China's tightening restrictions on rare earth exports and electric motor components are creating supply challenges for automakers globally, but GM's early investments in domestic sources give it an advantage. Ford is reshuffling leadership amid struggles in Europe, while Hyundai faces safety and labor issues at its Georgia plant. GM is scaling back its fuel cell ambitions, signaling a shift away from passenger vehicle fuel cells. European automakers confront declining sales and potential plant closures due to rising Chinese competition. Toyota teases bold new concepts including a coupe Century and a six-wheeled Lexus LS van, while Chinese brand Shaomi eyes expansion into Europe with its popular U7 SUV.
Topics:rare earth export restrictionsgm fuel cell operationsford management changeshyundai plant safety issueschina car saleseuropean auto industry challengestoyota concept vehicleslexus six-wheeled lsshaomi suvautomotive supply chain
- China Cracks Down on Rare Earth Exports - GM Creates China-Free Rare Earth Supply Chain - Ford Shuffles Management Team - Car Sales Top 2 Million in China in September - Three Workers Died at Hyundai’s Georgia Plant - GM Kills Off Most of Its Fuel Cell Ops - Automakers May Need to Close 8 Plants in Europe - Lexus Reimagines LS As 6-Wheeled Van - Xiaomi YU7 Driving Impressions
"...The world has flipped upside down. At Toyota, the Century has turned into a coop, the Corolla is going all ..."
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Gaily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Last April, China cracked down on
exporting rare earth minerals and it immediately caused production problems for automakers and.
Speaker 2: Suppliers in the US and Europe.
Speaker 1: And then last week, China announced it's going to crack down even harder starting November eighth. It's not only going
to restrict rare earth, it's going to restrict electric motors and computer chips that use those minerals. The move is
mainly aimed at military equipment, but the auto industry will be heavily hit as well. A typical internal combustion car
can use up to forty rare earth magnets and electric motors for things like the breaks, seats, windshield wipers, and mirrors, and an EV can use even more. Automakers and suppliers
can apply for licenses to get the rare earth that they need, but it can take months of paperwork to get them, and this latest policy change from China will probably make it even harder. But one automaker had the
foresight to protect itself from this kind of stuff years ago.
Four years ago, General Motors began investing in US sources for rare earth minerals and processing, and now it has a direct supply coming on stream from multiple factories. Stillantis
is also working with a French supplier for rare earth magnets, and the South Korean firm Posco reportedly has a deal to supply them to an unnamed US automaker next year.
But most car companies will be years behind GM and finding alternatives to Chinese magnets.
Speaker 2: Ford is shuffling its.
Speaker 1: Management team around Jim Bombik, who had been running advanced product planning, will now run Ford of Europe. That's probably
a good move for bomback, even though Ford of Europe is really struggling right now. The path to the top
at Ford usually means an executive who has overseas experience.
Remember Jim Farley ran Ford of Europe on his way to becoming CEO. Interestingly, Ford headhunted Sam Basil away from
General Motors to take Bombak's place in product planning. Ford
also announced the retirements of Chuck Gray, who was running powertrain operations, and Darren Palmer, who was running Ford's EV operations.
Car sales in China were strong last month. According to
the China Passenger Car Association, automakers sold two point two seven million vehicles in September, up six point six percent compared to last year. New energy vehicles, which includes EVS
P has an E revs, accounted for fifty seven percent of overall sales. September is traditionally a strong month for
car sales in China. Sales were also boosted last month
because car buyers were taking advantage of trade in subsidies before some local government suspended them. Hyundai's plant in Georgia
is in the news for all the wrong reasons again.
Last month, the site was rated by immigration and customs enforcement, which resulted in hundreds of workers being detained, mostly from South Korea, and now The Wall Street Journal reports that three workers have died and more than a dozen have suffered serious injuries since Hondai started construction of the plant in twenty twenty two. Current and former workers say that
the construction involved many inexperienced immigrant workers, safety standards weren't adequate, and there were frequent accidents. A Hondai spokesperson said that
the company has quote conducted a comprehensive audit and strengthened safety oversight across the site.
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Speaker 1: General Motors has pretty much put a state through the heart of its fuel cell operations. It's closing down what
it called its hydrotech operations and is scrapping a plan to build a factory in Detroit to make fuel cells.
GM will meet with suppliers that were working on its fuel cells to see if it can find other work for them. Last week, the Trump administration suggested it would
probably eliminate fifty two million dollars in subsidies for fuel cells that the Biden administration put in place. GM and
Honda have a joint venture to make fuel cells for mining in heavy duty trucks that will continue to operate, but this probably is the end of GM's efforts to develop fuel cells for passenger vehicles. Europe's auto industry is
in a bit of a crisis. Sales in the region
are still nearly three million units below where they were pre COVID, and car plants are only running at fifty five percent capacity on average. Because of that and the
rise of Chinese competition, alex Partner says that European automakers could be forced to.
Speaker 2: Close as many as eight plants.
Speaker 1: Chinese automakers are expected to sell as many as two million vehicles in Europe by the end of the decade, accounting for ten percent of the market, and closing those factories would be expensive. According to Alex Partners, a plant
with ten thousand workers would cost one point seven billion dollars to close and the process would take one to three years. The world has flipped upside down. At Toyota,
the Century has turned into a coop, the Corolla is going all electric, and the Lexus LS is now a six wheeled van. These are several of the concepts that
the company will debut at this year's Japan Mobility Show, which kicks off at the end of this month. Let's
start with that Century, which is a mostly hand assembled high end model.
Speaker 2: That has traditionally been a sedan.
Speaker 1: However, in twenty twenty three, Toyota came out with an suv version that features a Pea powertrain, and now it looks like it's also considering a coup version. We think
this would be a large Rolls Royce like coop, and that long hood suggests there's still an engine underneath.
Speaker 2: A couple of other high include.
Speaker 1: No rear window, kind of like the Pollstar four and check out how the door's open. It looks like the
driver's door slides forward, and that there's little quarter doors that open just a little bit so getting into the back seat is easier. Now let's move on to the Corolla,
and all new concept was revealed, which looks fully electric to us, and we think that makes sense because the styling is much more in line with Toyota's current evs.
There's not many other details on the model, which is the same for that six wheeled Lexus LS concept, but this is meant to be a flagship model for the brand, and Toyota does believe there is a segment for a vehicle like this. The company will show off a number
of other models at the show, like a little pod for kids to play with and the small Daihatsu commuter vehicle, and will provide a link if you'd like to check out more.
Speaker 2: Shaomi is one.
Speaker 1: Of, if not the hottest car branded China right now, and thanks to vehicle benchmarking specialist Caresoft, we got the chance to get behind the wheel of the U seven suv and drive it on the streets around Detroit. But
even though Shaomi has a long waiting list in its home market, the company's long term success will likely hinge on its ability to expand outside of China. It's already
setting up some operations in Europe and could enter that market.
Speaker 2: As early as twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 1: So do European automakers really need to be worried about?
Shall me see what we think after a little bit of seat time in the U seven.
Speaker 2: But that brings us to the end of today's show.
Thanks for tuning in.
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