AD #3942 - Volkswagen Strike Becoming More Likely; Northvolt Files for Bankruptcy; Ram Reconsiders Mexico Expansion

Speaker 1: This Saudolne Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. We don't like seeing what's going on

in the European auto industry right now, as the disruptive changes that we've been warning about here for years are really starting to hit home. And we hate to say it,

but this is just the beginning. Let's start with Volkswagen,

where the situation in Germany with its union IGMTTAL is getting to be pretty tense. The latest round of negotiations

ended with both sides far apart on how to cut costs up till now. Workers were prohibited by their labor

contract to go on strike, but that only holds until November thirtieth, and after that ig MATTAL will likely start staging walkouts to pressure Volkswagen at the negotiating table. But

as we said, both sides are far apart. VW wants

to close plants and layoff workers, while the union is offering to forego any future pay raises. They start negotiating

again on December ninth, but we think we're going to see strikes and mass protests before this gets resolved, and VW's problems are rippling throughout the German auto industry. Bosch

announced it will get rid of fifty five hundred employees by the end of twenty twenty seven. Those people work

on eight ass EV motors and steering at different plants around the country, and Ig Mattal promises it's going to fight those plant closings too, and Wobasto, the German supplier that makes sunroofs, convertible tops and heating equipment, says it has to restructure its debt. It's selling off assets like

its EV charging stations, and it hired Ross's Child and Company, a private equity firm that handles mergers and acquisitions, and last Mercedes Ben says it needs to cut costs by billions of euros a year, though it didn't say how or when it will do that, but it sure sounds like layoffs and plant closings could be part of the plan.

Now over to Sweden, where North Volt filed for bankruptcy.

The ev battery startup raised over ten billion dollars in funding from Volkswagen, BMW, Volvo and private equity, but it's run out of money. It only has enough cash on

hand to run for a week, and it has over five billion dollars in debt. North Volt CEO Peter Carlson

stepped down and says the company needs over a billion dollars right now just to keep its operations going. Interestingly,

Northfolk filed for Chapter eleven bankruptcy in the US because it has some operations in California, and US bankruptcy laws are considered to be easier for companies that are trying to restructure their debts. Launching a battery plant is really

hard to do, and we think there's a good chance that someone could pick up the company for pennies on the dollar. In North America, Delantis says it's reconsidering moving

production to Mexico and other low cost countries, and it's all because of Trump's threats to increase tariffs on imported vehicles.

Last month, RAM announced plans to move some production from the US to Mexico, where it also builds heavy duty trucks.

But Chris Fuel, the CEO of RAM, now says the company is looking into alternatives for its planned and supplier networks if the Trump administration imposes tariffs on imports that disrupt its supply chains, but no decisions have been made yet.

Last year, Hundai formed a partnership with Amazon to allow car buyers in the US to shop for and buy its vehicles on Amazon's website. It was supposed to kick

off this year, but Jose Munoz, the current head of Hondai North America but soon to become the CEO of the entire Hondai Motor Group, says that the launch of the platform was delay because of that cyber attack on cdk's dealer management system this summer. More than half of

Hundi's dealers were disrupted by the attack, which forced it to delay the online buying platform, but Munno says it will be ready to launch in January. The platform allows

buyers to search for vehicles, pick the model, trim, color, and features they want, and choose payment in finance options through Amazon's checkout.

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Speaker 1: The University of Waterloo in Canada revealed a new way of making battery anodes that could significantly reduce charging time while also increasing lifespan. Anodes are typically made from graphite

and other additives and binders, but those additives and binders can block the electrical pathway, So the University of Waterloo developed graphite binders that have electron ion and heat transfer parties which freeze up those pathways. It showed that it

could charge a battery from zero to eighty percent in fifteen minutes while still retaining eighty percent of its original capacity after eight hundred fast charging cycles. The best part

is there's no exotic materials being used, and battery makers wouldn't have to make any changes to existing production lines.

But they've only made prototypes to gauge interest and are still working on how to produce them at scale. Yesterday,

Volkswagen revealed the all new tig One and we were surprised it won't have a hybrid option in the US at launch, since hybrid sales are going really strong, and while VW does have a plan to offer one, it's going to be a few years away. VW's head of

sales in the US said that a hybrid for the tig One will quote becoming mid cycle sometime. It still

hasn't decided if it will be a regular hybrid or a plug in, but both options are on the table.

VW also said the next Atlas will have some form of hybridization, but it's not set for a redesign until twenty twenty six so if you were hoping for a VW hybrid, you're gonna have to wait a while. And

VW hasn't sold a hybrid in the US since it dropped the Jetta hybrid in twenty sixteen, and while VW is dragging its feet with hybrids, JEEP CEO Antonio Fellosa says it will be adding a hybrid to its lineup next year in the US. It will be a regular

hybrid and not a plug in, and will be a replacement for the Cherokee, which was discontinued last year. Felosa

also said Jeep could add a pure electric version of the model in the future if it sees strong demand for one. The LA Auto Show kicked off today and

Kia has a trio of new models on display. It

refreshed its top selling and longest running nameplate in the US, the Sportage. It's highlighted a fresh design on the outside

and a standard curve screen on the inside, which can be augmented by an available head up display. The model

is still offered with an IC hybrid and plugin hybrid setup, but the electrified versions do see a slight bump and power.

Next step, Kia introduced a sportier GT version of the EV nine. At its heart is a dual motor all

wheel drive system that produces an estimated five hundred horse power, which has Kia targeting a zero to sixty time of four point three seconds. The model also boasts its own

unique styling features, upgraded breaks, a standard NAXT charging port, and what it calls virtual gear Shift. Inspired by the

Hyundai IONIK five N. It simulates gearshifts with visuals, engine

sound effects, and other adjustments to the motors. That same

feature will also be available on the new EV six, which is also getting a refresh for the twenty twenty five model year. It doesn't have major styling changes, but

the biggest tweaks are to the front Facia Kia tweak battery sizes as well to a slightly larger sixty three and eighty four kilowat hours, and it gave the EV six its latest operating system, which is faster and has expanded standard OTA capabilities. The refresh twenty twenty five model,

excluding the GT version, will be built at the Hondai Group's new plant in Georgia, where it joins the EV nine as well as the Hondai YAYANIK five and nine.

And speaking of new models, Carnws China reports that Volvo is going to launch a new plug in hybrid exclusively for the Chinese market. Interestingly, it says the vehicle will

be based on a Lincoln Co model, which is also owned by Gili. Lincoln Co sales have not been good

in China, and Zekeer, another GLI brand, just took a controlling stake in Lincoln Co and buying out a thirty percent share from Volvo. So even though it looks like

Lincoln Co is going away, its technology will probably continue to spread throughout the Gili group. But that brings us

to the end of today's show. Thanks for making autoline

a part of your day and I hope that you have a great weekend.

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Volkswagen Jetta

Jeep Cherokee

Kia Sportage

Hyundai Ionik

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