AD #4349 – Three Chinese Automakers Crack Global Top Ten; BYD PHEV Can Run on Ethanol; U.S. Car Sales Dip 1.4% In July

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

THREE CHINESE AUTOMAKERS CRACK GLOBAL TOP TEN
Three Chinese automakers cracked the top 10 in global market share in the first half of the year. BYD was 6th overall with a 4.8% share but that’s actually down from 5.4% in 2025 due to a 45% drop in sales in China in the first half. Geely was just behind BYD in 7th place with a market share of 4.6%. And Chery was in ninth place at 4.1% tied with Ford. SAIC was just outside the top 10 in 11th place and Changan and Great Wall Motor also placed inside the top 20. Toyota had the largest global market share in the first half at 11%, and it was followed by the Volkswagen Group, the Hyundai Group, Stellantis and Renault-Nissan respectively.

GENERAL MOTORS EXTENDS SAIC JOINT-VENTURE
General Motors is extending its joint-venture with Chinese automaker SAIC for another 20 years. The two companies first formed their partnership in 1997 and have built and sold more than 20 million vehicles. GM could have petitioned to go on its own in China but we think there are several reasons it decided to renew. One advantage is they’ve already been collaborating for nearly 30 years. And as political tensions rise between the U.S. and China and with GM growing its defense business with the U.S. military, having a Chinese joint-venture partner will likely help protect GM in China.

U.S. CAR SALES DIP 1.4% IN JULY
GlobalData reports that automakers sold 1.38 million vehicles in the U.S. in July, down 1.4% from a year ago. That translates to a SAAR or seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 16.51 million vehicles, according to Motor Intelligence. While that’s down slightly from last July, it’s now the fifth straight month in a row that the SAAR in the U.S. was 16 million or more, the longest streak in over five years. Even so, GlobalData estimates that the U.S. market is down 2.7% through July.

 

BYD ROLLS OUT FIRST BRAZIL BUILT HYBRID
Even though Chinese automakers are relying on exports to offset falling sales in their home market, there’s still a need to boost overseas production. BYD just rolled its first Brazilian-built plug-in hybrid off the line. It’s a version of the Song Pro SUV that can run on gas, ethanol or electricity and while it’s based on an existing model, the powertrain setup was a joint effort between China and Brazil, the first time the two teams have collaborated. BYD’s plant in the region opened about a year ago with the capacity to make 150,000 cars a year. And the company expects to make about 180,000 this year. 

HONDA REVENUE SOARS DESPITE PLUMMETING ASIAN SALES
Honda reported its latest financial earnings and the numbers are eye opening. Sales plummeted 53% in the last three months, with all of the drop coming from China and Asia. Everywhere else sales were up. And yet, despite that drop, revenue was up more than 13% to $38 billion. As we keep pointing out, the falling value in the yen is helping Japanese automakers boost their revenue and profits. Honda’s net profit of $2.8 billion shot up 129%, compared to a $1.2 billion loss a year ago. 

LUCID CUTS SHIFTS AND DELAYS NEW SUV LAUNCH
Meanwhile, Lucid is going through a tough time. It cut the second shift at its plant in Arizona to sell down inventory. Cutting production also means it’s slashing all the raw materials and components it needs to buy to try and preserve cash. And it’s delaying the launch of its mid-size model at its plant in Saudi Arabia which is scheduled to open next year. Lucid sold fewer than 4,000 cars in the last three months, though that was up 19%. And Saudi Arabia is promising to buy 4,000 cars. The company posted $405 million in revenue, up 56%. But its adjusted EBITDA was a negative $901 million, which was $269 million worse than a year ago. Investors didn’t like the news or the outlook and Lucid stock fell 8% to $7.78. Back during EV mania the stock peaked at $552 a share.

  

UBER PROFIT SURGES BUT MISSES MARKET EXPECTATIONS
So how are things going in the world of ride hailing? Uber reported its Q2 numbers and it’s truly a growth story. It provided 3.8 million trips, up 18%. Revenue grew 115% to just over $14 billion. Its operating profit was up an impressive 30% to $1.8 billion. But that fell short of investor expectations. And Uber said this quarter will probably be soft. So the stock was actually down more than 2%. 

GEELY WINS TOP HONORS FOR CHASSIS INNOVATION
Ever since Tesla pioneered the use of gigacastings, a lot of other automakers became very interested in them, particularly in China. Now Geely just won an award for aluminum and magnesium structural castings that don’t need any heat treating. It also won an award for a smart chassis that integrates brake and steer-by-wire as well as other electronic control hardware and software that improves vehicle safety. These were presented by the State Council of China, which is quite a prestigious accomplishment. 

KOENIGSEGG DEBUTS 800-HP RAXIAL FLUX MOTOR
Axial flux or pancake motors are more popular in the auto industry than we realized. Yasa, the company that Mercedes bought in 2021, really started things off in 2010, collaborating with Jaguar on its C-X75 hybrid concept. Yasa developed the 3 axial flux motors that Koenigsegg used in its Regera in 2015. Both Ferrari and Lamborghini have two models currently on sale with these e-motors. And, of course, Mercedes is now coming out with its own models. But since Mercedes owns Yasa, Koenigsegg has brought its own development in-house. It says it combined the best of radial and axial flux motors together, to make what it calls a raxial flux motor. The setup is about 15-inches in diameter, weighs 39 kilograms or 86 pounds and produces a whopping 800 horsepower. The supercar maker debuted its raxial flux motor about a year ago and it will first go into the re-designed Gemera, combining with a 5.0L twin turbo V8 to make 2,300 horsepower. 

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.