Major automakers like GM, Ford, and Stellantis are cutting thousands of jobs despite strong sales, hinting at concerns over an economic downturn and the shift to EVs. Japanese carmakers face steep sales declines in China due to slow EV adoption and digital innovation. Mercedes leverages its Formula One team to accelerate EV development, while BMW employs AI and robotics to enhance car painting quality. Ford launches a Bronco Trail app for off-road enthusiasts, and GMC introduces new off-road packages for its heavy-duty trucks. The episode also covers challenges for startups like Lordstown Motors and innovations in automotive safety tech.
Topics:job cutselectric vehicleseconomic outlookjapanese automakers in chinaformula one technologyai in manufacturingoff road appsautomotive safety technologystartup challengesoff road trucks
- Detroit 3 Preparing for a Downturn? - Japanese OEMs Getting Clobbered in China - Lordstown on the Brink - BMW Automates Painting and Inspection - Corvette Club Bans Hybrids, Then Backtracks - Mercedes Turns to F1 Team for Help - Gentex and Adasky Team Up - Want a Great Off-Road Adventure? There's an App for That - GMC Intros HD Off-Road Trucks
"or nearly five years to develop a new car. Now it's down to forty months, and derivative models will be in the low thirty month range. Ford and Audie will get into Formula one in twenty twenty six, and General Motors is trying to get in as well, and that's because F one gives them access to the best engineers in the world who are experienced in designing software defined cars developed with digital twins that run on centralized computing systems. As the old"
"...two and ZR two Lison, GMC calls its trims for the Sierra HD AT four Acts and Extreme AEV Edition. They come w..."
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
What do the car companies know that they're not telling us? GM,
Ford, and Stillantis are all slashing costs by two billion dollars, mainly by cutting employees. Last year, Ford cut three thousand jobs globally. This year,
Stillantis is going to cut thirty five hundred blue collar jobs, and General Motors offered buyouts to five thousand white collar workers and just got rid of hundreds of contract employees. The question is, why does this all have to do
with evs. Car sales and profits are going well, so it's not a
reaction to an economic downturn, but maybe that's what they see coming. After
all, Inflation is stubbornly high, gas prices are going back up, the Fed keeps raising interest rates, and an uncomfortable number of banks are going bankrupt.
Maybe we're trying to read too much into this, but it sure looks to us that the Detroit three see something on the horizon that they don't like.
Most foreign automakers have seen sales fall sharply off in China, but that's especially true for the Japanese automakers. Their sales fell thirty two percent in the
first quarter, which Reuters calls a crisis. Toyota was down fourteen percent,
but some are doing much worse. Mitsubishi sales in China were down fifty eight
percent, Mazda was down sixty six percent, Nissan forty six percent, and Honda was down thirty eight percent. Analysts say the main reason is that Japanese
automakers have been slow to introduce electric cars in a market that is EV crazy and where ice sales are falling fast. And it's not just evs, it's
also digital content and features. Honda CEO Toshahiro Mebe told reporters that Chinese automakers
are ahead of it in software evie. Startup Lordstown Motors warned that it may
have to file for bankruptcy. Its biggest investor, Foxcon, claims that Lordstown
breached a one hundred and seventy million dollar investment deal that would allow Foxcon to buy twenty percent of Lordstown. Foxcon invested over fifty million dollars in the deal,
but it refuses to spend any more because Lordstown's stock price felt under a dollar. Because of that, it was delisted from the Nasdak Stock Exchange.
Lordstown says it has until the middle of October to get relisted, but if that doesn't happen, it will probably be forced to file for bankruptcy. BMW
is using cameras, artificial intelligence and robots to perfectly paint its cars. AI
controlled rob sand polish, change attachments, and switch out sandpaper all on their own. Then cameras track all the progress. BMW calls it automated surface inspection,
where black and white stripe patterns are projected onto the vehicle's surface so cameras can scan it and detect any variation. If something is found, data showing
the exact shape, size, and location of any area is recorded and then used as a feedback mechanism. But BMW says the robots can't handle everything though,
because they can't process the edges of the body or doors, so those areas still need a human touch. Even so, BMW says it saves time
and boost quality. We want to know what drives you're testing. OTA Connected
Car Diagnostics remote testing Intrepid Control Systems is here to help you work from anywhere.
