It's been a busy week in the heart of the U.S. automotive world.
Three major events — the North American International Detroit Auto Show and the Automotive News Congress, both in Detroit, and the Battery Show in the suburb of Novi -- brought industry leaders to the area.
The Automotive News Congress featured keynote sessions with General Motors President Mark Reuss, Ford Blue President Kumar Galhotra and Hyundai Motor Co. President and Global COO Jose Muñoz. While the Detroit auto show was light on unveilings, Ford, GMC, Jeep and Cadillac showed key models with signficant updates.
The Battery zoomed in on pressing issues such as battery plant timelines, regulations and recycling.
Here's a recap of the week:
The Battery Show is moving to downtown Detroit next year
Thu, Sep 14, 2:57 pm
The Battery Show is moving to a new date and a bigger space next year. The show will run from Oct. 7-10 at Huntington Place in Detroit, home of the Detroit auto show. This year’s Battery Show, at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, featured more than 800 suppliers, 200 speakers and 15,000 attendees.
Hannah Lutz
First Shift: 2023 Detroit auto show
Thu, Sep 14, 2:20 pm
The Battery Show food scene
Wed, Sep 13, 5:04 pm
Walking through the cavernous Suburban Collection Showplace, where around 800 vendors are showing their EV wares is massive sensory overload.
The companies set up here know that and many offer candy, coffee and snack items free as a way to get passersby to slow down and take a look.
Averna, a global supplier of EV testing equipment based in Quebec, is taking a different approach. Averna has two jars of kosher dill pickles and a pair tongs at its display. As of Wednesday, the second day of the battery show, the company had given away dozens of pickles.
The ploy works, too, says Averna’s Jeffrey Urbanski. “Just about every person who asked for a pickle has enquired about the company,†he said. Averna's testing equipment helps ensure that vehicles leave the production line with all electronic components working properly.
Averna did the same thing at last year’s battery show. One of the first things Maximillian Schultz heard at this year’s show was “Hey, It’s the pickle guys,†from an attendee who got one last year.
Richard Truett
It’s go time for Our Next Energy
Wed, Sep 13, 4:59 pm
It’s go time for Our Next Energy, the suburban Detroit battery maker working to bring its LFP or lithium iron phosphate cells to market.
The company is now ramping up production in preparation for its first deliveries to fleet operators. Mujeeb Ijaz, One’s CEO, says the company is adding a second shift to production line at its plant at a Piston Automotive facility. The company, Ijaz says is also on schedule to begin manufacturing cells by the end of year at its Van Buren Township plant. Manufacturing equipment for the 20,000 square foot dry room is being installed this month.
The company is making batteries for EVs and for stationary storage.
Richard Truett
Honda Accord, BMW 5 Series, Toyota Prius, Ford Mustang, Chevy Corvette E-Ray, Blazer EV among models in running for NACTOY honors
Wed, Sep 13, 4:59 pm
Some of the auto industry's most venerable nameplates are among the latest finalists named for 2024 North American Car of the Year. And it could be a Chevy sweep when winners are named early next year.
Jeep Gladiator gets new grille, bigger touchscreen for 2024
Wed, Sep 13, 4:00 pm
The Gladiator pickup gets many of the same updates that already were made this year to the Wrangler on which it's based, including UConnect 5 with a 12.3-inch screen.
GMC Acadia gets bigger again for 2024
Wed, Sep 13, 3:59 pm
GMC redesigned the Acadia to be more than 10 inches longer and 3 inches taller, making the three-row crossover more spacious as the segment gets increasingly competitive.
Cadillac CT5 targets younger clientele with updated look, tech
Wed, Sep 13, 1:48 pm
CT5 buyers are older than the average Cadillac customer, and the brand aims to change that with new styling and a customizable 33-inch touchscreen.
Ford adds new base engine, new tailgate, design updates to 2024 F-150
Wed, Sep 13, 12:19 am
Ford's top-selling truck will be marketed and sold with 90 percent fewer build combinations for the 2024 model year, vs. the current pickup, to simplify manufacturing, with a hybrid variant expected to grab a greater shares of sales.
