Autoline Daily May 12, 2026

AD #4295 - Repos Increase w/ High Car Prices; U.S. Could Eliminate Fuel Tax; South Korea Military Wants Hyundai Robots

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Concept

federal gas and diesel tax

Fuel taxes are a set amount the government adds to every gallon of gas or diesel. Removing that tax would drop the price a little, but it won’t fix the bigger reason prices are high—oil prices.

Concept

oil is still over one hundred dollars a barrel

Crude oil is priced by the barrel, and that price flows through to gasoline and diesel costs. If oil stays expensive, fuel prices usually stay expensive too.

Concept

ban vehicles designed in China that use Chinese software and connectivity equipment

It’s a proposed rule to block certain cars from China, especially the parts that handle software and internet/connected features. The goal is to limit reliance on Chinese tech in the cars sold in the U.S.

Company

General Motors

General Motors is reducing some IT jobs, but it plans to hire people with software and AI skills instead. That reflects how car companies are putting more effort into software and connected systems.

Company

Hyundai

Hyundai is mentioned because South Korea’s military is talking with the company about using robots for support work. The robots would help with things like watching areas and moving supplies, not fighting directly.

Brand

Boston Dynamics robot dog Spot

Spot is a four-legged robot made by Boston Dynamics. Here it’s being considered for military support jobs like scouting and monitoring areas.

Brand

Mobility droid

This is a four-wheeled robot platform being considered for support tasks. The idea is to use robots that fit the environment and job—like scouting or moving supplies.

Company

Ford Energy

Ford Energy is Ford’s new battery storage business. Instead of batteries for cars, it’s aimed at storing electricity for things like power utilities and large buildings.

Term

Prismatic LFP

LFP stands for lithium iron phosphate, a lithium-ion battery chemistry known for strong thermal stability and long cycle life. “Prismatic” describes the cell shape (rectangular modules rather than cylindrical), which affects how the battery is packaged and manufactured.

Car

Mercedes AMG GT

The Mercedes AMG GT is a performance-focused Mercedes model. Here they’re talking about an upcoming electric version, including how its battery is cooled and packaged, and even a feature that plays fake engine sounds when you drive in a sporty mode.

Term

Axio Flux motors

Axio Flux motors are a design for electric motors used in EVs. The idea is that the motor is built in a flatter, disk-like way, which can make it easier to fit and potentially improve efficiency.

Term

liquid cooled cylindrical battery cells

EV batteries can get hot, especially when you drive hard. Liquid cooling helps control the temperature, and “cylindrical cells” means the battery pieces are shaped like small cylinders before they’re assembled into a pack.

Term

fake engine noises

Because EVs are very quiet, some add artificial sounds. This segment says the car can play fake engine noise in a sporty driving mode so it feels (and sounds) more like a traditional performance car.

Term

active arrow

Active aero means parts of the car’s exterior adjust to help the car handle better. In this case, a rear spoiler pops up to improve how the car sticks to the road.

Term

repossessed

“Repossessed” means the bank or lender takes the car back because the payments weren’t made. Even after that, the owner can still owe money if the car sells for less than what was owed.

Company

Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive is a company that collects and analyzes car-market data. Here, they’re the source for the numbers about how many cars are getting repossessed.

Concept

car loan deficiency balance after auction

After a car is repossessed, it’s usually sold at auction. If the auction price doesn’t cover the full amount the borrower owed, the borrower can still be responsible for the leftover balance.

LIVE

Speaker 1: This is Autolying Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasms of the global automotive industry. President Trump is talking about eliminating

the federal gas and diesel tax, and you know what that probably means. We think the president knows that oil

prices aren't coming down anytime soon. Oil is still over

one hundred dollars a barrel, and price is at the pump average over four dollars a gallon for gasoline and over five bucks for diesel. But eliminating the federal tax

won't help that much. It's only eighteen point four cents

a gallon for gas and twenty four point four cents for diesel. Consumers will welcome any relief, but high prices

at the pump will almost certainly hurt new car sales.

They fell seven percent in April, and unless things turn around soon, automotive analysts may have to revisit their forecast for full year sales. Democrats and Republicans can't seem to

agree on anything these days, but they do agree on keeping Chinese cars out of the US market. So they're

joining forces to enact legislation that will do exactly that.

