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Runtime: 9:09
0:00 China Adds NEV Incentives
0:57 Bosch To Slash 1,200 Software Engineers
2:04 U.S. To Invest $325 Million In Chargers as Bitter Cold Strands EVs
3:11 Ford Cuts Lightning Production, Boosts Ranger & Bronco
4:32 Jeep Teases Wagoneer EV
5:04 Hyundai Bets on Indian Car Market
6:01 Cadillac Boosts Lyriq Sales, Adds Dealers
7:05 Bentley Bucks Luxury Segment, Sees Sales Fall
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
CHINA ADDS NEV INCENTIVES
China is once again extending subsidies for new energy vehicles or NEVs, which include BEVs, plug-ins and fuel cells. This year and next year, NEVs will be fully exempt from vehicle purchase taxes and in 2026 and 2027, NEVs will be exempt from half of taxes. Automakers sold nearly 9.5 million NEVs in China last year, a 38% gain. And this year, NEV sales are expected to hit 11.5 million units, a 20% increase and a market share of 37%. So, it’s surprising to see China extend NEV incentives once again, since the segment is going strong. That suggests the government is concerned the slowdown in its economy will hurt car sales.
BOSCH TO SLASH 1,200 SWEs
If we were to believe early forecasts, we’d all be riding around in autonomous cars watching movies, getting some work done or catching some shut-eye, instead of actually driving. But that’s not the case and the supplier Bosch says that slow rollout is the reason it has to make cuts in its software division. The company wants to slash 1,200 software development jobs by the end of 2026 because autonomous driving has not taken off like it thought it would. But we think something else could be going on here, too. As traditional automakers begin developing Software Defined Vehicles, or SDVs, they want to copy Tesla and write all their software in-house. Right now, 150 different suppliers are writing software code for 150 different microprocessors in the average car, and automakers don’t have access to that code. So, as SDVs catch on, suppliers are worried that they could just end up building parts to spec, and lose all that software business.
U.S. TO INVEST $325 MILLION IN CHARGERS AS BITTER COLD STRANDS EVs
The winter weather has been bitterly cold in much of the United States this week and there’s been blaring headlines of problems with charging electric cars–like, they won’t charge at all. The worst case seems to have been in Chicago, where subzero temperatures meant that public chargers would not charge the batteries, including Tesla Superchargers, which are the best public charging system by far. Some say that owners did not pre-warm their batteries before charging. They point out that the chargers will operate very slowly at first, while the battery warms up, and then charge faster when it gets to the right temperature. But when drivers see their car charge so slowly at first, they assume the charger is not working. This is just the latest problem with public chargers, which is why the US government will invest $325 million to replace broken chargers, as well as reduce battery costs and improve EV technology. It’s all part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, or NEVI, which is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
FORD CUTS LIGHTNING PRODUCTION, BOOSTS RANGER & BRONCO
Ford is once again cutting production of the F-150 Lightning. It says “to achieve the optimal balance of production, sales growth and profitability” it will reduce LIghtning production to one shift, which will impact roughly 1,400 employees. 700 of those people will go to Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant, where it’s adding a third shift to build the Bronco and Ranger. The remaining employees from the Rouge plant where the Lightning is built will be moved to other roles there, placed in another facility or they can take advantage of a retirement program. But Ford really needs to start making more Rangers. Michigan Assembly was one of the plants shut down by the UAW strike and from October to December of last year it didn’t make more than 500 Rangers in a month. The pickup ended the year in the U.S. with roughly 32,000 units sold, which is way behind the competition. Even the Honda Ridgeline, which had a pretty good year for itself, easily outsold the Ranger.
JEEP TEASES WAGONEER EV
Jeep is getting ready to launch its first EV for global markets, the Wagoneer S and showed this teaser image to mark the occasion. From what we can see it looks pretty close to the concept that it showed in September of 2022. It’s a mid-size SUV that Jeep says will have 4xe off-road capability, 600 horsepower and will be able to do 0-60 in about 3.5 seconds. Sales kick off in the U.S. in the fall of this year, followed by other major markets, including Europe.
