AD #3783 - BYD Jumping Into Pickups; Ford EVs and Hybrids Power Q1 Sales; May Mobility Targets 60% Profit Margins

This is outolined daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

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

to you by Bridgestone Solutions for your Journey and by Intrepid Control Systems over the air. Engineering boost your game when the elements are working against you. Being

confident in your grip on the road is what really matters. Bridgetone a lens

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AD #3783 - BYD Jumping Into Pickups; Ford EVs and Hybrids Power Q1 Sales; May Mobility Targets 60% Profit Margins

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