AD #3938 – EV Makers Beg Trump Not to Ax EV Subsidies; Infiniti Dying in China; CATL Intros 2nd-Gen Sodium Battery

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

EV MAKERS BEG TRUMP NOT TO AX EV SUBSIDIES
EV makers and battery companies are begging the Trump Administration not to kill off the federal EV tax credit. The Zero Emission Transportation Association, which represents companies like Rivian, Tesla, Uber, Lucid and Panasonic, says tax credits for EV sales and production have helped grow jobs in states that voted Republican and ending them would hurt job growth. The group also says the credits help “compete to win against China.” As we reported last week, the Trump Administration wants to kill the $7,500 tax credit for purchasing an EV. We think they’ll likely get rid of that but keep incentives for battery production because most factories are located in states that voted Republican and building factories creates jobs, and Trump says he’s all about creating jobs. 

TRUMP LOOKS AT NATIONAL AV STANDARD
Speaking of Trump, Bloomberg reports he’s planning to issue a national standard for autonomous vehicles. No doubt Elon Musk has been talking to Trump about that since Elon says the future of Tesla is really with autonomous cars and AI. Right now, there isn’t much of a national standard for AVs and a mishmash of state regulations make it almost impossible for automakers to deploy AVs on a national basis. While the Department of Transportation could issue rules on this, an act of Congress would make it happen a lot faster.

U.S. PUBLIC TRANSIT GETS BIG ELECTION BOOST
One interesting development from the U.S. election two weeks ago was the number of ballot initiatives for public transportation that were approved by voters–even in conservative areas like Nashville, Tennessee and Maricopa County in Arizona. There 26 initiatives and 19 of them were approved. Those and other approved initiatives this year will raise an additional $25 billion for public transportation. Experts say people voted this way because they want alternative choices for transportation, especially high quality public transportation.

  

INFINITI DYING IN CHINA
Ok, now over to China where Infiniti is dying. There are rumors swirling around that Nissan’s luxury brand will pull out of the Chinese market, and while Infiniti denies it will do that, the sales numbers show that the brand is dead. So far this year it sold less than 2,000 cars in China and you can’t support a sales organization with so few sales.   

EU OEMs TRY TO PROP UP CHINESE DEALERS
In fact, all the premium European brands in China are now subsidizing their Chinese dealers due to the sharp drop in sales. And they’re subsidizing them to the tune of hundreds of millions of euros. But it isn’t just the European luxury brands, the entire luxury segment in China is off 8.5% this year. And 2,000 dealerships are expected to go out of business. Two things are happening here. There’s a backlash in China against flashy spending, and foreign automakers are falling behind Chinese automakers in EVs, in-vehicle infotainment and autonomous driving.

MERCEDES SHARES DETAILS ABOUT NEW EV PLATFORM
Mercedes is chasing Lucid Air levels of efficiency with its next-gen electric vehicles. The first to launch will be the CLA sedan as a 2026 model year vehicle, followed by a station wagon and two SUVs. They’ll ride on a new skateboard platform, called Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture, which features an 800-volt electrical system and a new in-house developed drive unit. That unit combines a 200 kW or nearly 270 horsepower electric motor with a 2-speed gearbox and silicon carbide inverter. 4MATIC or AWD versions add an 80 kW or roughly 105 horsepower electric motor on the front axle, but to maintain efficiency, Mercedes says it’s mainly used as a “boost” function. Two battery packs will be available. One is an NMC or nickel, manganese and cobalt chemistry and has an energy density of 680 Wh/l, which is 20% more than its previous packs. With 85 kWh of capacity it’s expected to return over 750 kilometers or 466 miles of range or the equivalent of 12 kWh/100 kilometers. This battery will be used on sportier and higher-end models. The other is an LFP or lithium, iron, phosphate pack, which has an energy density of 450 Wh/l and a capacity of 58 kWh. Rounding out the highlights on the EV side of things is an improved charging capability of up to 320 kW, which can add 300 kilometers or about 185 miles of range in 10 minutes. But these vehicles will have a hybrid setup as well. It combines a turbocharged 1.5L 4-cylinder engine, which is available in three outputs, with a 20 kW or roughly 27 horsepower electric motor that’s integrated into an 8-speed transmission. Along with a 48-volt 1.3 kWh battery pack, vehicles will be able to cruise in EV-only mode part of the time. Mercedes also converted its AC compressor to 48-volts, which as we know from our Cybertruck teardown videos, can reduce the size of parts and cut wire size by an average of about 50%. The company is going to need to keep innovating like this if it wants to keep up with Lucid and others. Lucid has already improved its system for the Gravity SUV and is working on its next-gen tech that’s even more efficient.  

CHINA & EU STILL NEGOTIATING OVER TARIFFS
It looks like China and Europe have made significant progress in their negotiations to end the EU’s tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. According to a posting on a Weibo account affiliated with the state-run China Central Television, the EU and China have reached a “technical consensus” on scaling back or ending the tariffs. However, there aren’t any details about the potential deal. It’s been previously reported that they’re working on a deal that would set prices on Chinese-made EVs and limit imports to the EU in order to avoid tariffs.

CATL INTROS 2ND-GEN SODIUM BATTERY
Chinese EV battery maker CATL introduced its second-generation sodium-ion battery. The company says the batteries have better safety and low-temperature performance compared to lithium-ion batteries with the ability to be discharged at temperatures as cold as -40 degrees Celsius. CATL didn’t reveal its energy density but previously said it’s aiming to exceed 200 Wh/kg, which is not quite as energy dense as lithium packs. According to reports, CATL’s second-gen sodium batteries could replace 20 to 30% of lithium-ion batteries in small or short-range vehicles. The batteries are expected to launch next year but won’t reach mass production until 2027.

TOYOTA WORKING TO SLASH COST OF BEVs
Toyota is quietly making progress on slashing the cost needed to make electric cars. Toyota calls its BEV development Area 35, because it wants to shrink the manufacturing footprint and the number of parts needed to make BEVs by 35%. The first car to benefit from this will be a Lexus that debuts in 2026. We fully expect it to use large castings to eliminate stampings, and possibly a form of unboxed assembly just like Tesla is playing around with. Toyota says it will reduce product development time and equipment costs by 25% and double productivity on its dedicated EV assembly lines. The company already started converting some plants to the new way of making cars, with the goal of converting all of them, so it doesn’t have to spend a fortune to build new ones. Those efforts in Japan have boosted manufacturing capacity by 80,000 vehicles. 

AVATR JOINS NIO’S BATTERY CHARGING NETWORK
Chinese automaker Nio just got another automaker to sign up for its charging network in China. Avatr, a joint-venture between Changan, Huawei and CATL, is Nio’s latest partner and all Avatr owners now have full access to the network. Nio has partnerships with 12 other automakers for its charging network, which now includes more than 2,600 swapping stations and nearly 24,000 chargers.

HYUNDAI REVEALS HIGH-PERFORMANCE ELANTRA N
Hyundai’s performance N vehicles are pretty impressive and already feel a little bit like race cars for the road, but now they’ll really have that race car look. It’s coming out with a special TCR Edition of the Elantra N that looks just like the cars Hyundai puts on the track. On top of the unique touches inside and out, it features an adjustable carbon spoiler and lighter 19-inch wheels. The model launches in South Korea next month, followed by global markets in 2025.

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