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AD #3931 - Volvo EX30 Finally Coming to the U.S.; Big Layoffs and Production Cuts at Nissan; EU Likely to Stick to Harder Emission Targets

AD #3931 - Volvo EX30 Finally Coming to the U.S.; Big Layoffs and Production Cuts at Nissan; EU Likely to Stick to Harder Emission Targets

Autoline Daily Nov 07, 2024 11 min
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About this episode

Nissan faces major challenges with a 70% profit drop forecast, 20% production cuts, and 9,000 layoffs, impacting Renault as well. Mazda struggles with declining sales outside North America. Daimler Truck reports revenue and sales declines but maintains its outlook. Lyft partners with Mobile Eye and others to advance autonomous tech. Volvo's EX30 EV will launch in the US despite tariff hurdles, starting with pricier AWD models. The EU plans to uphold tough emission targets, pushing automakers to pool emissions credits. Suzuki unveils its first mass-produced EV, the Evatara, launching in multiple markets next year. Mercedes will use Chinese-made engines in the new CLA, and Jaapung offers crowdfunded vehicle tech upgrades.

Topics: nissan financial struggles mazda sales decline daimler truck performance lyft autonomous partnerships volvo ex30 us launch eu emission targets emission credit pooling suzuki ev debut mercedes chinese engines jaapung tech upgrades
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Nissan is having a tough time
and its future is looking less bright. It's forecasting that
its operating profits will drop seventy percent for its current fiscal year. It's going to slash its global production capacity
by twenty percent, it's going to get rid of nine thousand employees, and it's selling off ten percent of the shares that it has Admitsubishi just to raise some more cash.
Nissan's problems are also a dragon. Renault, the French automaker,
still controls over thirty five percent of Nissan shares and had to shave one hundred and eleven million euros off its bottom line in the third quarter because of Nissan's poor financial performance, and the news isn't very encouraging at Mazda either. Its car sales were up a little over
two percent for the first half of its fiscal year, but that's only because of strong sales in North America.
Everywhere else in the world they're down, with big drops in China and Japan. Mazda's revenue rose a little over
three percent, but it's operating income fell twenty percent, and its net income fell more than sixty seven percent, and all this goes to show that the auto industry is going through some hard times right now. The only real
bright spot of Volkswagen's latest financial results was its heavy duty truck maker Tratton, but it was a different story at Daimler Truck. In the third quarter, sales were down
eleven percent, which dragged revenue down by five percent, in ebit by twelve percent, and for the year, its free cash flow is dropped by forty six percent. But despite
the declines, Daimler Truck didn't change its outlook for the rest of the year and says it will be putting its full attention on free cash flow in the fourth quarter.
Ridesh company Lift announced several partnerships to support its autonomous business.
It's teaming up with Mobile Eye, which makes self driving and ad ass technology, to make Lift's ride share platform available to all vehicles equipped with mobilized autonomous technology, but it didn't say when it will be available. In addition
to Mobile Eye, Lift is partnering with self driving startup Mame Mobility, which will add it self driving Toyota Cena minivans to Lift's fleet. In Atlanta in twenty twenty five.
And lastly, Lift is partnering with Nesar, a company that makes dash cams, to use video footage and data for R and D and to help improve its autonomous technology.
The Volvo Ex thirty is finally coming to the US.
Because the EV is made in China right now, Volvo decided to keep it out of the market when the US raised import tariffs one hundred percent on Chinese made evs in September. It had been waiting for Ex thirty
production to start in Belgium before bringing it to the US, but that production is not expected to start happening until next year sometime, so.
Speaker 2: Volvo isn't waiting any longer.
Speaker 1: It says it will start delivering EX thirties in the US before the end of the year, but it will not start with more affordable models, first launching our twin motor all wheel drive versions, which will start a little over forty six thousand dollars with destination charges. And hey,
don't forget to check out Autoline after hours later Today, we have none other than Sandy Munroe coming on the show, and we sure have a lot to talk about with him, like what will the Trump administrations impact beyond electric cars, and what role does he think his pal Elon Musk will play in the administration, and just a whole bunch more so, join John and Gary when the show goes live at three pm Eastern Time today.
Speaker 3: There's nothing wrong with heavy metal, Hey light enough, but with world class composite material taging automotive technologies makes vehicles lighter, safer, and more eco friendly.
