Good morning! It’s Monday, September 16, 2024, and that is The Morning Shift, your every day roundup of the highest automotive headlines from world wide, in a single place. Listed here are the vital tales it is advisable to know.
1st Gear: BMW, Rolls-Royce Recall 1.5 Million Vehicles
One other week, one other recall and this time it’s not one being issued by Ford or Tesla, who each lead the cost in remembers this yr. As an alternative, it’s a recall from BMW after the German automaker was pressured to problem a repair for greater than 1.2 million automobiles following a two-year investigation into braking points uncovered in its automobiles.
BMW has reportedly spent greater than two years investigating a braking problem that affected its automobiles in addition to some fashions for subsidiaries like Roll-Royce and Mini, studies Bloomberg. Following an intensive probe into the problem, BMW has now issued a recall of impacted fashions that might value the automaker as a lot as $1 billion:
BMW launched an in-depth overview into the braking system in October 2023, the recall doc exhibits, which discovered interference affecting the electrical alerts despatched by the brake system. The primary recall of about 80,000 autos adopted within the US in February this yr.
That has since snowballed to embody 1.5 million automobiles throughout a number of manufacturers made by BMW — together with $420,000 Rolls-Royce Spectres, flagship 7-Collection sedans and high-powered XM sport utility autos.
“This isn’t simply an odd recall, it is a vital shock,” mentioned Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director on the Middle for Automotive Analysis in Bochum. “What’s additionally noteworthy is that BMW has been stepping up high quality management amongst suppliers with a taskforce, indicating they see dangers extra broadly.”
The issues first rose for BMW again in 2022 when homeowners began complaining about defective brakes on sure automobiles bought by the German model. The problems stem from a brake-by-wire system utilized in automobiles like the BMW 5 Collection, 7 Collection, X2 and XM.
The element was additionally utilized in Mini Coopers and the all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre. On account of the problem, Bloomberg studies that Rolls-Royce recalled nearly 700 Spectres bought throughout America and even resulted in a stop-sale order being issued for the posh EV earlier this yr.
Fortunately, BMW has now uncovered a repair for the defect following its investigation, which is able to see sellers throughout America exchange the built-in brake system, freed from cost.
In case you are anxious that your automobile is perhaps affected by a recall, there are just a few simple methods to verify if it’s the case. First up, the NHTSA has an excellent helpful app that you should use to see in case your automobile is impacted by a recall, or you may head to the regulator’s web site and plug your VIN into its recall search instrument.
2nd Gear: We’re Now Driving Extra Than Ever
Whereas Rolls-Royce Spectre homeowners the world over might need lower down on chauffeur-driven rides whereas they wait for his or her automobiles to be fastened, the remainder of us have been getting the miles in. A lot in order that we’re now formally driving greater than ever right here within the U.S. and spending extra time caught in site visitors than we did earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic.
After the variety of miles traveled in America took successful once we had been all pressured to remain dwelling whereas Covid-19 swept the nation, People have gotten again out on the freeway in report numbers, in keeping with a report from Bloomberg. Based on the positioning, automobile miles traveled surpassed pre-pandemic ranges in nearly each metro space within the newest obtainable knowledge. As the positioning studies:
The entire miles traveled by all autos, or VMT, jumped 12% between Could 2019 and Could 2024, reaching report ranges.
The report additionally means that VMT is rising sooner now than it was when driving ranges first rebounded from the pandemic in 2021 — a worrying pattern for advocates working to reform transportation, the most important contributor to US carbon emissions.
Car miles traveled elevated in nearly each main metro space — in addition to in a lot of the largest metropolis middle neighborhoods. New York Metropolis’s city core noticed a notable improve of 14.7% every day VMT per capita and a 1.8% leap in site visitors congestion. These are the most important jumps among the many city cores of the highest 25 metros the researchers analyzed. In June, Governor Kathy Hochul indefinitely halted the town’s congestion pricing plan that might have charged drivers getting into decrease Manhattan, lowering congestion whereas additionally elevating income for the town’s growing old transit system.
