Tesla is offering a free one-month trial of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) tech in the US, with staff required to demonstrate it before delivery, potentially slowing the process. Fisker faces bankruptcy after failed talks with Nissan and stock suspension. China's EV price war intensifies as BYD cuts prices to attract rural buyers, pressuring competitors like Toyota and VW. Volkswagen R expands its electric performance lineup, while Genesis pushes sporty luxury with new models. Isuzu and Toyota plan electric pickups for Southeast Asia. Porsche debuts an advanced active ride suspension in the Panamera, enhancing comfort and handling with cutting-edge tech.
Topics:tesla full self drivingfisker bankruptcychina ev price warvolkswagen r performance evsgenesis sporty luxury modelselectric pickups southeast asiaporsche active ride suspensionev market competitionautomotive technology innovation
- Tesla Owners Get Free FSD For a Month - Fisker Headed Toward Bankruptcy - China Price War Going Into Round 2 - China Sales Forecast to Slow This Year - VW R Will Develop Performance Electrics - Genesis Shows Extreme Luxury and Sporty Concepts - Toyota Rushes EV Pickup for Thailand - New Porsche Suspension is "Mind Blowing"
"...think the styling is simple and elegant, like the range Rover. Hyundai calls it reductive design. The interior ..."
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To help customers get more familiar with its capabilities, Elon Musk announced that Tesla is offering a one month free trial of its full self driving technology in the US. In addition to that, Tesla's staff are now required to demonstrate the
driver assistance system to new customers before they hand over the vehicle. Elon said
this will slow deliveries, but it's a quote hard requirement that's very important.
EV's startup. Fisker is going to need a miracle if it's going to survive.
The company announced that talks with a large automaker, reportedly Nissan, about a possible tie up, have fallen through. Because of that, trading of
the company's shares was suspended, and the New York Stock Exchange is looking to delist Fisker because its stock dropped to nine cents a share before trading was stopped and because it won't be partnering up with another automaker. Fisker says it won't
be able to meet a condition of a one hundred and fifty million dollar financial commitment from an investor and says it needs to seek a waiver for that condition.
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Fisker has hired advisors for a possible bankruptcy filing, and now that is looking more likely. That
price war in China shows no signs of letting up. In fact, it's
just the opposite. BYD has slashed the price of almost every car it sells,
which includes one hundred different models. China expert Bill Russo from the consultancy
Automobility calls it round two of the price war. Bloomberg reports that BYD's strategy
is to pull more customers out of ice cars and into new energy vehicles, especially in rural areas where up to now most customers couldn't afford electric cars.
The strategy also threatens Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan, which have been slow to bring EV's to the market. Even though the first quarter is not even
over yet, the number of price cuts in China have almost reached half of last year's total. Bloomberg New Energy Finance says most EV makers in China are
not profitable, and that could finally force those companies into mergers or bankruptcies.
And last year, car sales in China top thirty million vehicles for the first time, which was a twelve percent gain compared to twenty twenty two. But
this year that pace is expected to slow down. Gascu is forecasting that sales
in China will increase one point eight percent this year. We know that sales
of evs are growing at a faster rate, which means that ice vehicles will lose market share. When the piece and quiet of your morning commute is as
comforting as your morning machiato, that's what really matters. Bridgedown Taranza evy tires
less noise for more quiet comfort. While color me embarrassed, Here's something I
feel like I should have known. Volkswagen's performance division, called Volkswagen R has
been operating as its own separate brand since twenty twenty and I'm learning this now because Volkswagen AR is growing even more. It produced more than thirty five thousand
vehicles last year and in the future it will show new performance and design concepts and small series production vehicles, which will include all electric R models as well as performance parts and lifestyle accessories. It even built its first brand pavilion in
Germany to hold events to show off some of those new vehicles for its fans and customers, and speaking of concepts, Genesis revealed several new models that to me show that it wants to push its identity as sporty and luxury to their extremes. Extreme luxury is shown with the Neo Loon, a large four passenger
SUV. I think the styling is simple and elegant, like the range Rover.
Hyundai calls it reductive design. The interior features cashmere in some places,
plush leather seats, and a large front display screen, but when the vehicle is not moving or possibly in autonomous mode, the front seats swivel around completely.
As for extreme sporty, Genesis revealed a new trim called Magma. It
showed a version of the GV sixty with improved motor and battery technology that's wider and lower and has better arrow and cooling, but it also showed how the Magma treatment could be applied to its other cars. Isssuzu revealed an all new,
all electric one ton pickup truck concept called the Dmax that it says will launch next year in the e Australia and Thailand, and that last market must have scared Toyota a little bit, because it now also announced that it's coming out with an electric pickup for Thailand, where it expects to sell about a quarter of a million vehicles this year. Reuters reports it will be a battery
electric version of the Highlux, which could be ready for sale by the end of next year. Portia unveiled its active ride suspension earlier this year, but
now the media is getting the chance to drive it in the new Panamara and Wards reports that the results are quote mind blowing. Porscha says the Panama will
lean into quarters like a motorcycle. It will lean forward when accelerating and backward
when breaking like a helicopter, which it says makes driving more comfortable for the passengers. It automatically reduces pitch and roll so the car stays flat when cornering
hard, and it does away with sway bars so that when the tire hits a bump or dip on one side of the car, it's not transferred to the other side. This took some serious engineering to develop. Porscha spent six
years getting it ready for production. Each corner of the car can be controlled
individually. The act of dampers can push a wheel harder into the road or
retract them into the wheel well. Each damper has an electric high pressure hydraulic
pump to actively control compression and rebound. Instead of using cameras to scan the
road ahead, it uses sensors to analyze wheel and body acceleration, so it works in all visibility in road conditions, and it's fast, running at thirteen hertz, meaning it can make up to thirteen adjustments. A second Porsche says
it theoretically could get rid of the springs, but that would be energy intensive, so it uses a single chamber airspring. The energy for the active ride
suspension comes from a four hundred volt high voltage battery, and it's only available as an option on the plug in hybrid versions of the panamer but Portia says it's already developed a version for future electric cars. That brings us to the
end of today's show. Thank you for tuning in. Auto Line Daily is
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