AD #4341 – VW Profit Margin Drops Below 2%; Tesla Shorts Made $4 Billion Yesterday; Cadillac F1 Investor Faces SEC Investigation

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

VW PROFIT MARGIN DROPS BELOW 2%The Volkswagen Group reported its earnings for the first half and the numbers are discouraging. It sold 4 million vehicles, down more than 8%. And yet its revenue was down only a fraction of a percent, coming in at €158 billion. But here’s where the numbers get bad. Its operating profit of €5.9 billion was down more than 11%, and its net profit plummeted almost 31% to just over €3 billion. It also had negative cash flow of €1.3 billion. And VW’s net profit margin was only 1.9%, which shows why the company wants to close four factories in Germany and get rid of 100,000+ jobs.

VW AG H1, 2026
Sales	4.0 million	-8.4%
Revenue	€158.1 billion	-0.2%
Op. Profit	€5.9 billion	-11.6%
Net	€3.1 billion	-30.7%
Source: VW Group

CATL PROFIT SHOOTS UP 42%Meanwhile, it’s a completely different story at CATL. Its revenue shot up 55% in the first half of the year, to almost $41 billion. And its net profit shot up 42% to $6.4 billion, giving the company a net margin of more than 15%. One thing driving CATL’s growth is a surge in demand for batteries that are used for energy storage, which in turn is being driven by demand for AI data centers and by storage for renewable energy.

TESLA SHORTS MADE $4 BILLION YESTERDAYLast year, Elon Musk predicted there would be millions of fully autonomous Tesla robotaxis by the second half of this year. But now he’s backed way off. He says Tesla has to slowly roll out its robotaxi fleet and be super cautious from a safety standpoint. The company’s CFO said they also have software and operations kinks to work out. Investors didn’t like what they were hearing and the stock fell more than 14% yesterday. Bloomberg reports that investors shorting the stock raked in more than $4 billion. Tesla is trading at about $319 a share, but the investment house PNB Paribas predicts it’s going to drop to $280.

FRANCE TURNS UP ITS NOSE TO FSDAnother issue facing Tesla is that France is opposed to Supervised FSD getting approval in Europe. While the Netherlands, Denmark, Lithuania and Estonia have approved FSD, France could block the technology from being used across the continent. French authorities say the technology isn’t safe because it allows vehicles to drive over the speed limit and does not monitor driver distraction closely enough. Tesla points out that FSD already drives safer than humans, according to its data, and that any delay will only lead to more traffic fatalities.

 

PORSCHE TO AX 5,000 MORE JOBSPorsche is planning another round of job cuts in Germany. The automaker’s supervisory board just approved CEO Michael Leiter’s plan to axe 5,000 jobs in the country, which is in addition to 3,900 cuts that were previously announced. Most of the layoffs are expected to be in R&D and administrative positions. Porsche is struggling with weak demand in China and falling earnings. The automaker’s sales peaked globally at more than 320,000 units in 2023 but this year that’s expected to tumble to around 250,000 vehicles. Leiter says Porsche needs to lower its break-even point to around 180,000 vehicles a year.

TRUMP’S NEW TARIFFS WON’T AFFECT AUTOSYou may have heard that President Trump imposed a new round of tariffs but fortunately for the auto industry they shouldn’t have much impact. Earlier today, the U.S. imposed new tariffs between 10-12.5% on 60 trading partners, claiming those countries didn’t do enough to curb imports made with forced labor. While the tariffs cover 99% of U.S. imports, the good news for the auto industry is there are many exemptions, including for autos, steel, aluminum, copper and critical materials. Also, for partners that have already made trade deals with the U.S. that cap tariff rates, like the EU, the new tariffs won’t push those rates higher.

CADILLAC F1 INVESTOR FACES SEC INVESTIGATIONCadillac’s F1 team is having a tough time on the track and now it’s facing problems off the track. Mark Walters, one of the owners of TWG Global, the parent company of the Cadillac team, is under investigation by the FBI, in parallel with the Securities and Exchange Commission, for potential financial wrongdoing. Walter’s investment firm, along with two of his insurance companies are accused of failing to disclose that billions of dollars in private credit holdings were being funneled into Walter’s other business ventures. TWG says it’s cooperating with the investigation but as of now, it’s not clear what, if any, impact this will have on the Cadillac F1 team.

HYUNDAI FORMS BI-DIRECTIONAL CHARGING BUSINESS UNITThe Hyundai Group is bringing all of its EV charging features under one new division it calls AllDayEnergy. That means Hyundai and Kia EV owners will be able to control vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to-grid and smart charging through the vehicle app on their phone. The Group says it’s all about providing customers a more consistent and seamless service, while also establishing itself as an energy service provider. AllDayEnergy will initially manage smart charging features in the UK starting the second half of this year, but it will later manage vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid and expand to more of Europe, the U.S. and South Korea.

MASSACHUSETTS PAYS FOR V2G In somewhat related news some EV owners with vehicle-to-grid capability in Massachusetts are going to be able to earn a good chunk of money by giving access to their EV’s battery. Several local energy and charging providers are adding vehicle-to-grid charging to an existing virtual power plant program, which pools together energy sources, like EV batteries, to sell electricity back to the grid during times of high demand. Eligible EV owners can now sign up for the program and a few of the companies are even providing the smart charging and grid integration components. Depending on the charger capacity, performance and energy provider, a spokesperson claims participants can earn between $1,375 – $2,750 over the summer season.

VOLVO EX60 GETS 330 MILE RATINGThe new EX60 is the first electric Volvo to ride on Geely’s SPA3 platform. Thanks to things like an 800-volt electronic architecture, upgraded technology and a faster and more powerful operating system, Volvo calls the EX60 a ‘game changer.’ Deliveries are expected very soon in the U.S., so the model just got its official EPA rating. The AWD version with either 20- or 21-inch tires and a 91-kWh battery pack gets up to 330 miles of range, slightly more than the company’s own estimate. Rear-drive versions with an 80-kWh battery get up to 307 miles of range and there’s a 112-kWh version coming later that will have up to 400 miles of range. Pricing starts at just under $60,000, including destination.

But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day and I hope that you have a great weekend.