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Runtime: 10:55
0:00 EU Slaps Up To 38% Tariff on Chinese EVs
2:18 GM Slashes EV Production Target
3:14 GM Invests Additional $850 Million Into Cruise
3:58 NEVs Account For 47% Of Chinese Car Market
5:12 Used EV Prices Now Below Used Gas Cars
6:11 IIHS Survey Finds Drivers Ok with Speed Limiters
6:58 U.S. Car Buyers Claim $1 Billion In EV Tax Incentives
7:26 Renault Forms Hydrogen Mobility Partnership
7:51 Daimler Truck & Kawasaki To Develop Liquid Hydrogen Supply
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EU SLAPS UP TO 38% TARIFF ON CHINESE EVs
The European Union officially announced new tariffs on imported Chinese-made EVs. It’s imposing additional individual duties of 17.4% on BYD, 20% on Geely and 38.1% on SAIC. All other companies that import EVs from China and cooperated in the EU’s investigation into unfair subsidies, but had not been sampled yet, will be hit with an additional 21% tariff and those that didn’t cooperate have been slapped with a 38.1% tariff. And this is all on top of the existing 10% import tariff. Even Western automakers, like BMW and Tesla, that import EVs into Europe from China are being hit with the additional tariff. They fell under the ‘cooperated but not sampled’ category, so they’ll face the 21% tariff. However, any company can request a review with the European Commission, which could get their tariffs cut to a lower rate. This all stems from an investigation into Chinese-made EVs launched last year in the EU that claims they benefit too much from production, shipping and sales subsidies in both China and Europe. The new tariffs kick in on July 4th, but technically the official investigation won’t end until November 2nd. If it still comes to the same conclusion that Chinese EVs are benefiting too much from subsidies, then the tariff will lock in and they typically stay in place for a 5-year period. China called the move “protectionist,” but claimed that it will have little impact. However, collectively it will cost automakers billions of dollars. And China has already threatened new tariffs on certain goods coming from the EU, including cars with 2.5L engines and bigger. As we pointed out before, this will have an outsized impact on German automakers, not only because they export a number of cars to China, but also because a large number of their sales and profits come from the country.
GM SLASHES EV PRODUCTION TARGET
GM is slashing its EV production forecast for this year and we still don’t see how it’s going to meet its new target. Previously, GM said it would build 200,000 – 300,000 Ultium-based EVs in North America this year, but now it’s cutting that to 200,000 – 250,000 because of a slowdown in EV demand. It has models on sale from Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop, but they only sold just under 9,400 examples combined in the first quarter. GM claims it sold 9,500 EVs in May alone and it has more models, like the Equinox EV, hitting the market, so it will be ramping up production and sales. But right now, it’s on track to build less than 100,000 EVs in North America this year, so that ramp up is going to have to be awfully steep for GM to hit its target.
GM INVESTS ADDITIONAL $850 MILLION INTO CRUISE
The company is also making a big investment in its autonomous unit Cruise. GM is pouring $850 million into the AV company, which will fund its operations through the rest of the year. Cruise currently operates with manual and supervised testing in three U.S. cities. But it came under heavy criticism after one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian that had been struck by another vehicle and a subsequent investigation found poor leadership at the top of the company, which led to some pretty high profile departures, including the founder. GM says the $850 million will help Cruise get some momentum back.
NEVs ACCOUNT FOR 47% OF CHINESE CAR MARKET
Car sales in China slightly dipped last month. According to the China Passenger Car Association, automakers sold 1.7 million passenger vehicles in May, which is down about 2% compared to a year ago. But it was actually an increase of 11% compared to April. And through the first five months of the year, retail passenger sales totaled more than 8 million units, which is a gain of 5.7% over last year. Not surprisingly, New Energy Vehicles, which include BEVs and PHEVs, accounted for most of the growth. Automakers sold 804,000 NEVs in May, which is a 38% gain compared to a year ago and a nearly 19% increase month-over-month. NEVs now account for 47% of the total passenger car market in China.
USED EV PRICES NOW BELOW USED GAS CARS
Used EV prices in the U.S. are crashing and they’ve dropped below used gas cars for the first time. According to a study from ISeeCars, the average used EV was $265 cheaper than the average used gas car in February and that gap widened to $2,657 in May. Last month, the average used EV sold for $28,767 compared to nearly $41,000 a year ago, which is a drop of 30%. Meanwhile, the average used gas car in May cost $31,424, which is only 6% below a year ago. And the drop in used EV prices is likely to continue. ISeeCars says that prices haven’t bottomed out yet and it sees no indication of values stabilizing.
IIHS SURVEY FINDS DRIVERS OK WITH SPEED LIMITERS
Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that all-new vehicles in the U.S. be equipped with ISA or Intelligent Speed Assist technology, which can prevent vehicles from driving over the speed limit. And surprisingly, a new survey from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that most drivers are on board with requiring it. More than 60% of drivers would find it acceptable if their car provided audio or visual warnings when they exceed the speed limit. And nearly 50% would be ok if the system automatically restricted speeds or made it harder to press the accelerator. But the survey also found that around half of drivers would disable the feature if they could.
