Tag Archives: Asia Pacific

Toyota, Lexus Rolling Out New Online Sales Programs

Toyota is making the buying process easier and more transparent with its new SmartPath program.

Analyst after analyst said that 2020 would leave an indelible mark on the automotive industry, specifically how new cars, trucks and utility vehicles are sold. Toyota and its luxury unit, Lexus, are proving them right.

Each company unveiled new retail “experiences” today, Toyota with “SmartPath” and Lexus its “Monogram” program. The goal is to allow potential buyers a flexible experience starting with the internet, giving them as much or as little “personal” touch as they desire.

“Our goal is to ensure we create the best experience for our customers and our dealers,” said Jack Hollis, senior vice president, Automotive Operations, TMNA. “As our customers’ expectations evolve, SmartPath provides our dealers the technology to exceed those expectations. Our shared mission is to make the experience of shopping, buying, and owning a Toyota as easy and carefree as driving one.”

(Nissan taking lead in online new vehicle sales.)

The Japanese automaker isn’t going it alone in this area. Most automakers have offered some form of online shopping for several years now; however, there are some automakers that are bulking up their online sales programs, notably Nissan.

Nissan revealed its new online sales program in late December. Called “Nissan@Home,” the process allows buyers to handle everything online from test drive to delivery. It tested the program at seven dealerships to work out the kinks before moving to a nationwide offering.

Toyota may have recognized the trend to toward growing internet sales early as it began piloting SmartPath in 2019, but the automaker recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic “accelerated consumer demand for digital transactions.” The company noted a recent survey showed that two out of three shoppers are more likely to purchase a vehicle online.

Monogram, the Lexus program, just as is the case with SmartPath allows buyers to start their buying process online. The system is designed to be transparent in order to make the process easier for the potential new owner as well as dealership personnel.

Both programs are currently in what’s best described as an expanded pilot phase. It’s available in several markets, at least 50 in the U.S., with plans to continue expanding it throughout the year. The flexibility of starting with the internet, but inviting an actual person in at any point in the process seems to fit with exactly what buyers want these days.

(Used cars booming, Honda takes aim at retailers like CarMax, Carvana.)

Automakers should get used to it, according to a recent study by Gartner Research. Currently less than 1% of all sales are completed online, that number is expected to jump to 20% within five years.

Lexus is also rolling out a new online shopping program. It’s named its version “Monogram.”

Mercedes-Benz, Ford, General Motors and other automakers all referenced significant upticks in internet-based sales in the last year.

However, a trend isn’t a majority necessarily. According to Deloitte’s newest report, the 2021 Global Automotive Consumer Study, release in mid-January, the number of people buying vehicles online during the pandemic was done more out of necessity than preference.

Seventy-one percent of U.S. vehicle buyers prefer an “in-person sales experience,” the study revealed. This biggest part of that is 75% want to see and touch the vehicle before they buy it, with 64% needed some time behind the wheel as well.

“Unlike many other retail sectors that have seen a wholesale shift to online buying, purchasing a vehicle remains a largely personal experience for many consumers,” said Karen Bowman, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. automotive sector leader.

“However, some people will be looking for a virtual sales experience to maximize convenience, speed and ease of use. This will likely result in a more complicated, and potentially costly, set of consumer expectations for dealers to meet at a time when businesses are looking to recover and thrive in the wake of the pandemic.”

(Pandemic may not have changed car buying habits of consumers.)

One area where U.S. consumers were happy to see handled via the internet was vehicle service. The ability to get online and have your car or SUV picked up by a dealer at home or work was appealing with 46% of respondents in favor of that type of interaction — provided it is free.

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Is Ford Making an All-Electric Mustang? Maybe

Could the next-gen Ford Mustang coupe come only as a battery-electric model?

Ford Motor Co.’s gotten such an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the all-electric Mustang Mach-E, it’s rumored to be making the next-generation of the sports car a fully electric offering as well.

According to AutoForecast Solutions, the automaker will not build the next version of the pony car until 2028. The reason for the delay? It needs to be redesigned on a battery-electric platform. Further, it’s expected to be the only powertrain for the new Mustang.

“… the gas-fueled burble of the V-8 is replaced with the shocking acceleration of an electric motor when the standard Mustang becomes an EV in just a few years,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasts, in the company’s podcast on Jan. 18.

(New Mustang Mach-E is just the first step in “electrification” for Ford.)

The early success of the Mustang Mach-E suggests that an all-electric version of the sports car could be well received by aficionados.

