Good morning! It’s Monday, July 22, 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: GM Cuts 50,000 EVs From Targets
Electric car sales might be plodding along just fine for most brands in America, but that isn’t enough for some automakers. In response to struggling demand for electric models, automakers like VW and Ford are responding by delaying new EVs, pushing back factory expansions and lowering targets. Now, General Motors is the latest to jump on this particular hype train, slashing 50,000 EV sales from its latest forecasts and committing to keeping some gas-powered models on sale for longer than initially planned.
According to a report from Automotive News, the American automaker is still hoping to have fully-electric models across its lineup by 2035 but this could also now include more hybrid offerings. The shift in direction comes as “growth of EVs has slowed” GM CEO Mary Barra told AN earlier this year:
The shifting reality around electrification hasn’t changed GM’s goals — the company still aims for a zero-emission light-duty vehicle portfolio in North America by 2035 — but it has prompted GM to adjust the way it gets there. GM will reduce its EV production targets by as many as 50,000 vehicles this year, CFO Paul Jacobson said in June.
The automaker also will introduce plug-in hybrids to North America in 2027, a change from earlier product plans. GM has not yet said which segments will get that technology, but CEO Mary Barra has said PHEVs will help GM comply with more stringent federal emissions regulations.
GM, Barra has said, can shift between electric and gasoline vehicles as customer demand dictates.
Despite the cut in targets, General Motors is still plowing ahead with its EV launch schedule. This means that later this year we’ll get our hands on the new Equinox EV in all trim levels, which could bring more budget-conscious buyers to GM’s EV lineup. Prior to this rollout, the company’s EV lineup has been dominated by six-figure models like the Hummer and Silverado EVs.
Another big win for budget buyers will be the return of the Bolt EV, which will make a welcome return in the coming years as a new model built on the company’s Ultium platform. Clearly, the shifting targets doesn’t mark an admission of defeat on EVs from GM, more a tempering of expectations.
2nd Gear: Volvo To Ship EX90 Without Lidar And Other Safety Features
Speaking of electric vehicle rollouts, lets check in with Swedish automaker Volvo, which has been working to electrify its lineup for several years. Now, the automaker is preparing to roll out its most important EV yet, the flagship EX90 electric SUV.
However, after months of delays the launch has hit another snag meaning that when it finally does go on sale later this year it will be missing some pretty key tech – such as lidar, certain safety features and even some charging capabilities. As a new report from Autocar explains:
The U.S.-built EX90 may not be equipped with two advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that detect hazards at junctions and then automatically apply the brakes. Some lidar features, such as use at night, aren’t expected to make those first examples either and nor will the car’s automatic ability to slow down for corners when using cruise control.
Some of the seven-seater’s premium features will also be missing, most notably Apple CarPlay. The infotainment will also use only a dark theme.
Smart charging, bi-directional charging and plug and charge (which pays for public charging automatically through an account linked to the car) will not be included at launch too.
The car could also drain 3 percent of battery per 24 hours (up to 72 hours) while parked, Volvo says, but the future update will tweak the core system’s need to run in the background.
Those are some pretty serious features to be missing on a car that’s going to be edging six-figures when it’s fully specced out. However, Volvo has attempted to quell any concerns by announcing its plan to bring the features to market soon via over-the-air updates. According to execs from the Swedish firm, new software will roll out over-the-air to buyers who are waiting to activate these features in their new cars.
While Volvo has attempted to downplay the seriousness of the delays, it hasn’t yet outlined a timeline for when the software updates will roll out. The latest delay to the EX90 follows a raft of software issues that have also hit Volvo’s EX30 EV. In the case of the smaller electric SUV, the automaker has even been forced to issue refunds for some customers over the buggy software on the new car.
3rd Gear: Tesla Production Hit By CrowdStrike Outage
The rollout of a system update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike caused global outrage last week when it bricked Windows computers running everything from airline systems to on-track computers at a Formula 1 team. Now, it turns out that the outage also hit production at Tesla.
The electric vehicle maker reportedly had to pause production on some of its lines last Friday following the CrowdStrike outage, reports Business Insider. The production stoppage was as a result of downed servers and manufacturing devices that were hit by the outage:
The carmaker sent some of its factory workers home early during the night shift at its Austin, Texas and Sparks, Nevada facilities after some of the machinery at the factory started displaying error messages due to the global IT outage, according to three sources with knowledge of the issue.
Tesla sent staff a notice on Friday morning that the company had been impacted by a “Windows Host Outage” which caused issues with servers, laptops, and manufacturing devices, according to the memo obtained by Business Insider.
The company said “users are seeing a blue screen on their devices.”
Tesla didn’t comment on the outage at its facility, but company boss Elon Musk took to Twitter X to state that the system issues had caused “a seizure to the automotive supply chain,” reports Business Insider.
CrowdStrike reported on Friday that it identified the issue with its software update that had caused the outage and said it was working to roll out a fix. However, it sounds as if the rollout of that update could take some time, and companies may still feel the impact of the outage for days to come.
4th Gear: Boeing Is Getting Better At Building Planes
After months of drama at American plane maker Boeing, it sounds as if the company may finally be getting on top of its production issues following a federal investigation, internal probes and even a guilty plea over allegations of fraud at the American company.
Reuters is now reporting that Boeing may have finally gotten on top of some of the production issues that led to accusations of poor quality control on the lines assembling its 737 Max aircraft. Now, the company is reportedly seeing “significant improvements” as it revamps production to get on top of its troubles:
Speaking to reporters in London ahead of this week’s Farnborough Airshow, Stephanie Pope said the changes Boeing was making to the Seattle-area factory were significant.
“This isn’t minor change. This is transformational change,” she said in her first remarks to media since being appointed earlier this year.
“We are a stable company,” she added.
Boeing is mired in crisis after a cabin panel on a 737 MAX 9 jets blew off midair in January, prompting a slowdown in production of its top-selling plane as well as heightened regulatory and legal scrutiny.
Since the disaster back in January, Boeing has been forced to slash production at its Seattle factories. Since then, federal investigators have been looking into production issues at the firm, which included using things like dish soap on the factory floor.
Production at the factory remains capped until investigators are “satisfied with the planemaker’s quality and manufacturing improvements,” Reuters adds.