Autoline Daily May 29, 2026

AD #4307 - Toyota Cancels Next-Gen EV; BYD Takes Responsibility for ADAS Crashes; Mitsubishi Adding Nissan-Based Pickup

Annotations will appear as you listen

0:00

11:27

Concept

BEV Factory

“BEV Factory” is Toyota’s project for building electric cars using a more modern manufacturing approach. The idea is to make EVs cheaper and easier to build by changing how the factory is set up.

Term

Gigacastings are a manufacturing method where big metal parts are cast in one piece instead of being made from many smaller pieces. That can make the car cheaper and faster to build, but it needs special factory equipment.

Concept

modular manufacturing

Modular manufacturing means building the car in big sections (modules) that can be put together efficiently. It can make production faster and easier to change when designs evolve.

Car

Lexus lf ZC

Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand. “LF-ZC” is tied to Lexus’s next electric-vehicle plan, and the hosts say Toyota canceled the first vehicle meant to come from that platform.

Car

Lexus Lf

Term

L three and L four autonomous driving

“Level 3” and “Level 4” are ways of describing how automated a car is. Level 3 still expects the driver to be ready to help, while Level 4 can drive on its own in certain situations without needing the driver to constantly monitor.

Company

BYD

BYD is a Chinese car company. Here they’re mentioned because they’re building self-driving-related computer chips and offering a coverage program tied to their driver-assistance system.

Term

God's Eye

“God’s Eye” is BYD’s name for its driver-assistance system. The segment also describes it like a bundled safety/coverage program—BYD says it covers accident costs for a year if the system is used correctly.

Term

FSD

FSD is Tesla’s name for its advanced self-driving software package. Here it’s mentioned mainly to compare how much Tesla charges versus BYD’s system.

Concept

robotaxi

A robotaxi is a self-driving taxi service. Instead of a human driver, the car uses software to drive, and the segment talks about a situation where many robotaxis stopped working and regulators stepped in.

Company

Baidu

Baidu is a big Chinese tech company. Here it’s mentioned because its self-driving taxi service had a major failure that affected many vehicles.

Brand

Apollo Go

Apollo Go is the name of Baidu’s robotaxi/self-driving taxi service. The segment says it had a big problem where many cars stopped working at once.

Place

Wuhan

Wuhan is a city in China. The segment says robotaxis had a major problem on roads there, which caused disruption and led to more government oversight.

Company

Pony Ai

Pony AI is a company working on self-driving technology. In this segment they’re mentioned because they added more robotaxis to their fleet.

Company

we Ride

WeRide is a self-driving company. The segment says it increased the number of robotaxis it has in operation.

Company

Intrepid

Intrepid makes software tools for car companies. They help the company check cars during testing by finding error codes and figuring out which cars have the wrong software.

Term

diagnostic trouble codes

Diagnostic trouble codes are like a car’s “check engine” error messages, but more specific. They tell you which system has a problem so you can figure out what to fix.

Car

Rivian R2 Performance

The Rivian R2 Performance is an electric SUV, and the hosts are talking about its official EPA efficiency and range. They’re comparing it to a Tesla to show how much energy it uses and how far it can go on a charge.

Term

kilowat hours per one hundred miles

This is how much electricity the EV uses to drive 100 miles. Less electricity per 100 miles usually means better efficiency and potentially lower charging cost.

Term

mpg

For electric cars, “mpg” is usually a comparison number. It’s not real gasoline—it’s an EPA way to express how efficiently the car uses electricity.

Car

Tesla Model Y Performance

The Tesla Model Y Performance is an electric SUV version of the Model Y. The hosts use it as a comparison point for efficiency and range so you can see how the Rivian stacks up.

Brand

Peugeot

Peugeot is a French automotive brand within the Stellantis group’s lineup. Here, the segment discusses Peugeot’s product plan: new models, including BEVs (battery-electric vehicles) in the B segment and an SUV in the C segment, plus steer-by-wire on at least one B-segment car.

Term

steer by wire

Steer-by-wire means the steering wheel isn’t mechanically connected to the wheels. Instead, sensors and computers control the steering, which can allow a smaller or differently shaped steering wheel.

Brand

Satroan

The transcript mentions a brand that’s planned to launch several new cars by 2030 and bring back an older model as an electric version. The exact brand name is unclear due to transcription.

Brand

Dou Cheveaux

They’re talking about bringing back a famous retro-styled model as an electric car. The name in the transcript sounds garbled, so it may not match the official spelling.

