Ford's Q1 US sales rose 6.8%, driven by strong hybrid and EV growth, while pickup sales dipped. Stellantis faced a 10% sales decline but saw gains in PHEVs and plans to launch multiple EV models. CEO Carlos Tavares sparked debate on sustainable mobility at a recent forum. BYD unveiled a new plug-in hybrid pickup targeting global markets. Renault refreshed the Captur with new tech and hybrid options. Autonomous startup May Mobility aims for high profit margins by replacing backup drivers. EV startup Canoe faces financial scrutiny over CEO jet expenses. Ford also released its historic Ford Times magazine archive online.
Topics:ford q1 saleshybrid and ev growthstellantis sales and ev planscarlos tavarès mobility forumbyd new pickuprenault captur refreshmay mobility profitabilityev startup canoe financialsford times magazine archive
- Ford EVs and Hybrids Power Q1 Sales Gains - Surging PHEV Sales Not Enough to Lift Stellantis - Stellantis' Freedom of Mobility Forum - Stellantis to Build Leapmotor Cars in the EU - BYD Jumps Into the Electrified Pickup Segment - Renault Unveils New Captur - May Mobility Targets 60% Profit Margins - Canoo CEO's Private Jet Costs More Than Company's Revenue - Ford Times Magazine Now Free for All to Read
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Ford and Stilantis reported their Q one sales for the US market, and they're headed in opposite directions. Ford had a solid quarter, selling just over
five hundred and eight thousand vehicles, up six point eight percent from last year, and it was hybrids and EV's that powered that growth. Hybrid sales shot
up forty two percent to more than thirty eight thousand vehicles, while Eve's shot up eighty six percent to just over twenty thousand. ICEE E sales, on
the other hand, were up two point six percent to more than four hundred and forty nine thousand vehicles. Ford still hasn't fully made up loss production of
the Ranger and Bronco from the UAW strike, but as that plant gets back to full line speed, we should see dramatic increases for those two products in the second quarter. Lincoln also had a strong quarter, with sales up thirty
one percent to nearly twenty five thousand units, but on one ominous note, sales of the F series pickups fell ten percent to about one hundred and fifty three thousand units. Even though the f one to fifty Lightning was up eighty
percent, with customers buying seventy seven hundred of them, but Stilantis had a rough quarter in the US, with sales down ten percent to three hundred and thirty two thousand, five hundred vehicles. Like Ford, Ram saw a drop
in pickup sales down fifteen percent, but refreshed versions of the truck are just hitting dealerships now, so that should help out. Sales. Dodge and Alpha
Romeo were also down, but Chrysler in Jeep posted gains powered by p HAVE versions of the Jeep Wrangler and Cherokee, the Dodge Hornet, and the Chrysler Pacifica. Total p HAVE sales were up eighty two percent, and that could
bode well for Stalantis as it gets ready to launch eight p EV models in the US this year, including the Jeep Recon, Ram fifteen hundred, Rav Wagoneer S, Dodge Charger, Daytona, and the all new Fiat five hundred E. And let's stick with Stilantis here for a minute. Yesterday, CEO
Carlos Tavares held a public online forum called Freedom of Mobility, which brought in five thought leaders from around the world including Tavares, to present a wide variety of viewpoints on how to provide people with sustainable and affordable transportation. One of
the things that Tavaras talked about is the need to cut the weight and raw materials of EV batteries in half in the next decade. But some of his
fellow panelists talked about getting rid of all vehicles electric or not. One called
for an outright ban on electric SUVs. Others talked about the need for a
massive shift to public transportation, and some want public policies that will transfer wealth from the global North to the global South. Tavaris initiated this forum to influence
governments with his belief that going all electric doesn't make sense in every region of the world. But we think he might have opened a can of worms that
could end up threatening his own company. Okay, one more Stalantis item Auto
four Cast Solutions did a good analysis of its partnership with Chinese automaker Leap Motor.
