Good morning! It’s Friday, July 19, 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: Trump Tells RNC He’ll End EV Mandate (There Isn’t One)
Former President Donald Trump used his Republican National Convention speech to rip President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle policies, vowing to take action against them as soon as he gets into office. From Bloomberg:
“I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” Trump said in his address at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The move would result in “saving the US auto industry from complete obliteration, which is happening right now, and saving US customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car,” he said.
There’s just one issue with Don’s promise to end the “EV mandate.” There isn’t one. The closest thing the Biden administration has to a “mandate” is new air pollution limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Critics say they would illegally force automakers to sell EVs.
Trump’s remarks on EVs came just moments before he criticized what he said was trillions of dollars of wasteful spending “having to do with the green new scam.” He said he would instead direct the money to projects like roads, bridges and dams, though it wasn’t immediately clear how he would make good on the pledge.
Trump has made no secret his disdain for electric vehicles, claiming they don’t work and will benefit China and Mexico while hurting American autoworkers. Biden, in contrast, has made the shift to battery-powered cars one of his top climate and industrial policies and has set a goal of having 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.
I know I don’t need to tell you guys this since you’re smart. But, some of the people Trump is talking to are not and they’ll just eat this up.
2nd Gear: Trump: UAW’s Fain Must Go
Electric vehicles were not the only part of the automotive world Trump took aim at at the RNC. He also called for the firing of Shawn Fain, the United Auto Workers union president, whose union has labeled Trump a “scab.”
He made this comment directly after saying China was building auto plants across the southern border in Mexico, and it was planning to sell Mexican-built vehicles in the U.S. From the Detroit News:
“The United Auto Workers ought to be ashamed for allowing this to happen,” Trump then said. “And the leader of the United Auto Workers should be fired immediately. And every single auto worker, union and non-union, should be voting for Donald Trump.”
The “should be fired” comment wasn’t in excerpts of Trump’s prepared remarks provided by Trump’s campaign to reporters ahead of the speech.
It’s not a shocker, but the UAW endorsed President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign back in January after he became the first sitting president to join a picket line.
“This November, we can stand up and elect someone who wants to stand with us and support our cause. Or we can elect someone who will divide us and fight us every step of the way,” Fain said at the time. “That’s what this choice is about. The question is, who do we want in that office to give us the best shot of winning, of organizing, of negotiating strong contracts, of uniting the working class and winning our fair share once again, as our union has done so many times in our nation’s history.
“We need to know who’s going to sit in the most powerful seat in the world and help us win as a united working class.”
On X, the UAW posted that Trump was “a scab and a billionaire” and said “We know which side we’re on. Not him.”
3rd Gear: Tesla’s California Registrations Continue To Fall
The bad news continues for Tesla as registrations for its vehicles in California dropped 24 percent in the second quarter. It is the third consecutive quarter that Tesla posted a sales drop in its most important market.
High interest rates and stiff competition have hurt demand for electric vehicles as customers go for cheaper hybrids. I also don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to point to some of CEO Elon Musk’s rhetoric and right-wing political ideologies as reasons people in a liberal state like California would be turned off. Just a guess, though! From Reuters:
Musk’s embrace of Republicans and outspoken comments have sparked concerns about Tesla’s brand, especially in liberal states such as California, which accounts for 10% of the company’s global deliveries.
The world’s richest man publicly endorsed former President Donald Trump for the first time in the U.S. presidential race after the assassination attempt on the Republican candidate on Saturday.
Tesla’s California registration fell to 52,211 vehicles in the second quarter, according to data from the California New Car Dealer Association.
The battery electric vehicle market slipped only 1.3% during the period. In contrast, sales of hybrid vehicles surged 22% in California.
“Tesla’s allure seems to be wearing off, signaling potential trouble for the direct-to-consumer manufacturer,” the report said.
From January to June, Tesla saw its registrations in California slump 17%, even as distant rivals such as Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, and Rivian increased sales by double-digit percentage points.
The electric-vehicle maker’s Model Y crossover continues to be the best-selling model in the state, but its market share in the first half of the year fell to 53.4%, from 64.6% in the year-ago period.
The Tesla CEO has been at war with California for a while now.
The electric-vehicle maker’s Model Y crossover continues to be the best-selling model in the state, but its market share in the first half of the year fell to 53.4%, from 64.6% in the year-ago period.
Jesus Christ, this guy sucks, and now he’s actively hurting the company he built.
4th Gear: Park Your Plug-In Pacifica Outside
Chrysler is issuing a recall of about 24,000 plug-in hybrid Pacificas worldwide because of a fire risk. It’s telling owners to park their vans outside and away from structures until the fix can be performed. Fantastic. From Automotive News:
Stellantis said the recall of 2017 through 2021 model year Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids includes about 19,500 U.S. vehicles. The company is aware of seven incidents that occurred when the vehicles were turned off and some occurred while recharging, as well as four customers who reported symptoms consistent with smoke inhalation.
Stellantis said the events are linked to a rare abnormality in individual cells of the model’s high-voltage battery pack. Vehicle risk is reduced when the battery charge level is depleted and the company said owners are advised to refrain from recharging.
The company is working on a software update designed to detect the abnormality and if found, dealers will replace the vehicle’s high-voltage battery.
Listen to Stellantis, folks. Don’t park your plug-in hybrid Pacifica near anything you love.
