Autoline Daily Apr 2, 2026

AD #4267 - Hyundai Developing Body-on-Frame Trucks For the U.S.; Auto Alliance Wants to Scrap Gas Tax for Weight Fee; Stellantis and Hyundai

Annotations will appear as you listen

0:00

9:48

Concept

first quarter sales numbers

They’re talking about how many cars automakers sold in the first few months of the year. Those numbers help show whether people are buying cars or holding back.

Brand

Hyundai Group

They’re calling out Hyundai Group as one of the automaker groups that sold more cars than last year. It’s basically the parent company behind Hyundai and Kia.

Brand

Tesla

They’re talking about Tesla’s sales and how Tesla reports them. Even without regional breakdowns, the company’s total sales growth is still a key signal for the EV market.

Concept

China Passenger Car Association

They’re referencing a China industry group that publishes car sales numbers. That’s where the China EV sales data in the story is coming from.

Concept

pre market trading

Pre-market trading is when stocks trade before the normal market opens. The point here is that the news made investors react fast.

Brand

Chevrolet

Chevrolet is mentioned because its sales dropped in the quarter. It’s one of the examples used to show the market isn’t uniformly strong.

Brand

Cadillac

Cadillac is doing better than some other brands in this quarter. They also say a big portion of Cadillac’s sales are electric, which is a good sign for the brand’s EV push.

Company

Alliance for Automotive Innovation

This is an industry group that represents big car companies in the U.S. Here, they’re pushing for a new way to pay for road repairs.

Concept

vehicle fee to pay for road repairs

The episode discusses replacing the federal gas tax with a vehicle fee tied to vehicle characteristics—specifically weight. The idea is to keep funding road maintenance as fuel efficiency rises and EVs reduce gasoline consumption.

Term

federal gas tax

The federal gas tax is money added to the price of gasoline. Since people buy less gas (because of EVs and better mileage), the government collects less from this tax.

Concept

single fee on every vehicle based on weight

Instead of charging per gallon of gas, the idea is to charge based on vehicle weight. Heavier cars tend to wear roads more, so the fee would scale with weight.

Concept

two hundred and fifty dollars annual fee on evs and one hundred dollars fee on hybrids

There’s also a proposal to charge EVs and hybrids an annual fee to help pay for roads. Critics say it could be unfair because typical gas cars already pay a lot through the gas tax.

Car

Hyundai Boulder

Honda showed a concept called the Boulder to hint at what a future pickup truck will look and feel like. Concept cars are basically previews of real products coming later.

Concept

body on frame

Body-on-frame means the car has a separate heavy-duty frame underneath, and the body mounts on top. That’s why it’s popular for trucks that need to tow or carry a lot.

Company

GM

GM is General Motors. They’re working with Honda on electric-vehicle development, which helps both companies build faster and share costs.

Company

Yasa

Yasa makes a type of electric motor used in some high-performance EVs. Their motors are designed to be compact while still producing a lot of power.

Term

axial flux (pancake motors)

An axial flux motor is a type of electric motor that’s shaped more like a thin disc. That can help fit the motor into tight spaces while still making strong power.

Term

power density

Power density is how much power a component can produce relative to its weight or volume. The transcript ties axial flux motor geometry to higher power density, which is why these motors can be both light and very powerful.

Car

Toyota Highlander

The transcript compares Subaru’s Getaway to Toyota’s upcoming Highlander EV, noting they share the same stretched EV architecture. This is relevant because platform sharing can affect interior space, battery packaging, and drivetrain options.

Concept

range

Range is how far the EV can go on one charge. The bigger the battery, the farther it usually can drive.

Concept

battery sizes (77 and ~96 kWh)

They’re offering two different battery sizes. Bigger batteries usually mean more driving range before you need to charge.

Term

executive appointment meeting

They’re describing how Toyota decides top leadership roles. It’s basically an internal meeting process for assigning executive positions.

Term

president that no one wanted

This is a quote from Akio Toyota explaining how he felt about becoming president. It’s part of the story about leadership changes at Toyota.

Company

pony Ai

Pony.ai is a company working on self-driving technology, especially robotaxis. The episode mentions its recent financial results and stock performance, which people watch as a sign of whether the company is improving.

Concept

robotaxi

A robotaxi is a taxi that drives itself. Instead of a person driving, the car uses automation to do the driving.

Company

Bridge Stone Solutions

Bridge Stone Solutions is a company sponsoring the show. The ad suggests they work on materials or engineering solutions for vehicles.

Company

Intrepid Control Systems

Intrepid Control Systems makes software tools used in car development. They help automakers test vehicles and figure out what’s wrong using diagnostic information.

