WEBVTT - P&L: Volvo Will Start Producing Cars in U.S. by Mid-2018 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:08.080 Welcome to the Bloomberg P and L Podcast. I'm Pim Fox. 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:11.200 Along with my co host Lisa Abramowitz. Each day we 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.480 bring you the most important, noteworthy, and useful interviews for 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:16.560 you and your money, whether you're at the grocery store 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:19.960 or the trading floor. Find the Bloomberg P L Podcast 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:28.320 on iTunes, SoundCloud and at Bloomberg dot com. I want 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.400 to bring in Lex Curse, the maker. So I pronounced 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:35.599 that right? Yes, I fabulous. He is President and CEO 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:38.959 of Volvo Cars of North America here at the North 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:44.080 American International Auto Show. Um, Lex, what has surprised you 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.760 about this show? Just looking in general? Has anything? Um? 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:51.040 I think what you what you see here is is 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:54.800 the trends, which is going on, more pickup trucks, more 0:00:55.000 --> 0:01:01.080 SUVs and UH and autonomost drive is the um let's say, 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:04.680 it's the hot words out today. Yeah, but is that 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:08.840 from demand from consumers or is it for auto companies 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:10.760 to feel like they've got a toe hold in what 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:14.000 could come perhaps in the next decade. No. I think 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.559 we as automotive manufacturers, we need to be a little 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:20.200 bit ahead of the of the gang, and we strongly 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:22.560 believe at least I speak for Volvo. We we have 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:25.240 a very clear vision by twenty twenty nobody should be 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:29.959 killed or seriously injured in a Volvo car, and autonomous 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:33.920 drive is a very important ingredient of of of reaching 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:37.560 that target. So I think it's it's driven where the 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:41.440 automotive industry is going in the future. Let's talk about 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:44.320 Volvo cars. You did what about a half a million 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.520 at last last year? We we had a we had 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:50.640 a third in a row record, a year in a 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:54.240 row record for five and thirty four thousand units. Okay, 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:57.360 five thirty four thousand units. Let's look at the sort 0:01:57.360 --> 0:01:59.480 of breakdown of those units and what you see for 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:03.200 the future. Uh, the Let's start with what you're going 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:06.160 to unveil or trying to unveil today. What is up 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:11.760 with this T eight hybrid drive train with a combined 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:14.880 combustion engine. Now we have we have the EXCE ninety 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:17.440 and that is the the T eight. It's an electrical 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:20.840 motor and it's a force clinder force clinder engine. So 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:22.960 you have the best out of two worlds. You can 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:26.840 drive electric and you can drive with your regular combustion engine. 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:29.960 What will show today is is another step in what 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:33.799 we again, I'm talking about autonomous drive. Um, we will 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:36.919 start a project in Sweden end of this year where 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.880 we hand over one cars too regular customers who are 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:45.359 going to experience what autonomous drive means in their daily life. 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:49.440 And that's the This isn't Goldenburg, Sweden? Where where where 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.440 the Volvo headquarter is? What about in the US? I mean, 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:57.120 how concerned are you lex about the political backtrap and 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:01.920 interfering with Volvo's plans to unveiled both autonomous cars as 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:05.760 well as manufactured things in the cheapest possible manner. Um, 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:08.799 let me take a step back. We we have decided 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.799 to build a factory in the United States because of Trump. 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:16.880 That was far before President Electron came in came into 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.120 the picture. We decided this is in South Carolina. This 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.720 is in South Carolina. We decided that two years ago 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:27.120 we will start producing cars mid two thousand eighteen. We 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:31.200 built that factory in the United States because we wanted 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:34.480 to be in the United States. Of course, Mexico was 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:36.560 an option. There are other places where we could go. 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:39.360 We wanted to be here because Volver has been here 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.120 for sixty years. So it has nothing to do with 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:46.000 with with the existing discussion. The discussion is about autonomous drivers. 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.760 We believe in something as much we believed in producing 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:52.400 cars in the United States, we believe in autonomous drive. 