Autoline Daily Feb 3, 2026

AD #4225 - Most Dealers Not Recouping EV Investments; Waymo More Valuable Than Most Automakers; Toyota and Honda Overtake the Detroit 3 in C

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Term

EV

EV means electric vehicle. These cars run on electricity instead of gas, making them better for the environment. They're becoming more popular as people look for cleaner transportation options.

Term

An autonomous vehicle is a self-driving car that can operate without a person controlling it. These cars use technology to navigate and make decisions on the road, which could change how we think about driving in the future.

Company

Waymo

Waymo is a company that works on self-driving cars. They are trying to make cars that can drive themselves without anyone behind the wheel, which is a big step in technology.

Brand

Toyota

Toyota is a well-known car company from Japan that makes many different types of vehicles. They are famous for their reliable cars and have been a leader in making hybrid cars, which use both gas and electricity.

Brand

Stellantis

Stellantis is a large car company that makes many different kinds of cars and trucks, created from a merger of two other companies.

Brand

General Motors

General Motors is a big car company in the United States that makes and sells cars and trucks.

Brand

Ford

Ford is a well-known car company in the U.S. that makes a variety of vehicles, including cars and trucks.

Brand

Honda

Honda is another well-known car company from Japan that makes cars and motorcycles, famous for their reliability.

Company

Denso

Denso is a major company that makes parts for cars. They supply many important components that help cars run well.

Car

Porsche 718

The Porsche 718 is a type of sports car made by Porsche. There were plans to make electric versions of it, but now they might change those plans because of sales issues.

Car

Porsche Cayman

The Porsche Cayman is a sporty car that is fun to drive and has a great design. It's a bit cheaper than the famous Porsche 911 but still offers a lot of excitement for people who love cars.

Car

Porsche 1 Porsche

The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people recognize. It's known for being fast and fun to drive, and it's been around for a long time, which makes it special.

Term

EVs

EVs stand for electric vehicles, which are cars that run on electricity instead of gas. They are becoming more popular as people look for cleaner ways to drive.

Term

solid state batteries

Solid state batteries are a new kind of battery that use solid materials instead of liquids. They can store more energy and last longer than regular batteries, but making them in large amounts is still hard.

Term

anode

An anode is part of a battery that helps store energy. It's where the battery gets charged up, and it usually uses materials like graphite or silicon to hold the energy.

Car

Peugeot iOn

The Peugeot iOn is a tiny electric car that's great for driving around the city without polluting the air. It's small and easy to park, making it perfect for busy streets.

Term

lithium ions

Lithium ions are tiny charged particles that help batteries store and use energy. They move around inside the battery when it's charging and when it's being used.

Term

energy density

Energy density is how much energy a battery can hold in a certain amount of space. Batteries with higher energy density can power things for longer without being too big or heavy.

Term

skateboard design

Skateboard design is a way to build electric cars where the battery is flat and sits on the floor, making the car more stable and giving more room inside.

Term

kilowatt hours

Kilowatt hours is a way to measure how much energy a battery can store. The higher the number, the more electricity it can hold, which usually means the car can drive further.

Car

Tesla Model

The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV that can drive long distances without needing gas. It's popular because it's roomy and has lots of cool tech features.

Car

Tesla Model 3

The Tesla Model 3 is a popular electric car that is smaller than other Tesla models. It is known for being fast and having a long battery life.

Company

Luminar

Luminar is a company that makes special sensors called LiDAR, which help self-driving cars see and understand their environment better.

Company

Microvision

Microvision is a company that creates technology for things like displays and sensors, including those used in self-driving cars.

LIVE

Speaker 1: This is out ALIGNE Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. GM and Ford are writing

off tens of billions of dollars on their EV investments.

Tier one suppliers are doing the same. In Automotive News

reports that more than half of the US car dealers that it surveyed said they have not recovered the investments they made in evs. Either, fewer than four percent said

they fully recouped it. Dealers had to invest in EV chargers,

tools and training, but sales of evs fell far short of expectations. However, as we've pointed out before, there are

at least three hundred thousand evs coming off lease this year, and with very attractive prices, they could pull in a lot more first time EV buyers, which could help dealers recoup their investments. Waimo has tripled its value in less

than two years. In twenty twenty four, the autonomous vehicle

company was valued at forty five billion dollars, but in its latest funding round, Weimo raised another sixteen billion dollars, which now puts its valuation at one hundred and twenty six billion dollars. That makes it more valuable than every

automaker with the exception of Tesla and Toyota. Part of

the surge is due to Weimo really expanding its business.