Fiorani’s podcast was followed by a report by Autoline Detroit Tuesday, recounting the AFS report about the next version of the Mustang. Although it isn’t out of the question for the Mustang to get an electric powertrain, for it to be the only offering is a bit surprising.

Many have suggested some form of electrification, such as a small electric motor to add some more power and torque has certainly been bandied about. Several other sports cars have move to the hybrid set up to boost performance.

It should be noted that in 2017 the automaker killed a $1.6 billion investment in Mexico, redirecting $700 million of that to expand the Flat Rock plant. Ford would add a new body shop at the site to handle two unnamed battery-electric vehicles, officials said at the time, although it was suggested that one would be a hybrid.

The site currently produces just the Mustang, which until recently included the Shelby GT350 and GT350R models. Those two vehicles have been discontinued, with the GT500 living on and now the Mach 1 making a comeback later this year. Ford officials have not responded to TheDetroitBureau.com at the time of publication.

Ford officials have long maintained that electrification was part of the company’s future, not its sole focus, unlike its rival, General Motors, which has been dealing with some electrification rumors lately too. Last week, reports resurfaced that an all-electric Chevrolet Corvette was in the works, but following in Ford’s footsteps.

Ford announced plans in 2017 to invest $700 million in its Flat Rock, Michigan, plant, which currently builds only the Mustang, to build electric vehicles.

(Ford axes $1.6B Mexico plant for $700M Michigan upgrade.)

While General Motors insiders never really downplayed reports about the potential electrification of the ‘Vette, including a fully electric model. However, last week there were reports that the bowtie brand was considering an electric Corvette crossover like the Mustang Mach-E because of the warm reception it’s getting.

The flames were fanned during CES2021 when GM officials talked about offering a variety of new electric vehicles between now and 2030. Earlier reports centered on a 1,000-horsepower monster dubbed the Corvette Zora, named after the creator of the original car. The move to create an all-electric crossover would check off two “rumor” boxes, if you will: an all-electric model and the creation of a separate Corvette sub-brand.

The downside, of course, is that Corvette loyalists would shun it immediately. It’s been barely a year since the eighth-generation Corvette – the C8 to fans – made its debut, marking the switch to a mid-engine layout, the most radical shift for the sports car in its nearly seven decades on the market.

Several senior members of the Corvette team have hinted at plans in conversations with TheDetroitBureau.com, among other things indicating the new car’s platform could allow space for a battery pack.

(Could an all-electric Corvette crossover be in the works?)

Several purported timetables have emerged indicating Chevrolet is working on hybrid or plug-in versions of the sports car. But when directly asked about the opportunity of a hybrid model, GM President Mark Reuss has responded on several occasions with the company’s new mantra, that it is “on a path to an all-electric future.

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Stellantis Enjoys Warm Welcome from European Investors

Stellantis Chairman John Elkann is meeting with the media tomorrow to talk about the company’s future.

Not every merger involving an automaker these days involves a blank-check company. The newly minted tie-up between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Peugeot S.A. was finalized over the weekend and the resulting company, Stellantis N.V., is enjoying a warm welcome.

At least on the stock market.

The new company’s stock trades on three exchanges and it finished the day on the Paris exchange up nearly 7%, closing at €13.14. It also jumped up 7.7% on the Milan exchange.

The New York Stock Exchange, the third exchange it’s traded on, was not open today due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

(Chrysler is no more as Stellantis comes to life.)

CEO Carlos Tavares has a lot on his corporate plate now that the merger is complete.

The $52 billion merger of near equals creates a massive enterprise with operations on six continents, employs about 400,000 people, sells – at least for the time being – 14 vehicle brands and sells 8.1 million vehicles annually, making it the fourth-largest automaker in the world behind Volkswagen, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

With all of those possibilities, it’s going to take a press conference Tuesday to start revealing what Stellantis will look like now that’s it’s a living, breathing entity. What brands will stay? How many workers will keep their jobs?

People are nervous because the CEO of the new enterprise, Carlos Tavares, has a history of being fearless when it comes to eliminating unprofitable operations and processes in the pursuit of corporate profit. One need only look at how what he did with former General Motors’ subsidiary Opel. A money-loser for a decade, he had it in the black in one year.

(FCA CEO Manley gets new assignment following Stellantis merger.)

