The episode covers critical supply chain challenges facing the automotive industry, including a looming chip shortage triggered by geopolitical tensions and ongoing rare earth magnet supply issues. It highlights innovative solutions like Stilantis' investment in iron nitride magnets and Yasa's lightweight, high-power axial flux electric motors soon to be used by Mercedes. GM's surprising stock surge despite earnings dips is discussed, driven by growth in software and subscription services. The rise of autonomous robotaxis from Byde and Uber's partnership with Nebbias is also featured, alongside Nissan's solar range extender concept and Ford's large rearview camera recall and warranty extension.
Topics:chip shortagerare earth magnetselectric motorsgm earnings and stockautonomous vehiclesrobotaxissolar range extendersford rearview camera recallsupply chain challengessubscription services growth
- Chip Shortage Could Cripple EU Autos - Stellantis To Source Niron Magnets in U.S. - GM Adds $8 Billion In Market Cap - Baidu Bringing Robotaxis To Swiss - Uber Invests in Dutch AV Company - Yasa’s Dinky 28-Lb., 1,000-HP E-Motor - Nissan Kei-Concept Sports Solar Roof - BYD Teases New Kei Car for Japan - Ford Offers 15-Year Warranty on Back Up Cameras
"...s shutting down the plant that makes the electric Bright drop vans, which have been a sales flop. But what we t..."
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. In this industry just can't seem
to catch a break. Germany's VDA, the lobbying group for
the auto industry there, warns that suppliers and automakers are only days away from having to shut down production because of a chip shortage, and that shortage could sproat beyond Europe to the US within weeks. Here's the issue. A
Dutch chip maker called Nespiria got bought out by a Chinese company called Wintech. The Trump administration then warned the
Dutch that the Chinese were planning to move technology and production out of the Netherlands to China, so the Dutch government took the company over. China retaliated by prohibiting exports
of Nicksperia components that are made in China, and that's what triggered this chip shortage. Automakers are scrambling to find
other sources, but once again, the industry is on the brig of another chip shortage. And don't forget there's a
magnet shortage that hasn't gone away either. China has restricted
exports of rare earth minerals and magnets, so automakers are frantically digging into their supply chains to find other sources.
One solution is to develop electric motors that don't use permanent magnets, but another is to develop powerful magnets that don't use rare earth minerals. That's exactly what Stilantis is doing.
It invested in a company from Minnesota called Nyron Magnetics, which uses iron nitride technology to make magnets from iron and nitrogen, and those materials are abundantly available all around the world. Nron just broke round on a plant in
Minnesota to make fifteen hundred tons of magnets a year.
That's not nearly enough to offset what China produces, but it is an important start. Yesterday we reported how GM's
earnings dropped sharply in the third quarter, yet the stock was up nicely in pre market trading. Well, it looks
like the more that investors digested the earnings, the more they liked what they saw. By the end of the day,
GM stock was up fifteen percent, setting a record and adding eight billion dollars in market cap. There are several
things that analysts liked in the earnings. GM can't build
full size SUVs fast enough to meet demand, and it's shutting down the plant that makes the electric Bright drop vans, which have been a sales flop. But what we think
grabbed Wall Street's attention is the spectacular growth at on Star and supercrews. GM now has eleven million on Star subscribers,
up thirty four percent year over year. It's booked two
billion dollars in revenue from those subscribers, with a gross profit margin of seventy percent. On top of that, GM
reported that its income from Supercrew subscribers and other software services jump fourteen percent just in the last quarter and generated deferred income of five billion dollars. Wall Street likes
to invest in companies that are growing, and GM is showing that it has the potential to start adding some big numbers to its top line. We keep saying that
twenty twenty five is the year of the autonomous car, and here's more to add to that. Chinese tech giant
by De is partnering with Switzerland's post Bus to launch its robotaxis. There Byde's av company is called Apollo Go
and it will start testing vehicles in December. Driverless testing
will begin next year and they're aiming to launch the service in early twenty twenty seven. The service will use
Apollo Go's purpose built RT six cars for the fleet, and once fully operational, the steering wheels will be removed, which by Deu claims will be a world's first for a public robotaxi service. And In related news, Uber is
partnering with the Dutch technology company the Nebbias Group for robotaxis.
They're investing three hundred and seventy five million dollars into Nebius's av business called av Ride, which will go towards growing its fleet, AI product development and expanding into new regions.
The companies will launch av Ride service on the Uber platform in Dallas by the end of this year, and av Rides delivery robots are already fulfilling orders for Uber Eats in Jersey City, Dallas, and in Austin.
Speaker 2: 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: There's some pretty amazing electric motor technology coming down the line.
A company called Yasa, which Mercedes bought in twenty twenty one revealed that the latest prototype for its next gen axioflux motor was able to produce a peak power output of seven hundred and fifty kilowats or just over one thousand horse power. Even more impressive is that the motor
only weighs about thirteen kilograms or twenty eight pounds and is half the size of a regular motor. You can
probably see why these are also called pancake motors, but it's that unique shape that allows them to produce so much power in such a small package. The magnets and
coils are much closer together inside an axial flux motor, and there's a much larger surface area for them to interact with each other. While that does lead to impressive
power density like one thousand plus horse power, YASA estimates the continuous power output would be more in the range of three hundred and fifty to four hundred kilowatts, which is roughly four hundred and seventy to five hundred and thirty five horse power. Yasa has already started production of
its axioflux motors, and Mercedes could start using them sometime around the middle to the end of next year. This
Nissan K car looks like it might have a pop up tent on top of it, but it's actually an extendable solar panel. While these solar concepts are not uncommon,
they never really seem to catch on. However, Nissan says
it is planning the commercial launch of a solar range extender system. It claims the prototype shown on its the
Kura EV, can provide up to five hundred watts at peak output, enough to add another three thousand kilometers or about one thousand, eight hundred and seventy miles of range a year. And while k cars might seem impractical for
most of US, one point two to one point three million of them are sold every year in Japan, accounting for over a quarter of all sales in the region.
But now Japanese automakers are facing growing competition from the Chinese.
BYD just released a teaser image of its first K car for the Japanese market, which will make its debut at the toe Kio Auto Show later this month. The
model is expected to have around one hundred and eighty kilometers or about one hundred and ten miles of range, and it could be out as early as the middle of next year. Ford has a big rear view camera issue.
Last year, NITZA fined the automaker one hundred and sixty five million dollars for not issuing a recall for defective rear cameras in a timely manner. Last month, the automaker
recalled one point nine million vehicles worldwide due to faulty rearview cameras, and now the automaker announced it's recalling another one point four to five million vehicles in the US for the same reason. Customers are complaining that the cameras
have distorted, intermittent or blank images when in reverse, which can increase the risk of a crash. The recall in
the US involves twenty fifteen to twenty twenty model year vehicles, and last month Ford made an agreement with NITZA that all vehicle is built between twenty fifteen and twenty twenty five with backup cameras that aren't even involved in the recalls will be given a fifteen year extended warranty on rear cameras. For didn't say how many vehicles are covered
by the warranty, but it includes dozens of models and that wraps up today's report. Thanks for joining.
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