Automotive sales surged in 2023 with General Motors leading US sales and Volkswagen Group outselling Tesla in European EV markets. Tesla faces a major recall in China over autopilot safety, sparking debate on OTA fixes versus traditional recalls. US senators urge non-union automakers like Tesla and Rivian to remain neutral amid UAW tensions. China’s EV market grows rapidly but many local makers miss targets. BYD shines in Brazil’s EV market. The North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year awards spotlight Toyota Prius, Ford Super Duty, and Kia EV9, highlighting hybrid and electric vehicle trends.
Topics:us vehicle sales 2023european ev markettesla autopilot recall chinaunionization and uawchina ev market growthbyd in brazilnactoy awardshybrid vehiclesover the air updatesautomaker sales strategies
- U.S. 2023 Sales Hit 15.3 Million Units - VW Group EVs Outsell Tesla in EU - Tesla More Efficient Than BYD Selling Cars - UK Car Sales Best Since Covid Breakout - Is an OTA Really a Recall? - 33 U.S. Senators Warn OEMs Over UAW - China Auto Industry Misses Sales Goals - BYD’s EVs Sell Well in Brazil - NACTOY Chooses Best Car, Truck, Utility
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This was Outoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
Most automakers selling light and medium duty vehicles in the US finally reported their sales for twenty twenty three, and here's what the numbers look like. They
sold a total of fifteen point three million vehicles, up sixteen percent compared to twenty twenty two, and the year ended on a high note, with December sales hitting a SAR or seasonally adjusted annual rate of sixteen point four million, which was at least a million units higher than analysts were forecasting. And here's
the sales rankings by automaker. General Motors topped the list, with Toyota surpassing
Ford for second place. Amazingly, the Hyundai Group, including Kia and Genesis,
is the fourth largest automaker in the American market, beating out Stilantis and Honda. Nissan came in seventh place, with Tesla outselling Subaru and the Volkswagen
Group. Strangely, Mercedes still hasn't reported its twenty twenty three sales, but
it probably wouldn't change any of these rankings. Meanwhile, in Europe, sales
of pure electric vehicles rose twenty one percent last year, as Europeans bought three hundred and twenty three thousand more bvs than they did in twenty twenty two.
Total b EV sales went over one point eight million units, and surprise surprise, the Volkswagen Group handledly out sold Tesla. The group, including VW,
Audi, Scota, Sayat and Koupra but not Portia, sold over three hundred and fifty eight thousand BEVs in Europe last year, compared to three hundred and twenty five thousand for Tesla. While Tesla does not break out sales on a
regional basis, the website euevs collects owner registrationations, which serves as a proxy for sales. Stilantis, which includes pougeot Opal, Satroan, Vauxhall and DS,
came in third place with one hundred and sixty three thousand beeves. The
Hyundai group captured fourth place with one hundred and forty eight thousand, and Renault including Dashia came in fifth place with one hundred and thirty six thousand units.
It's sometimes interesting to see how EV sales compare on a corporate basis, and not just by brand or model. Byd may have passed Tesla in sales of
pure electric vehicles in China in the fourth quarter of last year, but Tesla is still ahead when it comes to sales efficiency. According to data from China
Merchants Bank International, during the first ten months of twenty twenty three, Tesla sold more than fifteen hundred vehicles on average at its stores in China, up from thirteen hundred and twenty twenty two. BYD, on the other hand,
only sold six hundred cars per store, including plug in hybrids, which was about the same as it did in twenty twenty two. Tesla's real time management
of its sales staff is credited with giving it this advantage. It monitors its
twenty eight hundred sales staff on an hourly basis to find out how good they are at bringing new customers into showrooms, arranging test drives, in placing orders.
The best staff can earn more than forty two hundred dollars a month plus bonuses, which is much higher than its rivals. Even so, BYD's market
share is growing faster than Tesla and China Tesla held a twelve percent share in the first ten months of twenty twenty three, up from ten percent in twenty twenty two, but BYDS share grew from twenty one percent in twenty twenty two to twenty seven percent. Like the US, the UK also posted its best
year of new car sales since the pandemic. According to the Society of Motor
Manufacturers and Traders or SMMT, automakers sold more than one point nine million vehicles, up nearly eighteen percent from twenty twenty two. That includes nearly three hundred
and fifteen thousand beevs, which is more than the previous two years combined.
But while sales were up strong last year, there's still nearly eighteen percent below pre pandemic levels and the SMMT expects the first few months of this year to be rocky for sales due to quote regulatory uncertainties regarding EU UK rules of origin.