Over the interval of examine, simply 10 metro areas saved automobile miles traveled under pre-pandemic ranges, these included locations like Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Space, each of which noticed automobile use drop by double-digits between Could 2019 and Could 2024.
The drops have been attributed to every thing from slower restoration from the Covid-19 pandemic and higher metropolis planning that’s serving to individuals go away their automobiles at dwelling extra typically.
third Gear: U.S. Confirms Harsh Chinese language EV Tariffs
Lawmakers throughout America final week took their first steps to cut back help for electrical autos made utilizing tech imported from China, and now they’ve cemented efforts to try to cease Chinese language EV tech from making it into the U.S. within the first place.
After first asserting plans to impose a one hundred pc import tariff on Chinese language-made EVs earlier this yr, lawmakers in America have now confirmed the opposite steps that might be taken to try to halt China’s takeover of the electrical automobile area, studies Reuters:
The U.S. Commerce Consultant’s workplace mentioned that lots of the tariffs, together with a 100% responsibility on Chinese language EVs, 50% on photo voltaic cells and 25% on metal, aluminum, EV batteries and key minerals, would take impact on Sept. 27.
The USTR willpower, opens new tab, revealed on Friday and first reported by Reuters, confirmed {that a} 50% responsibility on Chinese language semiconductors, now together with two new classes – silicon wafers and polysilicon utilized in photo voltaic panels – is because of begin in 2025.
The motion, which marks the top of a greater than two-year overview of tariffs that had been imposed by former president Donald Trump, largely left unchanged the top-line responsibility will increase introduced in Could by President Joe Biden. These embrace a brand new 25% tariff on lithium-ion batteries, minerals and parts, with these for EVs taking impact on Sept. 27, and people for all different units on Jan. 1, 2026.
The tariffs will come into power from September 27, 2024 regardless of pleas from American automakers to lower tariffs on important supplies for EV manufacturing comparable to graphite and lithium. It stays to be seen how these tariffs will hit corporations like Polestar, which is owned by Chinese language automaker Geely and assembles a few of its automobiles at a plant in China. Nevertheless, the model’s new Polestar 3 electrical SUV might be its first mannequin assembled right here in America to try to skirt a few of these measures.
4th Gear: UAW Prepares For Bargaining Battle With VW
The United Auto Staff union has had fairly the 12 months, after successful historic contracts for staff at Ford, Normal Motors and Stellantis, then pledging to add staff at extra automakers to its ranks and getting behind the Harris marketing campaign within the 2024 election. Now, the union is bracing for what might be its largest battle this yr because it goes up in opposition to Volkswagen in contract negotiations.
Talks between the union and Volkswagen will start later this week to set out plans for a brand new contract for staff at its Chattanooga plant, studies Automotive Information. the union plans to make use of the framework for its 2023 contracts that had been negotiated with America’s massive three as a place to begin for the talks:
The union’s high brass held what it referred to as a bargaining kickoff rally on Sept. 15 in Chattanooga. UAW President Shawn Fain addressed the gang and livestream, as did Chuck Browning, vice chairman of the UAW-Ford division, and Tim Smith, director of UAW Area 8.
UAW leaders, in addition to members of the 20-person elected bargaining committee, wore pink polos with the letters GOS on one sleeve, which members mentioned stood for ‘Get our s—-.’
Browning, a veteran negotiator who led the UAW’s labor talks with John Deere in 2021 and Caterpillar and Case New Holland in 2023, may even lead negotiations with VW, together with the bargaining committee. Fain mentioned deciding on Browning to guide the talks was a straightforward choice.
Staff on the VW plant voted to hitch the union again in April 2024, that means that this may grow to be the store’s first contract underneath the UAW. The contract will apply to greater than 4,000 staff on the web site, which presently produces fashions just like the all-electric ID 4 SUV.
