Stellantis is a big car company that makes many different brands of vehicles. It was created when two companies, Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group, combined.
The Hudson Hornet is an old car that was popular in the 1950s because it looked cool and was really fast. It was known for being a good car for racing and has a unique design that many people still admire today.
The Dodge Hornet is a small SUV that Dodge started making again recently. It's meant to be a practical car for families while still being fun to drive.
The Alfa Romeo Tonale is a small SUV that was introduced in 2023. It's known for its stylish design and is aimed at people who want a mix of sportiness and practicality in a car.
The Jeep Renegade EV is the electric version of the Renegade, a small SUV. It's designed to be eco-friendly while still offering the rugged features Jeep is known for.
The federal EV tax credit is a discount you can get when you buy an electric car. It helps lower the price you pay, but sometimes the rules change, which can affect how much you save.
Electrification means changing cars from using gasoline or diesel to using electricity. It's happening because people want cleaner and more environmentally friendly vehicles.
A universal EV platform is a base design that car companies can use to build different electric cars, making it easier and cheaper to create new models.
The Ford Escape is a small SUV that many people like because it's easy to drive and has a lot of space inside for passengers and cargo. It's been around for a long time and is known for being good on gas, which makes it a popular choice for families.
Zono electronic architecture is a system created by Ford to help control the electronics in their cars, especially electric ones, making sure everything works together smoothly.
The Ford Model T is one of the first cars that everyday people could actually afford, which changed how people traveled. Made a long time ago, it helped start the idea of making cars in large numbers so more people could own them.
Red Bull is a company that sponsors a racing team in Formula 1, which is a type of high-speed car racing. They are known for their unique cars and winning many races.
Formula 1 is a type of car racing that features very fast cars and takes place all over the world. It's known for its exciting races and advanced technology in the cars.
A preseason shakedown test is when racing teams check their cars before the racing season starts. They make sure everything works well and fix any problems.
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Speaker 1: This is Ontoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. All last year we were warning
that this could happen, and now it's happened. Canada is
playing the China card. It's gonna slash tariffs on imported
Chinese evs as part of a new strategic partnership with China.
Mark Karney, the Canadian Prime Minister, says his country's long standing and close relationship with the United States is over.
The tariffs on Chinese EV's was one hundred percent, Now it'll be six point one percent, and Canada will allow forty nine thousand Chinese evs into the country. This news
broke just as we learned that the market share of US made cars in Canada hit a historic low. GM
Ford in Stillantis used to have almost fifty percent market share, Now it's down to thirty six percent. Many Canadians are
mad at President Trump for announcements like he wants to make Canada the fifty first state, and with all the tariffs he slapped on Canadian products, so they're avoiding American products and even avoiding travel to the US. And it's
stunning to see that it was American policy that pushed its number one trading partner and ally into the arms of the Chinese. China is cracking down on its auto industry.
The country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology met with the heads of seventeen automakers this week and warned that they face severe penalties if the price war continues. The
government has previously worn the industry over cutting prices, but companies continue to do so because of overcapacity issues in slowing sales. China is now warning automakers that it will
step up investigations into production costs and price monitoring. China
also introduced new rules to prevent old car batteries from being recycled illegally. There's a growing number of uncertified shops
in the country, eating to environmental and worker safety concerns.
China expects a million tons of car batteries to be recycled by twenty thirty, so it's setting up a system to track batteries, which starts in April. Companies that break
the rules will face fines of more than seven thousand bucks, or they could have their business licenses revoked. Stalantis is
acting a couple of vehicles in the US that Dodge Hornet is officially discontinued. Last year, Stalantis said it would
postpone sales of the model for twenty twenty six, but now it's officially dead. That's because it faces terror since
it's built in Italy, along with its sister model, the Alfa Romeo Tanale. The Hornet, which debuted in twenty twenty three,
also wasn't a big seller. Just over twenty thousand units
were sold in twenty twenty four, its first full year on the market, and last year that dropped a fewer than ten thousand because of abbreviated production schedules. Stalantis has
also came anseling plans to bring the Jeep Renegade EV to the US market. In twenty twenty four, former CEO
Carlos Tavares said the twenty five thousand dollars model would be coming to the US quote very soon. It was
going to be based on the same platform as the Satroan EC three, but new CEO Antonio Felosa told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show this week that it won't be bringing the Renegade EV to the market. The company
says the decision is based on quote shifting customer demand.
Along with the elimination of the seventy five hundred dollars federal EV tax credit.
