AD #3725 - EVs Driving Most of BMW’s Sales Growth; Dodge Fans Not Happy with EV Design; Nissan Delays U.S. EV Production

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BMWCFO says the company is at a tipping point with EV's and ices.

He says that most of BMW sales growth now comes from evs and it won't be looking back. Last year, the BMW group, including Mini and Rolls

Royce, sold over two and a half million vehicles, which was up six and a half percent, but total group BV sales were up over seventy four percent to a little more than three hundred and seventy five thousand units, or a fifteen percent share of sales. The CFO doesn't think its IC sales will

go up anymore and will continue at roughly their current rate before starting to fall off, which should happen in the next couple of years. However, BMW

is still making more profit on its IC vehicles and it doesn't expect it to even out until twenty twenty six, when it predicts its EV sales share will be a little more than double than the fifteen percent that it is now.

And speaking of BMW sales, the German automaker was once again the top selling premium brand globally last year. It sold more than two point two million vehicles

in twenty twenty two, a seven percent gain that helped BMW sta ahead a second place Mercedes, which sold just over two million vehicles last year. Audi

was in third place with nearly one point nine million vehicles sold, but Tesla was hot on its heels with more than one point eight million sales. So

if Tesla is able to keep up its sales growth this year, it could threaten to take over the top spot from BMW. As far as EV sales

go, the BMW brand sold nearly three hundred and thirty one thousand electrics, Mercedes sold two hundred and twenty two thousand, six hundred, and Audi sold one hundred and seventy eight thousand evs last year. And we're gonna stay on

the sales side of things for another moment. Russia's car sales are finally on

their way back up, and it has the Chinese to think. Before Russia

invaded Ukraine and all the major foreign automakers pulled out of the country, it sold about one point six million vehicles a year, but with no one really making new cars to sell, that number dropped by about a million units, and that left the door open for the Chinese to swoop in. Last year,

Russia sold over a million new cars, which is a jump of nearly seventy percent, but Chinese brands accounted for almost half of those sales, or nearly five hundred thousand units, and it seems like the Chinese could dominate the Russian market for a long time. China has roughly one hundred and fifty million

more vehicles on its roads than the US. There's about two hundred and eighty

million cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles in the US, but according to China's Minister three of Public Security, it has four hundred and thirty five million registered vehicles, and cars alone account for three hundred and thirty six million of that figure. Even though those are big numbers, it doesn't represent a

whole lot of growth, only a point zero five percent increase over twenty twenty two. As we know, China has become such a competitive market that brands

are starting to rely more heavily on exporting, and for the first time ever, China became the world's biggest car export last year. 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 technology the formula for better mobility, the design police were on patrol over the weekend.

Dodge revealed pictures of a pre production version of its first EV based on the Charger Daytona SRT concept. While it does look close to the concept,

many people were critical of the car, especially the front end. They seem

to think it doesn't look as muscular, some even saying it doesn't look like a Dodge. But let us know what you think. Is this an EV

worthy of wearing the Dodge logo. One of the big automotive trends that we

saw last week at CES was technology to determine if a driver is drunk.

At least half a dozen Tier one suppliers are working on it because the US Congress mandated that alcohol detection systems have to be in all light vehicles by twenty twenty seven. Two versions of the technology are leading the way. One uses

a camera to monitor the driver's eyes if it sees that they are staring or not moving very much. It's an indicator of intoxication. The other technology uses

a breathalyzer to detect alcohol on a driver's breath. Both systems are still under

development, and the suppliers who make them are not confident that they'll be ready for twenty twenty seven. NITZA has not written the regulations that companies have to

follow. There's also a lot of testing and development that needs to be done,

and then automakers have to integrate the systems into their cars. An even

bigger issue will the public go along with it? What if your car detects

that you're drunk, but there's a raging forest fire and you need to get out, Or what if you're being stocked in the parking lot outside of a bar and need to get away. Preventing drivers from driving drunk is a great

goal, but it's a lot more complicated than some people may realize. Nissan

is delaying EV production at its plant in Canton, Mississippi, for a second time. Production of a Nissan EV will start in November of twenty twenty six,

and production of an Infinity EV will begin in April of twenty twenty seven, out five months later than originally planned for both models. According to a

memo obtained by Automotive News. The automaker is delaying production because it needs to

quote enhance product competitiveness. Nissan is also concerned about slowing EV demand, so

it's considering extending production of the Ultima, which is also built in Mississippi, by another year. Nissan had planned to end ultimate production in late twenty twenty

five. And while Nissan is delaying the launch of new evs, it's expanding

the lineup of what it already has in the market. The automaker unveiled a

Nismo version of the Aria, which is based on the all wheel drive version of the model, which Nissan calls E Force. The Nismo version has a

peak output that's about ten percent higher than the base model. It also features

an exclusive driving mode for better response, and improved aerodynamics that reduces drag and improves the downforce at higher se speeds. The Nismo version of the Aria goes

on sale in Japan the spring, but no word yet if it will launch in other markets. LG is not only building EV batteries in the US,

it's also now producing EV chargers. The company announced it's opened its first US

EV charger plant in Texas, which has the capacity to make twelve thousand units a year. It will initially produce level two portable wall chargers and later this

year it will start building level three chargers. Speaking of ev chargers, here's

a new one that generates electricity by burning wood. A company called air Burners

teamed up with Rolls Royce and Volvo Construction Equipment to launch the bio Charger, which converts the residual heat energy from burning vegetative waste into electric energy and then stores it in a four hundred and fifty kilowat hour battery unit. Air Burner

says it can generate enough electricity every day to power three to six machines, and by using air curtain technology, it can reduce the amount of harmful particulates that are released into the air. But that brings us to the end of

the day. Show. Thanks for tuning in. Auto Line Daily is brought

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AD #3725 - EVs Driving Most of BMW’s Sales Growth; Dodge Fans Not Happy with EV Design; Nissan Delays U.S. EV Production

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