Good morning! It’s Wednesday, October 23, 2024, and that is The Morning Shift, your day by day roundup of the highest automotive headlines from all over the world, in a single place. Listed below are the vital tales it is advisable know.
1st Gear: Scores Of Folks Injured At Rivian Manufacturing unit
Employees at Rivian are coping with some actually nasty security considerations at its Regular, Illinois manufacturing unit. They’ve suffered accidents from cracked skulls and foot fractures to again lacerations that require surgical procedure and amputated fingers. One individual even mentioned she complained to docs final 12 months about vomiting bile with a “Rivian blue” hue after portray R1s with no respirator.
Even supposing Rivian has only one manufacturing unit, it has racked up extra “critical” U.S. security violations than another automaker because the begin of 2023. That’s… not nice. Employees on the plant say there are many incidents that don’t make it onto authorities stories, too. From Bloomberg:
The electrical-vehicle maker obtained preliminary citations for 16 critical violations up to now 21 months from the US Occupational Security and Well being Administration. Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Volvo AB, Nissan Motor Co., Common Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. every obtained not more than 10. Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Subaru Corp. noticed none.
Fellow EV maker Tesla Inc. and Chrysler maker Stellantis NV, each with a lot bigger workforces than Rivian, additionally obtained fewer preliminary critical citations. However not like Rivian, Tesla additionally received three “repeat” violations, which carry heavier penalties, and Stellantis obtained two.
Rivian says that its file compares favorably with different producers. “The well being and security of everybody at Rivian is our high precedence, and we’re happy with our robust security file — which continues to enhance 12 months over 12 months,” the corporate mentioned in a press release.
However authorities findings and interviews with present and previous workers at Rivian paint an image of a money-losing firm that struggled to place in place the procedures, gear and coaching required to maintain workers protected. The alleged security shortfalls come as the corporate ramps up manufacturing of supply vans for Amazon.com Inc. and $100,000 luxurious SUVs common with celebrities together with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and appears to entry a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} of state subsidies. Additionally they spotlight potential challenges for the US authorities’s aim of accelerating EV output to create good jobs in economically underdeveloped areas and assist sluggish local weather change.
The amount of complaints, citations and critical accidents on the Rivian plant “are all crimson flags,” mentioned Deborah Berkowitz, who reviewed the information at Bloomberg’s request. She served as OSHA chief of employees beneath President Barack Obama and is now a fellow on the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown College.
Rivian says it’s dedicated to employee security, saying it has committees that commonly assessment manufacturing unit processes and suggest modifications. It additionally says workers can deliver considerations to supervisors or report them anonymously. The automaker says its self-reported price of work-related accidents and sicknesses this 12 months has really been higher than the trade common for mild obligation producers in 2022 (the final full-year of knowledge accessible.)
To be truthful to Rivian, OSHA itself mentioned that because it started inspections in 2021, the automaker has “has improved their security and well being workforce and are very cooperative with the OSHA course of.”
Rivian says that as a part of settlements with the company, nearly the entire violations OSHA initially labeled as critical had been finally downgraded from that class or dismissed. “Preliminary citations shouldn’t be confused as remaining citations, and to counsel in any other case is extremely deceptive,” a Rivian spokesperson mentioned.
Former OSHA leaders, nonetheless, say preliminary citations — that are issued after the company has investigated a job web site and regarded the corporate’s perspective — reveal extra about office hazards. OSHA agrees to downgrade citations as a result of its precedence is for firms to deal with hazards, whereas litigating a dispute for years might depart them unresolved, in keeping with former OSHA head David Michaels.
“OSHA’s goal is to get the hazard abated,” mentioned Michaels, who ran the company from 2009 to 2017 and is now a George Washington College public well being professor. “And so OSHA is commonly prepared to cut back each the penalties and the variety of citations with a view to get that settlement.”
Settlements typically require the employer to make broader security enhancements along with the abatement required by the quotation, in keeping with OSHA.
Worker interviews have shined a light-weight on the hazards they face in Regular, the place Rivian has rapidly develop into one of many metropolis’s largest employers.
I actually don’t know what the deal is with these upstart automakers having such harmful working situations, however they’ve received to take higher care of their folks. The outdated Silicon Valley adage of “transfer quick and break stuff” doesn’t work when its the employees’ our bodies which are breaking.
2nd Gear: Trump Is Simply Saying Shit About Vehicles Once more
Donald Trump loves getting on stage and yapping. It’s what he’s finest at. Now, he’s yapping about making rates of interest on automotive loans for autos made within the U.S. tax deductible. Trump made the announcement in Michigan, a vital swing state. From Automotive Information:
“I are not looking for it to profit different nations. I need it to profit us,” Trump mentioned Oct. 22 at a rally in Greensboro, N.C. “Deductibility of curiosity is nice, however provided that the automotive is manufactured in the US.”
