AD #3880 - Corvette Stingray EV Due In 2029; Tesla Can Sue Over Direct Sales Ban; BMW Removes Humans From Automated Paint Shop

Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. EV programs keep getting delayed as

automakers worry about customer demand and trying to make a profit on electrics, and it looks like that includes the Corvette program. Two years ago, Autofourcast Solutions reported that a

Corvette branded EV would go into production at GM's Grand River plant in Lansing, Michigan in twenty twenty five. Most

speculated it was an electric suv, but now auto Forecast says that D segment suv VET has been pushed back to June of twenty thirty, and in February of this year, it said production of a Stingray EV would start in twenty twenty eight, also at the Grand River plant. Now

auto Forecast says that will happen in June of twenty twenty nine. That plant is also scheduled to get an

electric Buick D segment SUV and an electric Cadillact sedan.

All of them will likely be built on GM's Altium platform, which suggests that an all electric version of the current Corvette on the current platform is not going to happen.

Good news for Tesla, the automaker, can now legally challenge the state of Louisiana's ban on direct sales to customers.

Two years ago, Tesla sued the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission, as well as dealerships owned by individual commissioners and the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association, accusing them all of illegally banning direct sales and restricting leasing and service of its vehicles.

That suit was originally dismissed by a lower court, but a federal appeals court has reversed that decision. Even though

the Model Why was the best selling car in the US last year, forty eight states either somehow limit or banned direct sales. Tesla can only operate store galleries in

twenty nine states, and some even ban it from operating service centers, with Tesla sales sputtering it needs to open up more markets. We've wondered for years why Tesla didn't

press this all the way to the Supreme Court, since it could be an illegal restraint of interstate trade. And

maybe this time around it will fight harder. It's tough

out there for automotive suppliers. New vehicle sales are weaker

than expected this year. They invested heavily to make evy components,

but sales volumes are well below forecasts and automakers are looking to insource more components in software. That's why Continental,

one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world, is looking to spin off most of its automotive operations. It

would hold on to its tire business and what it calls Conti Tech, which specializes in active safety in vehicle networking technology. The part that could get spun off makes brakes,

chassis parts, and other components. Bloomberg reports that the spinoff

would be a bonanza for shareholders in the company that is not getting spun off, which it refers to as Conti remain Co. It would deliver six billion euros to

shareholders and dividends and share buybacks. Continental is expected to

make a decision on the spinoff by the end of the year. With more and more car buyers turning to

the use car market because of higher prices of new vehicles, Consumer Reports is now providing ratings and recommendations for used cars.

Its rankings are based on the reliability of five to ten year old vehicles from its annual Auto survey. That

survey is given to its members where they report on any issues they've had with their car in the last year.

Using that info, Consumer Reports rated the most reliable used car brands, and Lexus and Toyota top the list of twenty six brands by a wide margin. Mazda, Acura, and

Honda round out the top five. Stalantis didn't fare well,

with four of its brands at the bottom of the list.

Tasla was at the bottom as well in the twenty fourth spot. Consumer Reports also named its top ten picks

for use cars. But we don't have time to list

them all, but we can say Toyota and Mazda account for half of them.

Speaker 2: 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 canufting 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.

Speaker 1: Chinese tech giant Huawei has had a lot of initial success breaking into the automotive industry. It's already established a

couple of joint ventures and has several tech partnerships that has now expanded to the biggest automaker in China BYD's feng cheng Bao brand signed a deal with Huawei to use its light our based driver assistance system in a new large off road SUV called the Bow eight. It

says the system offers enhanced capabilities over the previous version and supports things like point to point navigation and remote parking.

Despite signing the official agreement now, the two companies have already started full scale testing and the Bow eight is expected to hit the market sometime this quarter. But like

most other EV makers, Huawei is losing money on every vehicle it sells.

Speaker 3: It has a.

Speaker 1: Joint venture with Chinese automaker Series called Ido that sells an SUV called the M seven, and Huawei claims it loses three to four thousand dollars on every one. What

it really needs is more scale. We estimate teslas started

turning a profit when sales top fifty thousand units a quarter, and Huawei has a better chance of succeeding because it has both technology and joint venture partnerships. One way it's

working on boosting sales is coming out with cheaper models.

The M seven currently uses the same driver assistance system that feng cheng Bao is getting, but it just launched a pro version that features a vision based system, which eliminates lighter and makes it cheaper. Prices for the M

seven start at about thirty five thousand dollars. It's too

expensive for automakers to develop future technology on their own, so Toyota and BMW are expanding their partnership in fuel cell vehicles. Toyota has supplied BMW with a limited number

of fuel cell components since twenty twelve, but under the new deal, Toyota will supply more key parts, including hydrogen tanks and fuel cell systems, and they'll collaborate on developing a hydrogen refueling network in Europe. BMW is aiming to

begin mass production of its IX five hydrogen vehicle in the next few years. And speaking of BMW is getting

rid of humans from the car painting process. It says

the paint shop at its plant in Hungary will be fully automated when its new class of vehicles start rolling down the line at the end of the year. Initially,

it will be able to paint thirty vehicle bodies an hour, but says that can be increased significantly. What's more, the

paint shop in Hungary will be the first and BMW's network to operate without fossil fuels. Instead, it will run

entirely on electricity, cutting its CO two emissions. The downside

is that it will consume more power, but BMW says it's trying to offset that by getting all the power needed to run the plant from renewable energy sources. Gm

and Ford want to get into the banking business. Toyota

and BMW are already there. These are what they call

industrial banks, which can make loans but do not accept public deposits and don't have any local branches. The loans

they make are to dealers, customers, company employees and their family members. While the finance arms of GM and Ford

already arrange finding for dealers and customers, having their own bank would provide them with more stable funding and allow them to offer more financing options. Automotive News reports that

for unknown reasons, GM just canceled its application for an industrial bank, but plans to resubmit it. Ford has also

applied to open its own bank, and we sure find it interesting that automakers want to run their own banks.

Need an affordable home EV charger, Well, you might want to check out Fisker's website. Since it's going bankrupt. Fisker

has a fire sale going on and that includes its home charging unit, which is made by a company called Wallbox.

Now listed for two hundred and fifty dollars. It's over

half off the previous price, and from what we can find, it looks like a well rated charger. But that brings

us to the end of today's show. Thanks for tuning in.

Speaker 3: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Bridge Stone Solutions for your journey Intrepid Control Systems over the year, Engineering Boost Your Game, MEDC where Michigan businesses are powering the future of mobility and by Tagent Automotive Technologies. The

formula for better mobility.

Speaker 4: 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 5: So when we did our research for the talent that we need for this program, Michigan was really the top of the list. In order to be successful in this space,

you really have to have the right people, the right mindsets, the right environment.

Speaker 3: Wrong with heavy metal, hey light enough, but with world class composite material Taging Automotive Technologies makes vehicles lighter, safer, and more eco friendly

Chevrolet Corvette

Dodge Charger

About this episode

Original notes