Tesla delays its launch of more affordable Model Y and Model 3 variants, likely due to market strategy and sales performance concerns. Ford halts shipments of US-made vehicles to China amid steep tariffs, while Volkswagen considers US production for Audi but will keep Porsche imports. CATL unveils innovative EV batteries, including a 1,500-km range pack and fast-charging tech. Additionally, a surprising partnership forms between BYD and Saudi oil company Aramco to develop new energy vehicle technologies. Mercedes prepares to showcase luxury vans at the Shanghai Auto Show. The episode also discusses skepticism around Aptera's solar EV startup and shares listener poll insights.
Topics:tesla affordable model delayford china tariffsvolkswagen us productioncatl ev battery technologybyd aramco partnershipmercedes vans shanghai auto showaptera solar ev skepticismev market strategiestrade tariffs impactbattery fast charging
- Tesla Delays Launch of Low-Cost Model Y - Japan Could Ease Car Safety Regs For U.S. Trade Deal - Ford Stops Vehicle Shipments to China - Audi Considers U.S. Production to Avoid Tariffs - CATL Reveals 1,500-Km EV Battery - BYD and Aramco To Develop New Energy Vehicle Tech - Mercedes Teases Luxury Van for China - Autoline Aptera Poll Results
"... poll. We asked you what you think is going on at Aptera. It's been promising a three wheeled solar powere..."
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Tesla is going to miss its
promise of launching more affordable models in the first half of this year, according to a report in Reuters. It
says the lower cost evs, which are expected to be stripped down versions of the Model Y, will now come out sometime between the third quarter of this year or early next year. They'll first be produced in the US,
and by next year, Tesla is aiming to make two hundred and fifty thousand units between its factories in Texas and California, but production is also expected to follow in China and Europe, and Reuter's reports that a similar stripped down version of the Model three is in the plans as well. It's likely going to be close to the
decontented Model three that Tesla launched in Mexico last year, which has cross seating instead of leather, no second row screen or ambient lighting. Says. The reason for delaying the
affordable model is unclear. It could be that Tesla is
waiting to see how the new Model Why performs. First
quarter Model Why sales in China were down eighteen point four percent, but nearly sixty percent, or over forty eight thousand units of those sales were in March, when the new y launched in China. Or it could be that
Tesla is just worried that the affordable models will eat into sales of the current three and why, and it'll be stuck with more expensive vehicles in inventory that nobody really wants. The company will report its Q one results tomorrow,
which should help clear things up, but those other reasons are why we think we'll have to wait until the end of the second quarter to really see how Tesla's twenty twenty five is shaping out to be. Japan sees
vehicle safety as a bargaining chip to make a possible trade deal with the Trump administration. According to the nick A,
Japan could ease up on some of its safety crime, which has unique testing protocols and doesn't accept US crash standards as equal to its own. That makes it difficult
for foreign automakers to get vehicle certification and as part of the reason the Japanese market is dominated by domestic brands.
But now Japan has been slapped with a twenty four percent tariff on all imports, which has temporarily been reduced to ten percent, as well as a twenty five percent import fee on car steel and aluminum, So that's why the country is considering options for a possible trade deal.
China's reciprocal terrace on US made vehicles is forcing Ford to stop shipments to the country. The automaker said it
has halted shipments of f one to fifties Mustangs, Broncos, and Lincoln Navigators that are made in the US, which now face tariffs as high as one hundred and fifty percent, but Ford will continue to export engines and transmissions to China that are built in the US. And In other
tariff news, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blooma said that the company is currently in talks with the Trump administration and is now considering building Audi's in the US. AUDI currently
doesn't build any vehicles in the US. They're imported from
Europe and Mexico. VW could possibly make the models at
its plant in Tennessee or the facility it's currently building in South Carolina for Scout motors, but there is one brand in the VW portfolio that won't shift its production to the US. Bloomas says it will continue to import
Porsches because quote made in Germany plays an important role for US customers.
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 1: J EV battery makers CTL revealed three new battery technologies at its tech day earlier today, and one of those was its free void dual power battery, which has a maximum range of fifteen hundred kilometers or nine hundred and thirty two miles. It achieved that by dividing the battery
into two independent energy zones, a main energy area and a range extension area, which utilized different cell materials to maximize total range. You may remember this is the same
idea that our next Energy or one came up with, while one never really got out of the testing phase.
CTL has the advantage of being the biggest EV battery maker in the world. Plus we think these packs could
be popular with battery swappers along freeways since they're likely to be driving longer distances. CTL also showed off at
second gen super fast charging battery, which is able to charge at a rate of two and a half kilometer meters per second, meaning owners can add five hundred and twenty kilometers or three hundred and twenty three miles of range in just five minutes. Even at negative ten degrees
celsius or fourteen fahrenheit, it can charge from five to eighty percent in just fifteen minutes. And lastly, the battery
maker revealed its sodium ion battery that will be sold under a new brand name called Nextra and will go into mass production in December. They'll have an energy density
of one hundred and seventy five watt hours per kilogram, which is nearly the same as an LFP battery, but sodium batteries aren't as expensive because of the abundance of sodium, and they don't carry the fire risks of other battery chemistries.
And here's a somewhat unexpected partnership byd and Saudi oil company.
A Ramco announced plans to collaborate on the development of new energy vehicle technologies, which includes beevsp has and erevs.
The companies didn't provide specifics on the types of technology they'll develop, but we wonder if a Ramco could draw on horsepower train. It's ic joint venture with Renaul and
Jeli Horse did, after all, just pull the wraps off a new hybrid concept that can be used in both plugin and extended range setups. But either way, this is
still a shift for a ramco whose executives has said their skeptical over the pace of the EV transition and whose investments up until now have focused on IC engines.
Mercedes is going to be showing off some fancy new vans at the Shanghai Auto Show, which starts kicking off tomorrow.
It's going to reveal the vile and vls that it says will range from flexible family vehicles and exclusive VIP shuttles to luxurious limousines with enormous amounts of space which apparently even includes pillowy seats and your very own custom chess set. Well, okay, it's time to go over the
results from our latest autoline poll. We asked you what
you think is going on at Aptera. It's been promising
a three wheeled solar powered car for years now, but it still hasn't delivered. Fourteen percent of our members said
that launching a new company is hard, give it time.
Fifty seven percent said that Aptara can't raise enough money to get into production. Fourteen percent said management is content
to draw a salary, so there's no rush, and the remainder said none of the above see my comments below, and it looks like most of you are skeptical. Keith
Mensing wrote too many startups in the ev space and not enough sunshine in much of the country for their niche to peak the public's interest. Jeffo said quote, I'd
put this in the same category as the original segue.
Lots of hype, weak real world use case. If production
ever does start, this will never be more than a toy, but there is some enthusiasm for Aptera. Roger Tacchetto commented
at Tara product is awesome. I'm rooting for them and
have invested a small amount. That said, current economic landscape
is extremely challenging for evie startups given recent notable failures.
This of course is very high risk, but I'm fully vested in their mission. I hope I can actually buy one,
and Kyle Robinson is also impressed. They would be in
production this year if they can raise the sixty million they need to get production tooling. No startup has gotten
this far on so little capital, and we want to thank all of you that participated in the poll. And
remember our polls are open to viewers with Autoline memberships with YouTube or on Patreon, and if you haven't done so already, please consider joining. It only costs a few
dollars a month. Look for a link to Patreon in
our our description box, or you can click the join button on our YouTube homepage. That's it for today's show.
Thanks for watching.
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