Page 33 - On The Move - Volume 16, Issue 3

Ford Sees Help from Startups as Patent Drawings Give Hints
Key to Managing Industry Changes to Dyson’s EV

Ford Motor Executive Chairman Bill Ford said an iconic train station in downtown Detroit that it Publication of patents gives the first details
the automaker will rely on startups much more than plans to use as the focal point of an autonomous of the electric vehicle being planned by British
in its past as it attempts to navigate challenges to its and electrification campus that will bring in other vacuum-cleaner king James Dyson for launch in
traditional business. suppliers and young companies. 2021 and come with a plea by Dyson for staff to keep
Speaking at the 7th annual EcoMotion mobil- “Our traditional suppliers are not going to be the plans secret. The patents include diagrams that
ity conference in June, Ford said the company was able to help us lead in innovation; some of them make it appear the vehicle, to be built in Singapore,
attempting to change its way of thinking and admit can, but some of them can’t,” Ford told Automotive will look like a Range Rover. They show a car with a
that it doesn’t always have the answers. News after his speech. “Our needs are so different long wheelbase, an interior with reclining seats and
“We don’t have to be the disruptor,” he told a now than they were five years ago even.” an aerodynamic design.
standing-room only crowd of more than 400 people. The automaker has formally opened an R&D The EV might also have large wheels, making it
“We have to encourage disruptors and partner with center in Tel Aviv to help tap into the region’s boom- easy to maneuver in city and rough terrains.
them. Any corporation that thinks it has all the an- ing mobility startup scene. In an emailed memo sent to employees and seen
swers is either A, arrogant or B, ignorant. There’s no “We’re going to need lots and lots of partner- by Bloomberg and The Telegraph newspaper, Dyson
way.” ships,” Ford said. “One thing I’m really insisting reveals early details about the car. He says the
Ford in recent years has tried to make itself upon is that our management doesn’t act like we’re patents don’t reveal what the vehicle actually will
more attractive to startups. It launched a Ford X busi- the center of the universe, because we’re not.” look like or provide specifics of what it will do, but
ness incubator last year and is currently renovating Source: Automotive News they offer a glimpse of some of the inventive steps
being considered.
The car will contain fundamentally new
GM Talks Electric Pickups, Again technologies and make some inventive leaps, Dyson
says in the memo, making patent protection crucial.
Advances will come in the aerodynamics, efficiency
General Motors President Mark Reuss reiterates plans to bring an electric pickup to market, a move widely and vehicle architecture.
considered unthinkable until just recently and one made possible by sooner-than-expected cost parity between It also is expected to be a normal-sized car,
battery-powered vehicles and those with traditional internal-combustion engines. with the staff memo saying Dyson isn’t following
“We will have a complete electric lineup, including a pickup truck that’s in development,” Reuss tells Wall other brands’ designs for smaller EVs because the
Street analysts at the UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference. Reuss’ remarks represent the second ride comfort of those vehicles tends to limit their
admission GM wants to bring an electric pickup to market. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra broke the news in attractiveness and utility.
April during an earnings call with investors in which she sought to clarify chatter regarding a potential acquisition In his email, Dyson says testing of the car will
of electric-truck startup Rivian. ramp up next month.
Plymouth Twp., MI-based Rivian burst into the EV segment last year with the unveiling of a battery-electric Dyson announced his EV plan in 2017 and says
pickup and SUV. According to Rivian, the truck will launch in 2020 with a range of 410 miles (660 km). Pricing he will spend £2 billion ($2.6 billion) on the project,
ranges between $69,000 and $72,500. GM reportedly entered talks with the company but broke them off and including a facility in Singapore to build the car. He
crosstown rival Ford stepped in with a $500 million investment in Rivian. has 500 staff designing the car in-house.
While range and charging-infrastructure issues have kept a lid on EV sales to less than 1% of U.S. deliveries Dyson’s memo says the EV is on track for a
in recent years, Reuss says GM has the technical expertise and industrial connections to solve both, including a launch in 2021 for a car “entirely designed by Dyson,
newly announced partnership with Reston, VA-based engineering company Bechtel to install charging stations manufactured by Dyson and sold by Dyson.”
across the U.S. The biggest hurdle, he admits, is cost of batteries and other important EV-exclusive components. Source: Ward’s Auto
But those costs are falling to the point where, combined with increased regulatory pressure on ICEs, the two
propulsion technologies soon will be on par.
“We’re going to reach parity a lot sooner than people think,” he says. “(ICE) compliance will become
expensive. All these things and more will lead to greater consumer acceptance of EVs, plus they are going to
be great cars.”
To reach parity, battery pack costs must fall to $100 per kWh from upwards of $230 per kWh
today. Most experts project it to occur in the 2025 timeframe. Reuss does not offer a target
date, saying parity will occur in the not-so-distant future.
“That’s why we’re maximizing our effort and resources to make the
future electric,” he says.
Source: Ward’s Auto

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