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Runtime: 9:26
0:00 Major Suppliers Consider Buyout Plan
1:37 Nissan Could Sell Its Headquarters
2:22 ICEs Drag Down EU Market in April
3:37 Volvo Plans 3,000 Job Cuts
4:02 Toyota Starts Making GR Corolla in the UK
4:48 BMW Brings Back Clown Shoe Design
5:40 Alpine Reveals Its 1st SUV
5:58 Autoline Poll Results
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
MAJOR SUPPLIERS CONSIDER BUYOUT PLAN
Automotive suppliers have been hit especially hard over the last 5 years with production stoppages during the pandemic lockdowns, the following chip shortage and now with EV sales not growing as fast as expected. As a result we’ll likely see more consolidation amongst suppliers or some will simply just go out of business. One that’s in trouble is Marelli, which is the 23rd biggest automotive supplier in the world. The company is owned by investment firm KKR, which bought Calsonic Kansei from Nissan and Magneti Marelli from FCA and then merged them together to form Marelli. But Marelli has struggled the last several years and taken on billions of dollars of debt from foreign and domestic creditors. However, leaders at Marelli want to accept a buyout offer from the Motherson Group, which is India’s largest automotive supplier and counts Ford, Hyundai and Mercedes as customers. The offer would see KKR transfer all of its shares in Marelli to Motherson, Motherson would buy over $700 million in new Marelli shares and would also buy out over $4.5 billion in debt from creditors. If approved, the move could rocket Motherson into the top 10 of global automotive suppliers, but right now it seems like some creditors don’t think Motherson is providing a reasonable offer.
NISSAN COULD SELL ITS HEADQUARTERS
And one of the reasons that Marelli is even struggling in the first place is due to the poor performance at Nissan, which is one of its biggest customers. As we’ve been reporting, Nissan’s new restructuring plan under new CEO Ivan Espinosa includes cutting 20,000 jobs, closing 7 plants and slashing over $3.3 billion in costs. And one of the assets it’s considering selling is its headquarters in Japan. Nissan moved into the glass building in 2009 and it’s reportedly worth $670 million. While the automaker would sell the building, it would lease out the spaces that it’s currently using.
ICEs DRAG DOWN EU MARKET IN APRIL
Car sales in Europe were down slightly in April. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, automakers sold just over 1 million vehicles last month, down 0.3% from a year ago. However, electrified vehicles did very well. BEV sales in April were up nearly 28%. PHEVs were up 31% and hybrid sales rose 17%. That means it was the ICE segment that dragged down the market. Gas-powered car sales were down 22% and diesels were down about 25% in April. And while EV sales were strong, Tesla continued to slide with sales dropping 49% last month. Through the first four months of the year, automakers have sold about 4.5 million vehicles in Europe, down 0.4% from last year.
VOLVO PLANS 3,000 JOB CUTS
Volvo is planning significant job cuts in order to save cash. The automaker announced its slashing 3,000 white-collar jobs globally or about 15% of its workforce. But most of the cuts will be in Sweden. Last month, Volvo said it was looking to slash costs by $1.9 billion this year in order to deliver on its long-term strategy.
TOYOTA STARTS MAKING SPORTY COROLLA IN THE UK
Toyota is shifting some production of GR Corollas from Japan to the UK which will then be exported to North America. Toyota will invest $56 million to start building the sporty version of the Corolla in the UK next year and it plans to export around 10,000 units a year to North America. The UK plant currently only produces the base version of the Corolla. While you might think this is tariff related since Japan faces a 25% tariff on cars shipped to the U.S. and the UK reached a deal to reduce tariffs on cars to 10%, but Toyota said the move is aimed at filling excess capacity in the UK and improving delivery times.
BMW BRINGS BACK CLOWN SHOE DESIGN
In 2023 BMW revealed a concept that we felt was a spiritual successor to the Z3 coupe, which was sold from 1998 until 2002 and had playful nicknames like Clown Shoe, Bread Van and Sports Shoe. While it’s been 2 years since the debut of the Concept Touring Coupe, it looks like BMW is taking inspiration from that car for a new model that will actually make its way into production. But the 3-door Speedtop has a more elongated rear end than the Touring Coupe, which reminds us a lot of the Calloway Corvette AeroWagen. There’s not a ton of detail but BMW says the Speedtop has the most powerful V8 that it currently offers and that orders are open now, but it will only be limited to 70 examples. (Pictures of the Concept Touring Coupe and Calloway Corvette AeroWagen are featured in the video version of today’s show.)
ALPINE REVEALS ITS 1ST SUV
And in one last quick bit of new car news, if you haven’t seen it already, Alpine’s very first SUV the A390 just made its debut, about an hour before this show was posted today. So, check that out if you’re interested, but we’ll be sure to cover it in tomorrow’s show.
