AD #3999 – Ram EREV Can Tow 14,000 Lbs.; Tesla Sales Plunge 50% in the EU; BMW iX Rated Most Satisfying EV

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

TRUMP TARIFFS COULD RAISE PICKUP PRICES $10,000
President Trump’s threat to slap 25% tariffs on vehicles imported from Canada and Mexico next month could raise the prices of full size pickups and SUVs by $9,000. That’s according to a study from the Anderson Economic Group. Pat Anderson, the CEO of the Group, says that if automakers don’t make production adjustments to offset the tariffs, the impact could be over $10,000 per vehicle. So far, most sales forecasts predict that new vehicle sales in the U.S. will come in around 16.1 million. But those tariffs, even if they’re phased in over time, will blow a hole in those forecasts. More importantly, full-size trucks and SUVs are where GM, Ford and Stellantis make the bulk of their profits. And if those sales drop, their guidance to Wall Street goes out the window.

WRANGLER, GLADIATOR MOVING TO STELLA FRAME PLATFORM
So how will automakers react? We’ve already seen Ford delay the intro of the next-gen F-150 by a year. Stellantis has paused retooling the Brampton plant in Canada for the new Jeep Compass. But Autoforecast Solutions says that Ram Heavy Duty trucks are scheduled to be made in Mexico until 2032. By the way, that’s the same year the next-gen Jeep Wrangler, code-named J70, and Gladiator, code-named J7P, will go into production in Toledo, Ohio. And they’re moving to the Stella Frame platform, which makes us believe there’s going to be both BEV and EREV versions of them.

JAPANESE OEMs WORRY ABOUT TRUMP TARIFFS
Japanese automakers would also be heavily hit by U.S. tariffs. The United States is the top sales market for Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Subaru, which also make a lot of their vehicles in Canada and Mexico. So, Japan’s Automobile Manufacturers’ Association is urging the Japanese government to help shield its automakers from any tariffs that may get imposed. And that includes steel and aluminum, which have also been threatened with 25% tariffs by the Trump Administration. However, the report doesn’t say what kind of protection Japanese automakers are looking for.

TESLA SALES PLUNGE 50% IN EU
We’ve got more disappointing news out of Europe this morning. New car sales fell yet again in January. Sales in the EU were down 2.6%, and even when you throw the non-EU members into the mix, meaning the UK and the Scandinavian countries, sales were down 2.1% to only 1 million vehicles. That’s several hundred thousand vehicles below where it used to be. The only bright spot was with hybrids and BEVs, everything else was down. Hybrid sales jumped almost 17% to over 347,000 units, accounting for 34% of all vehicles sold. Surprisingly, despite having such a strong hybrid line-up, Toyota’s sales were down 5%. BEVs were up 37% at more than 166,000 units, accounting for 16.3% market share. Even so, Tesla had a horrible month, with sales in the EU down 50%, coming in at only 7,500 vehicles, behind Suzuki and Mazda. The only automakers which posted sales gains were SAIC, the Chinese automaker, up a whopping 76%. The Volkswagen Group was up 5.6% thanks to a 15% rise at the Volkswagen brand. And Renault was up 5%. But every other automaker posted a drop in sales.

AFEELA OPENS STUDIO IN LA
Afeela, the joint venture between Honda and Sony, celebrated the grand opening of its first studio in Los Angeles. Visitors can get a first-hand look at the Afeela 1 sedan, which starts at $89,900 and place reservations for the model with a fully refundable deposit of $200 at the Afeela website. The studio will only be open for a six-month period, however Afeela plans to open two more studios in California in the second half of the year. But like VW dealers fighting Scout’s direct sales plan, we think Afeela will face similar opposition from Honda dealers.

 
TESLA AUTOPILOT DISAPPOINTS IN CHINA
Tesla is improving its hands-free driving system in China, but some owners are still disappointed with its capabilities. The updates allow the vehicle to operate on roads and urban streets with the ability to take exit ramps, navigate through intersections, recognize traffic signals, turn left or right, make U-turns and change lanes. But it’s still not as capable as the Supervised FSD system that Tesla offers in the U.S., which is the kind of capability that Elon Musk has been promising to Chinese consumers for years. Tesla has allowed owners to pre-order FSD in China since 2022 with a price tag that now sits at roughly $8,800. And on top of all that, CarNewsChina reports that the update is currently only available for vehicles with HW4, which only started rolling out about a year ago. According to reports the system is less advanced because it hasn’t had enough training on Chinese roads and traffic rules. But that could soon change. Tesla changed the name of FSD in China to FSD intelligent assisted driving, kind of how it changed from FSD to Supervised FSD in the U.S. And some speculate that system will launch in China before the end of the year.

  

TESLA S & X TO GET FACELIFTS
Speaking of Tesla, the company’s VP of Engineering says the Model S & X will “get some love later this year,” including “a little bit of the stuff we’ve been putting in 3 and Y.” The VP didn’t elaborate any more, but it’s been about 4 years since their last update.

BMW iX RATED MOST SATISFYING EV
EV owners are more satisfied with their vehicles than they were a year ago. J.D. Power released its 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study, which focuses on the first year of ownership and it found that satisfaction among both premium and mass market EVs improved compared to last year. The study takes into account accuracy of stated battery range, availability of public charging stations, battery range, cost of ownership, driving enjoyment, ease of charging at home, interior and exterior styling, safety and technology features, service experience and vehicle quality and reliability. The BMW iX was the highest ranked overall EV and the highest among premium models. It was followed by the BMW i4 and the Rivian R1S among premium EVs. On the mass market side, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 ranks the highest and it’s followed by the Kia EV6 and the Chevy Equinox EV.

CYBER ATTACKS ON EV STATIONS UP 39%
But here’s something that could affect EV satisfaction. According to a new report from Upstream, an automotive cybersecurity company, cyberattacks targeting automotive and mobility products increased 39% in 2024, mainly from more attacks at EV charging stations. The study found that 59% of EV charging attacks had the potential to impact millions of devices, including chargers, mobile apps and vehicles. Upstream says the interconnectedness between all those devices increases the risk of cyberattacks.

RAM EREV CAN TOW 14,000 LBS
With the range extended version of the Ram 1500, called the Ramcharger, launching in the second half of this year, the company held a presentation detailing a lot of the truck. Let’s start with the new STLA-Frame architecture, which is similar to the gas-powered 1500, but the center section of the frame uses thicker steel and is 8-inches wider. That helps fit and protect the battery, but also allows the exhaust and a 27-gallon gas tank to still be packaged within the frame rails. The battery pack has a total capacity of nearly 92 kWh, but only has a usable space of about 70 kWh. Ram says it does that because vehicle performance would start to be affected, especially while towing, if the state of charge of the battery went down to 10-15%, in relation to total capacity. So, the Ramcharger will still have more battery capacity to tap into even when the icon on the dash says the battery is low. But to help maintain performance the engine generator will kick in. It uses the company’s 3.6L Pentastar V6, but there’s no starter, EGR system, propshafts or transmission. Instead it has a generator bolted to the back of it and the engine spins up the generator to provide power to the battery pack or directly the truck’s front and rear drive modules. So, there’s no direct link between the engine and wheels, but even with a low battery light, Ram says the truck can do 114 MPH and pass the Davis Dam test while towing a 14,000 pound trailer. That ability is part of the reason it doesn’t use a smaller, more efficient engine, which would struggle in those kinds of situations. With power plugs in the bed, bidirectional charging capability, 145 miles of EV only range and 690 miles of total range, Ram calls it the Goldilocks truck because it has a little bit of everything for everybody.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.