Aston Martin, Chinese firm to co-develop electric car

Global Vice Chairman of Letv's SEE Plan Lei Ding, right, and Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer introduce a first look at the in-car entertainment and connected car technologies in an Aston Martin Rapide S at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.(Photo: Dan Steinberg, Invision for Letv)

Aston Martin's agreement to work with a Chinese company to create a luxury electric car shows again how China is emerging as a major force when it come to electric vehicles.

Aston, the famed British automaker best known as the builder of James Bond's car of choice, announced this week that it has signed a deal on with a Beijing-based tech firm, LeEco, to make the RapidE electric car by 2018.

LeEco was founded and is headed by Yueting Jia, the billionaire who is also behind Faraday Future, an electric-vehicle start-up taking shape in a Los Angeles suburb. The Aston-LeEco joint statement says the joint effort could lead to the development of a Faraday Future vehicle as well.

The company is "dedicated to build electric, smart, connected and socialized cars," said Ding Lei, global vice chairman of the division creating electric car systems, in a statement. "We have been targeting the highest standard in the auto industry in terms of design, R&D and manufacturing of our electric cars."

LeEco, formerly known as Letv, describes itself as having started as a video-streaming company. It provides an "integrated ecosystem that spans smartphones, TVs, transportation, sports, film, entertainment and more," it says on its Web page. LeEco will make the car's electric powertrain, says Aston spokesman Matthew Clarke. A concept electric car with LeEco components was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month.

The partnership between Aston and LeEco shows how Chinese companies are starting to not only supply low-tech parts for cars, but high-tech, cutting-edge vehicles as well.

"This is a great example of how Chinese companies are now able to offer technology for automobiles that is applicable not just in China, but globally," says Alysha Webb, managing partner of Cross Pacific Partner, a China-related consulting firm.

Recently, General Motors announced it is going to import two of its most sophisticated crossover models from Chinese factories. They are the Buick Envision, unveiled last month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and the plug-in hybrid version of the Cadillac CT6.

In addition, Chinese automaker BYD has opened a Lancaster, Calif., plant where it is making electric buses.

China's expanding reach for electric-vehicle development comes in tandem with growth in sales in its own country. Sales of plug-in hybrids, all-electric and other "new energy vehicles," as they are termed, rose 184% in the third quarter of 2015, the latest figures from LMC Automotive, show.

Overall, however, the market in China for new cars of all types has been slowing. That opens more capacity for export markets. Until recently, Chinese exports were mostly limited to developing markets where cheap, rugged cars dominate the market, and fit, finish and other quality measures didn't meet U.S. and European expectations.

Now, the quality of vehicles out of Chinese factories, especially those partnering with Western automakers, is considered first rate.

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Source: Aston Martin, Chinese firm to co-develop electric car

Bentley Developing All-Electric Car

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It seems like every luxury automaker out there is looking to "take down" or "take on" Tesla. Add Bentley to the growing list of brands with electric dreams, because the company is reportedly working on an all-electric sedan that would go head-to-head against the Model S. This was first reported by Australia's Drive.com.

» Related: Bentley Reveals its Flying Spur V8 S

Instead of being just some wild rumor, the news comes straight from Rolf French, Bentley's board member over engineering. One would think French would know what the British automaker is up to with future product development, because that's part of his job.

The VW Group, which owns Bentley, is making some big moves with electrification. While the Volkswagen BUDD-e concept showed that the company is wanting to turn over a new leaf after the whole Dieselgate scandal, the future Bentley sedan will likely share its underpinnings with something much cooler: the Porsche Mission E. Considering that the all-electric Porsche is already costing a shockingly huge wad of cash to develop, that's a wise move.

Don't expect the yet-to-be-named Bentley electric sedan to look anything like its German sibling. It likely will have a distinct appearance, plus a proper British interior, not some Teutonic rubbish.

A tablet-like touchscreen and the latest in vehicle connectivity features are pretty much a guarantee. Exactly what that means depends on how far the technology progresses before the sedan launches. Bentley will definitely need to deliver with great onboard tech, because Tesla has been pushing the envelope with its constant barrage of over-the-air updates that upgrade vehicles and fix issues without really any hassle for owners.

There's a strong possibility that the future Bentley electric car will be patterned after the EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept, which made a splashy appearance not too long ago. Not only does the concept feature proper British racing green paint, it's breathtakingly beautiful. Oh, and the headlights really set it apart from anything on the road today.

Expect to see the all-electric Bentley around 2020, after the Porsche Mission E hits the market.

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Source: Bentley Developing All-Electric Car

Aston Martin Gets Boost From China for First Electric Car

Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd., maker of sports cars such as the DB9, plans to team up with LeEco of China to help bring its electric RapidE vehicle to market by 2018.