AUTOLINE POLL RESULTS
Ok, it’s time to go over the results of our latest poll. President Trump wants to revive U.S. manufacturing but who’s going to work in the factories? There are currently half a million unfilled manufacturing jobs and we asked what you think will happen? Only 2% of you said don’t worry, as plants come back, people will go work in them. 40% said all it will do is sell more robots and automation. 37% said it will create more jobs as well as boost robots and automation. And the remainder said none of the above. Kit Gerhart responded “Not many plants will come back. The car companies will wait out the lunacy. Meanwhile, prices will go up, and vehicle choice will go down.” AC Held says “I think many companies will gut it out for the next four years in the hope that the next administration will change course once again. Some will open new factories, and they will be as automated as possible given the labor shortages.” Thomas Bowen had this comment “It’s just not gonna happen. As costs increase, the market will contract so they won’t need as much production capacity.” And lastly, Ricardo Rodriguez says “It takes a lot of time and money to build factories. Never mind the workers…” And thanks to everyone that participated and left a comment. Remember these polls are open to our YouTube and Patreon members. It only costs a few dollars a month, so if you haven’t done so, please consider joining.
And that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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I had no idea the HEVs were the top selling car power source in the EU. Do you have information on what makes and models they are?
Nissan seems really desperate. To sell its building less than 20 years after custom-building it, and sublet it, shows it’s really cash poor. Making crappy cars is not a recipe for long term health, as Mary Barra would advise them (her words, “no more crappy cars!” to GM Bigwigs.
The EU has no clue what the hell they are doing. 20-30 years ago, to improve fuel efficiency and fuel cost (diesel there is MUCH cheaper than gas), they went whole hog Diesel, 60-70% of all new cars, even tiny bitty ones, were diesels, and owners told me how satisfied they were, getting 50 and 60 Mpgs from them w/o Any hybridization.
Then they changed their mind, subsidized EVs and even waged war (in some Eurozone members, not all) against the diesels they themselves had promoted. Wim said that his sister had to part with her beloved E270 Diesel for another E but gas, if I remember well. She sure will miss the torque, the unbelievable range (over 1,100 km), the bulletproof engine.
And of course the stellar fuel economy, doubly stellar (due to both the far superior efficiency of diesel vs gas AND the much cheaper diesel price in Europe vS gas
Volvo is cutting 3,000 jobs? They should add a zero.
Years ago, EU countries started encouraging diesel use, and started seeing urban acid rain damaging buildings and monuments because of the high sulphur fuel. They went to low sulphur diesel fuel which took care of that issue. Most, or all new diesel cars sold in Europe use DEF, which is an additional expense and inconvenience of diesels.
I had one diesel car, a pre-cheating manual transmission 1.9 tdi Jetta wagon. It got great mpg for non-hybrid, a little over 50 mpg in ~60 mph highway driving, and low-mid 40s for mixed short trip and highway. It had great range, having the same size fuel tank as the gas version. It was slow, though, about 12 seconds 0-60 as I remember.
I replaced it with a 2012 Prius that got even better mpg, on gas, much better in short trips and stop-and-go driving. Even the 2012 Prius was quicker than the 1.9 tdi. Seeing that hybrids are now widely available in Europe, it’s not surprising that diesel sales are down. Also, from what I find, diesel fuel is now a little more expensive than petrol/benzin in the UK and Germany. Diesel hybrids would be great for efficiency, but I think few are available.
Regulus, you mention the “the bulletproof engine” of an E270 diesel. Are you saying that Mercedes gas engines are unreliable?
If I’m not mistaken, the EU/UK fell out of love around the same time as VW/Audi US cheating scandal was reviled. Then they learned that not only were they doing it in the US, but when Mercedes came clean and reviled that other OEMs in the EU were doing it, VW Group and BMW included, the jig was up! That’s when their legislators followed the US on EV adoption. While diesel engines had incredible range compared to their petro ICE counterparts, in many cases they were almost a several seconds slower to 60. They were a bit noisier at speed too, if I’m not mistaken. Yet, like EVs they have their advantages and disadvantages when compared petro ICE. I do remember Toyota coming out with a diesel hybrid for Europe, but can’t remember how much success, if any, they had with it. Dieselgate saw a number of European leaders push and encourage EVs, and I’m not surprised that it is doing better there then here. Small, expensive vehicles tend to do well there, with their narrow streets and roads. While long trips to the countryside are welcome, most daily travel there are short jolts around town, as I understand. Were it not for all the apartment dwellings in a number of places throughout Europe, which makes having a home Charger a challenge, IMHO, short range EV would have an even greater appeal on the continent.
There was some diesel cheating in Europe too, but also, gas cars have continued to get more efficient. Then, needing the urea fluid has made diesels less convenient and more expensive to operate, and the diesel subsidy in the form of low fuel taxes has ended, at least in the countries I checked. Still, diesels have 9.6% market share in Europe, even with BEVs and hybrids taking significant share. Diesels are good for people who hate high rpm. Even the small diesel in my VW was a low rpm engine, with a power peak at 4000 rpm and a red line of ~5000.