The discussion covers key automotive industry updates including Mullin Automotive's potential sale of its Indiana assembly plant, Honda's cautious approach to shifting production amid US trade uncertainties, and Elon Musk's reduced political spending amid Tesla's sales challenges. Toyota's new RAV4 goes hybrid-only with advanced digital features and improved powertrains, while Fiat launches a three-wheeled EV for select markets. Battery production shifts see Ford building for Nissan, and Nissan unveils an all-electric Micra with notable range and tech. The episode also highlights growing competition in the small rugged SUV segment with new models and retro-inspired packages from Chinese automakers.
Topics:us auto assembly plant salehonda production strategyelon musk political spendingtesla sales performancetoyota rav4 hybrid updatefiat three wheeled evev battery productionnissan electric micrasmall rugged suv competitionautomotive software platforms
- U.S. Assembly Plant Up for Sale - Honda Waits for U.S. Midterms - Musk Claims Tesla Has Turned the Corner - Toyota’s Top Selling RAV4 Gets a Complete Make-Over - Fiat Launching 3-Wheeler - Nissan To Use Batteries from Ford Plant - New Nissan Micra Launches in EU - Chery Reveals Small, Rugged SUV
"available with Nissan's Pro Pilot driver assistance technology. The Micro goes on sale in Europe later this year. Watch out Suzuki, Jimney. More automakers have their eyes set on the small, rugged SUV segment. Chinese automaker Baujan makes a similar model called"
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Speaker 1: This is Autolgned Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. President Trump's tariffs has sent automakers
scrambling to figure out how to increase their manufacturing in the United States, and here's a development that's sure to grab their attention. Mullin Automotive is probably going to put
its assembly plant in Indiana up for sale. Mullen, as
you may remember, is the name of the company that tried to bring back Coda, tried to launch its own ev brand, bought up Elms, and took over Bullinger Motors, and the assembly plant it may sell is the old am General plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, where it was building the Bullinger trucks. That plant was where General Motors contracted
to build the first version of the Hummer, but it's traded hands several times since then, so it could be picked up for a fraction of the cost of building a brand new facility. Meanwhile, Honda says it's going to
take a wait and see approach before making any major decisions on moving more production to the US. Honda CEO
Tosha hero Mibe says he never thought the USMCA trade deal could disappear, and that if Trump's tariffs become medium to long term quote, we will need to make some drastic revisions. But before Honda makes any changes, Miba says,
it's gonna see how negotiations between the US, Mexico, and Canada play out.
Speaker 2: And here's the real kicker. Mibe says they can even.
Speaker 1: Wait to see how the twenty twenty six mid term elections turn out before making a decision. Honda only exported
about five four hundred vehicles from Japan to the US last year, but around forty percent of the vehicles it sells in the US come from Canada and Mexico. Tesla
fans will probably be happy to hear that Elon Musk is gonna cut back on his political spending. Musk, his
past or, political action committee, and a nonprofit he funds, spent about twenty million dollars on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race in March, backing a conservative candidate who ended up losing by a lot.
Speaker 2: But here's the automotive connection.
Speaker 1: Must political spending, along with his work with the Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump White House, have likely played a role in consumer backlash that has seeing Tesla's sales and profits plummet. Speaking at the Katar Economic Forum
yesterday via a video link, Musk insisted that Tesla has already turned the corner, saying the company's only week spot is in Europe, but we have to point out that sales are also down sharply in the US and China.
We think that the faster Musk leaves his political forays behind and spends more time with Tesla, the faster the automaker will recover. And Elon also said he's committed to
leading Tesla for at least the next five years. Yesterday,
we should owed you a video clip of a parking lot in suburban Detroit jam packed with Tesla's including the company's full lineup of vehicles, and we asked if any of you out there knew anything about it, and Moses Friedman reported in to point out that a new Tesla service and distribution center opened up about a half mile north of that location.
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Speaker 1: Check out the all new RAV four in three two one.
