Autoline Daily Mar 12, 2026

AD #4252 - Honda Cancels EVs, Takes $16 Billion Hit; Carvana Buys Stellantis Stores, Dealers Don't Like It; China Car Sales Drop 26%

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Concept

new energy vehicles

New energy vehicles are cars that run on electricity or a mix of electricity and gas instead of just gas. They help the environment by polluting less.

Term

BEVs

BEVs are cars that run only on electricity stored in batteries, so they don't use gas or make smoke from the tailpipe.

Concept

plug-in hybrids

Plug-in hybrids are cars that can run on both electricity and gas. You can charge their batteries by plugging them in, and they use gas when the battery runs out.

Term

negative cash flow

Negative cash flow means a company is losing money because it spends more than it makes. This can be a problem if it keeps happening.

Car

Tesla humanoid robot

Tesla is making a robot that looks and moves like a person. They plan to make a lot of these robots soon.

Brand

Stellantis

Stellantis is a big car company that owns many brands like Jeep and Dodge. They sell cars all over the world.

Company

Carvana

Carvana is a company where you can buy used cars online and have them delivered to your home. They now also sell new cars from some dealers they bought.

Term

MSRP

MSRP is the price the car company thinks the car should cost when you buy it new. Sometimes dealers sell cars for more or less than this price.

Concept

online car sales process

Buying a car online means you can look at cars, see prices, and even get the car delivered to your home without going to a dealership.

Concept

write off

A write off means a company says it lost money on something, like a project or product, and lowers its value in their records.

Car

Acura RSX

Honda was planning an electric car called the Acura RSX but decided not to make it to save money.

Car

Honda Zero Series saloon

Honda was working on an electric sedan called the Zero Series saloon, but they stopped making it to avoid losing money.

Car

Honda Zero Series SUV

Honda was making a new electric SUV called the Zero Series SUV, but they decided to stop making it to save money.

Term

Wave technology

Wave technology is the computer system that helps the car drive itself safely without a driver.

Term

autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles are cars that can drive by themselves without a person controlling them. They use computers and cameras to know where to go and avoid obstacles.

Term

robotaxi service

A robotaxi is like a taxi but the car drives itself without a driver. People can use an app to get a ride in these self-driving cars.

Car

Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf is an electric car that runs only on batteries, no gas. Here, Nissan is testing driverless versions of this car to give rides through Uber.

Term

EV adoption

EV adoption means how many people are buying and using electric cars instead of gas cars.

Term

clean sheet engine design

Clean sheet engine design means making a brand new engine instead of changing an old one.

Term

hybrid setup

A hybrid setup means the car uses both gas and electric power to save fuel and pollute less.

Term

fuel consumption

Fuel consumption means how much gas a car uses to go a certain distance.

Term

internal combustion engine (ICE)

An internal combustion engine is the usual engine in cars that burns gas to make the car move.

Term

FAA certification

FAA certification means the government has checked and approved a flying vehicle to make sure it is safe to use.

Company

Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation makes electric flying vehicles that can take off and land straight up, like a helicopter, to carry people in cities.

Term

electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL)

eVTOLs are flying cars that use electricity and can take off and land straight up, like a helicopter.

Concept

Integration Pilot program

The Integration Pilot program is a government plan that helps new flying vehicles get tested and allowed to fly safely.

Car

GLY electric big trucks

GLY is a Chinese company making big electric trucks to sell in Europe that are cheaper than other electric trucks.

Term

electric heavy duty trucks

Electric heavy duty trucks are big trucks that run on electricity instead of gas or diesel.

Car

BYD electric big trucks

BYD is a company from China making big electric trucks that can carry heavy loads and are cheaper than other electric trucks in Europe.

Term

diesel truck

Diesel trucks are trucks that use a special kind of fuel called diesel to run their engines.

Car

Hyundai Palisade

The Hyundai Palisade is a large SUV made by Hyundai, a car company from South Korea. It has three rows of seats to carry many people and is designed for families or groups who need extra space.

Term

horsepower

Horsepower is a way to describe how strong a car's engine is. More horsepower usually means the car can go faster or pull heavier loads.

Term

turbo

A turbo is a part that helps the engine make more power by pushing extra air into it. This makes the car faster without needing a bigger engine.

Term

torque

Torque is how much twisting power the car's engine has. It helps the car start moving and pull heavy things.

Term

miles per gallon (mpg)

Miles per gallon tells you how far a car can go using one gallon of gas. A higher number means the car uses less gas and saves money.

