The discussion covers significant impacts of the US budget on automakers, including the phasing out of EV subsidies and changes to fuel economy standards. Rivian reveals details on its upcoming R2 platform and new drive units, while Ford's employee discount boosts sales amid tariffs. Leapmotor predicts SUV prices could drop to $7,000 due to tech advances. Ford launches a plug-in hybrid Ranger for select markets, and Toyota partners with Chinese tech firms for EV development. Supplier challenges include Morelli's bankruptcy and Dana's heavy-duty transmission sale. BMW trims its XM lineup, canceling future electric versions.
- Trump's Budget Impact on Auto Industry - Rivian R2 Drive Unit Eliminates 30% of Fasteners - Ford Picks Up 2 Points of U.S. Market Share - Leapmotor Expects $7,000 SUVs - Ford Launching PHEV Ranger in Europe - Toyota Teams Up with China's Top Tech Companies - Marelli Files for Chapter 11, Blames Tariffs - Dana Sells Off HD Transmissions for $2.7B - American Axle Lands Scout Contract - BMW Pairing Back XM Product Line
"...duction of the new plug and hybrid version of the Ranger in South Africa and the first customers in Europe..."
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Speaker 1: This is Ouderline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. A couple of weeks ago, the
US House of Representatives completed its version of President Trump's One Big, Beautiful Tax.
Speaker 2: And Spending Budget.
Speaker 1: Now the US Senate is getting close to its version, and this bill is going to have a significant impact on automakers and suppliers. Look for the cafe regulations or
the corporate average fuel economy standards to get gutted. On
top of that, as we've already reported, the subsidies to buy new and used electric cars gets phased out at the end of this year. Except for automakers who have
sold fewer than two hundred thousand evs for them, it gets phased out at the end of next year. The
subsidies to build battery plants will also get the heave ho, but not until twenty thirty one, which means plants currently under construction will still qualif five for government money. There
is at least one proposed item that would definitely help car buyers, which allows them to deduct the first ten thousand dollars of interest on a car loan when they do their taxes the next step in the legislation is for the House and Senate to negotiate or reconcile any differences in their versions of the bill. We should know
the outcome in about three weeks, since the President wants this all wrapped up by the fourth of July. Rivian
released a video that continues to provide more detail about its all new R two platform, which is scheduled to go into production sometime in.
Speaker 2: The first half of next year.
Speaker 1: It revealed how design worked with engineering to make sure everything looks good but isn't too expensive to build. We
even get a little peak at what some of the interior combinations might look like. It then transitions to how
it applied a similar philosophy to its new drive unit, reducing by thirty percent while increasing power density by forty percent.
To test those drive units, Rivian created its own in house developed dinos, which are actually powered by the same motors used in its R I models. I think there's
also a few references to its partnership with VW, saying that it's quote understanding and optimizing the use case of the drive unit in a larger market across the globe, and then adding of its new electronic architecture over the next year will take that to more vehicles than anybody's been able to do with the zonal architecture to date.
Right now, Rivian is still working with test mule versions of the R two, but the next stage is actual production prototypes. Ford's employee pricing discount, which it started offering
in April in response to Trump's tariffs, is really paying off.
Sales shot up sixteen percent in May. And Andrew Frick,
the president of Ford Blue and Ford Model E, says that boosted its market share in the US to fourteen point seven percent, nearly two percentage points higher than a year ago, and it should continue to help because the company is offering the discount until the beginning of July.
Ford believes Trump's tariffs will do it less harm since eighty percent of the vehicles it sells in the US are made in the US. New vehicles in China are
inexpensive compared to other major car markets, but Leap Motors CEO believes prices are headed even lower. He says it's
quote reasonable for automakers to sell a mid to large suv for seven thousand dollars in the future as cost decrease.
That will come in the form of advancements in technology, especially with increasing integration of chips. In the future, Leap
Motor CEO says the main cost of a car will be the system on a chip, raw materials and prime accessing fees.