From Congress: Jose Muñoz says Hyundai in ‘crisis mode,' boosting investment
Tue, Sep 12, 11:12 pm
The Hyundai brand has catapulted ahead of rivals in the U.S. sales rankings in three short years, but North America CEO Jose Muñoz says the company is in "crisis mode" as it ramps up investment to expand its domestic footprint and turbocharge U.S. growth.
From Congress: Autonomous driving legal landscape 'a hot mess'
Tue, Sep 12, 11:11 pm
Automakers and suppliers have already spent tens of billions developing driver assistance and autonomous driving capabilities, but the legal landscape surrounding those technologies is at best problematic — and at worst, "a hot mess," according to panelists Tuesday at the Automotive News Congress.
From Congress: GM's Reuss says company has laid groundwork for profitable EVs
Tue, Sep 12, 8:46 pm
General Motors is working to build out its supply chain for electric vehicles and unlock profitability as it achieves efficiency and scale, company President Mark Reuss said Tuesday.
That comes as the automaker aims to make 100,000 electric vehicles in the second half of this year, building on the 50,000 EVs produced in North America in the first half of this year, he said.
From Congress: Ford's Galhotra predicts F-150 could become top-selling hybrid
Tue, Sep 12, 8:13 pm
Ford Motor Co. believes that its F-150 pickup could soon become the top-selling hybrid model.
Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford Blue, made the prediction Tuesday at the Automotive News Congress.
From Congress: Industry needs Treasury guidance on Inflation Reduction Act's EV sourcing rules
Tue, Sep 12, 8:12 pm
The auto industry urgently needs guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department on which cars will be eligible for electric vehicle tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act's "foreign entity of concern" rules, executives said.
From the Battery Show: Safety takes center stage
Tue, Sep 12, 6:50 pm
You might think kilowatts per hour, fast charging times and more range on a single charge would be the highlights of The Battery Show.
They’re not.
You can walk down any aisle at The Battery Show and see the words “thermal management†on signs and displays.
Although battery fires in EVs are rare, just about every company in the EV food chain has made preventing fires a top priority, whether that means keeping batteries cool, preventing a fire from spreading, coming up with ways to remove heat from battery packs and so on.
Increasing global regulations coming into effect that include puncture standards for battery packs and the amount of time drivers and passengers can safely exit a burning EV are driving some of the investment in fire mitigation. But talk to just about anyone of the show floor and you’ll get impression that the whole EV era could get upended quickly if battery electric vehicles get a reputation as being unsafe.
“I would say batteries are maybe several orders of magnitude safer now than what there were even two or three years ago, said David Miller, technical lead at Boyd Corp, a company that manufactures heat mitigation systems for battery packs. “The industry is rapidly coming up with solutions to make them safer and safer. Everyone wants the safest battery.â€
-Richard Truett
From Congress: Dealers caught in middle of EV transition
Tue, Sep 12, 5:51 pm
Legislators across the U.S. are pushing for a transition to EVs while most consumers still don't understand what that will look like day to day. In the middle of it all are dealers.
From Congress: Money for startups tighter, but still room for quality investments
Tue, Sep 12, 5:12 pm
Seed funding for automotive startups is harder to come by right now, and investor appetite for risk has been pared back, according to a panel of venture capitalists. But there is still money available for promising technologies with good founders and the right business plans.
DuPont's approach to containing battery fires
Tue, Sep 12, 5:03 pm
Although battery fires are rare in EVs, they present many complex problems. They are more intense that fires in ICE vehicles. And battery fires are difficult to extinguish and keep out, for example.
A number of companies at The Battery Show are displaying strategies to mitigate fires. DuPont is taking several approaches to contain runaway cells. The company showed cells embedded in a fire-retardant material designed to prevent one defective cell from igniting others.
Another strategy Dupont is working on is to use an adhesive to bind cells together with cooling channels placed in the center of the cells. You can see them in the photo. They are the green stripes.
