Autoline Daily Mar 24, 2026

AD #4260 - Crossovers Have Highest Fatality Rates; GM Could Lose U.S. Sales Crown to Toyota; GM Testing Next-Gen Super Cruise

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Concept

BEVs

BEV means a fully electric car. It runs on a battery and doesn’t use gasoline.

Concept

Peugeot the fastest growing segment

They’re talking about which type of car is growing fastest in Europe. That trend affects what automakers build next.

Car

The Renault Twingo is a small car made for city driving. It’s meant to be easy to park and drive in tight spaces. The podcast says Renault is launching a new one with a starting price under 20,000 euros.

Part

LFP battery pack

LFP is a type of EV battery. It’s generally considered safer and can last a long time, and it’s commonly used in more affordable electric cars.

Concept

WLTP test cycle

WLTP is a standardized test used in Europe to estimate how far a car can go. Your real range may be different depending on how you drive.

Concept

electric motor

An electric motor is what actually moves the car using electricity from the battery. More motor power usually means stronger performance.

Car

Toyota Grand Highlander

The Toyota Grand Highlander is a bigger SUV with three rows of seats. It’s made for families or anyone who needs more passenger space. The podcast mentions it while discussing production and upcoming vehicles.

Company

Bosch

Bosch is a big car-parts company. Here, they’re teaming up to help build electric-drive components for EVs.

Company

Tata AutoCOM Systems

Tata AutoCOM Systems is Tata’s parts business for cars. In this episode, it’s partnering with Bosch to build EV-related components.

Concept

50-50 joint venture

A 50-50 joint venture means two companies split the project evenly. They team up to build and produce new technology more efficiently.

Concept

e axles

An e-axle is a packaged electric drivetrain unit for the car’s wheels. Instead of many separate parts, it’s built as one integrated system.

Company

Intrepid

Intrepid is a company that makes tech for vehicle connectivity and testing. As cars become more software- and network-heavy, this kind of testing gets more important.

Concept

testing and validation of vehicle platforms

Testing and validation are how automakers confirm a new car design is reliable and safe. It helps catch problems before the cars go on sale.

Concept

fifty to fifty joint venture between Mercedes and Jili

A 50/50 joint venture means Smart is co-owned and co-managed by two parent companies, which can influence product planning, manufacturing, and market strategy. In this case, the segment ties Smart’s China sales performance to the broader corporate structure behind the brand.

Concept

liquidated through used car channels

This means the brand is trying to get rid of unsold cars by pushing them into the used market. Big discounts usually happen when new-car demand isn’t strong enough.

Concept

Level two

Level 2 means the car can help with things like steering and speed, but you still have to watch the road and be ready to take over immediately. It’s not true self-driving.

Concept

hands off in Eyes Off

“Eyes Off” means you’re not expected to keep your eyes on the road the whole time while the system is handling the driving. But you still have to be ready to take over when the car asks.

Concept

Level three

Level 3 is closer to self-driving: the car can handle the driving for a while, and you don’t have to constantly watch like you do in Level 2. Still, the car will ask you to take over when it needs to.

Car

Cadillac Escalate

The Cadillac Escalade is a large luxury SUV. In this episode, they mention a new version where a feature called “Eyes Off” is offered as an option, which relates to driver-assistance technology. The discussion is about what’s coming on the next Escalade model.

Concept

cobalt exports

Some countries are limiting how much cobalt they ship out to force more refining to happen locally. When supply tightens, the price of battery materials can rise.

Concept

lithium shipments

If a country bans lithium shipments, it reduces the amount of battery material getting to the global market. Less supply can make lithium more expensive.

Car

Chevrolet Silverado

The Silverado is one of the trucks that saw a big rise in fatal crashes over a recent few-year span. The episode later explains that they also looked at crashes relative to how many of each model are out there.

Concept

fatal accidents as a percentage of models on the road

They didn’t just count crashes—they adjusted for how many of each car model are out there. That way, a very common car doesn’t automatically look worse just because it’s everywhere.

Car

Nissan Rogue

The Rogue ranks near the top when fatal crashes are adjusted for how many are on the road. The episode points out that many of the worst-ranked vehicles are crossovers.

Car

Ford Edge

The Edge is one of the vehicles that shows up in the top five when they compare fatal crashes relative to how many of each car are on the road. The show says crossovers are overrepresented in these results.

Car

Honda Pilot

The Pilot is one of the top five vehicles in the adjusted fatal-crash ranking. The episode says crossovers tend to show up more often in these high-risk lists.

