Tesla exceeded expectations with strong Q4 and full-year EV sales, but BYD claimed the Q4 sales crown thanks to a broader, more affordable lineup. Honda is exploring repurposing used fuel cells for energy storage in a new partnership, while Neo is enhancing battery swapping stations with solar power and faster charging. Porsche set a new Nürburgring lap record for electric sedans with its upcoming Taycan model, challenging Tesla's dominance. Stellantis expanded its employee stock purchase program and teased the new all-electric Lancia Epsilon with advanced infotainment. The episode also covered key automotive security tips and upcoming industry events focused on software-defined vehicles.
Topics:tesla ev salesbyd ev salesused fuel cell energy storagebattery swapping stationsporsche nurburgring lap recordstellantis employee stock programlancia epsilon evcar keyfob securitysoftware defined vehiclesautomotive industry events
- Tesla Beats Analysts Sales Estimates - BYD Passes Tesla in Q4 EV Sales - Honda To Test Used Fuel Cells for Energy Storage - NIO Adds Solar Panels to Battery Swapping Stations - Stellantis Employees Snap-Up Company Stock - New Taycan Beats Model S Plaid on The Nurburgring - Lancia Teases New Ypsilon - Store Your Key Fob in Metal Can to Prevent Car Theft - Jim Farley Launches Second Season of DRIVE Podcast
"...ur, faster on the straightaways than the previous Tikon with a performance pack. However, Porsche does no..."
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
Happy New Year to everybody, and welcome back to our first show of twenty twenty four. I know I had a great time off, and I
hope that you did too. You know, our mission here is to keep
you up to speed with the most important developments in the industry. So let's
get to the news. Tesla surprise analysts by selling more cars than they expected.
In the fourth quarter. It sold four hundred and eighty four thousand,
five hundred and seven vehicles globally, well above the four hundred and seventy three thousand that analysts predicted on average. In December alone, Teslas sold over ninety
four thousand cars in China, up more than sixty eight percent compared to last year and an all time record for the company. For the year, Tesla
sold just over one point eight million vehicles globally, up thirty eight percent compared to twenty twenty two. It expects to sell two point two million vehicles this
year, which would be a growth rate of twenty two percent. Even so,
BYD was able to grab the ev sales crown for the fourth quarter by selling five hundred and twenty six thousand, four hundred and nine evs, though Tesla did keep the crown for the full year. Byd has a broader lineup
of vehicles that are generally priced much lower than testless cars, and those cars don't generate as much revenue or profit as teslas do. You've heard of reusing
old EV batteries for energy storage, right while Honda is looking into using old fuel cells for the same thing. It's partnering with Mitsubishi and the chemical engineering
company Tokuyama to test the system at a data center in Japan. Honda will
develop the stationary storage system using old fuel cells, and byproduct, hydrogen will be produced by Tokuyama to supply electricity to the data center operated by Mitsubishi.
The two year project kicks off in March and will study the economics and feasibility of the system. Neo is going to start using solar panels on its battery
swapping stations, which the company estimates will generate eighteen thousand kilowad hours of electricity a year, called Power Swap Stations four point zero. They're also compatible with
other brands. Since Neo recently signed battery swapping deals with several automakers. The
stations can also change a battery twenty two percent faster than before. The company
has already built more than two thousand swapping stations and says it will build another thousand this year. Last November, Stalantas started giving employees the opportunity to buy
shares in the company at a twenty percent discount, and they responded resoundingly.
The program is called Shares to Win, and it was offered to eighty five thousand employees in France and Italy, and the company matched one hundred percent of whatever they bought up to one thousand euros. Stillanta said employees invested sixty five
million euros, snapping up around four point four million shares. Now. Stilantis
will expand the program to two hundred and forty two thousand employees and eighteen countries in the first half of this year, and in twenty twenty five it plans to roll it out to all its employees worldwide. The tajin 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. Portia and Tesla have traded punches for fastest sedan on
the nurburg Ring, and Porsche just landed a hard uppercut. A pre series
version of the new Tekon, which is expected to be revealed soon, lapped the nurberg Ring in just under seven minutes and eight seconds. That's twenty six
seconds faster than Porsche's previous ev record on the track in eighteen seconds faster than the Tesla Modelesque plaid with the track package. This pre series Porsche no doubt
has some sort of performance package as well, and it was also equipped with a roll cage in racing seats. For the test. The company says the
new car was going twenty five kilometers an hour or over fifteen miles per hour, faster on the straightaways than the previous Tikon with a performance pack. However,
Porsche does not have the fastest EVY lap time on the nurburg Ring.
That title belongs to the Rimcknavara, which is about two and a half seconds faster than the new Taikon. But considering the Tychon is a four door sedan
that will probably cost around two hundred thousand dollars for this particular model, and not a two million dollar plus two door supercar. The Porscha time is pretty
impressive. Lanchio, which falls under the Stalantis umbrella, is teasing the all
new Epsilon that debuts next month. The model features design inspiration from the Porrah
Hpe concept, as well as pass models like the round taillights that were inspired by the Stratos. The new Epsilon will debut a new infotainment system called SALA,
which is short for Sound Air Light Augmentation. It features a centralized control
panel that allows users to make changes with gesture and voice commands. The first
version teased here will be an all electric model limited to just over nineteen hundred examples, but it's also possible there will be IC versions as well. Stilantis's
Evy platforms allow for multiple powertrain types, and hopefully we'll learn more in about a month. Do you have one of those wireless keyfobs to open your car
and start the engine, But did you know that car thieves can capture the signal from your fob, open your car, start the engine, and drive away, even if it's safely inside your house, but you can stop thieves cold. The CEO of a tech company called Guardnox cyber Technologies tells the Detroit
Free Press that you shouldn't just toss your keyfob on the table when you get home. Instead, he says, put it in a metal can like a
coffee can, or wrap it in tinfoil, or in some kind of Faraday cage like a wire mesh that blocks the signal from the keyfob and prevents thieves from stealing your car. Ford's CEO, Jim Farley, launched a podcast in
twenty twenty two called Drive. He snagged quite a few A List celebrities as
his guests, like NFL star Tom Brady, actor Dak Sheppard, and late night TV host Jimmy Fallon. Well, Farley like being a podcast host so
much that he's kicking off another season. Jimmy Fallon is back, and the
singer Kelly Clarkson is coming on as a guest. Farley put out a trailer
promoting the podcast that has other celebrities on it, but we only hear their voices and don't get the names. Maybe you can guess who they are.
We've got a link in the transcript and description box. They call them sdvs
or software to find Vehicles, and it's one of the hottest topics in the auto industry right now. But which car company is doing the best job of
developing sdvs? Who's in the lead? While that's the topic on Autoline After
Hours tomorrow, when we'll have Mark Wakefield from alex Partners, which surveyed one hundred and eighty executives at automakers, suppliers and tech companies to learn where they stand with software defind vehicles. If you want to stay up to speed on
the hottest trends in the industry, don't miss out on auto Line After Hours and don't miss our coverage of CS that kicks off next week in Las Vegas, as we bring you interviews and insights from experts and executives about the latest automotive tech the world has to offer. But 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, and by Tajun Automotive Technologies.
The formula for Better mobility see as January ninth, twelve, twenty twenty four. Intrepid'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 in the software defined vehicles and zurnal architectures, automotive ethernet technologies like ten based T one S and multi gigibbit cus CS twenty twenty four, Las Vegas Convention Center in West Hall, Booth three six sixty six Or visit intrepidcs dot com slash sales
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