March 30, 2026 | Aumovio’s Dennis Fritsch talks dry brake technology; GM expects growth from subscriptions; Audi axes five-cylinder engine in Europe
About this episode
GM expects its OnStar and Super Cruise subscriptions to drive “nearly exponential” revenue growth, with realized subscription revenue rising from $1.7B (2020) to $2.7B (2025) and a $3.1B forecast for 2026. Ford’s Jim Farley sees higher pay despite record recalls, while Audi plans to phase out its five-cylinder engine in Europe by mid-2027 due to Euro 7 compliance costs, shifting focus to EVs. A guest also breaks down how Chinese automakers’ Mexico expansion is colliding with parts and service growing pains. The feature interview dives into Imovio’s dry brake tech—brake-by-wire, less maintenance, and potential production timing in the late 2020s.
Dennis Fritsch, Aumovio’s vice president of safety and motion, discusses dry brake technology and how it could impact vehicle engineering. Audi is phasing out its five-star engine in Europe by 2027. Plus, what dealers can learn from China’s rapid expansion in Mexico.
General Motors
"General Motors expects massive revenue growth from its on-star and supercruise subscriptions."
General Motors is one of the big car companies in the U.S. Here, they’re talking about making more money by charging for connected and driver-assist features over time.
General Motors (GM) is the automaker behind OnStar and Super Cruise, and the episode discusses its strategy to grow revenue through subscription services. This is central to the business-news portion of the show.
OnStar and Super Cruise subscriptions
"General Motors expects massive revenue growth from its on-star and supercruise subscriptions. Ford CEO Jim Farley's compensation rises despite record recalls, and Audi plans to phase out its five-cylinder engine in Europe."
OnStar and Super Cruise are GM features you can use through a paid subscription. The big idea here is that GM makes money repeatedly from the car after you buy it, not just from the initial sale.
OnStar and Super Cruise are GM services delivered via subscription. The episode frames them as a growing revenue stream, so listeners should understand these are software/connected-services offerings rather than one-time vehicle features.
Ford
"Ford CEO Jim Farley's compensation rises despite record recalls, and Audi plans to phase out its five-cylinder engine in Europe by 2027."
Ford is the automaker being discussed here. The host is noting that even with a lot of recalls, the CEO’s pay went up.
Ford is mentioned in the context of CEO Jim Farley’s compensation and record recalls. For listeners, this ties executive incentives and quality/recall performance to corporate outcomes.
record recalls
"Ford CEO Jim Farley's compensation rises despite record recalls, and Audi plans to phase out its five-cylinder engine in Europe by 2027."
A recall is when a company asks owners to fix a problem on their cars. “Record recalls” means the company had more recalls than ever before.
“Record recalls” means the automaker hit an unusually high number of recall actions, which can indicate widespread issues or broader recall scope. In the segment, it’s used to contrast with CEO compensation.
Audi
"Audi plans to phase out its five-cylinder engine in Europe by 2027. Plus, managing editor Jerry Hirsch sits down with Dennis Fritsch..."
Audi is planning to stop selling its five-cylinder engine in Europe. The reason is that new emissions rules (Euro 7) are coming, and that engine won’t meet them.
Audi is the automaker making a major powertrain change: phasing out its five-cylinder engine in Europe due to upcoming emissions rules. This is a key technical/regulatory development affecting what engines will be sold in that market.
realized revenue
"The subscriptions logged about $2.7 billion in realized revenue for the company in 2025. That's up from $1.7 billion realized in 2020."
Realized revenue is the portion of revenue that is actually recognized/earned in the accounting period, as opposed to booked or forecasted figures. The segment uses it to show how subscription growth is translating into measurable financial results.
initial quality targets
"The automaker exceeded initial quality targets last year, despite setting a record for the total number of recalls. But initial quality is a more reliable metric for progress to Ford as many recalls include older models."