Company

Intrepid Control Systems

Intrepid Control Systems makes special computer parts and software that help car makers test and improve their cars before selling them to customers.

LIVE

Speaker 1: This is Autoligned Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. The price of oil rose seven

percent this morning to ninety eight dollars a barrel, and aluminum hit a four year high as several tankers were attacked and left burning in the Persian Gulf yesterday. Prices

have been on a roller coaster since the war and Iran began, sending automakers and suppliers rushing to simulate scenarios as to how this could play out for them. On

top of that, the Middle East accounted for nearly three million new car sales a year, many of them highly profitable full size SUVs, but sales have dropped off dramatically, so we think the autowinnessry better be ready for the worst case scenarios, just in case this war goes on longer than the Trump administration is saying it will. Sales

of passenger cars in China have slowed significantly this year, falling twenty six percent for the first two months, and surprisingly, sales of new energy vehicles, which includes BEVs and plugins, were down seven percent. That was somewhat mitigated by a

forty eight percent surge in total vehicle exports, but China's domestic market could be a headache for automaker's suppliers and dealers this year. However, Tesla showed a dramatic recovery in

February in China as it delivered well over fifty eight thousand new cars, up ninety one percent from a year ago.

Even so, Morgan Stanley and morning Star our forecasting that Tesla's global sales will drop for the third year in a row, and they're warning that Tesla will post negative cash flow in twenty twenty six for the first time in seven years. But Tesla is also showing off the

third generation of its humanoid robot at an expo in Shanghai this week. Elon Musk says it will go into

mass production by the fourth quarter and that Tesla will make a million a year. Used car retailer Carvana has

quietly acquired half a dozen Stilantis dealerships over the past year.

Speaker 2: It's now offering new.

Speaker 1: Cars for sale on its website that are priced thousands of dollars below the MSRP, and it's also offering home delivery, just like it does with its used vehicles. But Stalantis's

existing dealers aren't happy Carvana is now part of their network.

At a recent meeting with company executives, dealers brought up concerns over Carvana taking sales away from them, since it can undercut their prices and offer free shipping to customers who might be hundreds of miles away from the nearest dealership.

Speaker 2: However, analysts say.

Speaker 1: Dealers may need to adopt Carvana's online sales process since it's popular with many car buyers. Another automaker is taking

a huge financial hit to pivot away from evs. Ford

recently announced a nearly twenty billion dollar write off while Stillantis rode off twenty six billion, and now Honda says it will book up to nearly sixteen billion dollars in losses and it shifted away from eves. The automaker is

canceling three evs it was developing for North America, the Zero Series SUV, the Zero Series saloon, and the Accura RSX.

Honda says if it started producing and selling the vehicles, it would lead to even more losses in the long term.

On top of that, its profitability has declined because of US tariffs and not remaining competitive in Asia because it had to allocate more resources for ev development, so the company needs to save cash and order to offset losses in its automotive business. Several executives, including Honda CEO and

executive vice president, are taking voluntary pay cuts for the next three months as a result of its decision.

Speaker 3: We help businesses respond decisively to their most critical challenges, from urgent formans improvement to enterprise wide transformation. We work

across the full value chain, in automotive and in industrials, helping clients navigate disruption, drive innovation, and unlock sustainable growth.

ALEX partners when it really matters.

Speaker 1: As we reported earlier this week, Nissan is partnering with Uber to provide it with autonomous vehicles powered by Wave technology for a robotaxi service. At the time, we didn't

have details, but now we do. The companies will begin

a pilot test in Tokyo by the end of the year using self driving leafs, which will be available on the Uber app. It's the first time Uber will offer

autonomous rides in Japan, and the companies plan to roll out the service to more than ten cities globally, including London, but no timetable was given for that expansion.

Speaker 2: With all the investments in.

Speaker 1: EV over the last several years, we had one industry insider tell us they were worried that automakers would never do a clean sheet engine design ever again. But now

that EV adoption hasn't progressed at the rate that many thought, some suppliers of ices and their components are running at full capacity. Chinese automaker chan Gan just announced that it's

about to launch an all new hybrid setup that was specifically developed for low speed efficiency like in stop and go traffic. By giving more priority to run on the

electric motor, the company is aiming for fuel consumption of just under three liters per one hundred kilometers, which is nearly eighty miles to the gallon. While we often talk

about China speed, chan Gan spent six years and nearly three hundred million dollars developing the new hybrid, but it has a lot of incentive to get the set up just right, with about half of the new car sold in China still featuring an ic JOBY Aviation hit a milestone.

It says it started flight testing the first versions of its aircraft.

Speaker 2: That will be used for FAA certification.

