This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
Day twenty one of the UAW strike and now it's starting to damage the US supply chain. MIMA, the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association, says nearly thirty
percent of auto suppliers have laid off workers because of the strike. Sixty percent
expect to lay off more workers this month. Over six thousand non striking workers
have been laid off at automakers and suppliers, and Ford just laid off another four hundred employees starting today. MIMA says seventy percent of suppliers worry that the
strike is going to force many of their sub suppliers to go out of business, so MIMA is working with the White House to try and get financial support for suppliers that can't get loans from banks. In a related move, General
Motors announced that it secured a six billion dollar line to ride out the strike.
So far, the strike is cost GM two hundred million dollars in loss production. Ford lined up a four billion dollar line of credit before the strike
even started, and both of those are signals to the union that they're financially ready to write out a long strike. Meanwhile, Ford presented the union with
its seventh offer that could bring the total wage increases to thirty percent over the life of the contract. It includes retirement benefits that would have workers retire at
least with a million dollars in savings, and that seems to have moved.
The needle Writer's reports that there are signs of progress in the contract talks, but it looks like the union and the automakers are still far apart on several issues, notably union representation at the joint venture battery plans that the car companies are building with battery companies. But will have a much clearer eye idea tomorrow
of how much progress is being made. UAW President Sean Fain will announce at
noon tomorrow what the union's next steps are going to be, So maybe we'll see a pause in the action, or maybe we'll see more plans to close down as additional workers join the stand up strike. GM seems to be figuring
out how to make more ALTAM batteries and more quantities, but sales of its all TIAM based evs are still slow. In the third quarter, it was
able to deliver roughly four thousand, two hundred all tium based evs, which is about three times more than last quarter. The growth comes from the Lyric
and the Hummer, not new models like the Blazer and Silverado. It only
delivered nineteen Blazer evs in eighteen Silverado evs, and with GM idling the bright Drop assembly line in Canada to next year, it probably won't deliver many more than the thirty five Zo six hundreds it did in Q three. By comparison,
GM was able to deliver nearly sixteen thousand Bolts in the same time, and as you probably know, the bolt is not on an altium base platform.
At Scheffler, 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. A few years back, Honda created a new off road
brand called Trail Sport, and several models now wear a Trail Sport bag.
The idea was to start with small factory upgrades and build up the capabilities over time, and we're seeing that progression with the updated version of the Passport Trail Sport. For the first time, the model gets a set of all terrain
tires. They're general grabbers which have a slightly more aggressive design. The Passport
Trail Sport also gets new revised spring rates, improve valve tuning in the shocks and swaybars that allow for more articulation. I think it will be interesting to
see how consumers respond to a more off road focused Honda. But on top
of the trail Sport, all passport models for twenty twenty four will have slightly updated styling inside and out, and it includes the addition of a new black edition trim line. Speaking of Honda and new models, it's launching the third
generation of the N Box, a k card offers in Japan, and as a fan of the original Psion Xpe, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the n Box because they look so much alike. But the
n Box is quite a bit smaller, with only room for four people, and because it's a KCR, it's limited to a six hundred and sixty cc engine. Either a naturally aspirated or turbocharged version is available, which is paired
to a CVT and front or four wheel drive. The n Box is priced
between roughly eleven thousand and sixteen thousand dollars and they sell pretty well. Between
all the versions, Honda expects to sell fifteen thousand a month or one hundred and eighty thousand a year. Toyota announced it's formed of long term partnership with
LG Energy Solution to have the battery maker supply it with lithium ion battery modules made in the US. LG will invest three billion dollars to expand its plant
in Holland, Michigan to produce twenty gigawott hours of NMCA or nickel manganese cobalt aluminum pouch cells starting in twenty twenty five. This is LG's largest supply agreement
that's not part of a joint venture. The first vehicle to use the modules
will be a new Beev built at Toyota's plant in Kentucky. While it's obvious
that the UAW strike hasn't had much of an impact on car sales so far, new car sales in the US market shot up twenty percent in the third quarter compared to a year ago, as fleets in retail customers bought over one point three million new vehicles, and that's much stronger than analysts expected. Here
are how the full line manufacturers performed. General Motors topped the list with nearly
six hundred and seventy thousand vehicles sold, up twenty one percent. Toyota beat
out Ford again with five hundred and ninety thousand units sold, up twelve percent.
