AD #4041 – U.S. Providing New Direction for AV Tech; Nissan On Track for Worst Loss in History; Ferrari Could Get EV Platform from Leapmotor

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

TRUMP CONSIDERS TARIFF RELIEF IN SOME AREAS BUT NOT OTHERS
Here’s the latest update on the tariff situation in the auto industry. According to the Financial Times, President Trump is planning to offer some relief for car makers by exempting car parts from tariffs that he’s slapping on China over fentanyl. The parts would also be exempt from the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. However, the 25% tariff on imported cars will remain. But while Trump may give automakers relief on parts, he said yesterday as well that the 25% tariffs on cars made in Canada could go up. And it also appears the Trump Administration is looking to impose tariffs on commercial vehicles because yesterday, the Commerce Department opened a national security investigation into imported medium and heavy-duty trucks. Mexico, Canada and Japan are the largest exporters of big trucks to the U.S. And analysts believe the probe could form the basis to impose tariffs on big trucks, vans and buses.

HYUNDAI & RENAULT MAKE TARIFF ADJUSTMENTS
Automakers also continue to make adjustments. Hyundai says it launched a task force to minimize the impact of tariffs on its earnings and to make plans to increase sourcing of car parts made in the U.S. On top of that it shifted some production of Tucsons made in Mexico to its plant in Alabama and is also considering moving some production of cars exported to the U.S. from South Korea to other locations. And Renault says it’s delaying plans to launch its sports car brand, Alpine, in the U.S., and we’ll have more details about that later in the show.

U.S. PROVIDING NEW DIRECTION FOR AV TECH
Expect the U.S. to release new guidance for self-driving vehicles sometime today, it may even be out by the time you’re watching this. According to sources, the U.S. Department of Transportation is going to provide insight into the current administration’s objectives for autonomous driving tech. There’s not expected to be big changes but rather direction on things like the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, the process for getting an exemption from those standards and how to report crashes. While current vehicle safety standards were amended in 2022 to allow vehicles without a steering wheel or pedals, only Nuro, which doesn’t transport any humans, has been given an exemption. But the DoT plans to speed up the time that it processes exemption requests as well as make tweaks to timelines and thresholds for reporting crashes. This should be good news for companies like Tesla, which just said it’s on track to launch a pilot robotaxi service in Texas this year and start production of its Cybercab sometime next year.

VW TO SUPPLY UBER WITH AUTONOMOUS I.D.BUZZ’s
And right on the heels of this report, Volkswagen and Uber announced they’re teaming up to add autonomous ID. Buzz vans to Uber’s ride-hailing service. The companies will start tests by the end of the year and they’ll start offering rides in 2026, first in Los Angeles. And the plan is to add thousands of self-driving ID. Buzz’s to Uber’s fleet in multiple markets over the next decade. VW’s autonomous subsidiary MOIA will provide the technology for the deployment on Uber’s platform.

SUPREME COURT COULD ALLOW CHALLENGE TO CALIFORNIA’S EMISSION WAIVER
California’s ability to set its own emission standards is once again under attack. Earlier this month, House Republicans were denied in their efforts to revoke California’s waiver but this time it’s the Supreme Court that could do so. Yesterday, justices heard arguments from fuel industry groups that are appealing a lower court ruling that says they don’t have legal standing to challenge an EPA decision to let California set its own standards. And the justices indicated they would allow the fuel producers to pursue the case. The oil companies claim the emission standards prevent them from “being able to freely sell our product.” The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case by the end of June.

 

NISSAN COULD POST WORST LOSS IN ITS HISTORY
Nissan is probably going to be facing a lot more pressure to find new partners. The company announced that it’s going to post a net loss for its latest fiscal year, which ended in March, of between $4.9 and $5.3 billion. That would be a record loss for Nissan. It’s blaming the performance on “changes in the competitive environment” and falling sales performance. The company has been discounting cars to avoid building up inventory and its been slow to align its lineup with consumer tastes, like introducing new hybrid models. So far this year Nissan’s shares are down 31%.

EVs ACCOUNT FOR OVER 17% OF RENAULT’S Q1 SALES
Renault had a decent first quarter. The Group sold just under 565,000 vehicles, an increase of nearly 3%. The Renault brand itself fueled most of that growth with sales up 16.6% to a little over 311,000 units. But we’d also like to point out that while its sales were small, roughly 2,100 vehicles, Alpine shot up over 96% in Q1. But as I mentioned earlier in the show, Renault is scrapping plans to introduce Alpine to the U.S. market in 2027. It was in talks to sell models through AutoNation dealers, but the company’s CFO says the launch will probably be delayed because of uncertainties around vehicle imports. There was no new timetable given for Alpine’s possible introduction in the U.S. market and the decision was called “perfectly normal.” But a near doubling of sales in the first quarter and new models on the way, probably gives Alpine the confidence it doesn’t need to rush its expansion. Renault’s EVs also had a good quarter, with sales shooting up nearly 88% and now controlling just over 17% of its total sales. All those vehicles helped bring in a little under 11.7 billion euros, which was down 0.3% compared to last year. That performance gave Renault the confidence to confirm its financial outlook for the year. It expects to end 2025 with an operating margin around 7% and to have roughly 2 billion euros in free cash flow.

EU CAR SALES UP IN MARCH
Speaking of car sales, they were up in Europe for the first time in two months. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association or ACEA, automakers sold just over 1.4 million vehicles in March, an increase of 2.8%. Companies like Renault and Volkswagen did particularly well, both posting double digit gains. But Tesla continued its drop off in the region. Its sales were down over 28% in March, even though the rest of the BEV segment was up 23.6%.

LEAPMOTOR COULD PROVIDE EV PLATFORM FOR FERRARI
Chinese EV maker Leapmotor could team up with another European automaker and it could be a bit of a surprise. The company’s CEO told Reuters that it is in talks with Ferrari about developing a model based on its EV architecture. Ferrari declined to comment on the report and no other details were given. But Leapmotor also has a joint venture with Stellantis and given the close ties between Ferrari and Stellantis, this possible partnership isn’t that shocking. Leapmotor’s deal with Stellantis gives it the right to build and sell Leapmotor EVs outside of China.

And be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours later today. Our guest is Mike Cicco from Fanuc Robotics. We plan to answer the question, Is Automation the Answer for US Auto Manufacturing? We’ve got auto industry expert Brett Smith and Steve Plumb from Manufacturing Engineering to help us get to the bottom of that. Plus, we plan to dive into Tesla’s Q1 results and how U.S. tariffs could impact sales. Join the action live at 3PM EST today.

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