“Stellantis faces a mixed outlook as U.S. stimulus plans may buoy Chrysler vs. a more uncertain outlook for Peugeot in Europe,” Michael Dean, BI automotive analyst told Bloomberg. “Former PSA CEO Carlos Tavares takes the helm and, similar to his handling of PSA’s takeover of Opel in 2017, we anticipate a new strategy in the first 100 days of his stewardship. All regions face a difficult 1H amid continued lockdowns.”

Quirky name aside, investors gave Stellantis a warm welcome when it began trading Monday.

The two companies have worked to allay fears of major cutbacks in France and Italy. While top managers have outlined plans to trim costs by $6 billion following the merger, they insist they will be able to do that without closing any plants. They have outlined 40% of those cost savings coming from purchasing, 40% from combining product development efforts, and 20% from marketing and other operations.

However, it’s unclear how Tavares plans to tackle other issues such as improving the company’s performance in China, the world’s largest automotive market, and bolstering its electrification efforts, especially in the aforementioned China as well as in the U.S. Just addressing those two issues are likely to require billions of dollars and euros. Some of plans for these things and more may get touched on Tuesday, Marco Santino, a partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman, told Reuters.

(Fiat Chrysler and PSA not exactly a “merger of equals.”)

“He has proven to be the kind of person who prefers action to words, so I don’t think he will make loud statements or try to over-sell targets,” he said.

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Tesla Chief Musk Now World’s Wealthiest Person due to Record-Setting Stock Price

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has ridden the EV maker’s skyrocketing stock to the worlds richest person title.

The ongoing run up of Tesla Inc.’s stock price has made the EV maker the world’s most value automotive company several times over. However, it’s not just the company that’s sitting atop the money list now.

CEO Elon Musk, who owns a massive amount of the company’s stock, has ridden the company’s rising share prices to the title world’s richest man, passing Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos.

With the company’s gains Thursday, the 49-year-old Musk saw his net worth soar to more than $188.5 billion, $1.5 billion more than Bezos, Bloomberg reported. The brash and oft-impatient, which has worked in his favor many times, Musk has seen his personal wealth skyrocket as the value of Tesla shares has leapt eightfold.

(Tesla narrowly misses 500K delivery target for 2020.)

He has a 20% stake in the carmaker and about $42 billion of unrealized paper gains on vested stock options, according to the Bloomberg report.

The battle of the richest currently mirrors the boxing world where are multiple champions in the same weight class. In this case, the Forbes Billionaire’s list still listed Bezos as the top dog with a $7.8 billion bigger balance sheet. Forbes dings the EV maker because some of the stock he owns has been pledged as collateral for personal loans, the company said.

Tesla isn’t Musk’s only venture, with the serial entrepreneur owning controlling stakes in the Boring Company, which builds tunnels designed to alleviate urban traffic; Neuralink, a startup company developing brain-machine interfaces; and SpaceX, which produces rockets that launch payloads into space while landing back on Earth so they can be reused.

(Tesla’s latest system update sounds like real gas.)

The passion for rockets and space is something he shares with Bezos, who created Blue Origin. Much like SpaceX, the company is focused on the development of reusable rockets. The company’s mission calls for those multi-use boosters to take people into space.

Musk was rather blasé about the milestone, tweeting out “How strange” and then “Well, back to work,” He later pinning an earlier tweet about his fortune to the top of his feed.

“About half my money is intended to help problems on Earth & half to help establish a self-sustaining city on Mars to ensure continuation of life (of all species) in case Earth gets hit by a meteor like the dinosaurs or WW3 happens & we destroy ourselves,” he tweeted Oct. 12, 2018.

(Tesla gets green light to sell Shanghai-built Model Y in China.)

The new title is just the latest bit of good news for Musk, who was Tesla fall only just short of his stated goal of delivering 500,000 vehicles worldwide, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EV maker, which has enjoyed four consecutive profitable quarters to be placed on the S&P 500 index, sold 499,550 vehicles in 2020, falling just 450 short of the goal.

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Japan Joins Growing List of Countries Set to Ban Sales of Gas-Powered Vehicles

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga supports the move to ban the sale of non-electric new vehicles staring in 2035.

Despite strong pushback from the country’s largest automaker, Japan has announced plans to halt the sale of vehicles relying solely on internal combustion engines after 2035.

The move means the Asian nation will join a growing list of countries planning to phase out vehicles powered by gas or diesel, including both the United Kingdom and Norway. A number of other countries, including France and Germany, are considering similar bans.

