This is Underline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
It looks like electric cars could play a big role in US and European elections. The CEO of Stalantis, Carlos Tavera, says the company already has
contingency plans in case of a change next year in the administration in the US and the European parliament. Conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic are staking out
ANTIEV positions as part of their platform and if they should win next year.
Taveraz wants Stalantis to be ready to ease up on its EV investments, but for the time being, he still committed to one hundred percent evs in Europe and fifty percent in the US by the end of the decade. But Reuter's
points out that in the US, four swing states have received an outsize amount of the investment going into electric vehicles and battery plans. Vants, Georgia,
Nevada, Michigan, and Arizona got forty eight billion dollars in EV investment, or one third of the total in the US. Democrats and their environmental allies
are using that to emphasize how many American jobs that investment created, while Republicans are attacking it as government overreached that is only going to help China. That
means it's going to be up to voters to decide which side is right.
And who knew that an automotive technology was going to play such a big role in American and European politics. But one thing's for sure, Tesla is not
backing off its commitment to evs and this Thursday is a red letter day for Tesla. It's going to officially deliver the first cyber trucks to customers, and
that's when we're likely going to find out what the price is. When Elon
Muss first unveiled the truck in twenty nine, he said the base version would cost forty thousand dollars. Four years later, even he says specs and pricing
will be different. For one thing, the cyber truck has been something of
a nightmare for Tesla to develop. Musk semi joke that they dug their own
grave with the way they designed it. The Wall Street Journal reports that Tesla
ran into all kinds of problems working with the stainless steel body panels. Specifically,
it had problems rolling the steel flat and trying to form it. So
if development costs came in high, the price will probably reflect that. Well,
no for sure, in just three more days. And speaking of developing
evs, Volkswagen is not going to develop the Scout SUV and pickup in house.
Instead, it's turning to Magnu Steyer to do the development work. An
Austrian newspaper says that VW will pay Magna four hundred and fifty million euros to develop the Electiontric off road vehicles, which are supposed to go into production in late twenty twenty six. Early in the project, Magna was in the running
to assemble the vehicles, but VW decided to build its own brand new assembly plant in South Carolina. The newspaper also reports that Audi will use that platform
to develop its own hardcore off road suv to compete with the Mercedes g Wagon.
VW and Magna Steyer have a history of collaboration. Magna developed an off
road version of the VW Golf and it also productionized the design of the Audi tt 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. Volkswagen says it needs to cut costs by ten billion euros or about
eleven billion bucks, and says it's ready to cut jobs to get there.
The head of the Volkswagen brand, Thomas Schaeffer, warned that the VW brand is no longer competitive because of high costs and low productivity, so he's in talks with VW's works council to reduce headcount at the company, but that's not going to be easy. Laying off people in Europe is hard to do and
labor representatives on the board will fight against it. VW says it will cut
costs in other areas as well and will reveal more details by the end of the year. For the first time, a Chinese brand has made the final
list for European Car of the Year. The BYDC seal and all electric sedan
is going up against the BMW five series, Kia EV nine, Poujo three thousand and eight, Renault, Senek, Toyota COCHR and Volvo X thirty for the twenty twenty four award, which will be announced that the Geneva Auto Show in late February. Those seven vehicles were chosen from a list of twenty eight
models by fifty nine journalists in twenty two countries, And if you really wanted to get technical, you could consider the Volvo as a Chinese model as well.
The EX thirty is based on a platform from Volvo's Chinese parent company, jil and it's only made in China right now. However, the Ex thirty
is scheduled to go into production in Belgium sometime in twenty twenty five. Auto
suppliers are voicing their concern over Chinese companies setting up shop in Mexico. The
president of Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, Flavio Volpa, says Chinese suppliers will use Mexico as a backdoor way to export parts to the US and Canada.
