Auto Industry News: 2020 Geneva Auto Show Canceled, New EV Legislation Passes Colorado Senate, Recent Wave of Recalls, and 2019 AV Disengagement Reports

The global auto industry continues to battle growing fear of the coronavirus, canceling the 2020 Geneva Auto Show and facing some grim 2020 sales predictions. New EV legislation passes the Colorado Senate affecting existing dealer franchise laws in America. A wave of recalls hit the market, running the gamut from too-bright headlights to fire-inducing fuel pumps. And the California DMV releases 2019 AV disengagement reports.

2020 Geneva Auto Show Canceled Amid Coronavirus Concerns

One of the world’s most-anticipated yearly auto shows has been canceled due to worries over coronavirus. In an attempt to restrict the spread of COVID-19, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health placed a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people, lasting through at least March 15, which was the final nail in the coffin for the 2020 Geneva Auto Show.

“We regret this situation, but the health of all participants is our and our exhibitors’ top priority,” the car show’s organizers said in a statement on Friday.

Geneva isn’t the only auto industry event to fall victim to the coronavirus. The Beijing Auto Show, originally slated to begin April 21, has been postponed; organizers of big-budget domestic car shows, like Detroit and New York, are now “reviewing policies and procedures;” even Formula 1 has postponed the Chinese Grand Prix.

Such cancellations and growing anxieties come at a bad time for the auto industry. Global auto sales are already down and with a major market like China essentially on lock-down, projections are looking grim.

“Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investor Service said in a Wednesday statement that it expects global auto sales to fall 2.5 percent in 2020, more than its previous estimate of about 0.9 percent drop,” reports Automotive News. The agency also expects China’s auto sales to fall 2.9 percent in 2020—previously estimating a 1 percent growth. “Meanwhile, LMC Automotive said it’s evaluating scenarios, and said it could imagine a fall of 3 million to 4 million light-vehicles, from a total of about 90 million last year. That’s a retrenchment of as much as 4.4 percent,” adds AN.

As fears of a worldwide epidemic spread, expect more events to get shelved, canceled, or delayed in the coming months.

New EV Legislation Passes Colorado Senate

In January, Tesla won a years-long legal battle to sell, deliver, and service cars in Michigan. Now, it looks like Rivian, aims to do something similar in Colorado.

After months of lobbying for the state to open its dealer franchise law, it looks like the plucky EV-startup may have scored a win. To many people’s surprise, SB20-167, passed the state Senate 22 – 12, allowing companies like Tesla and Rivian to circumvent traditional dealership models and sell EVs directly to consumers. This is for sure a win for EV manufacturers who insist a new generation of automotive technology requires a new form of sales model.

Presumably, what got the bill passed was the removal of some controversial language that would have allowed any automaker—including those with existing franchised dealerships like Ford and GM—to open factory stores and sell direct. However, while Colorado Automobile Dealers Association President Tim Jackson said the association supports the new language, he previously told Automotive News that, “We’re not enamored with the amendment. You can’t put lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig.”

As of now, there are still 19 states with laws on the books that forbid or limit direct sales. Don’t be surprised to see manufacturers like Tesla and Rivian pouring money into those states for similar EV legislation in the months to come. As of now, Rivian has set its sights on dealer licenses in Massachusetts, California, Florida, and Illinois while it pushes a similar EV law in Washington.

Can This Help Recent Flubbed EV Launches?

Working within a direct sales model should allow EV manufacturers to operate on a lower capacity of product. A move that will allow them to fine-tune production to consumer trends and more easily address manufacturing woes. And there seem to be a lot of manufacturing woes these days…

Most recently, Volkswagen is reportedly suffering massive software issues that could derail the impending I.D. Series launch, while Audi has delayed its E-Tron launch again, this time due to a battery shortage. Similarly, Mercedes postponed the launch of its EQC until 2021, feeling it wouldn’t be able to adequately meet consumer demand. And Porsche is battling some not-so-great PR, as it investigates why a new Taycan spontaneously burst into flames while sitting in a Florida garage.

