UAW president Shawn Fain strongly rejects Stellantis' labor contract proposal, citing cuts to benefits and vacation time, signaling a potential strike. GM announces bidirectional charging as standard on all EVs, enabling vehicle-to-home power transfer. Chinese EV startup Leoto aims to outsell German luxury brands in China with rapid production growth. Opel unveils an electric crossover concept with advanced aerodynamics and AR displays. Stellantis expands its aftermarket parts brand, while BMW introduces an armored electric 7 Series. Honda reports strong financial recovery, and a tariff workaround helps automakers offset import duties on Chinese-made vehicles. The episode also highlights Hitachi Astimo's role in automotive components.
Topics:uaw labor negotiationsstellantis contract disputegm bidirectional chargingchinese ev marketopel electric conceptstellantis aftermarket partsbmw armored evhonda financial resultsus import tariffshitachi astimo
- UAW’s Shawn Fain Trashes Stellantis Proposal - GM Makes Bidirectional Charging Standard - Li Auto Brags It Will Outsell German Luxury Brands - Opel’s Latest EV Concept - Stellantis Launches New Aftermarket Brand - BMW i7 EV Gets Armored Plated - Honda Reports Big Jump in Earnings - How to Avoid U.S. Import Tariff on China Cars - Hitachi Astemo Emerges as Strong Supplier
"...ikely do it next year when it imports the Lincoln Nautilus from China. Even though the drawback program was ..."
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This is out of line Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. While this was more than just a warning shout across the bow,
UAW president Sean Fayne laid down the gauntlet with Stilantis. He says,
the company's proposed labor contract spits in the face of UAW workers, and he rejected it completely. Just take a look at this video message. So I'll
tell you what, brothers and sisters, when we get things like this from the company and they want to sit there and talk about they're not asking for concessions or looking for concessions. Everything they're looking for in this document is about
concessions. So I'll tell you what I'm going to do with their proposal.
I'm gonna file it in its proper place because that's where it belongs to trash, because that's what it is. Fain says Stilantis wants to cut medical benefits
and four oh one K retirement benefits, and reduce vacation time for new hire and a whole list of other grievances. We'll see what he does with GM
and Ford's proposals, but right now it looks like Stillantis could be the strike target next month for the uaw GM is going to make bidirectional charging standard equipment on its entire retail portfolio of all team based evs. Vehicle to home or
via H charging allows customers to send power from their EV's battery right into their home, which would be especially useful during a power outage, but owners need to buy a special charger that has VI to H functionality and a kit that can disconnect the house from the grid. The charger can provide up to nineteen
point two kilowatts of charging speed, while the system is able to discharge the battery at a rate of nine point six kilowatts. All their automakers like Ford,
Hondai and Kia and Nissan are launching similar tech and surprisingly they'll beat Tesla to the market with bidirectional charging, which it's expected to offer by twenty twenty five. And once you start building a whole bunch of evs together to feed
energy back in times of high demand, you can eliminate blackouts and brownouts.
Chinese EV startup lee Outo brags that it's going to outsell all the German luxury brands in China next year. Leotto delivered more than one hundred and seventy three
thousand vehicles through July of this year, up one hundred and forty five percent compared to a year ago. That's about twenty four thousand, seven hundred and
fifty units a month, but thanks to a production ramp up, Leotto says it can increase that to forty thousand units in the fourth quarter. By comparison,
BMW, Mercedes and Outis, monthly sales this year have ranged between thirty one, five hundred to seventy thousand units, respectively, so Leato still has some catching up to do. But later this year it's launching its first pure
BV, and next year it's introducing four new models, including three new evs.
Opal is showing off an electric crossover concept that will debut at the Munich Auto Show in September. Called the Experimental, it's a preview of design and
technology that will make its way into future Opal vehicles. For example, it's
getting rid of chrome and using lighting and contrasting graphics to add some pop.
Not many details about the powertrain we're shared, but it's based on one of the Stella BEV platforms and equipped with all wheel drive. The aerodynamics have been
optimized, including aero flaps at the front and rear, and even a rear diffuser that can extend or retract depending on the driving situation. All their highlights
include a steering wheel that can fold away when it's not needed, lightweight seats, and a head up display that uses augmented reality to display information. Stilantis
is expanding its aftermarket business in North America with the introduction of its b Pro Auto parts brand, which already operates in Europe, South America, and the Middle East. The big news here is that the parts are for nearly all
brands and models, not just Stilantis vehicles. Mopar will remain the automaker's global
original equipment parts brand, and b Pro Auto will offer low cost parts.
