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Runtime: 10:08
0:00 Zeekr Aims to Be 1st Chinese Car Brand in U.S.
1:21 VW Managers to Take €300 Million Pay Cut
1:54 EREV Scout Model Orders Outpace EVs
2:48 BMW Top-Selling Luxury Brand in U.S. In 2024
3:46 Chinese NEVs Hit Record Sales In 2024
4:34 Tesla Could Earn €1 Billion From Pooling Emissions
5:22 Nesbitt Named New GM Design Chief
5:52 BMW Reveals Next-Gen iDrive System
6:51 Honda Unveils 0 Series EVs
7:56 Stellantis Forms New Software Partnership
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ZEEKR AIMS TO BE 1ST CHINESE CAR BRAND IN U.S.
The CEO of Zeekr, which is owned by Geely, claims it will be the first Chinese car brand to enter the U.S. market. It’s planning to do that through a partnership with Waymo, where Zeekr is supplying Waymo with purpose-built robotaxis that are based around its newest electric minivan called the Mix. The model for Waymo is called the Zeekr RT and mass production starts this year, followed by deliveries sometime later in the year. But will Zeekr vehicles be allowed into the U.S.? There’s currently a 100% tariff on imported Chinese EVs and a ban of Chinese connected car technology. Those could be lifted by incoming president Donald Trump, but as of now they’re still in place. Waymo already operates an autonomous fleet in the U.S., so it could argue that all the data generated by the vehicles would stay with it and doesn’t pose a security risk and that it has a track record of safety. But it may have to look to other markets to launch the Zeekr-based robotaxi. Waymo also has plans to launch in the UAE and Japan.
VW MANAGERS TO TAKE €300 MILLION PAY CUT
Volkswagen recently announced that it would cut 35,000 jobs and over 730,000 vehicles from production by 2030. And that’s just in Germany. But it’s not just the blue-collar workers feeling the effects of the cutbacks. VW’s board member for human resources says that management will take pay cuts that total over 300 million euros, while board members will take an even larger cut than management or the workforce, but didn’t say exactly how much.
EREV SCOUT MODEL ORDERS OUTPACE EVs
Speaking of Volkswagen, when it revived Scout back in 2022, it was going to be an all-electric brand. But with the slowdown in demand, VW decided to add plug-in hybrid models to the lineup. And that decision is already paying off. Even though Scout won’t launch its Traveler SUV and Terra pickup until 2027, the brand is already taking orders. And while he didn’t provide specific numbers, Scout CEO Scott Keogh tells Bloomberg that pre-orders for the hybrid versions, which are extended-range electrics, are outpacing the pure electric versions. Usability may be part of the reason. EREV models have 500 miles of range, while the EVs have 350 miles of range. The Scouts will be built at a $2 billion plant that VW is building in South Carolina.
BMW TOP-SELLING LUXURY BRAND IN U.S. IN 2024
BMW was the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. last year. According to Automotive News, the German automaker sold more than 371,000 vehicles in 2024, which was well ahead of second-place Lexus who sold over 345,000 vehicles. Mercedes was the third-best selling luxury brand with nearly 325,000 sales. But after that, no other luxury brand sold more than 200,000 vehicles. If you’re wondering where Tesla is, Automotive News now classifies the EV maker as a mass-market brand because it says Tesla moved down market to increase its sales volume. But overall it was a good year for luxury brands in the U.S. with sales topping 2 million units for the first time since the pandemic. And BMW, Lexus, Genesis, Land Rover and Porsche set all-time U.S. sales records.
CHINESE NEVs HIT RECORD SALES IN 2024
Speaking of record sales, according to the China Passenger Car Association, nearly 23 million new vehicles were sold in China last year and of that almost 11 million of them were NEVs. That’s a record and up from the 7.75 million that were sold in 2023. NEVs, which includes BEVs, PHEVs and EREVs, accounted for nearly 48% of all new vehicles sold in China last year.
TESLA COULD EARN €1 BILLION FROM POOLING EMISSIONS
As we reported yesterday, Tesla is in line for a nice payday in Europe because it’s going to pool its fleet of EVs with Ford, Toyota, Stellantis, Mazda and Subaru this year, so the automakers can meet emission targets and avoid fines. And now we know just how much Tesla stands to make. According to UBS Group analysts Tesla could collect more than €1 billion from its pooling partners. Volvo also announced that it’s pooling with Mercedes and UBS says that the Swedish automaker could make nearly €300 million from that deal. Automakers in Europe face big fines for missing CO2 targets this year, which the auto lobbying group ACEA says could total €15 billion.
