GM is writing off $1.6 billion in EV investments due to stranded capacity and contract cancellations, reflecting wider industry challenges. Toyota is elevating its Century model into a standalone luxury brand above Lexus, aiming at ultra-premium markets globally. RAM plans a new mid-size pickup launching in 2028, but its success is uncertain amid a crowded segment. Duracell is entering the EV charging market in the UK with plans for a large fast-charging network. Other highlights include Stellantis partnering with Chinese automaker Dongfeng on a new Jeep SUV, Jeep's Grand Wagoneer adopting an extended-range EV powertrain, and Mercedes unveiling a futuristic concept with solar paint and neuromorphic computing for autonomous driving.
Topics:gm ev write offtoyota century luxury brandram mid size pickupduracell ev chargingstellantis dongfeng jeepjeep grand wagoneer evmercedes vision iconicsolar paint technologyneuromorphic computingchinese ev market
- GM to Write Off $1.6B in EVs - Toyota Century Becomes Brand Above Lexus - Can Ram Mid-Size Pickup Get Enough Volume? - Duracell Launches EV Charging Stations - Oh No! Another Chinese Car Brand - Next Jeep to Use Dongfeng Tech - Grand Wagoneer Gets EREV Option - Mercedes Concept Evokes 1930s
"...goneer from its lineup and will only use the name Grand Wagoneer for its big suv. The model will now be offered in..."
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Speaker 1: This is Outolne Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. GM is going to write off
one point six billion dollars of its investments in evs.
The money covers stranded manufacturing capacity and fees to cancel contracts with suppliers. The charge will apply to the last quarter,
and we believe just about every automaker will have to write off a portion of its EV investments, which CEOs hate to do. Those write offs lower the assets on
their balance sheets, which in turn reduces shareholder equity, and one of the trigger points for a CEO's bonus is typically boosting shareholder equity. Yesterday we showed you that new
Toyota Century concept, and now we've learned that Toyota is using it to launch an all new luxury brand positioned above Lexus, targeting the likes of Rolls, Royce and Bentley.
Toyota has almost always used the Century as a premium se but now it will become its own standalone brand with at least as a DAN and SUV as part of its lineup, and it sure sounds like Toyota will take the brand worldwide. We've got some new product Intel
from Autofourcast Solutions about that new mid size pickup coming from RAM. It'll be built on the Stella large platform
under the program code our seven p N. Production will
start at the Belvitere plant in February of twenty twenty eight.
But we wonder if that truck will sell well enough to keep that plant open. The mid size pickup segment
is really crowded. Will the new RAM expand the segment
or just slice it thinner. We think that unless Delantis
adds another vehicle to that plant, it will operate well under capacity, and that threatens its long term viability. Iconic
battery maker Dura Cel is jumping into EV charging. The
company is launching its first EV charging network in the UK, with the first of six sites opening by the end of the year. The plan is to have one hundred
sites by twenty thirty that each have at least five hundred fast chargers capable of putting out four hundred kilowatts.
The network will be built by the ev Network, which has also developed charging points for BP, while the sites themselves will be operated by Electra Charge. The Chinese car
market is about to become even more saturated. JD DOT Com,
which is like the Amazona. China has partnered with a
subsidiary of battery maker CTL and the Chinese automaker GAC Group to launch a new car. The oddly named National
Good Car is a rebadged version of the gacai on Ut and will be sold exclusively on JD dot COM's website.
The ai on Ut debuted earlier this year and has a range of up to four hundred and twenty kilometers or about two hundred and sixty miles, with a starting price just under ten grand.
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Speaker 1: Stillantis is partnering with Chinese automaker Dong Fung to develop a new Jeep suv. Stalantis will be responsible for the styling,
while dong Fung will provide the powertrain, infotainment, and autonomous driving.
It's possible that the model could adopt technology from dong Fung's recently launched m Hero eight seventeen suv. It's a
plug in hybrid that features a one and a half liter engine with two electric motor that combine for five hundred and five kilowatts or six hundred and seventy seven horse power. The setup offers a pure electric range of
two hundred and fifteen kilometers or one hundred and thirty three miles, and a total range of thirteen hundred and sixty five kilometers or nearly eight hundred and fifty miles.
The new Jeep vehicle with dong Fung Tech is expected to launch in the first quarter of twenty twenty seven in China, but we think it's unlikely that it would be sold in North America. Last week, we reported that
Jeep is dropping the Wagoneer from its lineup and will only use the name Grand Wagoneer for its big suv.
The model will now be offered in six trim lines, with the base version now simply called Grand Wagoneer, starting just below sixty five thousand dollars including destination charges. That's
about two to three grand more than the old base version of the Wagoneer. But there's actually bigger news for
the Grand Wagoneer lineup. It not rang will be the
first to get Stilantis's Extended Range EV powertrain. The system
uses the company's three point six liter Pennastar V six with a generator in place of the transmission, which can either send electricity to the battery or the electric motors.
The grand Wagoneer version will feature a ninety two kilowat hour battery pack and a twenty gallon gas tank, which will provide over five hundred miles of range. Total system
output comes to nearly six hundred and fifty horse power, and the big suv will be able to sprint from zero to sixty in about five seconds. However, Jeeps still
doesn't know when it will come out with the setup.
It says it will reevaluate the market in the first quarter of next year and then decide what it's gonna do.
That's also the plan for its high output version of the Hurricane engine, which will not be an option one.
Production of the new twenty twenty six models start later this year. Mercedes revealed what I think is a beautiful
concept car called the Vision Iconic, which kind of looks like a new age version of a huge two door coup from the nineteen thirties. But beyond its good looks,
this car has some cool tech. The company is researching
a solar coating that can be applied to the paint and provide up to twelve thousand kilometers or about seventy five hundred miles of additional range of year. It's also
working on some innovations for a level four autonomous driving, but the most interesting to us is neuromorphic computing. This
tries to mimic how the human brain operates to speed up the computing system while also increasing efficiency. Mercedes claims
neuromorphic computing can cut the energy required for processing the data during autonomous driving by ninety percent, and that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for making
autoline a part of your day.
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