HYUNDAI BETS ON INDIAN CAR MARKET
Hyundai used to be a pretty big player in China. But in 2016, when South Korea bought an anti-missile defense system from the United States called Thaad, the Chinese government retaliated against everything from South Korea. It banned K-pop bands from performing in China, it prevented Chinese tourists from going to South Korea, and it strongly encouraged citizens not to buy any products from Korean brands. That started Hyundai’s long slide downward in the Chinese market, and it has never recovered. So, it’s not surprising to see Hyundai making a major investment in the Indian car market, which is booming. It bought GM’s assembly plant there and is investing over $700 million to boost its assembly capacity in the country. Hyundai is already the second largest automaker in India, and this latest investment will bring its production capacity there to over 1 million units.
CADILLAC BOOSTS LYRIQ SALES, ADDS DEALERS
Cadillac had a strong year in 2023. Its overall sales in the U.S. were up 9.3% last year. And it had its best year for sedan sales since 2018, including record years for the CT4 and CT5. Its V-Series had a record year as well, up 55%. Its global sales were also up but Cadillac didn’t provide the figures. And while it struggled to ramp up production of the Lyriq EV, it says it’s now fixing those issues. Even with all the problems, Cadillac delivered 9,000 Lyriqs in the US last year, which it claims makes it the best-selling luxury compact EV. In the fourth quarter, it delivered 3,800 Lyriqs, accounting for 12% of its retail sales. And in China Lyriq sales are up 60% year-over-year. Surprisingly, Cadillac has also added a few dealerships in states where EV adoption is high. And despite talk of slowing EV growth, Cadillac says there’s still strong demand for luxury EVs.
BENTLEY BUCKS LUXURY SEGMENT, SEES SALES FALL
It seems like all high-end luxury brands are doing well. But not Bentley. Its sales dropped 11% last year. It sold 13,560 cars, down from more than 15,100 in 2022, which was a record. And sales were down across the board, including the Americas, China and Europe. But it did say more customers chose to personalize their vehicles and that business was up 43%. Bentley blames “challenging market conditions” for the sales drop. But other luxury brands had great years, so that makes us wonder what’s going on at Bentley? And will have us keeping an eye on the ultra-luxury brand going forward.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you have a great weekend.
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Okay, so I’ve now seen plenty of Cadillac Lyriqs in person out on the road (both night and day driving), and I’ve got to say I STILL greatly dislike the aesthetics of its entire rear quarter.
I am not impressed with the styling either-especially the rear.
I guess you can claim anything you want to. Its up to others to decide if its a legit claim or not.
Cadillac says the Lyriq is the best-selling luxury compact EV. That may be so, but only if you believe that the Lyriq is a luxury compact. If you stand near one in person, there is nothing compact about this vehicle. Its very nice, but it’s not a compact CUV. Artificially placing it into this size category means that its sales would not be compared to other midsize EV CUVs from brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. I imagine Cadillac is desperate to make some kind of claim for the vehicle after its dismal launch due to their inability to build them. The XT4 is a compact luxury CUV. The Lyriq is significantly bigger than the XT4. And, Cadillac has already announced a smaller EV CUV that will slot in below the Lyriq. I don’t recall the name but I believe it ends with the letters iq.
I was kind of hoping that Jeep would just use Wagoneer S as the name for the concept vehicle and the production version would carry a more unique name, even if its one from Jeep’s rich history of model and trim names. Launching a new EV has its own hurdles. Why make it even tougher by confusing the public? The specs I could find show that the Wagoneer S is just a little smaller than the regular size Grand Cherokee. So, midsize it is. But why confuse everyone by using the same name as the much larger Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer? Perhaps because it will be priced like those vehicles? Unknown at this point. It seems that almost immediately people will start to call it the “little Wagoneer” to differentiate it from its bigger brethren. Not what the branding team had in mind but I will bet you ten bucks right now that is what happens. Jeep, its not too late. Launch it with a unique name that befits a very unique vehicle. Maybe the new managers that have been appointed lately will want to put their stamp on things and change the name the way Mullaly did for the Taurus.
The rear 3/4 view of the Cadillac Lyriq reminds me of the Jensen Interceptor.