The model would be available in three grades called Core rugged and sport, and each have slightly different styling from the other. The interior is highlighted by digital display screens
up to twelve point nine inches, as well as digital HVAC controls and an available toggle switch style gearshifter. A
lot of the new functionality in the center screen is controlled by ur En, an all new software development platform.
Speaker 2: Created by Toyota.
Speaker 1: Think of it like a bridge to a fully software to find vehicle that allows for more advanced levels of automation and connectivity. The new RAV four is moving to
a hybrid only powertrain lineup as well.
Speaker 2: The standard setup.
Speaker 1: Is Toyota's fifth gen dual motor hybrid system paired to a two and a half liter four cylinder engine, but it gets improvements to the transaxle, power control unit and battery.
Front wheel drive models, a first for RAV four hybrid, produce two hundred and twenty six horse power, while all wheel drive versions get a slight bump up to two hundred and thirty six horse power. There's also a new
plug and hybrid system available that uses the same engine, but more powerful motors and a larger battery pack. This
setup produces up to three hundred and twenty horse power and provides an estimated range of up to fifty miles or about eighty kilometers, which is up from forty two miles of range. Interestingly, xSe in Woodland grains will have
a CCS charger, while SE and gr sport models will have a NAXT charging port. Look for the new RAV
four to start hitting US dealerships sometime later this year.
Fiat's commercial division, called Fiat Professional is coming out with its first three wheeled EV called Triss. The model will
be sold in Africa in the Middle East. It's offered
as a flatbed pickup or chassis cab and can carry a load of up to five hundred and forty kilograms or about twelve hundred pounds. Power comes from a forty
eight volt electric motor that produces nine kilowatts or about twelve horse power, and it has a top speed of forty five kilometers an hour. That motor is fed by
a nearly seven kilowatt hour lithium battery, which provides up to ninety kilometers or about fifty six miles of range on the World Motorcycle Test cycle. Earlier this year, General
Motors backed out of a joint venture with LG Energy Solution to produce EV batteries in Michigan. Toyota then stepped
in and agreed to shift a battery order from another LG plant to the Michigan one. And now the Wall
Street Journal reports that Ford is going to build batteries for Nissan at its plant in Kentucky. Twenty one, Ford
revealed plans to build two battery plants in Kentucky with battery maker as Kon, but Ford is now scaling back its EV plans because demand wasn't what it thought it would be and as a result, one of the battery plants is sitting unused, so the other will now make batteries for Ford and Nissan. And speaking of Nissan and Eves,
the automaker just took the wraps off the all new Micra, which is now fully electric. The small hatchback, which is
based on the same platform as the Renault five, is offered with two battery packs. The base model comes with
a forty kilowad hour pack that provides three hundred and eight kilometers or one hundred and ninety one miles of range, and a fifty two kilowad hour pack is available that achieves four hundred and eight kilometers or two hundred and fifty three miles of range. Other features include two ten
point one inch display screens in the interior, one for the driver and one for the center console. It's also
available with Nissan's Pro Pilot driver assistance technology. The Micro
goes on sale in Europe later this year. Watch out Suzuki, Jimney.
More automakers have their eyes set on the small, rugged SUV segment. Chinese automaker Baujan makes a similar model called
the Yep. Renault just showed off an off road concept
of the Renault four, and Fia did the same thing with the Grande Panda. Now Ikar, a brand under Chinese
automaker Cherry, is coming out with what it calls the Retro Emotion Package for its V two three model. Available
modifications include a matt green body wrap, unique grill, and nineteen inch steel wheels with all terrain tires, which sells for about five hundred and fifty to fourteen hundred and fifty bucks. Cherry plans to introduce the Icar brand to
the UK, Australia and Malaysia next year, which may have inspired the motivation for this retro package.
Speaker 2: However, Cherry will change.
Speaker 1: The name to I Power spelled icau R because Apple holds the trademark for ICAR outside of China.
Speaker 2: And that's a wrap for today's show. Thanks for tuning in.
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