AD #4093 – Tariffs Could Kill the Hornet/Tonale; GM’s GEN-Z Concept Car for China; Toyota bZ4X Only $199/Month

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

NISSAN TO CLOSE HISTORIC PLANT
Nissan dropped a bombshell earlier today, announcing plans to close its flagship facility in Japan. The automaker says in early 2028 will end production at its Oppama plant, which is the company’s oldest, opening in 1961 and now employing 2,400 workers. We think this would be like Ford announcing it’s closing the historic Rouge Plant. No doubt the news is causing a lot of anguish in Japan. Nissan says it will stop making the NV200 van in Japan by early 2027 and transfer vehicle production to a different plant in the country. Globally, the automaker is closing seven plants in an effort to cut production from 3.5 million to 2.5 million units.

NISSAN MOVING PRODUCTION FROM JAPAN TO U.S.
And while Nissan is cutting production in Japan, it’s considering expanding production in the U.S. Three years ago, the automaker announced plans to invest $500 million at its plant in Canton, Mississippi to build 5 EVs. But with the slowdown in EV demand, the Trump Administration eliminating EV subsidies and slapping tariffs on car imports, Nissan is working on a back-up plan. Automotive News reports that the automaker is considering shifting production of the Armada and Infiniti QX80 from Japan to Canton and also building two new SUVs at the plant. The Canton plant currently produces the Frontier and Altima. Last year 211,000 models were built at the factory and the new products are expected to add another 200,000 units of production.

TRUMP TARIFFS COULD KILL DODGE HORNET
And it looks like those U.S. tariffs could take some of the sting out of the Dodge Hornet. It’s made in Italy, and Stellantis announced that its postponing production of the 2026 model to “assess the effects of U.S. tariff policies.” And it’s doing that because the Hornet faces a 25% import tariff. Last year, more than 20,500 Hornets were sold in the U.S. but sales plunged this year. In the second quarter Dodge only sold 1,549 of them and this could be real trouble for the Alfa Romeo Tonale as well. It’s made in the same plant on the same platform, and Alfa needs the manufacturing volume that the Dodge Hornet provides to make the Tonale viable. While we don’t have sales for the Tonale in Europe, last quarter Alfa only sold 76 of them in the American market.

TOYOTA bZ4X ONLY $199/MONTH
If you’re interested in a Toyota bZ4X, now is the time to get one. The model can be leased in some states for as low as $199 per month for 36 months, which is cheaper than a Corolla. It’s also including a free-year of charging at EVGo stations. The deal is available until the end of September, which is when the federal EV tax credit is being eliminated. Through the first six months of the year, Toyota has sold around 9,200 bZ4X’s in the U.S., which is down 2% compared to last year.

   

GM’S GEN-Z CONCEPT CAR FROM CHINA
Looks like GM is trying to attract younger buyers in China. Its design studio in the country, which was established with joint venture partner SAIC, just revealed a new concept car, called the GEN-Z Explorer. It’s a compact hatchback that has 2,000 micro LEDs in the front grille and a contrasting white, black, yellow and blue paint scheme over the body and wheels. Each of those 22-inch wheels are powered by their own electric motor, which combine for 480 kW or nearly 645 horsepower and launch the GEN-Z from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. No word on how or when a vehicle like this might fit into GM and SAIC’s lineup in China, but we think it’s a design that would even have global appeal.

KIA INTROS LOW-COST EV IN INDIA
Kia is introducing its first made-in-India EV, which is actually an all-electric version of a 3-row SUV that it already builds and sells in the market, called the Carens Clavis. But instead of a gas or diesel engine, the Carens Clavis EV has a few different battery and motor setups. The base pack is 42 kWh with a certified range of just over 400 kilometers or about 250 miles, while the larger 51.4 kWh battery provides up to 490 kilometers or roughly 300 miles of range. The single electric motor is available in outputs of either 130 horsepower or 170 horsepower and acceleration from 0-100 km/h is as little as 8.4 seconds. Kia says the Carens Clavis EV is purpose-built to meet the needs of emerging EV markets and it will have a roughly $21,000 starting price in India.

GM TO MAKE LFP BATTERIES IN U.S.
Like Ford, GM is going to start building LFP batteries in the U.S. But instead of building an all-new plant, GM is going to convert the lines at its existing battery plant with LG that’s located in Tennessee. That conversion will start later this year and GM expects commercial production by the end of 2027. The move to LFP or lithium iron phosphate batteries is all about cost. GM is targeting significant battery pack cost savings compared to its NMC or nickel manganese cobalt cells, which it currently produces in Ohio. The company’s EV platform was designed from the beginning to accept multiple battery types, so it’s possible that the next-gen versions of its current EVs could get LFP batteries, which should also help bring starting prices down.

MOTORSPORTS GENERATE $69 BILLION/YEAR IN U.S.
The joke in the motorsports community is that if you want to make a small fortune by going racing, you should start with a big fortune. But it turns out that motorsports is a huge industry. The association that represents the motorsports industry in the U.S., called PRI, or Performance Racing Industry, says racing in all its forms generates $69 billion for the economy and 318,000 jobs. That includes race teams and their personnel, but even the people who work in the hospitality suites and the companies that provide parts and services, like tires and lubricants. All of racing also pays $22 billion in wages and $8 billion in taxes. The PRI created an interactive map of the U.S. where you can see the economic impact of motor racing on each individual state. And we’ve got a link to that map in the transcript and description box if you’d like to see it.

GLOBAL EV SALES UP 24%
A research company called Rho Motion says that global EV sales, including BEVs and PHEVs, shot up 24% last month. Automakers sold 1.8 million EVs in June, with 1.1 million of them sold in China. While EV sales are falling in the U.S., they’re growing everywhere else in the world.

LITHIUM PRICES DOWN ON SLOW EV SALES
But there’s signs that China could be hitting a plateau. Prices of lithium are crashing because EV sales in China are lower than expected. And it’s true. Sales of pure EVs in China so far this year are down compared to where they were in October, November and December last year. And two of China’s top three lithium producers are losing money because of that. While EV sales are up for the year, they fell off significantly at the end of the 4th quarter.

INSIDE ADIENT’S MASSAGE SEAT
Have you ever been in a car with massage seats? They’re fantastic, especially when you’re spending hours behind the wheel on a long trip. Adient, the seat supplier, developed a new kind of massaging seat, that’s different from the pneumatically-operated ones in cars today. It uses cylindrical modules built into the seat back that rotate and telescope in and out to hit pressure points, simulating professional massage techniques. It also has over the air update capabilities, meaning that different massage programs could be uploaded in the future. The seat debuted in Trumpchi’s M8 PHEV in China and Adient says that it’s also getting attention in the U.S. and EU.

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