He says Chinese suppliers will displace North American ones because they'll be able to undercut them when bidding on new contracts. Earlier this month, Volpa met with the
American Chamber of Commerce and officials from the US State, Commerce, Energy, and Interior departments to raise the issue, and he also had separate meetings with members of Congress and shortly After that visit, a group of bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to the US Trade Representative urging her to boost the twenty five percent tariff on Chinese made vehicles and to look into ways to prevent Chinese companies from exporting into the US from Mexico. Stallantis plans to make billions fixing up
and selling old cars and parts. It just opened its first circular economy hub
in Italy, where it will take in old cars and parts and either fix them, reuse them, or recycle them. That includes fixing an entire vehicle,
which could use some of those old or remanufactured parts, or it could add a fresh coat of pain if it thinks it's worth it. Stillantis will
then resell the cars and parts to customers. It says by twenty twenty five
it expects to manage over fifty thousand remanufactured parts and jump that to one hundred and fifty thousand by twenty thirty, and by that same time it forecasts that its circular economy hubs will be generating more than two billion euros of revenue.
Officials in Paris want to force big vehicles out of the city. Specifically,
they want to reduce the number of SUVs, so they want to hike up parking fees and they're even going to hold a citizens vote on it next year.
Specifically, they want to boost parking fees for icy vehicles that more than three thousand, five hundred and twenty seven pounds and evs that weigh more than four thousan four hundred and nine pounds. To figure out a car's weight,
scanners will be used to scan license plates, which will be used to get the vehicle's info. But big SUVs aren't the only vehicles that Paris wants to
get rid of. It's gradually banning diesel cars. In just a few months
back, it banned all rental scooters. The suspension system in the refreshed Porscha
Panamara sounds pretty amazing. It's available with a new active ride suspension system that
pairs two valve shock absorbers with an electrically operated hydraulic pump. Porsche says it
can pull down the front end when accelerating or the rear wind braking, and it can even lean into turns like a motorcycle, so that the car stays flat at all times. It will even raise the suspension when you come to
a stop so getting out is easier. Beyond the trick new suspension system,
the new pan Amra features upgrades to the powertrain as well. The base two
point nine liters turbov six now makes two hundred and sixty kilowatts or roughly three hundred and fifty horse power, and it will do zero to sixty miles an hour as quick as four point seven seconds with all wheel drive. Also available
as a plug in hybrid that combines a four liter twin turbov eight with an electric motor that come together for five hundred kilowatts or about six hundred and seventy horse power. This model will do zero to sixty and three seconds and has
a bigger nearly twenty six kilowat hour battery pack that provides up to ninety one kilometers or fifty six miles of range. But Porsche says it will eventually launch
four E hybrid models, including at least one version with even more power.
However, it's no longer going to offer the slightly raised sport to Resmo Panamera because of the new Panama starts hitting dealers showrooms in the spring of next year with a starting price around one hundred thousand dollars That brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for making autoline a part of your day. Auto
Line Daily is brought to you by Bridgetone Solutions for your journey, Intrepid Control Systems, over the Air, Engineering boost your game, borg Warner Propulsion solutions that support a clean, energy efficient world, Scheffler we pioneer motion, and by Tajin Automotive Technologies The Formula for Better Mobility. The Tajing 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 Tajing Automotive Technologies The Formula for Better Mobility at CES January ninth through twelve, twenty twenty four, and Trupid's looking forward to seeing you at our booth three six sixty six Las Vegas Convention Center in the West Hall. We'll be demonstrating the latest and greatest
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About this episode
Electric vehicles are becoming a pivotal issue in the 2024 US and European elections, with political parties taking opposing stances on EV investments and their economic impact. Tesla prepares to deliver its first Cybertruck, revealing pricing after development challenges. Volkswagen outsources its Scout EV development to Magna to cut costs amid restructuring plans. The episode also covers the rise of Chinese brands in Europe, concerns over Chinese suppliers in Mexico, Stellantis' circular economy initiatives, Paris' efforts to limit large vehicles, and Porsche's advanced suspension system in the refreshed Panamera lineup.
- Stellantis Ready to Ease Up on EV Investments - EVs To Play Big Role In 2024 Elections - Thursday Is Red Letter Day for Tesla - VW Outsources Scout Development to Magna - VW To Cut Jobs and Costs - BYD Makes Final List for EU Car of The Year - Canada Worried About Chinese Suppliers in Mexico - Stellantis Remanufactures Used Parts - Paris Wants Big Vehicles Gone - Porsche Panamera’s Trick Suspension
