Auto Industry News: 2022 CES Show, NASCAR Next-Gen Rules, Rivian Expands, & Build Back Better Goes Thump

This past week was anything but sleepy. The 2022 CES Show in Vegas is still a go. Though, multiple big names have dropped out of the event due to COVID concerns, including Amazon and T-Mobile. NASCAR shared its Next Gen rules after some heavy-duty testing in Charlotte, with superspeedway rules soon to follow. The electric segment is buzzing with excitement, as Rivian announced plans to build a $5 billion plant just outside Atlanta and GM is halting production on the Chevy Bolt through February. Plus, the Build Back Better bill hit another bump in the road. Let’s dive into the details!

Exhibitors Drop Out of CES 2022 Over COVID-19 Concerns

With the latest COVID-19 Omicron variant causing disruptions, some 2022 tradeshows are starting to feel the pinch. Technology tradeshow Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 had a handful of exhibitors back out due to concerns over staff safety, with the show only about two weeks away (Jan. 5-8).

As of Dec. 23, several high-profile exhibitors applied the brakes in attending the show. Computer company Lenovo said it would be suspending all on-site activity in Vegas. Amazon, T-Mobile, and Meta (formerly Facebook) also dropped out. Multiple tech publications plan to skip in-person attendance as well, including TechCrunch and CNET. This announcement is especially curious since it means some press outlets will be covering the show through streaming and online presentations instead of traditional in-person press conferences, on-site interviews, and keynotes.

Traditionally, CES is the main event for unveiling products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry. Prior years usually meant standard gear like cellphones, laptops, smart devices, and various VR technology. More recently, automakers and the aftermarket have used the show as a platform to tout new innovations. Stellantis recently said it would showcase a massive lineup of its electrified vehicles and technology, including the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, Fiat New 500, and a Chrysler Airflow concept vehicle at the show. The automaker’s also hosting a virtual event on Jan. 5 from the venue for enthusiasts who can’t make the trip to Vegas.

In addition to Stellantis, Daimler AG, Fisker, and Turing Auto are all on the list of auto companies exhibiting at the show. General Motors has big plans for CES too, with the rollout of its first-ever Chevrolet Silverado EV as part of its Exhibit Zero. GM CEO and chair Mary Barra will deliver a keynote address presenting the EV to in-person and online attendees. GM said Barra will also discuss the advances in GM’s EV battery technology, the Ultium platform.

Additionally, CES will host a slew of vehicle-tech exhibitors, plus Wards Auto estimates, overall, there are more than 185 companies from the automotive industry (providing more don’t drop out) attending this year. The strong presence of the auto world at a tech tradeshow could also point to OEMs and aftermarket companies looking for new in-roads with buyers. With the popularity of big shows like the Geneva International Motor Show waning and the Los Angeles Auto Show making space for odd choices like Mattel Barbie cars, it’s apparent that the face of the classic auto show is changing, so companies may have to get creative to attract younger generations.

NASCAR Sets Base Next Gen Rules to Include 670 HP and Four-Inch Rear Spoiler

NASCAR officials laid out new rules configuration last week for most 2022 Cup Series schedule tracks. Officials said the Next Gen car will use a 4-inch rear spoiler for downforce and engines with 670 target horsepower as a baseline.

NASCAR said it came up with the new guidelines after consulting with competition officials, drivers, and representatives for teams and manufacturers at the end of two days of testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 4-inch spoiler and 670-horsepower combo was the fourth and final package tested at Charlotte. NASCAR noted the package received majority support from attendees at the post-test meeting. The test sessions were the final tests for the Next Gen car that will make its debut in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said dialing in the Next Gen rules was a two-year process, and the result of “thousands of hours of on-track testing and the collaboration with the industry and continued tests to really narrow down what could be the final rules package for the Next Gen car.” Race fans will see the new configuration across multiple tracks in the 2022 season, including road courses, short tracks, and intermediate-sized circuits. The package will be part of the Next Gen car’s debut at the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum exhibition in Los Angeles on Feb. 6.