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:56.440 But do you think that from a regulatory standpoint that 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.360 you will be allowed to test autonomous cars in a 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:01.080 way that you'll need to be able to do so 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.760 in the United States the way that you are saying, sweet, Well, 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:07.200 that's a good question. And I think that the NIZA 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:10.520 has released a report or proposal in in in in 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.880 July or August where they try to come to a 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:18.719 solution on a from a federal perspective, ALMO allowing manufacturers 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:22.479 to test and because that's a prequisite you you we 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:26.400 can't sell cars which you can't drive from California to Arizona. 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:28.960 You have to stop. So I think that's a prequisite 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:32.720 for the autonomous drive. Yes, just quickly, you're gonna be 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:35.320 importing a car into the United States that's made with 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:39.520 your partner Geely in China. We are we are, we 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:43.000 are currently yes, we are currently already importing cars from 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:45.839 China into the United States. Tell people just what the 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:48.320 model is and what it's it. We we we we 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:52.679 we we we imported the sd S sixty since since 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:55.360 since one and a half year, and we are a 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:58.080 global company. We have factories all over the world, and 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:01.120 we import and export cars out of the US in 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.000 the future and into the US from different places in 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.839 the world. Might be the way for other automakers to 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:10.359 do it as well. Thanks very much, Lexa kursen Maker's 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:14.040 He is the senior vice president America's President chief executive 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:29.240 for Volvo. We are ready for some transformation and we 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:32.039 have two gentlemen that can help us. Kevin Tynan is 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:35.719 our senior autos analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. He can be 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:39.640 followed on Twitter at keV tyn in ten and also 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:43.400 joining us is David Welch, our Detroit bureau chief for 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:47.120 Bloomberg News. David Welch, I want to start with you, 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.880 because first I want to thank you for having us 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:52.479 here in Detroit and showing us the hospitality of the 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:55.760 bureau and arranging for a very nice dinner last night. 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:59.360 Thank you. What is the biggest theme we We've been 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:02.839 going back in fourth year, whether the theme is autonomous driving, 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:07.039 is it hybrid vehicles, or is it just or is 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:09.160 it just really I'm gonna get to the Honda truck 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:11.640 in a second. But is or is it trucks? What's 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.480 the theme for you? Well, the market is always trucks, 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:18.680 That's what everybody's buying. Um. But what I find interesting, 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.280 honestly is the number of cars and evs that are 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:24.000 here in an era when gas is cheap, No one 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:26.360 is really buying either one of of those, whether it's 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:30.960 electric cars or passenger cars. Um. And the Trump era 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:33.039 is only gonna husher in more of that. He's drill, 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.800 baby drill, He's franc baby frank. Um. You know, he 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:39.479 wants to bring cold back. He wants cheap energy of 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:42.120 every kind, which which means gasoline will be cheap for 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:44.599 as far as the eye can see. And people buy 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:46.160 big stuff. But at this show, we've got a new 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:49.599 BMW five series and Mercedes E Class when that markets 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:53.760 down this year. We've got a new camera you know 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:57.719 that that has head here in five years, right, Um? 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:01.120 And you've got uh many has plug in hybrid. You 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:02.880 know who's gonna I mean, I'm a mini owner, but 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:05.800 you know i'm the guy. Um, So it was you. 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:08.880 You're You're the one. You were the statistic on the 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:11.080 far chart. You know, Kevin, do you agree I mean 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.160 what I mean? And also, why do you think that 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:17.040 these automakers are rolling out and sort of advertising their 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:20.040 sedans and their mid sized cars in an era where 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:24.520 the truck is king. Yeah, and and we're basically unwinding 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:29.480 car demand and car supplied. There's still significant segments. There's 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:31.880 still a lot of univolume that goes to those segments, 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:34.480 but it is declining every year. So I think what 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:36.320 you're getting can you just put that into perspective and 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:40.320 how much has the car segment declined is a proportion 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.880 of overall sales? Well, if you look at the top 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.680 three segments by volume as as we lay them out, 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:49.200 compact crossover suv is the largest for the first time 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:52.400 last year, UH, compact car and midsize car would be 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:55.040 two and three, and those had formerly been the largest 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:59.360 segments as as recently as UH those two segments combined, 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.080 the car segment we're down in roughly eight percent last year. 