AD #3855 - Windrose to Build Tesla Semi Look-Alike in U.S.; GM Gives Up on Cruise Origin; BYD and FORVIA Team Up in Europe

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A Chinese evy startup plans to open a plant in the US and start selling its vehicles in the US next year. Wind Rose says it will open

a plant in Georgia to build its semi truck from imported chassis, components and other parts that are first made in China. The trucks feature a more than

seven hundred kilowad hour battery pack that provides over four hundred miles of range when fully loaded, and it will cost about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Wind Rose hopes to serve existing clients that are also headquartered in the US, like Nike, and says that it already has six four hundred orders which it plans to make over the next three years, but could win ross time in the US market be dependent on how good Tesla's design patents are. The Tesla

Semi looks awfully similar and we think that is already precedent for copyright infringement when Jeep successfully lobbied against the Mahindra roser in the US, so we wouldn't be surprised to see Tesla go after wind Rows, but it did take Jeep years to win its case. However, Windrows will also open up shop in Europe

with a plant in Belgium next year. Optimists testless humanoid robot could come out

later than expected. A couple of months ago, Elon Musk said that the

robots would be used to perform tasks inside Tesla factories and could be sold to other companies by the end of next year. Optimists will still be used internally

next year, and must says they'll be quote genuinely useful, but also that high production for other companies won't come until twenty twenty six. Now, he

didn't say exactly when in twenty twenty six, so it could be anywhere from a month to a year late. Could this be a warning sign that Tesla's

Q two financials won't be that good. We'll know later today when it reveals

its results. As we keep reporting, most automakers are scaling back EV plans

because of the slowdown in demand, and now the CEO of French supplier op Mobility is quantifying just how much automakers overinvested in EV production. US, German

and French OEMs are producing evs forty to forty five percent below their initial expectations, and op Mobility says they're shifting to hybrids and plug in hybrids instead because demand for them is much higher and right on Q. Renault CEO Luca DeMeo

says the auto industry needs more time to meet Europe's EV targets. The EU

wants all new vehicles to be b EV's by twenty thirty five, but DeMeo says Renault won't meet that target and needs to cut the cost of its b evs just to meet the goals. While Demeyo wants more flexibility and time to

meet the targets, he says it should remain in place, but not for twenty thirty five. He's also critical of fines that kick in next year if

automakers don't meet fifteen percent CO two emission reduction targets in Europe. He claims

they'll cost the industry eleven billion dollars. But while Renault says it needs more

time to cut the cost of making evs, STILLANTIS CEO Carlos Tavares says he's ready to fight the Chinese in the EV segment in Europe. Tavaras made the

comments at the opening of a new EV production line in Serbia, but he admits that Stalantis will be quote brutally challenged by the Chinese offensive on the European market. Stillant has also formed a partnership with Chinese automaker Leap Motor and will

sell two Leap Motor evs in nine European countries later this year. Intrepid's neo

vipie allowing automobile of 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 divine

vehicles BYD is starting to build out its supply base for its first European plant in Hungary, which should be open within the next three years. It's going

to operate together in the country with for Via, the world's seventh largest automotive supplier, but they didn't say what for Via will supply to BYD in Hungary.

However, the two already have a joint venture in China, where for Via operates seven plants in an R and D center to provide BYD with things like vehicle interiors, seating, electronics and software. So it's likely to be

much of the same. And if you're wondering who for Via is, it

comes from the twenty twenty two merger of suppliers Foresia and Hella. But back

to BYD for a moment. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway now owns less than five

percent of the Chinese automaker. Two years ago, it controlled more than twenty

percent of BYD shares, but our recent sale dipped that to the new mark.

However, since that initial investment, BYD shares are up two thousand percent.

German supplier Bosch is diversifying its business beyond automobiles it's acquiring Johnson Controls in Hitachi's HVAC business for residential and small commercial applications for eight billion bucks. Bosch

says the deal will boost sales of its home comfort division from five billion to nine billion euros and will strengthen its presence in the US and Asia, but it's also a way for it to expand beyond the automotive industry, which is currently going through a lot of change. General Motors reported its second quarter earnings,

and they're a lot better than they were a year ago. GM sold

one point four to three million vehicles, up six point three percent. It

brought in forty eight billion dollars in revenue, up seven point three percent.

Its operating profit of three point nine billion was up more than thirty nine percent, and its net profit of two point nine billion dollars was up ten percent.

GM's net profit margin improved but sits at six point one percent, which is a fairly modest return. But it raised its guidance for the rest of

the year, so maybe that margin will improve and in her letter to shareholders, GM CEO Mary Barr also announced that GM Cruse will give up on the Origin Robotaxi, citing regulatory uncertainty over its unique design. Instead, Cruz will

concentrate on using the next generation Chevrolet Bolt EV, which Barra says will have a much lower cost. That makes us wonder what's going to happen with GM's

partnership with Honda to use the Origin for a ride hailing service that was going to launch in Tokyo in twenty twenty six. Those plans are probably out the

window because we think it will be highly unlikely that Honda would use Chevrolet EV's for a ride hailing service in Japan. Yesterday, Cadillac pulled the cover off

this beautiful twud or convertible concept car called the Sol. It's clearly built off

the all electric nearly four hundred thousand dollars Celestic. We think if there's enough

customer interest, GM could fairly easily put this car into production because it would use the same low cost tooling approach as the Celestic. The two plus two

seating arrangement provides plenty a rear seat leg room, something you don't see on a lot of convertibles. Some of the interior touches are exquisite, like those

seatbacks. Huh, and Cadillac is pioneering the use of a bio based interior

material called micoworks that is actually made from the mycilium that comes from the roots of mushrooms. But for some reason, Cadillac is really fixated on attracting bird

watchers to the sole get this Caddy says. The car comes with quote,

a custom brush, metal and leather wrapped case that houses three D printed acrylic bird calls, a leather bound journal with hand painted bird illustrations, and a leather tool roll for pens and pencils made to custom match the vehicle interior, allowing enthusiasts to capture their bird watching experiences. End quote. And if this

car ever does go into production, we think the asking price will be somewhere around half a million dollars. But that brings us to the end of today's

show. Thanks for making autoline a part of your day. Autoline Daily is

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AD #3855 - Windrose to Build Tesla Semi Look-Alike in U.S.; GM Gives Up on Cruise Origin; BYD and FORVIA Team Up in Europe

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