Ferrari and Porsche report strong first-quarter earnings with impressive profit margins and growing sales, highlighting the booming sports car market. Ford targets three-row electric SUVs to capture new customers, while Tesla faces a sales decline in China despite price adjustments. BMW warns nearly 90,000 owners not to drive older models due to defective airbags. VW and Shell introduce innovative, flexible fast-charging stations in Germany. The London Electric Vehicle Company unveils a versatile new EV platform for commercial vehicles. Buick launches a new Lacrosse sedan for China, and Bridgestone debuts a sustainable semi-slick race tire optimized for road and track use.
Topics:ferrari earningsporsche growthford electric suvtesla china salesbmw airbag recallvw shell ev chargerslondon electric vehicle platformbuick lacrosse chinabridgestone race tireelectric vehicle infrastructure
- Ferrari Hits 20% Net Profit Margin - Porsche Boosts Q1 Earnings - Ford Hints At 3-Row EV Crossover - Tesla’s Sales Slide in China - VW and Shell Install Flexible, Fast Charging Station - BMW Tells 90,000 Owners Not to Drive Their Cars - LEVC Unveils New Open Source EV Architecture - Buick Introduces New Lacrosse in China - Bridgestone Reveals New Semi-Slick Race Tire
"... to Canada. Meanwhile, it did raise prices of the Model S and X in China by another twenty seven hundred do..."
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This was Auto Line Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts up the global automotive industry. Sports car companies have never had it better. Ferrari just put in
a really good quarter. It sold three thousand, five hundred and sixty seven
cars, up nine point seven percent compared to the first quarter of last year.
Revenue came in at one point four billion euros, up twenty one percent.
Its EBIT earnings hit three hundred and eighty five million euros, up twenty five percent, and its net profit came to two hundred and ninety seven million, up twenty four percent. That means it hit a twenty percent net profit
margin. Business is so good at Ferrari that its order books are completely full
until twenty twenty five. Portia also reported its first quarter earnings today, and
it grew even faster. It sold eighty thousand, seven hundred and sixty seven
vehicles, up a solid eighteen percent. It brought in ten billion euros in
revenue, up twenty five percent. It posted an EBIT of one point nine
billion, up thirty one percent, and a net profit of one point four billion, up an impressive thirty nine percent. That gave it a net profit
margin of almost fourteen percent. Ford CEO Jim Farley said the market for electric
two row crossovers is getting completely saturated, so it's got its site set on three row crossovers. Specifically, he said that Ford wants to get into markets
that it knows really well, like three row utilities, and he thinks a vehicle like this could attract new customers. We wouldn't be surprised if the new
three row suv is based on the new platform that Ford is developing for the next generation F one fifty Lightning, and according to Auto Fourcast Solutions, production of that truck is supposed to start in twenty twenty five. Despite all of
its efforts to boost sales by cutting prices, Tesla saw its sales in China fall nearly fifteen percent last month compared to March. It delivered seventy five eight
hundred and forty two made in China Model threes and Wise in April compared to eighty nine thousand in March. That might prompt the company to cut prices of
those models again or try to export more. For example, last week,
Tesla announced it will start exporting Chinese made Model Wise to Canada. Meanwhile,
it did raise prices of the Model S and X in China by another twenty seven hundred dollars. Building up the fast charging network is critical to help the
growth of electric vehicles, especially in urban areas, and now automakers are developing solutions to put them there. Last month, Hunday partnered with a startup called
It's Electric to task curbside charging in New York City, and now Volkswagen and Shell have installed a new flexible EV charging spot at a Shell station in Germany.
It was developed by VW's charging brand Ellie, and it features a unique battery storage system that allows it to connect to a low voltage grid without the need of a special transformer. This allows for faster, easier installation and it
means you can put it just about anywhere. The stations are capable of putting
out one hundred and fifty kilowatts, which can provide up to one hundred and sixty kilometers or about one hundred miles of range in ten minutes. VW and
Shell planned to install more of these chargers throughout Germany and Europe in the future.
At Schiffler, we pioneer motion electrifying mobility, manufacturing smarter reduce co two emissions making energy production clean Cheffler Pioneer's motion to advance how the World moves.
Automakers are still dealing with the effects of defective Takata airbags. Now BMW is
telling nearly ninety thousand owners in North America to not drive their vehicles. It
involves three series built from two thousand until two thousand and six, Five Series from two thousand to two thousand and three, and X fives from two thousand until two thousand and four. BMW says because of their age, those vehicles
are at greater risk to cause injuries and owners should consider them not safe to drive. It has been reaching out to customers since twenty sixteen to get their
vehicles fixed, and it will send out note to affected owners this month, with a follow up in June. Customers can have their air bags fixed at
the dealer or remotely at no cost, and the repair takes less than an hour. In March, the electric version of the London Black Cab overtook the
diesel version as the most common in operation, and now the London Electric Vehicle Company or LVC, which makes the electric black cab called the TX, has revealed in all new open source dedicated ev architecture called the Space Oriented Architecture.
It was co developed with parent company Geelie and will not only support black cabs, but other types of people movers and commercial vehicles as well, including trucks, vans, and buses. They'll come in front, rear, and all
wheel drive. Battery sizes will range from seventy three to one hundred and twenty
kilowatt hours and provide up to six hundred and ninety five kilometers or four hundred and thirty one miles of range. The Connected Electronic architecture will support level two
to Level four autonomous driving, over the air updates, and a ton of infotainment possibilities for passengers. The press release says the platform will be available to
others outside of LVC and the Geli Group, but it gives no indication of where or when it will be built. Buick might have killed off its sedan
lineup in the US, but it just introduced a new Lacrosse for China.
Front and rear end styling is clearly inspired by the Wildcat and electra X concepts, but to us, the side body surfacing looks similar to the old Lacrosse.
Buick didn't give any indication of powertrain, but we'd be shocked if it was anything but ice based. The interior is a nice evolution and looks inviting,
and its large screen is something that you're going to see on all new buicks. It's a thirty inch six K curve screen that runs off a Qualcom
technology. The new Lacrosse should go on sale soon in China. Bridgestone,
which is one of our sponsors, launched a new semi slick race tire that's hamoligated for public roads and optimized for the racetrack. According to test done by
independent company TUVSUD, the potens A race tire delivers the fastest lap time and the shortest breaking distance on drive pavement compared to its competitors. It's available in
thirteen sizes between seventeen and twenty inches. But what's most intriguing to us is
that Bridgestone was able to cut the development time with virtual tests while being more sustainable. It reduced real world testing by nearly six thousand miles while reducing raw
material use by thirty three percent. That's a rat for today show. Thanks
for why and have a great Synco Demio Autoline Daily is brought to you by Bridgestone Solutions for your journey in Trepid control systems over the year Engineering Boost your Game and by Scheffler we pioneer motion. We want to know what drives your
testing. OTA Connected Car Diagnostics Remote testing in trepid control systems is here to
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