Trump has elevated his concentrate on U.S. automakers in latest weeks as he has sought to assuage voter considerations about home manufacturing jobs, repeatedly pledging to revive industries which have closed factories as provide chains have shifted abroad.
Trump mentioned his plan to permit automotive patrons to write-off the mortgage curiosity on their federal taxes could be a boon to U.S. automotive gross sales.
“Why the hell would we give them taxes in the event that they manufacture the automotive in China, Japan or numerous different locations that stole our enterprise through the years?” Trump mentioned. “I believe that’s going to be nice for Detroit,” he added referring to the U.S. auto manufacturing hub, situated in battleground Michigan.
Since that is Trump we’re speaking about, the plan lacks any particulars. He hasn’t mentioned something about tax breaks on automobiles made by overseas automakers right here within the U.S.
Along with tax breaks for automotive patrons, Trump has pledged to impose steep tariffs on automobiles and different merchandise made in Mexico, China and different nations. Economists have warned that would trigger family costs to spike and function a drag on financial progress.
Trump’s concentrate on manufacturing jobs comes as he and his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris are in a decent race within the seven battleground states, with the previous president forward by 1.1 share factors within the RealClearPolitics common of polls.
Trump reportedly spoke of the “glory days” of the American automotive trade. He mentioned his slum lord father, Fred, thought-about the “definition of luxurious” was to purchase a brand new Cadillac each two years.
I’m so drained, people. We’re nonetheless two weeks away from this godforsaken election.
third Gear: There Are 200,000 Locations To Cost Your EV
There at the moment are 200,000 public charging ports accessible throughout the US, a quantity that has just about doubled because the starting of the Biden-Harris Administration. It means there at the moment are EV chargers in all 50 states, and it places the nationwide charging community forward of schedule to satisfy the Adminstation’s aim of half one million chargers by 2030. From the Joint Workplace of Power and Transportation:
Marking probably the most important transformation to our transportation system in a century, the deployment of extra chargers is going on due to each public funding and personal sector funding. New charging stations funded by the Nationwide Electrical Automobile Infrastructure (NEVI) formulation program, Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) program, and Electrical Automobile Charger Reliability and Accessibility (EVC-RAA) program have all come on-line throughout the previous month or so, bolstering personal funding that’s bringing multimodal charging options to communities and creating quick charging hubs alongside key journey corridors. As of September 30, 2024, drivers can journey 57.8% of probably the most closely trafficked corridors nationwide with the peace of mind of discovering a quick charger no less than each 50 miles. By the tip of subsequent 12 months, we anticipate protection on 70% of these corridors.
The Joint Workplace has been working with states, native communities, and trade to construct a nationwide EV charging community that offers folks entry to the comfort, efficiency, and price financial savings of electrical autos. Presently, plug-in EVs make up practically 10% of the U.S. light-duty car market, with much more car choices turning into accessible to satisfy rising demand.
To make sure the nationwide public charging community’s reliability, the Joint Workplace has superior key requirements, together with the J3400 connector commonplace, which was lately established as a really useful observe. This commonplace will make a higher portion of the prevailing public charging infrastructure accessible to a wider vary of autos.
Our efforts transcend putting in new chargers. We’re upgrading damaged chargers and bringing the nationwide charging community—together with the great paying jobs it entails—to each group, rural, suburban, or city.
I’ve received a small-ish EV highway journey on the docket this weekend, so we’ll see simply how good this infrastructure actually is. Please pray that I don’t get caught on the aspect of the highway in a Rivian.
4th Gear: 700,000 Hondas Recalled For Unhealthy Gasoline Pump
Honda is recalling 720,810 autos within the U.S. due to a problem with a gasoline pump. Mainly, this high-pressure pump can leak, which might enhance the danger of a hearth, crash or some kind of bodily damage ought to it ignite. Not good. From Automotive Information:
The recall impacts the 2023-24 Honda Accord and Accord Hybrid, 2023-25 CR-V Hybrid, and 2025 Civic and Civic Hybrid.
The gasoline pump, made by Hitachi Astemo in Japan, was improperly produced, resulting in cracking that may trigger the leaks. The issue is especially prevalent in lower-mileage autos, in keeping with NHTSA paperwork. A telltale signal of the defect is a gasoline odor wafting from the car whereas driving or idling.
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The solenoid, or magnetic coil, part at fault within the gasoline pump can be changed with a brand new half with improved dimensions and baking situations.
American Honda mentioned in a press release that it was encouraging homeowners of affected autos “to take them to a licensed vendor for restore as quickly as they obtain notification.”
Honda says it has obtained 145 guarantee claims courting again to February of 2023. Fortunately, there have been no accidents or deaths associated to the difficulty.
