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Runtime: 10:25
0:00 Stellantis COO of North America Resigns
1:46 Musk Wants More Control of Tesla for AI & Robots
2:54 Indian Automakers Worry About Lower Import Taxes
4:05 VW Looks for More Solid-State Battery Partners
5:00 Foxconn Creates New Chinese EV Company
6:02 Panasonic Improving 2170 Battery Cell
6:42 Lamborghini Has Its Best Sales Year Ever
7:27 New Mercedes eSprinter Goes on Sale
8:37 Daimler Truck Sales Growth Fueled By EVs
9:11 Porsche Revealing New Macan on Jan 25th
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
STELLANTIS COO RESIGNS
In an unexpected and surprising move, Stellantis fired its COO of North America, Mark Stewart. His replacement is Carlos Zarlenga, who was the president of Stellantis Mexico. Zarlenga will take over the North American operations on February 1. Under Mark Stewart, Stellantis North America, which is essentially the former Chrysler Group, was the economic powerhouse of the company. In 2022, which is the most recent full-year financial data available, the Chrysler Group accounted for 31% of the company’s total vehicle sales, 47% of its total revenues, and 60% of its total operating profits. So why would Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis, decide he needed to replace Mark Stewart? The press release announcing the change cited the need to unleash the potential of iconic American brands. That suggests Tavares thought the Chrysler Group should be doing better. The release also said that Zarlenga would work in close cooperation with the brand CEOs, which may suggest that Stewart wasn’t doing that as much as Tavares thought he should be. And maybe Tavares didn’t like the fact that UAW president Shawn Fain singled out Stellantis as the most cooperative of the Detroit Three in agreeing to an expensive labor contract. Whatever the reason, this change is a milestone in that there are no longer any Americans in senior management positions at Stellantis, even though its American operations play an outsized role in the company.
MUSK THREATENS HIS BOARD UNLESS HE GETS MORE SHARES
He’s the richest man in the world, worth over $230 billion, which is bigger than the economies of 157 countries. And yet, he wants more. We’re talking about Elon Musk, of course. He’s warning his board of directors that they need to double his stock ownership of Tesla. Musk has 13% of all company shares, but in a tweet on X he said he wants 25% if he’s going to make the company a leader in artificial intelligence and robotics. Otherwise, he’s threatening to do that outside of Tesla. Critics were quick to point out that if he hadn’t sold so many shares to buy Twitter he’d have a lot more Tesla stock. Up to now, Tesla’s board has pretty much given Musk whatever he wants. And it’s likely they’ll give him a new compensation package to keep that AI and robotics work inside of Tesla. Wall Street analyst Adam Jonas at Morgan Stanley says Tesla’s Dojo AI computer could add $600 billion to the company’s market valuation.
INDIAN AUTOMAKERS WORRY ABOUT LOWER IMPORT TAXES
India wants to see more EV investment in the country, but it might have to give up its hefty import tariffs, which has local manufacturers worried. For years it’s been courting foreign EV makers, including Tesla, to build and sell their vehicles in India, but Tesla wants it to reduce taxes on imports, which currently sits at 100% for vehicles that cost over $40,000 and 70% for everything else. So, India is working on a policy that could cut the tax to as little as 15%, but may also require local investment in manufacturing. Tesla has said it would invest up to $2 billion in an Indian factory as long as it could import up to 30,000 vehicles at the 15% tax rate. But last year India only sold 82,000 EV and that has local manufacturers Mahindra and Tata worried that foreign automakers will just take advantage of the lower import taxes and have called on officials to keep the higher rates. They’re also concerned that having more EV makers in the country will hurt their future fundraising efforts.
VW LOOKS FOR MORE SOLID-STATE BATTERY PARTNERS
Volkswagen is in talks with France’s Blue Solutions on solid-state batteries because its current partnership with QuantumScape has been hit by delays. Blue Solutions makes solid-state batteries for Daimler’s electric buses and it also signed a development deal with BMW. A number of automaker’s, including Toyota and Nissan, are developing solid-state batteries because they have more energy density and shorter charging times compared to lithium-ion batteries. However, companies are running into challenges to produce them in high volumes for passenger vehicles, which is delaying when they’ll hit the market.