Vehicles with internal combustion engines won’t be banned entirely. Automakers will still be able to market hybrids in Japan, regulators ruled. Even so, the plan released on Christmas Day was a significant victory for Japanese environmentalists considering it was strongly opposed by key industry leaders, including Toyota President Akio Toyoda who warned earlier this month that a broad shift to electric vehicles could cause the auto industry’s traditional business model “to collapse.”

(Toyota boss Akio Toyoda remains EV skeptic.)

Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s top officer, is against the ban.

As the head of Japan’s largest and most powerful company – and in his role as the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association – Toyoda hoped to convince regulators to back off on the proposed ban. But it had widespread backing from other quarters, including Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

In October, shortly after assuming his post, Suga had pledged to cut Japan’s carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 while indicating he supported a shift to battery-powered vehicles.

Global sales of electrified vehicles remain modest, running in single digits in all but a handful of markets, even when including hybrids, PHEVs and fuel-cell vehicles, as well as pure battery-electric vehicles. But demand is expected to increase sharply as key obstacles, such as range, cost and public charging, are addressed. It also will help that scores of new BEVs are scheduled to go into production in the coming years, proponents say.

While Japanese automakers were pioneers with their early push to bring hybrids to market, “Japan is very far behind” in terms of developing more advanced products relying solely on battery power, Masayoshi Arai, an official with the country’s

Nissan is one of a few Japanese automakers dedicating resources to a move to EVs.

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said last week.

Toyota only recently introduced a BEV model in Europe, though it has announced plans to add two more – one through the flagship Toyota division, a second under the Lexus badge. It also this month revealed an all-electric microcar targeting the Japanese home market. Only the Nissan and Mitsubishi brands, among Japanese automakers, have committed significant resources to the development of pure battery-electric vehicles and, even then, they have fallen behind key foreign rivals in terms of bringing new products to market.

(Toyota hopes to boost interest in hydrogen tech with second-generation Mirai.)

Toyota officials have, throughout the years, pointed to numerous concerns about BEVs, including their cost, limited range and other obstacles to widespread consumer acceptance. For his part, company chief Toyoda said this month that he feared a switch to all-electric models would seriously disrupt the classic automotive industry business model. He also raised questions about whether Japan’s electric grid could supply the needed energy — and, if it did add the generating capacity, he warned, that could actually increase the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.

With the debut of the 2021 Mirai fuel-cell vehicle, Toyota’s hoping to spur interest in the tech again.

For his part, Japan’s new prime minister is downplaying such concerns and said that efforts to address greenhouse gas production “should be tackled as a strategy for growth, not as a limitation on growth.”

Downplaying the need for new coal or natural gas plants, the plan released by the Japanese government would add up to 45 gigawatts of new offshore wind generating capacity by 2040.

With the Christmas Day announcement, Japan becomes the second member of the Group of Seven, or G7, to lay out specific plans to ban non-electrified vehicles.

The UK originally had planned to do so by 2040 but now has pushed that target date up to 2030. Like Japan, its ban will continue to permit the sale of hybrids – but only through 2035, at which point only pure, zero-emissions vehicles will be able to be sold in Great Britain. That will include both BEVs and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

Despite its reticence about EVs, Toyota rolled out a new battery-electric car Dec. 25: the C+pod.

A handful of other countries, including Norway, have also laid out ZEV transition plans. So have some states and regions – including California and the Canadian province of British Columbia. A number of cities, such as London, Paris, Berlin and Mexico City, plan to bar vehicles not running in zero-emissions mode, meanwhile. China, meanwhile, has laid out plans to have “New Energy Vehicles,” plug-based models, reach 20% of the market by 2025. It is considering a total ban at a later date.

(Britain to ban sale of all new gas and diesel cars by 2030.)

With most of the country’s automakers reluctant to bring plug-based models to market, demand has grown far more slowly than in many other major regions. The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade noted that consumers purchased only 6,000 PHEVs and BEVs during the third quarter of 2020. By comparison, demand tripled in Europe to 270,000 – all-electric models accounting for roughly three-quarters of Norwegian sales. China, meanwhile, is expected to again top 1 million plug-based models for all of 2020.

Apple Readying to Bring a New Vehicle to Market in 2024, Report Claims

Apple appears to be back in the “building a car” game with an EV said to be coming in 2024.

Tech behemoth Apple Inc. is apparently on again when it comes to its on-again, off-again oft-speculated about Project Titan, after media reports say the company will bring out a vehicle potentially using a cutting-edge battery technology in 2024.

Apple’s been walking the line of potentially building an electric vehicle for most of the last decade, scooping up top tech minds from potential competitors, like Tesla, during that time. However, the company would never officially confirm Project Titan or its plans to build its own car.

