AD #3919 - EU Market Sinking, But Tesla Has Blowout; Hyundai Aims for Fully Automated Assembly; China Deports VW Exec for Smoking Pot in Tha

Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. The European auto industry is going

through a rough time and the latest sales numbers are not encouraging. Automakers sold one point one million vehicles in September,

down four percent from last year, but evs did relatively well and represent the fastest growing segment in the market.

Customers registered over two hundred and thirteen thousand evs, up nearly fourteen percent.

Speaker 2: Hybrids did very well too, with over three.

Speaker 1: Hundred and seventy seven thousand registered, up over twelve percent.

In fact, hybrids outsold peer ice vehicles, which were down almost nineteen percent, while diesels dropped nearly twenty four percent and pehebs fell nearly twelve percent. When you go automaker

by automaker, the numbers are all over the map.

Speaker 2: VW's group sales were essentially.

Speaker 1: Flat, whilst the Land saw an alarming twenty six percent drop.

The Hyundai group was down five percent, while Toyota was up five percent. Mercedes fell three percent while BMW was

up five percent. Tesla had a blowout month, with registrations

up a whopping thirty one percent, and one last tidbit we pulled out of the numbers. Chinese automaker seic outsold Mazda,

JLR and Honda. GM reported its third quarter earnings, and

while the numbers look good overall, it's all thanks to the company's pickups and SUVs in the North American market, it lost money just about everywhere else Globally. GM sold

nearly one point five million vehicles in the last three months, and that was down about nine percent. But despite the

drop in sales, GM's revenue hit forty eight point seven billion dollars, up a strong ten percent from a year ago.

It's adjusted earnings before interest in ten axes or EBIT came in at four point one billion, up a strong fifteen point five percent. Free cash flow shot up nearly

nineteen percent to five point eight billion dollars, but net income of three billion was virtually unchanged. While those are

decent numbers, GM continues to run into headwinds with four of its business units. In China, it lost one hundred

and thirty seven million dollars versus a one hundred and ninety two million dollar profit a year ago. GM International,

which includes all the markets where the company operates outside of North America and China, posted a small profit of only forty two million, down eighty eight percent from last year.

GM Finance earned six hundred and eighty seven million, but that was down more than seven percent, and it lost four hundred and thirty five million dollars on Cruise, its autonomous car unit, but that was actually a forty five percent improvement over Q three to twenty twenty three. Overall,

Wall Street likes the numbers, especially the big improvements in EBID and free cash flow, and the fact that GM raised its guidance for the rest of the year. Hyundai's

initial public offering for its business in India last week was.

Speaker 2: The largest IPO in the.

Speaker 1: Nation's history, raising three point three billion dollars that gave Hyndi Motor India a market cap of nineteen billion dollars, but it shares slid more than seven percent in its debut in Mumbai today because of poor interest from retail investors due to slow in car demand in India. And

while that's not great news for Hyundai, it is common for stocks to decline after an IPO. Chinese automaker chan

Gan sold more than two and a half million vehicles globally last year, putting it just outside of the top ten in sales, but it expects to continue to grow.

The company's chairman says it wants to sell five million vehicles a year by twenty thirty, with thirty percent of its sales coming from overseas markets. If it hits that target,

that could make Changhan larger than Ford and Honda, which sold a bit more than four million vehicles each last year.

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Speaker 1: I'm starting to wonder how long it will be until automakers don't really need humans to.

Speaker 2: Build cars anymore.

Speaker 1: The Hondai group is showing off a number of technologies that get us closer to fully automated assembly. Its autonomous

mobile robots are like the automated guided vehicles you might see in existing plants today, but they have integrated software that allows them to control the wheels independently, so they can move in any direction instead of just forward and straight.

It also means they can carry heavier loads around curves.

The next piece of tech is a mouthful atypical flexible Parts automatic assembly, but it says it's essential for using humanoid robots and manufacturing. It's a program that recognizes irregular

parts like hoses and wires using AI vision and automatically calculates the picking up point and then issues that command to the robot. Another part, called the Infinite Multi axis

holding fixture will automatically input a part's information and adjust the pickup points, so a single machine can help assemble multiple parts of a car like the doors, hood, and wheels.

And the group is even looking at ways to automate aircraft or vital manufacturing.

Speaker 2: And using Spot the robot dog.

Speaker 1: For factory safety inspections and equipment checks. Ford is introducing

new tech to the Mustang Mochee and slashing its starting price.

The all electric suv will now come with a heat pump for the first time. It helps keep the battery

pack at an optimal op rating temperature, which improves the batteries efficiency while charging and in real hot and cold weather.

The Maki will also be the first Ford or Lincoln vehicle to get the latest version of Blue Cruise, its hands free driving system. Version one point five will now

automatically change lanes if it has a clear path, and will put a little visual on the display that it's making.

Speaker 2: The move and why.

Speaker 1: Ford says it will tell us later which other vehicles get Blue Crews one point five. The updated Maki will

go on sale early next year with a starting price of thirty six five hundred dollars, which is three five hundred dollars cheaper than before. One of the advantages of

an electric vehicle is supposed to be lower operating costs, but using public charging can throw that math off. According

to a new study from Zapmap, operating a BEV in the UK using public chargers is twice as expensive as driving a gas or diesel powered car.

Speaker 2: That's because it can.

Speaker 1: Cost just over a dollar per kilowat hour to use a public fast charger. That means a BEV can cost

up to thirty one cents per mile, while a diesel costs sixteen cents and gas cars cost nineteen cents.

Speaker 2: Even using slower.

Speaker 1: Chargers, it still costs about twenty two cents per mile to operate an EV. Public EV charging prices in the

UK have risen five percent in the past year, while at the same time prices at the pump have fallen.

Bydc's big opportunities to sell its p have pick up the Shark in Brazil. It's aiming the truck at agricultural

buyers and is pricing it well above the Toyota Highlex, the Ford Ranger, and the Chevrolet S ten, which start around thirty nine thousand dollars. The Shark starts at sixty

six five hundred bucks, even though the exact same truck sells in Mexico for thirteen one thousand dollars less. So

BYD is clearly positioning the Shark as a premium truck at a premium price. For that money, customers get four

hundred and thirty six horse power, a solar charging kit, a portable charger, and free insurance for a year byd is set a not a sales target of ten to fifteen thousand sharks a year in Brazil, but it has big plans for the country and is building an assembly plant that is scheduled to start production in just a matter of months. Plus the Shark will also be the

first pH truck introduced into Australia at the end of this month. China doesn't joke around when it comes to weed.

VW's chief marketing officer and head of product strategy for China, Jokin Sengspiel, tested positive for cannabis during a mandated customs procedure after returning from vacation in Thailand. While marijuana is

decriminalized in Thailand and Jokin's native Germany, Chinese officials held them for ten days before deporting them from the country.

And it doesn't sound like it's something you can apologize for or pay your way out of. China's president ordered

him never to return and just for a little reference, WARN's Auto says Senspiel is the guy who created VW's DOS Auto marketing slogan, and that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for making autoline a part

of your day.

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Ford Mustang

Byd Sharks

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