Hey, Your Top Automobile News for December 08, 2020

Your Daily Automobile updates From Around The World [img]  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [img]( [The Automobile News]( [Automakers Prep For Stronger Mileage Standards Under Biden]( Now that it’s clear Joe Biden soon will be president, the fight over automobile pollution and fuel efficiency standards is likely to peter out, and US consumers should see a broader selection of electric and efficient vehicles.But just how wide those choices will be and when they will come depends a lot on how negotiations go between the new administration and a fractured industry.At a board meeting earlier this week, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a big industry trade association, recognized that change is coming. Alliance CEO John Bozzella said automakers are committed to working with the Biden administration, which will renew the fight against climate change and likely will undo gas mileage rollbacks under President Donald Trump. The Trump rollbacks were supported by at least a dozen auto companies, many of which are having trouble meeting pollution and efficiency standards set when Barack Obama was president. Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, Isuzu, Suzuki, Maserati, McLaren, Aston-Martin and Ferrari all joined the Trump administration in a court battles over the standards and California’s authority to set its own, more stringent requirements. Five companies – Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Honda and Volvo – backed California, and last week General Motors and Nissan switched sides and joined them. Most automakers want one national standard so they don’t have to build two versions of each vehicle.Sometime after Biden takes office January 20, there will be efforts to reach a deal that all sides can live with. Here’s what experts say is the likely outcome for new vehicle buyers: Electric Vehicles Under Trump’s standards, automakers would have to show 1.5 per cent fuel economy increases from model years 2022 through 2025, far less than the 4.7 per cent increase per year under Obama. Biden likely will make the standards stricter than Trump but not as strict as Obama and automakers will have to sell more battery-powered vehicles to meet those standards. At present, there are about 20 fully electric vehicles on sale in the U.S. with dozens more on the way. Within the next few years, General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler plan to offer all-electric pickup trucks as alternatives to petroleum-powered trucks that are now the top-selling vehicles in the country. Ford plans an electric full-size delivery van, and GM promises 30 new electric models globally by 2025.Experts say that more of those global models from all automakers are likely to make it to the US under a Biden presidency. Under Trump’s looser requirements, automakers would have been under less pressure to bring in more electric vehicles, as well as gas-electric hybrids and more efficient vehicles with internal combustion engines. Will people buy them? This year, the consulting firm LMC Automotive expects U.S. consumers to buy around 218,000 fully electric vehicles _ about 1.5 per cent of new vehicles sold. That is expected to rise to 6.6% by 2025, still only a sliver of the roughly 17 million new vehicles sold annually. Plus, with regular gasoline averaging $2.16 per gallon nationwide, people are buying bigger vehicles such as SUVs and trucks. About three-quarters of the new vehicles sold are trucks and SUVs, with more efficient cars accounting for only a quarter. So requiring automakers to sell efficient vehicles may leave unsold cars on dealer lots. I don’t think it necessarily aligns with what consumers want to buy today,” said Jeff Schuster, an LMC senior vice president.That worries auto dealers, who fear they could be caught between efficiency requirements imposed by Biden and consumers who want larger gas- and diesel-powered vehicles. Scott Fink, who owns Hyundai, Mazda, Volkswagen and Chevrolet dealerships near Tampa, Florida, says the infrastructure doesn’t exist to charge electric vehicles in his area. Most electrics are too expensive for people and they’re still nervous about running out of juice. So what happens? It’s likely that negotiations between automakers, environmental groups, California and the Biden administration will produce some sort of compromise between Trump’s rolled-back standards and Obama’s stricter requirements. Automakers say they need some relief since gas is cheap and consumer preferences have shifted toward larger vehicles. In 2018 – the last year of numbers published by the Environmental Protection Agency – 11 of 14 automakers did not meet the Obama-era standards and had to comply by using credits from previous years or purchased from Tesla or other automakers. Ford is urging the industry to start bargaining at the 3.7 per cent annual increase it agreed to with California. A spokesman for the Biden administration didn’t return messages left seeking comment. US Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Michigan, said she’s pushing to get everyone to the table. Environmental groups will lobby for stricter standards, she said, but the administration must be mindful of protecting US jobs and bringing battery production to the US. [Read More]( The post [Automakers Prep For Stronger Mileage Standards Under Biden]( first appeared on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( [Tata Altroz Turbo