However, a few years back, CEO Tim Cook decided to put the rumors to rest, saying the company was working on the development of autonomous technology that could be used by automakers. However, a new report from Reuters, which cites multiple sources familiar with the project, claims that an actual car is coming in three years, separate from the self-driving technology.

(Apple cuts over 200 jobs at autonomous vehicle project.)

Apple CEO Tim Cook has called self-driving vehicles “the mother of all AI projects.”

The tech giant’s been close before, hiring Doug Field, an Apple veteran who had worked at Tesla Inc., to oversee the project in 2018 and laid off 190 people from the team in 2019, according to Reuters. However, since then, the company’s been plugging along and now believes it’s made enough progress to build a vehicle, Reuters reported.

In an age where electric vehicle startups are seemingly commonplace, Apple’s return to the game doesn’t seem all that big a deal, until the report of the new battery design comes into play. Automakers are looking to improve batteries significantly so the costs will be on par with a vehicle with a gasoline- or diesel-powered engine.

The sources told Reuters that the new design could “radically” cut the battery cost while increasing the vehicle’s range. Current range for the top EVs exceeds 300 miles on a single charge, but Tesla, Lucid, General Motors and others are proclaiming that they’re pushing beyond 400 miles with their current vehicles. By the time an Apple EV shows up in 2024, the range could be double that, if not more.

(Apple files patent linked to AV driving.)

According to the story, the iPhone maker plans to use a “monocell” design. It bulks up the individual cells in the battery, freeing up space inside the battery pack by eliminating pouches and modules holding battery materials. The design allows for more battery material to be stuffed in the battery, extending its range.

Apple’s autonomous vehicle — a T6 Transporter van from Volkswagen.

Additionally, Reuters reported that Apple is researching a new battery chemistry: lithium iron phosphate, also known as LFP. Its primary advantage is that it’s less likely to overheat, making it safter than other batteries.

Apple’s big checkbook instantly makes it a player in any market it chooses to compete, but building a car isn’t the same as building a phone or a laptop. Tesla has struggled with its production issues and quality problems plague each of their vehicles when they roll off the assembly line during the early launch and even well beyond that time frame.

(Apple’s autonomous vehicle involved in California crash.)

VW Group Expected to Sell Lamborghini, as well as Bugatti and Ducati

Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Volkswagen’s founder, assembled an array of auto companies during his tenure atop the company.

Under former CEO Ferdinand Piech, Volkswagen pieced together a vast array of brands covering everything from entry-level small cars to ultra-exotic sedans and sports car but, now, it looks like current CEO Herbert Diess wants to unravel the empire and sell or spin off some of those marques.

According to various reports out of Europe, backed by several company sources, two of VW’s most exclusive automotive brands, Lamborghini and Bugatti, are in the crosshairs, as is the company’s motorcycle division, Ducati.

Shedding those brands could simplify Volkswagen’s management structure, reduce future investment needs and, equally important, such a move could raise cash to help fund VW’s aggressive electrification program. The German marque has laid out plans to launch at least 50 all-electric models by mid-decade and has allocated about $66 billion for that effort.

(Volkswagen teases new compact ute coming in October.)

Volkswagen AG Chairman Herbert Diess is looking to take VW in the opposite direction of Piech, selling or spinning off companies to better fund its core business.

Lamborghini could be spun off on its own, along the lines of what Fiat Chrysler Automobiles did with Ferrari, reports Reuters.

Currently, under the peculiar structure of the broader Volkswagen Group, Lambo effectively reports to the semi-autonomous Audi brand. The news service quotes various sources indicating the Italian supercar company would become “a more independent unit,” making it easier to eventually stage an initial public offering.

“This is a first step which gives VW the option to list the unit further down the line,” one of the sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

Ducati, which is likewise based in Italy and also reports directly to Audi, seems destined to go through similar changes which could include a spinoff, a sale or simply operating more independently.

Audi had actually looked for a buyer for Ducati a couple years ago but eventually ended that quest unsuccessfully.

Volkswagen has designated $66 billion to bring more than 50 EVs to market in the next few years, including the ID.4.

As TheDetroitBureau.com reported last week, the three brands are likely to go to different buyers – or possibly be spun off separately. Bugatti appears to be destined to go to Croatia’s electric supercar startup Rimac, according to London-based Car magazine.

Bugatti, whose products start around $3 million, is the most exclusive of all the VW brands, but with production running barely one a week, it generates little real cash and requires substantial investments to remain competitive.