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Speaker 1: Ford started production of the new plug and hybrid version of the Ranger in South Africa and the first customers in Europe should be taking delivery soon. The powertrain is
a combination of a turbocharged two point three liter gas engine, a ten speed automatic transmission with an integrated seventy five kilowatt or a one hundred horse power electric motor and a roughly twelve kilowatt hour battery pack.
Speaker 2: The setup sends about two.
Speaker 1: Hundred and seventy five horse power and over five hundred pound feet of torque to all four wheels, which allows the pe Ranger to toe up to thirty five hundred kilograms or over seventy seven hundred pounds. No word on
overall range, but Ford says the truck can travel forty three kilometers or about twenty six miles on electric only power.
This will also be the first Ranger to come with pro power on board, a feature that's popular with F one fifty and transit customers that allows them to power all kinds of other devices from the back of the vehicle.
While the Ranger is sold in one hundred and eighty markets around the world, there's currently no plans to bring the plug in hybrid version to the US. Instead, sales
will be concentrated in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Toyota
is embracing Chinese companies to help speed up its EV and software development. As we reported recently, the new BEZ
five it launched in China, uses powertrain and battery tech from byd and now Toyota in its joint venture partner Guangzhou Automobile, have signed deals with Whuawei, Shaomi, and Momenta.
It's BEZ seven sedan, which launches early next year, will feature connectivity tech and smart devices, including tablets and speakers from Shaomi. Wawei will provide the operating system for the
car's infotainment, and it's also developing an an AI voice assistant. Lastly,
Momenta is providing its new driver assistance system, which will first.
Speaker 2: Show up in the Bez three X.
Speaker 1: We've got some important developments in the supplier industry. Today,
Morelli made it official it's filing for Chapter eleven bankruptcy.
The company is blaming Trump's tariffs, but Morelli has been in financial trouble for years. The terriffs may have been
what pushed it over the brink, but they're not the root cause of the company's problems. One thing that's hurt
the company is that it's a major supplier to Nissan, which is also in deep trouble. However, there is a
silver lining in Morelly's Chapter eleven filing. Most of its
debt is getting eliminated, and it's getting more than a billion dollars in new financing. Dana, which is famous for
its transmissions, differentials and axles, is selling off its heavy duty transmission business to Allison Transmissions for.
Speaker 2: Two zero point seven billion dollars.
Speaker 1: Those transmissions are for off highway applications like construction in mining.
Speaker 2: Equipment.
Speaker 1: Data will now concentrate on light and medium duty vehicles exclusively.
But it's another supplier that's been struggling financially, finishing the first quarter with only a one percent profit margin. It's
CEO Bruce McDonald says the money that it's getting from selling its heavy duty transmission business will strengthen its balance sheet, provide investment funds for the future, as well as return capital to shareholders. An American Axle announced that it got
the contract to supply Scout motors with front electric drive units and rear eBeam axles for the Traveler SUV and the Tarra pickup truck. Those body on frame vehicles will
be offered as pure beevs or with range extenders. Scout
plans to be in production in twenty twenty seven at a new plant that it's building in South Carolina. Automakers
sometimes try to fill too many gaps in a segment, and the BMWXM probably fits into that category. Only the
second model ever fully developed by the company's en brand.
It's a plug in hybrid that costs well over one hundred thousand bucks. That's why we aren't very surprised to
see that it's slashing how many versions of the vehicle that it sells in Europe. Instead of three models, there
will now be just two, one version with a V eight which starts at over one hundred and eighty three thousand euros in Germany, and one version with the V six, which starts at about one hundred and thirty four thousand euros.
The US will now only have one V eight version as well, and Automotive News reports that an all electric version that was supposed to go into production in twenty twenty eight has been axed and there's no plans for a second gen model, which would have also come in twenty twenty eight. But that brings us to the end
of today's show.
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