The episode covers major developments in the EV industry, including a lawsuit by 16 states against the Trump administration for blocking EV charger funding and Ford canceling a $6.5 billion battery contract with LG Energy Solution. Volkswagen's battery division faces budget cuts while Tesla plans battery cell production in Germany. Maruti Suzuki aggressively expands EV infrastructure in India. Scout Motors wins a direct sales license in Colorado amid dealer opposition. The EU scraps its 2035 combustion engine ban, prompting UK regulatory debates. Castrol introduces lower carbon re-refined engine oil, and Mercedes sees a leadership change in design. The episode also highlights significant job losses among suppliers despite some stock gains.
Topics:ev charger funding lawsuitford battery contract cancellationvolkswagen battery division challengestesla battery production germanymaruti suzuki ev expansion indiascout motors direct saleseu combustion engine ban rollbackuk emission regulationscastrol re-refined engine oilautomotive supplier job losses
- 16 States Sue Trump Over EV Chargers - Ford Cancels $6.5 Billion LG Battery Deal - VW EV Battery Company Searching for Investors - Tesla to Build Battery Cells in Germany - Maruti-Suzuki Bullish on EVs In India - Scout Gets Deal to Sell Direct in Colorado - UK Keeps 2035 ICE Ban, For Now - Nissan Starts Leaf Production in UK - Castrol Develops Lower Carbon Engine Oil - Wagener Out at Mercedes, Baudy Is New Head of Design - 60,000 Supplier Jobs Axed This Year
"...news, Nissan has kicked off production of the new Leaf at its Sunderland plant in the UK. Next year, the..."
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Speaker 1: This is out OFLGED Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. The EV sector is going
through crazy times as some companies slam on the pranks and others put the pedal to the medal, and this won't bring any relief. The Trump administration is once again
trying to block the funding for EV chargers. It just
suspended two grant programs which were created by Congress as part of the trillion dollar infrastructure bill in twenty twenty two.
So now the administration is being sued by sixteen states and the District of Columbia for withholding those funds. This
isn't the first time the administration has done this. Earlier
this year, it stopped funding a separate five billion dollar EV charging program, but in June a judge ordered the administration to stop withholding that money.
Speaker 2: However, we think this latest.
Speaker 1: Dispute could end up in the Supreme Court because many believe that the administration doesn't have the authority to stop funding programs that have already been approved by Congress. LG
Energy Solution woke up this morning to discover that Ford canceled a six and a half billion dollar contract they had to.
Speaker 2: Make EV batteries.
Speaker 1: It's unclear if this is part of the nineteen point five billion dollar EV write off that Ford just announced, but this is a massive hit to LG Energy, which last year had eighteen point six billion dollars in revenue, and Volkswagen's EV battery company, called power Co is scrambling to find outside investors. Volkswagen is losing money and it
reportedly cut power COO's budget by five billion euros over the last couple of years. VW is also considering finding
a partner or doing an IPO. The original plan was
to have power Co build six battery plants in Europe with two hundred and forty gigawatt hours of capacity, but EV sales in Europe are well below where automakers thought they would be, so those plants are getting scaled back.
Speaker 2: But Tesla forgot to read the script of how things are supposed to.
Speaker 1: Go, and it's going to start making eight gigawatt hours of battery cells in Germany and twenty twenty seven, which could supply one hundred and thirty thousand cars at its plant in Berlin. For now, those cells are imported from
the US and by the way TESTLAS stock is at an all time high and is outperforming all the other tech companies, popularly known as the Magnificent Seven. Meanwhile, half
a world away in India, Maruti Suzuki is extremely bullish on the EV It's gonna launch. It's the new Evitara,
a subcompact crossover, which is already sold in the UK starting at thirty five thousand dollars. To make sure the
infrastructure is ready in India, Maruti is installing two thousand chargers on its own and it's teamed up with another provider that has twelve thousand chargers. It's also building fifteen
hundred EV service centers in one thousand cities. And this
is another example of evs doing far better than expected in developing countries.
Speaker 3: Making the life full of memories, one road trip at a time. That's what really matters. Rich done Weather Peak
tires with.
Speaker 4: A seventy thousand mile womened warranty.
Speaker 1: As we've reported, Scout Motors is facing pushback in the US for wanting to sell vehicles directly to consumers. Car
dealers are dead set against the plan and argue that Scout must sell through franchise dealers. Since it's part of
the Volkswagen Group. However, VW and Scout say Scout is independent.
Car dealers in California and Florida have all ready sued Scout to stop it from selling direct, but it was just granted a dealer license in Colorado which will allow direct sales. Dealers are considering appealing, but this is an
important win for Scout. Automakers scored a big victory yesterday
with the EU scrapping its twenty thirty five ban on new combustion engine cars, and now the industry is turning its.
Speaker 2: Focus to the UK.
Speaker 1: Since the UK is no longer part of the EU, it has its own emission mandate. The country plans to
ban sales of new gas and diesel powered cars in twenty thirty while hybrids are allowed until twenty thirty five.
But now that the EU has rolled back its emission goals, the UK is being pushed to do the same. The
industry is concerned with having two different sets of regulations, particularly because three quarters of British vehicle production is exported and half of that goes to the EU.
Speaker 2: And automaker do have support.
Speaker 1: While the UK has a higher EV market share than the EU, twenty two versus sixteen percent. A new survey
from Yugov found that nearly sixty percent of British citizens opposed banning sales of new ice vehicles in twenty thirty and in related news, Nissan has kicked off production of the new Leaf at its Sunderland plant in the UK.
Next year, the plant will also start.
Speaker 2: Building the Jukeeve.
Speaker 1: Oil maker Castrole figured out a way to re refine old engine oil so it can be used again, and Renault says it will be the first automaker to offer.
Speaker 2: This oil for all of its vehicles.
Speaker 1: Castroles GTX line now features what is called re refined base oils, which made a standard that's the same as brand new oil. But another benefit is that it also
has an estimated thirteen to twenty four percent lower carbon footprint reduction. Now sold across its europe Idian dealer network.
Renault says there's enough versions of the oil to cover over fifty percent of its vehicles and that Castro is coming out with an additional two next year that will cover its entire lineup. It wasn't long ago that Mercedes
had of design. Gordon Wagner said that screens weren't luxury,
and yet all of Mercedes brand new models since that time have big, old screens on the dash. We have
absolutely no idea of its coincidence, but Wagner is leaving the company after a twenty eight year career quote at his own request and by best mutual agreement. Bash Jen Baudi,
currently in charge of design at AMG, will take over as head of design. Times sure are tough for most
automotive suppliers. Automotive News reports that suppliers in Europe and
the US have eliminated sixty thousand jobs this year. There's
a host of reasons, slow car sales, tariffs, inflation, and automakers retreating from evs. But whatever the reason, sixty thousand.
Speaker 2: Is a lot.
Speaker 1: Of course, some suppliers are easily outperforming their peers. For example,
Lear has seen it stock shoot up twenty four percent this year, Magna is up twenty eight percent, and borg Warner is up forty two percent. But they're clearly the exceptions,
and most suppliers are reeling from the turmoil in the industry.
Speaker 2: And that brings us to the end of today's show.
Thanks for tuning in.
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