AD #3910 – Honda Shares Next-Gen EV Details; GM to Slash EV Costs By $6,000; Tesla to Build “Baby” Model Y in Germany

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GM TO SLASH EV COSTS BY $6,000
GM says it’s going to slash up to $6,000 off its EVs and that the next-gen Chevy Bolt will be a money maker. Those are just a few of the highlights to come from the automaker’s Investor Day yesterday. One of the big contributors to price reduction will be lithium iron phosphate or LFP batteries. It will still use the more popular NMC cells for EVs that need more performance, while the LFP packs will go into more affordable models. We could see those batteries in the new version of the Bolt, which GM says will go on sale late next year with a starting price only slightly above the old Bolt EUV, which had a price tag around $29,000. The company also added there will eventually be a family of Bolts that includes an even cheaper version. Another part of the cost-cutting puzzle is getting rid of its modular battery approach, rightsizing packs for vehicles instead and moving from pouch to prismatic cells. GM says in some cases it will be able to slash the number of modules in a battery pack by 75%. The company plans to start making its own batteries in 2027 as well. It’s spending $145 million to build a plant just outside of Detroit. It will be small, making less than 4,000 prototype cells a year, but it will use the facility to speed up battery development, solve possible manufacturing issues and cut costs. However, it’s going to take time for these moves to have an effect. GM expects its EV operating losses to be around $4 billion next year and for its AV business Cruise to lose no more than $2 billion in 2025. But it’s going to be able to offset some of that because it says that profits margins on ICEs haven’t peaked yet and it will start introducing plug-in hybrids in 2027. 

BATTLE BETWEEN STELLANTIS & UAW HEATS UP
The Stellantis legal team must be tired because the heavy-weight bout between it and the UAW just keeps escalating. Last week a Local chapter representing workers at a parts center in Denver held a strike authorization vote, which Stellantis claims was illegal. There’s a three-step process that’s required to hold such a vote and Stellantis says the union members didn’t complete the third step before voting. So, now it’s filing even more lawsuits against the UAW and its various Local chapters. That not only includes this parts center in Denver, but apparently two additional lawsuits it hasn’t detailed yet. And in its latest press release Stellantis says that it now “fully intends to seek monetary damages.” That could amount to a lot of money if a strike successfully passes. Last year UAW strikes during contract negotiations cost Stellantis more than $3 billion. 

HONDA SHARES NEXT-GEN EV DETAILS
Honda shared more details about the new family of EVs it plans to start launching in 2026. Called Honda 0 Series, the models are based on a new Software Defined Vehicle architecture. The structure of these EVs is designed to handle an accident even without the battery pack installed. Combining this with megacastings for the battery case, Honda says it was able to make a thinner, lighter pack. It also slashed the size of the e-axles, which with the thinner battery allows for a lower floor, so drivers and passengers will sit down lower in these EVs. While Honda probably could have made more rigid vehicles by making the battery pack part of the structure, it says it will use the natural flex of the body to control the load on each tire while cornering. The vehicles will also feature a Honda-developed operating and infotainment system, OTA updates and lidar-based ADAS tech with up to Level 3 capability. Honda will show off a production version of the Saloon concept at CES in January and plans to introduce seven Honda 0 Series models around the world by the end of the decade. 

VOLKSWAGEN REVEALS NEW TAYRON SUV
Volkswagen revealed its new Tayron SUV. It originally debuted in 2018 for the Chinese market. And the new version is now a global model that will also be sold in the U.S. using the Tiguan name. But for now, VW is just sharing details about the European version. It’s available with five or seven seats. And it comes with a range of powertrains, including mild hybrids, two plug-in hybrids and two turbocharged gasoline and diesel engines. The PHEVs are equipped with a 19.7-kWh battery and have an all-electric range of 100 kilometers or 62 miles. Total range comes to 850 kilometers or 528 miles. Pre-orders for the new Tayron open tomorrow with a starting price of about 45,500 euros or just under $50,000.

TESLA CHINA SALES UP 19% IN SEPTEMBER
Tesla had a strong month in China. According to the China Passenger Car Association, sales rose 19% in September compared to a year ago and they were up 2% from August. Tesla’s strength in China helped it boost quarterly sales for the first time this year. The company delivered just under 463,000 EVs in Q3, up 6% from a year ago.

TESLA TO BUILD NEW “BABY” MODEL Y IN GERMANY
One criticism of Tesla is the lack of models in its line-up. But the automaker is planning to expand by offering variants of its existing models. Last month Reuters reported that Tesla plans to start producing a six-seat version of the Model Y in China next year. We also had reports from AutoForecast Solutions that Tesla is going to start building a model it refers to as “Baby Y” at its gigafactory in Austin, Texas in June of next year. But that won’t be the Baby Y’s only location. Now AutoForecast says Tesla will start production of the model at its factory in Germany in August 2025. There’s no details about the model right now. But newer models could really help Tesla. 
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BYD TOPS 400,000 MONTHLY SALES FOR 1ST TIME
Meanwhile, Tesla’s main rival BYD is continuing its rapid growth. The Chinese automaker topped 400,000 sales for the first-time last month. It sold more than 417,000 passenger vehicles in September, up 45% from a year-ago. BEVs accounted for about 165,000 of its sales, a 9% gain. And while those are impressive numbers. BYD’s sales outside of China are still relatively small. It sold 33,000 passenger vehicles overseas last month, up about 18% from last year.

BYD TO PICK MEXICO PLANT SITE BY END OF THE YEAR 
But BYD says its poised for big growth in Mexico. The head of the automaker in the country says it will sell 50,000 vehicles this year and 100,000 next year. BYD is also going to announce where it will open its first plant in Mexico by the end of the year. It will have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles and will later add another 150,000 units. But no timeframe was given on when we’ll see vehicles start rolling down the line.

SLOW PUBLIC EV CHARGER ROLLOUT COULD HURT EV SALES
While the pace has slowed, sales of EVs continue to grow in the U.S. But that growth could be impacted by a slow rollout of public EV chargers. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, EV registrations have soared 140% since 2023. 3.5 million EVs were registered in the U.S. as of last month, up from 1.4 million in 2023. But over the same period, installations of public EV chargers grew only 22% to more than 176,000. But of those 176,000 chargers, 122,000 of them are located in just 10 states. And not surprisingly, seven of those states are also in the top 10 for EV registrations.

Hey if you hadn’t noticed already, we started posting some of our interviews from The Battery Show. You might be interested to see how BorgWarner is teaming up with BYD on LFP battery packs or how ForviaHella is cutting weight from its battery management system. But there’s even more coming, including some news about lithium-sulfur batteries that we think could be super important.

And with that we wrap up today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.