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:04.920 Now keep in mind this is a record year in volume, 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:10.200 and car sales were down on midsize and compact while 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:14.680 the compact crossover suv segment was up, so even outperformed 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:18.440 basically a little bit better than flat market. You have 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:23.559 a situation where you can't sell cars. Can't sell cars 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:27.200 except if you've got big promotions, low cost financing, sure 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:31.880 sure leasing. We're seeing record leasing levels also, which is uh, 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:35.800 we're finding creating affordability as average transaction prices are at 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:39.960 record highs as well. But it's also aligning the driver 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:43.680 with the technology cycle. We're seeing new technology every year. 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.000 A nice thirty six month lease aligns with what's new 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:49.880 and what's coming. But I keep seeing that there are 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:53.520 a leases for a lot longer and for the actual 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:57.199 loan business is taken you out in terms of years 0:08:57.240 --> 0:08:58.920 to the point where I don't know whether there being 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:00.880 more rubber or left on the tires by the time 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:02.600 you turn it back. That's a FAIG concern right now, 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.680 because resale values have also been going uh down. So David, 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:08.760 why do you think, uh, is this just basically a 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.080 PR push then to sort of give a sort of 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:16.559 environmentally friendly uh sort of face to auto companies um 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:20.920 with what they're showing versus the trucks that they're selling. Yeah, 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:22.559 there's well, there are a couple of reasons that you're 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:24.440 seeing a lot of evs plug in hybrids and that 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:26.240 sort of thing I don't auto show one is they 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.520 want to talk to regulators. We're doing the right thing, 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:32.960 because that's these vehicles are regulatory. You got that, got 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.800 the cafe standards, right, I mean yeah, And you've also 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:38.080 got a requirement in California that you have a certain 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:41.000 percentage of your sales and it's not insignificant. Has to 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:43.760 be zero emissions, nothing out of the tail play that 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:46.760 typically means an electric car or and you get partial 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:48.960 credits for a plug in hybrids. They have to make them, 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:50.960 so they're putting them up there to make that statement. 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:52.439 The other thing you have to remember, too, is the 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:56.559 vehicles that we're seeing today, we're planned and developed. There 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.840 were designers and engineers on the sketch board in two thousands, 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:03.520 well when gas was three six gallon. Obama was talking 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:07.200 about much tougher, tougher fuel economy rules and Donald Trump 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:10.560 was every reality TV star, So it was a very 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:13.520 different world. When these vehicles are on the drawing board, 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:16.319 and now they're coming to market and the market is 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.160 much much different than it was back then. We've seen 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:20.880 three and a thousand, five and a thousand years of 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:23.240 growth and it's mostly been SUVs and trucks, but the 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:26.280 stuff they were developing when all that started was much 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:29.080 more thrifty. So, Kevin, would you agree with that sort 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.120 of lens to put on this that A lot of 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:34.520 what we're seeing in terms of the electric vehicles and 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:37.240 the a ton of striving in the midsized cars, a 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:39.640 lot of that was produced in an era when people 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:43.079 believed that we're moving to a more fuel efficient standard. Sure, 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:47.000 And what I think automakers are doing is looking out 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:51.880 whether it's five, fifteen, twenty years and saying, let's assume 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:56.360 this endgame is electrification and working backwards. And I think 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.240 what's different now than the pre bankruptcy period was that 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:03.680 they're involved in the development of that technology. Rather than 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.280 pushing what they want to the market and saying you'll 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.959 come and you'll buy it. They're involved in that investment, 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:12.920 and then it's able to be scalable. So if if 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:17.000 electric vehicle penetration goes from three to five