AD #3968 – Tesla Model Y Juniper Off To Scorching Start; China Car Market Still Smaller Than 2017; GM To Use 6C LFP Batteries In China

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

TESLA MY JUNIPER OFF TO SCORCHING START
The refreshed Tesla Model Y that was introduced last Friday is off to a scorching hot start in China. Car News China reports that the company received 50,000 orders on its first day alone. Two trims were available at launch, a RWD version that starts just under $40,000 and a long-range AWD model that starts just over $41,000. Deliveries are expected to start in March.

AURORA CHALLENGES REGS FOR AUTONOMOUS SEMIS
You’ve likely seen those reflective triangles or flares that semi drivers put on the road when they have to pull over for an issue. But they’re required to do that by law. And last month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ruled that autonomous trucks must also follow that rule. However, there’s no driver on board to place those emergency devices. So, self-driving truck startup, Aurora Innovation, is challenging that decision with an appeal. The company wants an exemption that would allow it to place flashing lights on trucks, like emergency and construction vehicles use. But no matter how it goes, Aurora says the decision won’t stop it from deploying its trucks this April.

CAR DEALERS HIT RECORD HIGH CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Franchised car dealers come under a ton of criticism, but apparently not from the customers who are buying new cars. Cox Automotive’s latest Car Buyer Journey study says that customer satisfaction with car dealers set a record last year. It says 75% of new-vehicle buyers were highly satisfied with their shopping experience at the dealership, up from 73% in 2023. Satisfaction with dealerships reached an all-time high as well of 81%, as prices came down and inventory improved. Car dealers also get criticized for being lousy at selling electric cars, but EV buyers gave them the highest rating, with 82% saying they were satisfied, compared to 75% of gasoline-powered vehicle buyers. On top of that, 16% of EV buyers completed their entire purchase online, a higher proportion than hybrid or gasoline-powered buyers. But it’s a different story with used car buyers. Overall satisfaction dipped slightly to 67% in 2024, down from 69% in 2023, primarily because of tight inventory and higher loan rates, which reached a 20-year peak. Cox Automotive says dealers can boost satisfaction with a balanced approach combining digital and in-person interactions. Satisfaction levels were particularly high among buyers who completed most purchase steps online and engaged with dealerships for test drives and vehicle pickups.

GERMAN LUX BRANDS DROPPED IN 2024
2024 was a tough year for the German luxury brands. Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche all saw their sales go down last year. BMW sold about 2.45 million vehicles, a drop of 4%. Mercedes was right behind BMW with just under 2.4 million sales, which was also a drop of 4%. Next came Audi with a bit under 1.7 million vehicles sold in 2024. That was down nearly 12% and in fact, Audi was down in all major markets last year. China was especially hard on the German luxury brands, where they were once looked to as aspirational brands and received large chunks of their profits. But that sentiment has switched to local brands and Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and especially Porsche saw their sales drop in China in 2024. Porsche sold nearly 311,000 vehicles worldwide last year, which was down 3%, but in China its sales plunged 28% to under 57,000 units. All of the German luxury brands have started or are about to launch their next-gen EVs, which could be the reason for a great year or the reason 2025 will provide the same outcome as 2024.

 

BYD SELLS MORE EVs IN JAPAN THAN TOYOTA
Speaking of sales, last week we told you BYD sold about 2,200 EVs in Japan last year, but now all the sales figures for Japan are coming out and BYD actually outsold Toyota with EVs in its home market for the first time. According to the Japan Automobile Dealer Association, Toyota only sold just over 2,000 EVs in the country last year, a drop of 30%. In fact, total BEV sales were down 33% to just under 60,000 units. BYD has a good chance to keep its lead over Toyota this year as well. It already has three EVs on sale in Japan and it’s going to launch a fourth in 2025. Japanese automakers should be worried foreign automakers swooping in to dominate the EV market. In addition to BYD, Tesla has been in the country for a decade and brands like Hyundai are about to launch their own low-cost EVs in Japan as well.

LITHIUM PRICES STABILIZING AFTER BIG DROP
Lithium prices are expected to stabilize this year. Prices of the metal plunged 86% since its peak in November 2022 because there was too much supply caused by the EV sales slowdown in most of the world. But thanks to strong EV sales in China, analysts expect lithium prices to recover this year. There was a surplus of 150,000 tons of lithium carbonate last year but that’s expected to decrease to 80,000 tons this year. However, analysts also say that any gains could be capped if lithium mines that were closed when there was too much supply open back up.

NO “DANCING IN THE STREETS” WITH YANGWANG U9
We’ve highlighted some of the wild capabilities of BYD’s DiSus suspension system, but owners are learning the hard way that it matters how you use those wild capabilities. We can’t show it to you here, but go check out the video on CarNewsChina of a YangWang U9 owner “dancing” with his car in the middle of a street. Of course, the gyrating car draws a crowd, which blocked traffic. It also drew the attention of police and the owner reportedly received a ticket for his actions. But after some of the videos that surfaced after Tesla launched its Autopilot and FSD features, which we certainly can’t show here either, it’s not too surprising to see owners abuse the technology that comes in their cars. 

CHINA CAR MARKET STILL SMALLER THAN 2017
We’ve got the official sales numbers for the Chinese market last year and they tell an interesting story. Automakers sold 22.89 million passenger vehicles, up 5.5% from the year before. And yet, they’re still 1 million cars lower than they were in 2017, meaning the overall market really hasn’t grown in 7 years. Chinese brands captured 60% market share, up 9 percentage points from 2023, as foreign brands continue to lose sales and share. The top 5 automakers in China by retail sales were BYD, Geely, FAW-VW, Changan and Chery. Sales of NEVs hit 10.89 million, up 41% and they captured over 47% market share, though in the second half of the year that was running at over 50%. Exports jumped 25%, hitting 4.8 million vehicles, but that growth slowed considerably in the 4th quarter as various countries around the world started putting tariffs on Chinese cars, especially EVs. Here’s another thing to keep an eye on. Sales of premium cars fell 20%, as flashy displays of wealth are becoming increasingly unpopular. 

CHINA 2024 RETAIL SALES
BYD	3.7 Million
Geely	1.7 Million
FAW-VW	1.6 Million
Changan	1.3 Million
Chery	1.3 Million
Source: China Passenger Car Association

GM TO USE 6C LFP BATTERIES IN CHINA
Speaking of China, SAIC-GM teamed up with CATL to develop a fast-charging LFP battery. Later this year, they’ll start making packs that can get 217 miles of range in 10 minutes of charging. That’s 350 kilometers. In only 5 minutes, it can get 124 miles or 200 kilometers of range. If you want to get more technical, this is what they refer to in China as a 6C battery, which basically means it can be charged and discharged at a much higher current rate. GM is going to use the cell-to-pack LFP batteries in its Ultium EVs sold in China, which will have a 900-volt electrical system. Though GM has seen its sales plummet in China, it hasn’t given up on the Chinese market. It plans to introduce 12 new models over the next two years, including EVs, plug-in hybrids, and EREVs. 

We ran across some pretty cool technology at CES last week. So check out the videos we posted, because in some cases, Autoline is the only place you’re going to find it. 

But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for tuning in.