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Runtime: 9:42
0:00 Toyota Opens Japan Dealers to U.S. OEMs
1:15 Toyota Launches $18,000 EV In China
2:16 GM Doubles EV Sales in U.S.
3:07 Tesla Model Y #1 SUV In China
3:59 Toyota & Daimler To Merge Japan Truck Ops
4:42 Hyundai Stockpiled Rare Earths
5:21 AESC Pauses Battery Plant In South Carolina
6:07 3rd-Gen Nissan Leaf Gets Big Changes
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TOYOTA OPENS JAPAN DEALERS TO U.S. OEMs
We start out in Japan today where those trade negotiations with the U.S. have yielded a completely unexpected development. Toyota says it’s willing to let U.S. car makers use its dealer network in Japan to sell cars. Foreign cars, with the exception of luxury and exotics, have never sold well in Japan. One key reason is it’s so difficult to build a national dealer network. Land is very expensive and all the good locations in major cities are taken. Hyundai has tried using a direct sales model, but with little success. So for Toyota to offer its dealer network to companies like GM and Ford is a major concession. One thing though. Just having access to Toyota showrooms won’t be enough. American automakers would have to offer something different from Toyota’s lineup. GM is doing a pretty good job with EVs and there isn’t a good selection of EVs in Japan so far, so maybe this could be a golden opportunity.
TOYOTA LAUNCHES $18,000 EV IN CHINA
But Toyota isn’t exactly sitting on its hands when it comes to developing EVs. We’re probably a year or two away from seeing the results of its BEV Factory, which is the name of Toyota’s semi-skunk-works EV operation in Japan. And even before those EVs hit the market, Toyota just launched the bZ5 electric in China. It’s a mid-sized SUV with 4 trim lines that are priced from $18,000 to $22,000. There are two LFP battery pack options from BYD, 65 kWh and 74 kWh, which deliver 341 miles to 391 miles of range, based on the CLTC test cycle. That’s an awfully aggressive price and shows that Toyota is serious about competing in EVs and in China.
GM DOUBLES EV SALES IN U.S.
Now, over to the ‘States, where, to emphasize how it’s growing its EV business, GM said it sold 62,830 EVs in the U.S. for the first 5 months of the year, almost double of what it did last year. A lot of that growth came from GM adding more models to its EV lineup, and it will add more this year. Cadillac alone is adding four of them. We think that a loose rule-of-thumb is that automakers need to sell 50,000 EVs a quarter to start turning a profit on them. GM needs to increase its EV sales by 25% to hit that number. And that would probably give it profitable economies of scale, at least with its batteries, EV motors and inverters.
TESLA MODEL Y #1 SUV IN CHINA
And here’s some relatively good news for Tesla. Even though its sales in China were down 30% last month, the Model Y emerged as the best-selling SUV. This is based on registration data for car insurance. The Model Y squeaked past the BYD Song Plus. Or maybe we should say the Song Plus sank below the Model Y. Sales of the Y were actually down 38% from a year ago. So it’s amazing to see it was still the best selling SUV in China.
TOYOTA & DAIMLER TO MERGE JAPAN TRUCK OPS
Toyota and Daimler Truck announced they have finally agreed to merge their truck companies, Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso. They announced their plans to merge the truck companies in 2023 but Hino got caught up in an emissions and fuel economy scandal, so the plans were put on hold. But Hino resolved those issues, so the merger is back on. The companies say the combination will create a “new strong Japanese powerhouse” which will collaborate on commercial vehicle development, procurement and production. The new company will have 40,000 employees and is expected to begin operations in April 2026.
HYUNDAI STOCKPILED RARE EARTHS
The global auto industry has been warning for weeks that China’s restriction of rare earth supplies will soon cripple car production. But Hyundai is not fazed at all. It did a great job of reading the political winds and started stockpiling rare earth minerals. It has nearly a year’s worth on hand. Also, it diversified its supply chains, and took advantage of a recent period when China relaxed export restrictions. And that gives Hyundai an advantage, since it will be able to produce EVs and hybrids for about a year with no production disruptions.
