AD #2716 – Move By Nissan Really Hurts Renault, No Future Alfa Romeos Planned, Chevrolet Shows First China EV

This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.

WILL TRUMP IMPOSE IMPORT TARIFF?
Will President Trump slap 25% import tariffs on cars? He’s supposed to make a decision tomorrow. But he’s already postponed that decision once, and he’ll probably postpone it again. The New York Times reports that German automakers have quietly promised the Administration that they’ll create 25,000 new jobs at their factories in the U.S., trying to convince the president he doesn’t need to impose tariffs. Analysts believe that Trump likes to use the threat of tariffs to extract concessions from countries. So even if he postpones the decision, he still maintains the threat.

MOVE BY NISSAN WILL REALLY HURT RENAULT
The news at Nissan is going from bad to worse. Sales plummeted worldwide over the last three months, and profits dropped by more than half. To conserve cash Nissan will lay off 12,500 employees and it’s going to eliminate its dividend, which is going to really hurt Renault. The French automaker owns 43% of Nissan and has relied heavily on the Japanese automaker to make hefty profit payments. As recently as 2017 Nissan paid $3 billion to Renault. But now it’s going to get nothing. All we can say is that the executives at Fiat-Chrysler must be heaving a sigh of relief that their proposed merger with the Renault-Nissan alliance never happened.

FCA PUTS A HOLD ON ALFA
Speaking of FCA, when Sergio Marchionne was running the show, he had grand plans to revive Alfa Romeo. But they didn’t work out. Sales stalled and now the brand is bleeding red ink. Mike Manley, FCA’s new CEO tells Wall Street analysts he’s “very disappointed” in Alfa and that they have no future models in the plan. FCA will only refresh the existing Giulia and Stelvio and electrify their powertrains. The Giorgio platform, which the Stelvio and Giulia are built on, was never designed for hybrid or battery electric propulsion, so it has to be heavily modified. It’s also a rear drive platform and FCA doesn’t see much of a future for rear drive cars. Manly says Alfa will cut back on model variants and capital expenditures which should make the brand profitable. With no new models in the plan this almost sounds like the end of Alfa, but a merger with PSA could breathe new life into the iconic brand.

SKODA SHOWS OFF 4TH GEN OCTAVIA
The Octavia sedan is Skoda’s best-selling model and it’s now showing off the 4th generation version. It’s longer and wider than the outgoing model and features a new design language. Feeding power to the wheels involves practically every powerplant you can think of. Gas, diesel, CNG, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains are all available. The interior looks like it’s segmented into levels with a large display screen in the center and a ten and a quarter inch cluster on the top level, the HVAC vents and controls in the middle and the center console below. Also new to Skoda and the Octavia are a head up display, shift by wire technology and optional ventilated and massaging rear seats.

KIA REVEALS ALL-NEW K5/OPTIMA
Speaking of sedans, Kia is showing off the all-new K5 for Korea, which is sold as the Optima in other markets. As you can see, the fastback features a new design with the automaker’s latest tiger nose grille that Kia says integrates more organically with the headlamps. The all-new K5 is longer and wider than its predecessor and while there’s not much more information to go on, it goes on sale in Korea this December.

HISTORY LESSON FROM BILL WARNER
Here is one example of why we love our viewers so much. Yesterday we showed you a funny picture from Facebook with a caption that read, “Vintage fast-food pic from 1955.” Well, Bill Warner left us this comment, “The McDonald’s shot with the DeLorean was more likely 1956….not 1955 , unless the 1956 Ford next to it was brand new, 4th quarter 1955. Just showing you I pay attention. I really enjoy your daily reports.” We really enjoy you Bill. This is the same Bill Warner that among other things has run the Amelia Island Concours and has been on our shows in the past. He has forgotten more about cars than the rest of us put together will ever know.

JEEP SHARES DETAILS OF ECODIESEL WRANGLER
Jeep is sharing some details about the new EcoDiesel engine for the Wrangler. Available on four-door models, the 3.0L V6 cranks out 260 horsepower and 442 lb-ft. of torque, the highest torque rating ever in a Wrangler. The diesel is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. While it didn’t provide numbers, Jeep claims this is the most fuel-efficient Wrangler ever and will deliver the highest driving range on one tank of fuel ever. The new Wrangler EcoDiesel will arrive in dealer showrooms by the end of the year.

THE MENLO IS CHEVY’S FIRST CHINA EV
Chevy is showing off its first fully-electric vehicle for the Chinese market called the Menlo. It has a range of 410 kilometers or about 255 miles based on the NEDC test. As you can see, the Menlo has pretty sharp styling, which is based on the brand’s FNR-X concept vehicle. The Chevy Menlo makes its official debut at the Guangzhou auto show later this month and it goes on sale in China in the first half of next year.

SEAT MAKES ELECTRIC VERSION OF MII COMPACT CAR
And in other EV news, Spanish automaker SEAT introduced its first fully-electric vehicle. It’s a modified version of its Mii compact car, which is based on the Volkswagen Up. It’s powered by a 61-kilowatt electric motor and a 32.3 kWh lithium-ion battery, which provides a range of 260 kilometers based on the WLTP test cycle, that’s around 144 EPA miles. The SEAT Mii electric is available now in Europe.

We have a really cool Autoline After Hours coming up this Thursday with Matt Vachaparampil from a company called, Caresoft. They’ve developed the technology to use a giant MRI machine to scan cars allowing them to see every nut, bolt and washer in the car. This could revolutionize competitive tear downs, because they don’t need to tear down a car to see everything that’s inside it. So join John and Gary on Thursday for some of the best insights into the new technology that’s revolutionizing the auto industry.

And that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching and we’ll see you tomorrow.