AD #4333 - Zoox Getting New Robotaxi Models; U.S. Traffic Deaths Down, But Why?; BYD Yangwang U9 Aims for 500 KM/H

AD #4333 - Zoox Getting New Robotaxi Models; U.S. Traffic Deaths Down, But Why?; BYD Yangwang U9 Aims for 500 KM/H Autoline Daily · Jul 14, 2026

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Brand

Zoox

Zoox is Amazon’s self-driving taxi company. They build robotaxis—cars that are meant to drive themselves—so the goal is to offer ride-hailing without a human driver.

Car

Tesla Cybercab

Tesla’s Cybercab is Tesla’s idea for a self-driving taxi. The point here is that multiple companies are racing to build robotaxis that can carry passengers without a human driver.

Term

Power electronics are the electronic “power controllers” that shape electricity so the motor can use it correctly. Here, the idea is that smarter electronics can replace the magnets that normally create the magnetic field.

Term

brushless motors

A brushless motor is an electric motor that doesn’t use worn-out “brushes” to transfer power. It’s controlled electronically, which helps it run more efficiently and last longer.

Term

rare earth magnets

Rare earth magnets are special magnets used in many electric motors because they’re very strong. This matters because the materials can be expensive or hard to source, so some companies want motors that don’t rely on them.

Term

anti dumping duties

Anti-dumping duties are extra taxes on imported products when regulators think they’re priced unfairly low. The goal is to protect local companies from being undercut by cheaper imports.

Car

BYD Shark

The BYD Shark is BYD’s pickup truck. In this update, it’s described as a range-extended vehicle that uses a battery plus motors, with an engine involved too, so it can go farther than a pure battery-only truck.

Brand

Fang Cheng Bao

Feng cheng Bao is BYD’s “premium” brand label inside China. The same truck (Shark) gets sold under that nicer-sounding brand instead of just the BYD logo.

Term

range extended pickup truck

A range-extended pickup is basically an EV that can go farther because it has a backup power source. Instead of relying only on the battery, it can use an engine to help keep the battery charged and extend range.

Term

LFP battery pack

An LFP battery pack is a type of EV battery. It’s generally considered safer and long-lasting, and here it’s the battery BYD plans to put in the Shark pickup.

Car

BYD yang wang U nine Extreme

This is BYD’s Yangwang U9 Extreme, an electric car built specifically to try to set a top-speed record. The episode says it already hit a little over 496 km/h and BYD wants to go past 500 km/h.

Car

Yangwang Yang Wang U

The Yangwang U7 is an electric car (it runs on electricity instead of gasoline). It’s built to be fast and is part of a brand that focuses on high-performance EVs. That’s why it’s mentioned when people talk about top-speed or record attempts.

Term

arrow elements

This likely means aerodynamic parts like wings or spoilers. They help keep the car stable at very high speed by pushing it down onto the road.

Company

Bosh

Bosch is a major company that supplies parts to carmakers. Here, the host says Bosch is also making special computer chips (silicon carbide) for high-voltage uses like EVs.

Term

tire traction

Tire traction is how well the tires can grip the road. At extremely high speeds, the tires have to handle heat and forces without losing grip, so tires become a major limiting factor.

Term

semiconductor chip plant

A semiconductor chip plant is a factory that makes the tiny electronic chips inside modern devices. Here, it’s described as making chips used for high-voltage systems in EVs and other industries.

Place

Roseville, California

Roseville, California is where the chip factory is located. The episode mentions it to explain where the new silicon carbide chips are being made.

Term

high voltage applications

High voltage applications are systems that use higher electrical voltage than typical household electronics. The segment is saying the chips are meant for EVs and other systems that need a lot of electrical power.

Term

EV

EVs stands for electric vehicles—cars that use electric motors powered by batteries instead of a gasoline engine. The segment mentions EVs as one of the main markets for the silicon carbide chips being produced.

Term

silicon carbide chips

Silicon carbide chips are special electronic parts used in high-power systems. They help EVs and other high-voltage equipment run more efficiently, especially when things get hot or the voltage is high.

Term

fatalities per one hundred million miles driven

This is a way to measure traffic deaths that adjusts for how much driving happened. Instead of just counting deaths, it looks at deaths relative to the number of miles people drove.

LIVE

Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. We've got some good intel on

Zukes's future Robotaxi plans thanks to our friends at Auto Fourcast Solutions. It says Zekes, which is owned by Amazon,

will continue to build its current robotaxi at its plant in Haywood, California until June of twenty thirty, which is when it will come out with a new version. It's

also going to start manufacturing what AFS calls a two door Robotaxi at that time, which tells us Zekes is going to go head to head against the Tesla cybercab.

By the way, for all you suppliers out there that need to keep track of this sort of thing, the program code name for the Zekes four door is VH seven, while the one for the two door is VT one.

