Flying High and Falling Short: CES Hot Takes, VinFast and Megadeals, Cyber-flop The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

Shoot us a Text.
It’s the first Friday of the new year and today we’re talking about Hyundai's bold showcase at CES 2024, VinFast's strategic dealership expansion across the U.S., and the surprising range test results of Tesla's Cybertruck. 
CES 2024 is gearing up to start next week, but this year with a reduced field of major automakers.  Hyundai's Air Mobility Division, Supernal and Honda are trying to steal the show with their latest innovations, amidst some notable automotive absences and a shift in industry focus.Hyundai will be revealing its eVTOL concept when the show opens as well as its plans for a progressive port where these eVTOL vehicles will transport passengers to and from the convention centerHonda plans to launch a new global electric-vehicle series, highlighting key EV technologies. The company aims to unveil 30 new EVs, including battery and fuel-cell models, by 2030. They will also be co-revealing the latest iteration of their Affela EV, their collaborative effort with SonyGary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, notes, "The elephant in the room is the Big Three will not be exhibiting on the floor," highlighting the significant absence of major automakers at this year's event.Driverless tech has taken a back seat after being heavily featured during the last two years of the showIn a follow up to a story we’ve been following, Vietnamese EV maker Vinfast has quickly announced 4 locations in Smith Haven VinFast in St. James, N.Y.; Principle VinFast Grapevine near Dallas; Hiley VinFast of Fort Worth, Texas; and VinFast Wichita in Kansas.One of the more interesting developments is the announcement of the mega-deal acquisition of the Leith Group by the NJ based Holman group. Leith was announced just a week ago as the first member of the Vinfast Dealer network with the first store located nearby to their North Carolina FactoryThat deal includes the purchase of all 25 Leith stores and is set to close by the end of Q1In a revealing independent test over a five hour livestream, Tesla's much-anticipated Cybertruck demonstrates a highway range significantly lower than its EPA estimate, raising questions about its practicality in certain conditions and its overall efficiency.YouTube channel Out of Spec Motoring captured every minute of the test from charging to 100% until they full depleted the battery requiring towing to the nearest charger to discover the total range was a disappointing 254 miles of range despite an EPA estimate of 320 milesThis was a tri-motor version and the temp was 46 degrees. There were four passengers and no payloadFred Lambert of Electrek expresses concerns over the vehicle's performance in colder temperatures and when towing loads, highlighting potential limitations.Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/
JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/
Read our most recent email at: https://www.asotu.com/media/push-back-email