AD #4162 - GM Earnings Plunge, But Stock Goes Up; U.S. and Australia Sign Rare Earth Deal; Musk Says Pay Me Or I'm Out

Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. The US auto industry has been

hit hard by terraffs, so now the Trump administration is providing some relief. Automakers can get a tariff offset that's

equal to three point seventy five percent of the price of a vehicle assembled in the US. So for a

fifty thousand dollars vehicle, that's a tariff offset worth one thousand, eight hundred and seventy five dollars. While that was already announced,

it was only going to be in place for two years.

Now the administration is extending that for five years. Moreover,

the same three point seventy five percent tariff offset will apply to engines assembled in the US, and the administration is also going to cut the terraff on some aluminum and steel imported from Canada and Mexico. They currently face

a fifty percent tariff, but that should now drop to twenty five percent. As China clamps down on exports of

rare earth minerals, automakers are scrambling for alternate sources. Today

there isn't much available. China dominates the mining and processing

of rare earths. But the Trump administration just signed a

deal with Australia where the US and Australia will each invest a billion dollars to expand mining and processing for rare earth in Australia. Automakers will likely continue to face

shortages if China continues to restrict exports, since it could take several years before the Australian supply chain comes up to speed. General Motors posted its third quarter earnings. Even

though GM's bottom line took a big hit because of the one point six billion dollar EV write off and the cost of tariffs. Wall Street loved what it saw.

GM stock was up more than six percent in pre market trading. Now, let's get to the numbers. GMS sold

nine hundred and seventy seven thousand vehicles in the last three months, down by fifty six thousand vehicles that brought more than forty eight billion dollars in revenue, down a fraction from last year. It posted an operating profit of

a billion dollars, down more than seventy percent, and a net profit of one point three billion, down more than fifty six percent. Obviously, investors were looking past these numbers

and focused on GM's announcement that it's raising its guidance for the year. It previously forecast net profits of ten

to twelve and a half billion dollars. Now it's up

that to twelve to thirteen billion, and that's what investors like to see. COTL, the giant Chinese battery maker, also

reported its Q three earnings. Net profit shot up forty

one percent, hitting two point six billion dollars. That's pretty

impressive considering its revenue grew thirteen percent, hitting fourteen point six billion, and investors love these numbers. Coatl stock is

up forty percent this year. Alpha Romeo revealed the refreshed

version of the Tanale earlier this month, but that's the only new model the brand will have for some time.

Alpha CEO says it won't have any new product until the end of twenty twenty seven because it scrapped plans to go EVI only by twenty thirty stilland to CEO Antonio Filosa, will unveil a new strategic plan for Alpha in the first half of next year that will include new products as well as new internal and dealer organizations.

Alpha's sales in the US have been slowed by tariffs through September, the brand is only sold about forty eight hundred vehicles, down thirty percent from last year, but over in Europe Alpha is having more success. Through August, it

sold forty one thy two hundred vehicles, up thirty seven percent from a year ago.

Speaker 2: Their life full of memories, one road trip at a time, That's what really matters. Richdone Weather Peak tires with.

Speaker 3: A seventy thousand mile women at warranty.

Speaker 1: Another proxy advisor to shareholders is urging Tesla investors to vote against Elon musk trillion dollar pay package. Glass Lewis

is joining Institutional Shareholders Services and being concerned over the size of the pay and design of the plan. Tesla

responded to Glass Lewis saying it's quote misguided and ignores the company's strong financial results under Musk's leadership. But as

we reported yesterday, these proxy advisors might not have much sway with shareholders. In twenty eighteen, both Glass Lewis and

Iss also recommended that investors reject must pay package at the time, but three quarters of shareholders voted for it anyway.

But if shareholders do listen to the recommendation and reject must pay package, Elon is not so subtly hinting he could leave Tesla. Some investors are concerned that the package

still allows must to potentially earn tens of billions of dollars without meeting most of the plant's targets. Responding to

a commenter on x who was voicing that concern, Must quote, Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined.

Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla?