The test sessions proved to be action-packed with “spins and incidents as drivers fought for control when cycling through the different configurations,” NASCAR said. Tyler Reddick’s No. 8 Chevrolet was involved in a handful of bumps and scratches. At the same time, a three-car tangle in Friday’s final group run brought the test to a close after 12 of a scheduled 30 laps.

NASCAR will finalize the rules package for superspeedway events later this month at the Cup Series’ Cup at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The company said it may also add the repaved and rebuilt Atlanta Motor Speedway to the rules package.

Rivian Building $5B Georgia Plant in 2022

It’s been a busy year for Rivian, and it sounds like the next few years will be equally action-packed for the electric vehicle manufacturing startup. Early last week, the company said it would be opening a second manufacturing facility in east Georgia, with construction starting in the summer of 2022. The manufacturer expects to open the $5 billion plant in 2024. The facility will sit on a 2,000-acre plot.

The new site has an estimated capacity to pump out 400,000 vehicles per year and bring more than 7,500 jobs to the area. According to the local news outlet, the Augusta Press, the manufacturer already posted Georgia-based jobs earlier this month. Georgia reportedly won the bid for the Rivian plant for more than just its tax incentives, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp told the newspaper. Kemp said that “speed to market and workforce” were qualities that held the manufacturer’s attention.

Earlier this summer, there was industry chatter that the company might be eyeing a site near Mesa, Arizona. Rivian has since expanded its first plant in Normal, Illinois, and confirmed that the second plant will be just east of Atlanta instead. The 2,000-acre site is also a drastic reduction from original estimates, which said the manufacturer might need 10,000 acres for its manufacturing.

The expansion comes with plenty of good reasons. Rivian’s top client is Amazon, which agreed to buy 100,000 electric delivery vans from the company, and the manufacturer has racked up more than 70,000 orders for its R1T electric pickup and R1S SUV as of this month. The R1T is currently in production, though moving slower than expected, thanks to dwindling microchip supplies, labor shortages, and COVID headaches, while the R1S is scheduled to hit the production line next year. The automaker has also shown some serious numbers when it comes to valuation. In November, Rivian said it was seeking a targeted valuation of $53 billion, putting it neck and neck with Honda.

A Growing Market…

With the deluge of startups hopping into the EV market, Rivian looks like it’s prepared to deliver on promises, something several of its peers have not been able to do. Early last week, another EV startup, Nikola Corp., said it agreed to pay a whopping $125 million in settlements lobbed by the SEC for defrauding investors.

The startup generated some buzz in 2020 with a fully-electric vehicle lineup intended to compete with Tesla. Unfortunately, the company ran into trouble quickly, with stockholders claiming that Nikola had overstated the capabilities of its trucks and was overall dishonest with investors. And, there was an unfortunate revelation that one of the Nikola prototypes was literally pushed downhill in its promotional video because it had no engine. Even with the current settlement, the SEC said former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton is responsible for “allegedly misleading statements and for other alleged deceptions, all of which falsely portrayed the true state of the company’s business and technology.”

Then there’s Lordstown Motors, the electric vehicle manufacturer that earned both the praise of former President Trump and the scrutiny of the SEC. Lordstown bought a shuttered GM plant to build its electric pickup, the Endurance, and positioned itself as a champion of reviving domestic manufacturing. But the company didn’t deliver on its production schedule despite raking in serious investment cash. More recently, contract manufacturer Foxconn acquired Lordstown Motors’ electric vehicle plant in Ohio for $230 million. There’s talk that the company might finally ship deliveries in the second quarter of 2022. In the meantime, Lordstown tapped a new legal chief since it’s still under investigation by the SEC for its preorders on a truck that doesn’t have a definitive release date and barely a prototype.

