1, Tesla may encounter a class action lawsuit due to the "ghost brake" problem
Gasgoo News According to foreign media reports, a Tesla Model 3 owner from California, USA, is suing in a proposed class action lawsuit. Tesla sued because the vehicle had a "ghost braking" problem, in which the vehicle mistakenly determined that there was an obstacle ahead and suddenly started braking. The owner described the problem in the lawsuit as a "frightening and dangerous nightmare."
The car owner named Jose Alvarez Toledo believes that Tesla has rushed its self-driving cars to the market and used unsafe technologies in them, including what the company calls Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. driving assistance system and emergency braking system.
Tesla’s driver assistance system has been questioned by the public and scrutinized by regulators, but the company’s CEO Elon Musk (Elon Musk) has promised to achieve full self-driving by the end of this year.
Image source: Tesla
On August 24, Toledo filed a lawsuit against Tesla in the Northern District of California Federal Court. He stated in the indictment: "When the unexpected braking suddenly activated, the company changed a safety feature to It has become a frightening and dangerous nightmare.”
The lawsuit seeks a class action lawsuit for all U.S. Tesla owners or leasers who have experienced ghost brakes. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit alleges that Tesla fraudulently concealed safety risks related to Autopilot, violated its promises, and unfairly profited from Autopilot, violating California's Unfair Competition Law.
The lawsuit requires Tesla to pay compensatory and punitive damages for vehicle repair costs and reduction in vehicle value, and requires the company to refund the increased cost of the Autopilot function.
In February of this year, the U.S. Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into 416,000 Tesla vehicles due to reports that Tesla's ghost braking defect was related to Autopilot. (Source: Gasgoo Nebula)
2, Toyota global production fell 8.6% in July, and the full-year production target may be difficult to achieve
Gasgoo News According to foreign media reports, on August 30, Toyota Motor said that as the new crown pneumonia epidemic, severe weather and recall investigations, as well as the ongoing chip shortage affected production, the company’s global automobile production fell by 8.6% year-on-year in July, marking the fourth consecutive month of decline. Able to achieve production targets.
Toyota produced 706,547 vehicles globally in July, down from 773,135 vehicles in the same period last year and a target of about 800,000 vehicles. Among them, Toyota's production in Japan fell by 28.2% year-on-year to 221,817 vehicles, while its overseas production increased by 4.5% year-on-year to 484,730 vehicles, a new high for the same period. Toyota's overseas sales growth benefited from strong recoveries in Europe, China and other parts of Asia.
Image source: Toyota
The global automobile industry has experienced chip shortages and supply chain disruptions caused by the new coronavirus epidemic. In addition, Toyota Motor has also encountered heavy rains in Japan, production shutdowns due to recall investigations, and new coronavirus outbreaks in local factories. question. Toyota's production from April to July fell 10.3% from the original production plan.
Although there are signs of easing the chip shortage, Toyota's continued weakness in overall performance in July has raised concerns that the company may have to lower its production target of 9.7 million vehicles for this fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023).
Toyota said earlier this month it would stick to its production target for the current fiscal year and planned to increase production by November, but this depended on parts supply and labor. The company expects its vehicle production to rebound to about 850,000 units in September, a new high for the same period.
Toyota’s global sales in July were 797,179 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 7.2%.Among them, Toyota's sales in Japan fell 25.3% year-on-year to 104,431 vehicles, while overseas sales fell 3.6% year-on-year to 692,748 vehicles. (Source: Gasgoo Auto Tan Xuan)
3, Lucid launches Sapphire high-performance sub-brand to benchmark BMW Mercedes-Benz Tesla
Gasgoo News According to foreign media reports, Lucid Motors will continue to move into the high-end market. The company's Air electric sedan will launch a high-performance version called Sapphire, using its own technology to compete with Tesla, Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the high-end market.
Jeff Curry, Lucid's vice president of marketing, said: "From a price and positioning perspective, we will definitely push the brand further upmarket. We are targeting people who might buy a Mercedes-Benz AMG or BMW M model if they If you want to buy an electric car, you need to find a similar product. This will be our high-performance electric car "Air Sapphire" which will be launched next year.
Although rivals such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW have launched their own electric models, Lucid believes that the company's in-house technology and good reputation in the industry can help the company succeed in the future.
Image source: Lucid
Up to now, Lucid has only launched one model, namely Air. The company says it expects to start shipping the Air Pure version before the end of the year, which will cost $87,400. However, some analysts said that amid low production and increasing financial losses at Lucid's Arizona factory, the company is currently focusing on producing the higher-priced version of and .
The company’s Air maintains the highest EPA cruising range, reaching 520 miles (about 837 kilometers), and is also the lowest energy consumption model in its class. In addition, Air’s 900-volt architecture also makes it the fastest charging electric vehicle. While maintaining these advantages, Air Sapphire will also provide stronger performance.
Lucid said that the Air Sapphire will have a cruising range of more than 400 miles (about 640 kilometers), it will use a three-motor layout, and the output power will reach 1,200 horsepower. The company said this configuration will make it the world's most powerful sedan model, including fuel vehicles and electric vehicles.
Air Sapphire’s zero-to-100 acceleration time will be less than two seconds, which is similar to the Tesla Model S Plaid. The latter also uses a three-motor layout, but has a lower output power of 1,020 horsepower. According to Tesla’s official website, the starting price of Model S Plaid is US$137,440.