AESC PAUSES BATTERY PLANT IN SOUTH CAROLINA
As President Trump gets rid of subsidies to buy EVs and build battery plants, we’re seeing an immediate impact. Battery maker AESC is pausing construction on a $1.6 billion battery plant in South Carolina that was supposed to supply battery cells to BMW. The company made the decision based in part on Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, since the machinery in the plant will mostly be brought in from China. Plus, tariffs on steel and aluminum will raise costs on the equipment. AESC says it’s already invested more than $1 billion in the plant and that it’s still committed to opening it, but let’s see what happens.
3RD-GEN NISSAN LEAF GETS BIG CHANGES
Nissan dropped another video of its redesign of the Leaf EV and we’ve finally got some real numbers on the car. The 3rd generation Leaf is aimed at mainstream customers, not early adopters. It’s based on Nissan’s CMF-EV platform, which gets rid of the torsion beam rear axle that was previously used and goes with an independent, multi-link suspension. That increased lateral rigidity by 57%. The powertrain components, including the motor, gear reducer and inverter, have been combined into one unit that’s 10% more compact than before. The motor generates 160 kilowatts of power, or 214 horsepower, and 355 newton meters of torque, or 261 pound-feet. The airconditioning unit was moved from behind the instrument panel into the engine compartment to provide more interior room. And the car now has a turning radius that is 10 centimeters smaller, or about 4 inches. Nissan has a lot riding on the Leaf. It was one of the first mass-market EVs when it hit the road in late 2010. But Nissan squandered its lead and is clearly trying to make up for lost time with this new generation.
And that brings us to the end of today’s report, thanks for watching, and a hearty shoutout to all you Patreon and YouTube members who are supporting the work we do here.
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John, you called several vehicles, including the Toyota EV and the Model Y, “SUVS”. They are nothing of the kind. A Land Rover is an SUV. A Jeep Cherokee is an SUV. your vehicles are pretend-suvs named so to help them sell. Most makers do not even dare call them SUVs, but CROSSOVERs, a meaningless term that cannot be properly defined, and most of them are really WAGONS, or small MINIVANS.
Also, you mentioned that MISERABLE Nissan Leaf, it was a laughable EV, with a ridiculously small range, much worse than even the Bolt. So Junkmaker Nissan ‘squandered’ NOTHING when it did not ‘take advantage’ of that POS, it could not possibly take any advantage of that UTTER LOSER.
Nissan’s imminent (and not eminent, illiterates!) bankruptcy will be a good lesson to other automakers to not, in the very words of Mary Barra, make any more crappy cars!
I am encouraged that Nissan is finally making the necessary moves to shake their recent past. They have introduced some very encouraging new product recently. I miss the old days of Nissan when they had the 4DSC maxima, Sentra SE-R, 300ZX Turbo, Skyline GT-R, 200SX and a host of other compelling product through the 90s. Then Carlos Ghosn joined Nissan in 1999 and the slide downward started. Then Tavares started in 2004 and accelerated the downard slide(has this guy ever done anything good for any auto company?). By 2011 when Tavares left, Nissan was fully engulfed in a complete quagmire of bad product for which they seemed to lack the ability to fix. These latest releases, 14 years later, show that they just might have turned a new Leaf(pun intended).
Side note: I hear that Tavares is on a farm making port wine in portugal these days. Hopefully his wine making is better than his car designing. Something tells me not to buy any of that wine though.
Ah Reggie, your hindsight isn’t quite 20/20. You need to do more research before posting your very strong opinions like they are facts. The Leaf hit the market in 2009 and was one of the few and best available. The Bolt launched in 2017, so you could only really compare that to the second gen Leaf, which was a weak effort and the result of the squandering John mentioned.
And, while I agree with you that the Model Y is, to my eye, much more a tall sedan or crossover than an SUV, Tesla calls them SUVs and markets them that way. Its their choice to do so. Just as it is our choice to ignore them if we are shopping for a serious, off-road capable SUV.
