A joint venture is when two companies work together on a project, sharing resources and profits. This is common when a foreign company wants to do business in a new country.
Cherry is a car company from China that makes different types of vehicles, including electric trucks. They are trying to sell more cars in other countries.
In a body on frame design, the main structure of the vehicle is a strong frame, and the body sits on top of it. This makes the vehicle tough and good for carrying heavy things.
The Relyro 8 is a new electric pickup truck made by Cherry, a Chinese car company. It's built to be strong and can carry a lot of weight, making it useful for various tasks.
Volkswagen is a well-known car company from Germany that makes many popular cars. They have been in trouble for cheating on emissions tests, which measure how much pollution their cars produce.
Renault is a car company from France that makes different types of vehicles. They are facing accusations related to emissions, which is about how much pollution their cars create.
Stellantis is a big car company that makes many different brands of cars, like Jeep and Peugeot. They are also facing accusations about emissions, similar to Renault and Volkswagen.
Emissions violations happen when car companies don't follow the rules about how much pollution their cars can produce. These rules are important for keeping the air clean and safe to breathe.
Joby Aviation is a company that is making new flying cars that can take off and land straight up and down. They want to help people travel in cities more easily.
EV tolls are a new type of flying vehicle that can take off and land straight up and down. They are electric and are being developed to help people travel in cities without using cars.
Toyota is a well-known car company from Japan that makes many reliable cars. They are also working on new technologies, including electric cars and flying vehicles.
LIVE
Speaker 1: This is Outoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. President Trump says he would welcome
Chinese automakers to build cars in the US, and Geely says it will make an announcement in a couple of years to make cars in South Carolina. But Ford CEO
Jim Farley's advice to the Trump administration was basically, if you're gonna let the Chinese in, then make them play by their own rules.
Speaker 2: Here's what Farley means.
Speaker 1: China forced foreign automakers that wanted to come into China to form joint ventures with Chinese car companies in which the foreigners were the minority partner. They also had to
share their technology with their Chinese partners, had to develop new cars from scratch in China, and had to train Chinese designers and engineers. Bloomberg reports that Farley is not
in favor of letting Chinese oem set up joint ventures in the US, but told administration officials that if they were we're going to let the Chinese in, that would be the way to do it. So here's what we'll
be watching. In April, President Trump will meet with Shijing
Ping and Beijing for trade talks, and that might be one of the bargaining chips that President Trump will bring along with them. Meanwhile, a number of Chinese automakers see
mid size pickups as the next big segment they want to jump into, not so much in China but in the rest of the world. Pickup sales in China are
relatively small, hitting about two hundred and fifty eight thousand units last year, down more than six percent, but X sports of pickups hit three hundred thousand units. Gascou reports
that Cherry is targeting strong pickup markets with a multi powertrained strategy, evs and hybrids for Europe and diesels for Australia, New Zealand, South America and Africa. Cherry's electric mid size pickup,
the Relyro eight, is a body on frame design that sells for about eighteen thousand to twenty three thousand dollars in China, has a max range of about three hundred miles and can carry eighteen hundred pounds. The global mid
sized market for pickups is led by Toyota, Ford, Esuzu, Nissan, and Volkswagen, and it's a very profitable segment for them and they're going to have a massive fight on their hands trying to protect what they've got. Stalantis is going
back to diesels in Europe as it pivots away from electrics.
It's reintroducing diesel versions of at least seven models to help boose sales, but that strategy is a bit puzzling.
According to the ACEEA, diesel sales plunged twenty four percent last year in Europe and it's now the smallest powertrain segment by sales volume. In twenty fifteen, diesels accounted for
half of new car sales, but last year that dipped to just seven point seven percent. Hybrids are now the
largest segment in Europe, accounting for thirty four percent of new car sales. Speaking of diesels, Volkswagen is still facing
consequences over its diesel emission cheating scandal from more.
Speaker 2: Than a decade ago.
Speaker 1: The automaker has been ordered to face a criminal trial in France related to the cheating and is being accused of deceit concerning goods that endanger human and animal health, but the trial isn't expected to start until sometime next year, and Volkswagen didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. France
is also taking action against Renaul and Stilantis for similar emissions violations, but both automakers deny any wrongdoing.
