AD #4036 - China Cracks Down on Self-Driving Tech; Ford and VW Could Raise Prices; Geely to Sell Lotus to Lotus
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AD #4036 - China Cracks Down on Self-Driving Tech; Ford and VW Could Raise Prices; Geely to Sell Lotus to Lotus
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Speaker 1: This is autolined daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. This terror story has all the
makings of a TV soap opera.
Speaker 2: Every day there's a new twist to the plot.
Speaker 1: And this morning the financial markets were all on the upswing because President Trump said the US was making great progress in hammering out a trade deal, which a pan. Meanwhile,
Ford and Volkswagen warned their US dealers that if the terroriffs go through as plan, they're going to start raising prices on June.
Speaker 2: Second.
Speaker 1: Car sales were strong in March and reports coming in from the field say that April will be another good month, and once car shoppers get the word that prices will be going up in June, we expect sales to soar in May. But then there could be hell to pay.
Pulling all those sales forward now means that the second half of the year could.
Speaker 2: See a big drop off.
Speaker 1: Surprisingly, Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio who is a former car dealer and has strong ties to the Trump administration, says that the terraffs.
Speaker 2: Will lead to a golden age for the auto industry.
Speaker 1: He predicts that sales will hit twenty million vehicles a year in the next few years, which would smash all sales records. He told Automotive News at the New York
Auto Show that auto terras will probably be set at ten percent, and he advised automakers to cut a deal with the president. He said they should tell the president, quote,
here's how much more investment will do, Here's what job growth will do. Give us a runway to make that happen.
I think there's an administration that's very open to making these kinds of deals.
Speaker 2: End quote.
Speaker 1: Well, all we can say is that right now, Senator Moreno is largely in a league of his own. Every
other automotive executive and expert that we've talked to think that the terrafs will be a disaster for the industry.
China is cracking down on how automakers are allowed to test and market self driving features. The government ban beta
testing of the technology, and public testing must now go through official approval channels. Automakers are no longer allowed to
use terms like automatic driving, autonomous driving, intelligent driving, or advanced intelligent driving in their marketing. The government is also
banning certain capabilities of the technology, including features that require no driver supervision like valet parking, one touch summoning and remote control functions. On top of that, driver monitoring functions
cannot be disabled and must detect when a driver removes their hands from the wheel, and OTA updates for safety reasons must now follow recall.
Speaker 2: Procedures to receive approval.
Speaker 1: But that's not the only new safety requirements that companies must follow. In China, the government is an enacting the
world's first standards that mandate ev batteries cannot catch fire or explode even when thermal runaway occurs, plus any smoke generated must not harm vehicle occupants. The rules also include
new tests for batteries, which go into effect next summer.
The new requirements for both self driving features and EVIE batteries come shortly after a high profile crash that killed three women who were traveling in a Shoomi vehicle operating in its assisted driving mode and were unable to escape the car after it caught fire.
Speaker 3: Performance that shines even in the rain, That's what really matters.
Rich don't pretends to tires, improved grip and wet conditions.
Speaker 1: Hey there, enjoy what you're watching, then consider becoming an autoline member. Just click the join button on the autolne
Network YouTube homepage, or we've also set up a Patreon account under Autoline.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Absolutely nothing will change with the content that we already provide you, but we're giving exclusive access to even more like early viewing of Autoline exclusives, behind the scenes videos, and even live Q and a's with John and I.
Speaker 2: You know, poor Lotus.
Speaker 1: It's the car company that big automakers want to buy but then never keep. Ford one's own Lotus, so did
General Motors, but they ended up selling it. Then Gilie
bought part of it. But now Gilie is ready to
sell too. It exercised its put option to sell it's
fifty one percent steak in Lotus UK back to Lotus Technology, which puts the Lotus brand back under one umbrella. Gelee
acquired a majority steak in Lotus in twenty seventeen and since then Lotus Tech has been operating as a separate unit.
Now Lotus Tech must purchase that majority stake, and the end result is that Lotus will reorganize its R and D engineering and manufacturing under one brand. Subaru revealed its
second fully electric vehicle at the New York Auto Show in.
Speaker 2: All new suv it calls the Trail Seeker.
