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Runtime: 9:58
0:00 Nissan Cuts Sales & Profit Forecast
1:09 Republican States Sue EPA Over Emissions Rules
2:21 Chery To Make Spain Plant Export Hub
3:17 Toyota Highlander Going All-Electric
5:01 Mercedes To Hold Union Vote Next Month
5:41 Tesla Recalls All Cybertrucks
6:20 GM Rolls Out Bidirectional Home EV Chargers
6:56 Corvette’s Chief Engineer Retires
7:24 Dodge Introduces Comprehensive Protection Plan
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NISSAN CUTS SALES & PROFIT FORECAST
Things are not going well for Nissan right now. We’ve recently talked about inventory stacking up in the U.S. And today comes a release that it cut its sales and profit forecast for its fiscal year that just ended in March. Nissan’s CEO says it was over optimistic and now expects sales to be around 3.44 million vehicles, down a little more than 100,000 units from an earlier target, which itself was down from another forecast of 3.7 million units. And really, Nissan has been seeing a steady decline since 2019 when it sold a little more than 5.5 million vehicles. The drop in expected sales will also put a dent in its revenue, operating profit and net income for the fiscal year. And what’s more, the company will pay financial relief to suppliers that had already made investments based on Nissan’s previous sales forecasts. So, those costs will be reflected in its upcoming earnings numbers.
REPUBLICAN STATES SUE EPA OVER EMISSIONS RULES
The Environmental Protection Agency is receiving more pushback for its emission rules for passenger vehicles that go into effect in 2026. Republican attorney generals in 25 states are suing the EPA to block the rules from going into effect. The lawsuit claims the rules will threaten the economy, cause job losses, raise vehicle prices and put the electrical grid at risk. The EPA already scaled back its original proposal after resistance from the auto industry and the UAW. The original proposal cut tailpipe emissions 56% by 2032 compared to 2026 levels, which was then reduced to 49% in the final rule. But the Republican attorney generals say the rule is legally flawed and forces automakers to meet the mandate by going electric. The EPA denies that and says there is “absolutely no mandate” for automakers to adopt EVs. As we’ve said, with this being an election year, there will be more fights like this since EVs have now become politicized.
CHERY TO MAKE SPAIN PLANT EXPORT HUB
Chinese automaker Chery was able to form a joint venture at that old Nissan plant in Spain and it already has big plans for the facility. Chery and engineering firm EV Motors signed a deal to start making vehicles by the end of this summer and hire back 150 of those old Nissan workers. Then they will add two more models next year, so the site will produce both electric and ICE vehicles, and they eventually plan to get back 1,250 of the Nissan workers. And those jobs are a big reason why there’s less pushback on allowing a Chinese company into the region. Plus, Chery is forming a joint venture with a local company, like foreign automakers were forced to do in China. Eventually, Chery expects its plant in Spain to be one of its main export hubs by 2029 when it aims to make 150,000 vehicles a year.
TOYOTA HIGHLANDER GOING ALL-ELECTRIC
Toyota has been criticized for its slow rollout of EVs but a more unlikely one of its models is reportedly going all-electric. CarBuzz reports it has confirmed that the Highlander will be converted to an EV-only model. It will be built at the automaker’s plant in Kentucky and there will also be a Lexus variant. However, the three-row Grand Highlander will remain ICE but it will add a plug-in hybrid option. No timeframe for the electric Highlander was given but Toyota will start rolling out new EVs in the U.S. in 2026. And CarBuzz also reports that the company is considering dropping its bZ naming structure to use more conventional or familiar names.
MERCEDES TO HOLD UNION VOTE NEXT MONTH
The UAW vote for Mercedes workers in Alabama has been set. The National Labor Relations Board said the vote will take place May 13 through 17. The plant employs about 6,100 workers and the UAW says a “supermajority” signed cards to hold an election. This is the second vote to organize non-union plants in the U.S. Volkswagen workers in Tennessee are voting now and will announce the results today. And if the UAW wins, it would be a huge victory, since it has failed in past attempts to organize non-union plants.
