A cargo ship fire near the Netherlands raises concerns about EV shipping risks, potentially impacting insurance and logistics. GM reveals its slow EV production is due to hand-assembling batteries amid supplier issues but plans to ramp up output and keep the affordable Chevrolet Bolt with updated batteries. Stellantis reports strong financials, while Audi introduces YouTube streaming in parked cars. Volkswagen faces declining EV sales in China, losing market share to local brands like BYD. Meanwhile, Tesla outsells Toyota in California for Q2, signaling shifting market dynamics in the EV race.
Topics:ev shipping risksgm ev battery productionchevrolet bolt updatestellantis earningsaudi infotainmentvolkswagen ev sales chinatesla vs toyota californiabattery chemistry shiftsev market trends china
- EV Fires Threaten Moving Them by Ship - GM Making Batteries by Hand - Chevrolet Bolt Saved from The Axe - Stellantis Posts Strong H1 Earnings - Watch YouTube In Your New Audi - VW’s ID Sales Plummet in China - BYD Knocks VW Off #1 Perch in China - Small Chinese EVs Going with Sodium Batteries - Tesla Outsells Toyota In California
"...s so far this year. The top model in June was the Tesla Model Y with more than fifty thousand registrations, we..."
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This is out of Line Daily. The show's dedicated to enthusiasts of the global
automotive industry, and we start out today with a story that could turn into a really big problem for shipping evs around the world. A cargo ship with
three thousand cars on board is burning out of control right now near the Netherlands, or at least it was this morning. We don't know the exact cause,
but Reuters was told that it started near an EV and that it's been very hard to put out. Unfortunately, one crew member died and the rest
had to be rescued. In July, two firefighters died trying to put out
a blaze on a dock ship in New Jersey. We don't know the cause
of that either, but it was shipping twelve hundred new and used vehicles, and one firefighter was quoted as saying this is not a common fire. And
a cargo ship named the Felicity Ace made headline in February of twenty twenty two after it caught on fire with four thousand luxury cars on board, including evs.
And while we still don't have a definitive answer as to why, it's widely believed to be related to an EV. If it turns out the evs
are the causes, then insurance rates on shipping them are going to skyrocket.
In fact, some shipping companies may even refuse to load them on board.
Well, now we know why General Motors has only been dribbling out production of its Altiam based evs. It's making the batteries by hand. GM CEO Mary
Barrus says it ran into unexpected delivery problems with the supplier company that makes the equipment that makes the batteries, so GM sent its own manufacturing people over to the supplier to help it out. But Barrius says, quote, we've also
added manual assembly lines at the altimplant in Lordstown, Ohio. Rumors have been
circulating throughout the industry as to why GM's EV production was so low, everything from water leak problems with the batteries to problems with software. But it looks
like the real problem is that they have to make them by hand. Right
now, Barrus says things are improving and that GM's EV production in the US will hit one hundred thousand vehicles in the second half of this year, and that it's still on track to hit four hundred thousand cumulative evs by the middle of next year, and GM didn't about face on the Chevrolet Bolt. That
car was going to get axed as the company moves all of its evs to its dedicated all team platform. But now GM will keep the Bolt on its
existing platform and just fit it with all TIAM batteries that could cut the cost of the battery pack by forty percent and by pretty much just updating the battery and the software, where GM will save a ton of money instead of designing an all new compact EV The Bolt is priced at twenty seven thousand, four hundred and ninety five dollars in the US market right now, making it one of the most affordable evs on the market, and that does not include any federal or state tax incentives. GM did not say when or where the new
Bolt will go into production, but Barrow promises it's going to move fast.
It's that time of year again when automakers report their first half earnings, and today we'll take a look at Stilantis and the numbers look very good. Stillantis
sold three point three million vehicles globally, up ten percent. That pushed revenues
to ninety eight point three billion euros, which was up twelve percent thanks to higher prices. It's operating profit hit fourteen point one billion euros, which was
up eleven percent, and eight billion of that, or fifty six percent, came from the Chrysler Group in North America. Its net profit came in at
ten point nine billion euros, which shot up thirty seven percent, and it generated an impressive eight point eight billion of free cash flow. Financial analysts are
gonna love these numbers, and so is the UAW. With the company dropping
that much money to the bottom line, the union is going to say that Stellantis can easily afford to give its workers a raise. One of Audie's new
selling points is going to be that you're going to be able to watch YouTube videos in your car. Starting this summer. Models equipped with the latest software
and hardware Claus Service third gen infotainment system, we'll be able to play YouTube videos, but only when the car is parked. Audie, along with Volkswagen's
Carriad software division and its partner Harmon, created the new app store for its vehicles so it could offer a host of third party apps. It's going to
be available on most of Audi's lineup and the other brands in the group are also going to offer the app store. 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. Intrepid Control Systems driven by your data.
Oh no wonder. Volkswagen said the roof is on fire. Sales of its
IDY family of evs in China are falling fast. BW only sold forty eight
thousand ID models in the first half of the year, a drop of nineteen percent, and that's even though the overall b EV market in China grew twenty percent to about two point one million units. It means that bw's b EV
market share dropped from three point four percent to two point three percent. But
keep in mind that VW has over twenty percent of the ice market in China, so this is a bad omen. VW sells the D three, the
ID four, and the ID six in China, and only the ID three saw it sales go up, and with sales slowing, VW was forced to slash prices to keep up. The ID three originally started at just under twenty
three thousand dollars, but now it's just under seventeen thousand, and Even though VW still sells a lot of ice models in China, it's no longer the number one car company. Byd is number one with more than two hundred and
twenty two thousand registrations last month, compared to VW's two hundred thousand. Gascou
reports registrations of locally made passenger vehicles for the whole market hit one point nine million units in June, up two and a half percent from a year ago and up twelve percent from the previous month. It's the highest number of monthly
registrations so far this year. The top model in June was the Tesla Model
Y with more than fifty thousand registrations, well ahead of the Nissan Sylfie at thirty three thousand units. The Sylfie is the center, by the way.
In the first half of the year, around nine point three million locally made vehicles have been registered in China, up nearly five percent. Meanwhile, Chinese
brands that make small, inexpensive evs are starting to switch battery chemistries. Lithium
iron phosphate or LFP used to be their go to choice for a cheaper battery, but due to fluctuating lithium prices. They're going for sodium batteries instead because
they don't use any lithium. Sodium doesn't really offer any performance advantages over LFP,
but they are reportedly up to twenty sent cheaper. A couple of models
were just to prove for sale with the new battery type, and several more with sodium batteries are on the way. The alarm bells must be going off
at Toyota with this next news item. Tesla was the best selling brand in
California in the second quarter of the year, knocking off Toyota as the number one brand in the state for the quarter. Tesla registered over sixty nine thousand
vehicles in Q two compared to Toyota's over sixty seven thousand units. Even more
impressive, the Model three and Y have easily outsold Toyota's top two models in California in twenty twenty three, which are the Camera and Rav four. But
in total, Toyota has outsold Tesla for the entire year in California. However,
it's currently only about ten thousand units ahead. And you know what they
say, whatever happens in California is a bellweather for the rest of the country.
And that's a rap for today's show. Thank you for joining us.
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. At Schiffler We Pioneer Emotion, electrifying mobility, manufacturing SMARTA, reducing
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