GM Pauses Bolt EV Production Through February 2022

Startups might have issues delivering a physical product, but GM’s dealing with its own production issues centered around driver safety. The automaker announced on Dec. 20 that it was extending its production halt of the Chevy Bolt EV through the end of February at its Orion, Michigan plant. The company also indefinitely halted retail sales of new Bolts. The batteries in the car can potentially have two defects, including a torn anode tab and folded separator, which increase fire risks. Earlier this fall, the manufacturer said it recalled the entire Bolt lineup as a precaution, including the 2022 Bolt EUV and 2022 Bolt EV. It’s been a rough year for the car. Earlier in 2021, both the manufacturer and the NHTSA even told drivers over the summer to charge the Bolt outside to avoid any potential fire risks.

Now moving into the new year, GM is still trying to get ahead of its battery defect issues with the Bolt. The automaker’s battery partner, South Korea-based LG Electronics, agreed to reimburse the company $2 billion in estimated costs and expenses related to the recall because of the defective batteries. And it looks like GM is taking the battery fiasco as a hard lesson in supply chain sourcing. Recently-filed permits with the city of Lansing, Michigan, hint that GM and LG Energy Solution of Michigan are setting up their own EV battery-manufacturing operation under the name Ultium Cells LLC.

GM is roaring ahead with plenty of its electric vehicle initiatives, even with the Bolt EV setbacks. As of Dec. 10, the company reportedly planned to invest more than $3 billion in EV production in Michigan and create a potential 1,200 new jobs. The automaker’s also previously said it projects an investment of more than $35 billion and a rollout of 30 new EV models by 2025.

Build Back Better Stifled, Auto World Impacted

Late last weekend Sen. Joe Manchin said he was a “no” on the Build Back Better bill proposed by President Biden, stalling what’s been a painful back-and-forth in D.C. for months now. Manchin’s opposition poses challenges for parts of the automotive market, including the $12,500 refundable tax credit for electric vehicle purchases. The provision, which has drawn praise from the Big Three, has also raised the ire of other automakers like Toyota. As it currently stands, the $4,500 of that tax credit only applies to union-made EVs, which shuts out companies like Rivian, Tesla, and Toyota, who recently launched a media campaign denouncing the measure. Simply put, if the bill doesn’t pass, then the spending for these tax credits is a no-go. As of Dec. 23, Democrats were revisiting the bill to see if any parts could be revised to reduce the spending and duration of some provisions.

While the EV tax credit sits in limbo, most likely into early next year, there are other measures in the works that’ll pose some interesting challenges for the auto industry down the pike. On Dec. 23, SEMA shared that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had finalized a rule that tightens new-car emissions for greenhouse gases. Starting in Model Year 2026, the EPA said the fleetwide average for cars, SUVs, and pickups will be 161 grams of carbon dioxide per mile.

“If expressed in miles per gallon (mpg) in real-world stop-and-go driving, the new rule translates into a fleetwide average of about 40 mpg for MY ’26 vehicles,” SEMA said in its announcement.

This is up from the Biden Administration’s originally-proposed 38 mpg over the summer. And, that number was already a climb from the Trump Administration’s previous standard, a 32-mpg requirement. The rule goes into effect in 2023, and requirements increase annually through 2026. According to SEMA, the EPA’s move came after pressure from environmentalists and other groups who argued the initial proposal wasn’t strict enough.

“The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents the major OEMs and suppliers, has pushed back on the finalized rule saying the higher fleetwide fuel standards may not be possible without additional supportive government policies like consumer incentives and infrastructure growth in place,” SEMA stated.

Meanwhile, the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) recently shared a shortlist of sections from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that directly affect the consumer vehicle market. Those include Automatic Shutoff Technology for ICE engines with keyless ignition systems. The push for the technology is two-fold—to protect from carbon monoxide poisoning and reduce emissions from cars idling too long. There are also other safety sections like Driver Distraction Mitigation Technology which charges the NHTSA to develop new technology to reduce distracted driving and a Drunk and Impaired Driving Prevention Technology provision. And, there’s a provision that directs the NHTSA to amend a previous ban on dynamic headlights and allow such lights by November 2023.

The Engine Block is your one-stop source for any and all auto industry news. Keep an eye on our weekly round-up of enthusiast coverage, product reviews, vehicle spotlights, auto show/expo features, and more. Be sure to tune in Friday for our monthly Competition Corner!