Tensions rise as Ford halts construction on a Michigan battery plant amid UAW strike negotiations, highlighting the complex interplay between labor, politics, and the EV transition. President Biden's visit to striking workers contrasts with former President Trump's anti-EV stance. Meanwhile, global trade tensions surface with the EU investigating Chinese EV subsidies. Nissan commits fully to electric models in Europe, while Honda debuts new EV concepts at a Japanese mobility show. Chinese suppliers dominate automotive display markets, and Ford introduces digital license plates. AAA reports a sharp increase in the annual cost of car ownership, reflecting broader economic pressures.
Topics:uaw strikeford battery plant pausebiden and trump political visitsev subsidy investigationnissan electric vehicle planshonda ev conceptschinese suppliers in car displaysdigital license platescar ownership costslabor and ev industry dynamics
- UAW Strike Is Ratcheting Up - Ford Stops Battery Plant in Michigan - Ford Fires Warning Shot at Biden Administration - Unifor Sets Its Bargaining Sights on GM - China Mad at EU Subsidy Investigation - Nissan Goes All-In with EVs in EU - Honda Unveils New Electric Concepts - China Dominates Auto Screen Market - Ford First to Offer Digital License Plates - AAA: It Costs $12,182/Year to Own A Car
"...m is going after them one at a time. GM makes the Silverado and Sierra full size pickups in Oshawa, Canada, a..."
Select text to request an explanation
This is Autolyne Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global bottomotive industry.
Day twelve of the UAW strike, and things are really ratcheting up.
Today's a big day in the Detroit area. President Biden is flying in to
meet with workers on the picket line to show his support for them. Since
Ford's Wayne assembly plant, just outside of Detroit is on strike, presumably that's where he will be tomorrow. Former President Trump will be in suburban Detroit to
speak to union workers, but he's going to give his speech at a non union supplier company. Trump has been attacking electric cars and says they're going to
cost union jobs, and it's likely that's the pitch he'll make tomorrow. And
this is where the plot thickens. Late yesterday, Ford announced it is immediately
pausing construction of a battery plant that it's building in Michigan with COATL. In
a statement, Ford said would not resume construction until and I quote until we're confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant close quote. And that suggests
the stoppages directly related to the contract negotiations with the UAW. The union has
been adamant that workers and battery plants have to earn the same top wages as traditional UAW workers, but none union battery plants in the US would have significantly lower labor costs to make batteries, and everyone in the industry is struggling to cut the cost of making batteries. But it looks like there could be more
to it than just that. Let's connect some of the dots here. President
Biden is coming to Detroit, and presumably we'll beat with striking Ford workers.
That's got to be mighty annoying to Ford, to say the least. President
Biden also has a lot riding on the transition to electric vehicles, which his administrate has backed to the hilt. So when Ford announces it's stopping construction of
a battery plant right on the eve of the President flying into town, seems to me it's more than a coincidence. Moreover, the Governor of Michigan,
Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, took a lot of heat providing state subsidies for that battery plant, and with construction of that plant coming to a standstill, it's going to put her in a bad light. The UAW says it's not
going to endorse President Biden's reelection campaign unless he earns it. But Ford's move
shows Biden and Democrats like Whittmer there's going to be a cost for their support of the UAW strike. Okay, one more strike related item, But for
this we moved north of the border. Uniform. The Canadian Union, which
already settled a contract with Ford, will now turn its sites on General Motors.
While the UAW is negotiating with GM, Ford installantis simultaneously. Uniform is
going after them one at a time. GM makes the Silverado and Sierra full
size pickups in Oshawa, Canada, and its engine and transmission plant in Saint Catharine's supplies multiple assembly plants, so it's right there. It would have an
immediate ripple effect on GM's manufacturing operations at Schiffler we pioneer motion Electrifying mobility, manufacturing smarter, reducing CO two emissions, making energy production clean. Scheffler Pioneer's
motion to advance how the World moves. China is hopping mad at your decision
to launch an anti subsidy investigation into Chinese evs sold in Europe that could result in tariffs being slapped on Chinese evs if the EU concludes that Chinese automakers benefit from state subsidies. China's Commerce minister said that the investigation is a quote here,
a protectionist act that will affect China EU green cooperation and the stability of the global automotive industry. China's Commerce minister also met with the EU's Trade commissioner
over the weekend in China and made the mayest message clear that they're not happy with this investigation, but it won't just be limited to Chinese EV makers.
