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Autoblog Minute: New Civic, FCA UAW Agreement, Frankfurt

FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all-new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all-new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. FCA reached a tentative labor agreement with UAW leadership. The major focus of the new deal reportedly includes: the eventual elimination of the two-tier pay scale [00:00:30] and pooling worker health care. Now that a leadership agreement is in place, the deal will be sent to FCA's rank-and-file. FCA has about 36,000 hourly employees. We got a first look at the interior and exterior of the 10th-generation Civic. Honda expects the new sedan to dominate the C-segment when it hits dealerships later this fall. Civic coupe, five-door hatchback, Si and Type R will all come later. The 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show is in the books and there was a lot of news to get excited about. [00:01:00] Porsche introduced a fully electric concept car in the Mission E. If they make this car, Porsche could give Tesla nightmares. We also saw SUVs from Jaguar and Bentley. There were two beautiful Italian convertibles from Ferrari and Lamborghini. Meanwhile, Mercedes introduced a concept of their own in the IAA - a vehicle that experiments with adaptable aerodynamics. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. Plus we'll have some added insight on General Motors' deal to [00:01:30] avoid federal prosecution. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. UAW/Unions Frankfurt Motor Show Bentley Chrysler Ferrari Honda Jaguar Lamborghini Mercedes-Benz Porsche Rolls-Royce Tesla Convertible SUV Concept Cars Electric Supercars Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video porsche mission e concept

BMW just the latest automaker to realize China will want a lot of EVs

News about China and cars isn't in short supply these days. With several of the world's largest cities, millions of cars on the road and huge problems with air pollution, it's no wonder that the nation is trying to make some changes. Along with decommissioning many of its aging vehicles, China is also expected to see huge growth in its electric vehicle market. BMW, as other automakers already have done, sees this as an opportunity to sell more cars. "We expect that the Chinese car market for electromobility will become the largest markets for those cars in a few years," says Karsten Engel, BMW's China head. BMW is collaborating with Shanghai's State Grid municipal power company to put public EV charging points at the former World Expo site, and the city plans to create 45 more by the end of the year. These will charge many different vehicles made by BMW and other brands. Tesla, which began delivering its Model S to China last month, plans to build its own supercharger network for the country. BMW plans to begin selling the battery-powered i3 and i8 plug-in hybrid in China this fall. BMW hopes to sell more than 400,000 vehicles in China this year. Fewer than 1,000 of those will be the i3, though, says Engel, due to a lack of supply. So far, China is falling drastically behind its own targets to get EVs on the road. With a goal of 500,000 by 2015, fewer than 70,000 EVs are currently operating in China. This numbers gap doesn't necessarily mean that the demand is or isn't there yet, but more and more automakers are betting it will be, and soon. Volkswagen is planning a fleet of electrified models for China by 2018 (at least 15 models according to Bloomberg). Daimler is teaming up with China's BYD to build EVs (and, of course, Your Dreams). Other Chinese companies are getting into the game as well. Featured Gallery 2014 BMW i3: First Drive View 33 Photos Related Gallery 2015 BMW i8: First Drive View 62 Photos News Source: Bloomberg via Automotive News EuropeImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Green BMW Tesla Electric Shanghai charging station pollution exports

US Senate authorizes DOE green car loan program [UPDATE]

Tesla Motors' crush of Model 3 reservations is fresh in everyone's minds, while Fisker Automotive (or at least its bankruptcy) is a distant memory. That's one explanation for a US Senate with a Republican leadership at one time bashed the Department of Energy's loan program for green-vehicle makers but now, under bipartisan support, the Senate has OK'd about $1.6 billion more to push forward green-vehicle technology, according to Hybrid Cars. The Senate voted to authorize a $1.6-billion federal program. The US Senate voted by about a seven-to-one margin to authorize a $1.6-billion federal program for the DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office program housed under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This is a different program from the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program, which was last funded in 2007. The feds have been green-lit to spend $339 million per year through 2020 to speed up the development of advanced-technology vehicles. The mission: to get the US new light-duty fleet to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandate of a 54.5 miles per gallon average (which is a real-world average of around 40 mpg) by 2025. Four automakers received funding from the ATVM program in the first go-round. The list was: Tesla, Fisker, Ford and Nissan. Specifically, Tesla was loaned $465 million in 2010, and paid that loan back in 2013 – about nine years ahead of time, with interest. On the flip side, the Department of Energy was slated to loan extended-range plug-in vehicle maker Fisker $528 million, but Fisker only received $192 million before the spigot got shut off because of missed deadlines. Fisker collected enough cash to pay down some of the debt, but the government still was stuck with $168 million unpaid. And that got washed out in Fisker's 2013 bankruptcy. Nissan was awarded $1.4 billion and Ford got $5.9 billion. Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan), one of the authors of the new bill, issued a press release about the new funding, which you can read here. The new ATVM program will also target automotive suppliers. UPDATE: This post has been updated. We inaccurately said that the ATVM had been re-authorized. In fact, the ATVM loan program "has $16 billion in remaining loan authority for automotive or component manufacturers for reequipping, expanding, or establishing manufacturing facilities in the U.S.