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Runtime: 10:35
0:00 Tesla Drops Base Cybertruck
0:48 U.S. EV Sales Forecast Lowered
1:42 Ram Drops 1500 Classic
2:35 Jaguar Could Be Out of Cars for A Year
3:28 Porsche Turns to China for UX
4:45 Acura Unveils EV Concept
5:21 CATL Opens New Car Showroom
5:53 Dongfeng EREV Starts At $18,331
6:30 Changan Unveils EREV Pickup/SUV
7:06 Wuling EREV Starts At $6,500
7:56 HiPhi Files for Bankruptcy in China
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TESLA DROPS BASE CYBERTRUCK
Anyone wanting to buy the base version of the Cybertruck is out of luck. Reuters reports that Tesla is no longer taking orders for it, which started at $61,000. Only versions that start at $100,000 are available for immediate order. According to Cox Automotive, Tesla sold about 4,800 Cybertrucks in July and has sold 16,000 in total. At one point Tesla had over 2 million reservations for the truck, and expected to sell up to 200,000 a year. But Cox says it will be difficult for Tesla to even maintain its current sales volume because the market for $100,000 vehicles is really small.
U.S. EV SALES FORECAST LOWERED
In fact, Tesla is struggling to maintain its overall sales volume in the U.S. According to a forecast from WP Browne Consulting, Tesla’s U.S. sales will be down 1.5% for the full year, while BEVs from other manufacturers will be up 23%. Browne Consulting sees total BEV sales coming in at 1.3 million units for the full year, down from the 1.47 million in its previous forecast. It says high interest rates and high vehicle prices have lowered demand. And also predicts that inventory for all vehicles will grow to 3.8 million units by December, representing 85 days of supply. Browne says July sales came in weaker than automakers expected and that North American production in the second half of this year will be lower than it was last year.
RAM DROPS 1500 CLASSIC
And that market weakness is prompting Stellantis to lay off up to 2,450 assembly line workers at its Warren Truck Plant. In July, it went from two shifts down to one and now it’s going to drop the Ram 1500 Classic, which is the previous generation truck it kept around as a lower price option. But with high inventory levels at the brand, and the new 2025 Ram 1500 starting to hit the market, Stellantis decided to drop the Classic. The indefinite layoffs will start on October 8th and Stellantis says production of the truck will come to an end later this year. Warren Truck, which is a little north of Detroit, also makes the Jeep Wagoneer and currently employs about 3,900 people, most of whom are UAW members.
JAGUAR COULD BE OUT OF CARS FOR A YEAR
Jaguar could end up being out of the new car market for a year. And it’s all part of its transition to BEVs. Jag already stopped production of the XE, XF and F-Type, and production of the E-Pace and I-Pace stops at the end of the year. Only the F-Pace remains in its lineup but production of that model ends next year. And Jaguar won’t start delivering its first EVs until 2026, so dealers won’t have any new cars to sell in some markets in Europe for a year. Instead, they’ll focus on selling used vehicles and aftersales service. Jaguar will reveal a concept of its first EV this December in the U.S. It’s a four-door GT with a range of 435 miles and will cost 100,000 pounds or about $127,000.
PORSCHE TURNS TO CHINA FOR UX
At the beginning of the year Porsche started rolling out a new infotainment system for the Boxster, Cayman, and Macan in China that’s specifically designed for that market. Customers there expect to have much better voice recognition and integration of popular apps, but in order to pull it off Porsche had to go to a Chinese supplier. We think this was originally a project for Cariad, but VW’s own software division probably couldn’t keep up. A project like this normally takes Porsche 3 years, but the models needed the updates fast to keep up with competition, so it cut the schedule to 18 months. And also wanted to do it without making any physical changes to the cars. Porsche didn’t name the supplier who helped pull it off, only calling them “the supplier” or “the company” in its press release, but it did say it makes head units, screens, and rear seat entertainment and previously worked for Volkswagen.
ACURA UNVEILS EV CONCEPT
The first EV from the Honda group to come off its own, in-house developed dedicated platform will make its debut any moment or day now at the Monterey Car Week in California. Acura teased this picture of a concept it calls a “segment defying” SUV that’s a preview for a future model. Its other EVs, the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, are based on GM’s Ultium platform, but the production version of this SUV will be the first on its dedicated EV platform and will be made at its EV hub in Ohio.
CATL OPENS NEW CAR SHOWROOM
Who ever heard of a battery company having its own new car showroom? Well, CATL just opened a showroom in the city of Chengdu that has over 100 EVs from 50 different brands. The idea is to give car shoppers the opportunity to check out all kinds of electrics under one roof. CATL calls it a New Energy Lifestyle Plaza, and while it doesn’t sell cars, it’s staffed with experts who can recommend what to buy based on a shopper’s budget and how they’ll use the car.