We’re not entirely sure why EV manufacturers have been struggling so much in recent months, though it’s probably due to the new technology packed inside these vehicles. With so much focus on environmental issues, EV companies are looking to strike while the iron is hot. That means, rushing tech that might otherwise have been in development for a little bit longer. For now, we’ll chalk it up to growing pains.

Wave of Recalls

From one anxiety to another, let’s talk about the rash of recent recalls that automakers have announced in just the last few weeks. (Maybe those EV growing pains aren’t looking so bad after all.)

Porsche

Porsche is recalling more than 70,000 2015-2018 Macan SUVs due to a leaky fuel pump that increases the risk of fire. The core of the issue is the fuel pump service cover coming in contact with part of the pump itself, which can lead to a dangerous leak.

While Porsche has told Consumer Reports via email that there have been no accidents or injuries as a result of the issue, there’s no official remedy to fix it as of yet either. So, if you own a Porsche Macan, keep your eyes peeled on this one in the coming months.

Ford

The Blue Oval announced a recall of over 217,000 of America’s top-selling pickup truck due to headlight issues. The recall only applies to F-150 models from 2018-2020 with optional LED headlights and stems from a glitch in the headlight switch software.

Apparently, when drivers manually turn on their headlights, the faulty switch fails to dim the daytime running lights, making the lights too bright for other drivers and increasing the risk of a crash. While it’s not an issue if the lights are on automatic, Ford is working on a fix that can be done free of charge via dealerships. The company has also said it is unaware of any crashes or injuries that have happened as a result of the issue.

KIA

The South Korean automaker is recalling more than 140,000 2013 – 2014 Optima sedans due to a fuel leak issue that greatly increases the risk of fire. The core of the issue is a quickly deteriorating/cracking hose that eventually leads to major leaks and a heavy gasoline smell in the cabin. KIA has committed to developing a fix for the issue and said they’re not aware of any fires, accidents and injuries as a result.

Additionally, KIA is also recalling 228,000 Sedona Minivans and Sorento SUVs over concerns that they too can catch fire. This is reportedly the result of a build-up of moisture in the anti-lock brake system which can lead to a short circuit, risking engine fire. Unfortunately (and scarily), this can impact the vehicles when they’re parked or turned off.

KIA has admitted it doesn’t know exactly what’s leading to the issue, but it is unaware of any injuries related to the problem. The automaker recommends keeping said vehicles away from structures and other vehicles until it can figure out a repair. (Yikes.)

GM

General Motors is recalling 148,055 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups to fix a software problem that arose from a previous update. The issue affects the trucks’ warning lights for the antilock brake system, brakes, and electronic stability control system. That problem could cause drivers to not know whether the systems are working or not while on the road.

GM warns that those impacted by the issue should not drive their trucks until they can arrange a date with a dealership to fix the issue.

California DMV Releases AV Disengagement Reports for 2019

It’s that time of year again, folks. Time for AV companies operating in California to hand in their annual disengagement reports—that is, a breakdown of the number of miles a company’s self-driving cars have driven as well as the number of times their human drivers had to take over control. This means, it is also time for AV companies to complain about how these reports are useless, meaningless, unfair, and “fail to provide relevant insights.”

Granted, such reports don’t give the whole picture. In fact, they don’t even give half the picture. “The problems generally stem from trying to use the reports in ways they aren’t designed to be used: to determine who’s driven the most miles, who has the best disengagement rate, and who is generally furthest along in developing autonomous vehicles,” explains The Verge. Ideally, we’d have robust testing summaries with plenty of detailed explanations. But seeing as tech companies are an historically secretive lot, we probably shouldn’t hold our breath.

It’s also worth noting that many AV companies now opt to use “more sophisticated, virtual techniques,” as Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson puts it. “While on-road testing is useful for collecting targeted data and performing late stage validation of self-driving systems, we find that large-scale, on-road autonomous testing is a slow and inefficient approach to development,” he writes.

Hmm… that’s certainly food for thought. Especially when you consider that GM’s Cruise Automation self-driving car division just got the okay from the state of California to carry human passengers as it performs public, on-road testing. Good to know that a “a slow and inefficient approach to development” is apparently suitable for humans.