The EU's trade chief said any foreign automakers that export evs from China to the EU will also be under investigation, and that includes Tesla. Meanwhile, Nissan
is going all in on evs and Europe. The automaker announced that every new
model it launches in the EU from now on will be one hundred percent electric, and by twenty thirty its entire lineup will be electric. To celebrate the
twentieth anniversary of the company's design studio in London, Nissan revealed a sporty urban EV concept called the Concept twenty DAH twenty three. It didn't reveal any details
or spects, but it looks like a fun little hatchback with a futuristic design.
And speaking of fun electric catches, there's a big mobility show going on in Japan this week, and Honda used the occasion to unveil this two door electric commuter concept called the sustaina C. The only info Honda released is that
it's made of recycled and reused acrylic resin. Presumably they're just referring to the
body panels, but the design has a bit of a retro vibe to it with those round headlamps. Honda also showed this electric scooter called the SCE which
has swappable batteries, and it announced that it will debut an electric sports car concept, but it didn't provide any pictures or drawings of it. Maybe it's
going to be an update of the sports EV concept that it showed at the twenty seventeen Tokyo Motor Show. You know, not only do Chinese automakers dominate
the EV segment, Chinese suppliers now dominate the autodisplay market. We're talking about
those big center screens and cars and trucks. According to a study from the
technology research group called Omdia, Chinese suppliers control forty five percent of the car display market. That's up from just seven percent a decade ago. Specifically,
Chinese suppliers control fifty five percent of the LCD market and eighteen percent of the old market for those screens. Odia says China will continue to dominate the screen
market because of cost and capacity advantages. But maybe the Chinese don't have this
thing. Ford's the first automaker to offer digital license plates. It partnered with
digital license plate maker Reviver to offer plates at three hundred four dealerships in Arizona, California, and Michigan because currently those are the only states that allow digital plates. Customers can also order the plate through a catalog and some of the
benefits of these digital plates include GPS location and customization. But they are not
cheap. The cheapest battery powered version cost two hundred and fifteen dollars, or
you can lease it for about twenty dollars a month. You know, the
cost of everything seems to be going up these days, and that includes the cost of owning a new car. According to the Triple A in twenty nineteen,
the average annual costs for the first five years of ownership driving fifteen thousand miles a year was nine thousand, two hundred and thirty two dollars. It's
no longer that price now that cast to jump to twelve thousand, one hundred and eighty two dollars. That study factors in fuel, maintenance, insurance,
registration, taxes, and depreciation. Not surprisingly, the cost varies by the
type of vehicle you're looking at. A small sedan averages about eight thousand,
nine hundred and thirty nine dollars a year, while a half ton crew cab pickup comes in at fifteen thousand, eight hundred and fifty eight dollars, and all of that is up significantly from the pre COVID days. Oh A programming
note here, there's not going to be an Autoline after hours on Thursday.
I'm going to be at the SAS North American International Propulsion Conference in Chicago, and Gary is traveling on vacation, but we will be back again next week and we invite you to join us then. Anyway, that wraps up today's
report. Thanks for making Auto Line Deal a part of your day. Autoline
Daily is brought to you by Bridgetone Solutions for your journey in trepid control systems over the year, Engineering Boost your game. Scheffler, we pioneer motion and
by Taging Automotive Technologies the Formula for Better Mobility. The Taging Automotive Technologies we
combine world class composite materials expertise with cutting edge designs because frankly, there are better ways to lightweight vehicles, so lighten up with Taging Automotive Technologies the Formula for Better Mobility. We want to know what drives your testing. OTA Connected
Car Diagnostics Remote testing in Trepid Control Systems is here to help you work from anywhere intrepid control systems driven by your data
Request an explanation for:
1 cars
1 cars featured
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark.
Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
