Motional’s Balajee Kannan on what it takes to run a robotaxi business (Episode 208)

The vice president of autonomy at Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, breaks down the company’s “measured” approach to using self-driving technology to underpin a revenue-generating business.

How do I subscribe?

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

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Dive into our redesigned Future Product Pipeline

The definitive guide for all new, redesigned, freshened and re-engineered vehicles hitting the market over the next five years just got an update.

Our annual Future Product Pipeline coverage now includes an interactive tool that allows you to filter our vehicle database by brand, segment, powertrain, year and type of update. The new feature adds to the breadth and depth of coverage from our staff experts, putting the entirety of our future product intelligence at your fingertips.

Our first deep dive of 2023 covers the new metal coming from General Motors, which is in the early stages of its electrification transformation. Check out the future lineup for all GM brands and stay tuned each week through Oct. 2 as we detail the five-year product plans of all automakers and brands.

Sign up for our weekly Cars & Concepts newsletter to keep track of all product news.

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GM advances EV rollout to more segments, with lower prices

General Motors is still in the early days of its electric vehicle transition.

The rollout, which started with higher-end models such as the GMC Hummer EV pickup and the Cadillac Lyriq, is expected to gain speed in the next few years as the automaker introduces more EVs in more mainstream segments — and at lower prices — to appeal to a broader swath of consumers. This year alone, production has begun or is scheduled to begin on electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Equinox and Blazer crossovers.

"These products are so important because they're core and critical to our EV growth strategy through 2025," CEO Mary Barra said at GM's investor day in November. "And the buzz they are creating is already incredible."

That buzz, Barra said, is "building pent-up demand, which is further evidence that our multi-brand, multi-segment, multi-price-point EV strategy is right for the retail market."

GM has said it aim…

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Cadillac on the way to all-EV future

The end could be nearing for Cadillac's internal combustion lineup.

As more electric vehicles debut over the next few years, including the Escalade IQ full-size SUV being revealed in August, General Motors' luxury brand also likely will begin to phase out some of its gasoline-powered sedans and crossovers. Cadillac intends to have an all-electric lineup by 2030.

John Roth, who took over as vice president of global Cadillac in June, has said internal combustion vehicles will "coexist" alongside the brand's EVs for several years. Forecasters say the gasoline-powered lineup eventually will be on its way out, though the timing is fluid.

Rory Harvey, Roth's predecessor at Cadillac before being promoted to GM's president of North America, in February said Cadillac was preparing to debut three EVs this year to enter production in 2024. The Escalade IQ was the first new EV announced since.

All future EVs will have names that end in "iq," Cadillac has sai…

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Highlights from the latest ‘Daily Drive’ podcasts, July 17-20

Here are highlights from the latest episodes of 'Daily Drive', Automotive News' weekday podcast, July 17-20, hosted by Jamie Butters with Kellen Walker.

“It’s given us permission on the ICE vehicles to make them a little bit more truck-like. So we have a good variance here, I think, as we get into the crossover segments in the future.” — Scott Bell, Chevrolet global vice president, who said the sleeker designs of the brand’s EVs have opened up new opportunities for its gasoline-burning models, such as the new Traverse  “Shawn Fain isn’t having none of that. He said he doesn’t want to shake the hands of the CEOs until they come to him with a good deal.” — Michael Martinez, Automotive News reporter, on the UAW president’s decision to forgo the usual handshaking ceremonies with Detroit 3 CEOs as contract talks begin “The trick for the auto industry to do this is not to discover the material. The material is out there somewhere. It’s to figure out how to ta…

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Column: The U.S. EV market right now is unnatural, not just immature

Like many of you, I've been struggling of late to wrap my head around this nation's EV market and where it's heading. The latest registration data from Experian hasn't made it any easier to ascertain.

But if I had to guess, I think what we are seeing is an unnatural market, instead of just an immature one.

The Experian data in a nutshell:

Registrations of new electric vehicles — a proxy for sales — are up. Demand is up. The inventory of EVs is up, and now is over 100 days' supply, according to Cox Automotive. Prices are up, except where they're down. Tesla's $18,000 slice off the Model Y starting price fueled a huge sales bump, while Ford cut the sticker price of its Mustang Mach-E by up to 7 percent in May and the F-150 Lightning by as much as $10,000 last week.

EVs as a percentage of light-vehicle registrations are up, now representing 7 percent of the market, compared with 4.6 percent just a year ago. New EV registrations rose…

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Buick on brink of electric shift

Buick has introduced its last new gasoline-powered vehicle.

Following the debut of the Envista subcompact crossover this year, every new model Buick launches will be an electric vehicle.