NESBITT NAMED NEW GM DESIGN CHIEF
General Motors has a new design chief. Current head of design, Michael Simcoe, who’s been in that position since 2016, announced he’s retiring after a 42-year career with the company. Simcoe is being replaced by Bryan Nesbitt, who’s currently the head of global Cadillac design. Nesbitt will take over the top role on July 1. Some of his recent work at Cadillac includes the Opulent Velocity and Sollei concepts.
BMW REVEALS NEXT-GEN iDRIVE SYSTEM
BMW is showing off its net-gen iDrive infotainment system. The new version is highlighted by a new Head-Up display it calls Panoramic Vision, which displays info pillar to pillar on a black printed surface in the lower section of the windshield. There’s also a 3D Head-Up display above the Panoramic Vision that shows navigation and automated driving information in the driver’s field of vision. And the different functions can be selected on the large central touchscreen, with the buttons on the steering wheel or with voice control. The new system is powered by the new BMW Operating System X, which is based on an Android Open Source Project software stack, which the company says offers greater update and upgrade capability compared to its previous system. BMW will start equipping the new iDrive system in all models starting at the end of this year.
HONDA UNVEILS 0 SERIES EVs
Honda took the wraps off its 0 Series prototypes, an SUV and a sedan, which are based on an all-new dedicated EV architecture. The 0 SUV will be the first model to enter production and will be built at the company’s EV hub in Ohio and go on sale in North America in the first half of 2026. It will then be launched in global markets including Japan and Europe. The wedge-shaped sedan called the 0 Saloon model will also be built in Ohio and will first launch in North America in late 2026 followed by global markets. The 0 Series models will feature Level 3 automated driving and also be equipped with a new operating system called ASIMO, named after the humanoid robot the company has been developing for 20 years. Honda also announced that it partnered with chipmaker Renesas to develop a system-on-chip for the next-gen 0 Series models that launch at the end of the decade.
STELLANTIS FORMS NEW SOFTWARE PARTNERSHIP
Stellantis is trying to speed up its vehicle development through new software partnerships. It announced a Memorandum of Understanding with dSPACE, a company that specializes in simulation and validation solutions. Stellantis will integrate dSPACE’s platform for Software-in-the-Loop testing into its virtual engineering system, which it says will speed up its development of customer-focused features.
I know I’ve been saying keep an eye out for our CES coverage, but I really mean it today. There were some WiFi issues, which prevented us from posting yesterday, but we will have them up today. So, thanks for being patient. That brings us to the end of this show and thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Honda’s Zero Series’ look straight out of the Pininfarina design studio.
Here’s my Ziggyline auto prediction for Scout: dead on arrival in 2027, established competitors will have already saturated the market with BEVs and EREVs, and if President Musk has his way any new competitors will be squashed, by either legal or illegal means, take your pick because the next Administration won’t care either way. As for those already ordering Scouts, there is one born every minute according to a famous circus person.
Hey, guys! Congrats to Bryan Nesbitt! What a lot of people don’t remember is he designed the original Party Time Cruiser for Chrysler, which became the Plymouth PT Cruiser; GM then hired him away from Chrysler, and he designed the Chevrolet HHR, which became the PT’s competition!
I see the exact opposite future for Scout. As people globally learn to hate Elon Musk, I see Tesla sales falling. Scout provides both freshness and nostalgia at the same time, without the ‘Musky’ smell that Tesla’s have or the ‘about to fail’ smell of the other non-Tesla alternatives. If Scout’s performance can match or exceed the GM/Ford alternatives, I can see a bright future for them. I could even see Ford expanding its partnership with VW to introduce a line of Scout based models in order to cheaply test out the EREV market.
Scout: I am on team Kevin
I also think Scout will do quite well. Though, they may still need to add another model to their production plant in order to properly use its capacity.
If car companies could make money by creating beautiful concept cars, Cadillac would be a world-beater.
As many of you know, Lexus has been the top selling luxury brand several times over the last 10 years. To make BMW’s sales in 2024 more impressive, Lexus reported that its US sales in 2024 were an all-time high for them. And BMW still managed to beat them by a decent margin. Top managers at Cadillac and Lincoln should be concerned about their jobs.
I think Lexus made a mistake in switching from the V6 to a turbo 4 in its best seller, the RX. A friend has an RX a few years old, I think about 2014, and was planning to get a new one, but was turned off by the new one being noisier on acceleration, and generally less refined. While the new one gets a little better mpg, with gas prices where I am, will be more expensive to operate than the older one, if you follow recommendations to use premium gas in the new one with the turbo 4.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=47150&id=34386
Also, while I haven’t experienced it, a buyer of a recent NX, the RAV4 based Lexus, finds the controls unfriendly, even by today’s standards. If BMW’s current iDrive is similar to my Mini, I suspect it is more user friendly what his 2023 Lexus has.
