The episode covers major shifts in the automotive industry, including Stellantis halting development on Chrysler's electric vehicle, raising questions about the brand's future. Acura is launching the RSX EV on a new in-house platform, while GM introduces its second-generation Ultium platform in China with advanced battery tech and plug-in hybrid options. The discussion also touches on regulatory changes in the EU and California, Saudi Arabia's lithium mining ambitions, and Cadillac's strong EV sales growth, highlighting the evolving landscape of electric vehicles and industry strategies worldwide.
Topics:chrysler ev cancellationacura rsx ev launchgm ultium platform chinaelectric vehicle battery techautomotive regulations eucalifornia emission standardslithium mining saudi arabiacadillac ev sales growthautomotive industry trendsev manufacturing and strategy
- Meet the Next U.S. Transportation Secretary - Acura To Launch RSX EV, Not on GM Ultium - Great Wall Says Net Profit Shot Up 76% - Stellantis Stops Chrysler EV - EU Admits Too Much Emphasis on EVs - CARB Backs Off Heavy Truck Emission Rules - Saudi Aramco Explores Lithium Production - GM Gets Synthetic Graphite from Vianode - GM Launches Gen-2 Ultium Platform in China - Cadillac Aims For #1 EV Sales in Lux Segment
"helcion and as lineup, you have to wonder if it's even worth keeping the Chrysler brand. And just for the records. Walter P. Chrysler officially launched the Chrysler Corporation on June sixth, nineteen twenty five."
"...ing to have the Lyric, the Vistic, the Optic, the Escalade IQ, and the Celestic in its showrooms, and next w..."
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Speaker 1: This is Outline Daily. The show's dedicated to enthusiasts of the.
Speaker 2: Global automotive industry.
Speaker 1: Shawn's out covering a Nissan event today, so I'm filling in and we're starting to get a look at who the next US Secretary of Transportation is going to be.
Meet Sean Duffy, a former US congressman from Wisconsin but probably better known as a personality on Fox News. In
congressional hearings yesterday, he promised to prioritize regulations that provide a balance between innovation and safety when it comes to things like autonomous cars and evtalls. While some of President
Trump's cabinet appointees have generated a lot of controversy, Sean Duffy looks like he's going to be someone to breeze through.
His confirmation accurate and is getting ready to launch a second EV later this year. It's called the RSX, and
it's built on in EV architecture that Honda develop in house, not on GM's Ultium platform. The RSX is a four
door crossover with a fastback design to give it more of a coop like appearance, and it's going to be built at what Honda calls its EV hub in Ohio that includes the Marysville and East Liberty assembly plants, as well as the Anna Engine plant, which is being outfitted with six thousand ton die casting machines to make large castings for the battery pack, which will be part of the vehicle structure. Accura already sells the ZDXEV, which is
made by General Motors at a plant in spring Hill, Tennessee, and it says the ZDX will remain in its lineup for a full cycle, which is a bit vague, but that would suggest it's going to be there for anywhere from six to eight years. Acura is also going to
launch what it calls a gateway vehicle in just a few months. It's a compact crossover called the ADX and
it's going to be powered by a turbocharged gasoline engine.
But that's all it announced at this time. And by
the way, when Accura says gateway vehicle, it means a cheaper price to bring in more people to the brand.
Great Wall Motors in China has not released its official financial results for last year, but it said it's going to post some blockbuster numbers. It sold one point two
million vehicles last year, which is actually the same as the year before, but it expects its net profit to source seventy six percent to about one point seven billion dollars.
That's pretty impressive, especially considering the price war that's going on in the Chinese market. Great Wall attributes its better
bottom line to product excellence and customer satisfaction. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.
We think it's probably got to do more with keeping a lid on spending and getting better pricing by shifting more production to nevs. We'll have a better idea of
how it mattered this when it officially posts its year end results. Say, did you know that Chrysler will be
celebrating its one hundredth anniversary this year? Neither did we,
Maybe because neither Chrysler nor Stalantis have said peep about it, and maybe that's a sign the brand is not long for this world. Mopart Insiders reports that Stillantis stopped all
development and spending on its electric car, code named C six X, which is based on the Halcion concept car.
