AD #4035 – Tesla Halts China Component Exports to U.S.; Tariffs Could Cost +1 Million Sales; Bentley Uses AI to Inspect Leather

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

I hope everyone enjoyed having John host again for a few days while I was out driving the new Lincoln Navigator. I want to thank John for filling in and I’ll be able to report on what I thought of the Navigator on April 24th. Now back to the regularly scheduled program. 

TARIFFS COULD COST +1 MILLION SALES 
President Trump’s tariffs are only just getting going but we’re already starting to see the impact and it doesn’t look good for the auto industry. The National Auto Dealers Association, or NADA, says that sales in March will probably be the high point for the year. Automakers sold 1.6 million vehicles, which translates to a 17.8 million SAAR.  Cox Automotive says automakers burned through 30 days of inventory, while Lincoln alone has burned through 54 days. J.D. Power says it expects sales and inventory to drop in the 3rd quarter when prices really start to rise because of the tariffs. And for the full year it forecasts sales to drop by 1.1 million vehicles. 

TWO SUPPLIERS DEMAND TARIFF PAYMENTS UP FRONT
Meanwhile two suppliers, Valeo and Novares, have told automakers in the U.S. that they will not ship parts and components from Mexico unless the OEMs pay for the tariffs up front. The chairman of Novares, told Reuters, “For us, it’s simple,” either pay in advance “or no customs clearance.” Keep in mind that these are only two suppliers who have gone public with their demands. But we wouldn’t be surprised to see this going on up and down the entire North American supply chain. 

CANADA WILL NOT TARIFF USMCA COMPLIANT CARS
And in a move to mitigate the tariff damage, Canada says it will allow cars made in the U.S. to be sold in Canada tariff free as long as they comply with USMCA rules. But it will only do that for companies that also make cars in Canada, which is limited to GM, Ford, Stellantis, Toyota and Honda. 

 

TESLA HALTS CHINA COMPONENT EXPORTS TO U.S.
We’re pretty sure that President Trump is going to hear about the impact his tariffs are causing. Reuters reports that Tesla had to stop shipping components for the Cybercab and Semi from China to the U.S. because of the tariffs. Remember, the Cybercab is supposed to hit mass production next year, and a lot of Tesla’s stock price has expected earnings from robotaxis baked into it. And Tesla stock was down 2% in early morning trading. Elon Musk reportedly asked Trump to reverse the tariffs. Instead, this morning, the President raised tariffs on Chinese products to 245%.  

ZEV STATES CAN DROP CALIFORNIA MANDATE
Republicans in Congress are fighting to revoke a waiver that allows California to set its own emission standards, which have been adopted by 17 other states. But instead of going through the federal government to make changes, there is another option. John Bozzella, the head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, says that the states that follow California’s rules can simply change their plans. Starting next year, the standards require that 35% of new car sales must be zero-emission. Bozzella points to Maryland, which loosened enforcement of emission rules until it “can be successfully implemented” in the state. Bozzella says other states should take similar measures to pause the standards until there is more clarity about what will happen in Congress.

RENAULT LAUNCHES 3 SDV VANS
Renault’s first use of its new Software Defined Vehicle or SDV architecture won’t be one of its passenger models. Instead it will be applied to its new electric commercial vans the Traffic, Estafette and Goelette. The architecture was developed by Renault’s EV and software division Ampere and it features centralized computing as well as a more powerful operating system. Those features allow for greater customization and expanded OTA capabilities, which could open up new revenue streams for Renault, while providing owners ways to cut costs. The vans are being developed with Flexis, which is a commercial vehicle joint venture between Renault and Volvo. They’re being built at a Renault plant in France and are scheduled to hit the market sometime next year. 

PORSCHE USES SMARTPHONE TO DEVELOP ADAS
Porsche is trying to cut the amount of money it spends on vehicle validation. For things like training driver assistance systems to recognize traffic signs, it requires a second developer in the passenger seat to see if the vehicle was able to correctly identify the sign. If it doesn’t they have to note that manually, while the vehicle’s data is recorded onto a hard drive. Instead Porsche successfully tested a system on the new Macan that uses smartphones that have software that can recognize traffic signs. So, what the vehicle sees is compared to what the phone sees and if they don’t match up, the data is recorded and can be sent to the cloud. Not only don’t you need a second developer in the vehicle, but expensive test equipment is eliminated and validation can be completed by a larger number of test vehicles. Porsche says this approach may soon make its way to series development and expand to other areas like detecting lane markings, traffic lights and potholes.

CHEVROLET EV SALES UP 114%
Chevy is off to a strong start to the year. The brand’s sales were up 14% in the first quarter, the 11th straight quarter sales increased. And part of that success is from its electric vehicles, which were up 114% to more than 19,000 sales. And Chevy’s EVs are bringing in more customers and helping with loyalty. According to Scott Bell, the head of Chevy, more than half of its EV buyers are new to the brand, 6 in 10 former Bolt EV owners are sticking with the Equinox and Blazer EVs and 86% of EV owners choose another BEV for their next vehicle.

BENTLEY USES AI TO INSPECT LEATHER 
Automakers are adopting artificial intelligence in many areas, including to improve vehicle production. And here’s an interesting application that caught our eye. Bentley is now using AI and cameras to inspect pieces of leather. Since leather is a natural product, it can have imperfections like insect bites, holes and scars that affect quality. By using AI, Bentley can now detect those issues, which can’t be seen by the naked eye in some cases. Bentley says the technology also reduces waste and cost because the AI can inspect the leather faster than a human.

GENESIS HYPERCAR FOR 2026 LE MANS
Genesis is going to Le Mans in 2026. The company revealed a prototype of its new LMDh race car, called the GMR-001 Hypercar. GMR stands for Genesis Magma Racing and the car will compete in both the WEC and IMSA racing series. Debuting alongside the GMR-001 Hypercar at the New York auto show will be the X Gran Equator Concept. Genesis says the concept embraces the spirit of overlanding and combines on-road sophistication with off-road resilience. While this concept seems like a departure from the Genesis that we’ve known so far, the company says it continues to expand into lifestyle-oriented vehicles and certain aspects of this concept could make their way into future models. 

But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.