To Get A Schaeffler-Sourced 7-Speed DCT Gearbox]( The upcoming Tata Altroz turbo will get a wet-clutch 7-speed DCT, and is expected to be available on only the top-trim model Tata Motors has a lot of launches lined-up for India, including the Gravitas, HBX, and Altroz turbo. All of these vehicles have been spied testing multiple times, and are expected to make their debut next year. Among these vehicles, there is one that will debut a new tech for Tata motors – dual-clutch transmission. This vehicle will be the Altroz turbo; prior reports had already confirmed that a 7-speed DCT was under consideration, but previously, that unit was reported to be sourced from Punch Powertrain, a Belgium-based firm. Now, however, Tata will source the gearbox from Germany-based Schaeffler. The new transmission will be a wet-clutch unit, not a dry-clutch one. Dry clutch DCTs are more affordable, but tend to heat up easily in heavy traffic. In India, where daily commutes usually consist of bumper-to-bumper traffic, such gearboxes are prone to overheating. Kia and Hyundai DCT vehicle owners have been vocal about this problem online. Seems like Tata has decided to take the premium approach here, which is as surprising as it is impressive. The Tata Altroz turbo will be powered by a 1.2-litre, inline-3, turbocharged petrol engine, the same as the Nexon. However, this motor will be detuned on the Altroz, producing 110 PS of maximum power and 140 Nm of peak torque (as opposed to 120 PS and 170 Nm on Nexon). The above mentioned DCT will be optional (expected to be offered only on the top trim), and a 5-speed manual gearbox will be available as standard. The gearshifter for the Atroz’s DCT will be manufactured by Gurgaon-based Lumax, which has also designed a new AMT gear shifter for an upcoming Tata car. The Tata Atrox turbo will directly compete with the Hyundai i20 1.0 turbo and Volkswagen Polo TSI/GT, while its DCT variant will additionally compete with the automatic variants of Toyota Glanza, Maruti Baleno, and Honda Jazz as well. Also, the option for an automatic gearbox will make it more accessible to buyers, especially urban commuter, who had been shying away from the Altroz due to the lack of one. [Read More]( The post [Tata Altroz Turbo To Get A Schaeffler-Sourced 7-Speed DCT Gearbox]( first appeared on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( [Stunning Supra Rendering Envisions A Ferrari Contender]( Digital artist Georgi Bozhkov used the base of a Lexus LC500 for inspiration. We love it when cars are rendered just for the hell of it. We have seen some awesome renderings in the past, of wild concept cars or crazy “what-ifs” on cars we would love to see. And this falls into the latter category. Ever wondered what a modern Supra built entirely by Toyota might look like? Designer Georgi Bozhkov has answered your call, with this amazing Toyota Supra. Influenced By The Lexus LC The Supra has of course made a comeback, but that was with ties to BMW, which is rather disappointing for some folks. This, however, is a render of what would be a fully-fledged Toyota Supra revival, all done in-house in Japan. The concept by Georgi retains similar proportions to the original base, the LC. It has the same long hood and short rear trunk area for example. But the front end is perhaps where the biggest change lies. With Traces Of A80 Supra Gone is the huge Lexus grille. In its place is a rounded front-end, more aggressive, sleeker as well. It is quite reminiscent of the A80 Supra, showing this would be a homegrown Supra revival. Side-by-side with the original Supra, we can clearly see where its origins lie. Other features on the car include the tall rear wing and the rear taillights. These features make for a perfect combination of a retro-look but also like they belong in a modern car. In a description posted along with his renderings, artist Georgi states: “…but my idea is to be something that can be a rival to the Ferrari coupes, like that legendary Fast and Furious scene with the drag between the Toyota and the Ferrari. A Cost-Effective Return The current new Supra is not a bad car, but the Supra faithful were not happy that it was done with interference from BMW, and thus it caused a lot of controversy. The positive was that Toyota was able to make a new model relatively cost-effective. The bad news though is that it caused controversy and left a relatively bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. The new Supra also has a big rival in the new Nissan Z Proto. This new Supra would certainly fix a lot of those issues with the current model! Georgi did this concept in his own time, amounting to around a year’s worth of work for him. [Read More]( The post [Stunning Supra Rendering Envisions A Ferrari Contender]( first appeared on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ You Might Like [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](        ------------------ Connect with TheAutomobileNews on Facebook and Twitter [fb](  [tw]( ------------------ You received this email because you operate or create content for a website/service and based on your website it seemed like this could be important information to you and your users. TheAutomobileNews daily newsletter is managed by [Postbox Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd.]( C-4/5, IBD Emporia, Kolar Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, INDIA, 462042 Want to change how you receive these emails? [Update your preferences]( or [Unsubscribe]( Â