FOXCONN CREATES NEW CHINESE EV COMPANY
Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn is expanding its EV efforts. It just established a new EV company in China called Foxconn New Energy Automobile Industry Development, which, in addition to developing EVs, will also produce its own motors and other vehicle components. Foxconn, which makes iPhones for Apple, has been ramping up its EV plans over the last couple of years. In 2022, it purchased GM’s former plant in Ohio from Lordstown Motors and built a small number of Endurance pickups for the startup until it filed for bankruptcy last summer. Foxconn also makes electric tractors for Monarch and it’s in talks with Fisker to build its upcoming Pear EV at the plant. Its other EV efforts include Foxtron, another EV brand it established to showcase its technology and capabilities. And it has developed EV concepts with Italian design house Pininfarina and chip maker Nvidia.
PANASONIC IMPROVING 2170 BATTERY CELL
Panasonic is going to come out with a new and improved version of its 2170 battery cell sometime this year or next, according to Bloomberg. The cells are expected to be more energy dense than the version it makes today, which is used in some versions of the Model 3 and Y. The company’s CTO says it will also increase production output by 10% this year and quadruple its capacity to 200 GWh by 2030. A more energy dense cell means an automaker could use less of them to get the same amount of range and potentially bring down the prices of EVs.
LAMBORGHINI HAS BEST SALES YEAR EVER
Last year, Lamborghini celebrated its 60th anniversary and now it’s celebrating another milestone. The luxury brand set a sales record last year and delivered more than 10,000 vehicles for the first time in its history. It sold 10,112 vehicles to be exact, which is a 10% gain compared to 2022. The Urus SUV accounts for most of that, with more than 6,000 deliveries, followed by the Huracan with nearly 4,000 sold last year. Lambo also says its first plug-in hybrid, the Revuelto, which was launched in 2023 is popular with customers and it has enough orders to cover production into late 2026.
NEW MERCEDES eSPRINTER GOES ON SALE
Mercedes is getting ready to launch the new version of the eSprinter van in Europe. It will come in two body shapes, lengths and motor sizes as well as three battery packs. Power will come from either a 100 kW or 150 kW electric motor, which is 134 or 201 horsepower. The smallest battery is 56 kWh, which provides up to 220 km or 136 miles of range. That model is going to start at over 71,000 euros, including the Value Added Tax or VAT. An 81 kWh battery that provides up to 310 kilometers or 192 miles of range will be available and so will a 113 kWh pack that provides up to 440 kilometers or 273 miles of range. Mercedes isn’t giving pricing for those models yet, but a decked out version with the biggest battery, including VAT, should easily creep near $100,000, which sounds a bit crazy for what is basically a work van.
DAIMLER TRUCK SALES GROWTH FUELED BY EVs
Are we seeing the tipping point between EV and ICE big trucks, too? Last year Daimler Truck sold over 526,000 vehicles, but only a little more than 3,400 were electric. However, like BMW yesterday, most of Daimler Truck’s sales growth is coming from EVs. Those total sales were only up 1%, while EVs were up 277%. So, I think we’re going to see a lot more companies’ sales growth coming from EVs.
PORSCHE REVEALING NEW MACAN ON JAN 25TH
We knew it wouldn’t be long and Porsche just announced that it will unveil the all-new, all-electric Macan in a little over a week on January 25th. We’ll provide a link for anyone that wants to keep the date in their calendar.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Again, when comparing percentages to volume of sales, when the numbers are small (forget the percentages; let’s see the actual numbers.
If Zarlenga is being brought in as a union-buster, this will get ugly…FAST. But if the intent is truly to re-establish the CDJR brands, he has a chance. The waste of the Chrysler and Dodge brands has been nothing less than corporate malfeasance.
Mark Twain uttered the phrase “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics“. A 277% improvement in sales could be from one vehicle sold to ~3 vehicles. Big jump, little volume. Paint a truthful picture of what’s going on, not propaganda.
Considering Chrysler has only one vehicle in NA the (Pacifica) and Dodge has only two the (Hornet and Durango) I could see why they might want to change things up. I’m actually surprised Stellantis hasn’t just closed up the Chrysler brand and moved the Pacifica over to the Dodge brand.
Not really sure how Musk having more stock makes a difference on his ability to make Tesla a leader in AI and robotics. If he is still running things, he should be able to make it happen regardless of stock ownership.
Lambo,
The amount that Musk is asking for is out of line in my opinion. But him asking for additional money is not out of line. In your life, if the company you work for heaps 20 more significant things onto your plate, do you accept being paid the same for doing substantially more work? Maybe you would, but 99% of the people would not.
Musk is not out of line for asking for additional compensation commensurate with the added responsibility. I question the amount though. It seems that he is trying to recoup his lost riches after buying X.