The Rouge plant was running two shifts with three crews and in October cut one crew and now cutting a second. It’s just one shift now while maintaining its the best-selling EV truck on the market. The plant was built to crank out 150,000 trucks a year but now is planning for 1,600 a week which is around 74,000 a year. Maybe a bit optimistic on the demand for an EV truck?
Cadillac gets record sales for the CT4 and 5 and in typical GM fashion the CT4 is in its last year of production. One of the 3 sedans left under the GM umbrella. Might want to reconsider GM as the EV movement isn’t going like it was forecast.
Maybe I missed something, but I don’t understand how the 325 Million of our tax dollars to “replace broken chargers, as well as reduce battery costs and improve EV technology” is going to help current EVs charge in extremely cold weather. That seems like two completely different problems without any solution to the problems that were experienced in Chicago.
Hello,
I’m a very loyal viewer of both of your shows, however, I live in Canada which is part of North America, and what I’ve noticed lately is that you spend more time talking about what’s going on in China. There is plenty of new development going on here in America. I may suggest expanding your North American and European manufacturing coverage because innovation starts in these aforementioned markets. My underlying thoughts, I do not wish to support communism. Thank you for your understanding.
CR calls the XT4 a “luxury subcompact SUV” and the XT5 “luxury compact.” The Lyriq is 7 inches longer and 3 inches wider than the XT5, 197 inches long, yeah, not very compact.
I suppose Jeep is calling the EV Wagoneer because of price, but yeah, that makes no sense when it is GC size, or smaller. They could use a retired Jeep name, like Jeepster, Commander, Commando, or Liberty. I also found a name that might be good, “Tuxedo Park,” which was a CJ5 option package in the 1960s.
Reading about people in BEVs in Chicago getting stranded which are the same people going out in a blowing blizzard in short sleeves [it is all about the style] personally I put on a parka before I go outside in a blizzard or put a hat on before I go out into the blazing heat. I also watch the weather reports and when the weatherperson say it is going to be darn cold I make sure my battery is full of juice before the system hits and don’t mean orange or tomato but rather the electrical kind. But hey the city of Chicago and its state are both in debt up to their eyeballs so what do expect. That right a federal bailout. Sorry to be so sarcastic but there is karma.
Bob- I agree that it does seems ALD covers a lot of news dealing with China. What’s imported or exported and its EV growth. Yes, that has a large effect on the automotive market as a whole but it does seem we could find more automotive news here in NA.
Dave- Like most people in the Midwest I need to show up to work even when it gets cold and snowy outside. The weather conditions in Chicago were not blizzard conditions. It was extremely cold and has nothing to do with how prepared the drivers were dressed. I too have had to pump gas in the subzero weather so being prepared isn’t always possible. This highlights another glaring problem with EV’s. Not only do you need to plan your trips around charging locations, but you also need to make sure you have a full battery during a cold snap and somehow keep it charged when those cold snaps can last 4-5 days. Thats not poor planning that’s a deficient product. IMO
We’ve had our Bolt since 2017 here in rural central Ontario. Currently -12C or +9F. Windy, roads closed etc.. Like an ICE car around here, we keep an emergency duffel in the back. We keep our gas tank over 1/2 full and battery likewise. In 7 winters we have found the Bolt to be better at heating the cabin. We have found no other difference in operation between the two cars. As GM recommended in the manual, the Bolt is kept plugged in when the temperature is below freezing. The advantage of home charging is a bigger issue in winter. Since the Bolt is so poor at DC charging, a slow charge speed on public chargers is par for the course and we don’t think anything is broken. You can’t pre-heat the Bolt battery. It does what it wants to do.
The most complimentary I can be about the Lyriq shape is that I think it looks better than the Celestiq. Station wagons just shouldn’t be that hard to style tastefully.
Seems like what is needed more than anything is consumer education. We always refer to an owner’s manual as the least read book in America. People are happy to shell out $35 to $150k for a new EV but don’t want to take a few minutes to learn about how to properly use and maintain it or how it differs from driving an ICE. Same goes for charging best practices. Our local Detroit news stations ran stories about the Chicago drivers and then followed that up with some great tips for maximizing your EV’s range and best ways to charge your vehicle. Just like with ICE vehicles in cold climates, if I owned an EV I would plug it in overnight.
