This is underlying daily the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
Looks like we're in the final innings of these contract negotiations. Last night,
the UAW reached a tentative agreement with Stalantis, and this morning it reached one with General Motors. But the agreement at GM didn't happen without the threat of
another strike. UAW President Sean Fain announced they were going on strike against GM's
spring Hill assembly plant that makes the Cadillac XT five, XT six and Lyric and the GMC Acadia. It's also the site where GM is building a two
point three billion dollar battery plant with LG Energy Solutions. But obviously both sides
were able to patch everything up and come to a tentative agreement. We think
workers at all three companies will likely ratify these contracts, but it will take several weeks to get everything settled and finally everyone can get back to building cars and trucks and over at Stilantis, we also got a bit of a new product leak from Rich Boyer, the UAW vice president for Stilantis. UAW family
is with my great honor to announce that we saved Belvidere again. We have
saved Belvedere from the strength of our stand up strike. We will bring back
thousands of jobs to Belvidere. We have won a new Ville clar Beverdere.
It would be a mid sized truck and we will have two shifts. So
thanks to the UAW, we now know that RAM will get a truck to compete with the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon.
And you could also throw in the Honda Ridge line in Hyundai Santa Cruz if you wanted Meanwhile, at midnight last night, UNIFOR, the Canadian Union announced a strike against Delantis and told its members to walk off the job. Stillantis
said it was extremely disappointed, but then only hours later, the two sides announced they had reached a tentative agreement and called off to strike. So Uniform
now has ratified agreements with Ford and GM, and we have little doubt that workers will approve the contract with Stilantis. Ad 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, bu Idea is really on a roll. The Chinese automaker posted record earnings in the third quarter. Its revenue
rows thirty eight percent compared to a year ago to twenty two billion dollars, and its net profit sold eighty two percent to one point four billion dollars.
It sold eight hundred and twenty four thousand vehicles in the third quarter, which is a fifty three percent game compared to last year and also a record, and more than seventy one thousand of those sales were outside of China, which is a whopping three hundred and twenty three percent increase. Speaking of sales in
China, new energy vehicles are nyvs, which includes bvs, plug in hybrids and fuel cells, were up strong in September. Automakers sold six hundred and
eighty seven thousand nevs last month, up twenty seven percent year over year, and they now account for thirty six percent of the total market in China.
Byd holds a commanding lead over all other brands, and NYV sales more than two hundred and thirty two thousand compared to just over forty two thousand for Tesla, which is in second place, and Chinese BEV maker Aion is hot on Tesla's heels, only five hundred and fourteen units behind it in September, but the Model Y was still the best selling ANYV model in China last month.
Last week, LG warned of slowing demand for evs, and now another battery maker is doing the same. Panasonic says that weak demand for high end evs
that no longer qualify for federal tax credits in the US caused it to cut battery production in Japan by sixty percent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of the year. It also announced that it would be cutting its profit
forecast for this year by fifteen percent. However, Panasonic also says production at
its North American plants's steady and that sales for vehicles that do qualify for the the tax credit are good. That suggests as more affordable evs hit the market
that we'll get a clearer picture of true EV market demand. And Hyundai just
announced that it's slashing the price of the Ionic six in the US. The
cuts range from about twenty five hundred to three thousand dollars for higher end models, up to over four grand off the base model, which now brings the starting price to under thirty nine thousand dollars. It says it was able to
make the price trimmings because it built more versions of the electric sedan and did it at a lower cost, which we hope more automakers are able to do.
We should also note that Hyundai vehicles that are purchased or financed don't qualify for the federal tax credit because of battery sourcing and production rules, but they do if they're leased, and Hyundai cut its EV lease prices earlier this month as well. Problems continue to persist at VW softa where unit Carriad reports out
of Germany say VW is going to cut up to two thousand jobs added software unit over the next few years, which is going to delay the launch of its new EV software system again by up to a year and a half.
It was supposed to launch in the new all electric Porsche Macon, which is scheduled to come out early next year. No word of this new move will
impact the all electric Macon. The layoffs will also impact its future EV architecture
called SSP, which it says it's completely redeveloping. Now. It's been shocking
to see how poorly Cariad has executed its plans, and we wonder if VW will lean more heavily into its Chinese partnerships. However, this won't impact VW's
current MEB based vehicles, and it revealed a couple of pictures of the new station wagon version of the ID seven. While the car is covered in a
special wrap, you can still get a good idea of what it looks like.
VW didn't release any details about the powertrain. We suspect it's the same
as the Sedan, but we'll know more soon it launches in Europe in twenty twenty four. Nissan showed off another concept that it will have on display at
the SEMA Show, which kicks off tomorrow in Las Vegas. It's a rally
version of the Z sports car called the Safari Rally Z Tribute, which was built by Tommy Pike Customs. Its suspension has been raised two inches and it
features a new front bumper and skid plate. The interior includes a custom roll
bar with four point harnesses and customer carro seats. Powering the concept is an
AMS tuned four hundred plus horsepower engine combined with a Nismo Track cat back exhaust system. Cold air intake, carbon fiber engine cover, cool and expansion tank,
heat exchanger and street twin disc clutch and flywheel, and the styling of the Z concept pays homage to the dots in two forty Z Rally car which won the nineteen seventy one East African Safari Rally, and Nissan will also have a replica of that car on display at the SEMA Show as well. But
that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for tuning in.
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About this episode
The latest automotive industry updates cover the UAW's tentative agreements with Stellantis and GM, including a new midsize truck to compete with popular models like the Toyota Tacoma. BYD posted record profits and strong sales growth, especially in new energy vehicles in China. Panasonic cut EV battery production in Japan due to weak demand for high-end EVs but remains steady in North America. Hyundai slashed prices on its Ioniq 6 to boost affordability. VW faces software development setbacks and job cuts, delaying new EV systems. Nissan revealed a rally-inspired Z concept for the upcoming SEMA Show.
- UAW Reaches Agreement with D3 - UAW Leaks Info on Ram Mid-Size Pickup - Unifor Reaches Agreement with Stellantis - BYD Posts Record Profits - NEVs Hit 36% Market Share in China - Panasonic Cuts Japan EV Battery Production 60% - Hyundai Slices Ioniq 6 Prices - More Problems at VW CARIAD - VW Teases EV Station Wagon - Nissan Takes Z Rally Concept to SEMA
