AD #3993 – GM Shocks Industry With Dependability Study; Mass Production For BYD’s Solid State Batteries; Kia EV4 Looks Sensational

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

TRUMP’S CAR TARIFFS TO HIT APRIL 2
President Trump promises he’s going to raise tariffs on imported cars around April 2. While he’s been threatening to put higher tariffs on cars from Canada and Mexico, he’s now going to be targeting imports from Europe, Japan and South Korea as well. Volkswagen, Hyundai-Kia, Mercedes, Nissan and BMW have the highest percentage of imported vehicles, so they’d be impacted the most, but it would hit all automakers hard. Imports account for nearly half of all the vehicles sold in the U.S., with most of them coming from Mexico, South Korea and Japan. 

NISSAN PLANS TO CUT ROGUE PRODUCTION IN U.S.
However, Nissan seems to be tone deaf when it comes to these tariff threats. It wants to cut production of the Rogue crossover in the U.S. and start importing more of them from Japan. Nissan says it can make the Rogue 20% cheaper in Japan, largely thanks to the extraordinary weakness of the Japanese yen, which is now trading at only 151 yen to the dollar. But Nissan needs to start paying attention to what’s going on in the White House because Trump will go ballistic if he hears that Nissan wants to cut U.S. production and import more Rogues.

JAPAN’S CAR SALES FALL AS POPULATION DECLINES
But Nissan may be willing to endure Trump’s attacks and move more production back to Japan because the Japanese auto industry is in decline. New car sales in Japan are now a million vehicles lower than they were a decade ago, largely because its population is shrinking. It’s now dropping at the rate of half a million people a year. And if you go to Japan’s peak in the 1990’s, total vehicle production is now about 3 million vehicles lower. There’s a lot more detail on the decline of the Japanese auto industry and if you’d like to learn more about it, we posted a video over the weekend that dives into that.

AUTOLINE VIEWERS OPPOSE CAR TARIFFS
Now back to those tariffs. We posted our first ever YouTube poll, asking you, “President Trump wants to put an additional 25% tariff on imported cars & components. What feedback would you give the President?” And we provided two answers you could vote on. Number one was, “Great idea! This will bring manufacturing and jobs back to the US.” And number two was, “Dumb idea. Car prices will go up and sales will go down.” Well, 75% of you said it was a dumb idea. And that doesn’t surprise us because so many of our Autoline viewers work in the auto industry and industry insiders believe that the tariffs will hurt automakers and suppliers as well as car buyers. We’re going to start doing these polls about once a week because we got some great comments and feedback from you. You can find it under the “Post” tab on our home page on YouTube.

KIA EV4 LOOKS SENSATIONAL
Kia is the only brand in the Hyundai Group that doesn’t currently have an all-electric sedan in its lineup, but that changes later this year when it launches the new EV4. Right now, it’s detailing the styling of the vehicle, which stays pretty true to the bold design of the concept, lots of straight lines, sharp edges and thin lighting. Kia revealed that there will be a hatchback version of the EV4 as well, but it hasn’t said where the models will go on sale yet. It also didn’t provide any details about the battery, powertrain or the interior. And it would be pretty wild if the interior stays as close to the concept as the exterior styling does, but presumably, we’ll get more info about the EV4 leading up to its official debut at the end of this month.

BMW SHOWCASES NEW EV TECH
Speaking of new EVs that launch later this year, BMW is showing off some of the tech that will debut in its Neue Klasse next-generation of vehicles. But it’s doing it in a rolling test-bed, called the Vision Driving Experience. BMW says its new models will feature four main control units or ECUs; one for automated driving, one for infotainment, another for auxiliary functions like HVAC and lighting and lastly one for a new drivetrain management system, called the “Heart of Joy.” It controls everything from the drivetrain, to the brakes, including regen and to the charging and steering systems. By doing that BMW says it can improve EV efficiency by up to 25%, which is great for everyday driving or it’s sophisticated enough to individually control brake regen at each wheel while flying around a race track. With a claimed 13,269 lb-ft of torque, which is likely actual motor torque multiplied by the gear ratio, the Vision Driving Experience is more suited for the race track, but BMW says it’s not destined for production.

GM SHOCKS INDUSTRY WITH DEPENDABILITY STUDY 
General Motors did really well in JD Power’s 2025 Vehicle Dependability Study, which surveys owners about vehicle problems after three years of ownership. Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC were in the top 7 among all brands. Buick was the top overall mass market brand and number two only to Lexus, who ranked the highest among all brands for the third straight year. Mazda and Toyota ranked 3rd and 4th ahead of Cadillac, Chevy and GMC. Only five other brands; Porsche, BMW, Mini, Kia and Honda, were above the industry average. And at the bottom of the list was Land Rover, Audi, Jeep, Chrysler and Volkswagen. Overall, vehicle problems are at their highest level since 2009 and compared with 2024 results, the industry is experiencing a 6% increase in problems per 100 vehicles. JD Power says the rise in problems is due to an increase in software defects.

AS SALES SINK, GM CLOSES ASSEMBLY PLANT IN CHINA
General Motors’ sales in China peaked at more than 4 million units in 2017 but last year they tumbled to just 1.8 million vehicles. As we’ve been telling you, GM would have to start closing some assembly plants. And the first one to go is in Shenyang, northeast of Beijing, and which makes the Buick GL8 minivan and the Chevrolet Tracker SUV. GM is spending $4 billion to restructure its operations in China, so we figure there will be at least two or three more plant closings.

MASS PRODUCTION FOR BYD’S SOLID STATE BATTERIES 
Solid state batteries could be the Holy Grail to EV adoption. They’re lighter, more energy dense, charge faster, and are not as affected by cold weather. And so here’s a pretty significant announcement. BYD says it’s only two years away from using solid state batteries in its EVs. It plans to roll them out in 2027 and says mass production will kick off in 2030. The batteries will initially be used in mid-to high-end models and after 2030, they’ll expand to more mass-market vehicles. However, BYD isn’t as bullish on solid-state batteries as some others and doesn’t expect them to fully take over, saying that LFP batteries will be around for another 15 to 20 years.

NIO BUYS ZF’S STEER-BY-WIRE
German supplier ZF secured what is likely a decent order for its steer-by-wire system from Chinese automaker NIO. It will be available on NIO’s newest EV platform, called NT 3.0, that first underpins its new flagship SUV, called the ET9. With no mechanical connection between the steering wheel and wheels, the steering ratio can easily be changed depending on the driving situation. For example, at low speeds the steering wheel can go from lock to lock in less than 1 full turn. And actually, it’s just over half a turn. The steering system also has OTA update capabilities, so it can be improved over time. 

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