GM Vet- It’s true that owning an EV requires some changes on its use and the owners should be well aware before purchase. What I can’t help but wonder is how many bought an EV with the intention of exclusively charging at charging stations. Thats seems foolish but also explains why 30% of Tesla owners in Cali were going back to gas. Some people don’t take the time to really think things through. So, if they didn’t have home charging available or had nothing more than a 120V outlet outside many were finding the 120V outlet couldn’t get the job done. I assume it was unable to warm the battery enough to start a charge. Which left them to resort to public charging and they found also didn’t work. This highlights the fact that in this climate it would seem imperative to have at least a level 2 charger that is also indoors and preferably slightly heated. When the battery range is reduced by 70% due to the cold and the cold snap last 4-5 days it wouldn’t be that hard to end up on empty especially if your 120V outlet at home is outside and not providing anything all night.
It is hard to feel bad for people that ran out and bought an EV without taking these considerations into account.
Reminds me when guys would buy a diesel pick-up without getting the block warmer and having a place to plug it in. After one of those cold nights, it wouldn’t start either.
GM Vet,
There can be some education on battery preconditioning before arriving to a public charge station. However, the charge station themselves were frozen. Tesla charge cables were super stiff and would not allow the user to plug in as they could not get the right angle to do so. No amount of preconditioning was going to solve that issue. The solution others stated was to charge overnight at home. This is Chicago. The land of apartments. Charging at home is not available to them, thus why they were all headed for the charge stations in the first place. So that is not the solution.
Then there is such a thing as user acceptance. People don’t want to change. People who have been driving for 30+ years(exactly the type who can afford expensive EVs) want things to work exactly like they have always worked. They don’t want to be bothered by learning new ways to do something that they have been doing forever. Which is a BEV fail point because you are forced to do things you don’t normally do. Like a 15 minute battery conditioning cycle when your nearest charge station is 2 minutes away. What do you do, drive around for an additional 13 minutes because your battery is not ready? Do people do that in their ICE cars. Drive around waiting for their fuel tank to be ready to accept gas? No. They pull up and expect to plug in and begin the refueling process. So these same people are also expecting their BEV to be able to pull up, plug in, and begin the charge process. This is a huge user acceptance fail by EVs. Time to wrap the batteries in heat tape and let them condition at all times when temps fail below a set amount. Not user selectable conditioning which is a stupid idea and total fail by OEMs looking to game the system and say that their vehicle has more range than they actually do.
All of this discussion reinforces what I’ve been saying for a couple years. EVs do not make sense for those without home charging. Beyond that, it sounds like if you are in a cold climate area, you might need level 2 charging, even if level 1 would normally work, like for a 20 mile round trip commute.
When I was living up north, I made it a point to not even need to buy gas when it was going to be really cold, or snowy. If really bad weather was predicted, I’d fill up with gas before that weather arrived. If I had an EV in a cold area, I’d charge it to 80-90% every night, so I wouldn’t need to even think about using public charging.
As Lambo alluded, I suspect most of those EV buyers going back to gas were in apartments without home charging, and found that depending on public charging was both inconvenient, and little, if any cheaper than gas for an efficient car.
MERKUR DRIVER — I may be wrong, but it seems like blame is being placed on the EV for being an EV and the chargers reacting the way chargers react in the extreme cold? Remember, most/many meteorologists were calling this extreme weather, covering a larger portion of North America then is usual during this time of year, with temperatures that were setting records in many places! So while extreme weather has become more common, it seems that the situation in Chicago may have been an outliner. That situation could become more common, now that we have learned of the exposure this situation puts EVs and their charging network in, if nothing is done. Chicago during this time of year has always be a cold place, but have you ever herd of a Model S having this experience in Chicago ten years ago? You only know what you know, and to many, (EV owners, OEMs and the charging network) this is new. The EVs and charging stations only did what they did, based on the situation that they were exposed to.