Car

Chevrolet Equinox

The Equinox is listed among the top five when fatal crashes are adjusted for how many are on the road. The episode’s big point is that crossovers show up a lot in the worst rankings.

Company

Over the Air Engineering

Over-the-air engineering is about updating a car’s software remotely. Instead of going to a shop, the car can receive updates wirelessly.

Company

CSP, the Composites Solution Partner

CSP is a company that helps with composite materials. Composite materials can help cars be lighter, which can improve efficiency and sometimes safety.

Concept

regulatory shifts

Regulatory shifts are new or changing rules from governments. Automakers have to adjust their cars and processes to stay compliant.

Concept

supply chain reinvention

Supply chain reinvention describes how companies redesign sourcing, logistics, and manufacturing networks to handle shortages, new regulations, and changing demand. In recent years, this has been especially important for batteries, semiconductors, and critical materials.

Concept

electrification

Electrification means moving away from gas engines and toward electric power. It changes how cars are built and how they get charged.

Concept

digitalization

Digitalization means using more software and data in cars and factories. It can lead to features like connected services and updates that improve the car over time.

Company

ALEX Partners

ALEX Partners is a business consulting company. The ad is saying they help automakers make big changes and carry out plans quickly.

LIVE

Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. New car sales picked up slightly

in Europe last month. Automakers sold nine hundred and seventy

nine thousand vehicles in February, an increase of one point seven percent from a year ago. Even so, the boost

in sales only came from six of the top twenty automakers who sell in the region. The Volkswagen group was

up two point six percent, but that was mainly thanks to Scota, Stilantis was up nearly ten percent, mainly thanks to Fiat and Opal. Scic Byd and Tesla also posted

strong gains, but everyone else was down. Pevsquare the fastest

growing segment, up a strong thirty three percent, BEVs were up almost sixteen percent, and hybrid's up ten percent. Meanwhile,

gasoline and diesel power cars continued to lose share. So

here's our autoline insight. It's good to see the European

market showing some forward momentum, but until we see sales consistently top a million units a month, automakers and suppliers are going to face a tough financial environment, but maybe more affordable evs will be the shot in the arm that Europe needs. Renault is now launching the all new

TwinGo with a starting price under twenty thousand euro developed twice as fast as its previous electric models. Highlights include

a twenty seven point five kilowad hour LFP battery pack that returns two hundred and sixty three kilometers or about one hundred and sixty miles of range on the WLTP test cycle, and a roughly eighty horse power electric motor.

A segment vehicles like the new TwinGo only make up five percent of the European market today, but Renault says that's not a reflection of low demand. It says customers

still want these vehicles. It's just that there's not a

lot of choice anymore, so there should be potential growth in the segment. Toyota is pretty bullish about its future

in the US market. It's investing a billion dollars to

increase capacity of its assembly plants in Kentucky and Indiana so it can make more cameras, rab fours, Grand Highlanders.

Speaker 2: And new evs.

Speaker 1: Last year, Toyota invested almost a billion dollars to make more hybrid components and in total, it will invest another eight billion dollars or so in the US over the next four years. Toyota already sells more vehicles in the

US than Ford, but it's about three hundred thousand units behind GM, and we have no doubt in our minds that Toyota would love to take over that top spot in the United States of America. Bosch and the Tata

Group's auto components business, Tata AutoCOM Systems, are forming a fifty to fifty joint venture that will focus on electromobility. Specifically,

the two companies will engineer and manufacture e axles and electric motors for the Indian market. Operates are expected to

start in the middle of this year, pending approval.

Speaker 2: At Intrepid, we produce network hardware and software solutions enabling vehicle manufacturers to innovate and design the next generation of modern mobility. Delivering scalable next generation solutions requires thorough testing

and validation of vehicle platforms. Intrepid specializes in network interfacing,

data logging, simulation, and gateway capabilities. Intrepid's Doovi cloud platform

provides real time data collection, instant cloud upload, intelligent detection, advance issue analysis, root cause identification and remote update deployment.

All of these steps ensure vehicles are cleared for production and ready for the road, taking your fleet testing into the future of mobility intrepid control systems driven by your data.

