AD #3907 – EU Votes to Impose Tariffs on Chinese EVs; Stellantis & Renault Deny Merger Rumors; U.S. Port Strike Over

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

U.S. PORT STRIKE OVER
Good news for automakers, the port strike in the U.S. is over. The dock workers union announced they’ve reached a tentative deal with port operators to end the strike immediately. Reuters reports that workers will get a 62% pay raise. But the dispute isn’t entirely over because they’ve only agreed to extend their current contract until January 15, 2025. So they’ll need to settle all other outstanding issues by then. If the strike had continued longer it would have had a huge impact on the auto industry. The 36 ports affected by the strike handle nearly $38 billion worth of vehicles a year and they account for 70% of all U.S. car imports.

EU VOTES TO IMPOSE TARIFFS ON CHINESE-MADE EVs
Spain said, “Don’t do it.” Germany said, “Drop it.” But in the end the EU voted to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs, which start next month and will last for the next 5 years. And yet, the EU says it will continue to negotiate with China right up to the deadline. Ten European countries voted in favor of the tariffs, five said no, and twelve abstained. But the 10 who voted yes were enough to move it forward. But the tariffs would only apply to EVs, not PHEVs, hybrids or ICE vehicles. EVs made in China now account for 20% of the European EV market, including EVs made in China by European automakers. And Last year China exported nearly half a million vehicles to Europe. One idea being floated to avoid tariffs is that China would agree to a minimum price for its EVs and would not sell cars below that. One thing’s for sure, by voting in favor of tariffs with the deadline only weeks away, the EU has a much stronger bargaining position with China, which it may need because China has promised to retaliate by targeting European products imported to the country.

EV BATTERY MAKER NORTHVOLT FIGHTING TO SURVIVE
Just to show you how Europe is struggling with EVs, the Swedish EV battery startup, Northvolt, is fighting just to survive. It’s running into problems ramping up battery production, right as EV sales are slowing down in Europe, and Chinese competition is heating up. Northvolt was started in 2015 by former Tesla executives and it quickly raised billions from a number of companies, including Volkswagen, which owns 23%, as well as Volvo, BMW and Goldman Sachs. But while Northvolt has built thousands of batteries, they haven’t met automotive standards. BMW recently canceled $2 billion in battery orders. Then last week, Northvolt laid off 1,600 employees and abandoned plans to expand its factory in Sweden. It says it’s moving ahead with plans to open new plants in Germany and Canada, but it hinted it may need to partner with Chinese battery companies to get up to volume production.

CZECH REPUBLIC WANTS TO SOFTEN EU CO2 TARGETS
With EV growth slowing in Europe, there’s more pushback coming to strict CO2 emission rules that go into effect next year. Last month, the ACEA, a group that represents most major automakers in Europe, said it wants to delay the targets by two years. And now the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic is calling on the EU to soften the targets. He also wants to review the region’s 2035 ICE ban because of slowing EV growth, something Italy has also called for. Luca de Meo, the president of the ACEA and the CEO of Renault, warned that automakers could face fines of €15 billion next year for missing CO2 targets.

STELLANTIS & RENAULT DENY MERGER RUMORS
There’s some interesting rumors coming out of the European media about a possible merger between Stellantis and Renault. Actually, what’s most interesting is how the two have reacted to the rumors. Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis, said it was “pure speculation,” while Luca De Meo, the CEO of Renault, said they were just “rumors.” Now if there was nothing to it, wouldn’t you say, “No, it’s not true.” And so, they’re not actually denying there could be a possible merger, they’re just saying it’s a rumor. and that’s what makes this story so interesting.

HYUNDAI & WAYMO PARTNER ON ROBOTAXIS
Reports out of Korea a few weeks back were right, Waymo and Hyundai are partnering on robotaxis. The two officially signed a deal so Waymo can get special versions of the IONIQ 5 that will be made at Hyundai’s new plant in Georgia. The vehicles will roll off the assembly line with modifications for AVs, like redundant hardware and power doors and then will get integrated with Waymo’s autonomous tech. But it’s unclear exactly when we’ll see Waymo Hyundais on the road. Testing starts towards the end of next year, but they only say the vehicles will hit Waymo’s fleet “in the years to follow.” This will increase production of the IONIQ 5 and Hyundai plans to produce AVs in “significant volume” for Waymo over multiple years. But while Waymo is or will operate in Arizona, California, Texas and Georgia, its fleet has roughly 600-700 vehicles right now. However, we think its deal with Hyundai solves a few problems for Waymo. It was going to make robotaxis with Zeekr for the U.S., but since the U.S. is going to restrict Chinese EVs and tech, it really can’t bring those vehicles into the market. Waymo says it’s still working with Zeekr, but likely for other regions of the world now. Also, Waymo uses Jaguar I-Paces in its fleet and Jaguar announced that it’s killing off all of its models, except one before it goes all-electric. So, I think the IONIQ 5 will eventually replace those Jaguars. 

TESLA RUNNING INTO 4680 BATTERY PRODUCTION ISSUES
Tesla is running into manufacturing problems with a new type of cathode process for its 4680 batteries. That’s according to a report from the website The Information. Tesla is losing 70-80% of its cathodes to manufacturing defects, compared to 2% for other types of batteries. It is trying to develop a dry coating process that would cut the cost and energy needed to make them. But the report says it can’t get them up to the line speed it needs. Tesla is developing four versions of the 4680-cell using the dry coating process, including one code named NC05 for the robotaxi that gets unveiled next week. Another version is slated to go into the Cybertruck by the middle of next year.

RENAULT REVEALS HYDROGEN-ELECTRIC CONCEPT
Renault is showing off what its future models could look like with a new concept called the Embleme. A main focus of the car is reducing emissions. Renault says it would be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 90%, compared to a similar car today, by using more renewable energy in the production process, build with re-used parts and implement recycled and natural materials. Another way to reduce emissions is to cut weight. It says designers and engineers hunted for every kilogram they could to get its weight to 1,750 kilograms or about 3,850 pounds. The Embleme is based on Renault’s AmpR Medium platform and comes with a dual powertrain setup. It features both a 40 kWh NMC battery pack and a 30kW fuel cell. Also, packaged in the architecture is a 2.8-kilogram hydrogen tank and a 160 kW or 214 horsepower electric motor that drives the rear wheels. The entire setup is estimated to provide 1,000 kilometers or roughly 620 miles of range. Look for the Embleme to make its debut at the Paris auto show and it says we’ll learn more about it at the end of the month. 

  

NEW FORD EXPEDITION REVEALED
Lincoln recently revealed the new Navigator, so it was only a matter of time before Ford showed off the new Expedition. We’ll have a video coming out this weekend or early next week diving into a lot of the specifics with a few Ford experts, but let’s go over some of the highlights until then. Designers said they wanted the big SUV to be more distinctive, especially at night, which is why they gave it a DRL that wraps under and around the grille. Like the Navigator, the Expedition gets a split rear tailgate, but Ford expects its customers to take advantage of the rear space more than Lincoln does. It doesn’t get the Navigator’s pillar-to-pillar screen, but does come with a large display on top of the dash in front of the driver as well as a decent size infotainment screen in the middle. Power comes from a 3.5L EcoBoost V6, which is available as a standard version that makes 400 horsepower or a high-output version that makes 440 horsepower. The latter comes standard on the new Tremor Expedition. Tremor is Ford’s more off-road focused trim line that it has offered on other models, but this is a first for the Expedition. The new Expedition arrives in dealer showrooms next spring.

  

But that brings us to the end of today’s show and this week. I hope you have a great weekend.