Company

Intrepid's NEOVI cloud platform

NEOVI is a cloud tool used during car testing. It helps teams spot problems by matching diagnostic codes and software versions to specific vehicles.

Concept

vehicle software versions

Cars can have different software builds, even if they’re the same model. Knowing the exact software version helps engineers figure out which cars are affected by a particular bug.

Concept

non compliant vehicles

“Non compliant vehicles” refers to vehicles that fail to meet required standards—often regulatory, safety, or internal quality requirements—based on test results. The segment connects compliance to diagnostics, software versions, and analytics used to isolate affected units.

Concept

fleet testing

Fleet testing means testing lots of cars, not just one. It helps make sure the same software and hardware work correctly across many vehicles.

Company

VCSP dot com

VCSP dot com is the website mentioned for the sponsor’s product or service. The ad is mainly telling you where to learn more.

LIVE

Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. We've got first quarter sales numbers

for most automakers in the US market, and they don't look good. Of those that have reported so far, only

Stilantis and the Hyundai Group reported an increase in sales.

But do keep in mind that's compared to a strong quarter from a year ago when people were rushing out to buy a car before the terriff kicked in. And

we still haven't seen sales from Ford, Volkswagen, Mercedes, or Volvo. However,

we've seen enough to know that the industry is off to a rough start, and with a war going on and gas prices sharply higher, it's probably not going to get better anytime soon. Tesla doesn't break out at sales

by region, but it's sold over three hundred and fifty eight thousand vehicles globally, up more than six percent compared to last year, and they were up nearly nine percent in China, which we know be because the China Passenger Car Association publishes those numbers. But Tesla's total sales were

down compared to the fourth quarter, and they came in under expectations, so the stock was down this morning more than four percent in pre market trading. So have higher

gasoline prices pushed more consumers into electric cars. We'll have

to wait until all the automakers report their sales numbers to know for sure, but here's some of what we know so far. Rivian reported its sales shot up almost

twenty percent, which was quite a bit better than analysts expected.

Speaker 2: Toyota says the.

Speaker 1: All Electric BZ and Lexus RZI were up one hundred and forty nine and one hundred and seventy one percent, respectively, though the numbers are still quite small, and while Chevrolet posted a thirty percent drop in EEDY sales, Cadillac posted an eighteen percent gain. In fact, thirty percent of all

Cadillacts sold in the first quarter were electric, which bodes well for the brand. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which

represents most major automakers in the US, wants to scrap the federal gas tax and replace it with a vehicle fee to pay for road repairs.

Speaker 2: The federal gas tax.

Speaker 1: Which is currently eighteen point four cents per gallon, hasn't been raised since nineteen ninety three, and With vehicles becoming more fuel efficient and evs becoming more popular, gas tax revenue hasn't kept up with highway maintenance needs. Since two

thousand and eight, more than two hundred and seventy five billion dollars has been shifted away from the general Fund to pay for road repairs. So the Alliance is proposing

to impose a single fee on every vehicle based on weight.

It says the current tax is unfair to owners of older, less fuel efficient vehicles and to those who drive long distances since they pay more. There's also a proposal in

the US House to impose a two hundred and fifty dollars annual fee on evs and one hundred dollars fee on hybrids to help pay for road repairs, but that bill is being criticized as unfair to EV drivers since the average gas powered vehicle pays just eighty eight dollars a year in federal gas taxes. And we have an

interview with Consumer Reports that takes a deep dive into the issue. It's available for our YouTube and Patreon members

to watch right now, and it will be available for everyone to watch this weekend.

Speaker 3: Knowing that a little rain won't slow down your day.

That's what really matters. Bridge done to runs a qui

attract hires confident control in wet conditions.

Speaker 1: Last week, Honda announced that it will introduce thirty six new models into the North American market by twenty thirty and with that many new vehicles, it almost had to expand into new segments, and we now know that will include mid size pickup trucks. It revealed the Boulder concept,

which is an suv, but it's meant to be a design preview of what we can expect from the new truck, which is scheduled to launch at the end of the decade.

The model will be designed, developed and built in America, and it will debut the brand's first ever fully boxed body on frame platform. Last year, Hondai announced a partnership

with GM, which, among other things you may remember, includes joint development of an all electric.

Speaker 2: Van and mid size pickups.

