Nikola files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid massive liabilities, signaling a likely end for the truck maker. Ford delays the next-gen F-150 launch to 2028, while Rivian reports a rare gross profit despite supply chain issues, boosted by EV credits and Volkswagen's support. Volkswagen's EV sales in China plummet, possibly due to inventory clearing ahead of new models. Honda unveils a more efficient fuel cell module and plans stationary generators, while Toyota tests dual-nozzle hydrogen fueling for trucks. Talks of a Honda-Nissan merger falter over technology and leadership disputes. China tightens control over rare earth minerals crucial for EV motors. The episode also highlights innovative automotive startups and Nvidia's new powerful computing system debuting in Lincoln SUVs.
- Nikola Files for Chapter 11 - Ford Delays Next F-150 - Rivian To Post Gross Profit - Toyota Takes LG Battery Plant in Michigan - VW EV Sales Tank in China - Honda’s New Fuel Cell Specs - Toyota Tests Fuel Cell Truck with Two Filling Nozzles - Honda Told Nissan To Dump Its Hybrid Tech - China Tightens Grip on Rare Earths - GAMIC Announces Start-Up Finalists - Lynk and Co 1st To Adopt NVIDIA Thor Chip
"...f weeks ago, we reported that the next generation Ford F one fifty wasn't going to come out until twenty t..."
Select text to request an explanation
Speaker 1: This is out Aligned Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Last week we told you
that Nicola was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and yesterday it filed for Chapter eleven to raise money to pay off its debts. Nicola is going to try and
sell off all of its assets, but it's probably going to come up short. The company has less than a
billion dollars in assets, but has liabilities between one and ten billion dollars. Many companies use Chapter eleven to reorganize
operations and restructure their debt, but if Nikola is going to sell off all of its assets, it sounds like this is the end of the road for the truck maker.
A couple of weeks ago, we reported that the next generation Ford F one fifty wasn't going to come out until twenty twenty eight, and now the automaker is telling its suppliers that the program has officially been delayed to at least the middle of that year. Ford's financial earnings
have been pretty mediocre lately, and pushing back a big program like that will save the company money in the short term, but it's also a risk. Last year the
Toyota RAV four outsold the F one fifty in the US market, the first time in forty seven years that the F one fifty wasn't number one. Meanwhile, Rivian, a
company that Ford had invested in at one point, says it will report a gross profit for the fourth quarter of last year, and that's despite a part shortage that crippled its production in the quarter. The turnaround is thanks
to selling EVY credits, getting lower prices for components and materials, and getting higher prices for its vehicles. No doubt that
Volkswagen money is helping too. Wall Street has been waiting
for Rivian to post a gross profit and it could be a key turning point for the company. When GM
backed out of that battery plant that LG Energy Solution is building in Lansing, Michigan, everyone wanted what would happen to the plant. Well, Toyota just rode into the rescue.
It has agreed to shift a one point five billion dollar order from another LG plant in Michigan to the Lansing factory. LG is expected to fully acquire the plant
this spring and production will start soon afterwards. Volkswagens ev
sales have absolutely tanked in China. According to Carnews China,
it's sold just over forty five hundred electric vehicles in the country last month, which is down seventy one percent from a year ago, and if you look at individual models, it can get even worse. VW only sold nine eighty sevens,
which is down ninety nine point six percent. But to
only sell nine models in an entire month after selling over twenty two hundred the same month the previous year, we think there has to be something else going on other than Chinese consumers turning away from VW's EV's entirely.
It could be clear tearing out inventory as it gets ready to introduce its next generation of electric vehicles that were developed in China for China.
Speaker 2: Making the life full of memories one road trip at a time, that's what really matters.
Speaker 3: Rigdone weather peak tires with.
Speaker 2: A seventy thousand mile womened warranty.
Speaker 1: Looks like HANDA and GM are going their separate ways with fuel cells, and Honda just revealed specs for its first independently developed fuel cell module. It produces nearly double
the peak output of the jointly developed module seventy seven kilowatts versus one hundred and fifty kilowats for the new unit, and while peak voltage and weight only see slight improvements, Honda says it's smaller, so volumemetric efficiency is up, it costs half as much to produce, and it has twice the durability. Mass production is scheduled to start sometime in
twenty twenty seven, so to cover that gap between now and twenty twenty seven, Honda is going to introduce stationary power generators that use the jointly developed fuel cell. Those
fuel cells will be combined into units that put out two hundred and fifty kilowats, and up to four of those units can be connected for a maximum output of a thousand kilowats. Honda expects these to be used by
factories and office buildings, and production starts next year. Speaking
of fuel cells, while hydrogen powered vehicles can refuel in about the same amount of time as a gas powered vehicle, I've heard those times can vary widely between stations. That's
why this caught our eye. Toyota is testing fuel cell
heavy duty trucks with two filling nozzles. It wants to
see if it can double the fueling speed to help reduce downtime, but like the super duper fast EVY chargers in China, Toyota says there's only a few stations in Japan that currently own of twin hydrogen fueling nozzles. We're
getting more details about why talks over a Honda Nissan merger ended earlier this month. As we've reported, the main
reason is because Nissan rejected Honda's demand that it become a subsidiary of Honda, but now a new report from Japan says it also had to do with Honda demanding that Nissan ditch its ePower hybrid technology and adopt its system instead. Nissan rejected that too, mainly because it's invested
two billion dollars to develop its ePower tech. But as
we reported yesterday, the merger between the two automakers isn't completely dead, with Honda saying it would be open to reviving talks if Nissan gets rid of its CEO, Makoto Yuchetah.
China is tightening its grip on its rare earth mineral industry.
The country is proposing new regulations that include quotas for mining, smelting, and separating, as well as monitoring and enforcement of rare earths.
China already dominates in rare earth production, and the new rules are an effort to tighten its control of the global market. Rare earth materials are essential to make magnets
for electric motors that are used in evs. We've been
following what's going on at GAMMIC, which is the Global Automotive and Mobility Innovation Challenge. It's like that Shark Tank
TV program, but GAMMIC is where automotive startups pitch their products to judges who have extensive experience in the auto industry. Yesterday,
GAMMIC announced the semi finalists, who come from Spain, Israel, Canada, the UK, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and five from the United States. Their inventions include everything from EV charging
to robotics, to manufacturing more efficient engine combustion, and a whole lot more. If you'd like to take a peek
at what these companies have come up with, we have a Lincoln Today's description box and transcript. The Lincoln Co
nine hundred SUV will be the very first vehicle to feature in Nvidia's new centralized computer called drive Thour. It's
capable of a thousand tops or trillion operations per second, where in other words, it's four times faster than its current system. Drive Thor is meant to control aid ass
and hands free driving features, as well as all the infotainment and displays. Linking Co is part of the Jly
Group and other group brands including Volvo, will also get drive Thor in the future. But that brings us to
the end of today's show. Thanks for making autoline a
part of your day.
Speaker 4: Autoline Daily is brought to you by Bridgestone Solutions for your journey intrepid control systems over the air engineering, boost your game by Tajing Automotive Technologies the formula for better mobility.
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 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 neo vi 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 remot
diagnostics to analyze and resolve your problems using OTA, allowing your executives oversight throughout the process. Wireless Neophy Cloud your
vehicle updates solution in production and on the road. Intrepid
control systems driven by your data
Request an explanation for:
1 cars
1 cars featured
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark.
Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