to ten 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.839 to fifteen to forty, whatever it winds up being, they 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:22.640 can scale up with. If it doesn't happen, those vehicles 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:26.840 can go to the lift fleet, the uber fleet in 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:30.800 low low cost leases and they hit their their cafe 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:34.080 and their emissions requirements. That way free to sell as 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:35.680 many trucks as they want. On the other side of 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:38.079 the equation, there's something we haven't talked about here that's 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.920 hugely important, and that's China. So China is now the 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:44.680 biggest car mark in the world, and the air quality 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:48.319 in its major city's is is just unbreathable. So they 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:52.080 are really giving big incentives and big requirements for plug 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:54.760 and hybrids, and over the last twelve day two months 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:56.959 they've started to go from plug and hybrids being good 0:11:57.040 --> 0:12:00.520 enough to incentives for battery electric fields just just pure 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:05.320 electric cars. And in some cases you know that the 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:10.040 company are the government owned companies get massive incentives for 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:12.800 buying these cars, and those guys lose money, but that 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.160 the government props them up. So they're buying a lot 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:19.280 of these vehicles that that lose money um for the 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:21.880 people who sell them, but the Chinese wanted and as 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.400 long as the Chinese want this, you're going to have 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.560 to make them globally, and car makers tend to engine 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:29.600 your global fleets of vehicles that they build and sell, 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:31.160 So real quick, do you think next year you're going 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.680 to see the same number of electric vehicles more more, 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.640 more China leading the charge. Thank you so much both 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.400 of you for joining us. UH. Kevin Tynan, senior auto 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:43.160 analysts for Bloomberg Intelligence and Detroit Bureau chief David Welch, 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:57.240 thank you so much. You get more perspective on this incredible, 0:12:57.440 --> 0:12:59.720 massive floor that we're sitting on with lots of cars 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:02.199 in all sorts of positions. I saw one hanging from 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.400 a wall. I want to bring in Sam Slaughter, chairman 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:08.040 of the North American International Auto Show, UH with us 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:11.040 here in Detroit. So can you give us some perspective 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.320 on how this show compares to previous years in terms 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:17.720 of scope, a number of attendees, and the types of offerings. 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:20.960 Well as far as scope goes. We've added the whole 0:13:21.000 --> 0:13:24.840 automobility section downstairs, which really speaks to the technology that's 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:26.920 coming in our cars. That a lot of it's here, 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:29.040 but we're getting all the way up to autonomous self 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.319 driving cars and and that's really the thing to talk 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:33.320 about at the show this year. There's a lot of 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:35.440 technology here. You can see it even in this play 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:39.760 boost right behind they're doing this simulated drive and cars 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:42.439 actually moving the way a car would actually move in 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:44.559 the track, but it's virtual. Do you think that we're 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:48.920 going to see true autonomous vehicles gained some popularity in 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:50.920 the next decade? And if so, how to what degree? 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:52.960 I mean, how how much will the perpetration be? Yeah, 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:56.000 you know, John kraft Trek was here yesterday, the Google 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:59.160 autonomous driving guy, and and and they've created this new 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:01.640 company called way Bow, and they actually have this price 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:05.000 of pacifica that does drive by itself. And they've logged 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.800 three million miles on the actual vehicle, but five billion 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:14.079 miles virtually. And so they're really, uh, they're they're they're 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.000 perfected it in such a way that, in his words, 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:19.480 you know, you can't get close with autonomous driving. It 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:22.200 has to be perfect. And so yes, I think you're 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:26.800 gonna see increasing self driving capabilities, whether it's fully autonomous 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:28.760 or not. I think you're gonna see more and more 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:31.840 self driving capabilities. But someday, you know, it could all 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:34.560 be self driving. The one thing I don't think it 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:37.400 can be, at least yet, is it can't be self cleaning. 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.600 And the reason I bring that up is because I 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:43.360 know that you started off your real love of automobiles 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:48.000 by washing cars at the dealership that you subsequently But 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:50.800 that's correct. Yeah, and I can still detail a card 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.560 just so you know. So that's something that you can't automate. 