The brand will begin its transition to an all-EV lineup next year, heading toward the same 2030 target as Cadillac. Upcoming EVs will expand Buick's portfolio from only four nameplates in production now.

All future EVs will use the Electra naming convention, along with an alphanumeric, the brand has said. General Motors President Mark Reuss said at the automaker's investor day in November that "as we electrify Buick, we've got an opportunity to really change the way people think about it and appeal to a whole new group of people."

Buick leaders say that work is underway with its internal combustion lineup, including the Envista, which is the first all-new vehicle to draw design inspiration from the brand's Wildcat EV concept.

"Success of the Envista and th…

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Editorial: Young car buyers’ credit failures hurt everyone

An alarming number of Gen Z and millennial vehicle buyers are 90 days late on payments. In the first quarter, loan delinquency for buyers ages 18 to 39 was the highest since the 2008 and 2009 Great Recession.

Especially disturbing is that this elevated delinquency arose while the federal government suspended many of these borrowers' student loan payments during the pandemic. It's likely that as the government restarts student loan collections this fall, even more Gen Z and millennials will slip into auto loan delinquency.

Young buyers borrowed more than they should have — a costly personal finance lesson with years of negative impact. Just one late payment affects a credit score, and a 30-day delinquency lingers for seven years.

But the blame doesn't fall on just one side of the deal desk: Automakers, dealers, lenders, salespeople and credit managers all had motivation to write what are turning out to be bad loans, much as home mortgage lenders did in …

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Supplier ZF finds Tesla, Nio, Lucid are hot for new technologies

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany — Holger Klein, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen, said young automotive brands such as Tesla, Nio, Xpeng and Lucid are pushing the old German supplier in a different way than traditional automakers.

"They have a different expectation on speed," he said. "Speed is king."

The emerging brands want ZF's newest technologies as quickly as possible, even if some bugs haven't been eliminated in development.

"If your latest innovation feature doesn't work as reliably as you would expect from a German premium brand, it's somehow OK," he told Automotive News Europe during a recent roundtable discussion at the supplier's headquarters here. "This happens when the customer wants a particular car and a particular function and is willing to accept some deficiencies."

The privately held ZF is the world's No. 3 auto supplier globally, with estimated 2022 revenues of $42.1 billion, according to Automotive News' Top Suppli…

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Wholesale used-car pricing set to rebound

Barring any surprises, used-vehicle market analysts don't expect to see steeper wholesale price declines in the second half of 2023.

Price softening will continue to a degree in July following a second-quarter slump in wholesale used-vehicle prices that "erased" strong first-quarter gains in values, Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said during a quarterly call July 10.

But Smoke said he sees factors converging midyear that could fortify prices and the overall market. One factor is a supply crunch of younger, lower-mileage used vehicles that likely will keep a floor under prices, he said.

"I do think the worst of the used-vehicle market is upon us," Smoke told Automotive News last month. "I am optimistic that every month later this year will actually create strength in the used-vehicle market."

Wholesale used-vehicle prices fell 4.2 percent in June from May, according to Cox Automotive's Manheim Used Vehicle Value I…

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2024 MG Cyberster debuts in the U.K.

The first new MG roadster since the 1995 MGF made its public driving debut July 14 at England's Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The Cyberster, expected to go on sale in Europe next summer, is powered by two electric motors generating more than 500 hp. The curb weight, at a hefty 4,079 pounds, sets a record for an MG sports car, but the top speed is reported to be 124 mph. At Goodwood, the car blasted up the hill.

The Cyberster, slightly larger than the BMW Z4 compact sports car, has scissor doors, a Kamm-style rear end and — for an MG — a swanky interior. Although China's SAIC Motor now owns the MG brand, the Cyberster was mostly designed in England at the company's London design studios. The car will be built in China.

The MG brand is on a tear globally and is on track to sell 1 million vehicles next year. Officially, MG says the U.S. is not in the company's plans. However, MG has returned to North America successfully in Mexico.

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Analysts: Carvana future still up in the air

Online used-vehicle retailer Carvana announced better-than-expected second- quarter results and a new debt restructuring deal on Wednesday, July 19.

Analysts lauded the improved results and the flexibility afforded by the deal. But those same analysts and others noted that the debt relief is temporary and the company still reported a significant, if much narrower, loss. Carvana needs to demonstrate its business model can consistently deliver results, they said.

The debt restructuring could buy Carvana some temporary relief. However, the high payment-in-kind coupons for the first two years "will likely put the company back in nearly the same position it was previously absent a meaningful improvement in the business or a redemption of some or all of the new notes," J.P. Morgan analysts wrote.

S&P Global Mobility took a harsher stance, calling the proposed restructuring "distressed and tantamount to default."

While…

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