Inventory levels in the US auto industry are recovering but remain below pre-pandemic levels due to supply chain challenges. Chinese automakers like BYD and SAIC are expanding their vehicle shipping fleets to boost overseas sales amid domestic market saturation. Weimo plans to launch a Level 4 autonomous Robotaxi in the US later this year. Meanwhile, Stellantis is expanding its vehicle recycling service in Europe to create a circular economy for parts. A German company, Vey, is introducing a unique teledriving ride-hailing service in Las Vegas. Ram unveiled its first electric ProMaster van with multiple configurations and a 162-mile city range.
- U.S. Car Inventory to Continue to Rise - BYD and SAIC Expand Shipping Fleets - Waymo Robotaxi Expected to Debut This Year - Stellantis Expands EU Recycling Business - Unique Autonomous Service Launched In Las Vegas - Ram Introduces New ProMaster EV - Stellantis Executive Change Correction
"...users. Ram introduced the electric version of its ProMaster Van, the first pure ev in its lineup. It's equipp..."
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This was Autoligne Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
As we reported earlier this month, the US auto industry is recovering from its inventory shortages. Cox Automotive says inventory levels were back up and ended at
a three year high last year of two point seven million vehicles. That trend
is expected to continue this year. According to data analytics firm Cloud Theory,
US inventory levels will average three million vehicles a month this year. However,
that number is still below pre pandemic levels because the industry is still dealing with supply chain issues that's impacting production. China was the number one vehicle exporter last
year, and it will probably stay like that for a long time, as Chinese automakers are now building out their own car shipping fleets. Last week,
BYD got the first of two ships that it's supposed to get this year, which which can carry up to seven thousand vehicles each, and it's reportedly aiming to eventually have eight in its fleet. Meanwhile, SAIC wants to add another
fourteen car hauling ships to its portfolio over the next three years. It already
owns a logistics company that operates thirty one Vessels, which also hauls cars for Dong Fung and Great Wall. By adding more ships to its fleet, SEIC
expects to be able to increase its sales outside of China by roughly one hundred and fifty thousand units to one point three five million vehicles this year. And
the reason so many Chinese automakers are starting to branch out overseas is because too many new cars are coming into their home market every year and profits are lower as companies try to get ahead of their competition with price cuts. Weimo could
have its own purpose built Robotaxi in the US before the end of the year.
In twenty twenty one, Weimo and Chinese automaker Zeker, which is owned by g announced a collaboration to build the Robotaxi on a modified version of Geele's sea platform that's dedicated to autonomous mobility. This is the original concept that they
showed at the time, and Car News China reports that the production model will be based on the Zeker M Vision concept, which is not too different from the original design. The Robotaxi will have Level four autonomous capability, which means
it won't necessarily require a driver and could have a similar interior layout to the m Vision concept. However, based on spy shots obtained by Car News China,
which we can't show here but will provide a link if you'd like to see, the front doors won't slide forward, rather the open like conventional car doors. The production version of the Weimo Robotaxi is expected to hit the market
later this year. Stillantis is expanding its service in Europe to collect end of
life vehicles. It first started last year collecting old vehicles from business owners,
but now it's reaching out to private owners as well. Stillant has created the
new joint venture with a recycling company, and they call it Valore. Auto
Owners first fill out an information form which is used to appraise the car.
If the owner agrees to the amount, they can take the car to one of three hundred recycling centers or auto will come pick it up for free.
Right now, the service is available in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, with plans to expand from there. The reason Stillantis is doing this is that it
wants to get access to some of the parts that might still be good on the car. It's setting up a circular economy where it and sell the parts
that are still good, use them to fix up another car, or even help refurbish a car that it will sell as used. And it thinks it
can generate a good bit of revenue doing this. A German mobility company called
Vey is launching a unique autonomous ride hailing service in Las Vegas. Users can
rent a vehicle through an app and the vehicle is then remotely driven to the location, which Vey calls teledriving. The renter then drives themselves to their destination,
and then the vehicle is handed back over to the teledriver, who either drives it to the next user or parks it until it's needed again. The
teledrivers are professionally trained and they sit at a station that includes a steering wheel, pedals, and other vehicle controls. Video and audio from cameras and microphones
equipped on the vehicle is transmitted to the teledriver so they can see and hear what's happening around the vehicle. Users are only charged for the time they use,
which is currently thirty cents per minute when driving and three cents per minute for stopovers. They believes its service is more cost effective and will be interested
to see if this approach is more appealing to users. Ram introduced the electric
version of its ProMaster Van, the first pure ev in its lineup. It's
equipped with a one hundred and ten kilowatt hour battery pack that has a targeted range of one hundred and sixty two miles in the city. It also features
a two hundred kilowatt or two hundred and sixty eight horsepower electric motor that delivers three hundred and two pound feet of torque. The cargo version has a payload
of just over three thousand pounds, while the delivery version is about one thousand pounds less. Eventually, it will be offered in five configurations and will include
two roof heights, two cargo lengths, and two body styles. There's no
word on pricing yet, but the delivery model can be ordered now and the cargo model will be available at a later date. Yesterday, we reported that
Stillant has fired it's head of North America COO, Mark Stewart, but Autoline now understands that Stuart will announce his new job at another company by the end of the week. We also reported that his leaving the company would mean no
Americans were left in senior management positions at Stalantis, but Stillanta says Natalie Knight was appointed CFO last year. Doug Osterman is the COO of Stllanti's China,
and it says several brand CEOs, including Tim Kiniskus at Ram, Chris Fuel at Chrysler, and Chief Design Officer for the America's Ralph Giels are Americans who report to Stalanta's CEO, Carlos Tavares. If you want to learn more about
how evy startups are leaving legacy automakers in the dust, you're not gonna want to miss Audoline after ours tomorrow, We've got Matthew Vacha parampill I'm sorry if I mispronounced that, while he's the CEO of care Soft and he's coming on the show. Care Soft does teardowns and competitive benchmarking of new cars and you'll
be stunned at their findings. We're going to take a deep dive into the
tech features as well as their cost and weight, and the results are eye opening. Joe White from Reuters will also be on the show, so join
John and Gary when we go live tomorrow at three pm Eastern Time. That's
it for today's show. Thanks for watching Auto Line Daily is brought to you
by Bridgestone Solutions for your Journey, Intrepid Control Systems, over the Air Engineering boost your game, and by Tajun Automotive Technologies The Formula for Better Mobility.
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