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.320 And you cannot automate I wish you could. All right, Well, 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:58.960 then let's talk about the automation and the detail because 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:00.520 you've had to learn a lot of of terms in 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:02.800 the last let's say five years. If I had said 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:05.080 led ar to you five years ago, what would you 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:06.880 have said. I would have no clue. I would have said, 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:08.680 as it's something to eat, I don't know. Yeah, So 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:10.760 tell people about what it is and maybe just give 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.400 us let's say the five most important things that people 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:15.480 ask for when they're looking for a car and they 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:18.320 want this new technology. Well, they're not asking for lighter 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:20.760 yet because nobody knows what it is. But what lightar 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:24.120 does is it really can see in the dark, in 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:27.960 the bright sun, in the snow, and it's really gonna 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.720 enable self driving things to happen. But you know that 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:34.400 technology is coming. Right now, I'm driving a car right now, 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:37.480 a gmc Acadia that has adaptive cruise control. You set 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:40.360 the cruise at seventy miles an hour. Somebody cuts in 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:42.520 front of you to pass a truck, your car slows 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:45.920 down automatically, it speeds up automatically, a panic stop and 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.640 it stops. So there's a lot of things that we're 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:50.840 seeing right now in our car, So customers are starting 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.120 to ask for those kinds of things. Do you think 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:57.720 that the first adopters for autonomous cars will really be 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:00.760 the ride sharing services? And how much have you seen 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.880 sort of an increase in representatives from the ride sharing company. Yeah, 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.080 that's that's a great question, Lisa, And and that some 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:09.440 of these ride sharing companies are are participating in the 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:12.560 Auto Show for the first time ever with with automobility, 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:16.160 And yes, I think that's where the most natural application 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.600 for it is. The other natural application for his long 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.040 haul trucking. That's where you know guys getting trucks and 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:23.720 they have to drive for eight hours and they have 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:27.360 to take eight hours off. Well, the autnos driving truck 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.440 doesn't have to take time off. So you still might 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:32.160 have a driver to keep it clean, to unload and load, 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:34.680 but that driver can take his nap while the truck 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:37.000 is still making its progress across the country. So have 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:40.160 you seen the number of regulators attending this conference also increasing? 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:42.680 Just as a result of some of the prospects of 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:46.160 trucks barreling at uh, you know, but eighty miles per 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:48.160 hour without a driver without a driver. Yeah, you know, 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:50.480 that's so interesting you ask that question, because I think 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:54.320 that's a whole, you know, wave of of litigation and 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:56.800 planning that we haven't had yet. Is you know, right 0:16:56.840 --> 0:16:58.680 now you and I make a decision where they're going 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:00.800 to hit the baby or hit the tree. Right, well, 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:06.120 but hopefully not choice. You're going to have to make it. 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:09.040 But how do you program that? And who programs that? 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:12.840 And then who's responsible for what happens when that accident happens. 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.359 The good thing about autonomous driving vehicles and all the 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:18.000 safety features is we're gonna have a lot fewer accidents, 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.879 and the ones we have are gonna be bumps, not collisions. 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:25.000 Tracking devices that will be in cars to allow not 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:30.040 only your family, but perhaps law enforcement or regulatory bodies 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:33.200 him really paranoid and do you have something to hide? 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:37.080 I mean, are you worried about being But one of 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:38.959 the things that I found most interesting is that the 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:42.840 information that is garnered from the Tesla automobiles, that is 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:46.920 all compiled and used by Tesla in order to then 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:49.720 create the next iteration of whatever it is they're trying 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:51.560 to accomplish, right, And that's one of the things that 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:55.040 this technology, the technology actually learns from its own experience, 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:57.399 and that's that's kind of an amazing thought in and 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:01.159 of itself. But you know, the days of being anonymous anymore. 