While electric cars do have a mechanical simplicity when compared to the gas-powered alternative, it’s not like a modern EV is truly an iPhone. And just because Fisker is bankrupt it doesn’t mean that the automaker suddenly found a way to obviate all its responsibilities and avoid fixing problems with its cars.
And what about Lucid? A much lower price has led to an increase in sales, but the company also identified a little issue that’s going to have to be addressed in some of its cars. The good news for Lucid is that it’s a software issue.
Chinese consumers continue to turn away from Western brands, with both China and Porsche reporting decreased sales in the country. Stellantis has a little less exposure to China and needs to win in Europe, where hybrids are more important. So Stellantis is going to build more hybrids.
It’s Tuesday, let’s d-d-d-d-Dump.
Fisker’s Water Pump Recall Is Hitting All Models
It’s hard to run a business. You have to maintain relentless optimism over the long term. You have to believe in your vision. At the same time, you can’t let that optimism get the better of you in the short term.
There are many reasons why Fisker didn’t work, but optimism is what I keep coming back to, and, in particular, I keep coming back to this bit in the big TechCrunch piece on the company’s collapse:
Gupta-Fisker also turned down requests to build out a large stockpile of service parts, according to two of the employees. It’s a crucial buffer that automakers usually build up to handle repairs and other fixes as they iron out the kinks in the initial run of cars.
According to employees, Gupta-Fisker’s resistance to the idea was driven by an effort to save money. Fisker leadership supported the decision by pointing to a McKinsey survey that showed EVs require less service and fewer parts, according to one of the employees.
The employees said Gupta-Fisker pinned too much hope on the quality of the cars. They recall her saying the build quality at Magna, Fisker’s contract manufacturer, was “superior” and therefore the Ocean would not run into many problems. (Magna declined to comment for this story.)
Gupta-Fisker was Fisker’s one-time CFO/COO and Henrik Fisker’s wife. The company’s PR arm has mostly denied the TC story, for what it’s worth, but Sean O’Kane is a helluva reporter so you can decide for yourself.
I’m not going to touch the McKinsey thing, though the concept is basically correct. As EVs get better they probably will require less service and fewer parts. And Magna is a great builder of cars and trucks. The idea that a brand-new car wouldn’t need more parts or run into problems, however, is absolutely lunacy.
To wit, the Fisker Ocean has been recalled by NHTSA four times, including in June when the company admitted its door handles might stick and fail to open in an accident. The most recent recall is for a water pump issue, described by NHTSA this way:
Fisker is launching a Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign to address a potentialsafety concern affecting all Fisker Ocean vehicles. This recall focuses on a potential issue with the cabin electric water pump. In these vehicles, a problem has been identified with the High Voltage Battery Management System (BMS) limp mode, which is designed to limit battery power to 8.5 kW. This limp mode is activated when there is a communication loss on the vehicle’s Local Interconnect Network 6 (LIN6) bus. The root cause of this communication loss is a failure in the cabin electric water pump (EWP_H). To ensure the safety and reliability of its vehicles, Fisker is proactively addressing this issue through this recall campaign.
It’s good of Fisker to finally be proactive.
Lucid Recalls Its Cars, Too
While we’re talking about EV automakers trying to break through in the market, it’s worth mentioning that Lucid had a stronger second quarter this year, with deliveries up 70% (and incentives up to $16,537 per vehicle).
That’s a good deal. Lucid’s cars are truly excellent and if you want a luxury sedan it’s maybe the best luxury sedan there is for a certain kind of person.
I should also mention that their new Head of Comms is our old pal and occasional Autopian contributor Nick Twork, which makes him the first contributor to rise to the position of Head of Comms for a car company (but certainly not the last). Lucid will get no favoritism because of this, but if they don’t invite us to the Gravity launch I’m going to haunt him like John Cena by signing him up for text message alerts for every political campaign in New Hampshire.
Oh, yeah, Lucid is recalling some of its cars (about 5,251, which feels like most of them) because when “a hardware communication fault is detected, the High Voltage Interlock (HVIL) software could disconnect the high voltage contactors while the vehicle is in motion, causing a loss of drive power.”
As it’s fixable via software, Lucid already issued a software update so it’s already been fixed.
China… Ehh…
Porsche has been telling people it expected a slowdown in the middle of the year as it replaces models and rolls out new cars, which is relatively normal. This is one of the reasons why it says sales in the first half of the year fell 7% compared to 2023.
Another reason? China has been a huge market for Porsche and the company is facing the same headwinds all Western automakers are right now, with sales down 33% so far this year. From Bloomberg via Automotive News:
While the maker of the 911 has said this is likely to be the low point of the year, luxury buyers have become choosier about spending, with demand in China waning due to a prolonged real estate crisis and weaker economy.
The Cayenne SUV was the most popular model, with 54,587 sales, an increase of 16 percent. In contrast, sales of the full-electric Taycan fell by 51 percent, to 8,838, amid a general cooling of the EV market.
It’s not just Porsche. General Motors is also having a rough go in China, according to The Detroit News:
All of GM’s brands in China fell considerably: Buick deliveries stood at about 81,000, down from 136,000 in the same period a year ago. Chevrolet deliveries were almost 10,000, down from 48,000. Cadillac delivered about 29,000 vehicles, down from 55,000.
And SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, a joint venture between GM, SAIC Motor, and Guangxi Auto, delivered 252,000 cars, compared to 286,000 a year prior.
GM is going to bring its Chevy Tahoe to the market, so maybe that’ll help.
Stellantis To Sell More Mild Hybrids In Europe
The “year of the hybrid” rolls on as Stellantis, citing increased demand in Europe, plans to introduce more mild hybrids across most of its brands there. The company has four popular PHEVs here in the United States, but no regular or mild hybrids.
The American-French-Italian automaker, created from the 2021 merger between Peugeot maker PSA and Fiat Chrysler, said in a statement it would offer 30 hybrid models this year for nine of its 14 brands, including Fiat, Peugeot, Jeep and Alfa Romeo, and launch six more over the following two years.
Stellantis, which did not say how many such hybrid models it already sells, said it was responding to the quick ramp-up of customer orders for hybrids in Europe. It added that its sales of this kind of vehicle in the region rose 41% in the first six months this year.
When we say “mild” hybrid we mean what passes for Picante sauce in Milwaukee. It’s a small battery and a 21-kW motor tied to the dual-clutch gearbox paired with some brake regeneration. It is the least amount you can do and call a vehicle a hybrid, but it does come with a claimed 20% better environmental performance for not much more cost.
Given how many platforms Stellantis shares, it’ll be fun to see if the tech slowly bleeds over here to North American models.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
I’m an excitable boy this morning as we plan to all meet up at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England this weekend. So why not a little Warren Zevon and “Werewolves of London” eh?
The Big Question
Should we even call mild hybrids a “hybrid”?
Mild hybrids are still hybrids