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: The flying taxi industry is using automotive production knowledge, which is it's been built up over the last one hundred and twenty plus years, to improve the aircraft making process.
Joby Aviation plans to have its EV talls offering a limited amount of rides in Dubai this year, and then expand similar operations into other parts of the world in twenty twenty seven, including the US. Since Joby is trying
to bring an entirely new class of aircraft to the market with a lot of new technologies, it sounds like the company has had to kind of invent how these EV tolls are built. Right now, it's able to make
one of its aircraft a month. But Toyota is doing
more than just infusing nine hundred million dollars into the company.
It's teaching Joby the Toyota production system, doing everything from training workers to improving the manufacturing process and acting as a supplier in some cases. With Toyota's know how, Joby
plans to go from building one ev tall a month to four a month by next year, and then eventually hit five hundred a year once its facilities in California and Ohio are fully built out. The Jobe aircraft seats
four passengers plus a pilot and is said to be able to travel up to one hundred miles add up to two hundred miles an hour. Automotive suppliers the world
over always complain how long it takes automakers to pay them for the parts that they bought. Payments typically take
sixty to ninety days, but in China it could take even longer than that, and it was threatening the survival of a lot of small and medium sized companies. So
the government stepped in with regulations stipulating that automakers had to pay suppliers within sixty days, and on paper it looks like it's working. The data shows that automakers are
now paying suppliers in fifty four days or even sooner than that. Yet suppliers are still complaining. GASCOU reports they
have us saying good data, bad experience.
Speaker 2: That's because because some automakers.
Speaker 1: Simply delay sending out invoices and then pay within sixty days of that. Some only send out part of the payment,
then pay the rest later. Some demand concessions before paying.
Others send out what are called bank acceptance bills, which a bank will honor, but they have a maturity date one hundred and eighty days out. Gas Goo says regulators
need to put more teeth into their regulations and automakers need to be more responsible. Solid state is supposed to
be the next big breakthrough in battery technology, but its progression to market has been slow. One battery expert in
China says it's catho development, not the solid electrolyte, that's been keeping the batteries from going from the lab into commercial production. While some companies will come out with solid
state batteries this year and next, they're only expected in low volume, and it sounds like companies are still looking for the right combination of materials to achieve the levels of safety, performance, and durability that solid state batteries are supposed to provide. And here's a little bit of a
fun fact. The cathote active material is by far the
most expensive part of a typical battery, accounting for about half of its cost, and that brings us to the end of today's show.
Speaker 2: Thanks for making autoline a part of your day.
Speaker 4: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Bridgestone Solutions for your journey CSP, the composites solution partner Intrepid Control Systems over the year engineering boost your game and thanks to the following YouTube and Patreon.
Speaker 5: Members, developing today's vehicles issues can happen in an instant.
Speaker 6: What good is knowing your problems without the data to solve them. Meet Wireless neovi Cloud, your secure off the
shelf solution, empowering real time collaboration for quick resolution. With
Wireless neova Cloud, your team can prevent issues before they can escalate. Driver communication data and remote diagnostics to analyze
and resolve your problems using OTA, allowing your executives to oversight throughout the process. Wireless neovi Cloud your vehicle update
solution in production and on the road in Trepid Control Systems driven by your data.
Speaker 4: 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.
About this episode
Ford CEO Jim Farley advises the Trump administration on potential Chinese automaker joint ventures in the U.S., suggesting they should follow the same rules imposed on foreign companies in China. Meanwhile, Stellantis is reviving diesel models in Europe despite declining sales, and Volkswagen faces legal repercussions from its diesel emissions scandal. The episode also highlights Toyota's partnership with Joby Aviation to enhance eVTOL manufacturing, and discusses the challenges of solid-state battery development in the automotive industry.
- Farley To Trump: Force Chinese OEMs Into U.S. Joint Ventures - Chinese OEMs Target Global Mid-Size Pickup Market - Stellantis Defies Market Data with Diesel Resurrection in Europe - VW Faces New Criminal Trial in France - Toyota Teaches Joby Aviation "TPS" To Scale eVTOL Production - Chinese Suppliers Still Struggle with Payments - Cathode Costs Remain the Primary Hurdle for Solid-State Scaling