A startup out of India's claiming to have made a breakthrough in electric motors by mag Labs, is developing a brushless motor that doesn't you use any rare earth magnets, instead relying on power electronics and software to generate its magnetic field. The company says it can match or exceed

the performance of a motor that uses rare earth magnets.

While none of those claims have been independently verified. So far,

it has received five patents for the technology. But with

China dominating the market for the materials that are used to make rare earth magnets, the startup isn't the only one working on these kinds of motors. Tesla, GM, Stalantis, Honda, JLR,

Valeo all have projects, and we even spoke to a new company called Moto Motors at last year's Battery Show.

Europe is cracking down on tires made in China. Last year,

the EU launched an investigation which found tire imports for passenger cars and like commercial vehicles from China, we're entering the region at significantly lower prices. The average import value

per tire was only thirty euros. So to help protect

the European tire industry, the EU just slapped new anti dumping duties on Chinese tires that range from four point three to forty five point three percent, depending on the manufacturer.

With sales of new cars down sharply in China, Volkswagen is planning to export its China made vehicles to new markets.

It used to only sell them in very small volumes in Southeast Asia in the Middle East, but now VW has made deals to introduce models from its Chinese joint venture partners in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The automaker will assemble

eight models from FAW and SAIC in Uzbekistan starting by the end of the year, which will also be exported to other markets in Central Asia, and VW plans to enter the Kazakhstan market shortly with three models from FAW.

Speaker 2: At CSA. 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 1: BYD decided that it can move upscale with its Shark pickup truck. The truck is currently only sold overseas with

a BYD logo on it, but in China the Shark will be sold through its premium Feng cheng Bao brand.

The range extended pickup features of one and a half liter engine, front rear motors and an LFP battery pack.

BYD has completed the truck's domestic filing with the Chinese government, which means it will soon roll out to the market.

Speaking of BYD, it has the fastest production car in the world. Its yang wang U nine Extreme officially topped

out just over four hundred and ninety six kilometers an hour or about three hundred and eight miles an hour.

That beat the Bugatti Sharon by about six kilometers an hour, but with others like Conan Said, claiming the ability to go even faster. BYD'SVP says it's planning another speed run

and hopes to top the five hundred kilometer an hour mark, which would be over three hundred and ten miles an hour.

While the cars nearly three thousand horse power and massive arrow elements are key to setting a new record, the biggest limiting factor will be finding tires that are capable of going those kinds of speeds. Three years ago, Bosh

bought a semiconductor chip plant in Roseville, California, and invested two billion dollars to make silicon CARBYED chips for the auto industry. That plant just started sample production and will

launch commercial production later this year. Those chips are made

for high voltage applications in EVS, hybrids, data centers, and for military applications. When Paul Thomas, the CEO of BOSH

North America, was on autol Line after hours last year.

He talked about how BOSH kept the workforce at that plant and retrain them. Here's what he had to say.

Speaker 3: One of the things that we're most proud of, I would just go to the Roseville facility. When we bought

the Roseville facility from the current tenant, we maintained over two hundred and fifty of the there were the major let's say ninety nine percent of the existing associates we maintained, and we've been training them now how to make the transition from previous generation normal silicon to move to silicon carbide.

And that's been a very proud moment in our career that we say, you know, we didn't have to exchange your workforce, so we could just teach the workforce.

Speaker 1: And kudos to BOSH for keeping that workforce through retraining instead of firing them all and hiring new people. We

wish more companies in the auto industry would take that approach.

Traffic fatalities in the US are finally falling. NITSA estimates

that they felt six point seven percent last year after they spiked in twenty twenty twenty twenty one. In twenty

twenty two, NITSA says thirty six thousand, six hundred and forty people were killed in motor vehicle accidents last year, even though motorists drove more miles. But the numbers are

all over the map. For example, fatalities fell twenty nine

percent in Rhode Island, but they shot up twenty seven percent in Hawaii. The fatality rate, which is calculated on

fatalities per one hundred million miles driven, is now the lowest it's been since twenty fourteen, which is the lowest on record. But here's the real puzzle. Why do traffic

fatalities fluctuate? Oh sure, there's plenty of opinions. When fatalities

go up, the blame typically goes to full size pickups in SUVs or to distracted drivers, And when fatalities go down, safety technology or better traffic enforcement gets all the credit.

The good news is that the long term trend is a slow downward path, But the reality is no one really knows why the numbers go up or down, and that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks

for making autoline a part of your day.

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0:00

9:11

Zoox

Tesla Cybercab

power electronics

brushless motors

rare earth magnets

anti dumping duties

BYD Shark

Fang Cheng Bao

range extended pickup truck

LFP battery pack

BYD yang wang U nine Extreme

Yangwang Yang Wang U

arrow elements

Bosh

tire traction

semiconductor chip plant

Roseville, California

high voltage applications

EV

silicon carbide chips

fatalities per one hundred million miles driven

About this episode

Original notes