Initial quality targets are goals for how good the cars are when they’re new. The episode says Ford did well on that early-quality measure even though there were lots of recalls.
Initial quality targets are internal benchmarks used to measure how well vehicles perform early in their lifecycle, often based on reported issues. The segment notes that Ford exceeded these targets even while recall counts were at a record, highlighting how different metrics can tell different stories.
vehicles with zero and three months in service
"The automaker reached just 64% of its earnings targets in 2025, but it reached the maximum 200% of quality goals related to vehicles with zero and three months in service."
They’re talking about how cars are doing very soon after purchase—within the first few months. The point is that Ford’s quality scores look best for brand-new vehicles.
This refers to a quality/measurement window based on how long a vehicle has been in service—specifically very new vehicles (0 to 3 months). The segment uses it to argue Ford’s quality performance is strongest where it matters most for new-car owners.
Euro 7 emission standards
"The engine doesn't meet the European Union's upcoming Euro 7 emission standards. The five-cylinder"
Euro 7 is a new, stricter set of rules for how much pollution new cars are allowed to produce in Europe. If an engine can’t meet those limits, automakers have to change or stop selling it there.
Euro 7 is the next step in Europe’s vehicle emissions regulations, tightening limits for pollutants from new cars. The episode connects Euro 7 compliance requirements to Audi’s decision to discontinue its five-cylinder engine in Europe.
electric vehicles
"Instead, Audi opted to focus its spending on electric vehicles. The engine will still be available in select markets, including North America."
Electric vehicles are cars that use a battery and an electric motor instead of gasoline. The idea here is that EVs don’t need the same exhaust-emissions hardware as gas engines.
Electric vehicles (EVs) run on electricity stored in a battery rather than burning gasoline. In this segment, Audi’s decision to focus spending on EVs is framed as a way to avoid the cost and complexity of updating combustion engines for new emissions rules.
Tesla
"Here to tell us more is Lawrence Eiliff, who covers EVs, Tesla, Lucid and Rivian forests at Automotive News."
Tesla is a major electric-car company. When people talk about EVs, Tesla is usually one of the first brands mentioned because it’s been a big player for years.
Tesla is mentioned as one of the EV brands covered by the guest, highlighting the mainstream presence of EVs and the competitive landscape. In news coverage, Tesla often serves as a benchmark for charging, software, and EV scale.
Lucid
"who covers EVs, Tesla, Lucid and Rivian forests at Automotive News."
Lucid is an electric-car brand. The mention is mainly to show the guest covers multiple EV companies, not just one.
Lucid is referenced as another EV brand in the guest’s beat. It’s part of the broader discussion about how different EV makers are competing and expanding into new markets.
Rivian
"who covers EVs, Tesla, Lucid and Rivian forests at Automotive News."
Rivian is another electric-vehicle company. It’s included here because the guest follows EV news across multiple brands.
Rivian is mentioned alongside Tesla and Lucid as part of the EV coverage area for the guest. This situates the conversation within the fast-growing EV market and its brands.
COVID
"because during COVID, there were no car supply for the traditional Mexican brands, right? Factories were closing, but China has a different supply chain."
COVID disrupted manufacturing and shipping worldwide. The story says that during that time, some carmakers couldn’t get enough cars, which opened the door for others.
COVID is referenced as the period when global supply chains were disrupted, affecting vehicle production and inventory. The segment uses it to explain why traditional Mexican brands struggled while Chinese brands were able to move into Mexico.
supply chain
"Factories were closing, but China has a different supply chain. China has a different auto market kind of separated from the West."
A supply chain is the whole system that makes and delivers cars and parts. The point here is that China’s system could deliver cars more quickly than some other brands could.
A supply chain is the network of factories, logistics, and suppliers that produce and deliver vehicles and parts. The episode contrasts Mexico’s traditional brands’ supply constraints with China’s ability to supply cars faster, enabling rapid expansion.
customer support
"the auto business obviously has, you know, customer service, customer support after sales service, right? And so people did like the cars."
