Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are outpacing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in sales growth, especially in China where PHEVs could dominate by year-end. Chinese EVs are also rapidly expanding in Europe despite new tariffs. Tesla faces a massive recall over hood latch software issues and a notable analyst nearly crashed using Full Self-Driving (FSD), highlighting ongoing autonomy challenges. Stellantis is considering selling Maserati due to poor sales and losses. BYD struggles with its Fengcheng Boo SUV but is influencing EV adoption in Brazil, where GM is launching new models. The episode also touches on deep-sea mining for battery materials and upcoming robotaxi plans from Chinese maker Jiapong.
Topics:plug-in hybrid salesbattery electric vehicleschina ev markettesla recallfull self driving challengesmaserati financial strugglesbyd suv salesev market in brazildeep sea mining for batteriesrobotaxi development
- PHEVs Selling Faster Than BEVs - Chinese EVs Take EU By Storm - Tesla Recalls 1.8 Million Cars - Wall Street Analyst Almost Crashes with FSD - Stellantis Could Sell Maserati - BYD Slashes SUV Price By $7,000 - GM Eyes Brazil for Blazer EV - Dangers of Deep Sea Mining for EV Materials - XPeng Readies to Launch Robotaxi
"its all TAM based evs to the country. When the Blazer EV goes on sale tomorrow, it's only going to offer t..."
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Speaker 1: This is ut aligning Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Twenty twenty four could turn
out to be the year of the plug in hybrid.
Bernstein reports that global p HAVE sales are up fifty percent through the first five months of the year, compared to only nine percent for b evs. In China, the
difference is even more dramatic. In the first half of
the year, PA haves including extended range electrics, shot up seventy percent compared to sixteen percent for.
Speaker 2: B evs, and if this keeps up, p.
Speaker 1: Haves will out sell battery electrics in China before the year is over, and JP Morgan says PEA haves could account for sixty percent of ANYV sales in China by the end of the decade. It also cut its forecast
for battery demand in China by ten percent. Since PEA
haves use smaller batteries than be eves, the appeal of PA.
Speaker 2: Haves is obvious.
Speaker 1: Starting prices are lower than be EV's and they don't pose any range anxiety. Byd for example, sells two PHEVs,
the Kinel and the Seal, that cost about fourteen thousand bucks and have a driving range of up to thirteen hundred miles. Meanwhile, while p HAVE sales are soaring in China,
Chinese b evs are taken the European market by storm.
They now have eleven percent of the EU EV market and they're just getting started. In May, Chinese EV sales
in Europe shot up seventy two percent, growing twice as fast as European brands. Part of this was because Chinese
automakers were racing to.
Speaker 2: Sell as many evs as they could.
Speaker 1: In Europe before they got hit with the new import tariffs, but they're also looking to set up assembly operations in the region to sidestep those tariffs. Tesla is recalling more
than one point eight million vehicles in the US over hood latch issues, but again this was fixed with an over the air update, which Tesla already issued. The problem
was with software not recognizing an unlatched hood so it could fully open and.
Speaker 2: Block the driver's view.
Speaker 1: Customer complaints in China led Tesla to investigate the problem back in March, and after more studies, it decided to issue a recall in North America and in other Tesla news Could this have an impact on the investment community's outlook on full self driving. William Stein, a Tesla analyst
that works at Truest Securities, nearly crashed his Tesla while using FSD in New York suburbs on a clear day.
He says that his model why quote accelerated through an intersection as the car in front of us had only partially completed a right turn. He was able to avoid
the accident by intervening himself. Stein was also surprised he
no longer had to tug on the steering wheel to keep FSD engaged, and it also continued to work when he took his eyes off the road. Took the system
twenty to forty seconds before issuing a warning, But his experience wasn't all negative. Stein was impressed with how well
it adapted to lane closures, potholes, and traffic flow, and said the driving felt more natural. But ultimately Stein said
that FSD is quote truly amazing, but not even close to solving autonomy. Tesla didn't comment on the report, but
yesterday Elon Musk posted on x that it's releasing an updated version of Supervised FSD, so perhaps some of these issues will be addressed. But if the investment community isn't
sold on FSD, it could have a big impact on Tesla's future earnings.
