Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated.
Speaker 2: To enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Well, I hope
everyone enjoyed having John host again for a few days while I was out driving the new Lincoln Navigator. I
want to thank John for filling in, and I'll be able to report on what I thought of the new Navigator on April twenty fourth. But now back to your
regularly scheduled program. President Trump's tariffs are only just getting going,
but we're already starting to see the impact, and it doesn't look good for the auto industry. The National Auto
Dealers Association or NADA, says that sales in March will probably be the highest point for the whole year. Automakers
sold one point six million vehicles in March, which translates to a seventeen point eight million SAR. But Cox Automotive
says that automakers have burned through thirty days of inventory, while Lincoln alone has burned through.
Speaker 1: Fifty four days.
Speaker 2: JD Powers says it expects sales in inventory to drop in the third quarter when prices really start to rise because of the tariffs, and for the full year, it forecasts that sales will drop by one point one million vehicles. Meanwhile,
two suppliers, Valeo and Novarees, have told automakers in the US that they will not ship parts and components from Mexico unless the OEMs pay for the tariffs up front.
Speaker 1: The chairman of Novas told Reuters.
Speaker 2: For US, it's simple, either pay in advance or no customs clearance. And keep in mind that these are only
two suppliers who have gone public with their demands. We
wouldn't be surprised to see this going on up and down the entire North American supply chain. And in a
move to mitigate the tariff damage, Canada says it will allow cars made in the US to be sold in Canada ter free as long as they comply with USMCA rules.
But it will only do that for companyanies that also make cars in Canada, which is limited to GM, Ford, Stilanti's, Toyota, and Honda. We're pretty sure that President Trump is going
to hear about the impact his tariffs are causing. Reuter's
reports that Tesla had to stop shipping components for the Cybercab and the Semi from China to the US because of the tariffs. And remember the Cybercab is supposed to
hit mass production next year, and a lot of Tesla stock price has expected earnings from Robotaxis baked into it, and Tesla stock was down two percent in early morning trading.
Elon Musk reportedly asked Trump to reverse the tariffs instead.
This morning, the President raised tariffs on Chinese products to two hundred and forty five percent. Republicans in Congress are
fighting to revoke a waiver that allows California to set its own emission standards, which have been adopted by seventeen other states. But instead of going through the federal government
to make changes, there is another option. John Bozilla, the
head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, says that the states that follow California's rules can simply change their plans starting next year. The standards require that thirty five percent
of new car sales must be zero mission. Bizilla points
to Maryland, which loosened its enforcement of emission rules until it can be successfully implemented in the state. Bizilla says
other states should take similar measures to pause the standards until there is more clarity about what will happen.
Speaker 1: In Congress, there's.
Speaker 3: 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 2: Renaul's first use of its new Software to Find Vehicle or SDV architecture won't be one of its passenger models. Instead,
it will be applied to its new electric commercial vans, the Traffic st FET and GOOLET. The architecture was developed
by Renault's EV and Software division and Peer, and it features centralized computing as well as a more powerful operating system.
Those features allow for greater customization and expanded OTA capabilities, which could open up new revenue streams for Renault while providing owners ways to cut costs. The vans are being
developed with Flexus, which is a commercial vehicle joint venture between Renault and Volvo. They're being built at a Renault
plant in France and are scheduled to hit the market sometime next year. Portche is trying to cut the amount
of money it spends on vehicle validation for things like training driver assistance systems to recognize traffic signs. It requires
a second developer in the passenger seat to see if the vehicle was able to correctly identify the sign. If
it doesn't, they have to note that manually, while the vehicle's data is recorded onto a hard drive. Instead, Porsche
successfully tested a system on the new Macan that uses smartphones that have software that can recognize traffic signs, so what the vehicle sees is compared to what the phone sees, and if they don't match up, the data is recorded and it can be sent to the cloud. Not only
don't you need a second developer in the vehicle, but expensive test equipment is eliminated and validation can be completed by a larger number of test vehicles. Porsche says this
approach may soon make its way to series development and expand to other areas like detecting lane markings, traffic lights, and potholes. Chevy is off to a strong start to
the year. The brand sales were up fourteen percent in
the first quarter, the eleventh straight quarter that sales have increased, and part of that success is from its electric vehicles, which were up one hundred and fourteen percent to more than nineteen thousand sales, and Chevy's evs are bringing in more customers and helping with loyalty. According to Scott Bell,
the head of Chevy, more than half of its EV buyers are new to the brand, six and ten former Bolt EV owners are sticking with the Equinox and Blazer evs, and eighty six percent of EV owners choose another BEEV for their next vehicle. Automakers are adopting artificial intelligence in
many areas, including to improve vehicle production. And here's an
interesting application that caught our eye. Bentley is now using
AI and cameras to inspect pieces of leather. Since leather
is a natural product, it can have imperfections like insect bites, holes and scars that affect quality. By using AI, Bentley
can now detect those issues which can't be seen by the naked eye in some cases. Bentley says the technology
also reduces waste and cost because the AI can inspect the leather faster than a human.
Speaker 1: Genesis is going to LAMA.
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty six, the company revealed a prototype of its new LMDh race car.
Speaker 1: Called the GMR Double O one Hypercar.
Speaker 2: GMR stands for Genesis Magma Racing, and the car will compete in both a WEC and IMSA racing series, Debuting alongside the GMR Double O one Hypercar at the New Yorkado Show will be the.
Speaker 1: X Grand Equator concept.
Speaker 2: Genesis says this concept embraces the spirit of overlanding and combines on road sophistication with off road resilience. While this
concept seems like a departure from the Genesis that we've known so far, the company says it continues to expand into lifestyle oriented vehicles and certain aspects of this concept could.
Speaker 1: Make their way into future models. That's a wrap for
this show.
Speaker 2: Thanks for making a part of your day.
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About this episode
Tariffs are starting to impact the auto industry significantly, with sales expected to drop by over a million vehicles this year. Tesla halted shipments of key components from China due to tariffs, affecting production plans. Meanwhile, automakers like Renault and Porsche are innovating with new software architectures and AI-driven validation methods. Bentley uses AI to inspect leather quality, reducing waste and costs. Chevy's EV sales surge is boosting brand loyalty. Genesis revealed a new LMDh race car and an off-road inspired concept, signaling a shift toward lifestyle vehicles. The episode also covers regulatory battles over emissions standards and supply chain challenges.
- Tariffs Could Cost 1 Million Plus Sales - Two Suppliers Demand Tariff Payments Up Front - Canada Will Not Tariff USMCA Compliant Cars - Tesla Halts China Component Exports to U.S. - ZEV States Can Drop California Mandate - Renault Launches 3 SDV Vans - Porsche Uses Smartphone to Develop ADAS - Chevrolet EV Sales Up 114% - Bentley Uses AI to Inspect Leather - Genesis Hypercar for 2026 Le Mans
