AD #3889 - BYD Could Outsell Ford and Honda; GM Ramping Up BrightDrop Production; Audi's 1st China-Sourced EV Coming in 2025

Speaker 1: This is Outderline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. At this point, it's hard to

say what the EU's tariffs on imported Chinese made evs will look like when they're finalized in November, because it keeps changing them. It once again lowered the proposed rates

for Tesla and Jili. Tesla has now gone from a

roughly twenty one percent tariff to nine percent and now to seven point eight percent. Jili is now at eighteen

point eight percent and has also dropped two times from a high of twenty percent. It says it made the

adjustments after taking into account additional information provided by the companies.

But the European Commission has also faced pushback on the tariffs, not just for automakers and suppliers, but whole countries as well as the Chinese government. Writers reports that China ministers

offered to negotiate with regulators over the tariffs, which China has called quote typical protectionist behavior. Germany and its auto

industry are the ones probably pushing the hardest against the Chinese import tariffs because they have a lot to lose.

Not only do a number of German automakers build in import vehicles from China, but China is also a big source of their sales and revenue, and right now sales of German car brands in China are sliding as customers are choosing domestic automakers.

Speaker 2: More and more.

Speaker 1: That's part of the reason BMW just lowered its profit forecast for the year. Not only does it expect a

slight decrease in sales, but also an EBIT margin of six to seven percent, which is down from eight to ten percent. It says a recall of a braking system

played a role as well, which impacted one and a half million vehicles and resulted in a delivery stop in additional warranty costs. But bmw slide in China is not

just limited to cars. Its motorcycle sales have been hit

as well. It's also lowering its profit forecast for motorcycles

due to more competition in China and the US. But

in an effort to gain more appeal with Chinese customers, Western automakers are adopting Chinese evy platforms. Staalantis has partnered

with Leap Motor vw WI Chapung and Audi signed a development cooperation with SAIC Car News China reports that the head of that Audi Saic project says it will unveil its first car in November and it will go on sale in China in the second half of next year.

That's about all we know for now, But in one other bit of Audi news, it says the A six sportback e Tron is the most aero dynamic vehicle in its history. Its coefficient of drag is rated at zero

point two one, which is not world beating but puts it high on the list. But one of those domestic

brands that Chinese consumers are choosing more and more is BYD and now Morgan Stanley reports that BYD executives say it's aiming to sell four million vehicles this year, which would have made it the eighth largest automaker in the world last year, behind Ford and Honda. That's also an

increase of eleven percent from BYD's own initial sales forecast at the beginning of the year. The jump is mainly

coming from plug in hybrids. Not only does it have

a backlog of a couple of models, but it's also launching its next genp HAVE technology right now to hit four million vehicles BYD will have to sell nearly four hundred and twenty thousand vehicles a month for the rest of the year.

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Speaker 1: Last month, General Motors integrated its electric commercial van company, bright Drop, into Chevrolet. That allows it to take advantage

of Chevy's large dealersh network, which it hopes will help boost sales and to help meet that expected demand, GM is going to boost production. Canadian union UNIFOR says the

automaker has committed to adding a second shift at its Cami plant in Ontario in early twenty twenty five, but so far it's been a slow ramp up for the Bright Drop van since it first went into production in late twenty twenty two. At one point, battery shortages idled

production for six months, then production resumed in April, but.

Speaker 2: Only on one shift.

Speaker 1: GM and Unifor also began contract talks this week, and their current three year deal expires next week, so by adding another shift at Cammi, GM is likely trying to avoid any labor disputes. Intel is considering selling part of

its stake and Mobile Eye, the company which makes software for self driving vehicles, has struggled the last several years due to automakers reducing production. Last month, Mobilize cut its

revenue and operating income forecasts, and it's on track to post an annual loss for the third straight year. Shares

of Mobile Eye fell to a record low after news broke about Intel selling its stake. Intel currently owns eighty

eight percent after offloading part of its stake and Mobile last year, which raised one and a half billion dollars.

Now it's considering selling more, either on the public market or to a third party, but with Mobilized struggles, it could be difficult to sell this time around.

Speaker 2: Ev startup Rivian is.

Speaker 1: Launching its first referral program to help boost sales. The

company is offering a seven hundred and fifty dollars credit to both the Rivian owner who makes the referral and to the new buyer.

Speaker 2: The credit can be used to.

Speaker 1: Buy products at Rivian's online store or even for a vehicle purchase. Both also received six months of free charging

at Rivian charging sites, and Rivian is offering an adventure week end to the first one hundred owners who make twenty five referrals.

Speaker 2: The referral program.

Speaker 1: Is only for US customers now, but it will be expanded to Canada next year.

Speaker 2: Tesla and Lucid also have.

Speaker 1: Referral programs, and analysts say they're appealing because they're less expensive than traditional advertising campaigns. Two years ago, Mercedes invested

in US based battery company Factorial to develop solid state batteries, and now the companies say they'll be ready for production by the end of the decade.

Speaker 2: The new battery, called Solstice, has.

Speaker 1: An energy density of four hundred and fifty watt hours per kilogram, which is forty percent higher than its current batteries and is expected to boost an EV's range about eighty percent over today's average, but Mercedes is not alone.

Stilantis and Hyundai have also invested in factorial They're interested in solid state batteries because the higher energy density allows them to reduce the size of the battery pack and fire rists are also lower. However, up to this point,

producing the batteries in volume has been harder than expected, and that brings us.

Speaker 2: To the end of today's show. Thanks for tuning in.

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Speaker 5: Forget the political noise. Evs mean good American jobs. Tens

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AD #3889 - BYD Could Outsell Ford and Honda; GM Ramping Up BrightDrop Production; Audi's 1st China-Sourced EV Coming in 2025

Zevo Bright Drop

Pontiac Solstice

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