-Line model, so that needs to be considered.
The average price of a new electric vehicle in March was $54,021.
So quick math has it that there is about a $6,800 difference.
Energy Savings?
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have done some calculations regarding the amount of money that an EV can save a driver versus the same driver in a gas-powered vehicle.
They estimate that an EV can provide a savings of “up to $2,200 annually.”
Which essentially means, in effect, that in year four of owning the $54,021 EV rather than the $47,218 ICE the savings would start to accrue. (Yes, this would assume the unrealistic outright purchase of the vehicles, though an argument could be made that with comparative financing rates, the comparison works.)
Expensive Gas, Cheap Electricity. . .
However, the researcher found: “The largest fuel savings were found in areas with high gasoline prices, low electricity prices, preferences for larger vehicles and high annual mileage driven.”
So this sounds like the stars need to be aligned for that $2,200 to be achieved.
There’s Another Shoe to Drop
What’s more (or less), according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, “On average, EVs cost up to $44 more to insure per month than gas-powered vehicles, with the most expensive to insure being Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3.”
That would be an additional $528 per year, which would reduce the $2,200 to $1,672. Not trivial. But not as robust.
DIY Cost Check
The folks at Argonne have developed a web-based calculator that allows you to figure out how much you’d save based on the size of vehicle, annual mileage, fuel prices, electricity prices, and other parameters.
Although U.S. Congress approved $7.5 billion for the construction of EV chargers a couple years ago—the Biden administration has a target of 500,000 by 2030—things aren’t going particularly well in that regard.
The Washington Post reported in late March that the number of charging stations that have been opened as a result of that funding is. . .seven.
Those seven stations provide a combined 38 chargers.
However, private companies are installing chargers at a more rapid pace.
According to the most recent report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL):
“In Q3 2023, the number of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) ports in the Station Locator grew by 7.7%, or 12,986 EVSE ports, bringing the total number of ports to 181,026.”
However, the NREL estimates that if there are 33 million EVs on the road in the U.S. by 2030 that will require 28 million EV charging ports.
Which is a far cry from that 181,026 number.
But the NREL figures that of the 28 million charging ports, 25.7 million of them will be at private residences. That’s right: 92% of the chargers will be in garages and car ports across the land.
So consumers who are going to buy an EV ought to save up some more money to hire electricians.
However, the Inflation Reduction Act has money in it for people who install equipment in their garages.
According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy:
“If you purchase EV charging equipment for your principal residence, you may be eligible for a tax credit for the charging station. This credit is generally 30% of the item’s cost, up to $1,000.”
Those tax credits are supposed to be good until 2032.
Meanwhile, over in the European Union, the number of chargers is severely lagging the number of vehicles.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has released a report showing that while slightly over 150,000 public charging points were installed in the EU last year, or about 3,000 per week, in order to reach the 8.8 million charging points that will be needed overall by 2030, the pace of installation would have to be more than 22,000 per week—some eight times the current rate.
ACEA Director General, Sigrid de Vries:
“Easy access to public charging points is not ‘nice to have’, but an essential condition to decarbonize road transport, in addition to market support and a competitive manufacturing framework in Europe. Investments in public charging infrastructure must be urgently ramped up if we are to close the infrastructure gap and meet climate targets.”
Of course, as the available billions of dollars for public charging infrastructure in the U.S. shows, it will take more than money to get the necessary chargers installed.
During its Q1 2024 earnings call, there were some interesting comments made by Elon Musk, CEO and Product Architect (previously Technoking).
So here are some of Musk’s remarks prefaced with some thoughts.
…
Of course he thinks they’re doing the right thing because otherwise, why are they doing it?
Musk: “As we all have seen, the EV adoption rate globally is under pressure and a lot of other order manufacturers are pulling back on EVs and pursuing plug-in hybrids instead. We believe this is not the right strategy and electric vehicles will ultimately dominate the market.”
…
In vaguely describing the more-accessible models that will be coming, he described what sounds to be like some sort of kluge, possibly because they want to do something new while using the equipment already installed—something that traditional OEMs have been doing for years.
Musk: “These new vehicles, including more affordable models, will use aspects of the next-generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms, and we’ll be able to produce on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle lineup.”
…
This leads to a question of what gasoline cars that are autonomous will be analogous to:
Musk: “And I go back to something I said several years ago that in the future, gasoline cars that are not autonomous will be like riding a horse and using a flip phone.”
…
If an autonomous car has half the accident rate of a human-driven car, while that is safer, is it safe enough for regulatory change or should that accident reduction be less than 50%?
Musk: “I think if you’ve got at scale, a statistically significant amount of data that shows conclusively that the autonomous car has, let’s say, half the accident rate of a human-driven car, I think that’s difficult to ignore because at that point, stopping autonomy means killing people. So, I actually do not think that there will be significant regulatory barriers provided, there was conclusive data that the autonomous car is safer than a human-driven car.”
…
The key phrase in the following is “when that day happens” because he’s been talking about that day, in effect, since 2016 or, to be generous, 2019, when he said: “We expect to have the first operating robotaxis next year.”
Musk: “But really, the way to think of Tesla is almost entirely in terms of solving autonomy and being able to turn on that autonomy for a gigantic fleet. And I think it might be the biggest asset value appreciation history when that day happens when you can do unsupervised full self-driving.”