Customer support is the help a company provides to owners—handling issues, scheduling service, and resolving problems. The episode connects weak customer support and slow service readiness to customer frustration during rapid market entry.
infrastructure support
"And then kind of the infrastructure support those sales took some time to build up and customers got upset."
Infrastructure support refers to the physical and operational systems needed to sell and service vehicles—dealerships, repair facilities, trained technicians, and logistics for parts. The segment says these support systems took time to build after rapid sales growth, leading to customer dissatisfaction.
Toyota de Mexico
"...I talked to an auto consultant in Mexico, who's the former president of Toyota de Mexico, which is the top rated brand for customer satisfaction in Mexico and for factory dealer relations."
Toyota de Mexico is Toyota’s organization in Mexico. The guest is described as having led it, so they’re talking from experience about how dealers and customers are handled there.
Toyota de Mexico is referenced as the speaker’s source of expertise: the consultant is described as the former president of Toyota de Mexico. This matters because it signals experience with brand operations and dealer relations in Mexico.
repeat customers
"Because like he said, you don't sell a car once, you know, you sell a car three, four, five times to the same person or the same family and then to their kids."
Dealers want customers to come back again and again. If the brand takes care of people after the sale, families are more likely to buy again later.
Repeat customers are a key business model for dealerships: the same family returns for new vehicles and ongoing service. The speaker ties this to the brand’s ability to provide dependable support over multiple purchase cycles.
2026 Automotive News best dealerships to work for program
"Applications are now open for the 2026 Automotive News best dealerships to work for program. This isn't just an award. It's a chance to get real insight into what's working at your dealership..."
Automotive News runs a program that recognizes dealerships as good places to work. It looks at things like training, leadership, and keeping employees, not just car sales.
This is an industry program run by Automotive News that ranks or recognizes dealerships based on workplace factors. The speaker highlights categories like technician experience, leadership development, AI enablement, and employee retention—signals of how dealerships are evolving their operations.
stopping distance
"First of all, talking about braking performance, of course that's clearly related to safety. We are seeing advantages that it comes to a braking distance, stopping distance."
Stopping distance is the total distance a vehicle travels from the moment braking begins until it comes to a complete stop. The segment ties improvements in stopping distance to safety benefits of the new dry brake technology.
maintenance free over lifetime
"...cost advantages for the fighter customer because of maintenance topics. It's significantly less maintenance or even maintenance free over lifetime of the entire product."
“Maintenance free over lifetime” is a claim that the brake system is designed to avoid routine service items that typically come with conventional brake hydraulics (like fluid-related maintenance). In this context, it’s presented as a cost advantage for both customers and manufacturers.
SOPs
"We will have first SOPs in the year 27 and 28, depending on which configuration there are multiple steps of the dry brake technologies."
SOPs here means when the new technology starts being produced in cars. They’re talking about target years for when it will go into production.
SOPs typically means “Start of Production,” the point when a new technology begins being built at scale for a vehicle program. The speaker references multiple SOP years to indicate staged rollout from early production to broader deployment.
brake that's completely electronic
"[587.0s] But we are clearly advancing in this direction with SOPs in 37 and 38. [591.2s] So this is a brake that's completely electronic. And so there's computers and wires and you step on the brake pedal and it sends an electronic signal to the brakes in each corner of the vehicle"
In a completely electronic brake system, your foot on the pedal sends an electronic message. Computers then tell the brakes at each wheel how much to slow the car.
This describes an electronically controlled braking system where the driver’s pedal input is converted into electrical signals. Those signals then command braking at each wheel, enabling “brake-by-wire” operation rather than relying on hydraulic pressure throughout the system.
brake hose
"You have a lot of hydraulics, what you have to bring finally into each and every corner. You have the center device and from the center device to the corner. There's a lot of assembly airport on the one hand side."
A brake hose is the tube that carries brake fluid to the brakes at the wheels. This segment explains that hoses have constraints that electronic/cable approaches can avoid.
