Hello there! Welcome to Thursday, July 20, 2023 and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the most important automotive headlines from around the world. Here are the biggest stories of the day, all in one place.
1st Gear: Tesla’s Selling Services
By now, we’re all well aware that America’s automakers are lining up to adopt Tesla’s charging standard here in the U.S. Despite CCS being the charging port of choice across Europe, Australia, much of South America and some countries in Africa, the U.S. is pivoting to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard. But this isn’t the only innovation the EV maker is looking to push on other automakers.
Now, a new report from Automotive News found that Tesla is in talks with a “major OEM” about licensing its Level 2 driver-assist system, which is known as Full Self-Driving. Talking during an earnings call for the EV maker, Musk said the automaker was interested in accessing the hardware and software that it uses for this system. According to the site:
“Musk likened interest in Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software, along with its camera-based hardware, to agreements made with other automakers to use its Supercharger network.
“’We are already in early discussions with a major OEM about using Tesla FSD,’ Musk said Wednesday on the automaker’s second-quarter earnings call. ‘We’re not trying to keep this to ourselves. We’re more than happy to license it to others’.”
Despite years spent calling this system “Full Self-Driving,” the Tesla software can’t actually drive a car itself. Instead, it requires a driver to be in control of the vehicle at all times. Hopefully, whichever automaker Musk plans on licensing this program to is aware of that, before NHTSA needs to start opening investigations into other automakers as well.
2nd Gear: Stellantis Under Scrutiny
While Volkswagen might have owned the headlines when it came to cheating emissions tests, but other automakers were at it as well. Now, one Stellantis boss is facing prison time and a fine of up to $250,000 after admitting their involvement in the scandal.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Emanuele Palma pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act after Stellantis was found to have cheated emissions tests on more than 100,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs and Ram 1500 pickups. Now, Palma could face prison time of between zero and six months, as well as a fine. The Free Press reports:
“Although the sentencing guideline range for Palma is zero to six months in prison, court testimony indicated that the defense would recommend a time-served sentence of one day and that the government would not oppose that. The maximum possible sentence is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
“The plea agreement, filed Wednesday, said the government would dismiss any other charges and not bring additional charges if the court accepts it.”
At the time of the scandal, Palma worked for then Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in Detroit as a member of the company’s diesel drivability and emissions group. Originally from Italy, Palma received no formal training on U.S. emissions regulations before December 2015, according to Detroit Free Press. Stellantis’ emissions scandal relates to the three-liter diesel engine that it sold in its 2014-16 Grand Cherokees and Ram 1500s.
As well as Palma, The Detroit Free Press reports that two other managers have been charged in relation to the case. Sergio Pasini and Gianluca Sabbioni were charged but are still awaiting trial.
3rd Gear: Lotus In Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious
It’s been a busy few weeks for British automaker Lotus. The company began rolling out its first ever SUV and it finally announced that it would begin deliveries of its highly-anticipated Evija electric hypercar next month. However, it’s not all good news as the Geely-owned company also announced losses of £145.1 million, which is about $186.7m.
The news, first reported by Autocar, is pretty bleak for Lotus, which spent the whole of 2022 only selling one model: the Emira. Autocar reports:
“Lotus has confirmed proposals to cut up to 200 jobs at its Hethel and Warwickshire base, mainly focused at engineering and administrative roles.
“This announcement comes just days after it posted losses of £145.1 million – which followed an £86.6m loss in 2021 – caused by a significant fall in sales.”
“The Geely-owned manufacturer maker sold just 576 cars in 2022, down from 1566 in 2021, which it blamed on supply chain issues in the second half of the year.”
Hopefully with the Eletre now rolling off the Lotus production line, the company can begin transforming its fortunes. After all, a pivot to boujie SUVs has worked wonders for fellow British automaker Aston Martin, which has been running with its DBX SUV all the way to the bank.
4th Gear: Government Goes Green
If you’re the kind of person that likes to keep an eye on their environmental impact, you’ll have probably been told that no individual can really make a difference. To save the planet, it’s all down to governments, corporations and industry to fix things. Now, the U.S government is taking a small step in this direction, pledging a switch to electric vehicles for all kinds of tasks.
According to Reuters, the U.S. government will acquire 9,500 electric vehicles slated for the 2023 budget year. That figure is almost three times higher than the number of EVs the government purchased in 2022. Reuters reports:
“The Government Accountability Office said 26 agencies with approved EV acquisition plans estimated they would need over $470 million for vehicle purchases and almost $300 million in estimated costs to design and install the necessary infrastructure and for other expenses. The vehicles purchase would cost almost $200 million more than the lowest-priced comparable gasoline-powered vehicles. The agencies represent more than 99% of the federal vehicle fleet excluding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which is an independent federal entity.”
There’s no word yet on which agencies will make the switch to electric vehicles, but Reuters reports that Customs and Border Protection officials said that EVs aren’t suited to supporting “law enforcement equipment or perform law enforcement missions in extreme environments.” So, I guess that means we won’t get battery-powered border patrols anytime soon.
Despite these lofty aims, the government is facing the same issues as you and I when it comes to buying new cars. Namely, delays from manufacturers and canceled orders, which the Transportation Department says it struggled with in 2022.
Reverse: Is There Life On Mars?
On The Radio: Taylor Swift – ‘Hits Different’
I’d love to pretend that I’m cool and listen to a varied selection of music. But, if I’m honest, I’ve spent the past month listening to nothing but this, “New Romantics” and the Arctic Monkeys’ album The Car. And do you know what? I’m fine with that.