It also faces the growing challenge of meeting global emissions and energy efficiency mandates that appear destined to force a shift from conventional gas engines – like the W-16 used in the current Bugatti Chiron – to electric assist or full battery-electric propulsion.

(Report: VW set to sell Bugatti to Croatia’s little EV maker Rimac.)

That’s where Rimac could be a solid fit, its own products, like the Concept_Two, running entirely on batteries.

Italian sports car maker Lamborghini would likely be spun off, much like Fiat Chrysler did with Ferrari.

Whatever happens to Lamborghini, it would face a similar challenge, however. And even in the motorcycle sector there’s a push to electrify, such traditional brands as Harley-Davidson launching battery-powered models.

If Volkswagen does move to sell or spin off these brands it would mark a dramatic reversal of the strategy implemented by Piech, heir to the family that founded both VW and Porsche.

After becoming CEO three decades ago, and then as chairman of Volkswagen’s all-powerful Board, he approved the acquisition of brands ranging from low-end Skoda and Seat to high-line Porsche and Bentley, as well as the revival of the Bugatti marque.

That strategy positioned VW in a three-way fight with Toyota and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance for global sales leadership. But Piech was forced out in 2015 following VW’s disastrous emissions cheating was revealed. He passed away in August 2019.

Diess has been looking for ways to streamline the German giant and is aggressively shifting from the diesel technology that long propped up the automaker to electric propulsion. But that transition, along with the need to develop autonomous vehicles, is incredibly expensive, further encouraging the idea of paring down the corporate line-up.

Bugatti and its record-setting Chiron could be sold to Croatian EV maker Rimac.

Decisions on what to do Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati reportedly could come during a five-year planning meeting set to bring together VW’s separate management and supervisory boards in November.

(Volkswagen suffers Q2 loss; board publicly backs Diess.)

Even if the Volkswagen Group does get rid of the three brands it won’t vanish from the highest regions of the automotive market. There appears to be no plan under discussion to shed British Bentley. And both Porsche and Audi remain secure in their roles within the company, as well.

A Week With: 2020 Toyota Prius XLE

The 2020 Toyota Prius XLE offers good, green transportation for buyers.

The Prius has been around for a long time, going back to the end of the last century when its introduction forever changed the way consumers and manufacturers look at powertrains by using batteries and electric motors.

This little hybrid began the slow but inexorable shift away from gasoline-driven automobiles that has spurred the development and production of vehicles like the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt and, of course, Tesla’s entire line-up.

Overall: For anyone still interested in fuel economy, the 2020 Toyota Prius XLE is still a champ with combined 50 mpg rating from the Environmental Protection Agency. However, once considered pricey, the Toyota Prius now carries a relatively modest sticker price by today’s standards.

(Toyota marks 20th anniversary of “The Car That Changed an Industry” with special edition Prius.)

The new Prius still features one of the most recognizable exterior shapes in the market.

In fact, it is well below the average of vehicles sold in the United States of $31,755. It’s also proven to be durable and appears to have captured – or at least earned permanent place – the hearts of American motorists, which belies all the millions of words of snark and criticism sent its way throughout the years.

Its zero to 60 time remains mired, we would guess, in the double-digit range. But it is versatile and still really is one of the greenest of green vehicles on the road after all these years, getting better than 56 miles per gallon in the city.

Exterior: The five-door hatchback shape of the Prius makes it easily one of the most recognizable vehicles on the road. Even people who couldn’t care less about automobile design can recognize a Prius almost instantly.

“…Say what you will about its exterior shape, it is one of the few designs of the past two decades to have carved out a distinctive niche in automotive lore…”

That said, the face of 2020 Toyota Prius has been altered to give the car a more contemporary look. There also LED lights and the wheel have been dressed up, providing the car with more curb appeal.

The Prius comes complete with plenty of technology, including Apple CarPlay integrated into the infotainment system.

Interior: At its heart, the Prius is a compact car. But the interior also is comfortable, and the controls and the center stack is within easy reach of the driver’s seat. The materials used throughout the cabin of this version of the Prius has been upgraded from past when the interior had the distinct aura of cost cutting that worked against the vehicle’s technical virtues.

The seats are supportive with the rear seats being quite usable. The car’s interior is quite versatile with fold-down seats that increase the car’s capacity for carrying cargo or extra luggage and the area under the hatch can even accommodate a set of golf clubs. The visibility from the driver’s seat is excellent. However, the security shade that covers the cargo area tends to interfere visibility.

