Audi unveils the Concept C, showcasing its new Radical design language focused on simplicity and inspired by historic models, hinting at a future electric two-seater. VW shifts its ID electric lineup to traditional model names and cuts ID.4 production in the US due to low demand. Polestar faces financial setbacks but aims for growth with new models. Xpeng's CEO predicts only five Chinese automakers will survive the next five years. The episode also covers the rise of brake-by-wire technology, Daimler's fuel cell truck trials, Toyota's hydrogen taxi initiative in Tokyo, and its upcoming electric vehicle production in Europe.
Topics:audi concept cnew design languagevw id model namingid4 production cutspolestar financialschinese automaker survivalbrake by wire technologyfuel cell truckstoyota hydrogen taxistoyota european ev production
- Audi Reveals Concept C and New Design Language - Porsche Stops Taking 718 Boxster and Cayman Orders - Volkswagen Cuts ID.4 Production in U.S. - VW ID Models Adopt ICE Names - U.S. Tariffs Cost Polestar $739 Million - Xpeng CEO Predicts Only 5 Chinese Automakers Will Survive - ZF Says Brake-By-Wire Gaining Popularity - Daimler Fuel Cell Semis Complete 140K Mile Test - Toyota To Provide Fuel Cells for Tokyo Taxi Fleet - Toyota To Build First EU BEV In Czech Republic
"...oyota will provide two hundred hydrogen empowered Crown Sedans for the fleet by the end of its current fi..."
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. In late July, we reported that
Audi CEO confirmed the automaker was planning to launch a new EV that was quote something in between the TT and the right. Well, here's that vehicle. The Concept C
is our first look at Audi's new design language, which it calls the Radical. Next, the look will spread to
the rest of its lineup and as a whole, its focus is on simplicity and only essential elements. Common traits
will include the four individual lighting elements at the front and rear, as well as a similar shape to the grill, which is inspired by the nineteen thirty six Auto Union Type C and the third gen A sixth that came out in two thousand and four. As we said back
in July, the Concept C is supposed to inspire a production version that launches in a couple of years, and I saw a report that the model will be based on a specially adapted version of the PPE platform, which is used for the new A six and Q six, as well as the electric Porsche MACN. But unlike the
A six, the new Audi two seater is scheduled to be electric only as of right now. In somewhat related news,
while you can still get new models from inventory, Porsche has stopped taking orders for the seven to eighteen Boxter and Cayman. We say this as related because the Boxter
and Cayman are scheduled to be replaced by EV models that debut next year and are likely to be based on the same specially adapted version of the PPE platform as the AUDI concept.
Speaker 2: CE.
Speaker 1: Speaking of VW group, evs the automaker is reducing production of the ID four in the US. It says it
will start making fewer models per shift and will soon furlough one hundred and sixty workers as a result. VW
claims this is a market driven decision and will help to align production with demand. ID four sales were down
sixty five percent in the second quarter in the US to less than two thousand units, despite having one of, if not the lowest lease rate starting at one hundred and twenty nine dollars a month. And in one last
bit of VWEV news, it's going to start applying its conventional model names to its ID family of electric vehicles.
For example, the production version of the ID two All concept, which launches next year will be called the ID Polo.
It will be followed at the end of that year by the ID Cross, which is the electric counterpart to the T Cross, and VW will sell both the combustion and electric versions alongside each other. Terris put a huge
dent and Polestar second quarter earnings. The ev company, which
is part of the GLE Group, took a seven hundred and thirty nine million dollar write down on its Polestar III model because of higher US terrafs and a slowdown in EVY sales. That was a big part of the
reason it reported a net loss of more than a billion dollars in the second quarter.
Speaker 3: But despite the.
Speaker 1: Big net loss, Polestar's revenue increased thirty seven percent to seven hundred and ninety one million dollars, and it's still targeting annual growth as much as thirty five percent until twenty twenty seven. Polestar is counting on new models to
fuel that growth, and it wants more cooperation with Volvo, which is also part of JIL, but Volvo has been selling off at stake in Polestar as it has its own struggles to deal with.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: Here's a really bold prediction. The CEO of Jaapung says
only about five Chinese automakers will survive the next five years.
He calls that time frame the knockout round. When asked
which automakers will survive Hi Jao Punk, the CEO says, quote, I don't think any of us are out of the woods.
He says the FOIGN automakers will remain in China, but only around five Chinese OEMs will be left, which could represent an opportunity for Japang. We want to thank our
colleague and influencer Leijing for posting this and what five automakers do you think have the best chance of making it.
Speaker 3: At CSP, we work with OEM engineers across the country on their journeys to lighter, safer, and more eco friendly vehicles.
Learn more at VCSP dot com.
Speaker 1: Hydraulic brakes have been around for over one hundred years, but they're going to start to give way to break by wire technology. Automakers are slowly becoming comfortable with the
idea of allowing electricity and electronics to control the braking instead of pumping hydraulic fluid through the system. There are
multiple advantages to break by wire. No need for the
assembly planned to bring in barrels of brake fluid every day.
No more hydraulic leaks, no need to bleed the brakes.
Better still, electronics allow all four corners of a car to be controlled independently for maximum breaking effort, even on slippery and or bumpy roads. The brake pads can also
be fully retracted when not in use to achieve true zero drag, which means better efficiency and longer range. It
also produces fewer brake pad particulates. ZF says pure break
by wire tech is really catching on in Asia. In
the US, automakers are using a hybrid system that uses a combination with hydraulics up front and break by wire in the rear. While there are not a lot of
break by wire systems on the road today, ZS says it's getting a lot of demand from automakers. Even though
there's still a lot of skepticism that fuel cell powered vehicles will catch on, automakers can continue to invest in and develop the technology. Daimler Truck announced that it just
completed public road tests of fuel cell semi trucks in Germany.
The trucks were operated by five customers, including Amazon, in their logistics operations. The trial started in July of twenty
twenty four with five trucks, which covered a total of two hundred and twenty five thousand kilometers or nearly one hundred and forty thousand miles. Diaimler will perform a second
round of tests with the same trucks but with new customers starting in the fourth quarter of this year, and it plans to deliver one hundred fuel cell trucks to customers at the end of next year. In speaking of
fuel cells, Toyota has joined a project with Tokyo to introduce hydrogen powered taxis to the city's fleet. Tokyo is
aiming to have six hundred fuel cell vehicles in its taxi fleet by twenty thirty as part of its effort to become the global leader in hydrogen. Toyota will provide
two hundred hydrogen empowered Crown Sedans for the fleet by the end of its current fiscal year, which ends in March.
And In other Toyota news, the automaker announced that it will build its first fully electric vehicle in Europe at its plant in the Czech Republic, but it didn't reveal which model it will build or when it will go into production. To accommodate the new model, Toyota will invest
six hundred and eighty million euros or nearly eight hundred million dollars to expand production at the plant and build a new battery assembly facility at the site. Toyota currently
builds the Igo X small crossover and the Yards hybrid at its checkplant, which currently has the capacity to make two hundred and twenty thousand vehicles a year. Would you
like to learn how to be able to drive your car at the limit and with confidence and safety, then you're going to want to watch this Thursday's Autoline after Hours.
If you've got a fun car to drive but have never had the chance to see what it can really do, you're not going to want to miss this show. But
that's a wrap for today. Thanks for making autoline a
part of your day.
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