Lambo congrats on your best sales year ever 🙂
Perhaps the Tesla board should double his salary which according to what I have heard would still be $0.00 or perhaps some stock. Everybody deserves to be paid if they work for someone or something. Especially someone who increases sales and production year after year. Compare that to the CEO of Lucid who is flushing that company down the toilet? How much should Elon be paid who is making shareholders like me a boatload of money?
MERKUR DRIVER- I get expecting more pay for more work. However, Musk is already running Tesla and being compensated accordingly. I would think that includes all-encompassing Tesla activities such as multiple platforms, Assembly and battery plants, The autonomous features, R&D, AI and robotics. Honestly at his level it’s a matter of appointing someone to head up those departments and oversea progress. But I guess it’s a great opportunity for him to get more if he can get it.
If a maker of ultra-luxury cars or exotics wants to set record sales numbers, yeah, selling CUVs is the way to do it. It’s worked for Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin, as well as Lamborghini, but it kind of dilutes the brand, at least to me. Is the Ferrari Family Truckster out yet?
To me, the recently discontinued 300 fit the Chrysler brand perfectly. My first car was a ’57 Chrysler Saratoga sedan. It would be “badge engineering,” but in today’s US market, I’d think a restyled, more “luxury” interior Grand Cherokee could fit the Chrysler brand.
Kit,
Chrysler did that once with the Chrysler Aspen in 2007. It didn’t sell well. Now that the Durango is based on the Grand Cherokee platform, they could revive the Aspen nameplate once again. Maybe the reason the 2007 Aspen didn’t sell was it was based on a bad platform to begin with. Although I never thought Aspen was a good name for the Chrysler SUV. Reminded me of the terrible quality Dodge Aspen from the 70s.
Chrysler is supposed to be bringing new vehicles to market in the next few years, including the Airflow. I read that the Airflow name probably won’t make it to production, but they will have a 2 row SUV followed by a 3 row, then others. It will take a few years, this year may just be one vehicle but starting in 2025 they are supposed to build up their portfolio again. I liked that Pacifica based “Portal” concept too, but that was probably just testing the waters for the next Pacifica design.
Chrysler made the Aspen, a rebadged, upscale Durango in 2007, but discontinued it after 2009 due to gas prices and the recession. I would think Kit is right, that a “luxury” Grand Cherokee would sell as a Chrysler, maybe even bring back the Aspen name; two years in a bad climate is not long enough to get established, but it does have the name recognition. Too bad no one at Chrysler thought to fill this one year gap with a rebadged GC.
MERKUR, yeah, the earlier Chrysler Aspen was on a so-so platform, and it wasn’t different enough from the Durango. If they do something similar again, they should probably use a different name. The Dodge Aspen version of the Volare was pretty awful, and the Chrysler Aspen was not very well thought of. Town and Country would be a good name, except that it was used for decades for the Chrysler version of Dodge Caravan. There are other dormant Chrysler names, like New Yorker, Windsor, Newport, Saratoga, LeBaron, and others, but I don’t know if any would particularly fit a CUV, and many of those names would mean nothing to younger people.
Merkur, I didn’t see your comment until after I posted mine, and the “edit” feature seems to be gone again!
Ukendoit, yeah, the timing of the Chrysler Aspen couldn’t have been much worse.
Ukendoit, you may already know this, excuse me if I’m off base; when you leave a reply and submit your text, make sure you check the “Save my name……….” box. This will allow editing for ten minutes.
Now that you mention it Kit, Imperial would be a great name for a Chrysler branded up market Grand Cherokee. The name would not mean much to younger buyers as the last imperial was in the 80s, but I think it could still work. They could go way back to the mid-50s and use Nassau. Wouldn’t be much recognition to anyone, but it is an easy name to gain attention. There are a lot of great name plates that could be used. A lot of them squandered in the K-Car era but could be revived with clever marketing. Just not PT Cruiser, anything but PT Cruiser LOL
Chrysler seemed to be going in the direction of numbering with the 200, & 300 so they could still go that route.
I really thought maybe they were preparing the Chrysler brand to be the EV division as Jeep, Ram and even Dodge hasn’t really had anything other than glimpses of the EV Charger. Also with EV’s expanding well in the luxury market where they can demand the high price needed it would make sense. However, if EV sales continue to cool off it could put Chrysler in bed with Cadillac and both could be in a lot of trouble if the sales don’t materialize.
