Electric vehicles are cars that run on electricity instead of gas. They use batteries to power an electric motor, which makes them different from traditional cars that burn fuel.
A range extender is a small engine that helps electric cars go further by making more electricity when the battery runs low.
Car
Ro 8
The Ro 8 is a new electric truck made by a Chinese company called Cherry. It's designed to be environmentally friendly and is similar in size to other popular trucks.
The Ford Maverick is a small truck that is easy to drive and park, making it great for city living. It can carry things in its bed like a regular truck, but it's also designed to be fuel-efficient, which means it saves you money on gas. The new electric version, the Maverick EV, will be a version that runs on electricity instead of gas.
A universal EV platform is like a base design that car companies can use to build different electric cars. It helps them save money and time because they can make many cars using the same parts and structure.
The Ford Maverick EV is a new electric car that Ford plans to start making in 2027. It's part of a new design that helps Ford build different electric cars more easily.
The Ford Escape is a small SUV that gives you more space than a regular car, making it great for families or anyone who needs to carry a lot of stuff. It's designed to be comfortable and easy to drive, and it usually comes with features that help you stay safe on the road. The podcast talks about new versions of the Escape that will have even more options and technology.
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Gaily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. We've hit another historical milestone in
the auto industry. In the fourth quarter of last year,
pure electric vehicles outsold gasoline powered cars.
Speaker 2: In Europe for the first time ever.
Speaker 1: Automakers sold about three hundred and nine thousand evs across the continent compared to about two hundred and fifty four thousand gas cars, and we think that from here on out that gap will only grow. For the year, automakers
sold thirteen point two million new vehicles in Europe, up two point four percent, and several Chinese automakers made significant gains.
SAIC was up twenty five percent. It sold more than
three hundred and five thousand vehicles, which was more than Nissan and Tesla, and BYD sold one hundred and eighty seven thousand vehicles, up two hundred and sixty eight percent, which was more than Suzuki, Mazda, Honda and Mitsubishi. And
one other tidbit from the sales numbers, Koupra now out sells Sayat. What was once a sports oriented trim level
is now out selling its parent company, General Motors posted its financial earnings for last year, and the numbers looked dismal thanks to a massive write off of its EV operations and the impact of President Trump's tariffs.
Speaker 2: Let's look at the numbers.
Speaker 1: GM sold six point one million vehicles last year, up three percent, but despite selling more vehicles, its revenue dropped almost two and a half percent to one hundred and eighty five billion dollars. Its operating profit dropped seventy seven
percent to just under three billion, and its net profit fell fifty three percent to only two.
Speaker 2: Point eight billion dollars.
Speaker 1: And yet GM stock was up nearly four percent in pre market trading this morning. That's because GM raised its
twenty twenty six guidance for its EPs, or earnings per share, and it also raised its dividend by twenty percent and announced a six billion dollar share buyback program. GM investors
saw fifty four percent return last year, and they clearly believe the good times will keep rolling. President Trump is
raising tarras on South Korean imports, including automobiles, from fifteen to twenty five percent. Last July, the US and South
Korea reached an agreement to lower tariffs to the fifteen percent rate, and South Korea also agreed to three hundred and fifty billion dollars in US investments, but Korea's parliament still hasn't approved the deal, so Trump is threatening the new tariffs to try and get it finalized. South Korea
says it's sending diplomats to Washington, d C. To discuss
implementing the original agreement. Auto supplier American Axle changed its name.
The Detroit based supplier is now the Duc Corporation, named after its founding Fame family. The company will begin trading
on the New York Stock Exchange next week.
Speaker 2: With the new ticker symbol DCH.
Speaker 1: The change coincides with Doubts acquisition of British based automotive metallurgy company, the Dallss Group. Once the deal is complete,
which is expected to close in the coming days, will create a company with twelve billion dollars in annual revenue and fifty thousand employees globally, making it one of the largest auto suppliers in the world.
Speaker 3: 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: Vehicles with range extenders have been one of the fastest growing segments in China, and now they're making their way to commercial vehicles. You Chai, which is a joint venture
with Rolls Royce Power Systems, is launching.