Car

Nissan Frontier

The Nissan Frontier is a mid-size pickup truck from Nissan. The hosts say Mitsubishi’s new pickup is likely built on an updated version of the Frontier, and they point to when Nissan plans to start making that refreshed model in the US.

Car

Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline is Honda’s pickup truck. The hosts say Honda is pausing production because the current version can’t meet new emissions rules, and they expect production to restart in 2028 with a refreshed model.

Term

emission regulations

Emission regulations are laws about how clean a car’s exhaust has to be. If a car can’t meet the rules, the manufacturer may have to pause sales or update the vehicle before it can be produced again.

Term

ultra high performance tire

An ultra high performance tire is built to help the car grip the road better and respond more quickly when you steer. The hosts mention this tire is designed to work well in wet conditions and also claims lower energy loss while rolling.

Brand

Potenza Sport Evo

Potenza Sport Evo is a specific Bridgestone tire model being launched in this segment. The hosts highlight design choices like wider shoulders, a new polymer compound, and an optimized tread pattern to improve steering feel and wet-weather handling.

LIVE

Speaker 1: This is Outoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Three years ago, Toyota announced its

own skunk works program called the BEV Factory to develop its next generation of evs. It was going to use

things like gigacastings and modular manufacturing that sounded a lot like Tesla's unboxed assembly. But then the BEV Factory got

rolled into its legacy corporate structure and was renamed b R BEV. Then the program was delayed, and now the

first vehicle coming off the next gen EV platform, the Lexus lf ZC, has been canceled. Toyota blamed slow sales

of electric cars in the United States. Presumably development will

resume if and when EV sales pick up again, but it sure is disappointing to hear that a breakthrough process is being put on the back burner. Legacy auto makers

would never dream of designing their own microprocessors, but it's becoming quite a common thing with a number of startups.

Tesla and Rivian are developing their own semiconductors for autonomous driving.

In China, Liauto, Xpung and Neo are doing the same.

And now we can add BYD to the list. It

just unveiled a new chip for L three and L four autonomous driving, which BYD claims has the best energy efficiency in the industry and uses twenty percent less power than similar chips. And speaking of BYD, it's taking full

responsibility for its eight as technology that it calls God's Eye.

As long as the system is being used properly. BYD

will cover all costs associated with traffic accidents, including repairs to the owner's vehicle, as well as third party property damage and personal injury. The coverage requires no additional purchase

of special intelligent driving and insurance, which is common with other automakers in China. Also, there's no payout cap and

it will not impact the owner's insurance premiums for the following year. However, it is only a one full year

of coverage. BYD's God's Eye package costs eighteen hundred bucks,

which seems like a good price compared to Tesla, which charges eight thousand dollars for FSD in China. Back in March,

Chinese tech giant Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxi service suffered a big failure when one hundred vehicles suddenly stopped working on roads in Wuhan, causing a massive disruption. In response to

Chinese government increased scrutiny on robotaxis and began restricting their deployment.

But despite the increased government pressure, operators are moving forward with expansion plans. Pony Ai and we Ride revealed they

have increased their fleets by a couple hundred units from last year, and Bydu says its ridership is up one hundred and twenty percent from a year ago. Executives at

those companies are urging regulators to adopt rules similar to the airline industry, which reward companies for strong safety records and penalize those with poor performance. The bare Bone Slate

truck seems to have struck a chord with consumers, racking up more than one hundred and sixty thousand reservations. But

now we'll start to see how serious some of those reservation holders who put down a fifty dollars refundable deposit really are. On June twenty fourth, Slate will open pre

orders requiring a three hundred dollars non refundable deposit to lock in delivery. Reservation holders only pay two hundred and

fifty bucks and will be the first to receive their trucks, which is scheduled to start happening late this year. Slate

says it will also reveal the official starting price, expected to be in the mid twenty thousand dollars range ish at the same time that it opens the non refundable pre orders.

Speaker 2: Ad.

Speaker 3: 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.