Derek Jenkins, senior vice president of brand and design at Lucid, said: “When we were designing Lucid With Air, it was clear that luxury positioning was the most important thing at the time. Nonetheless, performance has always been one of our concerns, and the top version of Air already provides good performance. To meet the needs of enthusiasts, we hope to use Sapphire to bring the performance of the vehicle to another level. "
In fact, when we first started designing the Air, Lucid reserved space for two rear motors. The three-motor layout will allow the Air Sapphire to reach a top speed of 200 miles per hour (about 320 kilometers per hour). Erich Bach, senior vice president of products and chief engineer at Lucid, revealed that the Sapphire version of the Air will be equipped with larger tires, unique wheels, carbon fiber brakes and an upgraded suspension system to show its strength on the track. (Source: Gasgoo Nebula)
4, Musk summoned Twitter whistleblower to seek spam account and security details
Gasgoo News According to foreign media reports, a court document on August 29 showed that Tesla CEO Elon Musk Musk has subpoenaed a Twitter whistleblower, seeking documents and communications about spam accounts and alleged security breaches at the company. Musk is currently in court with Twitter. The world's richest man hopes to end the $44 billion acquisition agreement he previously reached with Twitter.
Musk has sought information from whistleblower Peiter Zatko. The main content of the information is how Twitter determines spam accounts. Musk said he backed out of the deal because Twitter misled him and regulators about the true number of spam or zombie accounts. In addition, Musk asked the whistleblower to provide documents and communications regarding Twitter's attempts to hide security weaknesses, comply with a 2011 Federal Trade Commission agreement, and "engage in illegal activities." A Twitter spokesman declined to comment.
Image source: Twitter
Zatko is a well-known hacker who was the head of security at Twitter and resigned earlier this year. Last week, he said in a public whistleblower complaint that Twitter said it had a solid security program, but that was not the case.
Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane University School of Law, said the information Musk obtained from Zatko could pave the way for new fraud claims in his legal battle with Twitter. However, she also said it was unclear whether the judge in the case would allow Musk to pursue his claim, given the time constraints of the case and the fact that Musk waived due diligence before signing the deal.
Twitter company lawyers said at a hearing last week that Musk said the main reason for abandoning the acquisition was the issue of spam accounts, and that this issue is "legally irrelevant" because Twitter has always said that the number of spam accounts it discloses is only an estimate. , rather than a legally binding statement.
Musk and Twitter have sued each other and will conduct a five-day trial starting on October 17. Musk wants out of the deal, and Twitter is asking Delaware Justice Kathaleen McCormick to order Musk to buy the company for the agreed-upon price of $54.20 per share. (Source: Gasgoo Nebula)
5. Changan Automobile : Released smart brand "Zhuge Smart" and "new car" CD701 prototype car unveiled
Financial News Agency, August 29th, Changan Automobile held the second Changan Automobile Technology Ecology Conference. Officially released a new smart brand - "Zhuge Intelligence", which has three core functions: "Zhuge Interaction, Zhuge Smart Driving, and Zhuge Ecology". It relies on a powerful central computing platform and a device-cloud integrated system to achieve smart decision-making. Through scalable software Hardware and customizable service ecology create a new smart travel experience in all scenarios. At the same time, a concept car, Changan CD701, was also released. According to reports, CD701 is the first "new car" built by Changan Automobile based on the SDA architecture, providing users with a concentrated reflection of the new experience of smart travel in all scenarios. (Source: Financial Associated Press)
6, AFS: Global production of more than 3.1 million vehicles has been reduced this year due to core shortage
Gasgoo News According to foreign media reports, according to the latest data from the automotive industry data forecasting company AutoForecast Solutions (hereinafter referred to as AFS) , as of August 28, due to chip shortages, the global automobile market has reduced its cumulative production this year by approximately 3.123 million vehicles. AFS predicts that by the end of this year, the cumulative production reduction in the global automobile market will climb to 3.962 million units.
According to the latest statistics from AFS, global automakers cut another 59,100 vehicles last week due to chip shortages. Among them, the production reduction in North America accounts for about half, about 29,900 vehicles; the production reduction in other regions of Asia is 21,500 vehicles; and the production reduction in Europe is 7,700 vehicles.
As global automakers wait for new semiconductor manufacturing capacity to come online, chip shortages will continue to impact global auto production. Honda Motor said this month that it would cut production plans in Japan by up to 40% in September due to supply chain challenges. However, Honda's rival Toyota is still optimistic about its production plan and maintains its production target for this fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023), which is to achieve a record global production of 9.7 million vehicles. Toyota has previously said that its production and sales will improve from August.
Sam, Vice President of Global Automotive Forecasting at AFS Fiorani said in an email, "The problems faced by Japanese car companies largely stem from their reliance on China for many parts, including semiconductors. However, due to factors such as the spread of the new crown epidemic, some Japanese car manufacturers Looking for other supply sources besides China for many parts.”
On August 12, Mazda Motor said that it will ask its parts suppliers to increase inventory in Japan and produce parts outside China after the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Shanghai caused unstable supply and hindered production. . Mazda will also seek to simplify its procurement structure to reduce the frequency of deliveries between bases. (Source: Gasgoo Tan Xuan)
