Ford is drastically shifting its EV strategy by writing off $19.5 billion in investments and focusing on hybrids and extended-range EVs, while canceling several electric vehicle projects. The EU is easing its 2035 emission standards, allowing plug-in hybrids and renewable fuels. BYD offers an industry-leading 250,000 km battery warranty, appealing to mobility providers. China approves limited Level 3 autonomous driving, and affordable small EVs like Renault's TwinGo are set to boost European EV sales. GM is replacing Apple CarPlay with Apple Music integration, highlighting automakers' desire to control in-car data.
Topics:ford ev strategyev investment writeoffeu emission standardsbattery warrantieslevel 3 autonomy chinaaffordable small evsrenault twingogm apple musicford hybridsbyd battery warranty
- Ford Jams Its EVs Into Reverse - EU Caves on 2035 ICE Ban - Stellantis Adds 1K Workers in Canada - 1st Level 3 Permits Given in China - Twingo Undercuts ID. Polo by €5,000 - BYD Offers 250,000 KM Battery Warranty - GM Sends Out Apple Music OTA
"...le the long range and performance versions of the Tesla Model three and Y are good up to one hundred and ninety..."
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Speaker 1: This is Autolne Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Ford took drastic action yesterday to
stop the massive losses with its EV business. It's gonna
write off nineteen point five billion dollars in EV investments, including a five and a half billion dollar cash charge in its Q four earnings. While it's not giving up
on evs, Ford is pivoting its main focus to hybrids and extended range evs and expects them to account for fifty percent of its sales by twenty thirty. But those
weren't the only highlights. The F one fifty Lightning is
gone and an era version will take its place. The
massive manufacturing complex called Blue Oval City will not make electric trucks. Instead, it will make a new IC truck.
The battery plants that were gonna supply Blue Oval City will pivot to making LFP prismatic batteries for energy storage.
A gasoline and hybrid van will replace an electric van that was going into the Avon Lake plant in Ohio.
A new electric van planned for Europe is scrapped, though the company will continue to build its electric transit and courier vans. There was no mention of the Mustang Mache,
but we expect it to be phased out when it comes to the end of its life cycle. Despite the
massive writeoff, Ford raised its profit guidance for this year to seven billion dollars and said it would generate two to three billion dollars in free cash flow. It also
expects its EV operations, called Ford Model E, to be profitable in twenty twenty nine, after racking up about five billion dollars a year in losses since it was created.
And here's our autoline insight. Ford is probably just the
first legacy automaker to take a massive writeoff for its EV operations. We fully expect others to do the same thing.
The industry over invested during the EVE frenzy that grip the stock market about four to five years ago. Ford
is now putting all its EV resources behind its universal modular platform, the clean sheet design coming from its California skunk works that will be built using a radically different assembly process to cut cost. The auto windustry's lobbying to
roll back European emission standards is paying off. The EU
will propose new rules today that ease up emission requirements. Currently,
vehicles must be one hundred percent zero emission by twenty thirty five, but now the EU will require that emissions be reduced by ninety percent by twenty thirty five. Plug
in hybrids and range extended electrics can continue to be sold after that time, but they'll have to use low carbon or renewable fuels. The new rules are also expected
to allow automakers to earn carbon credits for using locally produced green steel, and a new category for small evs will be created that will be exempt from certain safety and emission requirements for a ten year period. Stillantis is
trying to get back in the good graces of Canada.
Earlier this month, the government served the automaker with a notice of default on financial aid it provided after Jeep relocated compass production out of its Brampton, Ontario plant and into Illinois. So the company issued a press release reaffirming
quote Canada's critical role in Stalantis's global operations. It says
it hired more than one thousand workers for a third shift at its Windsor assembly plant that starts early next year.
That plant currently produces the automaker's minivans, but the new shift is for the Dodge charger Stillantas says, two hundred and forty workers from its Brampton plant, which is currently idle, have accepted answers to Windsor, and the remaining hourly workers at Brampton will continue to receive seventy percent of their salary as well as health benefits.
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Speaker 1: BAIC and Changan are the first two automakers to get approval for Level three driver assistance technology in China, but the permits only allow for autonomous rides in designated areas.
BAIC can operate in selected areas of Beijing at speeds up to fifty miles an hour or eighty kilometers an hour, while Changan can operate on designated highways in chang King up to thirty one miles an hour or fifty kilometers an hour byd Mercedes and BMW are also testing Level three systems in China, but so far they haven't received permits for more widespread use. EV sales could explode in
Europe next year as truly affordable electric start to hit the market. The new Renault TwinGo is going to undercut
the VWID Polo that we talked about in yesterday's show by about five thousand euros. The small electric car will
also launch in twenty twenty six, but with a starting price of about nineteen thousand, five hundred euros. Renault was
able to go that low by using an even smaller LFP battery and a less powerful motor than VW. The
TwinGo features a twenty seven point five kilowat hour pack that returns up to roughly two hundred and sixty kilometers or one hundred and sixty miles of range, and is powered by a sixty kilowatt or eighty horse power electric motor.
A five hundred euro charging package allows the battery to charge from ten to eighty percent and thirty minutes, as well as the ability to power other devices and gives it vehicle the grid capability. The base version comes with
a seven inch digital cluster, a ten inch infotainment screen, air conditioning and a host of driver assistance features. The
top spec version adds a Google built in infotainment system, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, one pedal driving, and a rear view camera for just over twenty one thousand euros. With the VW Group and Renault entering the
small EV market, some forecasts predict that the small electric car segment in Europe will be around four times bigger by twenty thirty three than it is today. But no
doubt that Chinese will also flood the space, and they're starting to offer the kind of peace of mind that the European automakers can't match. Like most automakers, BYD is
offering an eight year warranty on its battery, but now all plug in models passed and present with its blade pack are covered up to two hundred and fifty thousand kilometers.
Other warrantees tend to top out at one hundred and sixty thousand kilometers, while the long range and performance versions of the Tesla Model three and Y are good up to one hundred and ninety two thousand. So this is
a nice perk for customers and could make bydzvs even more popular with Uber drivers and other mobility providers. General
Motors pulled the plug on Apple CarPlay in its models but found that it couldn't shake Apple altogether. It's doing
an Ota update for twenty twenty five Cadillac and Chevrolet customers next Monday so they can get Apple Music in their cars. Buick and GMC will get the feature at
a later date, but this does not apply to older models, and for reference, Tesla, Mercedes, and Rivian also offer Apple Music without Apple CarPlay. Some Cadillac models will also have
access to Apple Spatial Audio with the update, which features music that was mastered for Dolby at Most. Cadillac is
making a big deal about offering Dolby ATMOS in its newest models, and we found that it truly offers a sensational audio experience. Apple does not charge automakers a fee
to use Apple CarPlay, but it does give Apple access to in car data and the car companies want to control that for themselves. But that brings us to the
end of today's show. Thanks for making autoline a part
of your day.
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