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Originally Posted by 90503
"None of that matters if the OEMs are continuing forward with the strategies that they have already invested billion$ into."
Thats' a big "if"...If they continue receiving numerous tax credit subsidies to purchase, IRA funds, California and other state mandates kept in place, (which will likely end), as part of the strategy. The "they" (taxpayer) invested billions into the strategy will soon end.
Continuing forward as is could end up being a losing strategy throwing good money after bad...
And what about the billions invested already that could be taken advantage of to produce ICE with easily attainable reduced emissions and CAFE requirements? Too much trouble I suppose to manufacture some variety. The OEM that offers more choice and sees the benefit of competition by offering ICE products will have the successful strategy.
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GM has already shown their hand here. Before Trump was re-elected, GM had set up quite an extensive EV portfolio. In order of introduction GM already had in place
- Hummer EV
- Cadillac Lyriq
- Chevrolet Blazer EV
- Chevrolet Silverado EV
- Chevrolet Equinox EV
- Cadillac Escalade iQ
- GMC Sierra EV
- Cadillac Optiq
Since the election GM has:
- Started production of the Cadillac Vistiq (4th Cadillac EV if you’re keeping count. Actually 5th if you include the $300k+ Celestiq)
- Announced that they have achieved variable cost profitability on all EVs in their portfolio.
- Announced that Cadillac XT4, XT5, and XT6 will all end production by the end of 2025.
Beyond that, GM is expected to introduce several more EVs in 2025, including
- Chevrolet Bolt replacement.
- An undefined Buick EV.
- The Chevrolet Blazer EV SS (Finally!! My original plan was to buy one of these when it was planned to be the FIRST Blazer EV trim to be released)
Ford is taking things slower than GM. There's a good chance that they may not upgrade the F150 Lightning and just let it end. But on the other hand, they are already working on the upgrade to the Mach E. They have delayed (but not cancelled) the 3-row utility that was originally planned for their Oakville Canada plant. When they bring that vehicle back online it will likely go in the Blue Oval City complex in Tennessee. Until then they will do more hybrids and focus on the next gen Mach E.
Stellantis is no doubt relieved by the relaxing CAFE standards since they were very much likely to miss them. This buys them more time to develop and roll out their STLA platform which is capable of producing ICE, Hybrid, and BEV products from the same chassis. Charger will be the first vehicle that takes advantage of this functionality and already has the BEV version available for sale.
Quote:
Originally Posted by speedyink1
You mean..it doesn't make good business sense to make sudden 180° changes in strategies that take years of R&D unfold?
I get it, a majority of us here want our V8s back. However, let's keep expectations realistic. GM won't in a million years suddenly reverse course for a four year future. They're looking way beyond that, as they should be.
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EXACTLY my point. Let's roll the calendar back to 2017-2018. This is BEFORE GM announced their Zero Emissions / Zero Fatalities / Zero Congestion strategy. President Trump and Congress were able to get a walk-back on CAFE standards through the SAFER Act. What did GM do? They committed to meeting the standards that were already in effect at the time. Reason being they (and other OEMs) had already spent R&D dollars, application engineering dollars, and supplier tooling dollars and suppliers already had contracts in hand for the components needed to meet those requirements. Stopping progress would mean dollars wasted, suppliers having to lay off employees, and possibly lawsuits from suppliers for broken contracts. Those same conditions exist today. The technologies and calibrations to meet 2027 emissions as they are currently on the books started development 2 - 5 years ago. That's just the nature of the auto industry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FarmerFran
Stellantis has already slowed down
The ICE Charger is pushed up
The Ramcharger was pushed up
The long range REV put on permanent hold - they will still do the standard range
Now sure that is only 1 company. but they shifted priorities
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The REV program itself is not on "permanent hold". Stellantis is re-ordering the roll out cadence and dropping the highest range BEV version. They apparently came to the conclusion that 229 kWh of battery is just too damn much. Plus, the range extender approach of the Ramcharger is the more logical path to providing the best long range solution.
Stellantis has also just introduced the Jeep Wagoneer S, a $70k BEV utility. Pictures below from when I was able to check it out at the NAIAS. They have BEV and REEV versions of most Jeep products coming over the next few years.