BYD outperforms Ford in profit per vehicle, driven by its diverse product lineup and upcoming advanced battery technology. Tesla continues to lead with high per-car profits and has halved its supercharger installation time. GM plans to resume Cruise robotaxi testing after a safety-related suspension. Ford abandons its direct sales model in Europe, opting for an advanced franchise approach while downsizing its dealer network amid its electric transition. Partnerships like BMW with Rimac and Porsche with Clear Motion highlight ongoing innovation in electric drive and active suspension technologies. Ford also unveils the updated Mustang Mach-E with improved performance and range.
Topics:profit per vehiclebattery technologytesla superchargerautopilot lawsuitcruise robotaxiford direct sales europeelectric vehicle partnershipsactive suspensionmustang mach-e updatetoyota 4runner debut
- BYD Makes More Per Car than Ford - BYD Working on Next-Gen Blade Battery - Tesla Settles Autopilot Lawsuit - Tesla Slashes Supercharger Install Time in Half - GM Ready to Restart Cruise - Ford Dropping Direct Sales in Europe - BMW Forms EV Partnership with Rimac - Porsche Expanding Use of Active Suspension Tech - Ford Taking Orders for Updated Mach-E - New Toyota 4Runner Debuts Today
"...ing. Ford revealed the updated twenty twenty four Mustang Machi and it's taking orders now in the US. It ha..."
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This is aut Aligned Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Last year, BYD made more money per car than Ford. The
Chinese auto maker brought in a net profit of about four point one billion dollars and sold just over three million vehicles, which means it would have made about thirteen hundred and fifty bucks on every car it sold. But because BYD makes
more than just cars, statistics company late Finance puts its profit per vehicle closer to twelve hundred and fifty dollars. Even so, that compares to Ford,
who brought in a net profit of about four point three billion dollars and sold about four point four million cars worldwide, which means it made just under a thousand bucks on everyone it sold, and BYD is not too far behind the VW Group or GM, who made just under and just over sixteen hundred dollars per car respectively. However, they're all way behind Tesla, who makes over
eighty two hundred dollars on every car it sells. But it also makes a
lot of sense these other automakers would earn less than Tesla because they sell less expensive models like BYD, Seagull, which is now under ten grand in China.
I'm sure it's one of the reasons BYD introduced its upscale brand Yangwang to sell higher price models that earn more profits, and BYD also hopes to increase profits by coming out with even cheaper battery technology. According to reports, the
company's chairman said during a meeting that it's working on the second generation of its blade battery. He said it will be smaller, lighter, and offer lower
power consumption while still providing the same range if you'll like to nerd out on some numbers. The current blade battery is capable of one hundred and fifty hours
per kilogram, but the next gen is expected to be a round on one hundred and ninety hours per kilogram. That would probably make it the most energy
dense LFP or lithium iron phosphate battery and puts it closer to traditional batteries, which are more expensive. The new BYD Blade battery could come out as early
as this year. Tesla settled a lawsuit over a fatal crash involving its autopilot
system a day before the trial was going to start. The terms of the
settlement weren't disclosed, but the case involved Walter Wong, a thirty eight year old Apple engineer who was killed in twenty eighteen when his Tesla Model ACTS veered off the highway in California and struck a roadside barrier at seventy one miles an hour. The vehicle was operating on autopilot at the time of the crash,
but an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board also found that the driver was probably distracted by a video game on his iPhone. Tesla two previous trials in
California involving autopilot crashes, but obviously it felt it was better off settling this case than going to trial, even though the driver was partially at fault.
Speaking of Tesla, it slashed the time it takes to install a supercharger station in half. Several years ago, it started making its own prefabricated superchargers,
and in twenty twenty two it said it could build a twelve stall station in eight days, but now it says it's down to four days. Tesla is
now pouring its own concrete blocks into molds that have spots for the wires to go through and the charger units to be bolted down. To cranes can then
lift the concrete blocks with the charger units already installed and take them wherever they need to go. With so many automakers getting access to Tesla's charging network,
it's probably a good thing that it figured out a way to install the new chargers even faster. When the elements are working against you, being confident in
your grip on the road is what really matters. Breach through the lens of
tires, improved acceleration in wet conditions. General Motors is set to resume testing
its Cruise robotaxis. Bloomberg reports the company could make an announcement as early as
today. According to two people familiar with the plan, the test will initially
resume in Phoenix, Arizona, with safety drivers on board. The company is
also in talks with twenty cities it already operated in or had started mapping to begin tests once again. Last year, Cruz suspended all of its operations in
the US after one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian who was already struck by another vehicle in San Francisco. That led to the resignation of its founder and
CEO, and nine other executives were fired. Getting crew news back on track
is very important to GM CEO Mary Barr has said it could generate revenue of fifty billion dollars a year by twenty thirty. Good news for four dealers in
Europe. The automaker is dropping its plan to move to a direct sales model
and instead will develop the quote advanced franchise model. Ford did a direct sales
pilot in the Netherlands and then plan to roll it out to the rest of Europe. It previously delayed that plan until twenty twenty six, but now Ford
is scrapping it all together. While this will give dealers some relief, it's
not all good news. Ford is also planning to downsize its dealer network in
Europe as it transitions to an electric only brand in the region. But Ford
isn't the only automaker moving away from the direct sales model stillantis, BMW, Audi, and Jaguar land Rover have all delayed or revised plans to do so.
In Your BMW announced that it's forming a partnership with Croatian supplier Rimac Technology to jointly develop electric drive technology and solutions for high voltage batteries. Rimac Technology,
not the car maker, makes battery packs, eaxls, as well as electronic and software components. The two companies didn't reveal any other details, but
they say they'll share more info at a later date. And you may remember
Rimak, the car company also bought Bugatti. In twenty twenty two. Porsche
debuted its new active ride suspension on the Panamera and will also launch a version on the new Tychon as well, but it's forming a partnership with another active suspension company to expand its use of the technology. Porsche signed a deal with
clear Motion, who regular viewers of this show may remember we had on Autoline after Hours in November twenty twenty two. Clear Motion bought its tech from Bows
and it kind of acts like noise canceling headphones, creating exact opposite outputs of the inputs the system is getting from the road. It does this at extremely
fast speed with an electronic hydraulic pump that's attached directly to the damper. Porsche
is also working with clear Motion on crowdsourced road data that includes sensor infro from inside the car to provide details like a pothole or traffic ahead, or the need to slow down for a fast turn. We wonder if technology like this
might also be applied to the racetrack, and when we had the CEO of Clear Motion on the show, he said the suspension technology could be used to improve the in cabin experience and just imagine watching Jurassic Park and being able to feel the footsteps of the t Rex approaching. Ford revealed the updated twenty twenty
four Mustang Machi and it's taking orders now in the US. It has more
performance, more range, and faster charging times than previous Mocheas with the new GT performance upgrade, the car can go from zero to sixty in three point three seconds and run the quarter mile in eleven point eight seconds at one hundred and fourteen miles an hour. DC. Fast charging from ten to eighty percent
is now thirty six minutes, which is about nine minutes faster than before.
All Mockes have ten to twenty miles more of range depending on the model, and Ford also revealed the off Road Focus mock E Rally will come to the US as well. Pricing for the twenty twenty four models starts just under forty
grand. And here's something for all of our off road enthusiasts. Toyota has
been teasing the new four Runner for the last week or so, but the model will finally make its debut today at ten pm Eastern or seven pm Pacific time. But that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for
making autoline a part of your day. Auto Line Daily is brought to you
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