AD #3778 – BYD Spends More Than GM & Ford Together; Fisker Slashes Prices Up to $24K; Baltimore Bridge Collapse Impacts Car Shipping

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

BYD’S STUNNING $19 BILLION CAP EX
BYD, China’s biggest car company, is spending on new plants and equipment at a rate that the auto industry has never seen before. It already has 30 industrial parks worldwide and is building new assembly plants in Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, and Hungary, as well as a bus plant in Toronto. And it’s scouting for a new site in Mexico. Get this, last year BYD’s capital expenditures came to $19 billion. That’s more than General Motors and Ford put together. But maybe BYD is starting to get worried that it’s growing too fast. Reports out of Vietnam say that the company is slowing construction of a new EV plant there because of concerns that global EV sales are slowing down. Even so, spending $19 billion on cap ex is the highest we’ve ever seen in the history of the auto industry.

FISKER SLASHES PRICES UP TO $24,000
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Fisker is desperately trying to survive. It slashed the prices of its Ocean SUV by 39% in a last ditch attempt to raise enough money to avoid bankruptcy. It cut the base price of the Ocean by $14,000, which now goes for $25,000. The top trim line was cut by $24,000, and is available for $37,500. Fisker has about 5,000 Oceans on hand to sell and we estimate that could raise about $160 million. But that’s if it can sell them. The reason it has 5,000 cars on hand to sell is because it couldn’t sell them. Now the question is, will people be willing to buy cars from a company that is on the brink of bankruptcy? You can put us in the skeptical column.

NISSAN AIMS FOR 40% EVS in EU BY 2027
Nissan plans to significantly grow sales of pure electric vehicles in Europe. Last year, it sold more than 28,600 EVs there or about 10% of its European sales. CEO Makoto Uchida says they want to grow that to more than 40% by early 2027. But at the same time, it’s pulling back some of its EV goals in Europe. Last year, Nissan said all of its vehicles will be electric by 2030 but now it’s planning a mix between EVs and hybrids. Globally, Nissan expects EVs to account for 20% of its sales by 2027 and is aiming to boost that to 40% by the end of the decade.

BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE AFFECTS AUTOS MOST
That bridge at the port of Baltimore that collapsed when a ship ran into one of its supports will impact the auto industry more than any other sector. Baltimore is the number one port in the U.S. for car imports, with Mazda, the Volkswagen Group, Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover, Mitsubishi and Volvo using it as their main point of entry into the American market. Everyone is now scrambling to reroute incoming ships to other east coast ports, and shipping rates are expected to spike in the short term. But DHL’s CEO, speaking on Bloomberg TV, says workarounds will come faster than most people expect, and General Motors says it will have a minimal impact on its operations. Even so, global shipping has been impacted by several crises. Missile attacks from Yemen in the Red Sea are forcing ships to bypass the Suez Canal and travel around Africa instead. That can add weeks to delivery times, which has especially impacted the European auto industry. And a drought in Panama has cut shipping traffic through the canal by one third because water levels are so low. While global shipping can be wonderfully efficient, we can now see that it’s also very vulnerable.

HYUNDAI, KIA’S BIG SPLASH AT NY AUTO SHOW
The New York auto show is underway and Hyundai and Kia have been busy with new reveals. Hyundai pulled the wraps off the refreshed Tucson. The exterior changes are subtle, but the interior sees a more significant upgrade. A layered look extends from the dash to the doors and is highlighted by dual screens incorporated into one display unit on the dash. The Santa Cruz, which is basically the pickup version of the Tucson, also gets the same updates. The smallish truck is still offered with one of two 2.5L 4-cylinder engines, while the Tucson is available with gas, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. Both refreshed models will be on dealer lots in the U.S. by this summer. Kia gave us a full look at the K4, which it’s been teasing for a little bit. The compact sedan replaces the Forte, Ceed and Cerato, but right now Kia is only providing the specs for the U.S. version, which arrives in the second half of this year. The base engine is a 2.0L 4-cylinder unit that makes 147 horsepower or customers can get a 190 horsepower 1.6L turbo 4-cylinder. Each setup has a different automatic transmission, but both send power through the front wheels. Kia has a reputation of offering a lot of tech compared to the segments it vehicles are in. And in that department the K4 comes with a 30-inch display unit, 11 standard ADAS features with the option for up to 29 as well as connectivity and OTA capabilities. Kia also revealed a hatchback version of the K4, which I think looks really good, but all it said is this would be the next model and didn’t provide any details.

XPENG ENTERS THE GERMAN MARKET
The European auto industry is worried about an onslaught of Chinese EVs flooding the market. And now Xpeng is entering Germany. But instead of going with entry-level cars, it’s selling two of its premium models, the G9 SUV and the P7 sedan. Sales and test drives start in May and Xpeng will use a traditional dealership model to sell its vehicles. The G9 will start at 57,600 euros or just over $62,000. And that’s a significant price hike from China, where the model starts at $35,000. And the P7 sedan will start at 49,600 euros or more than $53,000. And that again is a big hike compared to China where the model starts at $28,200. So clearly Xpeng sees a real opportunity to boost its profits. Moreover, the Volkswagen Group bought 5% of Xpeng and will rely on it to develop electric cars. That’s going to make it difficult for anyone to protest Xpengs entry into the German market. It already sells vehicles in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands and it plans to expand into France, Italy and the UK.

METALLICA GOES ELECTRIC
It seems like everyone is concerned about sustainability these days and so is the biggest heavy metal band in the world. For its European tour that kicks off this May, Metallica is partnering with truck maker Iveco to use its electric and natural gas trucks and minibuses to transport the band and equipment to concert venues. The vehicles feature Metallica’s logo and a livery with the colors from the band’s latest album 72 Seasons.

FORD REMOTE SERVICE BUSINESS IS BOOMING
Most people hate going to the dealership for service, but it seems like they have no problem with the service coming to them. Ford offers customers a service where it will come and pick up your vehicle to take it in for repairs, or send a technician right to you. And it says that business is booming. Last year it completed more than 2.4 million appointments this way around the globe and now has about 375,000 customers a month going with the pick up and delivery or remote repair options. That’s four times more than when the services were launched in 2022. And it’s even more popular with premium car buyers. 1 in 5 Lincoln owners are choosing to have their repairs done remotely, like their house or work.

Is cyber security a big problem in the auto industry? More than you realize. That’s why we’ll have Jason Masker from Upstream on Autoline After Hours this afternoon. You’ll be stunned to see how many cyber attacks the auto industry has to fend off every day–something that doesn’t get talked about much publicly. So join John and Gary when the show goes live at 3 pm eastern time on the Autoline website or our YouTube channel.

But that’s a wrap for today. Thanks for tuning in