AD #4066 - Hyundai Boosts Prices in The U.S.; GM Expects Tariff Deal with South Korea; CATL Claims Battery Breakthrough

Speaker 1: This is Outoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Just as we expected automakers to

start doing, Hyundai is going to spread TEARFF costs across its entire lineup in the US. Bloomberg reports that it's

going to raise the suggested retail price on all of its vehicles by one percent and will also likely increase destination charges. The average transaction price in the US last

month was just a shade under fifty thousand dollars, so that one percent increase would be five hundred bucks, and that's before you tack on any of the other new fees.

But the price hikes will only be applied to newly built models, not the ones already an inventory, which means that Hyundai can probably stay true to its previous pledge to keep prices the same until June second. Other automakers

have made similar promises, but if the tariff stick around, we expect more to follow in Hyundai's footsteps. And speaking

of the tariffs, yesterday we reported that BMW, Mercedes, and VW are in talks with the US over a possible trade deal, and as a quick little follow up to that, VW CEO Oliver Bluma confirmed that he's quote been in regular dialogue with the administration and says the company will make massive investments in the US, but he didn't say what those investments would be yet or when they'll happen, but we think they'll involve building more models in the US, and Volvo will probably do the same. With the S

sixty sedan being discontinued in the US, Volvo only builds the Ex ninety and the pole Star three at its plant in South Carolina. That plant has the capacity to

build roughly one hundred and fifty thousand vehicles a year, but according to Automotive News, it made less than nine thousand examples last year. Plus, Volvo issued a work stoppage

at the last week due to an unknown part shortage, which is going to hurt output even more so. With

so much extra capacity in South Carolina, it's very likely that Valvo fills it with new models, which will also reduce its reliance on imports as well as its vulnerability to the tariffs. And those tariffs plus tougher competition in

China is why SMP just lowered Volvo's credit rating, and it looks like General Motors expects South Korea to make a deal to lower tariffs. The automaker's chief financial officer,

Paul Jacobson, said GM is going to take a wait and see approach before making a decision on the vehicles it imports from South Korea, which are being hit with twenty five percent tariffs. Jacobson says GM doesn't want to

rush a long term change because he thinks it's likely that the tariffs are going to be lowered. GM imports

the Chevy Tracks and Trailblazer, along with the you A, con Vista, an Encore GX from South Korea. One of

the great points that came up on the latest Auto line after hours was the impact on Tesla if the US Congress waters down or eliminates the EPAC two standards on cars. Tesla counts on selling ZEV credits to legacy

automakers who come up short on CO two emissions. In

the last five quarters alone, it collected over three point three billion dollars, and in the first quarter of this year, Tesla would have lost money if not for those credits.

So if Congress waters down or eliminates the CO two REGs, it's going to have a significant impact on Tesla's earnings.

And by the way, that show also dove into which US assembly plants are in deep trouble thanks to the terrace and the elimination of EV subsidies. And you can

watch that all right now on the Autoline website or on our YouTube channel.

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Speaker 1: If Congress approves a bill to remove EV incentives, Ford says it puts a battery plant it's building in Michigan at risk. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed

a bill that eliminates tax credits for new and used evs and imposes a two hundred and fifty dollars annual fee on EV's for road repairs. The bill would also

restrict tax credits for batteries if they use components or technology from Chinese companies or if they're made under a license agreement. The bill now needs to be approved by

the Senate, and if it does pass Congress. Ford chairman

Bill Ford says it will IMPAREL its battery plant in Michigan because it's going to use technology from Chinese battery makers CTL. The plant, which is sixty percent complete, is

currently expected to start production next year. And speaking of CATL,

the company says it made a breakthrough with LMB or lithium metal batteries. Lmbs are being considered because of their

high energy density. However, they've been difficult to commercialize because

of their short life cycle, but CATL says it's been able to double the life span of prototypes by using a different type of liquid electrolyte, and these prototypes have an energy density of over five hundred watt hours per kilogram, which is higher than solid state batteries and more than double some NMC batteries, which typically have energy densities around two hundred to three hundred watt hours per kilogram, and while catl's research is promising, lmbs still need more development

before they're ready to be used in electric vehicles. The

Chinese autoindustry has been on a tear for more than a decade, but now it's starting to run into some serious problems. The industry has way too much capacity thanks

to the price war, fewer companies are profitable, and the export boom is slowing down as countries retaliate against the flood of Chinese cars. The chief of great Wall Motors

even warns that the Chinese auto industry is unhealthy and faces a crisis similar to the ever Grand collapse that devastated the Chinese real estate market that prompted byd which has a very high debt level, to lash out against Great Wall, saying it doesn't face any crisis at all, and when car companies start dissing each other in the public, it's a sign that big problems lie ahead. ALFA Romeo

shift away from going all electric looks like it's going to delay the launch of the next gen Stelvio. The

all new version was supposed to be revealed at the end of this year and then go on sale in the first quarter of next year, but now sources say that may not happen until the fourth quarter of twenty twenty six. The Stalvio will switch to the Stella Large platform,

and the brand is also developing a hybrid version. Now,

the model was supposed to be all electric, and it sounds like that hybrid development is what's causing the delays.

Speaking of Stalantis brands, Jeep says that the all new Cherokee, which will be offered as an IC, a plug in hybrid, or a pure electric, will make its debut later this year, so stay tuned for that. But that's a wrap for

today's show and this week, and I hope that you have a great weekend.

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