The BMW 7 Series is BMW’s big, upscale luxury sedan. The hosts mention it because BMW is losing ground in China, and the 7 Series is one of the models that’s slipping in sales ranking.
The Volkswagen Group is the big parent company behind several car brands. The hosts mention it because Porsche SE’s ownership links Porsche’s finances to Volkswagen’s results.
Porsche SE is a company that holds investments connected to Porsche and Volkswagen. The segment uses it to explain the money situation and why the controlling families are looking to invest differently.
The Seagull is a small electric hatchback that’s getting an update. The hosts say it can come with advanced safety tech (including lidar) and different battery sizes that change how far it can go on a charge.
An advanced driver assistant system is the car’s set of safety and convenience features that help you drive. It can include things like sensors that watch the road, and in this case it’s offered as an add-on on the car.
Lidar is a sensor that uses lasers to “see” the world around the car in 3D. It helps advanced safety systems understand distances, but it can make the car more expensive.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) pack is the battery capacity measurement used to compare how much energy the EV stores. In the segment, different kWh battery sizes are paired with different driving ranges, illustrating how battery size affects real-world distance between charges.
The Tesla Semi is an electric truck meant for hauling cargo over long distances. Instead of using diesel fuel, it runs on electricity. It’s a big deal because it’s built for heavy trucking, where range and charging are harder than for regular cars.
The Honda Element is a small SUV made by Honda. It’s known for having a very square, roomy interior that’s easy to load with gear. People bring it up because it’s practical and has a unique look compared with typical SUVs.
The Dodge Avenger is a car (a sedan) made by Dodge. A “refresh” usually means the company updates the look, like changing the front grille and other exterior details. It’s mentioned because those updates are part of how the car stays current.
The Jeep Avenger is a small Jeep crossover sold mainly in Europe. This episode talks about a refreshed version with updated front styling and improved parts to help efficiency and reduce emissions.
Quantum computing is a new kind of computer design that could solve some very hard problems faster than regular computers. It’s not mainstream yet, but people are excited about what it might enable.
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. BMW's board officially handed the keys
to the company to its new CEO, Milan Nadalkovich, as its former CEO Oliver Zipsa, retired after thirty five years with the company. One of the first things the new
CEO will have to deal with is BMW sinking sales in China, and here's one of the nightmares he faces.
The Extro S eight hundred has clawed its way past all the German luxury cars to claim the top spot in China, while BMW seven series has sunk to fifth position.
Other Chinese luxury cars like the Neo ET nine and Yangwang U seven are also moving up the sales charts for luxury cars. Portia SE, which is controlled by the
Porsche and Peck families and in turn controls the Volkswagen Group, is pressuring the automaker to significantly overhaul its business model.
After its first quar or earning sank, Porsche SE posted an adjusted net profit of three hundred and eighty two million euros in Q one, a twenty one percent dropped from a year ago. However, when you include a one
point three billion euro right down on its VW stake.
It posted an unadjusted net loss of nine hundred and twenty three million, so the families are now looking to increase Porsche SE's investments in defense and artificial intelligence to help offset its auto losses. The investment group owns about
thirty two percent of Volkswagen shares and fifty three percent of voting rights, and it also owns twelve and a half percent of Porsche. Japan does a pretty good job
of keeping foreign made cars out of its home market.
Imported cars accounted for only five percent of total sales, so four years ago Hyundai decided to give it a go.
And while it's highly successful almost everywhere else in the world, it only managed to sell seven hundred and fifty nine cars in Japan last year, so its sister Brankia is using a different strategy. It's going to sell its electric
PV five van to both commercial and retail customers. It
will launch with cargo and five passenger versions, with a seven seater and wheelchair version coming later than in twenty twenty eight. Kia plans to launch the PV seven, which
is a larger electric van it's an interesting strategy. The
electric van market in Japan is in its early stages and is mostly served by tiny cacar sized vans, while the PV five is mid sized, and by entering the commercial market, Kia is doing something different than what we've seen from other foreign automakers. The base PV five commercial
van starts at thirty nine thousand dollars, while the passenger version starts at forty three thousand. China's automakers are starting
to bring their top technology to their cheapest cars. Bideas
launching the updated version of its Seagull small hatchback, which is available with its advanced driver assistant system including lidar, but the tech isn't cheap compared to the car's overall price.
The Seagull starts between ten thousand, three hundred and twelve thousand, six hundred dollars, and it's an extra eighteen hundred to thirty one hundred dollars for the eight AS system, depending on the version that you get. The updated Seagull features
a fifty five kilowatt or seventy four horse power motor and two battery sizes. A thirty kilowat hour pack that
provides three hundred and five kilometers or one hundred and eighty nine miles of range, and a nearly thirty nine kilowad hour battery with four hundred and five kilometers or two hundred and fifty one miles of range.
