Tesla Rules 5 Key Takeaways From Los Angeles Auto Show Week

Elon Musk yet again proved his marketing mastery with the introduction of Tesla’s groundbreaking pickup truck as the week of AutoMobilityLA and the Los Angeles Auto Show media days came to a close. Over the course of the past two days Tesla has dominated the news cycle, gaining a news and social media flurry in a week that Ford Motor Company introduced electric-powered crossover SUV named for one of its most iconic brands.

Tesla’s marketing/publicity coup with its truck was far from the only key takeaway for both consumers and the auto industry in what might be regarded as a pivotal week for the industry. To those who were looking for context and themes, the stories and their implications are rich, and each will have strong consequences regarding the vehicles we drive and the vehicles the industry will build in the future.

In order of importance, here are the five key takeaways from Los Angeles Auto Show Week: 

1. Tesla Motors is Unstoppable

Tesla Motors has its critics and naysayers, but no one can deny its ability to get and stay in the public consciousness. All that and more was demonstrated by the introduction of the Tesla Cybertruck, carefully timed to come at the culmination of a week in which all things auto had been creeping into the general news. 

Into a sea of lookalike trucks, Tesla Motors tossed a shape that immediately set it apart from all others — by several levels of magnitude. That “typical pickup truck buyers” might not like the looks of the Cybertruck, a common criticism in the wake of the launch, is totally irrelevant to the bold statement the truck makes about its maker, its designers and the company founder. 

Then came the infamous on-stage window-breaking of the prototype. Whether contrived, spontaneous or perhaps a combination of both, the sight of hard objects breaking windows, especially the windows of a very expensive show car, proved so compelling the public just can’t get enough of it. Going far beyond dominating the auto industry and enthusiast press and social media, the video is everywhere in the general and social media, earning Tesla Motors millions in what the public relations industry calls “earned media.”  

2. Hybrids Regain Relevance

Before the week began Toyota announced a bold series of initiatives designed to scale back the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that revolves, importantly, around hybrid-electric vehicles. During Los Angeles Auto Show Week that effort found genuine expression in the introduction of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime, the plug-in hybrid version of America’s most popular non-pickup truck vehicle.

With the Tesla Model 3, Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan LEAF gaining traction in the marketplace over the past few years, it appeared hybrids were losing their luster with environmentally oriented buyers. But the new hybrids introduced at the Los Angeles show are not the one-note, high-fuel-efficiency hybrids of the past. Indeed, the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S and Mercedes-AMG GLS 63, both hybrids introduced in Los Angeles, are the highest performance versions of their platforms. The 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine in the GLE 63 S is paired with an integrated EQ Boost starter-generator integrated between the engine and the transmission. It provides an additional 21 horsepower of output plus 184 lb-ft of torque that can be called upon temporarily, enabling more responsive acceleration. 

For its part the plug-in hybrid version of the popular Toyota RAV4 will be the second quickest-to-60-mph vehicle in the Toyota fleet with only the Toyota Supra sports car beating its 5.8-second zero-to-60 time. The RAV4 Prime is expected to be rated at 90 MPGe with a 39-mile electric-only range.

The Hyundai Vision T Concept, which presages the next small crossover from the Korean brand, was unveiled as having a plug-in hybrid powertrain, and Hyundai’s Ioniq, refreshed for the 2020 model year, is offered in a plug-in hybrid, conventional hybrid and battery-electric configurations. 

3. EVs Gain Traction

In addition to the already mention Tesla Cybertruck that ended up stealing the week, other electric vehicle introductions were inarguably the most exciting and interesting launches of the week. Of course, the week began with the well-heralded and high-impact launch of the Mustang Mach-E battery-electric crossover utility, and it, like the Tesla Cybertruck, immediately created giant buzz.

While the Mustang Mach-E is an environmental story, it is performance that is expected to set it apart. Even in its extended range all-wheel-drive configuration the Mach-E will offer 332 horsepower and 417 lb-ft of torque and Ford claims it will be quicker to 60 mph than the current base Porsche Macan small utility. The GT Performance Edition of the Mach-E will offer 459 horsepower and 612 lb-ft of torque, enabling a supercar-like mid-3-second zero-to-60-mph sprint.

Audi showed off the newest in its e-tron electric vehicle line, the Audi e-tron Sportback, which will arrive in showrooms in the spring. The stylish all-wheel-drive crossover coupe will feature a 277-mile range and a sprightly 0-60 time of about 5.5 seconds. 

The highest-tech of the EVs shown at the Los Angles Show media days was not a battery electric but instead the fuel-cell-electric Toyota Mirai. In its second-generation form, the rear-drive near-luxury vehicle offers more mainstream styling that is expected to increase its popularity severalfold.

4. Autonomy Takes a Hit

While the general buzz around hybrids and EVs was strong during LA show week, it was a dismal few days for those vendor companies heavily engaged in the development of software and hardware to enable autonomous driving. A year ago, the talk at AutoMobility LA was strongly positive about the relatively early implementation of full, so-called Level 5 autonomy in passenger vehicles that could be purchased by the public. 

This year the bloom was definitely off that rose with AutoMobility LA speakers like Klaus Zellmer, president and CEO, Porsche Cars North America, pointing out the various technical, regulatory and consumer-perception issues that confront the institution of the technology in any near-term timeframe.

Rather than turning autonomous cars loose across the country, he suggested we might see a few autonomous vehicles on very specific “geo-fenced” areas as the first implementation of full-autonomous tech. And he assured his audience that even should Porsches eventually be equipped for autonomous use they will always have a steering wheel.

By the endow the week, complete level-5 autonomy, which was regarded as inevitable and relatively close by last year, was being called by some “a unicorn.”

5. The Chinese Are Coming

Yes, we have certainly heard before that Chinese automakers will soon begin selling vehicles in the American market, but this time the news is different. The reason? Zotye USA, a distribution led by former top Volvo and Mazda sales executive Duke Hale, understands the idiosyncratic U.S. market and is expected to translate that knowledge into retail sales as early as 2021.

 Zotye USA is the American distributor for Chinese manufacturer Zotye Automobile, and the first U.S. Zotye model will be a compact crossover utility based on the Chinese-market Zotye T600. 

To demonstrate the reality of its brand introduction and vehicle launch plans, Zotye USA has already chosen dealers in 100 markets, including Houston, Atlanta and Las Vegas. When mature the Zotye U.S. dealer network is expected to include more than 300 dealerships. 

Beyond additional Chinese-built Zotye vehicles, the distributor might import and market other China-built vehicles as Chinese manufacturers, currently facing sales slowdowns in their local markets, seek to sell their wares in the United States.