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Electrifying mobility, manufacturing smarter, reducing CO two emissions, making energy production clean Scheffler Pioneer's motion to advance how the world moves. Is the National Council of
CORVAC Clubs pushing back against evis or is it just trying to be safe.
I'll let you be the judge. Last November, the NCCC banned evs and
hybrids that use lithium batteries at its competition events. It mandated that anyone who
drove one to an NCCC event had to park it at least thirty feet from any structure or any other vehicles. But then Chevrolet unveiled the Corvette E Ray,
a hybrid with a lithium battery, and so the NCCC retreated. It
said the ban was all just a big misunderstanding and that it only applied to fully electric vehicles, not hybrids like the E Ray. But we think it's
going to have to backtrack again. After all, it's no secret that a
fully electric Corvette is under development. And besides, the National Fire Protection Association
says that two hundred and eighty four thousand gasoline powered cars catch fire every year, mostly from fluid leaks and freight wiring legacy. Automakers have to pick up
the pace when it comes to bringing new products to the market, and Mercedes is turning to its Formula one team for help. That's how it developed the
super efficient eqxx electric car concept that delivers six miles of range per kilowatt hour with a battery pack that's half the size of the one in the EQS and they develop that car in only eighteen months. Mercedes typically took fifty eight months
or nearly five years to develop a new car. Now it's down to forty
months, and derivative models will be in the low thirty month range. Ford
and Audie will get into Formula one in twenty twenty six, and General Motors is trying to get in as well, and that's because F one gives them access to the best engineers in the world who are experienced in designing software defined cars developed with digital twins that run on centralized computing systems. As the old
saying goes, racing improves the breed. The supplier gent Techs, which makes
rear view mirrors, dimmable glass and lighting technology, is investing in and forming a collaboration with is rarely start up at a sky Adasky developed low cost thermal cameras that can make ads technology and autonomous vehicles safer at night and in bad weather. Gent techs, which didn't reveal how much the investment is worth,
will help Adasky bring its technology to the market. Will also provide a link
to an interview we did with at a Sky at CS. For a long
time, I've wanted to go on an off road adventure, but to be honest with you, I get intimidated by all the little details like where would I go, will my vehicle actually make it? And will the area have
the kind of trails and scenes I'm looking for. Well Ford is taking some
of the hassle out of planning that off road journey of a lifetime. It's
launching the Broncho Trail app that features over twelve hundred trail maps that are made by professionals. Users can see points of interest, like a tricky off road
spot or a scenic outlook. They get satellite imagery and topographical maps. The
app will even tell users where to adjust their tire pressure so they have the best chance of tackling the obstacle ahead. It covers more than eighteen thousand miles
in the US, Canada and Mexico. But the only problem is that right
now it's only available to Broncho owners. I wish that Ford would open it
up to everyone. But speaking of off roading, GMC is offering the same
off roading packages that Chevy recently made available for the heavy duty version of the Silverado, but instead of ZR two and ZR two Lison, GMC calls its trims for the Sierra HD AT four Acts and Extreme AEV Edition. They come
with a lift kit, spool valve dampers, skid plates, locking rear diff and all terrain tires and more. And also, like the Silverado, the
GMC off road trucks feature either a six point six Leader gas engine or a six point six Leader diesel, which are mated to a ten speed transmission.
GMC says dealer arrivals should start later this fall, but that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for making Autoline part of your day.
Autoline Daily is brought to you by Bridgetone Solutions for your Journey, Intrepid Control Systems over the Year Engineering Boost Your Game, and by Scheffler we Pioneer Motion
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