No doubt managing the EV transition is going to prove difficult and have its casualties.
I dont think having an EV division is the answer. They need to be able to offer EV’s in all makes and models and limiting them to a single division will continue to limit buyers. Not everyone wants a EV. Which is why I think PHEV is really the answer during this time. It can be offered in all models get people less reliant on gas and more comfortable with the BEV side of things without the range anxiety and the struggles that still need worked out.
Either way Chrysler is still a large expense to sell one vehicle.
Yeah, PT Cruiser fits nothing but a small, retro-styled car, and that market seems to be dead. The New Beetle is the only recent retro car that even made it to a second generation, unless Fiat 500, no longer sold in the US, has had a second generation.
Yeah, Imperial could work. We oldsters remember Imperial as big, rear drive cars to compete with Cadillac, into the 1970s, but the most recent Imperials were closely related to K-cars, but stretched and a little wider. There was also a two door Imperial in the early ’80s, based on the Chrysler Cordoba.
Kit, I liked the pt cruiser for long drives,found it to fit me nicely.
I see quite a few PT Cruisers when in Kokomo, IN, considering the newest ones about about 15 years old, and they really dump the salt on the roads there. They had a surprising number of available powertrains, two different turbo fours and a non-turbo, and, I think, all of them available both manual and automatic.
For the % doubting crowd posting earlier, the actual sales numbers were in the report. As Sean stated, “Last year Daimler Truck sold over 526,000 vehicles, but only a little more than 3,400 were electric.”
Your point regarding percentages when dealing with low numbers is well taken. But, the actual numbers were posted, as they usually do. Its always a good idea to review the article before sounding off. Its like that old carpenter-turned-poster saying: read twice, post once.
For whatever reason, Chrysler Corp has not done well with badge engineering. Remember the Dodge Nitro? It was just as bad as the 2nd gen Jeep Liberty it was based on. They don’t put much effort or budget into differentiation. Ditto with the Chrysler Aspen, as y’all mentioned. If the corporation wanted to do a one or two-year Chrysler version of the Grand Cherokee, I would expect a furious fight from Jeep management. And, since they are sold in the same showrooms, there isn’t much point in doing it.
I have heard from my sources that the Chrysler models are on track and will all be EVs. Not sure what the long-term plan is for the Pacifica. With its PHEV trim, it is already primed for the all-electrified Chrysler brand of the future. The shrinkage in the Dodge lineup and sales over the last 15 years has been dramatic and shameful. Sergio’s plan to make the Chrysler brand into a full-line competitor to Ford and Chevy was a pipe dream after grabbing the wrong pipe! They have a lot of work to do at the former Chrysler Corp.
“India wants to see more EV investment in the country, but it might have to give up its hefty import tariffs, which has local manufacturers worried.” Protectionism. India has been and will always be protectionist.
If they could make a more “elegant” version of Grand Cherokee with the Chrysler name, and compete with X5 and GLE, it would make sense to do it. If they would spend money to make something that would compete only with GC and Durango, it makes no sense.
I’d like to see them make a non plug-in Pacifica hybrid, with a lower price. The plug-in gets significantly better mpg on gas than the regular version, so they could make the same thing with a smaller battery, and sell if for significantly less money.
Kit- I dont see Chrysler trying to take the GC more upscale. I mean that’s what Jeep was already trying to do with that vehicle. They had the Cherokee and wanted something more refined and upscale so they launched the GC. I’ve owned one and they have some pretty high end trim levels. I would think a Chrysler version would be like the difference of a GMC Denali and Cadillac Escalade. Besides Chrysler wants to go fully electric. I’m just afraid that Chrysler will go fully electric and not get enough sales to stay afloat. I really think they will need a few vehicles to span the gap.
As for the Daimler Truck sales percentages it is typical EV rah rah news. Total truck sales were only up 1% while EV sales were up 277% but that EV percentage of total sales was still only 0.6% which means it grew from selling about 1200 trucks or 0.2% to 0.6%.
Another way to word it would be sales were up by 1% or 5260 trucks. (3110 were gas) and (2150 were EVs). Which means the gas trucks still outsold the EVs by almost 1000 trucks of that puny 1% increase. But they like to make it sound like EVs are just selling great. Not really.
Sadly, the Chrysler brand is probably dead. They need a “next generation” 300, or even a refresh of the recent one. That new six would work great in a car like that. It appears that Jeep is the brand that works for Chrysler group. Even their near worst-in-class CUVs, like Compass, sell reasonably well.