…
Yes, he earlier discovered that making cars is hard, but he managed to get through and is making EVs at a rate other OEMs can only dream of. But this seems to indicate that those who have invested in the company because they figure that their will be an ROI predicated on vehicles are making a mistake. Huh? What’s more, also during the call Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla CFO, said: “We are also getting hyper-focused on capex efficiency and utilizing our installed capacity in a more efficient manner. The savings from these initiatives, including our cost reductions will help improve our overall profitability,” which is all about making solid objects that will carry the promised autonomy.
Musk: “If you value Tesla as just like an auto company, you just have to–fundamentally, it’s just the wrong framework and if you ask the wrong question, then the right answer is impossible. So, I mean, if somebody doesn’t believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company.”
…
Here he comes up with a notion that could be useful in a future advertising campaign—yes, Tesla doesn’t advertise like traditional OEMs do, but it seems that of late—with price cuts and dictates to its analogue to “dealers” that they work to upsell people on FSD—it seems that the company is on the road to the traditional. In addition to which, why the regular references to horses?
Musk: “I mean, we’re putting the actual auto in automobile. So, sort of we go like, well, sort of like tell us about future horse carriages you’re making. I’m like, well, actually, it doesn’t need a horse that’s the whole point.”
…
Here he is talking about not only the self-driving tech that will (someday) be in Teslas but in achieving another revenue stream by licensing it to other OEMs. What he doesn’t seem to address is the cost of making a car a smart car. Which is in line, perhaps, with the $25,000 Tesla that seems to be taken off the table.
Musk: “The people don’t understand all cars will need to be smart cars, or you will not sell, or the car will not–nobody would buy it. Once that becomes obvious, I think licensing becomes not optional.”
Volkswagen introduced a new electric concept at Auto China 2024, the ID.CODE. And while it is a concept—with a “newly designed living space on board. . .where the real and virtual worlds meet to create a new mobility experience” (no, I have no idea what that means, either)—it is likely to be something that will be coming out within the next few years.
Volkswagen ID.CODE concept developed for the China market. (Image: Volkswagen)
Listen to Oliver Blume, CEO Volkswagen Group, at the company’s China Capital Markets Day in Beijing:
“Over the past 40 years, we have established a robust and very successful business in China. China is a very important market for us and will remain so. There are approximately 50 million of our vehicles on Chinese roads today, and we sell one in three cars worldwide in China. We are therefore proud to call China our second home market.”
So to stay in the game, the Group plans to launch 40 new models in China during the next three years, 20 of which will be electric vehicles, then by 2030 there will be at least 10 new EVs added to that.
To do this, in part, the Group is working with Chinese companies XPENG and SAIC.
It has developed what it calls its “China Main Platform” (CMP) which will be the underpinning for VW brand vehicles in China.
The CMP is engineered to allow the cost of vehicles by 40% by 2026.
It has developed the China Electrical Architecture that it says will further reduce costs.
It has established the Volkswagen Group China Technology Company (VCTC), an R&D center in Hefei.
Through VCTC it plans to reduce the time-to-market for China products by 30%.
While that’s for the Group (the company has divided its brands into Core: VW, VW Commercial Vehicles, Skoda, SEAT, and Cupra; Progressive: Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati; and Sport Luxury: Porsche), the brands have their approaches to the China market.
For example, the VW brand has established three pillars for the China market: a comprehensive vehicle offering; a design language specifically for the market; technical development with Chinese partners to accelerate innovation.
Hmm. . .
Volkswagen Group is betting big on China, which is actually its single-biggest market (it sells more units in Europe, but as a single country, China is the one).
While there is advantage engaging with domestic companies (it owns 4.99% of XPENG), a question is whether Chinese consumers might not have their own “In China, for China” strategy that will focus their purchases on vehicles from Chinese companies.
And to what extent the design approaches and technical developments that it is making in China will be useful in the rest of the world.
After all, should the Chinese consumer not be keen on VW’s “living space on board” and the like, then it surely is going to need to take that investment elsewhere.
Think of it as validation of what everyone seems to know about the electric vehicle market in the U.S.:
The AlixPartners 2024 International Electric Vehicle Consumer-Sentiment Survey found that compared to a similar survey it ran in 2021 U.S. interest in EVs is flat.
Yes, despite the additional years of Tesla, Tesla, Tesla. Despite products like the Chevy Bolt and the Ford Lightning, which have increased familiarity with EVs, AlixPartners found that the number of respondents who said they are “very” or “moderately” interested in acquiring an EV is 35%. The same number as back in 2021.
Growth? What growth?
(While the 35% number seems robust, know that the share of market in the U.S. for EVs is 7.6%. . .and may hit 10% this year.)
What are people in the U.S. turning to?
Arun Kumar, global co-leader of the Advanced Mobility Practice at AlixPartners: “In the U.S. and Europe, BEV-intentioned buyers are turning their interest to PHEVs, seeing them as a completely legitimate substitute for meeting near-term needs and addressing charging and range concerns.
“This shift in preference presents a monumental challenge for traditional automakers, suppliers and dealers as they deploy resources to compete in the BEV transition.”
Or said differently: the OEMs and suppliers have been shoveling money into the BEV transition and are now discovering that returns seem exceedingly elusive.
shinymetalboxes 