AD #3987 - Trump Axes NEVI Program; Two Chinese OEMs Adopt DeepSeek AI; Porsche Adds More ICE Cars To Lineup

Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive in the stream, and we start out today in China, where it's investing in significant technologies that could make its auto industry even more competitive than it already is. Barely two weeks ago, Deep Seek, a Chinese

startup in generative AI, stun the tech world with a gen AI program that is far cheaper to operate than open AI's Chat GPT and it runs on lower tech chips.

And yesterday, two Chinese automakers announced that they're already integrating deep Seek AI into their cars. Dong Fung says it

will be the first automaker in the world to use deep Seek's AI in an SUV called the Courage that's part of its Voye brand. One week from today, owners

will be able to add it to their cars through an over the air update. Dong Fung says this will

make it smart cockpit experience.

Speaker 2: The best in the end.

Speaker 1: Gili is also going to use deep Seek in an effort to redefine the interface between humans and computers in its cars, and it's stunning to see how fast these two Chinese automakers have moved to integrate deep seek into their vehicles, and BYD is in a race to see who will achieve true autonomy first. BYD's shares jump twenty

one percent to its highest level since twenty twenty because investors are enthusiastic over its smart driving technology. The automaker

is expected to detail progress about its autonomous system and other intelligent features for its low cost cars at an event on Monday. Automakers in China are investing heavily into

developing assisted driving features because it's becoming a major selling point for customers and a differentiator for some brands. The

CEO of Chinese automaker Japung believes that autonomous driving will transform the Chinese auto industry over the next five years in the same way that nyvs have transformed the market.

He says more buyers are putting av features in their top three reasons for purchasing a new EV, so Japung is going to invest an additional one point three billion dollars into its R and D activities, nearly half of which will go towards AI projects. It also plans to

start mass producing its own in house developed computer chips this year, which Japung claims has more capability than Nvidia or Tesla FSD chips, and these moves are what will allow it to expand its autonomous driving system that's called x pilot. All of its models have Level two capability,

and it says it will launch a Level three version in the second half of this year. And on top

of AVS, Japung plans to use its chips in software tech in vtals and humanoid robots. The Trump administration just

dealt a big blow to ev AD the kits. The

Federal Highway Administration is ordering all states to suspend all EV charging infrastructure spending under the five billion dollar National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEV program. The Biden administration already

approves state funding through the first four years of the five year plan, but not all of that money has been spent, and the Federal Highway Administration is now telling states they can't use funds for new projects. However, funds

that were already committed won't be affected. The NEVY program

was approved by Congress and it likely can't be wiped away by a single memo from the Federal Highway Administration, so this will probably come down to court battles, which will cause more delays in the rollout of the ev charging infrastructure.

Speaker 3: Developing today's vehicles. Issues can happen in an instant. When's

the best time to solve a problem The minute you know you have one? Meet Wireless neovi Cloud. You're secure

off the shelf solution, empowering real time collaboration for quick resolution.

With Wireless neov Cloud, your team can prevent issues before they can escalate. Driver communication, data and remote diagnostics to

analyze and resolve your problems using OTA, allowing your executives oversight throughout the process. Wireless neov Cloud your vehicle update

solution and production, and on the road intrepid control systems driven by your data.

Speaker 1: Tesla raise the price of the Model X said the US by five grand. The all wheel drive version now

costs about eighty five thousand dollars, and the plaid is now about ninety five thousand. Tesla also raised the price

of the Model S by five grand in December. The

company didn't reveal why it raised prices, but we wonder if it's because Tesla doesn't feel like sales will be hurt by the price increases, and another Tesla news sales of the automaker's China made vehicles fell eleven and a half percent last month to just over sixty three thousand units compared to a year ago, and they were down thirty two percent from December, but that drop could be attributed to the Chinese New Year holiday in January, which also led to a drop in sales for other evmakers.

Mazda reported its results for the first nine months of its current fiscal year, and sales were down in pretty much every major market in the world, but thanks to a strong surge in North America, it was actually up. Overall,

the company sold nine hundred and sixty six thousand vehicles worldwide, which was up by four percent. Those sales brought in

just over twenty four billion dollars in revenue, up three percent, but due to increased material and logistics costs as well as higher incentive spending, Mosda's operating income was down by twenty six percent and its net income dropped by forty five percent. The company plans to reel in those incentives

for the rest of the fiscal year, which have averaged over three thousand dollars, and that will also contribute to an overall goal of cutting more than six hundred and thirty five million dollars in expenses for the full year.

Most expects to sell about one point three three million vehicles worldwide, which would be an increase of about seven percent.

Portia has been on a tear for nearly thirty years, but it stumbled badly when it comes to electric vehicles.

Part of the problem is that it over invests in electric models that haven't sold very well. The company's profit

margin of ten percent is half of what it was just a few years ago, and its market cap has been cut in half to fifty billion euros. To try

and turn things around, it wants to get rid of its CFO and head of sales. It's also going to

spend eight hundred million euros this year to add more IC and p HAVE cars to its lineup, and the German media is speculating that Oliver Bluma, who runs both Porsche and the Volkswagen Group, will probably have to give up his CEO position at Porsche to concentrate full time on trying to say VW. But if you think automakers

have it tough, you should see what's going on in the supplier industry. Lear Corporation, the giant seat manufacturer, is

going to lay off around fifteen thousand employees this year, and keep in mind that last year Lear laid off fifteen thousand people. It also closed thirteen factories and we'll

close another five this year. The problem is that new

car sales are not growing in most markets around the world and costs continue to rise. Lear also won major

contracts for EV programs that were delayed or canceled outright, so it's going to invest heavily in automation and robots to make its plants more efficient and talk about betting big on EV programs that failed to happen. Linamar, the

Canadian supplier, is selling a factory built last year to make giga castings. The three hundred thousand square foot plant

was going to have three giant casting machines to make large parts for an unknown EV program and it was supposed to start operating this month. Instead, Linamar has the

plant up for sale, and it's yet another casualty of EV investments that have failed to pay off. Ahead of

the all electric version that's supposed to launch late this year, Alpine set out to create the ultimate road going version of the A one ten and came up with this The A one ten are All Team. It's chassis is

made entirely from aluminum to save weight. It gets wider

wheels and tires, The braking system was improved, aerodynamic tweaks added one hundred and sixty kilograms or about three hundred and fifty pounds of downforce forged pistons and connecting rods, as well as turbo optimization boost engine output to three hundred and forty five force power, and it's all fed through a new six speed DCT. The A one ten

R All Team will do zero to one hundred kilometers an hour in three point eight seconds, and it laps the nurburg Ring twenty seconds faster than the A one ten R. But LP is only building one hundred and

ten examples, and 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.

Speaker 2: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Bridgestone Solutions for your journey, intrepid control systems, over the air engineering boost your game, and by Tajent Automotive Technologies. The formula

for better mobility.

Speaker 4: Performance that shines even in the rain. That's what really matters.

Bridge don't pretends to tires, improved grip and wet conditions.

Speaker 5: There's nothing wrong with heavy metal, hey, right enough, but with world class composite material Tagent Automotive Technologies makes vehicles lighter, safer, and more eco friendly.

Speaker 2: Wards is the industry leader for news data and analysis.

That's why companies across the globe subscribed to our premium service.

Maybe even your own log in for subscriber access. Now

check your company's intranet for details and rely on Ward's auto dot com to keep you informed.

Tesla Model X

Tesla Model S

About this episode

Original notes