LeEco intends to provide the powertrain and battery pack for the vehicle to be built at Aston Martin's factory in Gaydon, England, the companies said in Frankfurt on Wednesday. The planned joint venture secures financing to take the battery-powered version of the current Rapide sports car from concept to production.

Sports-car makers are increasingly being lured into the electric-car market, drawn by Tesla Motors Inc.'s emergence and tightening environmental regulations. BMW AG sells the plug-in hybrid i8, and Porsche introduced the sleek Mission E concept car last year.

While electric motors offer the promise of rapid acceleration, they lack the bone-tingling sound of traditional combustion-powered sports cars.

"The sound of an Aston Martin is very graceful, that's kind of what gives its soul," said Will Farquhar, Aston Martin's strategy chief. "So we are looking at how we can create that soul in an electric vehicle."

The all-electric sports sedan is part of the brand's push to more than double annual sales to above a former peak of about 7,500 vehicles, from 3,500 last year, Farquhar said. The British marque is seeking to generate its first net profit since 2010 in two years. It has said it plans to roll out a new model or variant every eight to nine months.

Source: Aston Martin Gets Boost From China for First Electric Car

You Need $1000 To Reserve Tesla's Most Affordable Electric Car

Mr. Musk said, that despite the last few months being "quite excruciating" he feels "very good about things right now", the company has guided for Model X production to take off in late March to about a 1000 units a week.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla has set a date for the Model 3 event. A signature Model X costs around $130,000.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the Model 3 will be unveiled by the end of next month, although he didn't specifically say that would happen March 31, as some reports have assumed. Musk believes that the mass-market auto will appeal to more buyers.

With the Model 3 in full production by first quarter 2018 and a new high-performance Roadster in development and possibly ready for production later in 2018, Tesla may be on track to fulfill Musk's promise to deliver 500,000 vehicles and start making money by 2020.

The Model 3 will be a sedan, like the Model S that's already on the road, but the company has kept the design under wraps . The Model 3 is for mass market purposes and the Giga factory is specially established for that goal. Helping drive down the cost from the Model S is the fact that the 3 will be approximately 20% smaller and some standard features on the S might be optional.

There aren't any fundamental issues with the Model X, Musk said.

Customers will have to wait a while since deliveries aren't expected to begin before early 2017 so they are going to have ample time after putting down the initial deposit to consider whether or not they're fully ready to make a complete shift to an electric auto. He said the company added too many new features at once to the X.

"Our default plan as we've done in the past is that the initial sales are relatively highly-optioned versions of the vehicle, because we've got to pay back the investment of the tooling and everything, so it makes sense to have the higher optioned versions first", he explained.

Trump Supporters in South Carolina Wish the Confederacy Had WonThe state, with its array of conservative GOP voters, will test Trump and the others in new ways. He continues to push into the strong black electorate crucial to winning the Palmetto State.

Source: You Need $1000 To Reserve Tesla's Most Affordable Electric Car

Electrified Cars From Core BMW Brand To Be Designated i Performance Cars

Electrified Cars From Core BMW Brand To Be Designated i Performance Cars

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Just as BMW's sporty cars are designated M Performance models to signify their link with the dedicated performance models built by the M division, the automaker's electrified cars will be designated i Performance models to link them with the eco-focused models from the i division.

According to BMW, the i Performance models will benefit from the transfer of technical expertise regarding electric motors, battery cells and electronic control systems. There will also be some visual cues such as an i logo in the cabin and blue elements in the front grille and wheel hubs.

The first model to be officially designated an i Performance model will be the plug-in hybrid version of the latest 7-Series, the 740e xDrive, which goes on sale later this year. It will feature the same plug-in hybrid system found in the 2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e, basically a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor integrated with the car's automatic transmission.

Peak output of the 740e xDrive is estimated to be around 308 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, and with a full charge of the onboard battery the car should be able to cover about 23 miles on electric power alone. Note, the top speed in this electric-only mode will be limited to 75 mph.

We'll have all the details soon as the 740e xDrive will make its official debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, whose opening day is March 1. BMW will also use the show to debut its V-12-powered M760i xDrive models as well as the Alpina-enhanced B7 xDrive.

For more Geneva Motor Show coverage, head to our dedicated hub.

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Source: Electrified Cars From Core BMW Brand To Be Designated i Performance Cars

Hyundai And Kia Challenge Toyota And Ford With New Hybrid Cars

When hybrid cars first hit the scene approximately fifteen years ago, the two first players were Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Toyota (NYSE:TM). Those first models - Insight and Prius - were dedicated hybrid cars, as opposed to variants of existing cars.

Of those two models, Prius became almost synonymous with hybrid cars, and the Honda Insight quickly faded away. In early 2009, Honda made a return to the dedicated hybrid car market with another entirely new car also called Insight, but it looked almost like a copy of the Prius. It was a flop and was subsequently canceled.

Almost all other hybrid gasoline-electric cars launched since then, have been adaptations of existing gasoline cars. Many automakers from Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAY) to Audi (OTCPK:AUDVF), Mercedes, BMW (OTCPK:BAMXY), GM (NYSE:GM), Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY) and Subaru have offered those over the last half-decade.

Only one company has had at least some success in challenging Toyota in the dedicated hybrid game in the US, and that's Ford (NYSE:F) with the C-Max model. It's not even so much as a dedicated hybrid model from an engineering standpoint, as it's sold as hybrid-only in the US market - unlike in Europe, where it is also available as non-hybrid.

Even so, both Toyota and Ford saw sales declines in their US sales of Prius and C-Max in 2015. Toyota Prius declined 11% to 184,794 units. Ford C-Max declined 21% to 21,768.

Despite this shrinking market for dedicated hybrid models, Hyundai-Kia is now launching a new family of dedicated hybrid cars geared to compete with Toyota Prius and Ford C-Max in the US. These are the Hyundai Ioniq and the Kia Niro.

Basically, the Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro are the same car under the skin.

Source: Autoblog

The Hyundai Ioniq looks much like the basic body style of the Prius, optimized for aerodynamics and sitting lower to the ground. The Kia Niro is a slightly taller vehicle, sitting more upright, having slightly higher ground clearance and a higher so-called "hip point", in which people sit higher, making it easier to get in and out of the car.

Kia announced that it is targeting 50 MPG fuel economy, but the Hyundai version will naturally do better than that, given its more aerodynamic body. The Hyundai Ioniq hybrid goes on sale in the US in the fourth quarter of 2015, and the Kia Niro in January 2016.

It looks like the Kia Niro will be able to achieve fuel economy slightly below the new Toyota Prius, at 50 MPG, and the Hyundai Ioniq will be able to approximately match the Prius fuel economy with an MPG number above 50 MPG. With all that said, why would anyone buy the Hyundai or Kia hybrids instead of the Prius?

For starters, not everyone may like the styling of the new Prius. Months after I saw it for the first time, I continue to be on the fence about it, even if I like it more now than at first sight back in September. Many people with whom I have spoken do not like it as much as I do. My advice: Don't make up your mind until you've seen it in person, in real traffic. It looks better than in that picture you saw.

In that context, the Hyundai and Kia hybrids are more conventional designs. I especially find the Kia Niro to be more attractive as a "one box" design that reminds me of the Mercedes B-Class and Kia's own Soul model. The front of the car is Kia's new trademark, similar to the new Sportage, which is extremely attractive.

The interior differences may be greater than the exteriors. While the new Prius represents an infinite improvement over the outgoing Prius, I am not a big fan of the new interior either - especially as it compares to the Hyundai and Kia interiors. No matter the model these days, Hyundai and Kia deliver the industry's best cockpit ergonomics, and their interior style is very pleasing as well.

Toyota is also missing key cockpit features, most notably Android Auto (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CarPlay, both of which are Hyundai and Kia selling points on their newest models. I think most people who compare a Prius interior with either of these Hyundai and Kia models side by side, will agree that Hyundai and Kia are ahead of the game.

Journalists have not yet driven the new Hyundai Ioniq or Kia Niro hybrids. The new Prius drives extremely well with outstanding handling and steering, a giant leap ahead of its predecessor and will be difficult for Hyundai and Kia to match, let alone exceed. We will just have to see, in the coming months, as they are tested against each other.

Even if Hyundai-Kia end up matching or even exceeding the new Prius in terms of driving dynamics, going up against the Prius - with its iconic name recognition - is like getting involved with a land war in Asia. It will be a struggle, to say the least - or at least that is what conventional wisdom suggests.

Beyond the basic hybrid model, Hyundai and Kia will launch plug-in versions of these two new cars, but only well into 2017. By that time, Toyota may also have launched its plug-in version of the Prius.

In the meantime, Ford continues to offer a plug-in version of the C-Max. It sold 7,591 of those in the US in 2015, down slightly from 8,433 in 2014.

Hyundai will also launch a pure EV version of the Ioniq in the US, in the fourth quarter of 2015. It has not yet said what kind of range this pure electric car will have.

Kia already offers a pure EV in this size and price class, the Soul EV. It has 93 miles of range. Therefore, it is not clear to me whether Kia will continue to build on the Soul for its EV future, or switch to the Niro for this purpose.

