AD #3613 – GM Making Batteries By Hand; VW’s ID Sales Plummet In China, Tesla Outsells Toyota In California

  

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

EV FIRES THREATEN MOVING THEM BY SHIP
We start out today with a story that could turn into a really big problem for shipping EVs around the world. A cargo ship with 3,000 cars on board is burning out of control near the Netherlands, or at least it was this morning. We don’t know the exact cause, but Reuters was told that it started near an EV and that it’s been very hard to put out. Unfortunately, one crew member died and the rest had to be rescued. In July, two firefighters died trying to put out a blaze on a docked ship in New Jersey. We don’t know the cause of that either, but it was shipping 1,200 new and used vehicles and one firefighter was quoted as saying “this is not a common fire.” A cargo ship named the Felicity Ace, made headlines in February of 2022, after it caught fire with 4,000 cars on board, including EVs. And while we still don’t have a definitive answer as to why, it’s widely believed to be related to an EV. If it turns out that EVs are the cause, then insurance rates on shipping them are going to skyrocket. In fact, some shipping companies may even refuse to load them on board. 

GM MAKING BATTERIES BY HAND
Well, now we know why General Motors has only been dribbling out production of its Ultium-based EVs. It’s making the batteries by hand. GM CEO Mary Barra says it ran into unexpected delivery problems with the supplier company that makes the equipment that makes the batteries. So GM sent its own manufacturing people over to the supplier to help it out. But Barra says “We’ve also added manual assembly lines” at the Ultium plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Rumors have been circulating throughout the industry as to why GM’s EV production was so slow–everything from water leak problems with the batteries, to problems with software. But it looks like the real problem is that they have to make them by hand right now. Barra says things are improving and that GM’s EV production in the US will hit 100,000 vehicles in the second half of this year, and that it’s still on track to hit 400,000 cumulative EVs by the middle of next year. 

CHEVROLET BOLT SAVED FROM THE AXE
And GM did an about face on the Chevrolet Bolt. That car was going to get axed as the company moves all its EVs to its dedicated Ultium platform. But now GM will keep the Bolt on its existing platform and just fit it with Ultium batteries. That could cut the cost of the battery pack by 40%. By pretty much just updating the battery and software, GM will save a ton of money instead of designing an all-new compact EV. The Bolt is priced at $27,495 in the US, making it one of the most affordable EVs on the market. And that does not include any federal or state tax incentives. GM did not say when or where the new Bolt will go into production, but Barra promises its going to move fast.    

STELLANTIS POSTS STRONG H1 EARNINGS
It’s that time of year when automakers report their first half earnings and today we’ll take a look at Stellantis. And the numbers look very good. Stellantis sold 3.3 million vehicles globally, up 10%. That pushed revenues to €98.3 billion, which was up 12%. Thanks to higher prices, its operating profit hit €14.1 billion which was up 11% and €8 billion of that, or 56% came from the Chrysler Group in North America. Its net profit came in at €10.9 billion, which shot up 37%, and it generated an impressive €8.8 billion of free cash flow. Financial analysts are going to love these numbers. So is the UAW. With the company dropping that much money to the bottom line, the union is going to say that Stellantis can easily afford to give its workers more money.  

WATCH YOUTUBE IN YOUR NEW AUDI
One of Audi’s new selling points is that you’re going to be able to watch YouTube videos in your car. Starting this summer, models equipped with the latest software and hardware cluster of its third-gen infotainment system will be able to play YouTube videos, but only when the car is parked. Audi, along with Volkswagen’s CARIAD software division and its partner HARMAN, created the new app store for its vehicles so it could offer a host of third-party apps. It’s going to be available on most of Audi’s lineup and the other brands in the group are also going to offer the app store.

VW’S ID SALES PLUMMET IN CHINA 
Uh-oh! No wonder Volkswagen says the roof is on fire. Sales of its ID family of EVs in China are falling fast. VW sold only 48,000 ID models in the first half of the year, a drop of 19%. And that’s even though the overall BEV market in China grew 20% to about 2.1 million units. It means that VW’s BEV market share dropped from 3.4% to 2.3%. But keep in mind that VW has over 20% of the ICE market in China, so this is a bad omen. VW sells the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.6 in China and only the ID.3 saw a sales increase. And with sales slowing VW was forced to slash prices to keep up. The ID.3 originally started at just under $23,000, now it’s just under $17,000.

BYD KNOCKS VW OFF #1 PERCH IN CHINA
Even though VW still sells a lot of ICE models in China, it’s no longer the Number One car company there. BYD is Number One, with more than 222,000 registrations last month compared to VW’s 200,000. Gasgoo reports registrations of locally made passenger vehicles for the whole market hit 1.9 million units in June, up 2.5% from a year ago and up 12% from the previous month. It’s the highest number of monthly registrations so far this year. The top model in June was the Tesla Model Y with more than 50,000 registrations, well ahead of the Nissan Sylphy at 33,000 units. The Sylphy is the Sentra by the way. In the first half of the year around 9.3 million locally made vehicles have been registered in China, up nearly 5%.

SMALL CHINESE EVs GOING WITH SODIUM BATTERIES
Meanwhile, Chinese brands that make small, inexpensive EVs are starting to switch battery chemistries. Lithium Iron Phosphate or LFP used to be their go-to-choice for a cheaper battery, but due to fluctuating lithium prices they’re going for sodium batteries instead because they don’t use any lithium. Sodium doesn’t really offer any performance advantages over LFP, but they are reportedly up to 20% cheaper. A couple of models were just approved for sale with the new battery type and several more with sodium batteries are on the way. 

TESLA OUTSELLS TOYOTA IN CALIFORNIA
The alarm bells must be going off at Toyota with this next news item. Tesla was the best-selling brand in California in the second quarter of the year, knocking off Toyota as the Number One brand in the state. Tesla registered over 69,000 vehicles in Q2 compared to Toyota’s over 67,000 units. Even more impressive, the Model 3 and Y have easily outsold Toyota’s top two models in California in 2023, which are the Camry and RAV4. So far, Toyota has outsold Tesla for the entire year in California. However, it’s currently only about 10,000 units ahead. And you know what they say, whatever happens in California is a bellwether for the rest of the country.

But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for joining us.