Autoline This Week - Video

Mark Rosekind is a former NHTSA administrator. Now he’s with autonomous vehicle startup Zoox, which was recently bought by Amazon. Zoox has a clever design for a vehicle that is going to be safer than anything that’s ever been on the road.

The auto industry is working hard to reduce its carbon footprint. And while everyone is aware of the big push to electric cars, there are other efforts underway. One of those includes making automotive components from biomaterials. These are materials made from plants and vegetation, not from petroleum. And they’ve reached a level of sophistication and development where they are lighter, cheaper and offer better performance.

China cornered the global market for the critical metals and minerals needed to make EV motors and batteries. Now the Biden Administration wants to develop a US supply chain. Is that even possible? And if so, how long will it take? Three experts in mining and processing talk about the challenges that lie ahead.

Over the next three years there will be a flood of electric vehicles hitting the market. Can the electrical grid handle the load? How about on hot summer nights when people are running their air conditioning? And will transformers at the neighborhood level be able to take it?

Autonomous vehicles are not years away from going into commercial operation. They’re already on the road today providing rides to the public. May Mobility and Beep are two of the pioneers in this technology. They’re growing their operations and see a bright future ahead.

The auto industry got clobbered by a shortage of chips. It could also face a shortage of critical materials needed to make batteries and motors for electric cars. The industry needs long term planning to avoid future shortages, and may need the federal government involved to make it happen.

At some point the pandemic will end and people will be able to go back to the office. But many will opt to keep on working from home. The auto industry is trying to figure out how it can accommodate both. In the meantime, it’s learning new processes and etiquette for how people work together online.

Automotive suppliers who make parts for piston engines know their future is threatened by electric cars. They have three choices. 1. jump on the EV bandwagon. 2. ride the piston engine into the sunset. 3. try to make parts for both. So which is the right strategy?

Connected car technology can dramatically improve vehicle efficiency and safety at the same time it slashes emissions. Better still, it costs a fraction of any other way to do this. Some cars already have the technology, and it’s only a matter of time before they all do.

A year ago the future of the Canadian auto industry looked doubtful. But then GM, Ford and Stellantis announced billions of dollars in investments to make electric cars there. Moreover, Canada has all the raw materials needed to make EV batteries and electric motors, as well as a green electric grid to manufacture them. All this transformed the outlook for the Canadian auto industry from bleak to bright.