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

EU ON THE ROAD TO BIG IRA EXEMPTION
Europe is going to get another break to qualify for EV incentives in the U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to begin negotiations tomorrow to ensure free-trade-like status for the European Union. That will allow European minerals for batteries to qualify for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill requires a rising percentage of minerals to come from the U.S. or a free trade partner. And EVs receive up to $3,750 in incentives for meeting the mandate. And if the EU is getting this exemption, we think it’s likely it will be extended to South Korea and Japan, which have also criticized foreign car exclusions in the Inflation Reduction Act. Those countries got a break last year, when the U.S. Treasury department ruled that EVs regardless of where they’re made, can receive the full $7,500 credit as long as it’s leased by a customer.

FORD COULD GIVE UP ON EU PRODUCTION
Last month, Ford announced it’s cutting 3,800 jobs in Europe because it says the region is highly competitive and faces “significant economic and geo-political headwinds.” So to differentiate itself and attract more customers, Ford plans to focus more on BEVs and introduce vehicles in Europe that are “unapologetically American.” But Wards Auto reports some analysts aren’t sold on Ford’s plan and say it won’t help turn the automaker’s European operations around. While it posted a small EBIT profit in Europe last year thanks to its commercial business, it posted losses the five years before that. Its market share has been nearly cut in half over the last decade. In 2011 it was at 8% but last year it fell to 4.6%. And the company has slowly slid into the lower priced segment of the European market. Ford plans on introducing two EVs in Europe based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform but analysts question whether Ford will be able to differentiate them enough for customers to embrace them. It’s already having trouble selling the Mach-E, only a little more than 21,000 were sold in Europe in the first 11 months last year, according to CarSalesBase. And one analyst says that Ford doesn’t have the money to develop BEVs to compete with VW, Stellantis or Chinese brands and that it will give up on producing vehicles in Europe altogether and just become a pure importer.

NIO INTRODUCING STATION WAGON FOR EUROPE
Chinese automakers have had a slow go in Europe. For example, NIO sold just 13 EVs in Germany last month. BYD sold only 7. And Aiways didn’t sell any. Yet overall EV sales were up 15% in the country. So, now we’re starting to see Chinese automakers cater to European tastes. NIO received approval from Chinese regulators for a new station wagon version of its ET5 EV. But surprisingly, the sedan and station wagon have the exact same exterior dimensions. Only the back end treatment is different. There’s three battery sizes available; 75 kWh, 100 kWh and 150 kWh; that all have different chemistries. They provide anywhere from 550 to 1,000 kilometers of range in the sedan. That’s 341 to 621 miles. Like NIO’s other EVs, the ET5 wagon will support battery swapping. Power is sent to all four wheels from two electric motors that combine for 360 kW or 490 horsepower. The ET5 wagon will first go on sale in Europe and then in China. No price was given, but the sedan starts right around 50,000 euros.

NISSAN TO MAKE COMMON EV COMPONENTS
Nissan is slashing the cost to make power units for its future EV and extended range electric vehicles or what it calls e-Power. It’s going to commonize components in the EV drive units, which it says will reduce development and manufacturing costs by 30% by 2026 as well as the overall size and weight of the powertrain. The shared parts include sections of the gearset, the inverter and motor. Nissan also hopes to get rare earth materials used in that motor down to next to nothing. With the move it will now be able to produce both the EV and e-Power units on the same production line and aims to reach price parity between its e-Power and ICE vehicles by 2026.

AR HUDs SET TO EXPLODE
Envisics, a UK-based company that’s developing augmented reality, head-up displays that use holographic technology, is attracting interest from several automakers. It just raised $50 million from Stellantis, Jaguar Land Rover, General Motors and Hyundai Mobis, the parts and technology supplier owned by the Hyundai Group. GM will be the first automaker to use Envisics second-gen AR HUD, which debuts in the 2024 Cadillac Lyriq that launches later this year. The market for augmented reality HUDs is expected to grow significantly over the next decade, from 1.6 million units in 2022 to 19.1 million in 2032.

MACK TRUCKS GOING ELECTRIC
Yesterday, we reported on the Shyft Group that’s going to make Class 3, 4 and 5 commercial vehicles through the Blue Arc brand and now it looks like Mack Trucks has Class 6 and 7 covered. It just revealed its all-new medium-duty EV, the MD Electric. While the Blue Arc truck could handle up to 10,000 pounds the Mack has a payload of up to 19,400 pounds. It comes in wheelbases from 206- to 270-inches and either two or three battery pack configurations. The two battery setup has 150 kWh of space and provides 150 miles of range, while the three battery is 240 kWh and provides 230 miles of range. But it only supports a DC fast charging rate of up to 80 kW so charging time is going to be high. As for power, it has a nearly 260 horsepower electric motor that generates 1,850 lb-ft of torque. Mack says the new MD Electric will arrive late this year.

ZF MOVES INTO THE SOFTWARE AGE
German supplier ZF has been producing automotive components for more than a century but it’s not just a hardware company anymore. It introduced its first pure software product called cubiX, which debuts in the Lotus Eletre electric SUV. The software controls all chassis functions including brakes, front and rear axle steering, active roll bars and the electric drive of the Lotus. The software can be upgraded or other functions can be added to the vehicle with over-the-air updates.

MORE ELECTRIC BLACK CABS THAN DIESEL
The iconic London black cab just hit a bit of a milestone. There are now more electrified versions than diesel ones. There are over 6,000 plug-in models operating in London, representing 40% of all black cabs. The model, called the TX, is made by the London Electric Vehicle Company or LEVC, which is owned by Chinese automaker Geely. The TX is only powered by electricity from the battery but it is recharged by an 81-horsepower, 1.5L turbocharged three-cylinder engine. That battery is 81-kWh and it also features a 110-kW electric motor. The TX has an overall range of 333 miles. LEVC says that since the TX was introduced in 2018, it has traveled 534 million miles globally and prevented more than 162,000 metric tons of CO2 from being emitted.

And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours today. Some of the topics they’ll dive into include Tesla’s price cuts, the struggles of autonomous vehicle companies and more. The show goes live at 3PM eastern time on our website or YouTube channel.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching