Driving with Dunne

By now you may have heard the term software defined vehicle. But what does it mean? Tesla was the first to make one. Chinese automakers like NIO and Xpeng followed quickly. Most Western OEMs today are still figuring out how to make them. But what exactly is a software-defined vehicle? How do they work?  Today I am joined on the Driving With Dunne podcast by John Wall, the SVP and Head of QNX Engineering, Product and Operations at Blackberry QNX. This Ottawa, Canada based company makes some of the most important real-time operating systems and software that power your car, including your digital cockpit and your advanced driver assistance systems. Think of QNX as the master plumber of software systems found in more than 230 million cars on the road today worldwide.

Dr. Ilaria Mazzocco and her colleagues at CSIS found that Chinese subsidies to companies in strategic industries are more than twice as high as in other countries. The numbers are not insignificant. This week, we learned that BYD secured some $3.4 billion in subsidies in 2023 alone.  As a group Chinese automakers have benefited from tens of billions of dollars in supply side and consumer subsidies since 2010. Complicating the picture, however, is the reality that China is also home to some fast-moving, highly innovative firms led by people who work harder and sometimes smarter than their peers in the West. Today, Ilaria and I dive deeper into the question of Chinese state capitalism, subsidies and how the West can respond to the rising tide - call it a tsunami - of low-cost, good quality Chinese automotive exports.  

The world is in the midst of a monumental transition from fossil fuels to critical minerals. Those critical minerals, like lithium, cobalt and nickel, are the key ingredients in the batteries that power electric cars, cell phones, electric lawn mowers and more. Today, the minerals are extracted from the ground at mining sites around the world. Massive lithium deposits, for example, are located in Australia, Chile and Argentina. China has minerals, too. China also controls most of the world's mineral processing. As America and Europe step into the critical minerals era, there is a desire for greater access to and control over critical minerals. Now, teams of expert geologists are uncovering new deposits in North America. But after finding the minerals, the mining companies and their investors are confronting unexpected hurdles to clear before they can start mining. Indigenous groups and environmentalists are saying: "Not so fast" to new mines. This week on the Driving With Dunne, Ernest Scheyder, author of The War Below, gives us an inside look at the heating and complex battles over the rights to mine critical minerals. 

By now everyone understands US-China relations are at their worst in 50 years. There is mutual distrust. And mutual animosity. China complains bitterly that America is trying to keep it down. America, meanwhile, is wary of China's new-found aggressiveness. Are the world's two most powerful countries heading for a showdown? If so, how should companies in the West prepare. Stay the course in China? Pare back operations?  Or beat it for the exits?  This week our special guest on the Driving With Dunne podcast is Jim McGregor. Jim first went to China in the 1980s. Today he is the Chairman Greater China, APCO Worldwide, a company that solves problems for firms operating in the Chinese arena.  Jim knows China. And he knows business. Jim is also the author of the best-selling book, One Billion Customers. Let's listen to his take on where the US-China relationship is headed

What is an autonomous vehicle? And how will we know one when we see one? Today, the picture is pretty confusing. We have all sorts of names out there: autonomous, self-driving, fully self driving, drive pilot, autopilot, blue cruise, super cruise, Sensing 360, Apollo and NGP navigated guided pilot. Further complicating the picture: In recent months, two of the leaders in the autonomous vehicle industry - Cruise and Waymo - have each suffered setbacks to their reputations in their hyper-intensive missions to create cars that drive themselves. Can they recover? Joining is today to sift through the complexity and bring clarity is Alex Roy, one of the very best original thinkers in the business. Let's listen to Alex separate fact from fiction when it comes to autonomous vehicles.

It is time to take an honest look at battery technologies. The fact is that batteries that power electric cars today have many limitations. There are limits to the range they can deliver. There are limits to how quickly you can charge them. And there are limits to how many times they can be charged before they start losing their full capacity. And then there are limits to their safety. Lithium-ion battery fires are rare. But once a lithium battery catches fire, it is not easy to put out. These limitations are problems that fire the imagination of entrepreneurs. Hey, let's find a solution, they say, let's improve people's lives and maybe get outrageously wealthy along the way. One of those breakthrough battery solutions on the horizon is known as silicon batteries. When you reduce graphite and add more silicon to the anode, magical things can happen. Our guest today, Rick Luebbe, CEO at Group 14 Technologies. Rick makes a case for why silicon batteries are no longer a technology of the future - they are here and now in 2024.

In this episode, we use our imagination, well, to imagine a totally different kind of future. One in which we get to where we want to go in town not in several thousand pound SUVs but in sensible light weight vehicles that save on fuel and are good for the environment. Our guest is Hakan Lutz, founder and CEO of Luvly, developer of the Luvly O, a two-seater vehicle that can travel up to 60 miles on a single charge. The Luvly O (that's LUV) is short for light urban vehicle. It's electric, lightweight and recyclable. And it can be packed for delivery by Amazon in a flat box. How much does the Luvly O cost. How fast can it go? How safe is it? And in which countries is it most likely to gain early traction? You will learn all of that and more on this week's episode of the Driving With Dunne podcast.

Vincent Pluvinage, Karl-Thomas Neumann, and James Frith, executives with deep expertise in batteries, discuss the challenges of matching China on affordable EVs. They explore the factors limiting EV demand in Western countries, the difference between batteries and energy storage, the obstacles faced by the auto industry in embracing electrification, the future of EV battery technology, and the challenges faced by North American graphite companies in the electric vehicle industry.

Ken Wilcox, former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, shares his hard-earned wisdom on navigating joint ventures in China. He recounts the stark contrast between theoretical expectations and harsh realities faced by Western executives. The conversation dives into cultural nuances, the importance of empathy, and the need for flexibility in negotiations. Wilcox discusses the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on businesses and the complexity of maintaining goals amid bureaucratic challenges. His insights are a prelude to his upcoming book, 'One Bed, Two Dreams'.

What is the truth about China' economy today? Read the headlines or social media and we could be forgiven for thinking that the People's Republic is falling apart. The 42 trillion property market seems to be in a death spiral. Youth unemployment is at record highs. Government debt keeps rocketing higher. And just this week, reports that foreign companies took $160 billion out of the country in the past 6 quarters. All of this makes for a riveting picture of a fragile China, a cracking and crumbling China. But is it accurate? Enter Leland Miller, CEO, The China Beige Book. Tracking China's economy since the 1990s, Leland knows China. And he knows that to really understand what is going on, you must compare and discount several streams of information at the same time. His take on where China stands to today and her economy will surprise many. China is never as good as it seems from afar. Nor is it as bad. I know you will enjoy this conversation with Leland Miller, CEO, China Beige Book.