Speaker 1: These initial flights paved the way for FAA pilots to test the electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft or ev talls later this year. The Trump administration recently backed an

ev TALL Integration Pilot program that is helping clear the way for aircraft like this as well. Through the program,

operators are now allowed to take test flights in several states, including Arizona, Florida, Idaho, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. If Joby does receive its certification, it plans

to launch air taxi services around the world. Over the

past couple of years, Chinese automakers have quickly expanded and grown passenger car sales in Europe, and now they're gearing up to enter the electric heavy duty truck market. Reuter's

reports there are more than half a dozen Chinese automakers planning to launch electric big truck sales in Europe this year, including BYD and GLY. Like the passenger evs, the Chinese

companies are looking to undercut the price of electric big rigs by thirty percent, which in Europe sell for an average of three hundred and twenty thousand euros or three hundred and eighty thousand bucks, but that's still well above a diesel truck, which sells for about one hundred thousand euros on average. Because of that price disparity, electric trucks

only accounted for four point two percent of heavy duty truck sales last year in Europe. Even still, Europe's truck

makers are taking the threat of Chinese competition seriously.

Speaker 2: Auto groups are lobbying.

Speaker 1: The EU to enact policies to boost demand for electric trucks before the Chinese gain a foothold. Kia is on

a roll, and we think it's boldly redesigned Tell You Rite suv, So keep the momentum rolling. For the first

two months of the year, Kea outsold Hundai in the US market, which is a milestone for the company. The

tel You Ride is the flagship of the brand and is made tear free in the US, unlike its counterpart, the Hondai Palisade, which is made in South Korea. Kia

is adding a hybrid and a rugged trim called x Pro that is surprisingly off road capable. The hybrid features

a two and a half liter turbo with two electric motors that provide a combined three hundred and twenty nine horse power and three hundred and thirty nine pound feet of torque, all going through a six feed automatic transmission.

The front drive version is rated at thirty five mpg with six hundred and thirty seven miles of driving range.

Prices range from about forty six thousand, five hundred to fifty seven thousand, six hundred. The non hybrid version gets

two hundred and seventy four horse power and three hundred and eleven pound feet of torque and gets a combined twenty four mpg. The base price is about thirty nine

thousand bucks, while a fully loaded one goes for fifty seven to six. There's a lot to report on the

new Tell You Ride, and we'll have more info coming out on the Autoline website and YouTube channel, and be sure to join us for Autoline after Hours this afternoon, when we'll be analyzing the latest developments in the industry this week, like the impact of the war in Iran, the latest models coming into the market, the CEO changes at Slayton Chrysler, and a whole lot more. Kaylee Hall

from Reuter's and Luke Ramseth from the Detroit News will be on the show.

Speaker 2: So joined John and Gary When it All goes.

Speaker 1: Live at three pm Eastern Time on the autoline website or YouTube channel.

Speaker 4: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by alex Partners.

When It Really Matters CSP, the composite solution partner Intrepid Control Systems over the air engineering boost your game and thanks to the following YouTube and Patreon members.

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Speaker 6: At CSP, we work with OEM engineers across the country on their journeys to lighter, safer, and more eco friendly vehicles.

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About this episode

Global automotive markets face turbulence with China’s car sales dropping 26% and new energy vehicle sales declining. Tesla shows strong recovery in China but faces long-term sales challenges. Honda cancels three EV models, taking a $16 billion hit and executives taking pay cuts amid shifting strategies. Carvana’s acquisition of Stellantis dealerships disrupts traditional dealer networks. Nissan partners with Uber for autonomous taxis in Tokyo. Chinese automakers push into Europe’s electric heavy truck market, while Kia gains momentum in the US with its redesigned Telluride SUV. Industry adapts amid geopolitical tensions and evolving technology trends.

autonomous vehicles BEVs Carvana clean sheet engine design diesel truck electric heavy duty trucks electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) EV adoption FAA certification fuel consumption

Hyundai Palisade Nissan Leaf

Original notes

- Oil and Aluminum Prices Surging Again - China Car Sales Drop 26% - Tesla Rebounds in China, Robots Coming Soon - Carvana Buys Stellantis Stores, Dealers Don't Like It - Honda Cancels EVs, Takes $16 Billion Hit - Nissan, Uber, Wayve Pilot Robotaxis in Tokyo - Changan's 80MPG Non-Plug-In Hybrid - Joby Aviation Moves Closer to eVTOL Services - Chinese Electric Heavy Trucks Invade Europe - New Kia Telluride Hybrid Debuts at $46K

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