Speaker 1: Smart is known for its tiny compact cars, but in an effort to grow sales, it introduced larger vehicles in China. However,

customers didn't flock to the showroom. The brand, which is

now a fifty to fifty joint venture between Mercedes and Jili, sold just under thirty thousand vehicles in China from March of twenty twenty five to February of twenty twenty six, and the Number one, the smallest vehicle and Smart's lineup, accounted for nearly two thirds of that total. Its larger

Number three and Number five models represented just fourteen and twenty two percent of sales, respectively. As a result, the

bigger models are now being liquidated through used car channels at big discounts. The Number five, for example, is selling

fourteen five hundred dollars below its recommended price. But Smart

isn't giving up. While it will introduce a new small

two seater at the Beijing Auto Show next month, it's also planning to introduce a new plug in hybrid, the Number six, which will have the longest wheelbase in its lineup.

GM has started testing its next gen hands free driving system on public roads, which will still be called Supercrews.

The company is running a fleet of modified production vehicles that will feature a human in the driver's seat to take over if necessary. The vehicles have started testing in

California and Michigan, but are currently using a version of the system that's limited to Level two. However, GM will

use what it learns from the test to expand Supercrus's capabilities.

It plans to launch a level three system so hands off in Eyes Off, as an option on the twenty twenty eight Cadillac Escalate IQ, which will also debut the company's new centralized computing platform that supports these autonomous features plus a bunch of other new tech. For more than

a decade, Chinese mind have invested billions of dollars on operations in Africa, but in an effort to encourage local processing, which can generate extra value, several countries have recently curbed exports of metals used for EVY batteries. The Democratic Republic

of the Congo is cutting back on cobalt exports and the top producer in the country is now mining more of the metal than it can export, and Zimbabwe ban shipments of lithium, and because of those moves, cobalt and lithium prices are currently at or near multi year highs.

So now the Chinese miners are looking into investing in refining capacity in those countries to avoid the bans. Want

to know what the most dangerous vehicles on the roadar.

Mason Law, a law firm that handles auto accidents and injuries, published a list of the vehicles that showed the greatest increase in fatal accidents in the US from twenty nineteen to twenty twenty three, and not surprisingly, the Chevrolet Silverado, along with the Toyota Camery and Corolla, and the Honda Accord and Civic showed the biggest increases. I say not

surprisingly because there's so many of those vehicles on the road that it's kind of obvious that they'd get into more accidents. So we asked Mason Law to run the

numbers again, but to look at fatal accidents as a percentage of models on the road. And here's what they

came up with the Toyota Rev four tops the list, followed by the Nissan Rogue, Ford Edge, Chevrolet Equinox, and Honda Pilot to name the top five, and the data that jumps off the page for us is that they're all crossovers. But that brings us to the end of

today's show. Thanks for making autoline a part of your day.

Speaker 3: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by alex Partners.

When it really matters CSP, the Composites Solution Partner, Intrepid Control Systems, Over the Air Engineering boost your game and thanks to the following YouTube and Patreon members.

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.

Speaker 3: The automotive and industrial sectors are undergoing historic transformation electrification, digitalization, supply chain reinvention, regulatory shifts. The pace is accelerating and

the pressure to adapt is real. This is not a

time for hesitation. It's a time for bold decisions backed

by fast, effective execution. You need a partner who understands

complexity from factory floor to boardrooms and delivers measurable results.

That partner is ALEX Partners when it really matters,

About this episode

Europe’s sales tick up slightly, led by a handful of automakers and strong growth in EVs and hybrids, while gas and diesel keep losing share. Renault’s new budget EV, the TwinGo, signals how cheaper EVs may help the region. Toyota is doubling down on the U.S. with major capacity investments and more hybrids/EVs, while Smart’s China push with bigger models stalls and forces discounting. GM tests next-gen Super Cruise toward Level 3, and supply-chain news highlights rising cobalt/lithium prices as African export curbs drive local refining. A safety roundup finds crossover models with the biggest fatal-accident rate increases.

50-50 joint venture Alex Partners BEVs Bosch cobalt exports CSP, the Composites Solution Partner digitalization e-axles electric motor electrification

Cadillac Escalade Chevrolet Equinox Chevrolet Silverado Ford Edge Honda Pilot Nissan Rogue Renault Twingo Toyota Grand Highlander

Original notes

- EU Car Sales Up in February - New Renault Twingo Launching - Toyota Makes Big Investment in the U.S. - Bosch and Tata Form Electromobility JV - smart Brand Struggles with Larger Cars - GM Testing Next-Gen Super Cruise - Africa Export Bans Drive Up Cobalt and Lithium Prices - Crossovers Have Highest Fatality Rates

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