The b Pro Auto parts are backed by a two year unlimited mile warrant and thirty parts categories will be offered. BMW is introducing an armored version of the
new seven series, including the all electric I seven. It says the models
meet VR nine protection standards, which means they can stop armor piercing bullets.
Were most interested in the changes made to the electric and how it impacts performance.
The powertrain set up sounds pretty similar to electric motors that provide all wheel drive and combine for four hundred kilowatts or about five hundred and forty five horsepower, but it also comes with a number of drive components from the M version of the I seven, which helps improve performance. The standard I seven with
four hundred kilowatts of power will do zero to one hundred kilometers an hour and four point nine seconds, but it takes nine seconds for the I seven protection to get there. All The added weight also impacts range BMW estimates it will
use at least ten more kilowatt hours per one hundred kilometers, but despite the armor piercing protection, the models still feature many of the same creature comforts as the Standard seven series, like reclining rear seats and multiple viewing screens. Honda
reported its latest financial earnings, and the results were far better than a year ago, which was something of a disaster for the company, especially in China.
Honda sold nine hundred and one thousand vehicles in the last three months, up ten point six percent. That brought in over thirty two billion dollars in
revenue, up twenty one percent. It posted an operating profit of two point
seven billion, up a whopping seventy seven percent, and it put two point seven billion dollars on the bottom line, which was up one hundred and thirty four percent from last year's disaster. But Honda saw sales of power products like
lawnmowers and wave runners plumb at thirty six percent. Its motorcycle sales were up
a solid five percent, and it's interesting to note that Honda has higher profit margins with its motorcycles than it does with its cars trucks, crossovers, and SUVs. Motorcycles have a nineteen percent profit margin while the vehicles are only at
five point eight percent. High import tariffs are going to keep Chinese made cars
out of the American market right well, not exactly. Automotive News has a
fascinating story on a workaround that allows automakers to get back some of that tariff as long as they export cars out of the United States. It's called the
US Duty Drawback Program. Although is using the program to offset part of the
twenty seven and a half percent import duty on the Pole Star two and the upcoming Ex thirty, which are made in China, It's going to offset them with exports of the Ex ninety once it starts making that vehicle at its plant in Charleston, South Carolina. GM also uses the program to offset part of
the tariff on the buickn Vision, and Ford will likely do it next year when it imports the Lincoln Nautilus from China. Even though the drawback program was
updated in twenty sixteen, it traces its roots back to the original Tariff Act of seventeen eighty nine. All you IndyCar fans have probably seen Haitachi sponsorship of
Joseph Newgarden's Penske, But did you notice that sponsorship logo from Astimo on the side plate of the front wings. Astimo is part of Hitachi. In fact,
it's called Hatachi Astimo, and it's actually the twenty twenty one merger of three Japanese supplier companies that were devoted to serving Honda. Hatachi Astimo makes everything
from breaks to ice, powertrain components to inverters for electric vehicles, and it's a pretty big company with over ninety thousand employees worldwide and annual revenue of almost fourteen billion dollars. With a new capital restructuring that will happen next month,
Honda and Hitachi will each own forty percent of the company. While a private
equity fund called JIC Capital will own twenty percent. Even though Honda owns a
chunk of the company, it sells components to many different automakers, and you'll probably start to notice the name even more now that we've made you aware of it. Earlier in the show, we showed you Sean Faine throwing the contract
proposal from Stealantis in the trash. Well, you're not gonna want to miss
tomorrow's Auto Line after Hours because it's going to be all about the showdown between the Detroit Three and the uaw Kaylee Hall from the Detroit News and Merrick Masters from Wayne State University will join John and Gary and they'll take a deep dive into what's shaping up to be the most important labor negotiations in decades. But
that brings us to the end of today show. Thanks for tuning in.
Autoline Daily is brought to you by Bridgestone Solutions for your Journey, Intrepid Control Systems over the Year, Engineering Boost your Game, Scheffler we Pioneer Motion and by Tajin Automotive Technologies. The formula for Better Mobility at Schiffler we Pioneer Motion
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