At CES January ninth through twelve, twenty twenty four, and Trepid'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 jurnal architectures, Automotive ethernet technologies like ten T one S and multi Gigibbit cus CS twenty twenty four, Las Vegas Convention Center in West Hallbooth three six sixty six, or visit interpidcs dot com slash sales. Tesla is
making headlines because it has to recall nearly every vehicle it's ever sold in China, But we wonder if it should really be called a recall when all the issues can be fixed within Over the air update, China's State Administration for Market Regulation ruled that drivers can easily misuse the autopilot system, which increases the safety risk. The official wording of it all sounds very similar to what NITZA said
when it issued a recall on autopilot in North America. Last month, Tesla
voluntarily sent out an ota that made autopilot alerts more noticeable, simplified how the system is turned on and off, and implemented a five strike penalty for those that ignore warning. It's unclear if China will accept the same fixes, and
right now I've got many alarm bells going off in my head. The Chinese
government has already expressed concerns about all the data captured by Tesla's autopilot system.
Tesla set up a domestic storage center to make sure that data stays in the country as a way to help smooth things over. But I still have some
worry this could turn into something bigger. A group of thirty three senators,
all Democrats, sent a letter to non union car companies in the US, including Tesla and Rivian, urging them to stay neutral with the UAW. The
letter comes after the UAW accused several companies of union busting activities, which the automakers deny. The letter says, in part quote, a neutrality agreement is
the bare minimum standard manufacturers should meet in respecting workers' rights, especially as companies receive and benefit from federal funds related to the electric vehicle transition. It also
seems to imply that the Senate could cut IRA funding if a company does not allow collective bargaining for its workers. We mostly agree that automakers should respect workers'
rights and stay neutral in union organization. But maybe someone should tell these politicians
that they ought to be neutral and stay out of this too. Sales of
new energy vehicles or nyvs, rose thirty eight percent in China last year to nearly nine million units, but car makers that struggled with NYV sales and exports, which was the other big growth sector in China, were well off their targets for the year. According to partial data release by the China Passenger Car
Association, two thirds of Chinese automakers completely missed their sales goals for twenty twenty three. What's more, only eighty two ny vs makers were able to sell
at least one car, which is down from ninety two and it's not going to get any easier as the competition heats up in the country. Many traditional
automakers like Toyota have said they don't plan on introducing evs and developing markets because those countries don't have the infrastructure to support them. But byd is proving them
wrong. At least in Brazil, the Chinese automaker was the top EV branded
twenty twenty three, with nearly eighteen thousand vehicles sold, which includes its plug in hybrids. The Dolphin EV helped fuel that growth. It launched in Brazil
in the middle of twenty twenty three and sold nearly seven thousand units in six months. Overall, more than fifty two thousand BEVs and phebs were sold in
Brazil last year. NACTOY, which is an organization of fifty automotive journalists from
across the United States in Canada announced the winners for the best car, truck, in utility of the year. The Toyota Prius including the Prius Prime,
was voting Car of the Year, beating out the Honda Accord and Hyundai Ionix six. The Ford Super Duty pickup line was voted Truck of the Year,
beating out the Chevrolet Colorado in Silverado EV, and the Kia EV nine was voted Utility of the Year, beating out the Genesis Electrified GV seventy and the Hyundai Kona EV. Here's how Jeff Gilbert, the president of NACTOY, summed
up this year's voting. So, Jeff Gilbert, president of NACTOY, what
do you think of the turnout, the vote, how everything came out today.
I think this was a great cross section of the North American vehicle market.
Think about this, John, you have a work truck, do you have an electric vehicle? You have a hybrid? Talk about covering the gambit
of what's selling in the market here. I couldn't have planned a better an
He's surprises student, Yeah, the one surprise I had was the Prius winning.
I really was thinking the Accord was a nice mid size car, and you know, the Ionic six was kind of a dark horse here because it's a nice electric vehicle and we've been giving this award a lot for electric vehicles.
But you know what, the Prius is also a justification for Toyota.
They've done great in recent years. They've been finalists a lot of time.
I believe the only other Toyota to win this award in the past was the Prius before, so it's nice to see a lot of the quality of the value of Toyota payoff. No good I totally agree with you on the Prius
being a surprise, but kudos to them for winning it, absolutely and you know what, it does also think about it, the last six months or so, there's just been this rumbling about hybrids there's a lot of life left in them. For the last four or five years, Toyota has been saying
that, So this kind of underscores something they've been saying for a while.
And that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for tuning in,
and I hope that you have a great weekend. Auto Line Daily is
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