A few months back, Tesla Motors revealed that its upcoming WhiteStar sedan would be available in two variants, a pure battery electric like the Roadster and a range-extended electric more like the Chevy Volt. We still don't have many details on the car, although we do know that lessons learned while working on the drivetrain for the heavier sedan have been fed back into the Roadster for its updated 2.0 drivetrain.
As a small start-up with limited resources, developing a new engine for the WhiteStar would obviously be problematic. Tesla Chairman Elon Musk let slip in an interview with Fox Business News that the company has reached a technology deal with German giant Daimler (formerly of DaimlerChrysler infamy). Without any official comment from Tesla yet (we'll update you when we here something), one possible scenario for the deal is that Daimler will provide engines for the range extended WhiteStar. Daimler has always struggled to make money from Smart and the micro-car builder has a 1.0L three cylinder engine that might make a good range extender. If Daimler supplied 10,000 or so of those engines to Tesla, it could help drive down Daimler's costs. The other possibility is that Tesla might be licensing battery management technology to Daimler, but that scenario seems less likely.
Update: Tesla VP Darryl Siry declined comment on the matter.
The sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata means that the two British marques will have to look elsewhere for the parts normally supplied by Ford. Following the news that Daimler could be a supplier to both automakers comes word from Dr. Z himself that a deal is a distinct possibility.
Daimler holds a seven-percent stake in Tata Motors, which could make an easy case for Mercedes to supply Jag and L.R. with the necessary components to wean them off of Ford. Dieter Zetsche told Auto Motor und Sport that, "If Ratan Tata approaches us regarding the supply of components, we would be open to talks." AMG-powered XF, anyone?
[Source: Auto Motor und Sport via Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
Daimler may have divested 80.1% of its ownership in Chrysler, but the German automaker is still feeling pain from the Pentastar. The value of Daimler's portion of Chrysler has dropped from $2.18 billion to $852 million not even a year after the two parted ways. The loss of nearly $1.4 billion in value is a fair chunk of change, even for the mighty Daimler, but the news is not all bad for company shareholders. If Daimler hadn't sold Chrysler to the private equity firm Cerberus as fast as it did, the automaker's stock would likely be in much worse shape.
Since the privately owned Chrysler, LLC doesn't have to report earnings, it claims that its fiscal standing is all peaches and cream. According to Chrysler, the company has had positive earnings since it was bought out by Cerberus last year. The official line that explains the discrepancy with Daimler's reporting is that U.S. accounting rules are much more favorable than those overseas. Damn accountants.
Daimler will take the next two years to decide whether to invest more in its failing Maybach flagship marque or else shut it down. This comes from the mouth of Daimler and Mercedes chief Dr. Dieter Zetsche, who inherited the problem-child brand from his predecessor, ex-CEO Juergen Schrempp.
After ditching Chrysler, another deal that was orchestrated by Schrempp, Dr. Z may be inclined to shut down Maybach, too. By all accounts the ultra-premium brand has not been a sales success, barely reaching ten percent of its original sales forecast. In speaking with TheCarConnection.com, however, Zetsche insisted that Maybach's profitability "does not matter" in the face of demonstrating Mercedes' capability of competing with archrival BMW's pinnacle Rolls-Royce (and Volkswagen's Bentley), but that may prove to be all talk if Maybach doesn't present a solid business case. Zetsche confirmed that there are currently no plans on the table for new Maybach products – cutting short speculation over a new baby Maybach positioned between the current 57 and the Mercedes S-Class – and that even the outrageously-priced 62 Landaulet was unlikely to make much headway in turning the brand's fortunes around. We guess P.Diddy and his crew will have to find another ride.
According to the latest reports, Mercedes has finally realized why its A-Class and B-Class compacts haven't been doing so well: they're boring, overpriced and underpowered... and that's a losing combination. So for the next generation of the two model lines that's expected around 2011, Mercedes is reportedly preparing to turn up the volume.
Although the next-gen baby Benzes will reportedly stick with front-wheel-drive, they'll sit lower to the ground – and save production costs – by ditching the expensive current models' sandwich platform. Whereas the 193-hp 2-liter turbo is currently the most powerful engine offered between the two related models, sources indicate that the top engine could offer as much as 230 hp, possibly sourced from BMW off all companies whose 1-Series Mercedes hopes to target with the sportier new A and B-Classes. Meanwhile, reports also suggest that competition from the up!coming Volkswagen models could compel parent company Daimler to bring back the previously slow-selling and subsequently discontinued Smart ForFour.