Speaker 2: The automotive and industrial sectors are undergoing a historic transformation electrification, digitalization, supply chain reinvention, regulatory shifts. The pace is accelerating and
the pressure to adapt is real. This is not a
time for hesitation. It's a time for bold decisions backed
by fast, effective execution. You need a partner who understands
complexity from factory floors to boardrooms and delivers measurable results.
That partner is Alex Partners when it really matters.
Speaker 1: Ford's CEO, Jim Farley says the megacasting machines for its new universal EV platform are already up and running at the company's plant in Kentucky, as reported by Inside Evs.
Farley provided several updates about the program's progress, including that it's taken on many experimental approaches to new suppliers, but that all the parts are quoted and designed. The company
is deep into retrofitting its Kentucky plant for the new EVS, which will require a totally different way of building vehicles and is part of the reason it stopped Escape production beyond the assembly line. Ford is able to control prototypes
with its in house de developed Zono electronic architecture and software, but its only basic vehicle functions like turning and stopping.
Even so Farley says the entire program is quote literally like the Apollo or Gemini mission within Ford. Speaking of Ford,
it could expand its partnership with BYD beyond China. According
to reports, It's in talks with BYD about supplying batteries to Ford's factories around the world for its hybrid vehicles.
While that wouldn't include the US, vehicles made at those factories are shipped to the US. However, most of Ford's
US hybrids will still come from North American facilities, and sources say no deal is imminent yet. BYD has been
a battery supplier to Ford in China since twenty twenty, and the American automaker also has a battery deal with China.
C atl Rivian is now building validation versions of its upcoming R two model at its plant in Normal, Illinois.
The Evy startup was able to get the plant production ready in twelve months, and the model is on schedule to start delivery in the first half of the year.
Rivian will take one of the validation R two's on a road trip along Route sixty six, its first real world drive, and it will document the journey on Instagram if you want to follow along. Zeker claims some of
the fastest charging time for its Double OH seven model with ULFP batteries, which can go from ten to eighty percent in only ten and a half minutes thanks to its eight hundred volt architecture, but that was then In the second quarter of this year, Zeker says it will upgrade the Double O seven and its seven GT model to a nine hundred volt architecture, and while it didn't announce how that will affect charging time, at the very least it will be more efficient and put less stress on all the charging components. Big news in Formula one
in Detroit this week, Cadillacs sort of unveiled the livery for its F one car that included its low and blazoned on the back of the car and the name of every person involved with the team written on the nose.
But GM president Mark Royce later made it clear that this is a test car, not one of the actual race cars, and that it's not the livery that we'll see on the track. Meanwhile, last night Red Bull unveiled
its new livery in Detroit in conjunction with Ford. Since
Ford is a development partner with the team, a lot of people have the wrong idea that Ford is supplying the engine, which it's not. Red Bull is making its
own engine and Ford is lending its expertise in software in other technical areas. We'll soon see how these cars
stack up against each other on the track. They'll be
part of a preseason shakedown test in Spain in two weeks and the first race is just a month and a half away in Australia. And that brings us to
the end of today's show. Thanks for tuning in and
I hope that you have a great weekend.
Speaker 3: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by alex Partners.
When it really matters CSP, the Composites Solution Partner, Intrepid Control Systems, Over the Air Engineering boost your game and thanks to the following YouTube and Patreon members.
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Speaker 6: At CSP, we work with OEM engineers across the country on their journeys to lighter, safer, and more eco friendly vehicles.
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That's why companies across the globe subscribe to our premium service.
Maybe even your own log in for subscriber access. Now
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About this episode
Canada's recent decision to reduce tariffs on Chinese EVs marks a significant shift in its automotive landscape, impacting U.S. automakers like Ford and GM, whose market share has plummeted. Meanwhile, Ford's CEO Jim Farley shares updates on the company's new universal EV platform and its partnership with BYD for battery supplies. Stellantis announces the discontinuation of the Dodge Hornet due to poor sales and shifting market demands. The episode also touches on Rivian's progress with its R2 model and Cadillac's F1 developments.
- Canada Plays the China Card - China Threatens OEMs Over Price War - China to Recycle 1 Million Tons of EV Batteries - Stella Drops Dodge Hornet on Dismal Sales - No $25,000 Jeep for U.S. Market - Farley Talks Updates on Ford’s UEV - Ford to Buy BYD Batteries for Non-U.S. Cars - Rivian Takes Important R2 Manufacturing Step - Zeekr Upgrading To 900V - Ford, GM Unveil F1 Cars in Detroit
