The episode covers the significant impact of UAW negotiations on Ford and GM's market value, with potential labor costs threatening the Detroit automakers' viability. BYD's CEO calls for Chinese automakers to unite against foreign competitors amid rising EV tensions in Europe. Despite concerns about EV inventory, U.S. sales continue to grow, especially in California. California approves unrestricted autonomous robotaxi operations, sparking debate. Ford targets increased revenue from connected commercial vehicles and addresses a security flaw in its infotainment system. The industry is investing heavily in silicon carbide chips to boost EV efficiency, while GM's Baojuan brand unveils an affordable family EV. Honda innovates with uniform recycling for vehicle insulation.
Topics:uaw labor negotiationsford and gm market impactchinese automakers strategyev sales trends in uscalifornia autonomous robotaxisford connected vehicle servicesinfotainment system securitysilicon carbide chipsgm baojuan evhonda uniform recycling
- UAW Wipes Out $20 Billion Of Ford, GM Market Cap - Chinese OEMs Should Demolish Foreign Automakers: BYD - EV Sales Not Falling in U.S. - California Gives Robotaxis The Green Light - Ford Targets $5,000/Truck in Software Services - Ford Issues Software Hack Patch - Auto Industry Races into Silicon Carbide - Baojun Seats Are as Comfy as They Come - Honda Recycles Work Uniforms into Sound Insulation
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The UAW has already wiped out twenty billion dollars in market capitalization at Ford and General Motors as investors are spooked by the union's audacious demands and by the way, UAW President Sean Fayne is the one who calls them audacious, not just us. Ever, since contract negotiations started last month and the union began
publicly announcing its demands, Ford's market cap fell nineteen percent, while GMS is down fifteen percent, at the same time that the Dow Jones Industrial average rose two percent. In contrast, the stock price and market cap of Stellantis barely
budged, but that could change. Bloomberg sits unnamed sources, likely sources from
within the car companies, who say if the UAW got everything that it wants, it would drive labor cost to one hundred and fifty dollars an hour and cost the Detroit three and extra eighty billion dollars a year, and that could force the companies out of business. So it's unlikely the union is going to
get everything that it wants, but investors are still worried about how much it will get. Chinese automakers should band together and demolish the foreign car companies.
That's according to Wang Chuanfu, the CEO of BYD. He actually said they
should quote demolish the old legends, but it's easy to see who he's talking about. At a ceremony to celebrate making BYD's five million NEV, Chuanfu stood
in front of an image with the logos of the twelve largest domestic automakers in China, and he said they should band together under the slogan Chinese Autos.
Reuters reports that his message went viral in China with strong support, but others pointed out this could cause problems for Chinese automakers overseas, especially in Europe.
France is trying to rally the EU to impose higher import tariffs on Chinese evs, which it says are being dumped in Europe at below market costs, our EV sales falling in the US, Cox Automotives says no, they're not.
While numerous reports have fixated on the growing inventory of evs, which is at an average over one hundred days supply, evis continue to gain market share they hit eight point six percent retail market share in June, which is about twice as much as the same period a year ago, but sales vary greatly by region. In California, ev sales are booming, but in Montana they're virtually
non existent. Automotive News report that all the early adopters have already come into
the market, and now automakers need to sell electrics to more mainstream customers, So while sales and market share are growing, they're probably going to grow at a slower rate. Cruise and Weemo just got a huge boost. The California
Public Utilities Commission voted in favor of allowing them to operate autonomous robotaxis in San Francisco with no restrictions. The decision goes into effect immediately, meaning they can
now charge for public rides at all times of the day. Up until now,
they were limited to where and when they could operate in the city.
But not everyone is happy with the decision, with regulators facing pushback from San Francisco's transportation and safety agencies as well as some residents. They wanted to delay
the approval because they said more time is needed to show the vehicles are safe, but the Commission did not agree with them. Every automaker talks about making
more money by selling software, services and upgrades, but Ford is putting an actual number on it. Writers reports that the CFO of Ford's commercial division,
called Ford Pro, hopes to get Ford of five thousand dollars more in the future on every van and truck it sells to businesses. It thinks they'll pay
for services that are tailor made for fleets, including safety, security, self driving, and insurance. The biggest growth for Ford will start around twenty twenty
six, which is when it's next gen commercial evs launch with a new intelligence platform, and by that time Ford Pro wants to boost the number of connected vehicles to roughly sixty percent and the number of vehicles with paid services to thirty six percent. The teaching automotive technologies we combine world class composite materials, expertise
cutting edge designs because frankly, there are better ways to lightweight vehicles, so lighten up with taging automotive technologies the formula for better mobility. Ford will soon
issue a software patch to prevent some of its vehicles from being hacked. Our
researcher at Texas Instruments, which supplies Ford with Wi Fi software discovered a vulnerability with the software used in Ford Sync three infottainment system. Ford says there's no
evidence that anyone has hacked into the vehicles. It says it would require significant
expertise and that the hacker would have to be near the vehicle when its ignition and Wi Fi are on. Plus, they would only have access to the
vehicle's infotainment system because it's protected from things like breaking steering and throttle. Even
so, Ford wanted to fix the vulnerability and will make the patch available online for download, which can be installed via a USB. In the meantime,
owners can turn off the Wi Fi in their vehicle if they're concerned. Silicon
carbide chips make electric vehicles more efficient compared to regular silicon chips, so the auto industry is racing to make more of them. Automotive News reports that several
Tier one suppliers like Bosch, Zefborg Warner, and Magna are investing heavily into silicon carbide chips by securing supplies from other chip makers or making their own.
Bosch expects the market to explode in the coming years, estimating it could grow by thirty percent annually with more evs hitting the market. One reason suppliers are
scrambling to lock up supplies now is because the chips take longer to make because of the difficulty and expense of creating silicon carbide synthetically. Here's some seats that
look really inviting. Baojuan, which is one of the brands under GM's joint
venture in China, revealed its third EV, a four door almost suvsh looking vehicle that's being aimed at families. It's called the Yun Duo, which means
cloud in Chinese, and that helps explain these pillowy hand sown seats or what Baojuan calls cloud sofa. The interior also features a nice two tone color scheme
in two floating digital display screens. The EV will be offered with one of
two batteries, either thirty seven point nine or fifty point six kilowatt hours.
It doesn't say what chemistry they are, but that they provide ranges of three hundred and sixty kilometers or two hundred and twenty three miles and four hundred and sixty kilometers or two hundred and eighty five miles. The Yun Duo comes standard
with a one hundred kilowatt electric motor and will be priced between roughly thirteen thousand and seventeen thousand dollars. Honda's workers will literally give you the shirts off their
backs. The company started a unique recycling program where old uniforms worn by workers
at US plants and R and D centers are chopped up and turned into sound absorbing insulation that is then used in Honda and Accurate vehicles. Honda uses about
forty five thousand pounds of uniforms a month, which otherwise would end up in a garbage dump. Honda has a goal of using one hundred percent sustainable materials
in its vehicles in the future. But that's the end of today show.
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