The automaker formerly known as DaimlerChrysler isn't finished making headlines yet. The NHTSA, which levies fines for manufacturers not meeting CAFE standards, has issued its largest penalty to any automaker, ever, by giving DaimlerChrysler a bill for $30,357.635.50.
The fine is for the carmaker's entire fleet, which includes Mercedes models produced here and overseas. According to the NHTSA, "The penalty for failing to meet CAFE standards recently increased from $5.00 to $5.50 per tenth of a mile per gallon for each tenth under the target value times the total volume of those vehicles manufactured for a given model year."
To be fair, it's only the biggest by a (relatively) small margin, seeing that BMW paid $27,985,925.00 in 2001 -- especially if you consider the drop in the dollar in that time. If you're wondering where part of that European car premium goes -- after it goes into the treasury -- CAFE fines seem to be something Europeans specialize in. Of the more than half a billion dollars in civil CAFE fines, not a cent has been contributed by domestic or Asian automakers. Yet.
Chrysler and Ford have been at the top of the headlines all year long for various reasons, with Ford continuing to slim down by selling off its PAG brands, while Chrysler got dumped by Daimler and went private at the hands of Cerberus Capital Management. 2008 looks to be an equally interesting year in the auto industry, and a recent article in Fortune by senior editor Alex Taylor III suggests that a merger between Chrysler and Ford could be in the cards for the coming year. Talk about your haymakers.
Much of the speculation regarding Chrysler surrounds how Cerberus intends to get itself out from under the prolific paperweight that is the Pentastar. Financial types still feel Cerberus is out to make a quick buck, and that long-term ownership is highly unlikely. We're no big business experts, but it looks to us as though the three headed dog has a very limited list of potential buyers out there, so throwing a blind-folded dart that lands on the Blue Oval is as good a guess as any. It's a crazy Chrysler news day anyway, as TTAC is reporting that Cerberus may be preparing to sue Daimler for tricking the investment firm into buying what a thought was an automaker with nowhere to go but up.
Let us know in the comments what you think about the wild speculation of the day.
Daimler is joining throngs of other automakers, including Navistar, Nissan and Volvo, to establish India as one of the largest builders of commercial trucks in the world. Its newest venture involves a partnership between Daimler AG and India's Hero Group (great name!), with Daimler investing some $420 million for a 60-percent stake in the India-based manufacturer. The venture will involve the creation of light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks in one of the world's burgeoning production centers that's still got a lot left to build, and although company officials at both corps remained mum on details, expect things to be firmed up in the first quarter of 2008.
[Source: Economic Times via Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
Daimler and Dar, the Kuwait-based investment firm that holds a 50-percent stake in Aston Martin, are reportedly in talks to explore investment opportunities between the two automakers. The folks from Mercedes-Benz' parent company paid a visit to Dar on Tuesday, and the Aston Martin contingent is expected to spend some quality time with its investment firm in the next few weeks, as well.
While the term "investment opportunities" is a far cry from joint vehicle development, we'll leave the pontification about what the outcome of these talks will be up to you in the comments below. However, we'll start the rampant speculation with Aston Martin's engineers working on the chassis development of Mercedes' new SLC supercar.
Daimler is apparently getting tired of sourcing its turbochargers from outside companies, so it's enacting a three- to five-year plan than will make it one of the top three producers of our favorite power-adder.
The automaker currently gets about 50-percent of its turbos from IHI Charging Systems International in Japan, which produces about seven-percent of snails worldwide. Just Mercedes-Benz diesel models account for over 500,000 turbos used each year, and Daimler is right in thinking that demand for blown engines will continue to grow as consumers look for more fuel-efficient models that create similar power to their naturally aspirated counterparts.
The goal is to produce 600,000 units per year – up from 500,000 in 2006 – in a joint effort with a company based in Italy. The move will solidify Daimler as a leader both in manufacturing and technology that should pay dividends as more consumers look to turbocharged offerings in both North America and Asia.
Follow the jump for a breakdown of the largest turbo producers and their worldwide market share.
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