Cadillac, and GM in general need some hybrids. Also, even many non-hybrid GM powertrains seem underwhelming. Why does a BMW 3 Series with a 2 liter turbo get better mpg than a similar size, but slower Cadillac CT4, also with a 2 liter turbo?
I’ll withhold predictions on Scout. It will depend a lot on if they look good, drive ok, and the pricing is competitive.
As far as Nesbitt and PT Cruiser and HHR, both did ok for a few years, and then dropped off a cliff, as is typical of non-truck retro designs. PT Cruiser could have done better, longer, if they’d seriously updated the interior, which they never did. New Beetle is the only retro-mobile of that era which ever saw a second generation, and it didn’t see a third.
Scout DOA with their higher costs [labor and ramping] and basically vanilla designs Personally don’t see a plan to fight Chinese in non protected markets and the Tech companies with brilliant minds and creative ideas changing computer based cars code as fast as they can type.
Last I heard, Scout was facing a lawsuit from dealer groups over its direct-to-consumer sales model (like Tesla.). Since they are clearly a part of
Volkswagen, they will probably lose and be forced to use dealers. Will that be Volkswagen dealers or all
new stores? Will Volkswagen avoid bankruptcy long enough to find out? It’s a race between them and Stellantis to see who can self-destruct first.
Hilarious that all those euro OEMs have to pay Tesla a billion for the right to pollute. China watches that and laughs their asses off at the competitive advantage being handed to them on a platter as they bring new coal plants online every month and strip mine Africa for lithium. Once their own EVs enter the EU market, I guess they’ll get to share in Tesla’s windfall as well?
Classic.
Daily Driver, it’s clear that you really REALLY hate Europe, or at least hate European car companies. I’m curious about something. What do you daily, or less than daily drive?
I must say, the Honda “0” concepts look better in the video in this ALD report, than they do in the still shots from other agencies reporting on them at CES. I think it’s interesting that there are reports that the Afeela is going to use the EV tech used by the Zero models, but Car and Driver did a recent story where they had a chance to sample the EV platform under an Accord top hat! So, from the Accord, the Zero sedan and the Afeela, none of them look remotely alike, but can run the same EV hardware!
The Afeela is a head scratcher, though. Outside of the Acura NSX, Honda doesn’t sell a vehicle anywhere close to $100K, but strap on the Sony name and subscription service and Bob’s your uncle! And if the Afeela IS using a Honda EV architecture, as it has been reported, what happened to the EV hardware Sony had been working on?! Why had it taken Sony so long to get in the EV market, when they just aped someone else’s tech? What all does Sony bring to their partnership with Honda, other than their name and software?
Finally, while the Zero concepts (the sedan’s Lamborghini flavoring especially), I wonder how well the designs will age, if they came to market as they appear in concept form?
I think scout, being a truck and SUV, has a far better chance at making it then a $100k sedan named afeela from a consumer electronics company with zero dealer network and zero car building experience. If scout sticks to their 50/60K release price, it puts it in the territory of ICE competitors such as the bronco and wrangler. It only has to be better than those 2 vehicles to be a hit. That is a tough ask though as those are pretty capable vehicles for their segment. Just as in the past, Scout will have to be at a minimum the same or better than Jeep. Ford figured out how to outperform jeep, maybe Scout will as well. Have to wait and see I guess.
Kit, when it comes to EU governments and automakers, particularly VW, I am bewildered by their anti-common sense policies and willful destruction of their own economic best interests -to the massive detriment of their own citizens or employees. Once it became clear they will not course correct, I now just cheer it on and laugh about the impossible box of
knots they’ve placed themselves in. A couple of my cars are a Z3 and an E46 M3, so I do like BMW. But the daily driver is a 2020 TRDPro Tundra in their fantastic army green and the V8 that they’ve sadly since abandoned. Also have classic
Nissan.
Daily, thanks for the reply. It sounds like you are ok with some European companies. I came close to buying an E36 M3, but it wouldn’t have gone over well with some of my management and co-workers at GM.
I think they should have kept the V8 as an option in the Tundra. If a turbo V6 works well, it will end up being popular, as in F150, but about 25% of F150s are still sold with the V8.
Kit, yeah, it’s anecdotal, but most of the folks who approach me about my Tundra (usually because they love the color) lament the loss of the V8 and say that’s why they won’t buy the new one.