It won't be me, who knows how serious he is, but Elon has also threatened in the past to make products outside of Tesla if he doesn't receive more equity in the company. Nissan is really leveraging Chinese partnerships to

launch new models. The automaker created a new R and

D center in China that's developing new light commercial vehicles for Nissan that are electrified, like the plug in hybrid version of the Frontier that had unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show in April. One advantage of these partnerships is

increased speed, and Nissan is already taking orders for that new version of the Frontier, with pre sales kicking off in China at the end of the month. However, these

vehicles being developed in the new R and D Center can also be exported from China to help support Nissan's global commercial vehicle operations, and beyond commercial vehicles, it's launching a number of newer upgraded sedans, including ICP HAVE and pure electric versions with its joint venture partner Dong Fong, and with these moves, Nissan will be looking to boost its sales in China, which are down eight percent so far this year. Toyota is going to expand the land

Cruiser lineup in the middle of next year with an all new FJ version depending on the market. Toyota currently

offers the land Cruiser seventy, two fifty, and three hundred series.

The seventy is basically the same land Cruiser that's been around since nineteen eighty four. The two fifty series, which

is the version that's sold in the US, and the three hundred series are newer and are based on Toyota's large truck and suv platform. However, this new FJ version

rides on the automaker's IMV platform, which is also body on frame but is quite a bit smaller and is meant for emerging markets. For example, the wheelbase of The

land Cruiser FJ is about ten and a half inches shorter than the two fifty series. It will be made

in Thailand and sold in Japan, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Toyota confirmed it will not be

offered in Europe or the US, even calling it too small for the US market, although there must be other reasons as well, because the land Cruiser FJ is longer and taller than a two door Ford Bronco. Power will

come from a two point seven liter gasoline engine that makes about one hundred and sixty horse power, and it's made it to a six B transmission which can send power to all four wheels through a part time four wheel drive system. The new land Cruiser FJ will be

offered in two body styles when it launches, and the more off road Focus version can also be fitted with a number of off road accessories like an engine snorkel and a roof rack. Bridgestone, which is one of our sponsors,

broke ground on a pilot plant in Japan that will recycle end of life tires. It will use a process

called pyrolysis, which involves heating the tires in an oxygen free environment to break them down to their original materials.

Bridgestone will then collect oil and carbon black to use as raw materials to make new tires. Operations are scheduled

to kick off in twenty twenty seven and it will have the capacity to process seventy five hundred tons of tires a year. And that brings us to the end

of today's show. Thanks for making autoline a part of

your day.

Speaker 3: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by bridge Stone Solutions for your Journey CSP, the composite solution partner Intrepid Control Systems. Over the year engineering boost your game and

thanks to the following YouTube and Patreon members.

Speaker 4: Discover more than three hundred best in class automotive solution providers this fault. At Automotive Testing Expoke and Automotive Interiors

Expot North America, you'll see solutions for data acquisition, durability testing, electric and hybrid powertrain testing, ADAS testing and more at Automotive Testing Expo, while at Automotive Interiors Expo you'll see the latest and materials and codings, smart textiles, ambient lighting, hmis and more. Join us from October twenty first to

twenty third at the Suburban Collection Showplace Novibe, Michigan.

Speaker 2: Developing today's vehicles, issues can happen in an instant. What

good is knowing your problems without the data to solve them.

Meet Wireless neo Via Cloud your secure off the shelf solution, empowering real time collaboration for quick resolution. With Wireless neova Cloud,

your team can prevent issues before they can escalate. Driver

communication data and remote diagnostics to analyze and resolve your problems using OTA, allowing your executives to oversight throughout the process.

Wireless neov Cloud your vehicle update solution in production and on the road intrepid control systems driven by your data.

Speaker 4: 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.

AD #4162 - GM Earnings Plunge, But Stock Goes Up; U.S. and Australia Sign Rare Earth Deal; Musk Says Pay Me Or I'm Out

Nissan Frontier

Toyota Land Cruiser

Toyota Cruiser Fj

About this episode

Original notes