Ford came in with four hundred and ninety seven thousand vehicles. But look
at how close Hyundai, Kia and Genesis are getting to Ford with nearly four hundred and fifty thousand vehicles up twelve and a half percent. If the strike
persists and Ford starts losing sales, the Hyundai group could surpass Ford in the American market, which would come as a massive shock. Honda and Nissan also
showed big percentage gains as they come off a disastrous Q three in twenty twenty two. Ford's deal to sell an assembly plant in Germany has fallen through.
Back in June, the automakers signed in agreement with a potential investor, but that investor backed out of the deal. For didn't reveal who the investor was,
but Automotive News reports it was a Chinese company. The plant in sar
Luis, Germany, which currently builds the Focus, is scheduled to be shut down in twenty twenty five, so if Ford is unable to find another buyer, the factory could be one of the first casualties in the switch to electrification.
There's been a bunch of news recently as Tesla begins to get more of its semis into customer hands, including a spin with j Leno behind the wheel.
But not to be totally outdone, Daimler is sharing details about a recent test with its own long haul semi, the Eactro six hundred. With a
full load and portions of the trip over a quote steep rise, the truck was able to travel five hundred and thirty kilometers or about three hundred and thirty miles on a single charge. It says that full load was forty tons.
That's tons spelled tns, so we're not sure if that was metric, imperial or US tons, but either way it would be about eighty thousand to ninety thousand pounds. As for the battery, it's an LFP pack with roughly six
hundred kilowatt hours of usable space, which is where the truck gets its name.
It went with LFP for its durability and ability for fast charging of up to four hundred kilowatts with a CCS plug in even megawatt charging. Rivian is
giving its electric truck and suv a range boost, but it will cost you.
The dual motor versions of the R one T and RNs are now available with its one hundred and forty nine kilowatt hour Max battery pack that boosts the SUV's range to four hundred miles and the trucks to four hundred and ten miles.
That's up from three hundred and fifty two miles. Both models get with
the large battery, but like I said, that new pack isn't cheap.
It costs ten thousand dollars more than the large battery and it's sixteen grand more than the smallest battery option. The R one T with the Max pack is
already being delivered to customers, while the R one S will start this fall.
Moving in the opposite direction, Lucid announced a new version of the air with its lowest price yet. The Lucid Air Pere is priced at seventy seven
four hundred dollars That does not include destination chargers or other fees, and it does not qualify for the IRA tax Credit, which is capped at passenger cars that cost fifty five thousand dollars. The rear drive Pure offers four hundred and
ten miles of range and can add one hundred and fifty miles of range in twelve minutes when using a DC fast charger. But that brings us to the
end of today's show, and don't forget to check out Autoline after hours this afternoon, which I'm sure we'll get into some of the possible UAW strike scenarios.
Altoline 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. We want to know what drives your testing. OTA Connected Car Diagnostics,
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About this episode
The ongoing UAW strike is severely impacting the US automotive supply chain, with widespread layoffs and financial strains on suppliers. Automakers like GM and Ford have secured large credit lines, signaling readiness for a prolonged strike. Ford's latest offer includes significant wage increases and retirement benefits. Meanwhile, GM's EV sales grow modestly, and Honda updates its Passport Trail Sport with off-road enhancements. Toyota partners with LG Energy for US-made batteries. US Q3 vehicle sales surprisingly rose 20%, with GM leading. Ford's German plant sale fell through, and electric truck advancements from Daimler and Rivian highlight industry shifts. Lucid introduces a more affordable Air model.
- UAW Strike Damaging U.S. Supply Chain - GM Builds $6 Billion Strike Fund - UAW Workers Will Retire Millionaires - Fain to Update Strike Tomorrow - GM Still Struggling with Ultium-Based EVs - Honda Passport Gets Rugged Upgrades - Honda Launches New Kei Car in Japan - Toyota to Buy Batteries from LG Plant in Michigan - U.S. Q3 Car Sales Surprise Analysts - Ford Fails to Sell Saarlouis Plant in Germany - Daimler Demos Its Tesla Semi Rival - Rivian Adds Range... At a Cost - Lucid Offers Lower Cost Air Sedan