U.S. CAR BUYERS CLAIM $1 BILLION IN EV TAX INCENTIVES
The U.S. Treasury Department announced that American car buyers have claimed more than $1 billion in EV tax incentives since the beginning of the year. More than 150,000 total payments have been issued. The subsidies are part of the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act which provide up to $7,500 for the purchase of a new EV or up to $4,000 for a used EV for qualifying buyers.
RENAULT FORMS HYDROGEN MOBILITY PARTNERSHIP
We know there’s a bunch of hydrogen and fuel cell skeptics out there, but the technology keeps making progress. Renault’s hydrogen joint venture, called HYVIA, announced a partnership with HYPE, a company that provides zero emission mobility, including hydrogen-powered taxis. They’re planning to deploy two new refueling stations and a fleet of fuel cell Master vans in France.
DAIMLER TRUCK & KAWASAKI TO DEVELOP LIQUID HYDROGEN SUPPLY
And then Daimler Truck and Kawasaki Heavy Industries signed a deal to jointly develop a supply for liquid hydrogen. While most fuel cells fill up with hydrogen in its gas form, Daimler is working on liquid hydrogen for long-haul applications because it’s much more energy dense, so you could get more range from the same size gas tank. However, liquid hydrogen has to be stored at cryogenic temperatures, so you have to have a very robust and tightly sealed system. Otherwise, the hydrogen can start boiling off and escaping the tank, which would be like pouring gas and money down the drain. But this is not the only powertrain tech it’s developing. Daimler envisions that BEV trucks will handle shorter routes.
But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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The GM EV production target numbers might be including the Honda Prologue EV and Acura ZDX EV as GM also builds those.
The used car price comparison between BEVs and ICEs needs to be normalized and ICEs have a higher mix of pickups and full-size SUVs. I not saying the results will be different, but might be more enlightening if reported by vehicle class and by manufacturer.
GM cut EV production plans by only 17%, hardly what I’d call ‘slashing.’
Wonder if anyone at GM has thought, “Maybe we shouldn’t have canned the Malibu, Impala and Camaro just yet”?
Good luck with those slashed EV targets.
The used EV prices are no surprise as the technology is changing so fast that the used stuff will be not only years old but way behind in battery and charging capabilities.
Humm a survey conducted by the IIHS supports something the NTSB would like to implement. I’d have to question those results because anyone I’ve spoke to about speed limiters respond with a big hell no. Although a non-intrusive ding or visual reminder that you’ve exceeded the limit I could see getting 60% support. Actually, controlling the vehicles speed is a big no thanks for most people.
Cool we have given the US taxpayers back 1 billion in incentives toward EV’s while sending Ukraine another 174 billion for who knows what.
GM will sell EVs by dumping them on the dealers and telling them no top selling models unless you take EVs
Used EV prices could be dropping, as people realize they could be looking at a $20,000 battery replacement in 3 years rather than 8 years, if the car is, say, a 5 year old Model S. As Drew says, though, it would be more meaningful to compare vehicles by type/size. Most meaningful would be the percent percent residual by model year.
Yep, maybe GM shouldn’t have dropped the Camaro, Malibu, and Impala, as maybe Ford shouldn’t have dropped the Fusion, Focus, Crown Vic, and soon, Escape. Then, there’s 300, Challenger, and Charger. Oh well. The Japanese and Korean companies will take up the slack.
As far as limiting speed of cars, I’d be ok with limiting it to 100 mph, or maybe to 25% over the speed limit, if that can be done reliably using GPS location data. Limiting it to the speed limit would be a disaster.
I wonder how long till someone defeats the speed limiter? Face it trying to prohibit what people want to do doesn’t work very well, example was prohibition and Marijuana so what makes anyone think limiting speed would be different, maybe building cars and trucks having 500+ horsepower like the Hurricane twin turbo engine in Ram trucks they aren’t the only engine like this and electrics that always talk about 0-60 speeds.
My 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid recognize the speed limit signs. If I try to set the cruise control higher than the speed on the sign, the set speed flashes silently a number of times. I would not be surprised if this kind of silent warning exists in a number of recent car models.
@Kevin, the MPH digits in the HUD on my 2023 Genesis G70 turn from white to orange when the speed limit is exceeded, which happens frequently with the 3.3T.
Even as far back as the 60s, some GM cars had a “speed minder” device on the speedometer that could be set to buzz at a pre-set speed. https://oldsobsolete.com/products-page/oldsmobile-parts-for-sale/1971-oldsmobile-parts-for-sale/1971-1973-oldsmobile-nos-instrument-cluster-speed-warning-buzzer-gm-6493996/. Some had ribbons instead of dials that would change colors the faster you went. So, customers have wanted a reminder feature for decades, but limiters? That’s a hard no for me.