The challenge for both Hyundai and Kia in terms of pure EVs is the same as for most other automakers: GM and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) will deliver cars in the $35,000 - $37,500 range that will have more than 200 miles of range.

This leaves all these other companies - Kia, Hyundai, Ford, Nissan, Volkswagen, Fiat, BMW, Mercedes and some others - with this challenge: If you are going to launch a new EV in this "entry level EV" class, and it doesn't have 200 miles of range (or anything close to it), at what discount will you have to sell it?

GM will deliver the Chevrolet Bolt at the end of 2016 with 200+ miles of range. Tesla will deliver its Model 3 with 200+ miles of range potentially as early as the end of 2017. Nissan will deliver its LEAF 2.0 probably around the middle of 2017, with potentially around 200 miles of range as well.

If you are Ford, Kia or Hyundai, and you are trying to sell an EV with only 100-125 miles of range in 2017, how much less will you need to charge for this car than the $35,000 that Tesla and GM are targeting? Will you need to go down to only $20,000? What will the market be willing to pay for a 100-125 mile EV instead of an otherwise equivalent 200-220 mile range car? These are the critical questions.

Conclusion: Brutal competition ahead

Toyota is now facing its toughest competition in the dedicated hybrid market yet, Hyundai-Kia. In 2015, Hyundai was the world's fifth largest automaker, larger than Ford and not all the far behind industry leader Toyota, with approximately 8 million cars sold, compared to Toyota's 10 million and Ford under 7 million.

These new Hyundai and Kia hybrids appear to stack up very well against Toyota, especially for those of us who are addicted to either Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, as well as for those who prefer the Hyundai-Kia cockpit interiors. That said, Hyundai-Kia has another tougher challenge in turn, and that's to compete with 200+ mile range EVs from GM, Tesla, perhaps Nissan and others, starting very soon.

Disclosure: I am/we are short TSLA.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Additional disclosure: At the time of submitting this article for publication, the author was short TSLA and long GOOGL. However, positions can change at any time. The author regularly attends press conferences, new vehicle introductions and equivalent from most major automakers, including Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and others. Sometimes, those events are hosted by the automakers.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

Source: Hyundai And Kia Challenge Toyota And Ford With New Hybrid Cars

What to Look for in Car Technology

*It's an exciting time to be a car aficionado. Technology seems to be moving faster than ever in the auto industry and there are many great changes on the horizon.

Electric sports cars, high-tech infotainment centers and driverless cars are going to change they way we get from point A to point B. Here is what you can look for and how to benefit from the ever-changing technology.

Electric Sports Cars

Toyota's Prius was once the go-to electric car for celebrities and eco-conscious drivers. And then Tesla unleashed the Model S. Now, A-list celebrities like will.i.am, Jay-Z and Morgan Freeman are snapping up this sporty electric car. The features that have celebrities flocking to it: 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds, extremely high safety ratings, the ability to drive up to 270 miles on a single charge, all-wheel drive and zero emissions, an electric sports car that looks as good as it drives.

The Model S' popularity may be some indication of what we can expect to see once Tesla's first SUV, the Model X, hits the market later this year. The Model X's updated features include a medical grade air filter to keep pollen and other contaminates out of the cabin, seating for up to seven people and rear "falcon doors" that are somewhat similar to "suicide doors," but have hinges on top of the car rather than the side.

The release of the Model X is good news for those of us who can't, or who are unwilling, to shell out $70K for the Model S. We are sure to see more Model S vehicles hit the used car market once high rollers upgrade to the newer Model X. Keep your eye on used car sites like DriveTime as used Teslas will be swooped up fast.

Infotainment Centers

Infotainment centers are already a strong selling point, and carmakers are attempting to outdo each other to grab bigger market shares. Carmakers have started to incorporate Apple and Android operating systems in their cars in order to make it easier for drivers to integrate smartphones with the infotainment system. Smartphone apps give owners the ability to monitor their car, set the alarm, control certain features and receive important diagnostics.

Volvo's Sensus Connect and BMW's iDrive are two of the finest infotainment systems on the market. The former resembles and operates like a built-in tablet, while the latter is considered the most refined and powerful infotainment system currently available.

The Driverless Car

Driverless cars, also known as self-driving cars, have been in development for many years. Google, Apple, Tesla and BMW are pioneering the driverless car movement and are to the point where we will see these cars on the road sooner than later. Many experts believe tens of thousands of driverless cars will be on the road by 2020.

What will they do to the car industry? How will they change how society operates? These are questions with hard answers. The one thing we do know is this: early adopters of the driverless car will be people with large bank accounts. So, for a few years after they are released, the used car market will be flooded with high-end cars as people migrate to the newer technology, giving regular folks an opportunity to upgrade to more luxurious rides.

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Source: What to Look for in Car Technology