A brake hose carries brake fluid from the central hydraulic components to the wheel calipers. Dry/electronic systems reduce reliance on these hoses, which can affect packaging, routing, and how brake performance varies with hose length and temperature.
size scalability
"For example, when it comes to size scalability, it's much easier to make a cable a little bit longer than just making a brake hose is longer."
“Size scalability” means the design can be adapted to different car sizes without major redesign. Electronic/dry approaches can make that easier.
“Size scalability” refers to how easily the same brake system design can be adapted across different vehicle platforms and sizes. Reducing dependence on fixed-length hydraulic components can make it easier to scale the architecture from one model to another.
semi-dried brake solutions
"We are, if you distinguish a bit between the semi-dried brake solutions and the full-dried brake solutions. So we are targeting years 27 and 28 to be in serious production"
A “semi-dry” system is a halfway step. Part of the braking uses electronics, while the rest still uses the traditional hydraulic setup.
“Semi-dried” indicates a split architecture rather than fully dry/brake-by-wire at all wheels. The speaker later clarifies it as electronic braking at the rear with conventional hydraulic braking at the front.
commercial vehicles and heavy load vehicles
"Do you see this as a good use for commercial vehicles and heavy load vehicles? Tell me how this would work."
Trucks and heavy vehicles brake differently because they carry more weight and work harder. So brake technology has to be reliable and cost-effective over a long service life.
Commercial and heavy-load vehicles have different braking demands than passenger cars, including higher loads, longer duty cycles, and more frequent braking events. That makes redundancy, durability, and cost-of-ownership especially important for brake system adoption.
truck business
"So they are especially a very nice application, not only, especially for these kind of implications for truck business like truck businesses. ... cost of the car operating costs, lifetime costs is also crucial for their final customers"
They’re talking about how truck companies think about costs and uptime. A brake system that’s cheaper to run and lasts longer can be very attractive even if it’s more complex.
The speaker frames brake technology adoption around the economics of trucking operations—where uptime and total operating cost matter. For these customers, lifetime costs and operating costs can be as important as raw braking performance.
brake by wire systems
"For the dry brakes, where do you think we're going to see them first, the complete electronic brake by wire systems? Which OEMs will adopt them first?"
Brake-by-wire means your brake pedal sends an electronic signal instead of directly moving brake fluid. The car then controls the brakes electronically, which can allow smarter safety features.
Brake-by-wire replaces the traditional mechanical/hydraulic linkage from the pedal with electronic control. The system uses sensors and actuators to command braking, enabling features like redundancy, coordinated control, and easier integration with advanced driver-assistance systems.
OEMs
"For the dry brakes, where do you think we're going to see them first, the complete electronic brake by wire systems? Which OEMs will adopt them first?"
OEMs are the car makers themselves. The question is which major automakers will be the first to put this new braking tech into production.
OEMs are Original Equipment Manufacturers—the companies that build the vehicles. In the segment, the speaker discusses which OEMs will adopt dry braking and brake-by-wire technologies first, based on their interest and evaluation work.
proof of concepts and design studies and evaluations
"We see basically all OEMs are very interested. Every OEM is asking for this. And we have a lot of proof of concepts and design studies and evaluations."
They’re saying the idea has moved beyond theory. Companies are building prototypes and running tests to see if the system works well and safely.
This refers to the development pipeline before production: prototypes (“proof of concepts”), engineering design work, and testing/evaluation to confirm performance and safety. It signals that multiple OEMs are actively assessing the technology rather than just discussing it.
high end applications
"we are seeing more customers asking first for high end applications, like in luxury cars or in sports cars..."
The segment suggests a common adoption pattern: new vehicle technologies often debut in higher-end trims first (luxury and sports cars) before spreading to broader mainstream models. This is usually driven by higher willingness to pay, faster feedback loops, and more stringent performance/efficiency targets.
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