(Q&A: Toyota’s hydrogen chief Jackie Birdsall.)

Powertrain: Toyota has been tinkering with the hybrid drive system that utilizes nickel-metal hydride batteries, electric motors and a 1.8-liter double overhead cam four-cylinder engine. In the 2020 Prius XLE, the basic front-wheel-drive layout has been augmented by an electronic all-wheel-drive system.

The Prius offers plenty of room for five passengers.

Overall the system produces 121 horsepower and 105 pound-feet of torque. The 2020 Prius can operate solely on electric power in slow traffic for short distances. However, once the speed picks up, Synergy drive, unique to Toyota, is designed to connect the gasoline engine, electric motor and generator into one operating unit.

Safety and Technology: The 2020 Toyota Prius XLE that we drove was loaded with technology and safety features For 2020, the Prius offers Bluetooth a new Toyota Audio 7-inch Touch-Screen Display on L Eco, LE and XLE, new Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa Compatibility standard on all model grades and newly standard Safety Connect on all grades.

The rear passenger seats also have been equipped with USB ports. The safety equipment on the XLE includes driver assistance features such as lane-keeping and blind-spot monitoring and pedestrian alert. The XLE version I drove also came with a head-up display and automatic headlines that turn on dark roads and off when there is oncoming traffic.

Driving Impressions: Throughout the years, Prius has come under fire due to complaints about its sluggish performance. We found the 2020 Toyota Prius XLE is still rather sluggish in certain situations on the highway.

The powertrain performed well. There is plenty of torque, coming off a standing start and the regenerative brakes add stopping power and the shifts are seem virtually invisible because they were so seamless. The steering wasn’t as crisp as in conventional sedan but the Prius delivered a smooth, steady ride and handled curves and varied pavement conditions easily.

(Sales sliding, Toyota rethinks future of the Prius.)

Wrap Up: The Prius has been a mainstay of the Toyota line-up for years and while it may not be th most fashionable passenger car on the road today – and let’s face it, the automotive industry is nothing if not acutely fashion conscious – it has proven itself to be a versatile and reliable vehicle for urban and suburban driving.

The drop in fuel prices has diminished some of its appeal, but it is still one of the most efficient vehicles on the road today. As it prices come come into line with other sedans and crossovers available on dealer lots these days, it does offer the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly than other vehicle choices. The fact that the vehicle introduced years ago and hasn’t been scrapped underscores its durable character.

First Look: 2021 Nissan Ariya

The 2021 Nissan Ariya is about the size of a Rogue SUV – but features the interior space of the bigger Murano.

Nissan is singing a new tune. With the arrival of the 2021 Ariya, Japan’s second-largest carmaker hopes to rebuild its once-lofty position as an innovator in the emerging market for battery-electric vehicles.

The automaker was, in fact, the first to mass market a BEV, but a decade after the launch of the original Leaf model, Nissan has not only been eclipsed by Tesla, but is being challenged by more conventional competitors, such as Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors,  each rolling out waves of new long-range battery-cars.

The 2021 Nissan Ariya is the long-overdue battery-SUV meant to keep Nissan in the game. It’s a ground-up offering, not just a redesigned Leaf, with a brand-new platform and electric drive system that is more powerful and able to deliver longer range. Ariya also debuts Nissan’s first hands-free driving system.

(A week with the 2020 Nissan Leaf SL Plus.)

The Nissan Ariya will be offered in either front- or all-wheel-drive configurations.

The new model “is the spearhead, showing our vision of the future,” said Ivan Espinosa, the carmaker’s senior vice president of global product planning, during a media roundtable ahead of the battery car’s Wednesday debut. “Ariya is not just an EV,” he emphasized. “It is showing the technical prowess of Nissan…what Nissan stands for.”

Pronounced like the song an opera diva sings, a concept version of the Ariya made its first appearance at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show last autumn, followed by a U.S. debut at January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Though there were some design details unique to exotic concepts, like the oversized wheels, the show car will go into production with only minor changes.

The 2021 Ariya rides on a flexible new architecture, Espinosa explained during the online meeting. It eventually will be used for a variety of battery-cars to be produced not only by Nissan but also by its two alliance partners, Japan’s Mitsubishi and France’s Renault.

(Nissan lifts the covers on the next-gen Rogue.)

Features like the grille-less nose help reduce aero drag.

“The beauty of this platform is it’s modular (which) allows us to accommodate different possibilities,” he said, adding that the three partners have “a lot of questions about what new areas of the market we can explore.”