Speaker 1: The original announcement said those trucks are going to Central in South America, but we think GM could be involved in these US pickups as well. When asked about a

possible link, a Hondai spokesperson responded quote, At this time, the company has not made any decisions regarding potential partnerships related to the development of these North American bound body on frame Hondai vehicles. Beyond those previously announced programs, Hyundai

continues to explore potential areas of collaboration with GM and will share additional details as the partnership progresses. Mercedes revealed

that just completed final winter tests of its upcoming Mercedes AMG GT FOURD or Coop. This is noteworthy to us

because the model will feature axial flux or what are also called pancake motors, developed by a company called Yasa.

They only weigh twenty eight pounds but are capable of making over one thousand horse power. The magnets and coils

inside an axial flux motor are much closer together and there's a much larger surface area for them to interact.

That leads to those impressive power densities. However, Yasa estimates

the continuous power output would be more in the range of four hundred and seventy to five hundred and thirty five horse power. But the new Mercedes AGGT four or

Coop will have three of these motors on tap, which should offer some pretty impressive performance.

Speaker 2: Will learn just how impressive. When the model.

Speaker 1: Makes its debut in a few weeks, Subaru pulled the wraps off the Getaway and all new electric three row suv.

While it's based on the same stretch version of Toyota's ETNNGA architecture as the new Highlander EV, the Getaway's standard all wheel drive system puts out a lot more power than the dual motor Toyota four hundred and twenty versus three hundred and thirty eight horsepower. Two battery sizes are

available seventy seven and roughly ninety six KILOWA hours, which can provide more than three hundred miles of range. The

Getaway launches in the US late this year, but no word on pricing yet. Despite being the grandson of the

company's founder, Akio Toyota refers to himself as quote the president that no one wanted when he took over that role in two thousand and nine, But since that time the company has transitioned to an executive appointment meeting to discuss executive changes, including the president, and even though Achio is now chairman of Toyota, he says he wasn't involved at all in the decision to replace president and CEO Coochisato was CFO Kenta Khan, and it sounds like Sato,

who's now vice chairman and chief industry Officer, wasn't ready to give up his previous roles. When asked about his

three year term compared to Akio's thirteen years, Sato said, quote, honestly, I do think it's short.

Speaker 2: Our Auto Line Automotive stock of the.

Speaker 1: Day yesterday was pony Ai, the Chinese robotaxi company, which was up nine point five percent. You may remember that

we reported it turned the corner in the fourth quarter of last year and posted a net profit, and investors clearly think the company is headed to better times.

Speaker 2: But that's a wrap for this show.

Speaker 1: Don't forget to tune into Autoline after Hours at three pm Eastern Time today and I hope to see you there.

Speaker 4: Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Bridge Stone Solutions for Your Journey 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 5: Ad 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's NEOVI cloud platform helps

manufacturers quickly identify diagnostic trouble codes and defects by pinpointing which vehicles have specific software versions. This allows them to

isolate non compliant vehicles in real time using analytics, part numbers, DTCs, and organized secure cloud based data. 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. At CSP, we work

with OEM engineers across the country on their journeys to lighter, safer, and more eco friendly vehicles.

Speaker 4: Learn more at VCSP dot com.

About this episode

US automaker sales are off to a rough start in Q1, with only Stellantis and Hyundai Group showing gains so far, while others like Ford, VW, Mercedes, and Volvo haven’t reported yet. Tesla’s global sales rose but missed expectations, dragging the stock. The show also covers shifting EV momentum (Rivian up, Cadillac EV mix strong) and major policy debate: the Alliance for Automotive Innovation wants to replace the federal gas tax with a weight-based vehicle fee, plus separate proposals for EV/hybrid fees. Other highlights include Honda’s boxed body-on-frame pickup concept, Hyundai’s GM partnership hints, Mercedes’ axial-flux AMG GT 4-Door, and Subaru’s electric three-row Getaway.

Alliance for Automotive Innovation axial flux (pancake motors) battery sizes (77 and ~96 kWh) body on frame Cadillac Chevrolet China Passenger Car Association federal gas tax first quarter sales numbers fleet testing

Hyundai Boulder Toyota Highlander

Original notes

- Stellantis and Hyundai Only U.S. Sales Winners So Far - Tesla Sells 358K Cars Globally But Misses Estimates - EV Sales Surge for Rivian, Toyota and Cadillac - Auto Alliance Wants to Scrap Gas Tax for Weight Fee - Congress Proposes New Fees for EVs and Hybrids - Hyundai Developing Body-on-Frame Trucks for the U.S. - Mercedes Finishes Winter Tests of 1,000HP Pancake Motor - Subaru Debuts All-New 3-Row Electric SUV - Akio Toyoda Not Involved in New CEO Decision - Stock of the Day: Pony.ai Surges After Posting Net Profit

Autoline Daily

Autoline

View classic page →

0:00

9:48