The episode covers major challenges in the automotive industry, including the disbanding of Chinese EV maker Jiyue due to financial struggles amid fierce price wars, and Nikola's cash shortage leading to layoffs and a shift from battery electric to fuel cell trucks. It also discusses potential regulatory changes under the Trump administration that could reduce crash reporting requirements for driver assistance systems, possibly influenced by Tesla. Additionally, US EV sales continue to grow despite a Tesla decline, Toyota and Suzuki's new electric SUV partnership, China's booming used car market driven by cash-for-clunkers incentives, and the final auctioning of Saab's manufacturing equipment signaling the brand's end.
Topics:chinese ev market challengesjiyue disbandingnikola financial issuesfuel cell truckscrash reporting regulationsus ev sales trendstoyota suzuki ev partnershipchina used car marketsaab brand closure
- Chinese EV Maker Jiyue Disbands - CATL Offers Financial Support to Suppliers - Nikola Running Out of Cash, Laying Off Workers - Trump May Drop Crash Reporting Rule - U.S. EV Sales Up 5% In October - Toyota Introduces New Urban Cruiser EV - Toyota Offers Big Discount for bZ4X - China Used Car Sales on Track to Break Record - U.S. Used Car Prices Start to Stabilize - Saab Auctioning Off Stamping Presses
"...tara, and now Toyota has debuted its version, the Urban Cruiser. There's both front and all wheel drive available..."
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Speaker 1: This is out Aligned Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts up the global automotive industry. There's roughly one hundred and
fifty different car brands in China, which we've said for a long time is far too many to support. Car
News China reports that g Uei, a joint venture between g L and by Dew, will be one of the companies that doesn't survive. So far this year, it's sold
less than fourteen thousand vehicles, and due to the lack of finances generated from those sales, GUI tried cutting projects and merging departments to stay afloat, but it's now said to be completely disbanded. There's even social media posts of
angry employees surrounding the CEO in stealing office equipment. So
Reuter's reports that Glean by Dew have stepped in committing to settle any payroll issues. And part of the reason
GUI failed is due to the ev price war in China, which not only puts pressure on automakers, automakers then put pressure on their suppliers for better prices. However, battery maker
COTL is taking the exact opposite approach. Reuter's reports it's
actually offering financial support to its suppliers in the form of taking on part of their R and D costs and making advanced payments on projects. COATL believes this will
help speed up innovation in materials and equipment, and it's also helping suppliers with a certification work required to launch those new materials and equipment. But Chinese automakers and suppliers
aren't the only ones feeling the pressure. Heavy truck maker
Nikola says it currently doesn't have enough money to last through January of next year, and that it reduced fifteen percent of its workforce in October, followed by more layoffs this month. After issues with the battery electric version of
its truck, Nikola shifted its focus to its fuel cell truck, But as we reported the other day, at least one fleet operator has complained of several issues from unexpected power loss to higher costs, so it looks like a tough path forward. The Trump administration could get rid of a
NITZA provision that requires automakers to report accidents if driver assistants or AV systems were activated during or within thirty seconds of the crash. It's part of a recommendation from
a transition team that's supposed to come up with a one hundred day strategy for automotive policy. They said the
amount of data collection is excessive. There's speculation that Elon
must played a role in drafting the recommendation because Tesla has said that data can be misleading. It's reported the
most accidents to regulators, but even the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a lobbying group that represents most major automakers, has also criticized the requirement. However, Knitsa says the data is needed
to evaluate the safety of these systems.
Speaker 2: 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: Electric vehicle sales continue to grow in the US despite a decline from Tesla. According to S and P Global Mobility,
more than one hundred and one thousand BEVs were registered in October, a five percent gained from a year ago. Meanwhile,
Tesla's registrations were down about two percent. If you exclude Tesla,
EV registrations were up eleven percent in October. However, Tesla
is still far and away the best selling EV maker, with more than forty five thousand vehicles sold in October.
The Tesla Model Y and three were also the two best selling EV that month. General Motors is now the
second best selling EV manufacturer with more than twelve thousand sales, up seventy two percent from a year ago. The Hyndai
Group is number three with ten thousand sales, followed by Ford at nearly six thousand, seven hundred units, and Honda including Acura with fifty four hundred EV sales. S and
P says it expects a surge in EV sales this month and into January, since the seventy five hundred dollars federal EV tax credit is likely to be eliminated once Trump takes office. In speaking of evs, you may remember
that Toyota and Suzuki recently announced a partnership where Suzuki will develop and build an electric suv for both companies in India. Suzuki already showed off the new Evatara, and
now Toyota has debuted its version, the Urban Cruiser. There's
both front and all wheel drive available, with power ranging from about one hundred and forty four up to one hundred and eighty four horse power as well as two battery packs forty nine and sixty one kilowdd hours. The
Urban Cruiser is set to first launch in the UK in the third quarter of next year, but these are also supposed to be global models, so more markets will follow, and Toyota is probably hoping this model appeals to customers more than its current ev In some regions of the US, Toyota is offering seventy five hundred dollars to ten thousand dollars off leases of the BZ four X, as well as zero percent APR when leasing it, so a good deal could be had. As we've reported, China's cash for
clunker's policy has had a big boost to new car sales, but it's also creating a boom in the used car market.
According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, one point four million used vehicles were sold in November, a seven percent increase, and a total of fourteen point one million have been sold so far this year, up five percent from a year ago. That means China is on pace to pass
last year's record of fourteen point nine million used cars sold.
China's Cash for Clunkers program gives car buyers up to two thousand, seven hundred and fifty bucks for trading in their old vehicle, and with many consumers taking advantage of it, it's led to an increase in the supply of used vehicles.
And speaking of used cars, a new study from ic car says that the prices are starting to stabilize in the US. The average price of a one to five
year old vehicle has hovered around thirty thousand dollars for the past twelve months, which suggests that there's a good balance of supply and demand in the market. However, that
price is still a huge increase compared to the twenty thousand dollars average price for used cars pre pandemic. Prices
for used evs are still below the overall used market, which cost about twenty seven six hundred dollars on average in November, a decrease of more than six two hundred bucks compared to a year ago. Anyone still holding out
hope that SAB could be revived is going to be disappointed.
Stamping Presses and other machines from the SOB Plant and troll Hot and Sweden are being auctioned off, making it unlikely that the brand will be revived. SOAB was founded
in nineteen forty five and was acquired by GM in nineteen ninety. GM then sold SOB to Dutch company Spiker
Cars in twenty ten, which sold it to Chinese company Nyvs in twenty twelve. Anyvs built electric models based on
SOBS at the troll Hoton plant, but it was never able to ramp up to mass production, so it closed the plant last year. That wraps up today's show. Thanks
for watching, and I hope you have a great weekend.
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