DONGFENG EREV STARTS AT $18,331
Speaking of China, extended range EVs, or EREVs, are the hottest segment in the market right now. So more automakers are adding more models to the segment. Dongfeng unveiled the 007 EREV that’s priced at $18,331. It offers 125 miles of pure BEV range, or 745 total miles when combined with its 1.5 L range-extending engine. And when the battery is depleted, the gas engine delivers 56 miles to the gallon, based on the CLTC rating.
CHANGAN UNVEILS EREV PICKUP/SUV
Changan unveiled the EREV version of its pickup truck, the Nevo E07, which was already introduced as a pure battery electric. It actually looks like an SUV, but the tailgate will fold down like a pickup. The EREV version gets a 39 kilowatt-hour LFP battery pack that delivers 125 miles of BEV range. It will reportedly come with 11 cameras, 5 radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors and 2 lidars for a high level of assisted driving. Car News China says it will likely be priced at $37,600.
WULING EREV STARTS AT $6,500
And Wuling came out with this EREV, the Hongguang, which is also offered in pure ICE and pure BEV versions. The EREV is powered by a 1.5-liter engine, and has a small 8.5 kWh LFP battery pack that delivers 26 miles of pure BEV range. Those are pretty modest numbers, but keep in mind that this car only starts at $6,500. Keep an eye on these EREV models and the EREV segment. We think there’s going to be more copying of this technology. It gives customers a pure BEV option, with a gas engine to ease any range anxiety. Also, EREVs are cheaper to manufacture than PHEVs because they get rid of the transmission, differential and drive shaft.
HIPHI FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY IN CHINA
Despite all the impressive news and technology coming out of China, we may be seeing the first cracks starting to appear in the Chinese automotive industry. For quite some time, we’ve been saying that China has too many car companies, making too many models and has too much over capacity. And now comes the news that EV maker HiPhi filed for bankruptcy. It suspended production in February because it wasn’t able to pay suppliers due to poor sales. It sold fewer than 8,000 EVs last year. A court in China approved its restructuring plans, and it will appoint an administrator to oversee the process. And while that may address its structural costs, it’s unlikely to solve its sales problem.
And that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Tesla is dropping the base CT that was supposed to be priced around $39,000 that ended up actually $22,000 more. Plus, at a rate of 4800 a month that’s only about 58,000 trucks a year. A far cry from the 200K a year to fill those 2 million reservations. Off the targets by a lot.
In addition to all that everyone expected Tesla to lose market share as other manufacturers released their EVs. However, I don’t think anyone expected Tesla sales to drop. I believe everyone expected EV sales to outpace the diversity allowing Tesla to continue to grow just maybe not as fast as demand. Turns out the interest isn’t there and diversity is taking its toll. I’m actually surprised to see Tesla sales drop so soon.
Not sure how you become a CEO of an auto manufacturer that doesn’t plan to produce any vehicles for a year. Thats seems like real incompetent leadership.
Elon’s mouth may be a big part of the sales drop.
It is sad that Tata appears to plan to kill off Jaguar. Expensive EVs are not what they need. They need a modern XJ with a piston engine, priced between E-Class and S-Class. Then, they need a G-Type, either ICE or hybrid. I went to a British car show Saturday, and saw a wide variety of Jaguars from XK-120s, E-Types, more recent XJ sedans, and others. There were several F-Types, a great looking car in its own right. So much legacy, for a brand that will soon be gone.
Victor West, exactly. I’m not the only one who will never buy a Tesla for that reason.
GM has sold as almost as many Silverado EV’s to fleet and rental companies so far.
Why did Jag drop the models that Magna assembles? That was an investment free way to provide dealers with inventory. Also, I’m surprised that Stellantis didn’t try to use the RAM classic tooling in other markets. At lower volume, they could probably make sales in Brazil or South Africa. Maybe they should have offered it as a bare chassis for customizers to make bullet proof Saudi Arabian specials. As for the Wuling EREV, why can’t they make a model that will pass NA requirements. Surely GM has an idle plant they coud let them use in the US or Canada. They could easily get $20K for it here. Finally, the hybrid version of the Honda Fit is in production in Japan and gets 3.3 l/100km. Why the heck is THAT car not sold here. We already know it meets the requirements.!!
Great show today and some great comments
Now that Elon is not just catering to the ‘I’m wearing my mask in my enclosed vehicle by myself because I’m terrified’ crowd I guess he will loose some customers.
