EuroWire January 2020

Transatlantic cable

Testing times at the Nürburgring Porsche and Tesla are vying for lap time pre-eminence as a measure of electric four-door sports car performance, prompting the management team at the Nürburgring to step in with tighter rules by which a carmaker can claim a certified lap time. “We want to have circumstances that can be understood and replicated,” said Nürburgring spokesman Alexander Gerhard. Setting a new time record for four-door electric cars could deliver a turbo-boost at a time when established sports car developers, such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche, prepare to launch their own competition to Tesla’s Model S. However, industry watchers are crying “foul” since a Tesla Model S, recently said to have achieved an unofficial record lap time, was suspected of being “heavily modified”. Stefan Baldauf, a photographer at the circuit, said, “Aside from a roll cage and the driver’s seat, the interior had been stripped out. The windows were blacked out, so it was hard to tell.” The Tesla also appeared to be using semi-slick racing tyres. So the Nürburgring circuit officials are trying to standardise speed record attempts, including specifying the track, and the location of timing devices. Nürburgring hopes the new rules will help revive the circuit’s popularity as a venue for competitive benchmarking. Only by equitable comparison will there be any value in lap times. As Mr Gerhard said, “We want to be a believable benchmark.”

GM spokeswoman Jordana Strosberg, in a statement to Reuters [“Electric Hummer could be part of GM’s move into EV trucks”], confirmed that the company is committed to an electric future, but had “no additional information to provide.” GM’s plans include a battery plant in Ohio, possibly a joint venture and part of a further plan to invest $1.3 billion in non-GM plants in the USA. Other carmakers with an eye to the long-anticipated electric pickup include Ford (planning an electric version of its F-series pickup); the Michigan-based start-up Rivian; and Tesla, which revealed a prototype in November 2019, as had been expected. But there are issues for GM to resolve. Namely, a costly strike by 48,000 United Auto Workers union members at General Motors plants. In mid-October, when the strike was a month old, analysts were already estimating its costs to the carmaker at around $2 billion, and production of the Chevy Blazer SUV, in Mexico, was halted by a consequent parts shortage. Daniel Silver, a JPMorgan economist, predicted the strike would cut US job growth by up to 75,000 – an estimate of direct and indirect damage to non-farm payrolls. At the time of writing, the UAW and GM had achieved a “tentative” agreement for the basis of a return to work, but confirmation was still awaited via a workers’ vote on the proposals.

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January 2020