AD #3870 - VW Delays More EVs Again; GM Laying Off Workers in China; EV Sales Tank Without Incentives
Autoline Daily
AD #3870 - VW Delays More EVs Again; GM Laying Off Workers in China; EV Sales Tank Without Incentives
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Speaker 1: This is online daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Two weeks ago, we reported that
General Motors was likely to start closing assembly plants in China due to a massive drop off in sales, and while that hasn't happened yet, GM is laying off employees in China. So far, the layoffs only seem to be
white collar staff, including R and D people, but Bloomberg reports that GM will start talks in a couple of weeks with saic, it's Chinese partner, about reducing manufacturing capacity.
GM has a thirty year contract with seic to make cars, which expires in twenty twenty seven, but GM already lost two hundred and ten million dollars on its Chinese operations so far this year and wants to restructure the business to make it profitable well before that thirty year contract expires.
When Germany yanked its subsidies for electric cars Ajanuary, sales fell off a cliff. Before that happened, consumers got a
six thousand, seven hundred and fifty euro subsidy that was split between the government and the manufacturer, but when the subsidies stopped, BV sales fell immediately, and they were down thirty seven percent last month alone.
Speaker 2: The same thing happened in Sweden.
Speaker 1: It offered subsidies up to four thousand, six hundred euros for beeves, but dropped that last November and its sales are down twenty percent this year. Not only has that
hurt automakers, it's also hurting suppliers who invested to make EV components. That prompted Liam Butterworth, the CEO of the
British supplier company Dolay Group, to say the EU has to reinstate subsidies if it wants to meet its goal of eliminating IC cars by twenty thirty five. He may
be right, but Germany and Sweden dropped those subsidies because of budget problems. The question is where will the money
come from, and the same thing could happen in the United States. Donald Trump had been saying he'll get rid
of the EV mandate and all EV's subsidies on day one if he's reelected, but lately Trump has mellowed out a bit when it comes to EV's ever since Elon Musk publicly embraced the former president, and yesterday in a two hour conversation between the two that was broadcast on acts.
Must pitched the idea that Tesla's are sexy, and Trump said his cars are incredible. But Trump's base of supporters
are mostly anti EV and still want them to stop all government support for electrics. We think one thing is
for sure. If Trump does get reelected and he does
yank all government support for evs, it's going to financially damage the automakers and suppliers who have invested so heavily to manufacture them. Volkswagen is once again delaying the launch
of its Trinity flagship EV. Germany's Hondelsblot newspaper reports that
production of the model is being pushed back from twenty twenty six to twenty thirty two. The program was previously
delayed by software issues, and now VW is pushing it back further so it's existing EV platforms MEB and PPE can be used longer, spreading out its investment costs.
Speaker 2: Over a bigger period of time.
Speaker 1: VW is also shaking up other EV launches, and Electric Ouda four.
Speaker 2: Is coming at the end of twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 1: It will be the first model to use VW's next gen SSP platform, VW's first model on that platform will be a fully electric golf that arrives in twenty twenty nine, or sooner than The next gen ID four on the SSP platform will launch in twenty thirty instead of twenty twenty eight, and the t Sport Electric is being pushed back from twenty twenty nine to twenty thirty one one.
We wonder if this might give VW more time to incorporate evy platforms from Rivian and j'pung into its lineup.
Speaker 3: Trusting tires designed for the lung haul because you'll always go the distance for friends, that's what really matters. Breach
down a lens of tires with an eighty thousand mile unted warranty.
Speaker 1: GMC refreshed the terrain to give it a more truck inspired design and help tie its entire lineup together. The
two most noticeable changes are to the grill and sea pillar.
The grill has straighter sides that plunge a little deeper into the bumper, and the sea pillar looks more like a sharkfin rather than the roof and body sides kind of clamping onto the side rear windows. But the biggest
update is to the interior, which is completely new and now comes standard with an eleven inch digital instrument cluster and a fifteen inch infotain aman screen and all new switch gear. Power still comes from a one and a
half liter turbo four cylinder that makes one hundred and seventy five horse power and can toe up to fifteen hundred pounds. Front drive models come with a nine speed
automatic transmission, but GMC is adding an eight speed auto to some all wheel drive versions. The twenty twenty five
Terrain will start launching this year, followed by higher price models like the more off road focused eighty four and the more premium Denali, which come in twenty twenty five.