Speaker 1: Automakers in Europe have been saying it will be difficult for them to meet tougher CO two emissions that kick in next year, and as a result, will face billions of euros in fines, But the Climate Commissioner, the person that actually oversees the EU's policies on climate change, said those fears may be overstated and wants to figure out how the industry can stick to the targets. So if
the Commissioner is reappointed by the European Parliament for five more years, which is supposed to happen later this month, there probably won't be much of a change. However, with
the EU sticking to its emission targets. The Commissioner said
it was fair for the auto industry to ask for more investment in an EV charging infrastructure that has the potential to be a nice boost to the EV industry.
But EV sales in Europe still aren't high enough to allow automakers to meet next year CO two targets, so the likely phase fines. The last time emission rules got
harder in twenty twenty to twenty twenty one, automakers had to pay out more than five hundred million euros and fines.
VW alone paid more than one hundred million, and it likely would have been a lot more, but companies were allowed to pool their emissions with other more fuel efficient automakers. Stillantis,
for example, teamed up with Tesla, and that's what we're already starting to see again this time around. Suzuki says
it will pool its emissions with Volvo. Mazda and Honda
will pool with Toyota and Renaul and VW also say they're open to it, and that's going to be good news for the companies that are taking in these less fuel efficient automakers. Between twenty nineteen and twenty twenty one,
Stillant has paid about two point four billion dollars to buy European and US carbon credits from Tesla. Stillantis did
end that partnership in twenty twenty one, claiming it sold enough electrified models in Europe to meet the emission targets.
There's still a lot of skepticism around fuel cells, but Hyundai believes it can sell between fifty thousand and two hundred thousand units of its next gen fuel cell system a year, including for both passenger and commercial vehicles. However,
it says it can't do it by itself and demand will be influenced by the price of hydrogen, government support, and the availability of refueling stations. Hundai began selling fuel
cell vehicles in twenty thirteen with the Tucson IX thirty five, and since then it's only sold about forty two thousand, five hundred fuel cell vehicles, and the Exo, which went on sale in twenty eighteen, accounts for most of that with nearly forty thousand sales.
Speaker 2: Here's a bit of a surprise.
Speaker 1: The all new Mercedes CLA, which goes on sale next year, will be offered with a two liter turbocharged engine that's made by Jili in China. It's rated at two hundred
and fifty horse power and two hundred and sixty five pound feet of torque. Those engines will be shipped too
hungry to get installed into the clas and actually this is an engine that's made by Horse the joint venture between Renault and Gili, and no doubt this all came about because Jili owns ten percent of Mercedes Benz. Jipung
is offering customers an upgrade to their existing models with a very intriguing promotion. It's not an over the air update.
It would physically install new chips for improved Level too driving and for better in Vehicle infotainment or IVI. For
the Level two upgrade, Japung wants to offer dual Nvidia or an X chips instead of just one.
Speaker 2: The IVI upgrade.
Speaker 1: Swaps out a Qualcom eight twenty a chip for a new snap Dragon eight two ninety five chip that's also made by Qualcom. But Jaapung wants to crowdfund this update,
meaning if enough people sign up it will go ahead with it, otherwise it won't.
Speaker 2: The Level two.
Speaker 1: Upgrade will cost twenty eight hundred dollars and it says at least one thousand people have to sign up for it, while the IVI upgrade is seven hundred bucks and at least four thousand people have to sign up. We think
it's a very clever way to test the market. You
get your customers to pony up the money before you pull the trigger. Suzuki revealed the Evatara, its first mass
produced pure electric vehicle, and this is the electric made in ind suv that Toyota will get from Suzuki, which was just announced the other day. The model features a
lithium iron phosphate or LFP battery pack that comes in two sizes, forty nine or sixty one kilowat hours. The
forty nine kilowad hour battery is available only in front wheel drive models, which produce one hundred and six kilowats or one hundred and forty four horse power. The sixty
one kilowat hour battery has a range of two hundred and fifty miles or four hundred and three kilometers and is available in front wheel drive models that make one hundred and twenty eight kilowatts or one hundred and seventy four horse power, or all wheel drive models that produce one hundred and thirty five kilowatts or one hundred and eighty four horse power. As we said, the Evatara will
be built in India and it goes on sale in Europe, India and Japan next summer. That brings us to the
end of today's show. I hope to see you later
during Autuline After Hours.
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