TESLA RECALLS ALL CYBERTRUCKS
Tesla is recalling all the Cybertrucks it has built but unlike other issues it can’t be fixed with an over-the-air update. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 3,878 Cybertrucks are being recalled because the pad on the accelerator can dislodge and get stuck on the interior trim. NHTSA says the dislodged pedal can cut torque for both the accelerator and brake pedals, increasing the risk of a crash. Tesla reportedly paused deliveries after several owners posted videos on social media showing the issue.
GM ROLLS OUT BIDIRECTIONAL HOME EV CHARGERS
GM’s home charging business unit, called GM Energy introduced its new bidirectional chargers for EVs. The system includes the charger and kit to allow power to be sent from the EV’s battery into the home, which could help offset using more expensive electricity during peak times or it could act like a generator when the power is out. It’s not exactly cheap at just under $7,300 but the benefits will start to pile up over time and GM says it will also launch stationary energy storage and solar integration later this year.
CORVETTE’S CHIEF ENGINEER RETIRES
The father of modern Corvettes is retiring. Tadge Juechter is officially walking out the door this summer. He’s been working at GM for the last 47 years and since 2006 he’s held the title of Executive Chief Engineer for the Corvette. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Tadge a few times and I think you would be hard pressed to find a person more passionate about Corvette than him.
DODGE INTRODUCES COMPREHENSIVE PROTECTION PLAN
The Dodge brand is not known for its reliability, so that may be one reason it’s offering a new protection package that covers pretty much everything. The Dodge Complete Performance Package is a six-year/75,000-mile offer that provides protection for critical components like the engine, transmission, suspension, brakes and electrical components. It also includes coverage of oil changes, tire rotations, up to two worn tires, wheel repair up to $7,500 a year as well as windshield and key fob replacement. And if that wasn’t enough, you get a free day at high-performance driving academy Radford Racing School. It all sounds really good, but the only thing I don’t know is the price. Dodge says there’s several different contracts available and it provides a 1-800 number to sign up. I called it and they said they would call back, but I had to give them my name and I don’t know if they recognized it, but as of right now it’s been over an hour and a half with no call back and they said I was next in line. So I’m not hopeful.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day and I hope that you have a great weekend.
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Since they now have the Grand Highlander, basically a ~6 inch stretch, it seems reasonable to make the Highlander an EV. The main reason to buy the Highlander over the Grand now is price, but the price difference is smaller than it appears. The lowest trim level for the Grand is a notch or two above that for the non-Grand, but they can change that and sell a Grand Highlander LE.
Is it too late for Nissan to blame Carlos Ghosn for this problem too? Too bad they can’t get him back to fix things.
Still referring that Toyota as late to the EV game, while in the background they were diligent in their research, and by the way, were correct in their hesitancy to rush to the party (that hadn’t started in earnest yet).
And by my account, Harley Earl was (and is) the Father of the Corvette, Zora should be referred to as the Savior (or Godfather) of the Corvette, and while I have the upmost respect for Tadge (and he certainly brought the goods for the C8), would maybe assign the title of Step-Father or some other reference of reverence.
@Chery plant in Spain: when combining the Autoline news pieces over the past year about the moves of Chinese automakers into Europe, Mexico and Brazil it adds up to getting significant market share over the coming years.
Don’t forget about Tom Wallace at GM. Under his leadership Corvette became world class, not just “good enough” to compete on price.
The real threat is the Prime Interest Rate. It is too expensive to finance so new cars languish in dealer parking lots. Then add the insurance rates made worse because there are no customers so a smaller group has to carry the whole load.
@Bob Wilson: I would say that is only true when the number of vehicles in use is shrinking? Is it?
Bob Wilson, cars sold pretty well in 1985 and 1986 with interest rates much higher than now.
Certain cars are languishing on dealer lots because too many of those models have been been. Others, like Prius and Sienna don’t exist on dealer lots, because they aren’t building enough of them.
It looks like companies are building too many pickup trucks, except for Maverick. RAM leads in days’ supply.
https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/new-vehicle-inventory-january-2024/
Here’s a newer chart of days’ supply.
https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/new-vehicle-inventory-march-2024/
Some of it is kind or strange. Mazda was near the lowest days’ supply in February, but two months later was near the highest.
