AD #4320 – GM Not Giving Up on Robotaxis; Chinese Auto Execs Warn of Thin Margins; German Suppliers Cut Jobs and Investments

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

CHINESE AUTO EXECUTIVES WARN OF THIN MARGINS
Several Chinese auto executives are warning that their industry is entering a new phase of competition. The COO of Leapmotor, says bold moves and speed will be replaced by thin margins and uncertainty that demands extreme flexibility. And William Li, the CEO and founder of NIO, says the Chinese industry is entering what he calls the finals. He points out that new car sales in China are down almost 20% this year and warns that automakers need to be prepared for a prolonged downturn. Both executives say that automakers can no longer rely on one hit model to sustain their operations, or boast about having the best technology or software. Instead, those with excellent operations throughout their company will be the ones to survive and success will be measured by who maintains the closest connection with their customers.  

BMW LOWERS GUIDANCE OVER CHINA SALES DROP
As we’ve reported, the German auto industry is really struggling and it doesn’t appear it will improve anytime soon. BMW just lowered its guidance for 2026 due to weak sales in China and disruptions caused by the war in Iran. Because of that the automaker says car sales will be below last year and it expects automotive returns of 1-3%, down from a previous forecast of 4-6%.

VW CUTS PRODUCTION AT GERMAN PLANT
Meanwhile, Volkswagen is planning to scale back production at one of its plants in Germany, which has labor representatives concerned about the site’s future. Production of the convertible version of the T-Roc crossover is being reduced, the only model the Osnabrueck plant makes. That production is scheduled to end completely next year and there’s currently no models scheduled after that. While VW says it’s in talks with defense contractors to fill unused capacity at the plant, workers are still worried over the uncertainty.

GERMAN AUTO SUPPLIERS CUT JOBS AND INVESTMENTS
And lastly, suppliers in Germany are feeling the pain too. According to a new survey of 116 auto suppliers in the country, around a third expect business conditions to worsen over the next year, compared to the 25% that expect an improvement. About two-thirds of suppliers said planned investments for Germany will be postponed, moved overseas or canceled altogether. And over half of the companies said they’re laying off workers in the country, compared to just 3% that are hiring.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER PLANS MAJOR STRATEGY SHIFT
Jaguar Land Rover is modifying its future strategy in the hopes of achieving double‑digit revenue growth in the medium-term. Some models will remain on the company’s MLA platform, which supports mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full battery electric powertrains. The latter includes the Range Rover Electric and Range Rover Sport Electric that come out later this year. The first all-electric model from its new EMA platform will come out later this year as well and is also from the Range Rover brand. But the company says this platform will now offer strong hybrids too. However, even with some of those changes the Jaguar brand is still going electric only. While JLR hopes this strategy will eventually grow revenue, it’s forecasting a weaker profit margin for the fiscal year and says it needs to cut costs by nearly $2.3 billion over the next two years. It expects sales to be around 300,000 units during that time, a drop from about 324,000 units in the previous fiscal year, which itself was a 19% drop from the year before. Investors didn’t like the news and shares at parent company Tata fell as much as 9.6%. 

GM NOT GIVING UP ON ROBOTAXIS
Well surprise, surprise. General Motors isn’t giving up on robotaxis after all. Even though GM shutdown its Cruise autonomous business in late 2024, GM’s head of products, Sterling Anderson, says its AVs will eventually be able to operate as robotaxis. GM plans to introduce an eyes-off driving system in 2028 and to help develop it, the company rehired around 100 former Cruise employees. GM is growing its autonomous capabilities on the highway first before expanding into main roads and side streets. Anderson says this approach will eventually converge with robotaxi business needs and at that point “why not offer them in a robotaxi-type application as well?”

STELLANTIS, WAYVE AND UBER PARTNER FOR GLOBAL ROBOTAXIS
In related robotaxi news, Stellantis, Uber and Wayve announced they’ve formed a partnership to develop and deploy Level 4 autonomous vehicles globally. However, no timetable for the launch was given.

           

UBER AND LUCID EXPAND ROBOTAXI SERVICE TO HOUSTON
Speaking of Uber and robotaxis, the ride-hailing company also has a partnership with Lucid Motors and Nuro and they announced that Houston will be the second market for their service that starts in the middle of next year. The companies will first launch in San Francisco later this year.

MOBILEYE TO LAUNCH INDEPENDENT U.S. ROBOTAXI FLEET
And in one last bit of robotaxi news, AV company Mobileye says it plans to expand beyond being a supplier of the technology and will launch its own robotaxi business. The service will initially deploy next year with a fleet of 100 vehicles in a yet-to-be named U.S. city. Then it plans to expand to 17,000 vehicles over the next five years.

CHEVY REVEALS NEXT-GENERATION SILVERADO PICKUP
Chevy says it sells a Silverado every 57 seconds, so it’s very important that the next-gen version it just revealed picks up right where the old one left off. In our opinion the styling wasn’t changed all that much, but it did make updates to the V8s. While it didn’t provide details for the next-gen 5.7L and 6.6L engines, it did say they’ll deliver improvements in power and torque and that the 6.6L is the most powerful naturally-aspirated V8 in its class. The 2.7L 4-cylinder, now paired with a 10-speed auto, and the Duramax 3.0L diesel are still available as well. On top of the engine updates there’s also some tweaks to the interior, highlighted by a new dash layout with fresh display screens, including an optional one for the passenger. The new Silverado goes on sale at the end of the year and as we said it’s a very important vehicle for the company. Along with the GMC Sierra, they accounted for nearly a third of GM’s sales last year, but the numbers were practically flat in the first quarter of this year. And now Duncan Aldred, GM’s president of North America, admits that higher gas prices have pushed buyers away from more expensive trucks and SUVs faster than the company expected. GM previously thought that gas prices would have to remain high for 6 months before they affected sales. So, Chevy’s hope to sell more high-end versions of the Silverado probably won’t happen until consumers see more relief at the pump.

But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.