AD #3794 - Nissan Cuts Sales and Profit Forecast; Republican States Sue EPA Over Emissions Rules; Toyota Highlander Going All-Electric

This is online Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

Things are not going well for Nissan right now. We've recently talked about

inventory stacking up in the US, and today comes a release that it cut its sales and profit forecast for its fiscal year that just ended in March.

Nissan CEO says it was over optimistic and now expects sales to be around three point four to four million vehicles, down a little more than one hundred thousand units from an earlier target, which itself was down from another forecast of three point seven million units. And really, Nissan has been seeing a steady decline

since twenty nineteen, when it sold a little more than five point five million vehicles. The drop in expected sales will also put a dent in its revenue,

operating profit, and net income for the fiscal year. And what's more,

the company will pay financial relief to suppliers that had already made invent smiths based on Nissan's previous sales forecasts, so those costs will be reflected in its upcoming earnings numbers. The Environmental Protection Agency is receiving more pushback for its emission

rules for passenger vehicles that go into effect in twenty twenty six. Republican attorney

generals in twenty five states are suing the EPA to block the rules from going into effect. The lawsuit claims that the rules will threaten the economy, cause

job losses, raise vehicle prices, and put the electrical grid at risk.

The EPA already scaled back its original proposal after resistance from the auto industry in the UAW. That original proposal cut tailpipe emissions fifty six percent by twenty thirty

two compared to twenty twenty six levels, which was then reduced to forty nine percent in the final rule. But the Republican Attorney generals say the rule is

legally flawed in US automakers to meet the mandate by going electric. The EPA

denies that and says there is quote absolutely no mandate for automakers to adopt evs.

As we've said, with this being an election year, there will be more fights like this since evs have now become politicized. Chinese automaker Cherry was

able to form a joint venture at that old Nissan plant in Spain, and it already has big plans for the facility, Cherry and engineering firm ev Motors signed a deal to start making vehicles by the end of the summer and hire back one hundred and fifty of those old Nissan workers. Then they will add

two more models next year, so the site will produce both electric and ice vehicles, and they eventually plan to get back twelve hundred and fifty of the Nissan workers. And those jobs are a big reason why there's less pushback on

allowing a Chinese company into the region. Plus, Cherry is forming a joint

venture with a local company like foreign automakers were forced to do in China.

Eventually, Cherry expects its plant in Spain to be one of its main export hubbs by twenty twenty nine, when it aims to make one hundred and fifty thousand vehicles a year. Toyota has been criticized for its slow rollout of evs,

but a more unlikely one of its models is reportedly going all electric.

Car Buzz reports that it has confirmed that the Highlander will be converted to an EV only model. It will be built at the automaker's plant in Kentucky,

and there will also be a Lexis variant. However, the three row Grand

Highlander will remain ice, but it will add a plug in hybrid option.

No timeframe for the electric Highlander was given, but Toyota will start rolling out new evs in the US in twenty twenty six, and car Buzz also reports that the company is considering dropping its BZ naming structure to use more conventional for familiar names. 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 problems, yet small enough to fit in your backpack. One of many Intrepid tools used for developing zonal

architecture and software divined vehicles. The UAW vote for Mercedes workers in Alabama has

been set. The National Labor Relations Board says the vote will take place May

thirteenth through the seventeenth. That plant employs about sixty one hundred workers, and

the UAW says a quote unquote supermajority signed cards to hold an election. This

is the second vote to organize non union plants in the US. Volkswagon workers

in Tennessee are voting now and will announce the results today, and if the UAW wins, it would be a huge victory since it's failed in its past attempts to organize non union plans. Tesla is recalling all the cyber trucks it's

built, but unlike other issues, it can't be fixed with an over the air update. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says three thousand, eight hundred

and seventy eight cyber trucks are being recalled because the pad on the excite pedal can dislodge and get stuck on the interior trim. NITZA says the dislodge pedal

can cut torque for both the accelerator and the brake pedals, increasing the risk of a crash. Tesla reportedly paused deliveries. After several owners posted videos on

social media showing the issue, GM's home charging business unit, called GM Energy, introduced its new bi directional chargers for evs. The system includes the charger

and kit to allow power to be sent from the EV's battery into the home, which could help offset using more expensive electricity during peak times, or it could act like a generator when the power's out. It's not exactly cheap at

just under seventy three hundred dollars, but the benefits will start to pile up over time, and GM says it will also launch stationary energy storage and solar integration later this year. The father of modern Corvettes is retied, hiring Tadjector

is officially walking out the door this summer. He's been working at GM for

the last forty seven years, and since two thousand and six, he's held the title of executive Chief Engineer for the Corvette. I've had the pleasure of

meeting Tags a few times, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a person more passionate about Corvette than he is. The Dodge brand is not

known for its reliability, so that may be one reason it's offering a new protection package that covers pretty much everything on a car. The Dodge Complete Performance

Package is a six year, seventy five thousand mile offer that provides protection for critical components like the engine, transmission, suspension breaks, and electrical components.

It also includes coverage of oil changes, tire rotations, up to two worn tires. We'll repair up to seventy five hundred bucks a year, as well

as windshielding, keyfober play and if that wasn't enough, you get a free day at High Performance Driving Academy Radford Racing School. It all sounds really good,

but the only thing I don't know is the price. Dodge says there's

several different contracts available and it provides a one eight hundred number to sign up.

I called it and they said they would call back, but I had to give them my name, and I don't know if they recognized it.

That might be pretentious, but as of right now, it's been over an hour and a half with no callback and they said I was next in line, so I'm not all that hopeful. But that brings us to the end

of today's show. Thanks for making autoline a part of your day, and

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AD #3794 - Nissan Cuts Sales and Profit Forecast; Republican States Sue EPA Over Emissions Rules; Toyota Highlander Going All-Electric

Toyota Highlander

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