The episode highlights the impact of U.S. tariffs on vehicle prices, revealing that Canadian-made cars have seen the highest price increases. A new battery technology from Donut Lab is stirring skepticism among experts, while GM explores leasing options for its home energy management system. The UAW celebrates a significant victory with a new contract for VW workers in Tennessee, and thirteen states are pushing for legislation to protect racetracks from noise complaints. Additionally, Toyota is integrating humanoid robots into its operations to enhance efficiency.
- Donut Lab’s Solid-State Battery: Real Breakthrough or Too Good to Be True? - New Tariffs Are Hiking Car Prices: Canada And Japan Hit Hardest - GM Considers Monthly Leasing For $27,000 Home Energy Systems - UAW Scores Historic Win: VW Workers Ratify First Contract - Celanese Fast-Tracks Auto Supply Chain with New AI Agent - Defending the Track: 13 States Push "Right to Race" Legislation - Toyota Deploys Humanoid Robots at RAV4 Plant in Canada - Autoline Poll Results
"GM could apply a tactic that it uses to sell vehicles as a way to also boost sales of its home energy management system."
GM stands for General Motors, a big car company in the U.S. that makes cars and trucks and is now focusing on electric vehicles.
General Motors (GM) is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts. GM has been a significant player in the automotive industry, particularly in the development of electric vehicles (EVs).
"The company says it sold over two hundred and forty six thousand evs last year with bi directional charging, but it's considering adding a monthly lease program for its Home Energy system as a way to make the tech more accessible to customers."
Bi-directional charging means that an electric car can give power back to your home or the grid, not just take power to charge. This is useful if your home loses power.
Bi-directional charging allows electric vehicles (EVs) to not only draw power from the grid to charge their batteries but also send power back to the grid or to a home. This capability can be used during power outages to supply electricity to home appliances.
"...tomers. GM sells everything from a level two home charger for your EV, to stationary storage, batteries, an..."
The Dodge Charger is a big car that looks sporty and can go really fast. It's a four-door sedan, which means it has room for passengers and is good for families, but it also has a powerful engine that makes it fun to drive.
The Dodge Charger is a full-size sedan known for its powerful performance and muscular styling. It has a rich history dating back to the 1960s and has evolved into a modern vehicle that combines practicality with a sporty edge, making it popular among car enthusiasts and families alike.
"GM sells everything from a level two home charger for your EV, to stationary storage, batteries, and all the hardware needed to give customers vehicle to home capability..."
A level two home charger is a device that charges electric cars faster than a regular outlet. It needs a special plug and is usually installed at home.
A level two home charger is a type of electric vehicle charging station that operates on a 240-volt outlet, allowing for faster charging compared to standard level one chargers that use a regular 120-volt outlet. This is ideal for homeowners who want to charge their EVs more quickly.
"...a humanoid robot that we saw about nine months ago at an automation trade show called Automate is being put to work by Toyota. The robot's name is Digit..."
Toyota is a well-known car company that makes many different types of vehicles, including cars, trucks, and hybrids. They are famous for their reliability and innovation.
Toyota is a leading automotive manufacturer known for its reliable vehicles and innovative technology. The company has been at the forefront of hybrid technology with models like the Prius.
"...at Toyota. Digit will be loading and unloading bins at the automaker's plant in Canada that makes the ref four."
The Toyota RAV4 is a popular SUV that many people use for family trips and everyday driving. It's known for being spacious and good on gas.
The Toyota RAV4 is a compact SUV that has gained popularity for its versatility, spacious interior, and fuel efficiency. It is one of Toyota's best-selling models.
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Speaker 1: This is Outline daily.
Speaker 2: The show is dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
The Finnish battery company called Donut Lab created a sensation at CS last month when it announced it could print solid state batteries. Some of its claims include four hundred
watt hours per kilogram, a charging time of zero to one hundred percent, and five minutes one hundred thousand charging cycles, and all at a lower cost than lithium batteries. Needless
to say, a lot of battery experts are highly skeptical, but Donut just announced that its batteries have been tested by the highly reputable Technology Research Center VTT in Finland.
Donut says it's going to release the test data on Monday morning, and company CEO marco Leedemaki says once they do that, the skeptics will not admit that they're wrong, but will shift their argument to say that it cannot be done at an industrial scale, And he says he'll prove them wrong again.
Speaker 1: So what do you think that lab report is going to show?
Speaker 2: Tune in Monday, because we'll have the results right here.
While not as bad as initially feared, the new US tariff in post last year are increasing new vehicle prices, however, not equally. A new report from Catalyst IQ found that
price increases differed depending on where the vehicle was assembled.
The study gathered new vehicle pricing for millions of vehicles from franchise dealer websites and then sorted that data by country of origin. It found over the last seven months
that retail prices rose the fastest on vehicles built in.
Speaker 1: Canada, Japan, Germany, and Mexico.