Right now, Chrysler only has two models in its lineup, the Pacific Amini Van and a cheaper version for fleets called the Voyager. It only sold one hundred and twenty
five thousand vehicles in the US last year and sales continue to fall. So if it doesn't get that electric
helcion and as lineup, you have to wonder if it's even worth keeping the Chrysler brand. And just for the records.
Walter P. Chrysler officially launched the Chrysler Corporation on June sixth,
nineteen twenty five.
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: With automakers in Europe facing massive fines for missing CO two targets, it sounds like the EU could ease up on some of its vehicle emission mandates. And while the
EU isn't backing off its goal to ban selling ice vehicles by twenty thirty five, the EU's climate chief Voke Hookstra says it needs to better address the concerns of companies and voters about the impact of its policies. Hochtrist says,
and I quote them here, we've been two one dimensional, which we interpret to mean that the EU put too much emphasis on a lecture cars and it's not just Europe that's backing off stricter CO two rules. The California
Air Resources Board withdrew its request to set tougher emission rules for heavy duty trucks, trains, and cargo ships. The
CARB is giving up on its push to set stricter standards because the incoming Trump administration would squash them anyway.
As we reported last month, Saudi oil giant a Ramco is getting into lithium production by extracting the metal from the brine that's left over from drilling for oil. Saudi
mining company Maden and King Abdullah University are also part of the project. Earlier today, Saudi Arabia's mining minister said
that the project is promising but not yet commercially viable, but it's not too far off. They're targeting commercial production
in twenty twenty seven, and along with Exxon mobiles push into lithium mining in Arkansas. I think it's significant that
big oil believes it can be a big player in the EV segment. And speaking of EV battery materials, General
Motors just signed a deal with Norwegian battery materials company via Node to supply it with synthetic graphite. Via Node
will start shipping graphite that's going to be produced at a yet to be named site in North America starting in twenty twenty seven. The graphite will be used by
Ultium Cells, which is the joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution for next gen batteries and drive units, and under the agreement, graphite deliveries can be expanded to other joint ventures via Node says its process to make synthetic graphite has a ninety percent lower CO two footprint than conventional methods. And let's stick with General motors for
a minute. It's launching the second generation of its Ultium
platform in China, and it's been modified to a comedy plug in hybrids and E Rev power trains, which makes us wonder if GM's going to do the same thing in the US. The Gentoo version is still scalable, which
means it can be used for different sized sedans and vans and SUVs. The BEV version, as we reported on Monday,
gets a nine hundred volte electric architecture and a sixty fast charging LFP battery pack that can deliver two hundred and seventeen miles of range with only ten minutes of charging.
It also sounds like GM China is going to get a version of Super Crews with a Level three capability for both city and highway driving. Though GM got clobbered
in the Chinese market over the last eight years, maybe it's turned the corner. Sales have been growing for six
straight months, and its NEV sales were up fifty six percent last year. Meanwhile, back in the States, Cadillac also
has some good numbers to reap. Last year, It's US
sales grew by nine percent, which outpaced the overall market.
Better still, its retail sales in California shot up twenty three percent. That seems to be thanks to the Lyric
AEV because forty percent of them were sold in California and seventy six percent of the people who bought them came from other brands, and that's a key reason why Cadillac is still betting big on EV's. By the end
of this year, it's going to have the Lyric, the Vistic, the Optic, the Escalade IQ, and the Celestic in its showrooms, and next week it's going to unveil the V version of the Lyric. Cadillac says, all those evs are going
to make it the best luxury nameplate with EVS in twenty twenty five and it says it moves into endurance racing and Formula one are going to globalize the brand, which means Cadillac really wants to boost its sales outside of the US market. And that brings us to the
end of today's report. And if you like getting this
kind of reporting, please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel or our daily email blast on our website. Thanks
for watching.
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