In the US Senate, Republican Bernie Moreno and Democrat Alissa Slockin introduce legislation that will ban vehicles designed in China that use Chinese software and connectivity equipment. In the House

of Representatives, Democrat Debbie Dingle and Republican John Mulinar did the same thing. Interestingly, the Biden administration adopted regulations that

already included that ban. But with President Trump in China

wanting to score a big win, and with the President having said he would welcome Chinese automakers who want to make cars in the US, these legislators aren't taking any chances.

They want to make the ban a law, not just regulation.

General Motors is cutting hundreds of workers from its information technology department. The cuts will effect about five hundred to

six hundred employees globally, in addition to reducing costs, will put the company in a better position for the future.

And that's according to GM. While the automaker is eliminating

some IT jobs, it will fill those positions with workers with skills in other technology areas like software and AI.

To help support declining troop numbers, South Korea's military is in discussions with Hyundai to use robots in non combat roles.

It's considering using Boston Dynamics robot dog Spot or its four wheeled mob aed Mobility droid for surveillance, reconnaissance and logistics.

South Korea's standing forces have fallen twenty percent over the past six years to four hundred and fifty thousand troops because of a declining birth rate, and it's expected to drop by another one hundred thousand troops by twenty forty.

So to help offset that decline, South Korea is transitioning its military from a manpower intensive structure to a technologe centric one. Ford officially launched its battery storage business called

Ford Energy. The wholly owned subsidiary will provide energy storage

systems for utilities, data centers, and large industrial and commercial customers in the US. Ford Energy will manufacture Prismatic LFP

cells under license from sk On, which we're supposed to go into Ford Electric vehicles, but after the company's ev rollback, Ford repurposed its battery factory in Kentucky to build the storage systems, which will deploy at least twenty gigawat hours a year. First customer deliveries are planned for late twenty

twenty seven and another for News Canadian union uniform says it will target the automaker first in its negotiations for a new labor contract. UNIFOR hasn't publicly revealed what it's

looking to gain, but if a deal is reached, it will set the pattern for new agreements with General Motors in Stilantis, whose contracts expire in September. Ford in the

union have scheduled negotiations that start June twenty second, just shortly before a mandated review of the USMCA trade deal on July first. Mercedes recently held a company wide hackathon

which drew in more than fifteen hundred employees from across the world, all with the effort of designing new AI and automation use cases. It says the best ideas to

come from that will now be developed further through a new global AI platform that allows workers to test and deploy solutions into everyday busines, bsiness operations and across all functions including R and D, production, sales, financial services, HR and IT. Mercedes is developing this platform because it believes

software and AI are becoming bigger factors to a company's overall competitiveness. Speaking of the German automaker, The new AMGGT

with Axio Flux motors will make its debut a week from today. In anticipation of that, the company just wrapped

up a special testing session with Mercedes F one development driver Dory and Pin and CEO Ola Collenius, who also shared a few details about the production version. He says

the EV will feature liquid cooled cylindrical battery cells, which appear to be fitted into fourteen modules that make up the entire pack. We also see signs of active arrow

like a spoiler that pops out of the rear deck lid, and we learn that the car will pump out fake engine noises when in sport Plus mode, kind of like Hyundai's and electric vehicles, but the Mercedes system sounds more like a V eight to us. They say that cars

have become unaffordable, and one way to measure that is by looking at how many get repossessed when owners fail to make their payments. Cox Automotive says repossessions have shot

up forty three percent since twenty nineteen. But would you

care to guess how many vehicles get repossessed every year?

Here's a hint, think big, I guess three hundred thousand, but last year, one point seven million vehicles were repossessed.

That's over forty six hundred every single day, including the weekend.

And here's the kicker. The repossessed cars get sold at

auction and if it doesn't raise enough money to cover the car loan, the owner still has to pay the balance even though their car was taken away. That's a

rap for today's show. Thanks for making autoline a part

of your day.

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0:00

8:17

AD #4295 - Repos Increase w/ High Car Prices; U.S. Could Eliminate Fuel Tax; South Korea Military Wants Hyundai Robots

federal gas and diesel tax

oil is still over one hundred dollars a barrel

ban vehicles designed in China that use Chinese software and connectivity equipment

General Motors

Hyundai

Boston Dynamics robot dog Spot

Mobility droid

Ford Energy

Prismatic LFP

Mercedes AMG GT

Axio Flux motors

liquid cooled cylindrical battery cells

fake engine noises

active arrow

repossessed

Cox Automotive

car loan deficiency balance after auction

About this episode

Original notes