Speaker 2: What it calls a flywheel.
Speaker 1: Range extender system that can be paired with a wide range of power sources, including IC and diesel. It claims
it's different from traditional setups because the engine and power generation components are structurally unified, which requires less parts and helps simplify the system. The Flywheel Range Extender can generate
anywhere from fifteen to six hundred kilowatts and is being deployed in commercial vehicles and non road equipment from companies like faw Dong Fung and Caterpillar. With municipalities rolling back
or removing restrictions on pickup trucks, sales are starting to increase in China. Automakers sold just under five hundred and
ninety thousand pickups in the country last year, a five year high and an increase of nearly twelve percent compared to twenty twenty four, and with volume increasing, more players are getting into the game. Rely, which is a brand
under Chinese automaker Cherry is launching its first all electric truck, a model called the Ro eight, which is about the size of a Toyota Highlux. It looks like a fairly
basic body on frame setup, with either a single two hundred horse power motor driving the rear wheels or an all wheel drive setup with four hundred horse power. There's
two battery sizes available, sixty six and a half or eighty eight kilowatt hours, which provides up to five hundred and ten kilometers or about three hundred and fifteen miles of.
Speaker 2: Range depending on the setup.
Speaker 1: Pricing ranges from roughly eighteen thousand to twenty three thousand dollars.
Germany's auto industry is struggling. The country produced just over
four million vehicles last year, which is one and a half million fewer cars than it.
Speaker 2: Built a decade ago.
Speaker 1: Since twenty nineteen, the German auto industry has laid off a quarter million workers, and the industry is planning to cut another one hundred thousand jobs by the end of the decade.
Speaker 2: Ig Mattal, the largest.
Speaker 1: Labor union in Germany, is warning that it will increase pressure on automakers if they continue pushing cost cuts and moving production out of the country.
Speaker 2: But because of those.
Speaker 1: Losses, ig MTTALA is now facing pressure from a fast growing right wing union in Germany called Zentrum Workers that several automakers will vote on new labor representation this spring, and Zentrum is expected to make strong gains.
Speaker 2: And we've got some good intel.
Speaker 1: On Ford's UEV, the universal EV platform known as CE one Auto four Cast Solutions reports that the first model built on that platform, with the code name P eight three three, will be called the Maverick EV. It will
start rolling down the line at Ford's Louisville, Kentucky plant in June of twenty twenty seven. Then in August to
twenty twenty eight, the next model, with the code name U eight three to three will roll down the line and is scheduled to stay into production.
Speaker 2: Until two thirty five.
Speaker 1: It will be called the Escape and Ford has indicated that several other models will be built off the CE one platform in Louisville, which we think is a smart strategy.
Speaker 2: That plant is tooled to make.
Speaker 1: Two hundred thousand evs a year, and by building multiple models off the same platform, Ford could more easily sell out that plant and make those cars out a profit.
Speaker 2: That's a wrap for today's show. Thanks for tuning in.
Speaker 4: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by ALEX Partners.
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About this episode
A historic milestone was reached as electric vehicles outsold gasoline cars in Europe for the first time, with significant sales increases from Chinese automakers. Meanwhile, GM's financial report revealed a drastic profit drop despite a rise in vehicle sales, yet its stock surged due to optimistic future guidance. The episode also covers Ford's upcoming Maverick EV and the challenges facing Germany's auto industry, including job cuts and competition from new labor unions. Insights into innovative range extender technology for commercial vehicles and the growing pickup market in China are also discussed.
- European 1st: BEVs Outsell Gas Cars - BYD and SAIC Outpace European Rivals - Cupra Outsells Seat - GM Stock Up Despite Profit Drop - Trump Threatens Higher Korea Tariffs - American Axle Becomes Dauch Corp. - China Expands EREVs to Commercial Vehicles - Pickup Sales Hit 5-Year High in China - Far-Right Union Challenges Germany's IG Metall - Production Details for Ford's UEV Platform
