Volkswagen faces a critical two-year window to recover amid declining European sales and potential plant closures, sparking government EV incentives in Germany. Mercedes struggles with S-Class sales drops globally, while US dockworkers threaten strikes that could disrupt vehicle imports. BYD delays its Mexico plant plans due to political pressures, and MG eyes solid-state battery EVs. Stellantis expands hydrogen vans in Europe, Nissan updates the Armada with a powerful twin-turbo V6, and Jeep sees leadership changes amid falling sales. Geely launches a budget EV with a unique ice cream-themed marketing campaign. Ford delays Mustang Mach-E and Maverick updates, reflecting shifting EV demand.
Topics:volkswagen challengesgerman ev incentivesmercedes s-class salesus dockworkers strikebyd mexico plant delaystellantis hydrogen vansnissan armada updatejeep leadership changegeely low cost evford ev model delays
- VW Only Has 2 Years to Turn Things Around - Germany To Revive EV Subsidies - Mercedes S-Class Sales Plunge Globally - U.S. Dockworkers Threaten Strike - BYD and SAIC Eye Mexican Market - Stellantis Shows FCEV Van - Nissan Updates the Armada - EVs More Popular with Active Drivers Than ICEs - Jeep Names New Head of North America - Geely Offers Free Ice Cream for A Test Drive - Ford Extends Mach-E and Maverick Lifecycles
"...hat year. It also says production of the next gen Maverick won't start until September twenty thirty one. Th..."
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Speaker 1: This is Autolne Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. The situation at Volkswagen in Europe
seems to be getting worse. Yesterday we reported that it's
thinking the unthinkable closing factories in Germany, and today VWCFO said the company only has one or two years to turn things around. He blamed weaker car sales in Europe,
saying VW has lost half a million units a year since the COVID pandemic, while the total European market is down by about two million vehicles, and five hundred thousand cars is about the equivalent of two assembly plants worth of production. VW's labor unions and works councils have vowed
to prevent any plants in Germany from closing, but VW likely needs to close even more than two plants. It
has a global capacity to make about fourteen million vehicles a year, but last year it made nine million, and these developments have alarmed German government officials to the point that they're reviving a plan to offer ev incentives. EV
sales plunged in Germany after it ended a subsidy program last December. They were down almost thirty seven percent last
month alone. Under the new plan, car buyers will be
able to deduct the appreciation of their EV from their taxes, starting at forty percent the first year, then gradually sliding down to six percent. And it's not just evs. Other
zero mission vehicles will also qualify. The total cost of
the plan will be nearly half a billion dollars a year.
But VW isn't the only German brand that's running into problems.
Auto Fourcast Solutions says that sales of the Mercedes S class have dropped dramatically. They're down seventeen percent in China,
twenty nine percent in Europe, and thirty three percent in the US United States. So Mercedes is eliminating a shift
at the plant where the car is made in Germany, and a major redesign won't be out until twenty twenty nine.
Mercedes is blaming the slow sales on a sluggish global economy and high interest rates, but we think it's also facing more competition in the US and in China. Dock
workers in the US are threatening to go on strike if they don't receive a new labor deal before the current one expires. At the end of the month, and
that could have a huge impact on all the vehicles and components that are imported. The International Long Shoresmen Association
represents about forty five thousand dock workers on both the East and Gulf coasts at about three dozen ports, and six of those ports are among the ten busiest in the US. Dock workers won in eighty percent pay raise
over the next six years and are concerned about out the increased use of automation. Logistics experts estimate that every
week of a stoppage would result in about a month of shipping delays. BYD is said that the plant that
it wants to build in Mexico will not ship any cars to the US, and yet Bloomberg reports that the company is pausing plans to build that plant until after the US elections. No doubt the US is putting pressure
on Mexico to prevent more Chinese plans from getting built there, but it's kind of odd to us that BYD would wait until after the election to announce the plant in Mexico.
The one thing both Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on is that they're not going to let Chinese cars into the American market, even if they're made in Mexico.
Yet even so, Auto Forecast Solution says that SEIC is scouting for a Mexican plant to build its MG five mghs and it's MG mulan electric there. And by the way,
MG says it will launch an EV with only solid state batteries in China sometime next year, possibly on the cyber GTS.
