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EV cost burden pushing automakers to their limits, says Stellantis' CEO Tavares

DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said external pressure on automakers to quickly shift to electric vehicles potentially threatens jobs and vehicle quality as producers struggle with EVs' higher costs. Governments and investors want car manufacturers to speed up the transition to electric vehicles, but the costs are "beyond the limits" of what the auto industry can sustain, Tavares said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference released Wednesday. "What has been decided is to impose on the automotive industry electrification that brings 50% additional costs against a conventional vehicle," he said. "There is no way we can transfer 50% of additional costs to the final consumer because most parts of the middle class will not be able to pay." Automakers could charge higher prices and sell fewer cars, or accept lower profit margins, Tavares said. Those paths both lead to cutbacks. Union leaders in Europe and North America have warned tens of thousands of jobs could be lost. Automakers need time for testing and ensuring that new technology will work, Tavares said. Pushing to speed that process up "is just going to be counter productive. It will lead to quality problems. It will lead to all sorts of problems," he said. Tavares said Stellantis is aiming to avoid cuts by boosting productivity at a pace far faster than industry norm. "Over the next five years we have to digest 10% productivity a year ... in an industry which is used to delivering 2 to 3% productivity" improvement, he said. "The future will tell us who is going to be able to digest this, and who will fail," Tavares said. "We are putting the industry on the limits." Electric vehicle costs are expected to fall, and analysts project that battery electric vehicles and combustion vehicles could reach cost parity during the second half of this decade. Like other automakers that earn profits from combustion vehicles, Stellantis is under pressure from both establishment automakers such as GM, Ford, VW and Hyundai, as well as start-ups such as Tesla and Rivian. The latter electric vehicle companies are far smaller in terms of vehicle sales and employment. But investors have given Tesla and Rivian higher market valuations than the owner of the highly profitable Jeep and Ram brands. That investor pressure is compounded by government policies aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union, California and other jurisdictions have set goals to end sales of combustion vehicles by 2035.

Fiat Chrysler patent shows a turbocharged inline-six engine

The rumor that Fiat Chrysler is developing an inline six-cylinder surfaced on Allpar more than a year ago. In a follow-up report in December last year, Allpar tapped its sources to add more information, like the codename "Tornado" and the plan for the turbocharged motor to replace the 5.7-liter Hemi V8. Even so, it only made sense to speak of the engine as a rumor at the time. Now we have our first bit of circumstantial evidence, Mopar Insiders having found a patent issued to FCA that uses drawings of an inline-six to describe a system for tracking elements in exhaust gases in a turbocharged inline-six. FCA applied for the patent on November 1, 2017, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted it April 2, 2019. As with everything else in a patent application, the drawing cannot be an accident. The U.S. PTO granted two other engine-related patents to FCA on March 19 and April 2 this year, and FCA used drawings of a V6 in both of those applications. The December Allpar report presumed one version of the Tornado engine would get a single, twin-scroll turbo and slot into service with Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram. Another version with twin turbos, and perhaps revised heads, could do time with Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and perhaps SRT. Mopar Insiders doesn't break down turbo count, but cites its sources as revealing an output range of 360 horsepower up to 525 horsepower. FCA's E-Booster technology, originally mentioned as a way to help a revived Alfa Romeo 8C get 700 hp, will enable larger turbos on performance versions of the Tornado I-6. E-Booster electrifies some aspect of the turbocharger — FCA hasn't got into the details yet — to eliminate lag while providing 25 percent more power. Mopar Insiders' output figures would give the engine long enough legs to replace the 3.2-liter and 3.6-liter Pentastar V6s, as well as the 5.7-liter Hemi V8. The site said the Tornado will also replace the canceled 7.0-liter Banshee V8. The 3.0-liter Tornado Global Medium Engine Turbocharged 6 (GME T-6), based on the Hurricane 2.0-liter GME four-cylinder (GME I-4), is expected to go into FCA products around the world. We'll wait to see how the PSA merger might affect allocation. Displacement will come in a hair below three liters so as to avoid tax thresholds in certain countries, and it was said engineers were trying to keep the inline-six no more than three inches longer than the 2.4-liter Tigershark four-cylinder.

NHTSA questions FCA's reaction to recalls, will hold public hearing

The US Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are holding a public hearing on July 2 to investigate whether FCA US is failing to fix safety problems and issue necessary notices. The agencies also want detailed accounts of the handling of 20 recalls by June 1 as part of a special order. If the Feds determine that the automaker isn't living up to its legal requirements, the result could go as far as a "buy-back or replacement of affected vehicles." "Significant questions have been raised as to whether this company is meeting its obligations to protect the drivers from safety defects, and today we are launching a process to ensure that those obligations are met," NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said in the announcement of the hearing. The 20 recalls that the agencies are investigating date from between 2013 and 2015. Just some of these include the action to make the fuel tanks safer on the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty; FCA US' Takata inflator repairs; inadvertently deploying airbags in the Liberty, Grand Cherokee and Dodge Viper; and the company's ignition switch fix for the Chrysler Town & Country, Grand Caravan and Journey. Failure to submit reports about all of these on time could result in a $7,000 per day fine. You can read the whole list in the PDF for the special order. In a statement to Autoblog, FCA US said, "The average completion rate for FCA US LLC recalls exceeds the industry average and all FCA US campaigns are conducted in consultation with NHTSA. The Company will cooperate fully." The government agencies claim that they have received complaints from customers alleging that they weren't notified of recalls; parts not being available; difficulty getting an appointment, and misinformation from dealers. During the hearing witnesses from FCA US, NHTSA and the public have the opportunity to present evidence on each campaign. U.S. DOT Announces Fiat Chrysler Public Hearing and Issues Special Order NHTSA has concerns about 20 recalls and sets public hearing date for July 2 WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that the Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold a public hearing to determine whether automaker Fiat Chrysler has failed to remedy safety defects and issue required notices in 20 recalls.