Joe G, He’ll loose, as opposed to tight some customers?
Hard to believe there are 16,000 monstrosities out there. I saw one in person recently. It is so—how can I say this—umm, wrong?
I saw a CT today, up close, and while it has a cool factor, it’s more of a novelty, IMHO. While it is useable and serviceable as a work truck, it’s more a life style vehicle,for camp sites and beach parties (and I would say the same of the R1T and Hummer SUT, too).
As hopeful as I am for Jaguar, a year without new product seems like wishful thinking! While it will build anticipation, the product will have to be ground breaking and earth shattering, I would think, to move the needle. Even selling vehicles in the $100 to $150K+, might be hard to make profit on, when the batteries and platform are so expensive and they are selling in such small volumes. Bentley and Rolls Royce can sell 10 to 15 K a year, for they sell them anywhere from $200 to $500K, before options! For Jaguar to come close to those type of financial numbers, they’d have to move 30 to 50K a year and I have a hard time seeing that. I hope they prove us wrong and give a mind blowing vehicle! Not one that they cancel just before the bring it to market.
Elon’s views would encourage me to buy if he had a product that interested me. Any controls on a car beyond entertainment on a touchscreen is an automatic deal breaker. Please give me buttons and dials that I can adjust without looking.
…and a turn signal stalk.
Elon is running off his earlier customers, and potential customers, which I was one, but maybe he will gain enough MAGAts to replace them. Still, there is a lot of good competition entering the market, so the only real advantage Tesla has is the chargers, and they are being opened up to everyone. I would expect that to decrease Tesla sales, never mind the other things.
Not wanting to get into politics and this comment is not to criticize one position or another, but I’m a bit confused. Musk has been one of the biggest proponents of global warming and has pushed EVs a counter to that. Yet, on the local news this morning, it talked about an interview between Musk and Trump. While Trump praised Elon for his work and efforts during the interview, he then, according to the news report, poured cold water on global warming and down played its effects. Each are entitled to their beliefs and this is a good example of two with different opinions being able to agree to disagree, yet, I seems like an odd pairing. Like they have a lot in common because they are both rich, though they are both pushing agendas that are in contrast to each other! A real apples to oranges pairing.
wmb- I think what you see is two people that share a logical way of looking at things and don’t base decisions on feelings. They are able to have opposing views and still work toward a common goal, (at least on the things they agree on). I find it funny that people would avoid an American brand and made Tesla simply because they don’t agree with the CEO’s political stance yet will go buy foreign vehicles. Probably the same people that will be in line for the China cars and simply say it’s a free market enterprise. Justifying selling out for a cheap EV. Then wonder why the economy continues to falter and good jobs leave the country. Lots of people do not have the foresight to see the results of their actions and the things that support our economy.
Elon is in the news a lot more than most CEO’s simply because of his wealth and diversity of SpaceX ,Tesla and Twitter. If I made all my buying decisions based on only those CEO’s I agree with I probably would miss out on some really great products. But I’m not an infant that requires everyone to agree with my same point of view. I continue to buy products based on their merits of value for the money. It’s a real problem in this country where people struggle to have conversations of opposing views. Which is funny because that struggle comes from the side of diversity and inclusion yet wants everyone to think the same way. It’s okay to have a different opinion, think differently and not agree. I could care less what Mary Barra, Jim Farley, Koji Sato’s and Elon Musks position is on most anything.
Kit since you find Elon so offensive did you check in on Oliver Blume’s political positions before buying your Porsche? Would it matter if his father or grandfather was part of the Third Reich? I have no idea if he was, I don’t know much about Oliver other than he was born in West Germany in 1968. The point is, this cancel culture of “I’m not going to support anyone of opposing views” is so silly and where does it end? What about the thousands of American workers that build Tesla’s every day. They may not share Elon’s views. So just screw them because you dont like Elon. I just dont understand that lie of thinking it seems very short sighted and narcissistic. IMO
The Third Reich is 80 year old history, but Musk and Trump were fawning over Putin and Kim, just last night. That is concerning to me, if Trump comes to power again.
Fawning over them or playing them for what happens three steps down the road.
Ever hear the saying, Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer? Or Kill em with kindness? His respect for other leaders shouldn’t be taken for admiration. Much better negotiator than someone that wants peace and talks about a political negotiation yet just keeps sending billions of dollars to continue a war.
Trump wants to emulate Putin and Kim, and become a dictator. He’s said so at a rally, where he said vote me in, and you won’t need to vote again, or something similar.