On a bi-weekly basis, CAR welcomes our audience to decompress with our President and CEO, Carla Bailo, as she covers and shares her thoughts on the latest Hot Topics happening in the automotive industry. While the biweekly newsletter primarily covers four topics, this feature story previews two of the topics covered on April 1, 2022. If you would like access to the full newsletter for better insights into critical industry issues you and your organization are facing, sign up for our mailing list here.

HOT TOPICS 3/28/2022 – 4/1/2022

China COVID Lockdowns

• Auto manufacturers scramble as Shanghai locks down
• Automakers, suppliers struggle as Shanghai locks down for latest COVID outbreak
• Tesla Halts Giga Shanghai Production For Four Days Amid Lockdown
• VW eyes keeping Shanghai plant open with staff sleeping on-site
• Chinese lockdowns hitting carmakers
• Beijing autoshow postponed due to COVID surge in China

Carla’s thoughts:

China locking down again is indeed troubling. At first, most manufacturing plants stayed open by having workers live at the factory. But many began to experience problems obtaining food and other suppliers and have now found it necessary to shutter. If this wave of Omicron is similar to others, this could mean weeks of shutdown, which does not bode well for the current parts supply and the interruption to EV raw materials for batteries.

This period is an era of continued disruption, and the job of forecasting is challenging. Here at CAR, we are talking about this continuously as every time something happens related to the pandemic, geopolitics, or weather, the numbers shift, and the parts being impacted change. These rapid changes make our job tough but challenging, and we like a challenge. Stay tuned for more from CAR on disruptions and impact.

Electrified and Autonomous Deliveries

• USPS is doubling its initial order of electric mail delivery trucks
• FedEx is testing electric carts for last-mile delivery in big U.S. and Canadian cities
• FedEx Teams Up With Elroy Air For Autonomous Cargo Drone Delivery
• FedEx CEO says the company will make ‘an enormous effort’ toward AV trucks in June
• GM’s BrightDrop announces new e-pallets that work with electric delivery vans
• Amazon unveils its first fully-electric HGV delivery trucks
• Verizon and Cisco test virtualized network for deploying autonomous delivery vehicles and robotaxis

Carla’s thoughts:

I have advocated that the best usage for EVs is in the delivery space for a long time. In a hub and spoke concept, the vehicles that go the last 5 – 10 miles in a circuitous route are best adapted for EVs. Combined with the fact that the drayage company can provide their charging stations at their “hub,” it optimizes scheduling and reduces downtime. Downtime is the enemy of delivery and ride-sharing services.

These days, VTOLS and drone delivery services are starting to make ripples of news as well – we will address this separately in a future hot topics newsletter. But, this new news is because VTOLS and drone delivery are starting to make sense economically and environmentally. Consumer habits will not return to constantly going to the store vs. delivery, BUT we need to find a way to manage this service in an environmentally secure way.

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