AD #3862 - Citroen's Cheap Chinese EV Competitor Delayed; VW Falling Behind Toyota in Sales; Volvo Calls New Software Acquisition "Crucial"
Autoline Daily
AD #3862 - Citroen's Cheap Chinese EV Competitor Delayed; VW Falling Behind Toyota in Sales; Volvo Calls New Software Acquisition "Crucial"
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Speaker 1: This is out Alying Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Well, it never seems like
there's a dull moment with Elon Musk. It turns out
that Mark Zuckerberg isn't the only person he wants to get into the ring with. Musk launched an attack against
Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, calling him a dictator and accused him of election fraud. In the country's recent election, Marduro
was declared the winner with fifty one percent of the vote, which many people do not believe is legitimate. So Maduro
challenged must to a fight, and Musk says he's down.
Speaker 2: He posted on x.
Speaker 1: That quote, if I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela, and if he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars.
Speaker 2: One thing about Elon, he sure knows how to make headlines.
Speaker 1: Legacy automakers are still struggling with software, and that includes Volvo, so it decided to buy out a software company called Haley Tech. It's actually a joint venture Volvo formed in
twenty twenty one with the mobility technology company e Carx to develop Android based software for vehicles. Valvo had sixty
percent of the JV, but now it's taking full control and will operate the unit as a standalone company. Valvo
says the acquisition will strengthen its technological capability for current cars and that it's quote unquote crucial for its future products and sticking with problems in software land, Stalantis is delaying the launch of its new low cost EV in Europe because of problems with you guessed it software. Stalantis
is counting on the Citro and EC three to compete with low cost Chinese evs in Europe, but Bloomberg reports that the twenty three thousand euro electric is months behind schedule.
Stalantis says it has thirty thousand pre orders for the model and will start delivering it after its summer break.
By the way, the EC three likely uses the same platform as the twenty five thousand dollars jeep that's been promised and Stillantis is also having issues ramping up production of the pougo E three thousand and eight electric because of problems with the vehicle's powertrain. Ford is coming out
with a performance version of the Maverick called the Lobo.
It comes standard with the two hundred and thirty eight horse power two meter Eco boost four cylinder engine and all wheel drive, but it also features sport tuned steering and suspension that lowers the ride height by half an inch in the front and over a full inch in the rear. Ford Snag dual piston front calipers from the
Focus st in Europe to enhance its brakes, the twin clutch rear drive unit from the Bronco Sport to give it torque vectoring capability, and the cooling system from the Mavericks Towing package, which includes a bigger radiator and fan and a transmission oil cooler. It also calibrated a special
drive mode that it says improves cornering grip stability and helps minimize understeer on the front wheel drive based truck.
Unique accents a new front facia and nineteen inch wheels called Turbofan highlight a few of the styling differences.
Speaker 2: The high Spec version of the Lobo.
Speaker 1: Which includes heated seats and a steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, and trailer hitch and backup assist, can be ordered right now for just over forty two thousand dollars including destination charges.
Another version without those features can be ordered before the end of the year for roughly thirty six five hundred bucks, but both won't go on sale until early next year.
And in other Ford news, it's offering an update to mock EGT owners that will make their evs faster than a Tesla Model wide performance or a portion of four.
The upgrade is available at purchase or via an Ota, and it unlocks an additional one hundred pound feet of torque through improvements to the powertrain, control and thermal systems.
That brings total output to seven hundred pound feet of torque and four hundred and eighty horse power and drops the zero to sixty times to three point three seconds.
Speaker 2: But it also comes with the price. It costs just
under one thousand bucks.
Speaker 1: All automakers want to unlock more value by offering subscription services and OTA upgrades, and this is just one way they'll do it. But those mock e owners are probably
going to have to wait before they're able to plug in at a Tesla supercharger. Last week, the company extended
the period to get a free NAX adapter because it was running into supply issues. Well, it just sent another
letter to Ford ev owners saying they may see more delays of their ccs to next connector because it's still having supply issues and is trying to increase production. The
current deadline to get a free adapter is the end to August.
Speaker 3: Keeping your heart racing in and out of the gym, that's what really matters. Bridge don't pretends to sport as
tires with a fifty thousand mile limited warranty.
Speaker 1: We've got earning reports for the last quarter coming in from all over the world, and let's start in Japan, where Toyota saw three percent drop in global car sales.