Speaker 1: It's also built on Toyota's ETNNGA architecture, but the trail Seeker is more than six inches longer than the Solterra and nearly an inch taller. Most of that was added
to the rear of the vehicle, which increases the cargo volume and I think it makes the vehicle look a little like a station wagon as well. While Subru is
still using Toyota's platform, it says its engineers developed the suspension in all wheel drive systems for the trail Seeker and that it will be made in a Subaru plant in Japan. Unlike the Solterra, which is made by Toyota,
the trail Seeker will feature a nearly seventy five kilowade hour battery that returns more than two hundred and sixty miles of range, and dual electric motors that produce roughly three hundred and seventy five horse power and launch the suv from zero to sixty to four point four seconds.
Subu says the Trail Seeker comes standard with a NAXT charging port and will go on sale in the US in twenty twenty six and Speaking of the Soltera, it's also getting a number of upgrades, including fresh new styling.
Like the Trail Seeker, the Soultera now comes standard with the nax Port as well as a subru developed all wheel drive system, which is more powerful in its base trim, but also adds a new XT model that makes nearly three hundred and forty horse power and does zero to sixty and under five seconds. That same roughly seventy five
kilowad hour battery pack makes its way to the Soulta as well, and bumps its range up to over two hundred and eighty five miles or twenty five percent more, but we won't know about pricing until we get closer to its launch later this year, which will also be around the time but the all new Outback hits the market.
Rounding out Subaru's Trio of New York reveals the new Outback comes with fresh styling and is two inches taller than before, which increases the amount of interior room. Power
comes from either a one hundred and eighty horse power two and a half liter engine or a turbocharged two point four liter unit that makes two hundred and sixty horse power.
Speaker 2: Both are mated to an.
Speaker 1: Eight speed CVT and all wheel drive. Tech highlights include
new digital displays and supervised hands free driving on select highways.
Hyundai also pulled the wraps off the new Palisade for its customers in North America.
Speaker 2: It's bigger than the.
Speaker 1: Outgoing model, and it looks like designers really tried to accentuate that size to give the new Palisade as much presence as possible. The interior is a pretty big departure
from the previous model as well. Power comes from either
a newly developed three and a half liter V six that makes about two hundred and eighty five horse power and is made it to an eight speed automatic transmission that can send power to two or all four of the wheels, or there's a new hybrid setup for the first time that combines a turbocharge two and a half liter four cylinder engine with two electric motors that are integrated into a six speed automatic transmission. The hybrid is
estimated to produce about three hundred and thirty horse power while providing over thirty miles to the gallon. It goes
on sale this fall, while the V six version launches in the summer, including a first ever off road focus version called the XRT Pro. Next week, Audi is going
to unveil the production version of its latest electric sedan at the Shanghai Auto Show. But you don't have to
wait until then to learn about the highlights of the show.
That's going to be the topic on today's Auto Line After Hours. We have two lee from Sino Auto Insights
coming on the show. Who's an expert on the Chinese
auto industry. Sam abu Elsamid, who's the VP of market
research at Telemetry Insights, will also be on the show, and of course there'll be plenty of opinions on what's going on in the news. So join John and Gary
when the show goes live at three pm Eastern Time today.
That's a wrap for this show and I hope to see you later today.
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About this episode
The episode covers China's strict new regulations on self-driving technology and EV battery safety following a fatal crash, impacting automakers' testing and marketing practices. Ford and Volkswagen warn of potential price hikes in the U.S. due to tariffs, while Senator Bernie Moreno offers an optimistic but controversial outlook on the industry's future. Geely plans to sell its majority stake in Lotus back to Lotus Technology, consolidating the brand. Subaru unveils its new electric SUV Trail Seeker and updates to the Solterra and Outback, while Hyundai reveals a larger Palisade with hybrid options. Upcoming highlights from the Shanghai Auto Show are teased.
Original notes
- Ford and VW Could Raise Prices - Senator Says OEMs Should Make Deal with Trump - China Cracks Down on Self-Driving Tech - China Mandates EV Batteries Can't Catch Fire - Geely to Sell Lotus to Lotus - Subaru Unveils All-New Electric SUV - Subaru Solterra Major Refresh - Subaru Outback Gets Bigger and Fresh Styling - Hyundai Reveals New Palisade for North America
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