Speaker 2: Canada was hit the hardest, with average prices increasing ten percent, or nearly four thousand bucks. For vehicles made in Japan,
prices increased three thousand, three hundred dollars on average, those from Germany were up about two eight hundred bucks, and Mexican made vehicles were up more than fifteen hundred bucks since October. Meanwhile, vehicles built in South Korea saw average
prices decline one hundred and twenty bucks, and for vehicles made in the US, prices were up slightly just under one hundred bucks. GM could apply a tactic that it
uses to sell vehicles as a way to also boost sales of its home energy management system. The company says
it sold over two hundred and forty six thousand evs last year with bi directional charging, but it's considering adding a monthly lease program for its Home Energy system as a way to make the tech more accessible to customers.
GM sells everything from a level two home charger for your EV, to stationary storage, batteries, and all the hardware needed to give customers vehicle to home capability, meaning if your power goes out at home, the system can tap into the stationary storage or even the battery in your EV to power your home electronics. But the equipment is
not cheap, with prices ranging from about two thousand dollars for the evy charger up to nearly twenty seven thousand bucks for the entire package with the biggest stationary battery available.
GM says it will share more details closer to the launch of the lease program. The UAW just scored a
major victory. Workers at Volkswagen's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee overwhelmingly
approved the first labor contract between the union and the automaker.
The UAW says ninety six percent of workers that voted agreed to ratify the deal. The four year contract includes
a twenty percent wage increase, a twenty percent reduction in healthcare costs, a six thousand, five hundred and fifty dollars ratification bonus, two thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars in annual bonuses, plus long term job security provisions. We think
this is a huge deal for the UAW since it's the first time it's organized a foreign owned car plant in the South.
Speaker 3: Health 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 2: Gen AI can be scary, but it can also be amazingly helpful. For example, the giant chemical company Celanese is
using an AI agent that it calls Camille to monitor what automotive engineers are searching for on its website. Then
Camille makes suggestions where to look. Maybe an automotive engineer
wants to know what kind of plastic to use for a roof wreck, or is looking for an alternative to a competitor's material. Camille will direct them to the info
that they need. Cleanese has tens of thousands of SKUs
and polymer formulations, which could take a week to wade through, but Camille does it in minutes. Celeanese says it shaved
three months of manpower time for handling documents in just the last year. Next up, Camille is being trained to
make suggestions on molding issues, complex material choices, and answering technical questions. All this can help automakers and suppliers get
things done faster. So why did they name it Camille?
Because the company was founded in nineteen eighteen by a guy named Camille Dreyfus. And we've got a link to
Camille in the transcript if you want to try it out.
Racing fans know this next story all too well. Decades ago,
a racetrack gets built out in the boondocks, but over time houses are built up all around it, and then the neighbors start to complain about all the noise. So
thirteen US states have introduced legislation to help protect lawng standing racetracks from nuisance base lawsuits. They're calling it the
Right to Race Act. Iowa and North Carolina have already
enacted bill to protect these kinds of tracks, and there's pending legislation in eleven other states. A humanoid robot that
we saw about nine months ago at an automation trade show called Automate is being put to work by Toyota.
The robot's name is Digit and was developed by a company out of the US called Agility Robotics.
Speaker 1: It uses perception systems.
Speaker 2: And AI to adapt to the environment around it and is designed to take on repetitive tasks at Toyota. Digit
will be loading and unloading bins at the automaker's plant in Canada that makes the ref four.
Speaker 1: While it's only a small.
Speaker 2: Number of robots, seven will be working in the facility.
Toyota had confidence expanding after an initial test of three robots last year, and as we've pointed out, Hondai has seen a huge boost from all its robot activity this year, pushing the company's valuation past general motors. Okay, let's go
over the results of our latest poll. We wanted to
know what advice you would give to automakers now that the Trump administration is easing up on MPG requirements and CO two rules. Around two thirds of you said that
automakers shouldn't back off of reducing emissions and improving MPGs.
Sixteen percent said companies should take advantage of the changes and twenty percent said that automakers should try and balance the two options, and here's some of what you had to say. Kit Gerhart said, the anti environment regime will
be gone one day, so the car companies should continue to concentrate on making clean, more efficient vehicles while letting the gas hogs pay the bills. It probably makes sense
to take advantage of the current situations in ways that it's cheap to do, as with Stella making a few more expensive Hellcat Durangos that can help pay the bills for other things. Mike says the rest of the world
won't care about the US relaxing standards, stop improving, and get KOed when the Chinese car enter the US market.
Irvin Wright says, I truly dislike the mountain of regulations that we are forced to live by, and believe the government should stay out of our lives as much as possible.
That said, however, higher MPG and lower emissions is good for everyone except maybe the oil companies, so the auto manufacturers should stick with the advances made so far and keep their vehicles as clean as possible. kN Bengal says
automakers compete on fuel efficiency because that's what consumers want, so isn't MPG regulations redundant? Thanks for all your comments
and feedback, And a quick reminder for our YouTube and Patreon members, John and I will be doing another live Q and A on Monday the twenty third at two pm Eastern Time, so start sending in your questions now.
But that's it for today's show. Thanks for watching and
have a great weekend.
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