It sold two point two five two million vehicles, with most of the decline in sales coming from Japan itself.
But Toyota shrugged off the drop in vehicle sales and brought in seventy eight point seven billion dollars in revenue, up a sharp twelve percent, and it posted an operating profit of eight point seven billion, up and even stronger sixteen point seven percent. Now over to Germany, were Toyota's
biggest competitor, The Volkswagen Group reported almost a four percent drop in sales.
Speaker 2: It sold two point two four to.
Speaker 1: Four million vehicles, meaning it was eight thousand vehicles behind Toyota last year. This time, the gap was five thousand vehicles.
VWAG saw its revenue rise four percent to eighty three billion euros, meaning it brought in more revenue than Toyota, but v dub's operating profit of five point four billion fell two point four percent. Sticking with Germany for the moment,
BMW reported that it sold six hundred and eighteen thousand vehicles, down a little over one percent in the second quarter.
That's just cars and SUVs and doesn't include motorcycles. Its
revenue came in at almost thirty seven billion euros, down just a fraction, and its operating profit of three point eight billion euros dropped over eight percent. And now let's
cross the channel to England, where Jaguar land Rover put in a surprisingly strong quarter. It sold over ninety seven
thousand vehicles, up five percent. That brought in over nine
billion dollars in revenue, up more than five percent, and it posted eight hundred and eighty seven million dollars in operating profits, up a staggering fifty nine percent, and it was an all time record for the company.
Speaker 2: We think that's jolly good.
Speaker 1: And by the way, tomorrow, we should have a decent idea of how new car sales did in the United States for the month of July. JD Powers forecasting that
sales will be up two point eight percent compared to a year ago. But one thing is going to bum
out the car companies and their dealers. The Federal Reserve
decided to leave the interest rates where they are, but hinted it could cut them next month. The autow industry
is praying for a rate cut to bring down the cost of buying a new car and give a boost to car sales. Lucid was able to increase sales, but
it got there by significantly cutting prices. However, it's about
to get some fresh product that will bring in new customers.
CEO Peter Rolinson drove the first pre production version of its first suv, the Gravity, off its manufacturing line yesterday.
The model is expected to launch before the end of the year with a starting price around eighty thousand dollars.
Tesla once had aspirations of making an even more extreme version of the model esque plaid, called the Plaid Plus, but not anymore. It feels like the Plaid has more
than enough capability and Elon muss says the new Roadster will fill the void.
Speaker 2: For something more extreme.
Speaker 1: The twenty twenty five Cadillac Escalade went through a major refresh and to get into all the details, we're going to have the chief engineer, Martin Hayes on Autoline after Hours today. We invite you to pull up a chair
and listen in when the show goes live at three pm Eastern Time on the Autoline website and on our YouTube channel.
Speaker 2: But that's it for this show, and I hope to see you later.
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Speaker 5: Michigan is leading the charge in mobility and innovation, and I can't think of a better state to be in.
There's nothing wrong with heavy metal, hey, light and up, but with world class composit material Taging Automotive Technologies makes vehicles lighter, safer, and more eco friendly.
Speaker 6: 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
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Speaker 4: One Ye
About this episode
The discussion covers a range of automotive industry updates, including Elon Musk's provocative challenge to Venezuela's president, Volvo's strategic acquisition of a software company to enhance vehicle tech, and Stellantis delaying its low-cost EV launch due to software issues. Ford introduces a performance Maverick Lobo with enhanced features, while also offering a power upgrade for Mustang Mach-E owners. Sales figures reveal Toyota edging out Volkswagen, with Jaguar Land Rover posting record profits. Lucid prepares to launch its Gravity SUV, and Tesla cancels the Plaid Plus model. The episode also previews an upcoming interview with Cadillac's Escalade chief engineer.
Original notes
- Musk Vs. Maduro - Volvo Calls New Software Acquisition "Crucial" - Citroen's Cheap Chinese EV Competitor Delayed - Ford Hopes for More Street-Cred with New Maverick Lobo - Update Makes Mach-E GT Faster Than Tesla and Porsche - Ford Running Into More Delays with NACS Adapter - Toyota Sales Down, But Earnings Up - VW Falling Behind Toyota in Sales - BMW's Sales and Earnings Drop - JLR Has Jolly Good Quarter - U.S. Sales Forecast to Rise - 1st Lucid Gravity Rolls Off the Production Line - Roadster Replace More Extreme Model S Plaid
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