Both of these fire mitigation systems are designed to be sold as systems to automakers that build their own packs. The safety system production equipment would be installed right on the same line as where the cells are assembled into packs.
-Richard Truett
From the Battery Show: Wheel-hub motor maker Elaphe moving on from Lordstown
Tue, Sep 12, 5:02 pm
For Elaphe Propulsion Technologies, the Slovenian company that built the wheel-hub motors for the ill-fated Lordstown Endurance, the truck's failure is not the end of the road.
From Congress: Venture capital more limited but still available
Tue, Sep 12, 3:46 pm
Venture Capital panel at #ANCongress: money is tighter, risk appetite is more limited, but still money out there for promising technologies. pic.twitter.com/ZhPoTN6owN
— Larry P. Vellequette (@LarryVellequett) September 12, 2023
From the Battery Show: Cosworth's electrifying display
Tue, Sep 12, 3:46 pm
The Battery Show in Novi, Mich., has around 800 vendors from all over the world showing nearly every imaginable component for EVs. There are new companies, old companies and many in-between.
The absolute last company I expected to see here is Cosworth, the legendary British engineering firm whose high-performance engines are so renowned that automakers have branded complete cars with the Cosworth name. Ford RS200 and the 1974-75 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, for example.
But you won’t find anything to do with a gasoline engine at Cosworth’s display. The company is marketing a line of compact battery pack modules designed to assist engineers at automakers quickly test EVs. The modules are designed for quick installation and changes, and can be connected together or daisy chained, said Mark Durrant, Cosworth’s commercial director.
“This is a module that you can put together and quickly put in the car. One of the issue automakers have is the lead time in design and getting a product to test. This is a quick way to get something up and running,†Durrant told Automotive News.
The compact modules are not intended to be used in production vehicles. The packs use 21700 cells.
-Richard Truett
Automotive News Congress underway
Tue, Sep 12, 2:34 pm
Industry leaders are gathering at Crain Communications headquarters in Detroit on Tuesday for the 2023 Automotive News Congress to share ideas, insights and inspiration.
This year's theme is "Investing in Innovation" and topics cover venture capital, the future of automotive retail, ADAS and liability, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The keynotes feature Jose Muñoz, global COO of Hyundai Motor Co.; General Motors President Mark Reuss; and Ford Blue President Kumar Galhotra.
Some of our 2023 Rising Stars also share the spotlight.
Thu, Aug 15, 7:27 pm
Kumar Galhotra, left, president of Ford Blue, Ford Motor Co.'s gasoline-powered vehicle business, joins a keynote lineup of General Motors President Mark Reuss, center, and Hyundai Motor Co. President Jose Muñoz at the Automotive News Congress on Sept. 12.
Thu, Aug 15, 7:27 pm
Thu, Aug 15, 7:27 pm
Thu, Aug 15, 7:27 pm
Thu, Aug 15, 7:27 pm
Thu, Aug 15, 7:27 pm
Thu, Aug 15, 7:27 pm
Navigating a future of electrification, infrastructure and sustainability
Fri, Sep 8, 6:03 pm
Detroit 3 tease reveals, including Ford F-150
Fri, Sep 8, 6:01 pm
The 2023 Detroit auto show, while smaller than pre-pandemic events, is expected to showcase at least a handful of reveals from the city's hometown automakers. Ford Motor Co. plans to unveil a freshened F-150, including an updated hybrid variant. General Motors has press conferences scheduled for its GMC and Cadillac brands, while Stellantis has one scheduled, for Jeep.
Flying cars, mobility forum target imagination
Fri, Sep 8, 6:00 pm
Flying cars, Malcolm Gladwell and Shaggy are coming to this year's Detroit auto show. The show is bringing back its Air Mobility Experience for a second year, featuring displays from two companies developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles.
Battery Show highlights EV tech, supply chain, infrastructure
Fri, Sep 8, 5:54 pm
As automakers showcase the latest electric models at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, suppliers, engineers, technology companies and policymakers will be 30 miles away at The Battery Show in Novi, Mich., discussing plans to underpin those vehicles.