Global electrified vehicle sales were up in July. According to
market research firm Row Motion. Automakers sold one point three
five million beevs in PHABS last month, up twenty one percent compared to a year ago. That growth was mostly
fueled by China, which accounted for eight hundred and eighty thousand of those sales, which is a thirty one percent increase.
In North America, sales were up seven percent, and over in Europe, EV sales were down about eight percent in July.
And speaking of car sales. Nissan slump in the US
is putting a huge dent in dealer profits. Automotive News
reports that the average Nissan dealership earned seventy percent less profit in the first half of this year compared to last year. In even more alarming, nearly forty percent of
Nissan's roughly eleven hundred dealerships are losing money. Nissan's dealer
return on sales slipped from three point two percent last year to one percent this year, and the brand has lost eight franchise dealers so far in twenty twenty four.
Nissan's market share in the first half was just under six percent, about two percent less than the brand had five years ago, and dealers tell Automotive News that Nissan can't sustain a retail network with that size market share, and that the brand should have up to forty percent fewer dealerships.
Speaker 2: BID is coming out within all electric hot Hatch, and it will make its debut at the end of the month.
Speaker 1: In May, it showed off a sporty concept called the Ocean m which looks like the inspiration for the prototype of the production model that will be shown off at the Chengdu Auto Show on August thirtieth. Several outlets are
calling the model the Sealo six GT, but Gascou reports that BYD has actually registered four different names for the car and will pick one before its debut. Rear drive
models are said to come with up to one hundred and sixty five kilowatts or two hundred and twenty one horse power, and all wheel drive models will produce up to three hundred and ten kilowatts or four hundred and fifteen horse power. Battery sizes are either roughly sixty kilowat
hours or seventy three kilowat hours and provide up to six hundred and five kilometers or three hundred and seventy five miles of range. Starting prices reported to be around
twenty thousand dollars, and sales are expected to kick off in September. The will help BYD grab even more of
the EV market, but it's already dominating phebs in China.
According to Cardu's China, BYD had nine of the top ten selling plug in hybrids in China last month, and for the full year, it has seven of the top ten selling PHEVs. That's for wholesale, not retail sales, and
does not include extended range electrics, but even without those e revs p have sales in July accounted for almost thirty four percent of the total new energy vehicle market in China. Ford is partnering with Texas's leading retail electric
provider to offer free at home EV charging. TXU Energy
will provide Ford F one to fifty Lightning, Mustang Mac E and Escape Plug and Hybrid customers with a credit that will cover their entire charging costs between the hours of seven pm and one pm the next day. They
feel by incentivizing EV owners to charge their off peak hours, it will help make the electrical grid more stable, and customers can schedule the free charging through Ford's app or from the screen inside their vehicle. Ford and the energy
provider will also use this opportunity to gauge interest in future energy savings programs that help support the electrical system in the state, which we think could include bi directional charging that essentially allows an EV's battery to become a part of the grid.
Speaker 2: That brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks
for tuning in.
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About this episode
General Motors is laying off white collar workers in China amid poor sales and plans to reduce manufacturing capacity with its partner SAIC. Germany and Sweden's EV subsidy cuts have caused sharp declines in electric vehicle sales, raising concerns about meeting EU emissions goals. Volkswagen delays several EV launches, including its flagship Trinity model, to extend use of existing platforms. Nissan dealerships face profit losses due to declining US sales. BYD prepares to launch a new affordable electric hot hatch in China, while Ford partners with TXU Energy to offer free off-peak home EV charging in Texas, aiming to stabilize the grid and explore future energy programs.
Original notes
- GM Laying Off Workers in China - EV Sales Tank Without Incentives - Donald Trump Mellowing On EVs - VW Delays More EVs Again - GMC Gives New Terrain Truck Inspired Design - Global EV Sales Make Significant Gain - Nissan Dealer Profits Plunge - BYD Launching All-Electric Hot-Hatch - BYD Dominates China's PHEV Market - Ford Offers Free At-Home Charging
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