Good morning! It’s Wednesday, February 21st, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
1st Gear: Toyota Industries Caught Cheating
After Volkswagen faced the music for its emission scandal in 2015 and Stellantis had its own moment in the smoggy sun last year, Toyota is the latest automaker to get wrapped up in an emissions scandal. The Japanese automaker’s engine-building arm is now facing penalties from the Japanese government over cheating on emissions tests.
According to a new report from Reuters, Toyota Industries was found to have “engaged in misconduct,” which it says included tampering with test data for certain engines. Models affected include the Land Cruiser and several forklift trucks, as Reuters explains:
Japan’s transport ministry is preparing action against a Toyota Motor Corp, opens new tab affiliate for cheating engine emissions tests, including possibly withdrawing certification for some engine types, Nikkei reported on Monday.
The ministry will order Toyota Industries, opens new tab, the world’s largest manufacturer of forklift trucks, to take steps to prevent a “recurrence of the misconduct”, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The cheating allegations affect Toyota Industry’s 1KD diesel engines, which can be found in Toyota’s third- and fourth-generation Land Cruiser SUVs and HiAce vans. The allegations have also been levied at the company’s industrial motors such as the 1ZS and 4Y motors, which are used to power forklifts.
So far, the penalties that the Japanese government is considering only relate to the forklift engines, but that could change depending on the “severity of the misconduct.”
Rather worryingly, this isn’t the first time Toyota has been caught up in an emission test cheating scandal. In 2022, Hino, a subsidiary of the Japanese automaker, admitted to cheating on tests for some of its trucks.
2nd Gear: EV Adoption Is Entering A new Phase
There might be a lot of doomsayers out there arguing that EV sales are over just because a few companies are slashing prices, but it’s actually looking a little rosier for our battery-powered future than you might think. Sure, the rate of EV growth is slowing, but sales are still rising as, apparently, we’re entering a new phase of our electric future.
According to a report from Forbes, the pioneers have all bought their EVs and it’s now down to regular consumers to make the switch to battery power. However, many of those buyers want a slower transition to EVs, so are eyeing hybrid models as a handy halfway point between gas-powered cars and all-electric. As Forbes explains:
The new phase of potential EV customers is “more pragmatic” than the early adopters, said [Jeremy Korst, president of GBK].
“They want the confidence of” EV technology “working,” he added. “We may need this bridge technology,” Korst said referring to hybrids.
GBK said the new phase of potential EV buyers is more concerned with the total cost of vehicle ownership compared with the early adopters.
According to Forbes, the next wave of EV adopters need any electric car they consider to fit with their lifestyle and budget, they’re less concerned with the status that comes with driving a battery-powered car.
As such, they’re less likely to want to pay more for an EV, unless the price difference is covered by the U.S. grants currently available. They may also spend more time weighing up the lifetime cost of an EV as well as charging infrastructure int heir area.
3rd Gear: Audi Agrees To Pay Hike, Ending Mexico Strike
After Ford workers in Kentucky threatened to walk off the job earlier this week, employees at an Audi plant in Mexico are preparing to get back to work after the German automaker agreed to pay raises across the board.
Workers at the Audi plant in Puebla, which employs around 5,00 workers, have been on strike for almost a month, reports Automotive News. However, the industrial action was brought to an end this week when the German automaker agreed to a salary hike of seven percent and an increase in benefits of around three percent for the year. Automotive News reports:
The salary hike easily exceeded the headline inflation rate in Mexico of 4.88 percent in January.
The agreement resolves a workers’ strike that began in late January after the union declined the carmaker’s offer of a 6.5 percent salary rise.
The pay rise was put to a vote among workers at the Mexico plant, which currently produces Audi models such as the Q5 SUV. After the vote, more than 66 percent of workers were in favor of the new deal.
Reuters reports that the industrial action kicked off on January 24 when Audi rejected workers demands for a 15.5 percent increase in pay and instead offered to raise wages by 6.5 percent.
4th Gear: Tesla Faces Hurdles To German Expansion
Tesla now operates six enormous factories around the world, including sites in China, the U.S. and Europe. Now, however, the electric car maker is facing issues as it attempts to expand its footprint in Germany.
According to a report from Reuters, the Cybertruck maker is endeavoring to expand its Gigafactory on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany. However, the plans have hit a roadblock as locals voted to reject Tesla’s expansion in the region. As Reuters reports:
The plant’s current capacity is around 500,000 cars a year, but its production ramp-up has slowed. The carmaker produced 6,000 cars in a week for the first time in January, after hitting the milestone of 5,000 cars per week in March.
Citizens in Gruenheide voted against the motion on Tuesday to clear enough forest for the company to build extra logistical spaces like a train station and warehouses, leaving it to local authorities to decide how to proceed.
The plans would allow Tesla to double its capacity at the German factory, enabling it to produce 100 gigawatt hours of batteries each year and up to 1 million cars annually.
However, while the vote against this expansion is an inconvenience for Tesla, it doesn’t mean the expansion will never take place. Instead, the decision to grant Tesla the paperwork it needs to build on the site will now fall with local authorities.