AD #3961 – VW Cutting 35,000 Jobs in Germany; Dodge Charger Daytona Going Overseas; China Accounts for Almost Half of World Sales

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

Happy New Year Everyone! I truly hope that you had a good holiday. But it’s good to be back, so let’s get to it.

VW CUTTING 35,000 JOBS IN GERMANY
Volkswagen finally came to an agreement with union IG Metall and its Works Council. For months the automaker was negotiating to close plants and reduce its workforce in Germany. But its unions pushed back, saying they didn’t want any plant closings or layoffs and were willing to give up future bonuses for that to happen. But it looks like Volkswagen pretty much got what it wanted. It’s going to chop its workforce in Germany by 35,000 people by 2030, saving 1.5 billion euros a year when completed. On top of that, production at its German plants will be slashed by 734,000 units. One of the six plants will be discontinued by the end of this year and another is only making a single model that’s going away in 2027. VW says it’s exploring other options for these sites, but it tried the same thing with an Audi plant in Belgium and nobody wanted it. When you add up all of the changes that VW is making, it says it expects to save 15 billion euros a year. But this is only one region. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Volkswagen have to make cuts in other parts of the world as well.

EV BATTERIES MAY LAST LONGER THAN THOUGHT
One of the biggest concerns people have about buying an EV is how long the battery will last. Well, a new study from the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center says EV batteries may last longer than initially thought. The researchers performed two different types of tests to study the battery health of 92 commercial lithium-ion batteries. One test is most commonly used in labs when batteries are charged and discharged at a constant current. The other test, called dynamic cycling, mimics real-world conditions by charging and discharging batteries with bursts of activity and rest. And the researchers found that batteries tested using dynamic cycling had better battery health metrics. More research needs to be done but this could help ease some concern about having to replace costly batteries.

BRAZIL STOPS WORK VISAS FOR BYD
As we reported last month, BYD is being investigated in Brazil for the mistreatment of workers at the assembly plant it’s building there. And now the country has stopped issuing temporary work visas for BYD because it says some of those workers are the victims of human trafficking. Brazilian authorities say they found 163 Chinese workers who had been brought to Brazil in “slavery-like” conditions. BYD hasn’t yet responded to a request for comment but the contractor that hired the workers has denied any wrongdoing. BYD is aiming to start production at the $620 million plant this year, but it looks like those plans will be put on hold until this issue is resolved.

BATTERIES HELP RELIEVE DEMAND ON CALIFORNIA’S GRID
California has come under a lot of criticism for pushing EVs so heavily while its electrical grid suffers from rolling brown outs at times. But now, EVs with bi-directional charging capabilities are helping to ease the stress on the grid when demand is high. Renewable sources were able to provide all the electricity the state needed for 98 out of 116 days from late winter until early summer last year with no blackouts during that time. Those sources include wind, water, solar and batteries. Batteries cover stationary storage as well, not just EVs. But even so, battery capacity in the state is up 105% compared to the same time in 2023 and batteries were able to supply up to 12% nighttime demand.

DODGE CHARGER DAYTONA GOING OVERSEAS
The Dodge Charger Daytona is heading for overseas markets. A Stellantis spokesperson confirmed with CarScoops that the American muscle car will be sold in the Middle East and through importers in Europe in the second half of this year. They didn’t say which version will go on sale first, but both 2- and 4-door and ICE and pure electric models will be offered.

 

CHINA CONTINUES PUSH FOR AV LEAD
China wants to be the world leader in self-driving cars, so the city of Beijing just passed regulations to encourage using them. Starting on April 1, autonomous vehicles that pass road and safety tests will be allowed to apply for public trials. The city is also encouraging the development of the road infrastructure to support a network of self-driving vehicles. The city of Wuhan recently passed similar measures as well and that makes at least 19 cities in China that are conducting autonomous vehicle tests.

CHINA ALMOST ACCOUNTS FOR HALF OF WORLD SALES
Meanwhile, China’s auto industry is right on schedule to achieve the country’s goal of dominating the global auto industry. Through November of last year, China accounted for 41% of all the light vehicles sold around the world. In Norway, for example, Chinese EVs now account for almost 10% of the market. Five years ago they had zero market share. And there’s no signs of slowing down, at least not yet. Chinese automakers are starting to report their sales for December and so far the numbers are coming in strong.

BYD LIKELY PASSES HONDA & FORD IN SALES
BYD posted record sales last month, selling over half a million cars. For the year, BYD sold 4.25 million, which probably puts it ahead of Honda and Ford, though we’ll have to wait for them to post their final year-end numbers. If BYD holds December’s sales pace for the rest of this year, it will sell over 6 million vehicles, which could pole-vault it ahead of General Motors. And it’s entirely possible that BYD surpassed Tesla in terms of selling pure battery electric cars. Through the third quarter of last year, BYD was only 124,000 units behind Tesla, and while BYD’s sales are surging ahead, Tesla will probably show only a slight increase, at best.

CHINESE EV SALES STILL RELY ON SUBSIDIES
But one reason why car sales are so strong in China is that automakers are forced to cut prices as the price war there enters its third year. But even with all those price cuts, subsidies from the Chinese national government and others by large municipalities are needed to prop up sales. Moreover, the industry is burdened by massive overcapacity, and while exports have been a pressure relief valve for all that capacity, China now faces increasing trade restrictions and tariffs from countries like India, Brazil and even Mexico who worry about all those Chinese cars coming into their markets. So what’s going on in the Chinese auto industry is simply unsustainable. And if you think all those plant closings and layoffs that Volkswagen is talking about in Germany sounds bad, just wait until the day of reckoning hits the Chinese industry.

And by the way, those are some of the things that we’ll be talking about on Autoline After Hours this afternoon. We’ll look back at the most important developments that happened last year, look forward to what could happen this year, and also get a preview of the new automotive tech that we’ll see at CES in Las Vegas next week. Jeff Stout from Yanfeng will be on the show, and so will Sam Abuelsamid from GuideHouse Insights. So we invite you to join John and Gary when the show goes live later today.

But that’s a wrap for this show. I hope to see you later.