The Model Y is very much an SUV in market-speak, and Tesla calls it an SUV. To me, it is a mildly lifted hatchback, based on its shape and height, but it’s not called that by marketing people, or the general public.
Toyota isn’t offering much, in letting US OEMs sell in their dealerships. No one in Japan wants anything made by US OEMs, and are any even made with RHD? I know Mustang was for a few years, but I don’t know about the newest generation.
I’m glade to see/hear that GM is having so much success with its BEVs. If I’m not mistaken, they are running 400 volt units with most of their products, but 800 volts with versions of the Hummer, EV pickups and the Escalade IQ (I can’t say for sure with the Celestiq, but one would imagine the best for its top shelf vehicle). That said, while the Optiq-V is promising, as talked about in yesterday’s show, the issue that I have is the drop in range with this most powerful of that model. It is good to see that it comes with the Tesla charge cord, 300 miles of range should be the standard for any vehicle coming out today, if not better, I would think. That’s because, unlike ICE vehicles, operation of everything in an EV pulls off the batteries in the vehicle. From the radio, head and brake lights, infotainment, HVAC, windshield wipers, power windows and all the various sensors and creature comforts we come to expect in our daily transportation. So, in places that have winter driving and shorter daylight, your likely to have the headlights on, wipers, defrost, steering wheel and seat warmers, a long with some type of media playing, before we even get to the the 20 minute drive under normal conditions, that has become 45 minutes to and hour and a half, with a bunch of snow and real ice to go with it! Your 270 miles of range has dropped to 160! While range drop does happen with ICE vehicles just the same, but with refueling taking so much long at the moment, OEMs, IMHO, should be bench marking 300 miles as the bare minimum. And when they are determining their vehicles range, it should be with all the things that will draw power away from the battery in use.
Cabin heat is the biggest non-powertrain user of power with an EV, especially if it is really cold, using far more than lights, wipers, audio, etc. combined. When it gets below 10-15 degrees F, even heat pumps are not very efficient.
Today returning from my swim I saw the ev with the two chevrons parked on the street and was able to see what it is. It IS a Citroen, despite the different shaped chevrons. It is the e C3 model. The ICE C3 was a very cheap, roomy five door bulky thing that has been on sale for decades. It’s EV cousin looks more upscale, less plasticky outside, but the reviews I saw say that it is really a poor EV, very short range, only for the city. But Affordable (and no wonder). It probably looks more expensive than it really is, from the outside. the uk youtube reviw calls it “unashamedlt cheap” at… 23k POUNDS, or bout $30k us. laughABLE, as you can almost get a GREAT MODEL 3 for about that amount! It is even sold in India of all places.
I cannot believe I wrote “it’s” instead of “its” above. Sticky keys, I found out when wririting it. Note that the ICE C3 was only a $10K EURO here, the equivalent of the cheapest car in the US, the Versa, equally roomy and shitty inside. The $30K ev, i wonder why the idiot next door bought it. Probably does not know diddly squat about cars, EVs, or Economix for that matter. A TRULY cheap EV Citroen is the AMI, at only 7K eUROS HERE, after 3k govt handout.
In 2012, I rented a Citroen C4 hatchback in Luxembourg. Being a Citroen, the instruments and controls were a little quirky, with a window in the top of the dash to light the frosted glass or plastic instrument panel from behind in the daytime. It was a diesel/manual, and drove decently. It even had cruise control, but no A/C. I suppose nearly all cars now sold in Europe have A/C, as in the U.S.
By the way, the cheapest Model 3 in the UK costs £39,990, a lot more than “about the same” as the C3 EV.
If no one learned anything from Covid it should have prepared automakers to put into motion contingency plans for outsourced items like rare earth metals. Apparently Hyundai is the only smart one of the group. If anyone has to shut down due to the short interruptions of rare earth from China. Their CEO should be fired on the spot. You’ve had 5 years to put plans in place and failed.