Last year, it provided fifteen million rides, or about four hundred thousand rides a week, in the six US cities that it operates in, plus it's expanding into more than twenty more cities this year. The Detroit automakers General Motors,

Ford and Stalantis used to account for the majority of vehicles assembled in Canada, but not anymore. According to a

new report from the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing, Toyota and Honda produced seventy seven percent of the vehicles in Canada in twenty twenty five, up from forty four percent in twenty fifteen. The two Japanese automakers also now account

for sixty percent of assembly plant employment, up from forty percent a decade ago, but that's just for finished vehicle production.

Speaker 2: When you factor in.

Speaker 1: Engine plants in R and D centers, the Detroit three are still the largest employers amongst automakers in Canada. However,

their pullback in production has led to a big decline in vehicle manufacturing in Canada.

Speaker 2: Last year.

Speaker 1: One point two million units were built, down from two point three million. In twenty sixteen, Denso, the second largest

auto supplier in the world, cut its full year operating profit forecast by nearly a fifth to three point four to four billion dollars. The company blames us terrace and

rising material and fixed costs for the lower forecast, but despite the cut, Denso's CFO expects its full year operating profit and revenue to reach record highs. Thanks to the

yen's favorable exchange rate, Denso was able to offer set some of the rising costs, and it also relies heavily on Toyota, as it generates fifty six percent of its revenue from the Toyota Group.

Speaker 3: Performance that shines even in the rain. That's what really matters,

rich don't pretends to tires, improved grip and wet conditions.

Speaker 1: Porsche could kill off plans to make all electric versions of the seven eighteen boxtering Cayman. Bloomberg reports the automaker

is considering making the move as a way to save cash due to overall sales slumping in a slower than expected transition to eves. Porsche first announced in twenty twenty

two that the next gen seven eighteens would go all electric and would come out in twenty twenty five, but the program was pushed back then. Last year a report

dropped that the models would also feature gas engines across their entire lineups, and now it looks like new CEO Michael Lighters is thinking about getting rid of the seven eighteen evs altogether. Porsche seems to be in a unique

situation compared to most other automakers, but not in a good way. Sportscar buyers haven't warmed up the evs as

much as the general consumer. Its sales have fallen significantly

in China, and it doesn't make a single vehicle in the US, so terrace are eating into its profits. A

Chinese research team has come up with an interesting development in solid state batteries. They made a silicon anode that

has a breathable structure. Silicon can hold up to ten

times more lithium ions than graphite anodes, but silicon expands up to three times its size during charging cycles, which can destroy a battery. So the gaps in this breathable

structure allow for that expansion, and it sounds like tests have been encouraging. However, we say take these solid state

breakthroughs with a grain of salt. Trying to scale up

production has been an issue, so we probably won't see the batteries in any significant volume until the end of the decade. But they still offer enhance safety, higher energy density,

and more charging cycles than other types of batteries, so it's still important to keep an eye on their development.

Skateboard designs with a big battery pack forming the floor seem to be the preferred way of designing eves these days, but that also introduces some design compromises. With the battery

and the floor of a car, the seats have to sit higher, and that forces designers to raise the roofline to maintain headroom. So when Jaguar set out to radically

change the look of its evs, it decided not to go with a skateboard design. Instead, it divided the battery

pack into five stacks. One stack, with about nineteen kilowat

hours of capacity, is located at the front of the cabin, while the other four with a combined one hundred KILOWA hours, sit at the rear of the cabin. The gap between

the front and the rear packs forms a foot well for the rear seat passengers, and the front seats are partially mounted in it as well. The result is a

lower seating position, which translates into a roofline that will be lower than a Tesla model. Three. Five years ago,

the stock prices of ev makers were going through the roof, and the same was largely true of light our companies.

One of those companies, Luminar, saw its stock shoot over five hundred dollars a share, giving it an eleven billion dollar market cap and turning its then twenty five year old founder into a multi billionaire. But then Luminar went bankrupt,

and another light our company, Microvision, just bought all its assets and got most of its customers for only thirty three million bucks. In fact, Microvision bought another light our maker,

Scantinel Photonics, after it went bankrupt two and micro Vision CEO Glennavass says, though, buy even more light our companies if the situation is right. And maybe you saw the

interview we did with de Vos at CES last month.

Microvision has developed a two hundred dollars light art and is working on getting the price down to one hundred bucks, and by buying up bankrupt light our companies, it's getting a ton of technology for pennies on the dollar that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for

tuning in.

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9:13

AD #4225 - Most Dealers Not Recouping EV Investments; Waymo More Valuable Than Most Automakers; Toyota and Honda Overtake the Detroit 3 in C

EV

autonomous vehicle

Waymo

Toyota

Stellantis

General Motors

Ford

Honda

Denso

Porsche 718

Porsche Cayman

Porsche 1 Porsche

EVs

solid state batteries

anode

Peugeot iOn

lithium ions

energy density

skateboard design

kilowatt hours

Tesla Model

Tesla Model 3

Luminar

Microvision

About this episode

Original notes