BMW Recalls 1.5 Million Cars After Two-Year Probe Into Braking Issues

Good morning! It’s Monday, September 16, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.

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1st Gear: BMW, Rolls-Royce Recall 1.5 Million Cars

Another week, another recall and this time it’s not one being issued by Ford or Tesla, who both lead the charge in recalls this year. Instead, it’s a recall from BMW after the German automaker was forced to issue a fix for more than 1.2 million cars following a two-year investigation into braking issues uncovered in its cars.

BMW has reportedly spent more than two years investigating a braking issue that affected its cars as well as some models for subsidiaries like Roll-Royce and Mini, reports Bloomberg. Following an extensive probe into the issue, BMW has now issued a recall of impacted models that could cost the automaker as much as $1 billion:

BMW launched an in-depth review into the braking system in October 2023, the recall document shows, which found interference affecting the electric signals sent through the brake system. The first recall of about 80,000 vehicles followed in the US in February this year.

That has since snowballed to encompass 1.5 million cars across multiple brands made by BMW — including $420,000 Rolls-Royce Spectres, flagship 7-Series sedans and high-powered XM sport utility vehicles.

“This isn’t just an ordinary recall, this is a significant shock,” said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director at the Center for Automotive Research in Bochum. “What’s also noteworthy is that BMW has been stepping up quality control among suppliers with a taskforce, indicating they see risks more broadly.”

The problems first rose for BMW back in 2022 when owners started complaining about faulty brakes on certain cars sold by the German brand. The issues stem from a brake-by-wire system used in cars like the BMW 5 Series, 7 Series, X2 and XM.

The component was also used in Mini Coopers and the all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre. As a result of the issue, Bloomberg reports that Rolls-Royce recalled almost 700 Spectres sold across America and even resulted in a stop-sale order being issued for the luxury EV earlier this year.

Thankfully, BMW has now uncovered a fix for the defect following its investigation, which will see dealers across America replace the integrated brake system, free of charge.

If you are worried that your car might be affected by a recall, there are a few easy ways to check if it’s the case. First up, the NHTSA has a super handy app that you can use to see if your vehicle is impacted by a recall, or you can head to the regulator’s website and plug your VIN into its recall search tool.

2nd Gear: We’re Now Driving More Than Ever

While Rolls-Royce Spectre owners the world over might have cut down on chauffeur-driven rides while they wait for their cars to be fixed, the rest of us have been getting the miles in. So much so that we’re now officially driving more than ever here in the U.S. and spending more time stuck in traffic than we did before the Covid-19 pandemic.

After the number of miles traveled in America took a hit when we were all forced to stay home while Covid-19 swept the country, Americans have gotten back out on the highway in record numbers, according to a report from Bloomberg. According to the site, vehicle miles traveled surpassed pre-pandemic levels in almost every metro area in the latest available data. As the site reports:

The total miles traveled by all vehicles, or VMT, jumped 12% between May 2019 and May 2024, reaching record levels.

The report also suggests that VMT is rising faster now than it was when driving levels first rebounded from the pandemic in 2021 — a worrying trend for advocates working to reform transportation, the largest contributor to US carbon emissions.

Vehicle miles traveled increased in almost every major metro area — as well as in most of the biggest city center neighborhoods. New York City’s urban core saw a notable increase of 14.7% daily VMT per capita and a 1.8% jump in traffic congestion. Those are the largest jumps among the urban cores of the top 25 metros the researchers analyzed. In June, Governor Kathy Hochul indefinitely halted the city’s congestion pricing plan that would have charged drivers entering lower Manhattan, reducing congestion while also raising revenue for the city’s aging transit system.

Over the period of study, just 10 metro areas kept vehicle miles traveled below pre-pandemic levels, these included places like Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, both of which saw car use drop by double-digits between May 2019 and May 2024.

The drops have been attributed to everything from slower recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and better city planning that is helping people leave their cars at home more often.

3rd Gear: U.S. Confirms Harsh Chinese EV Tariffs

Lawmakers across America last week took their first steps to reduce support for electric vehicles made using tech imported from China, and now they have cemented efforts to try and stop Chinese EV tech from making it into the U.S. in the first place.

After first announcing plans to impose a 100 percent import tariff on Chinese-made EVs earlier this year, lawmakers in America have now confirmed the other steps that will be taken to try and halt China’s takeover of the electric vehicle space, reports Reuters:

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said that many of the tariffs, including a 100% duty on Chinese EVs, 50% on solar cells and 25% on steel, aluminum, EV batteries and key minerals, would take effect on Sept. 27.

The USTR determination, opens new tab, published on Friday and first reported by Reuters, showed that a 50% duty on Chinese semiconductors, now including two new categories – silicon wafers and polysilicon used in solar panels – is due to start in 2025.

The action, which marks the end of a more than two-year review of tariffs that had been imposed by former president Donald Trump, mostly left unchanged the top-line duty increases announced in May by President Joe Biden. These include a new 25% tariff on lithium-ion batteries, minerals and components, with those for EVs taking effect on Sept. 27, and those for all other devices on Jan. 1, 2026.

The tariffs will come into force from September 27, 2024 despite pleas from American automakers to cut tariffs on essential materials for EV production such as graphite and lithium. It remains to be seen how these tariffs will hit companies like Polestar, which is owned by Chinese automaker Geely and assembles some of its cars at a plant in China. However, the brand’s new Polestar 3 electric SUV will be its first model assembled here in America to try and skirt some of these measures.

4th Gear: UAW Prepares For Bargaining Battle With VW

The United Auto Workers union has had quite the 12 months, after winning historic contracts for workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, then pledging to add workers at more automakers to its ranks and getting behind the Harris campaign in the 2024 election. Now, the union is bracing for what could be its biggest fight this year as it goes up against Volkswagen in contract negotiations.

Talks between the union and Volkswagen will begin later this week to set out plans for a new contract for workers at its Chattanooga plant, reports Automotive News. the union plans to use the framework for its 2023 contracts that were negotiated with America’s big three as a starting point for the talks:

The union’s top brass held what it called a bargaining kickoff rally on Sept. 15 in Chattanooga. UAW President Shawn Fain addressed the crowd and livestream, as did Chuck Browning, vice president of the UAW-Ford department, and Tim Smith, director of UAW Region 8.

UAW leaders, as well as members of the 20-person elected bargaining committee, wore red polos with the letters GOS on one sleeve, which members said stood for ‘Get our s—-.’

Browning, a veteran negotiator who led the UAW’s labor talks with John Deere in 2021 and Caterpillar and Case New Holland in 2023, will also lead negotiations with VW, along with the bargaining committee. Fain said selecting Browning to lead the talks was an easy decision.

Workers at the VW plant voted to join the union back in April 2024, meaning that this will become the shop’s first contract under the UAW. The contract will apply to more than 4,000 employees at the site, which currently produces models like the all-electric ID 4 SUV.

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