AD #3934 – VinFast Get Major Life-Line; Trump Appoints New Head of EPA; Porsche Holding Regular Bug Bounty Programs

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

ACTIVIST HEDGE FUND BUYS INTO NISSAN
Shareholders in Nissan will love this, but the top execs must be deeply worried. An activist shareholder company that’s part of a bigger hedge fund which invests in distressed companies, just bought 2.5% of Nissan’s shares. That sent the stock up more than 12%. But the hedge fund, called Effissimo, is known for demanding structural reforms in companies that it thinks will make them more efficient. Nissan is clearly in trouble, with sales, revenue and profits continuing to fall. And the hedge fund will probably start demanding immediate changes, including to the executive ranks.

VINFAST GETS CASH LIFE-LINE
Well here’s a familiar story. An EV startup is burning through cash and needs to raise billions of dollars to keep going. In this case, the EV startup is Vinfast, and it’s fortunate that its billionaire owner is ready to pull the needed cash right out of his own pocket. Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, who owns Vinfast’s parent company, is putting another $2 billion of his own money into the car company. And the parent company, called Vingroup JSC, is going to loan it nearly $1.4 billion. But Vinfast is spending money almost as fast as it’s coming in. Mr. Vuong put a billion dollars into the company in April, but by the end of June it only had $98 million on the balance sheet. Vinfast says it should reach a breakeven point for its operations at the end of 2026, but at its current spending rate it will need more cash infusions before then.

TRUMP APPOINTS ZELDIN TO EPA
The incoming Trump Administration plans to hit the ground running when it takes over in January and Trump has already named who the new head of the EPA is going to be. It’s New York Congressman Lee Zeldin. One of Zeldin’s promises is to revitalize the auto industry, and one of his first steps will likely be to freeze automotive emission standards at their 2027 levels. That would ease the pressure off automakers who, under the current mandate, need to have 71% of their sales be BEVs and PHEVs by 2032. Zeldin will also probably try to get rid of the waiver the EPA grants to the California Air Resources Board which allows it to set its own Zero Emission Vehicle mandate. As we reported yesterday, Toyota says that standard is impossible to meet. But environmentalists will not take those kinds of moves sitting down. They’ll likely launch lawsuits that will tie the EPA’s hands for years to come.

  

CADILLAC VISTIQ DETAILS
Cadillac shared details about its new electric SUV, the VISTIQ, which slots between the Lyriq and Escalade IQ and is scheduled to launch next year. The first models to come out will feature a 102 kWh battery pack that provides an estimated 300 miles or 482 kilometers of range, along with a standard dual-motor AWD setup that produces 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. Other highlights include optional 4-wheel steering, air suspension and 23-inch wheels as well as a standard 33-inch interior display screen and bi-directional charging capability. Cadillac says the VISTIQ will be a global EV with production starting early next year at GM’s Spring Hill plant in Tennessee and then likely going on sale later in the year as a 2026 model. It set pricing a little under $80,000, including destination charges, but before any EV incentives.

BUICK ADDS SEAT UPGRADES TO LUXURIOUS CENTURY VAN
Speaking of GM luxury vehicles, Buick is upgrading its CENTURY van in China. The area for the driver and front seat passenger is pretty nice, but the back seat is where you want to be and that’s where most of the upgrades were made. There’s the option for 4-, 6- and 7-seat variants with the 4- and 6-seat versions offer new captains chairs that feature a new 12-layer structure, 18 ways of adjustment, 5-zone heating with graphene heating technology, electric leg rests, build-in speakers, 18-point massage function and the ability to move back over 12.5 inches or 320 mm in 4-seat versions. On top of that, there’s an available 32-inch TV that completely separates the front from the back and even a lighting display in the roof liner that looks like a starry night. Starting prices for the CENTURY range from about $65,000 up to $97,000.

PORSCHE TO HOLD REGULAR BUG BOUNTY PROGRAMS
Cybersecurity is a big concern in the auto industry. So, to help protect its vehicles, Porsche is launching what it calls a Bug Bounty program to find potential vulnerabilities. This is an extension of a pilot program the automaker started last year, where it hired more than 200 hackers to find any issues in its products or digital services. And Porsche saw enough success in that program that it’s now going to hold these events on a regular basis.

STELLANTIS SECURES GRAPHITE IN NORTH AMERICA
Stellantis secured a supply of graphite for EV batteries in North America. The automaker signed a six-year deal with mining company Novonix to supply it with 86,000 to 115,000 tons of graphite starting in 2026. Graphite is used for the anode in EV batteries and the deal is enough to supply about 1.5 million EVs. Novonix is headquartered in Australia but its operations are in the U.S. and Canada. The miner is gearing up to open a graphite facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which will have the capacity to produce 20,000 tons a year. Novonix also has a graphite supply deal with Panasonic.

JAPANESE HYDROGEN JV GOES RACING
Racing is a great way to test and develop technology. And a group of Japanese auto and motorcycle makers are working on a hydrogen powered race car to compete with at next year’s Dakar Rally. The joint venture, called HySE, involves Toyota, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and Denso. They already participated in this year’s Dakar Rally with a supercharged, liquid cooled, inline four-cylinder hydrogen-powered engine and finished fourth in their category. But for next year’s event in January, they’ll be racing an updated version of this year’s car with the goal of improving the vehicle’s output in the high rev range, fuel consumption in the mid range and to increase the capacity of the hydrogen tank.

FIAT OFFERS 12-VOLT MILD HYBRID
Fiat is taking an interesting approach to cutting carbon emissions in Brazil. It’s coming out with hybrid versions of a couple of models it already sells, the Pulse and the Fastback, that can also run on biofuel. The 1.0L engine is paired with a 7-speed CVT and a 12-volt motor that replaces the alternator and starter, which produces a combined 130 horsepower. When running on ethanal it reduces fuel consumption by about 11%.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.