Speaker 2: The automotive and industrial sectors are undergoing an 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 floors to boardrooms and delivers measurable results.
That partner is Alex Partners when it really matters.
Speaker 1: Rising fuel prices are boosting sales of electrified vehicles globally.
According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, registrations of BEVs and plug in hybrids reached one point six million units worldwide in April, up six percent from a year ago. Europe was most
responsible for that growth, with registrations hitting four hundred thousand units, a twenty seven percent gain, but in North America registrations tumbled twenty eight percent to one hundred and twenty thousand units, and in China they dropped eight percent to eight hundred and fifty thousand, and while electrified vehicle sales fell in China, they accounted for over sixty one percent of the market in April, which is a record. Chinese automakers also exported
four hundred thousand evs last month, which contributed to the overall number as well. The mini car segment is starting
to see a bit of a revival in Europe. According
to Data Force, small car sales top one hundred and thirty six thousand units in the first quarter, up six and a half percent from last year and outpacing the overall market, which grew four percent. While gasoline powered models
account for more than half of the mini car segment in Europe, sales were down twenty seven percent in Q one, compared to a nearly fifty percent increase for electric mini cars.
The Fiat Panda is the top selling model with more than forty thousand sales, but then it's a big drop to the Toyota Igo X and second at nearly thirty one thousand units, and then it's an even bigger drop to the Kia Pekanto in third place, which sold more than fifteen thousand units in Q one. Valvo Truck says
it's investing hundreds of millions of dollars into both internal combustion and electric technologies. That includes launching new body configurations
and a longer range version of its electric semi. But
we're more interested in the two all new engines that's coming out with that can run on gas, diesel and liquid hydrogen. The gas and diesel versions come out in
the third quarter of this year, about the same time as the new electric variance. However, it will be longer
before we see a hydrogen truck. While Valvo is testing
hydrogen powered combustion engines on the road right now, it only says commercial launch will take place before twenty thirty.
You may know that Daimler Truck is also working on hydrogen powered combustion engines and has a fuel cell partnership with Volvo Truck, but so far they seem to be developing their liquid hydrogen solutions separately. Jeep recently teased a
new lighting element that would it helps spice up its iconic seven slot grill on the Refreshed Avenger, which is mainly sold in Europe. Now that Refreshed Avenger has been
fully revealed and we can tell you the grill was the main update to its styling, while there are a few other tweaks here and there. The next big improvements
were made to internal engine components, which provide better fuel economy, emissions, and durability. The Avenger comes in a wide powertrain lineup
including gas, hybrid and pure electric, as well as front and all wheel drive and with manual or automatic transmissions.
Orders for the refresh model are open now in Europe.
Gen Ai is all the rage right now, but the next big thing could be quantum computing, which is so fast it can solve complex problems in minutes that would take today's top supercomputers thousands of years to solve. So
we sat up and took notice when Bosh Ventures announced it's investing in a British startup called Quantum Motion. One
of the features of its quantum computer that caught our eye is that it uses standard silicon transistors instead of using special QPUs or quantum processing units. QPUs use a
technology called quibbits that need to operate at absolute zero temperatures, so by using standard processors, the startup Quantum Motion says it can cut the cost of a quantum computer one hundredfold and a thousandfold reduction in the energy that it needs.
Bosch says, it's quote technologically compelling and economically sustainable, which is why it's investing one hundred and sixty million dollars into quantum Motion. 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 Partner.
When it really matters, Bridge Stone Solutions for your Journey, CSP, the composites solution partner Intrepid Control Systems. Over the year
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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 THECSP dot com.
Speaker 3: Performance that shines even in the rain, That's what really matters.
BMW’s board has handed the keys to new CEO Milan Nadalkovich as the automaker grapples with sinking China sales. Kia is aiming at Japan with the PV5 electric van, offered for both commercial and retail buyers, and a Seagull hatchback adds lidar-based driver assistance for a higher price. Elsewhere, electrified vehicle registrations hit 1.6 million worldwide in April. Jeep refreshes the Avenger with updated grille styling and a broader gas, hybrid, and pure electric lineup, while Bosch Ventures backs quantum Motion with silicon-transistor tech.
- New BMW CEO Faces Sinking China Sales - Porsche SE Wants VW To Overhaul Its Business - Kia Targets Japan With New Electric Vans - BYD Adds Lidar To Cheap Seagull Hatchback - Rising Gas Prices Boosts EV Sales Globally - Electric Models Drive EU Minicar Growth - Volvo Trucks Developing Hydrogen Powered Combustion Engines - Jeep Debuts Refreshed Avenger - Bosch Invests Millions in Quantum Computing Startup