The two companies formed a joint venture called Leap Motor International, which is fifty one percent owned by Stalantis and gives it the exclusive rights to manufacture Leap Motor evs outside of China. It's targeting making half a million cars a year
by the end of the decade. The first car will be built in Poland,
where Leap motor will ship semi knocked down versions of the TO three, a small A class car with a thirty six and a half kilowatt hour battery pack, a two hundred and fifty mile range, and a price tag of twenty grand. Future plans include building cars in North America, though presumably that
will be a larger car like Leap Motors co one sedan. Tavaris has said
that tariffs won't save Western automakers from their Chinese rivals, and that they need to learn how to compete, and one way he intends to compete is by making cars with Chinese technology. Intrepid's NEOVIPI allowing automotive engineers to interface, capture,
and monitor vehicle data using Raspberry Pie. As a matter of fact,
it's the automotive industry's first robust platform for Raspberry Pie, featuring Intrepid canefting technology and Raspberry Pie compute module. The NEOVIPI is designed for automotive environments, allowing
use with relative power ranges and applications. In addition, the Neovipi enables you
to use the Raspberry Pie for compute while avoiding additional development to adapt to network environments. That makes the neovipi powerful enough to solve your vehicle network pro yet
small enough to fit in your backpack. One of many intrepid tools used for
developing zonal architecture and software divined vehicles. Global pickup truck makers like Toyota,
Ford and Nissan better take note, because BYD is ready to slice into their market. It revealed a new camouflage version of its new pickup truck that's designed
for regions with both left in right hand drive vehicles. It doesn't have a
name right now, but BYD says it's a plug in hybrid with one hundred kilometers or sixty two miles of all electric range, around one thousand kilometers or six hundred and twenty miles of overall range, and it will be available with an active suspension system. The truck could get its sales license for China this
month and make its way to strong pickup markets like Australia in South Africa before the end of the year. And speaking of new vehicles, Renault pulled the
wraps off the significantly redone. Cap Tour designers closed off the large grill opening
and replaced it with a more horizontal body color element that flows into the front headlights. The rear features C shaped tail lights, with the top line of
the seat extending onto the trunk door. Moving to the refreshed interior, your
eyes are drawn immediately to the center screen, which is more tablet like and mounted vertically on the dash. It has Google built in as well as Android
Automotive twelve, but it also supports Apple CarPlay. The driver gets a new
digital display that's up to ten and a quarter inches. The new cap Tour
comes with an entirely new electronic architecture as well, which allows it to add a number of tech features, including expanded OTA update capabilities and level to autonomous driving. Power will mostly come from a lineup of gas engines that range from
three to four cylinders and mild to full hybrid, but there will also be a propane or LPG option. The new cap Tour will continue to be built
in Spain and will hit the European market sometime this month. Autonomous startup May
Mobility believes there's big bucks to be had in driverless rides. The company's CEO,
At Olsen, believes it can hit sixty percent profit margins once it can get rid of human backup drivers, but since it has to use drivers for now, Olsen says its profit margins are currently in the low single digits.
It currently only offers driverless rides in sun City, Arizona, but it offers rides in three other US cities with a human backup driver on board. May
Mobility is taking a different approach than Waimo and Cruz, and instead of offering a ride hailing robotaxi service, it's pursuing contracts with cities and municipal transportation departments and views city buses as its main competition. EVS startup Canoe needs to raise
a lot more cash, but here's something that will turn off potential investors.
The company spent twice as much on private jets for its CEO then it brought in revenue. Last year. According to its annual ten Q filing, Canoe
spent one point seven million dollars to reimburse an equity firm owned by CEO Tony Aquila for private jets, but the company only brought in eight hundred and eighty six thousand dollars in revenue. In twenty twenty three. Canoe said it's cash
and cash equivalents dropped twenty percent from the quarter prior, falling to six point four million dollars in the fourth quarter. All we can say is it must
be nice to have a board of directors that let you get away with things like this. While this might be a black from your past or just a
chance to brush up on some history, Ford is making the Ford Times magazine collection available to the public. Launched in nineteen oh eight, it was originally
catered to the company's operations, but it later became a consumer publication that featured articles about recreational vehicles, golfing, fishing, restaurants, and much more.
If you go to the Ford Heritage Vault website, you can read or download over three hundred magazines from nineteen sixty four to nineteen eighty one, and it says it's going to add even more in the future. And don't forget to
tune in to Autoline after hours later. Today, we've got Charlie Chessburrow,
the senior economist with Cox Automotive, who has some surprising insights into the way the American car market is going. Are these just a one time blip or
are we seeing fundamental changes in the market. Join John Gary and Mike Elias
from The Wall Street Journal at three pm Eastern Time. Find out that's a
wrap for this show. Thanks for tuning in. Auto Line Daily is brought
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