Operating profit is the money a company earns from selling its products after paying for things like workers and materials, but before paying taxes or loans.
Tariffs are extra taxes that countries put on things coming from other countries. This can make cars more expensive and affect how much money car companies make.
A plug-in hybrid is a car that uses both gas and electricity. You can charge it by plugging it in, so it can drive some miles just on electricity to save gas.
eVTOLs are electric flying vehicles that can go straight up and down like a helicopter. They might be used in cities to help people travel quickly without traffic jams.
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Volkswagon sold just over nine million
vehicles last year, only a slight drop from the year before.
As a result, it brought in slightly less money, with revenue hitting nearly three hundred and twenty two billion euros, but due to tariffs, Porsche's EVY writeoffs and lower sales in China, VW's operating profit was more than cut in half to nine billion euros and net profit fell over forty four percent to about seven billion. The company is
forecasting that this year won't be too much better. It's
only expecting a flat or small bump in revenue, so sales should roughly be the same as twenty twenty five.
Renault's new CEO, Francois Provost, revealed his first strategic plan for the company, called future Ready. Compared to former CEO
Luca Demeo's plan, provosts expects Renault to produce a lower operating margin and have less free cash flow, but he thinks the company will be more sustainable at those levels and to help fuel its future. The group as a whole,
including Lpin, Dashia and Renault will launch thirty six new models between now and the end of the decade. Some
of those vehicles will ride on a new eight hundred volt platform that will be split into three setups, one hundred percent electric, four x four electrics with decent towing capacity, and extended range electrics. We get a look at Elpine's
new performance platform as well, that will underpin the brand's first EV sports car, which is expected to be the next gen version of the A one ten. Interestingly, Renault
also wants to do more contract manufacturing. It mentions its
alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi, but we wonder if it could also turn to the Chinese. Ford suspended its full
year guidance because of US teriffs. Previously, the automaker forecasted
as much as eight and a half billion dollars in adjusted earnings before interest in taxes, but Ford has suspended that guidance and says it expects a tariff impact of two and a half billion dollars this year. While the
company believes it can offset about a billion dollars of that, it means that Terris will lower its adjustin EBIT by one and a half billion dollars on a net basis this year. Ford will provide an updated outlook when it
reports its second quarter earnings. Evie's startup, Slat Auto, only
debuted about a year ago, but it already.
Speaker 2: Has a new CEO.
Speaker 1: The company named Peter Pharisee as its new leader, replacing former Chrysler executive Chris Barman. Barman will remain at Slate
as President of Vehicles, where she'll be responsible for creation, testing and manufacturing. Pharisee previously worked at Ford. He was
also VP of Amazon Marketplace. He served as chairman and
CEO of the SunPower Corporation, and most recently, he was part of Bessemer Venture Partners. The leadership change comes at
an important moment for Slate. The company is aiming to
start delivering its affordable ev pickup to customers by the end of the year. Slate says it has one hundred
and sixty thousand reservations and it will announce pricing for the truck at the end of June, which is expected to be around twenty five thousand dollars.
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: Chinese evmaker Neo posted a quarterly profit for the first time in its history. The company reported an operating profit
of one hundred and fifteen million dollars in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to a nearly eight hundred and scent seventy million dollar loss in the previous Q four.
Neo was able to turn things around thanks to strong sales.
It delivered a record of more than one hundred and twenty four thou eight hundred vehicles in the quarter, a seventy percent increase from the prior year. Its revenue jumped
seventy six percent to just over five billion dollars, which beat analysts estimates, and it posted an adjusted net profit of one hundred and five million, though momentum will continue into this year as well. Neo expects to deliver up
to eighty three thousand vehicles in Q one, which would be almost double what it delivered in the first quarter of twenty twenty five. Autonomous vehicle company Zeukes announced it's
expanding and will begin testing in Phoenix and Dallas. With
the new locations, Zeukes now operates in ten markets, including the San Francisco Bay area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, DC, but it's currently only offering rides to the public in Las Vegas and San Francisco, which are free. Zekes will first manually map the new
locations before beginning autonomous tests with a safety driver on board.
Once that's complete, it will deploy its purpose built robotaxis for testing. Since launching its service in Las Vegas and
San Francisco last year, Zekes says it's driven more than a million autonomous miles and served more than three hundred thousand riders and In related news, Japan's Nikke newspaper reports that Nissan is finalizing a deal with Uber to provide it with autonomous vehicles for a robo taxi service. Nissan
is developing self driving tech with Wave Technologies, and Uber is also an investor in Wave. No details on the
partnership were given, but Nissan plans to launch its next gen propilot system with Wave technology in Japan and the US by early twenty twenty eight, which is an eyes on, hands off system. Here's our first look at the refresh
Chrysler Pacifica that we talked about the other day. It
goes on sale this summer, but there's only two pictures so far, which show a much different front end inspired by the Halcyon concept. However, former Chrysler CEO Chris Fuel
recently told us that it will also have a number of quote thoughtful and beautiful improvements to the interior, including upgrades to the infotainment system. We don't know for sure
yet if the new PACIFICA will also get the new plug in hybrid system that she talked about, but stillantis canceled the feature for the twenty twenty six model year. However,
the company is not giving up on hybrids, but it is turning to outside sources. CNBC reports that the hybrid
system for the new Cherokee comes from a supplier called Blue Nexus, which is backed by Toyota. The setup combines
of one point six lit four cylinder engine with two electric motors, which generates two hundred and ten horse power, and for Stalantes's range, extended electrics, which are supposed to first debut in the Grand wagoneer and then the Ram pickup truck, will use core technologies from Bosh. That setup
produces nearly six hundred and fifty horse power and provides up to five hundred miles of range to help speed up the development and deployment of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or evitalls, the US Transportation Department announced it selected eight projects for a pilot program. This is part
of an executive order that President Trump issued last year, and the government received more than thirty proposals. One of
the approved projects includes a partnership between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as Jobe Aviation Archer, Aviation Beta Technologies, and Electra Arrow. Other proposals
from the dots in Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina were also chose. The pilot program, which runs for three years,
will help operators prove the viability of their aircraft and allow cities to begin developing the infrastructure to support ev tolls, and the government says it will use the results of the pilot to help regulate the industry. That's a wrap
for today's show. Thanks for tuning in.
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About this episode
Volkswagen faced profit declines due to tariffs and lower sales, while Renault's new CEO outlined a strategic plan focusing on sustainability and new electric platforms. Ford suspended its earnings guidance amid tariff impacts. EV startup Slate Auto appointed a new CEO as it prepares to launch an affordable $25K electric pickup. Chinese EV maker Neo reported its first quarterly profit, and autonomous vehicle company Zeukes expanded testing to new cities. Nissan is partnering with Uber on autonomous taxis, and Chrysler revealed a refreshed Pacifica with interior upgrades. The US DOT launched a pilot program to advance electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft infrastructure.
- VW Profits Halved by Tariffs and China Losses - Renault Unveils New Strategy and 36 New Models - Ford Suspends Guidance Over Tariff Impact - Slate Names New CEO Ahead of $25K Pickup Launch - NIO Posts 1st Quarterly Profit on Sales Surge - Zoox Expands Testing to Phoenix and Dallas - Nissan and Uber Partner on Wayve-Powered AVs - 1st Look: Refreshed Chrysler Pacifica Revealed - Stellantis Taps Toyota and Bosch for Hybrid Tech - U.S. Selects 8 Projects for eVTOL Program