You go on to comment about “user acceptance”. That “people don’t want to change. People who have been driving for 30+ years (exactly the type who can afford expensive EVs) want things to work exactly like they have always worked. They don’t want to be bothered by learning new ways to do something that they have been doing forever. Which is a BEV fail point because you are forced to do things you don’t normally do.” I understand that people don’t like change, but if you buy something different, how can you then complain about it not being the same? How can EV charging be called a fail point, because the user who “chose” to buy it, but didn’t take the time to familiarize themselves with this very important aspect of its ownership? If a person owns and has been around cats and dogs all their lives, decides to to get a rabbit. Yes, it is a pet, with four legs, a tail, ears and nose, but is it the rabbits fault that it doesn’t eat dog food? Or that, if you forget because rabbits are so quiet, it’s hard to know when it’s hungry because they don’t meow or bark?! How is any of that the rabbits fault, it’s a rabbit? And just because the own hates change, how is it rabbits fault that it’s not a cat or dog? A BEV have a lot in common with ICE vehicles, but there is a lot of unknowns associated with them, just as there was with ICE vehicle as people were transitioning from horse and buggy over a hundred years ago. While I am a fan of EVs, I admit that they may not be initially as easy to own as some may think, but will not be hard to live with as many are making them out to be!
Kit — Wait a minute, are you saying that people with ICE vehicles have had to, at times, PLAN AHEAD to make sure they had fuel for their vehicle? Crazy talk! Everybody in the know, knows that drivers of ICE vehicle roll around on near empty and never worry about running out of fuel! That’s because there is a gas station on every corner and will only take five minutes to put a quarter of a tank of gas in it! Preparing ahead of time and mapping out your travels is something only EV drivers do, which are not real vehicles! LOL! Have a good weekend ALD crew.
Here’s a pretty good video about the deal deal in Chicago. It’s kind of long, but informative.
https://youtu.be/K64HQ5ZPfdQ?si=xrmbqfnOJONXPkue
China is now not only the world’s largest market (at least by numbers) for cars, never mind EVs, but also the number one exporter. I’m very interested in the local (EV) industry’s trajectory, and AutoLine’s global and in-depth perspective sets it apart.
In other markets, Stellantis EVs have included ICE versions, built from the same bones. What I don’t understand, should the Wagoneer S follow the same plan (and it is being suggested that they may have an EV and ICE version of the upcoming Charger), wouldn’t that also mean a midsize ICE version competing with the Grand Cherokee in the Jeep showroom?! If they do, they could literally have three midsize vehicles covering the same space in Jeep clothes! IMHO, the Wagoneer S should have been designed, styled and marketed as a Chrysler and that way they could have continued with what they are doing with other BEV and ICE vehicles and not directly compete with most important vehicle in the Jeep brand. While Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram have shared showrooms for some time, that never seemed to keep buyers from selecting between the 300 or the Charger they wanted.
300 was more elegant/formal, while Charger was more “muscle car.” I guess the”muscle car” of CUVdom looks like an off-roader, even if it’s not. Ford is dropping the good selling Escape, assuming extra sales of its platform mate Bronco Sport will take up the slack. It probaly will, if they sell it with the hybrid system used by Escape and Maverick, and if they end the mandatory 4wd bs.
Kit — The differences between the Charger and 300 were enough to attract individual buyers to these two stablemates, as you mentioned. Yet, how will that work if they build a ICE midsize Wagoneer S, and all the Jeep features, accessories and accomplishments and park it in the same Jeep section of the showroom as the Chrysler/FCA gold standard and money bag, that is the Grand Cherokee?! The Wagoneer S EV might be Stellantis way of not directly competing with the GC and not upsetting its strong fan base by not immediately building an electric GC. How will the GC fair, though, having a brand new, midsize ICE vehicle, with potentially Grand Wagoneer levers of luxury, sharing the same showroom space AND there is a EV version next to that! In my mind, it would seem to makes more since to offer that same EV and ICE vehicle as a Chrysler, with none of the Jeep levels, hard core off-roading and allow the GC to continue a slower walk to greater electrification, allowing fans of the model to join a it evolution gradually.
The current monster Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are sold only in the US, Canada, and the Middle East, so the Wagoneer name for the “S” might make sense in other markets, like Europe. In North American, though, I agree with wmb, it should be called something else, whether Chrysler something, or an entirely different Jeep name from Cherokee or Wagoneer.