Speaker 1: Looks like all the effort Rivian put into making the new R two as efficient as possible paid off. The

EPA published its official ratings for the R two Performance, which is the first version of the suv to hit the market. The model achieves up to a combined one

hundred and five mpg, uses thirty two kilowat hours per one hundred miles, and has three hundred and thirty miles of range electric points out. Those first two numbers are

the exact same as the Tesla Model Y Performance, despite the R two being bigger, boxier, and nearly eight hundred pounds heavier. The Rivian also has twenty four more miles

of range, and while it does have a larger battery, it's a difference of less than three kilowad hours. Both

models offer similar levels of technology and pricing is pretty evenly matched, so consumers might have a tougher choice. All week,

we've been reporting on the new products to Lantis is bringing out twist US brands. Now let's take a look

at what it's doing for its French brands. Pougeot, which

is one of the four core retail brands within the company, will get eight new models, including two BEVs in the B segment and one SUV in the C segment. At

least one of the B segment cars will get steer by wire, reducing wheel turning by a third, which allows it to use a square steering wheel with holes at each corner. Pougeot is also getting a sedan and it

will develop a shooting break with Dong Fong. Meanwhile, Satroan,

which will become one of the second tier brands, will have seven launches by twenty thirty, including two models that will take it into brand new segments. It's also bringing

back the satro In two CV, or the famous dou Cheveaux, but this time as an electric and with a price tag under fifteen thousand euro. It's a retro futuristic design

that everyone will instantly recognize as a Doucheveaux. Though we've

seen the car, Stialantis isn't releasing any pictures until it's unveiled at the Paris Auto Show in October. And by

the way, if you'd like to read John's analysis of the Stalantis reorg, we've got it posted on our website and we've got a link in the transcript or description box.

Mitsubishi dealers in the US are getting the wish for more new products, but the company is going to enter into a segment that's already very crowded. It's going to

launch a mid size pickup in the American market that will be built in the US and sourced from Nissan.

While Mitsubishi didn't provide a lot of details, the truck is expected to be based on the refreshed Frontier, which goes into production at Nissan's plant in Canton, Mississippi, in twenty twenty eight. Mitsubishi will also enter other new segments

in the US through its collaboration with Nissan, as well as put a greater focus on off roading, and it's even considering the Pajeero, a larger SUV that's coming back to global markets. The automaker hopes these moves will boost sales,

which were just under eight hundred thousand units globally last fiscal year, and it wants to increase those by about one hundred and thirty thousand units over the next five years.

Speaking of mid size pickups, Honda is stopping production of the Ridgeline for a surprising reason. It will not make

any new models for the next eighteen months because it can't meet emission regulations. While the Trump administration has made

moves to reduce regulations on the environment, Honda, along with BMW Ford Stilantis. Volkswagen and Volvo are still bound by

old contracts to improve vehicle efficiency that they signed with California, and those rules run through the twenty twenty six model year, So now Honda will wait until the third quarter of twenty twenty eight to resume production of the refreshed Ridge Line at its plant in Alabama. Attention all you hardcore

driving enthusiasts. Bridgestone, which is one of Autoline's great sponsors,

is launching a new ultra high performance tire, the Potenza Sport Evo. It's got wider shoulders for crisper steering response,

a new polymer compound to make it last longer, and an optimized rib pattern with special grooves for better wet weather handling. It also has twenty percent less rolling resistance

and is ten percent lighter. But that brings us to

the end of today's show. Thanks for tuning in, and

I hope that you have a great weekend.

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

When it really matters, 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: 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 4: Making the life full of memories one road trip at a time, that's what really matters.

Speaker 3: Bridgetone weather Peak Tires with.

Speaker 4: A seventy thousand mile Women at Warranty, We act.

Speaker 2: We grow, we transform, We protect, we rescue in moments define the future. We are the partner you can trust

Alex Partners when it really matters.

Speaker 4: Wards is the industry leader for news, data and analysis.

That's why companies across the globe subscribe to our premium service.

Maybe even your own log in for subscriber access. Now

check your company's intranet for details and rely on Wardsauto dot com to keep you informed.

0:00

11:27

AD #4307 - Toyota Cancels Next-Gen EV; BYD Takes Responsibility for ADAS Crashes; Mitsubishi Adding Nissan-Based Pickup

BEV Factory

gigacastings

modular manufacturing

Lexus lf ZC

Lexus Lf

L three and L four autonomous driving

BYD

God's Eye

FSD

robotaxi

Baidu

Apollo Go

Wuhan

Pony Ai

we Ride

Intrepid

diagnostic trouble codes

Rivian R2 Performance

kilowat hours per one hundred miles

mpg

Tesla Model Y Performance

Peugeot

steer by wire

Satroan

Dou Cheveaux

Nissan Frontier

Honda Ridgeline

emission regulations

ultra high performance tire

Potenza Sport Evo

About this episode

Original notes