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:02.880 I mean, you can't be in a Walmart parking lot 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:05.880 without being on camera. And now everybody's gonna know where 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:08.560 you're going when you're going, how fast you got there? Uh, 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:11.840 my bank denied a credit card charge because it said 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:13.879 I drove too fast across the state of Michigan on 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.560 my way to my cottage and I got gas here 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:18.359 and I stopped to get groceries there and they wouldn't 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:20.240 take my credit card. I guess I have a lead foot. 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:23.600 But wow, we learned something new about you. Sorry, you 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:26.040 have a lead foot and your your bank is schooled 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:28.320 at you. I think, Well, thank you so much for 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:31.520 being with us. I'm sure it took months and months 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:34.000 of planning, So thank you so much. Sam Slaughter, chairman 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:38.160 of the North American International Auto Show. Here on the 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:51.560 show floor. All right, we are broadcasting from the North 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:54.480 American International Auto Show and Our guest now is Alan Batty. 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.000 He is the executive vice president and president of North 0:18:57.040 --> 0:19:00.760 America for General Motors. Alan, thank you very much for 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:03.000 being with us. Before we get to the cars, I 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:04.919 want people, if you can, just to give them a 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.840 very small capsule shot of your career to highlight the 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:12.359 notion that this is a global business. And while we 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:14.040 spend a lot of time and we will spend a 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:16.880 lot of time talking about where products are made, your 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:20.840 career I think highlights how global the business is and 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:25.200 that's not going to change anytime soon, at least anytime soon. Yeah, 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:28.359 thank you for that. Nice too nice to be on. Um. Yeah, 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:32.119 I actually started in the industry thirty seven years ago. Um, 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:35.760 I've actually worked in eight countries around the world. Um, 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:40.720 countries like Korea, the Middle East, all over Europe, Australia. 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:43.760 So yeah, I have a very China perspective, and you 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:45.639 have spent a lot of time in China actually on 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:49.320 the board of our joint benches there. So sticking with 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:53.560 that kind of global theme, do you expect that going forward, 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:56.919 China is going to account for a bigger proportion of 0:19:57.080 --> 0:19:59.639 business that General Motors does internationally? I mean, do you 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:02.080 think that the international market will account for more and 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:05.920 more relative to US consumers. Well, you know, the automotive 0:20:05.920 --> 0:20:09.160 industry at General Motives is really about building where we sell. 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:11.920 So most of the vehicles that we sell in China 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:14.320 are made in China. Most of the vehicles we sell, 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:17.640 for example, in North America are made in North America. Obviously, 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.800 moving vehicles around the world, the logistics of that is 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:23.920 very expensive. So yeah, China is a very very big market, 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:26.359 biggest in the world today, coming off of a very 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:29.439 strong two thousand and sixty, we expect seventeen to be 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:32.000 strong and gain so and and sort of to to 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:36.320 speak to my colleague David Welch's point earlier in the program, 0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:38.680 he was saying that in China there's a very big 0:20:38.720 --> 0:20:42.040 emphasis on electric vehicles, much more so than here in 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:45.000 the US. Are you seeing that as far as you know, 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:47.760 Are you seeing that represented in the mix of cars 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:51.000 that you are selling in China? Yeah, David's correct. I 0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:53.160 would say that the future is going to be electric. 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:56.080 I would say we're just beginning on that journey. UM. 0:20:56.280 --> 0:21:01.440 And obviously in China, UM, the regulatory environment is stipulating 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:04.880 that we have to have a large proportion our vehicles 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:09.959 which are electric and providing electric forms of transportation. So 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:13.880 it is going to dramatically change, um the landscape over there. 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.320 We think we're well equipped UM to be able to 0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:19.639 adapt and to pivot into that environment. But yes, it's 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:22.119 going to look very different in the future. The Bolt, 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:25.120 the Chevy Bolt, and the Chevy Bolt e V. Tell 0:21:25.200 --> 0:21:27.840 us about both of those, and congratulations. I know the 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:31.040 Chevy Bolt was named North American Car of the Year. Yeah, 0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:33.800 so thank you for that. Yeah. The Bolt ev UM 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:36.359 is a vehicle now that we actually bought it here 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:38.879