The speed limiter survey would be much more credible if not conducted, or at least paid for, by the IIHS. I also have a hard time believing that 50% of the general public would be okay with paying more money so their new car can tell them what the speed is, warn them when they exceed it, and even slow the vehicle down to stay within the limit. Our 2017 Cadillac XT5 tells me what the speed limit is everywhere, and turns to a different color when I drive over the limit. No annoying audible tone. I do look at it once in awhile if I am unsure of the speed limit and have not seen a sign in awhile. Seems to me that this level of technology is sufficient.
Slava Ukraine! And if you don’t know why the US is supporting Ukraine then you need to watch the news more often or take off your red hat so your brain can breathe.
The revised GM EV production estimate does not seem like much of a story. The low estimate did not change. Its still 200,000. I agree that its a tall order, but I doubt they would publish that if they did not think they had the ability to achieve it. From what I understand, Ultium battery production issues have been resolved and production is ramping up nicely. There is a lot of anticipation for the new Equinox EV and the initial reviews have been very favorable. Cadillac Lyriq deliveries have also picked up significantly. Blazer EV will also contribute some new volume. Brightdrop has a three-year backlog of orders, so that plant should be running at full speed. Not sure what is happening with production of the Silverado EV and Sierra EV. I imagine that there is fairly good demand for the commercial work truck versions. Not so sure about the $100k RST trim level. Time will tell.
Artg my dad’s 59 Buick had the color changing/speed buzzer program. We were all amazed at how hi tech it was
Ziggy you might want to remove that tin foil hat so your head can breathe if you think 175B has done anything other than line Zelinsky’s and politicians’ pockets. For that amount of money we could finish the southern border wall and construct one along the whole northern border (not that its needed) but still have enough to then rebuild 62 bridges like the one in Baltimore that got destroyed.
Or give every single state 3.5B for roads or schools.
Just saying I think the money could have been better spent since Clinton got Ukraine to turn over all their nukes to Russia in 1994 as part of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty. So kind of a problem we created.
Lambo, the Nunn-Lugar agreement, signed by GHW Bush is what put the de-nuking of former Soviet republics in motion.
https://armscontrolcenter.org/fact-sheet-the-nunn-lugar-cooperative-threat-reduction-program-2/
Comrade Lambo, feel free to post any proof of your allegations against Ukraine’s government, but try to make it short as this is an automotive forum and should stick to that subject.
Those who think the west should let Putin move into eastern Europe at will, have the same thinking as a certain Neville Chamberlain in rhe 1930s.
GM puts out projected EV numbers that are not credible. Bolt has been their biggest seller with less than 20,000 per year. Even the Ford Lightning beats it at 24,000. Lyriq doesn’t hit the mid teens. It’s such a big disconnect between claiming EV leadership and reality. Does not look good on GM.
Personally I fully support Ukraine in their current fight with Putin because his expansion will not stop with Ukraine. Thank goodness there are no nukes in Ukraine.
But I am just a “small c” conservative. Only 1-2% of eligible voters in Canada belong to a political party. That’s how we can dislike all our Prime Ministers.
Ziggy-Kit maybe read a little article attached.
https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2023/0404/1374162-clinton-ukraine/
Besides Ukraine was part of Russia until 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved. So not exactly like Germany invading Poland as some would like to imply. Then ridiculously call me comrade lol.. I’m pretty sure both of you are older than me so it’s not like you didn’t live through this or maybe your memory just isn’t what it used to be.
But yes, this is an automotive forum and I wasn’t trying to go all political by mentioning that the 1B spent on EV incentives is a drop in the bucket to what we have openly given away to solve absolutely nothing. People are too naive to realize that wars are a money machine. The elites don’t care who wins or how long the fighting goes on. Actually the longer the better as its more money to launder. It generates spending like no other means and with little accountability. Money just disappears and is lost with no actions taken to resolve it. Just opps! They don’t want peace between Russia and Ukraine any more than they want peace between Israel and Palestine. These are all opportunities to put the war machine in high gear and let the flow of cash run like a river. Meanwhile we civilian’s argue and fight about which side is right or wrong. And participate in protests and some fools actually send their personal money in support of a fabricated war. A true leader would facilitate a peace treaty not just throw more money hand over fist.
I mean if it’s not about money then no reason a family would set up 20 shell companies and funnel 24 Million to the big guy. Oh, and that info isn’t social media but from US.gov oversite committee web site.
https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-releases-direct-monthly-payments-to-joe-biden-from-hunter-bidens-business-entity%EF%BF%BC/
Ziggy-Kit maybe read a little article attached.
https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2023/0404/1374162-clinton-ukraine/
I had a longer more informed post but its awaiting moderation.
I wish Dick Lugar were still around. He was instrumental in putting things in motion to reduce the global nuclear stockpile, and de-nuke the former Soviet republics. It would be interestic to know if his take would be the same as Clinton’s.