It really disappointing to see Nissan in such a bad way. That said, it also seem that that they have lost their way when it comes to brand identity, too! It’s like tye issues they were having with their Infiniti brand, has made its way to their mainstream brand. With Infiniti, outside of their full size and midsize, three row SUVs, the rest of the brand is lost as to what they want to be styling wise. This has crept over to Nissan, once the home of the four door sport sedan (I guess they mean of mass market vehicles). Their current products are okay, they feel like ‘also ran’ and just keeping up with what Toyota and the rest of the market is doing. While Toyota had the reputation of being appliances, Nissan was the Japanese OEM with near Toyota quality and reliability, but much more excitement and style, by comparison. How much times have changed with the brand!
Nissan probably hurt their reputation by using so-so CVTs for far too long with bigger, V6 engines. Now, they are set to sell fewer cars, by choice, in dropping Altima, their second best seller after Rogue.
As far as Infiniti, maybe they should just admit defeat and drop the brand. They sold a total of fewer than 70K vehicles in 2023, with 4 or 5 SUV/CUVs and one car. Genesis did about the same, but with more different models. Cadillac sold more than twice as many, and they aren’t doing that great. Lexus is the only “premium brand” from an Asian company that has really done very well. Acura is an outlier in product offerings, with two cars and two CUVs. They sold about the same number as Cadillac in 2023, not bad, for having so few models.
Nissan’s struggles just demonstrates that building passenger vehicles and having a successful company, even for legacy OEMs, is hard and the ones that are doing well are not by accident! Having a great idea and the hurdles to getting it to the road AND continuing to do so long term is not a given. From, the creating/designing the vehicle platform itself, styling it, pricing it, marketing and then trying to grow the brand to grow is a Herculean feet, with a lot of variables having to come into place a the same time! Then you have to grow beyond that one vehicle. Then, once you have a vehicle line up, you have to keep it competitive with the competition! And after all that work, engineering, design and labor of love, blood sweat and tears, the general public can still not like it! It seemed that when Infiniti had the Q45 in its line up, it had a clearer focus and the rest of the line up followed suit. And when the 300Z and Maxima was Nissan’s 4DSC, they know what direction they were pulling in! Yet as the market turn to SUV and CUVs, that’s when both brands seemed to loose traction. Nissan attempted to go up market with the. Mira no. When that didn’t have the success they wanted, just began following the leader and Infiniti having less and less relevance over the years. Hopefully, the will find better days in front of them.
…that is the 300Z from the 90’s that hade the look of one of the exotics of that era! While the Maxima thought to be just as reliable as the Camry, it was its polar opposite when it came to driving dynamics! The Camry has added some street cred to it driving skills, the Maxima has not being as successful, which has been symbolmatic as the rest of the line up has also lost their way.
The Maxima quit being very “sporty” when they went from RWD to FWD many years ago. The more recent ones have a V6 with a CVT. I suspect there are a lot of CVT haters among people who might like a car that pretends to be sporty, which the Maxima did, even though it wasn’t. The Maxima was dropped in the US and Canada after 2023.
Really worth watching if a peak at what’s currently possible with Tesla’s V12.X FSD interests you.
Autonomous Adventure: Tesla FSD 12.3.4 Takes on NYC! | Brooklyn to Manhattan, No Hands Needed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR6sU7_u4WQ
Really worth watching if a peek at what’s currently possible with Tesla’s V12.X FSD interests you.
Autonomous Adventure: Tesla FSD 12.3.4 Takes on NYC! | Brooklyn to Manhattan, No Hands Needed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR6sU7_u4WQ
I was in Chicago for the weekend at the Labor notes conference. Over 4500 people attended, and they had various speakers from the National teachers association, National Nurses union and Teamsters president Sean O’Brian and Sean Fain was supposed to be there but the win at the VW plant kept him in Tenn. The UAW vote was 73% for with only 27% against. Which should make the Mercedes vote interesting.