As with key competitors like Tesla, Ford, GM and VW, the platform positions its batteries, motors and other key components below the load floor. That reduces the size of the traditional engine compartment, allowing significantly more freedom, said Nissan’s global styling chief Alfonso Albaisa. And the development team found other breakthrough strategies. Rather than mounting the climate control, or HVAC, system within the instrument panel, it was moved into the modest space left where an engine would normal go, freeing up more space for the passenger compartment.

“You get inside and you’re really shocked,” suggested Albaisa, pointing out that the exterior footprint of the Nissan Ariya is about as big as the subcompact Rogue SUV, but the cabin has the roominess of the much larger Murano.

(Nissan among automakers taking big sales hit in Q2.))

The interior borrows heavily from the Ariya concept.

From an exterior design perspective, the Ariya is far less geeky than the Leaf which was designed during an era when green machines were expected to look like something from a sci-fi flick. That said, there are some obvious cues that tell you it’s a BEV, starting with absence of a conventional grille – electric vehicles needing far less disruptive airflow under the hood. Slit headlamps each feature four distinct LED bulbs. From the side, the crossover adapts a curvaceous, coupe-like shape, with plenty of subtle details designed to cheat the range-stealing wind – including twin rear spoilers.

Inside, Albaisa’s team adopted a minimalist approach, with a floating, horizontally oriented instrument panel featuring side-by-side video screens, each measuring 12.3 inches. One of the neat tricks is the ability to swipe across the infotainment display and move elements to the primary gauge display. The lack of a center tunnel creates a flat floor that makes it possible to sit five inside with reasonable comfort.

The new modular architecture is, fundamentally, front-wheel-drive, though buyers also will have the option of ordering an all-wheel-drive, twin-motor package. Nissan started all but from scratch, developing a new electric drive system it has dubbed e-4ORCE. The system has been described as the “spiritual offspring” of the automaker’s GT-R sports car, and that underscores a fundamental shift in thinking. No longer does Nissan believe BEV buyers will sacrifice that fun-to-drive quality just to go green.

Ariya will offer a standard battery or a 300-mile option.

The front-drive system delivers 160 kilowatts, or about 214 horsepower, and 221 pound-feet of torque. The twin-motor AWD system bumps that up to 290 kW, or 389 hp, and 443 lb-ft. The e-4ORCE system can direct power to individual wheels, using torque to assist driver input, among other things, when tracking through a corner.

That also pays off when using the next-generation ProPilot Assist 2.0, Nissan’s semi-autonomous driving system. The original version could help center the vehicle in its lane, among other things, but required drivers to keep hands on the wheel at all times. The new system, Nissan explained, allows “attentive drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel under certain conditions.”

Specific details have yet to be released but it appears to follow the format of GM’s Super Cruise and Ford’s new version of CoPilot 360, operating on limited-access roads mapped in high-resolution. A monitoring system makes sure a driver remains alert and ready to take control in an emergency.

In terms of batteries, Nissan has continued tinkering with the chemistry of its lithium-ion cells and has both cut their cost and increased their energy density, storing more power in less space. The base 2021 Ariya stores 63 kilowatt-hours. That’s within a kWh of the current, longest-range version of the gen-2 Nissan Leaf Plus. The Ariya offers an extended-range 87 kWh battery expected to get around 300 miles per charge, according to the EPA.

Ariya’s 2nd row folds to create a flat load floor.

As for charging, Nissan officials weren’t ready to offer details beyond noting Ariya can handle up to 137 kilowatts of power, a big jump up from the roughly 50 kW limit for Leaf. That would suggest an 80% recharge for the smaller pack in perhaps a bit over an hour at a CCS charger.

And that signals another big shift by the automaker which had been the only key player in the U.S. market committed to the older, slower CHAdeMO system. Nissan’s policy “is to have happy customers,” said Espinosa,” and with more – and faster — CCS chargers now available, the switch was overdue, according to EV analysts.

As for pricing, the base version of the 2021 Nissan Ariya will start at $40,000, said Espinosa. It is set to go on sale in Japan in the coming weeks, with U.S. dealers beginning deliveries “later in 2021.”

For the first half of the past decade, Nissan dominated EV sales charts. It has lost its lead to Tesla and is facing plenty of other competition going forward. Whether it can come close to being a significant player with Ariya is far from certain. But Nissan officials are betting that the new BEV has enough going for it to make Ariya a serious contender.

(Ford’s Bronco is back…and it’s now part of a new family of SUVs.)