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Speaker 1: Stillantis continues to expand its lineup of hydrogen powered commercial vehicles in Europe, and like the new Opelmovano hydrogen, I think all of Stalantis's fuel cell vehicles are commercial vans.
Power comes from a one hundred and fifty horse power electric motor, and range is estimated at five hundred kilometers or three hundred and ten miles. Opal doesn't say, but
if it's like its other hydrogen vans, the tanks are mounted under the floor where the battery pack would be in an all electric model. There's also an eleven kilowoate
hour battery, likely under the front seat, but it's mostly there to provide support when starting and accelerating. Price and
on sale date for the Movano Hydrogen were not revealed yet.
The Nissan Armada or Nissan Patrol, depending on where you're from, is getting some big changes and it will go on sale before the end of the year. Those big changes
include no more V eight. It's replaced by a three
and a half liter twin turbov six, but it makes four hundred and twenty five horse power and five hundred and sixteen pound feet of torque, which is twenty five more horse power and over one hundred pound feet more than the V eight, and thanks to upgrades to the frame, it can still tow the same eighty five hundred pounds.
The engine is paired to a nine speed automatic, replacing the old seven speed unit, and it sends power to the rear wheels or through an optional four wheel drive system.
The interior for me is also a real step up for Nissan in terms of style. The seats especially look
like they got a lot of attention, with unique patterns in the backs and bottoms and the use of contrasting colors and stitching. A new push button shifter in HVAC controls,
clear up space on the center console, and a longer, thinner display sits on the dash. A few other highlights
include optional twenty two inch wheels, an air suspension system, hands free driving capability, and in North America, the new Armada gets Nissan's off road package for the first time, called Pro four X. While car buyers often cite limited
driving range compared to ICs and the lack of a charging infrastructure for not purchasing an EV, a new study from Bloomberg found that in countries with a more mature EV infrastructure, evs are more popular with active drivers or drivers who drive more. For example, in China and the Netherlands,
eve's traveled sixty six and fifty six percent more than icevehicles, respectively, and the same is true in Norway, Sweden, and Canada.
In the US, ICE vehicles still travel more than eve's. However,
in California, which has the highest EV adoption in the country, EVE usage is higher. Evs are cheaper to operate on
a per mile basis than ICs, so if you drive a lot, you'll save money. Jeep is already replacing its
head of North America. Stalantis announced that Bob Broderdorf will
replace Bill Peffer, effective immediately. Peffer was named the head
of Jeep North America only nine months ago, but now he's being moved to head of Stalantis's North American dealer network Development. Dwarf, who was most recently the VP of
Rambrand Operations, has his work cut out for him. Jeep
sales have declined for the past five years in a row, and in the second quarter of this year they fell another nineteen percent. Gili is launching a new low cost
EV that will compete with the BYD Dolphin, and it's giving away free ice cream to anyone who goes for a test drive. Gil actually formed a partnership with Hagendas
for the new Geomi xingy one and used different ice cream flavors as inspiration for all of the paint colors.
Power comes from either a seventy eight or one hundred and fourteen horsepower electric motor, which are fed by a thirty or forty kilowad hour LFP battery from CTL range is estimated at three hundred and ten and four hundred and ten kilometers or one hundred and ninety two and two hundred and fifty four miles, and China's Evy price war is still alive and kicking. The Geomi jin yu
Wan has an expected starting price around eleven two hundred and fifty dollars, which would be over two grand cheaper than the BYD Dolphin. Ford is going to take longer
than we typically see to make major updates to a couple of current products. Auto Forecast Solutions reports that the
Mustang Mache won't get a new platform until twenty twenty eight.
The EV will still continue to be made in Mexico and China, with production of the next gen model starting in April of that year. It also says production of
the next gen Maverick won't start until September twenty thirty one.
The small truck is also made in Mexico, but at a different plant than the Machi. The slowdown in EV
demand and uptick in hybrid sales likely played a role in this decision, but Ford can also reduce costs by keeping the models around a little a bit longer than usual, and that brings us to the end of today's show.
Thanks for tuning in.
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