Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Have you heard all this talk
from US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that station wagons can make a comeback now that President Trump is easing up the corporate average fuel economy standards. Well, all we can
say is fat chance. Station wagons disappeared because they didn't
sell well, not because fuel economy standards forced them out of the market. And it's not as if automakers didn't
try to sell them. Remember the Dodge Magnum, the Buick
X Tour, the Cadillac CTS Wagon. How about the Subaru
Legacy Wagon, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Volvo also tried selling wagons in the US for years.
Speaker 2: But as we like.
Speaker 1: To say in the business, they were sales proof. It's
like they were nailed to the showroom floor. It's true
that the fuel economy standards were tilted in favor of trucks, but it's very easy to slightly modify a car to get it classified as a truck. Even the PT Cruiser
was classified as a truck. Secretary Duffy says wagons from
the nineteen seventies with fake wood paneling on the sides could make a comeback, but we'd say the secretary is a little out of date. Car sales in China usually
ramp up around this time as automakers like to wrap up the year on a high note, but last month, new car sales dropped eight percent, coming in at two point two million units. That's a pretty big drop, and
it's even more telling because there are government incentives that go away at the end of the month, so consumers were expected to rush into the market to take advantage of the last minute deals. US car sales dropped six
percent in November, also a big drop, and when the two biggest car markets in the world both start heading south at the same time, that doesn't bode well for the industry. The European un Union is facing more pushback
on its plan to ban the sales of new ice vehicles in twenty thirty five. The prime ministers from six
countries Italy, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary are asking the EU to soften the rules. They want
to allow plug in hybrids, range extended electrics and fuel cell vehicles to be sold after twenty thirty five. While
Germany didn't sign the letter, it's also pushing for the rules to be softened because of weaker than expected sales of electric vehicles. The EU is supposed to unveil proposals
for the twenty thirty five IC ban next week, which is a week later than it originally planned. And over
in France, the government is proposing that electric vehicles sold in the European Union must have at least seventy five percent of its parts by value be sourced.
Speaker 2: In the EU.
Speaker 1: Renault loves the idea, except that it says the seventy five percent threshold is too high for automakers to achieve.
It says the EU should impose a sixty percent local content rule, and not just for evs, it wants all vehicle types included.
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Speaker 1: Much like Volkswagen, Nissan is taking a similar approach of designing and developing vehicles, specifically for the Chinese market. The
strategy is starting to provide some positive results for VW and vehicles like its new N line could do the same for Nissan. The Japanese automaker recently introduced the N
six and N seven sedans, and soon it will launch a new suv called the NX eight. But unlike the
other two models, the NX eight is the first in the series to use an eight hundred volt platform, which should make it more efficient and offer faster charging. It
will come with pure electric and plug in hybrid power trains.
While pack size and range weren't provided, both feature in LFP banks that comes from CATL. The BEEV version has
two power outputs, the higher being two hundred and fifty kilowatts or about three hundred and thirty five horse power.
The PV combines a one and a half liter turbocharged engine with a nearly two hundred kilowatt or roughly two hundred and sixty five horse power electric motor. The NX
eight is expected to go on sale in China around April, and reports say Nissan could also export these new n models to other markets, likely places like Southeast Asia in the Middle East. Automakers are going gaga over AI, but
they're not going to stick with it. That's the prediction
of Gartner, the technology research company. It says that in
three years only five percent of automakers will be investing heavily in AI, down from ninety five percent today. It
says internal roadblocks and outdated mindsets are preventing legac see automakers from becoming what it calls digital first organizations. One
measure Gartner uses to figure out if an automaker will be successful with AI is if the executives in charge of software report directly to the CEO that includes product and business software. Chinese tech company Horizon Robotics developed a
new assisted driving chip for more affordable vehicles. It says
vehicles starting in the fourteen thousand dollars range will ender mass productions soon with the new chip, but it didn't reveal which ones Horizon's plan is to work with other suppliers to allow automakers to integrate the chip into their own software stacks and to develop turnkey solutions for vehicle programs.
Some are Horizon's partners include Bosh, Denso and Carries on the joint venture between Volkswagen's Karriad business and Horizon. One
of the topics on the most recent autolne after Ours asked what's up with all these automakers getting into off roading?
An example was that new Crater concept from Hyundai. Well,
it looks like Kea is also getting a similar off road machine, a tricked out version of its all electric EV five crossover called the Weekender. The company says the
concept allows the quote freedom to transition seamlessly from the city to nature. But it's not like this is Kia's
first attempt at hardcore off roading. It showed a similar
version of the EV nine at CES called the Adventure, and used the same name for an off road van called the PV five Weekender, which is still one of the coolest concepts that I've seen in a while. And
that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks
for tuning in.
Speaker 2: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Bridgestone Solutions for your journey. The composites Solution partner Intrepid Control Systems
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About this episode
The discussion debunks the idea that station wagons will make a comeback, highlighting their historical poor sales despite attempts by various automakers. It covers recent drops in car sales in China and the US, signaling industry challenges. The EU faces resistance to its 2035 ICE ban, with several countries pushing for softer rules and local content requirements for EVs. Nissan's new electric models designed for China and the predicted decline in automakers' AI investments are also explored. Finally, the trend of automakers embracing off-road electric concepts, like Kia's EV5 Weekender, is noted.
- Station Wagon Comeback? Are You Joking? - Car Sales Drop in The U.S. and China - More Countries Oppose EU 2035 ICE Ban - France Pushes for EV Local Parts Rules in EU - Nissan Unveils New NX8 EV For China - Prediction: Most Automakers Will Abandon AI - Horizon Develops ADAS Chip for Cheap Cars - Kia Reveals EV5 Off-Road Concept