Speaker 3: There's nothing wrong with heavy metal, hey light enough, but with world class composite material taging automotive technologies makes vehicles lighter, safer, and more eco friendly.
Speaker 1: After a rough first half of the year, Stalantis CEO Carlos Tavares said he could start shutting down brands that don't make money. We think Maserati and Chrysler would be
easy choices, and it looks like one of those brands is already hanging on by a thread. Maserati only sold
about six five hundred cars so far this year, down roughly fifty seven percent compared to last year, and it posted an operating loss of eighty two million euros, which the CFO of Stalantis called disappointing. She also said quote
there could be some point in the future when we look at what's the best home for Maserati. Dropping three
models from its lineup did play a role in Maserati's losses, but those models won't get replaced right away, and it seems like Stialantis is already looking for a new home within the group or possibly even selling off Maserati altogether.
Speaker 2: What do you think the best fit would be. Let
us know in the comments.
Speaker 1: Premium off road vehicles are pretty popular in North America and automakers can make a pretty good profit selling them.
BYD may have been trying to replicate that success in China with its Feng Cheng Boo brand, but it seems like buyers aren't going for it. Sales of the Bow five,
which is a two row plug in hybrid suv, have dropped significantly this year, and since August of last year, it's only sold about twenty five thousand. And remember earlier
in the show we said peas were one of the biggest growth sectors in China this year. So now the
brand is pivoting to try and attract more mainstream customers and is cutting the price of the Bow five by almost seven thousand dollars, which brings its starting price to roughly thirty three thousand bucks. Fengcheng Boo plans to launch
a larger piece have an electric suv this year, but a price cut by that much on its smaller, more affordable vehicle is not a good sign for these upcoming models.
Speaker 2: But speaking of BYD.
Speaker 1: It looks like it showed more established automakers that there's actually a market for evs in Brazil. In the first
three months of the year, it's sold about fifteen thousand electrics in Brazil, and that only includes one month of the more affordable Dolphin Minnie aka the Seagull, which went on sale in March. Now GM is starting to bring
its all TAM based evs to the country. When the
Blazer EV goes on sale tomorrow, it's only going to offer the RS version, which comes in both rear and all wheel drive. It didn't reveal pricing, but in the
US it starts right around.
Speaker 2: Fifty six thousand dollars.
Speaker 1: It will be interesting to see how Brazilians react to the model, but we think something like the Equinox EV might be more popular. They're called polymetallic nodules and they
sit about two miles deep on the ocean floor. There
are lumps of rock that contain cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese.
In other words, they've got all the materials needed to make batteries for electric cars and all you have to do is pick them up. But they're also located in
habitats for fish and sea life, and some scientists believe that these rocks also generate oxygen for the planet. Now,
the debate amongst environmentalists is around the potential catastrophe of global warming and whether mining these rocks is worth the trade off to fight it. A company called the Metals
Company wants to mine these rocks, and if you'd like to learn more about it, we interviewed their CEO, Gerrard Bearn, four years ago, and we've got a link to that video in the description box or the transcript. Chinese evy
maker Japung is planning to launch a robotaxi in twenty twenty six. There aren't many details about the model, but
CARNWS China speculates that it will likely use a vision based system because Japung is pivoting away from LDAR while all of its models are currently equipped with LDAR, reports say it's planning to adopt a vision based system for its future vehicles. Jipung's CEO has also previously said that
end to end neural network algorithms like TESLA USES is fine for L two and L three autonomous driving, but it's unsuitable for level four if it's not coupled with large model data Jipong will develop and manufacture its robotaxis, but unlike Tesla, it will not operate them itself. It
will partner with another company. And that brings us to
the end of today's show. Thanks for making autoline a
part of your day.
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