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Runtime: 10:02
0:00 Trump Slaps 25% Tariff on Heavy-Duty Trucks
1:09 Bosch Cutting 13,000 Jobs
1:49 Volkswagen Pauses Production at German EV Plants
2:23 JLR Restarts Some Operations
3:49 BYD Continues Price War in China
4:33 Dongfeng, Xpeng & Xiaomi Expand EU Growth
5:04 China to Require EV Export Permits
5:24 Xiaomi Launches Customization Service
6:09 CATL To Start Shipping Sodium-Ion Batteries Next Year
6:50 Dreame Technology Rips Off Rolls-Royce Cullinan
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TRUMP SLAPS 25% TARIFF ON HEAVY-DUTY TRUCKS
Heavy-duty trucks are now getting slapped with import tariffs in the U.S. President Trump announced he’s imposing a 25% tariff on heavy-duty trucks starting on October 1 to “protect our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair outside competition.” But no details or how the plan will be implemented were given. Also, the European Union and Japan have negotiated trade deals that prevent tariffs from stacking on one another, so it’s not clear how companies from those countries will be impacted. According to the Commerce Department, about 245,000 medium and heavy-duty trucks, worth around $20 billion, were imported to the U.S. last year. International Motors relies the most on imports with 98% of its trucks coming from Mexico, followed by Daimler Truck at 83%. However, Paccar and Volvo Trucks build nearly all of their models in the U.S., so they’ll face little impact.
BOSCH CUTTING 13,000 JOBS
The giant German supplier Bosch is cutting more jobs. A lot more. Last year, it had around 418,000 employees globally, but the company announced it’s laying off 13,000 workers or about 3% of its workforce by 2030, most of which will be in Germany. Increased competition, weak car demand in Europe, tariffs and higher costs have pushed Bosch’s expenses up by nearly $3 billion a year. So, in order to save cash, Bosch will also reduce material and operating costs, lower investments in facilities and streamline logistics and supply chains.
VOLKSWAGEN PAUSES PRODUCTION AT GERMAN EV PLANTS
But Bosch isn’t the only company in Germany that’s making cuts. Volkswagen is planning to reduce output and halt production at two of its EV plants. The plant that builds the Audi Q4 e-tron will be shut down for a week starting on October 6. And its plant that produces the ID.4 and ID.7 models will also pause production as well as cut back on employee hours. While BEV sales for the VW Group are growing in Europe, they’re growing more slowly than the company forecast, which is why it’s making the cuts.
JLR RESTARTS SOME OPERATIONS
Good news for Jaguar Land Rover. The automaker announced it has restarted some of its operations after a cyber-attack crippled its entire global operations earlier this month. JLR says the system that controls the supply of parts worldwide and the financial system that controls the wholesale of vehicles are back online. It’s also increased the processing of invoices for suppliers, who are struggling financially because of the shutdown. However, the automaker’s assembly plants will still remain closed until October 1. And the BBC estimates JLR is losing nearly $70 million a week because of the disruption.
BYD CONTINUES PRICE WAR IN CHINA
In the middle of the year the Chinese government told automakers to stop the price war because it was going to damage the industry. But that never happened because the Chinese industry has massive overcapacity problems and sales aren’t growing as fast as they used to. Now BYD, the biggest automaker in the country, is cutting prices again after cuts in May and earlier this month. The company announced a roughly $1,400 discount on some versions of its Qin Plus sedan, which is one of its best-selling models. But BYD likely made the move because its overall sales in China have dropped 4 months in a row and, coupled with that overcapacity, it’s why the company is so aggressive with its global expansion.
DONGFENG, XPENG & XIAOMI EXPAND EU GROWTH
But it’s not just BYD. Dongfeng says it wants to sell 80,000 ICE, hybrid, EREV and electric vehicles in Europe next year, which would be about three times its current sales. XPeng, which already operates in Germany, is expanding to five new markets including Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia. Then Xiaomi plans to enter Europe in 2027 and it just announced that it opened a brand-new R&D and Design Center in Germany.
CHINA TO REQUIRE EV EXPORT PERMITS
But this could potentially slow their expansion plans. China’s Ministry of Commerce announced that automakers will be required to obtain permits to export EVs starting next year. China says tightening export rules is part of its effort to promote the “healthy development” of the EV industry.
XIAOMI LAUNCHES CUSTOMIZATION SERVICE
Xiaomi is launching a new car customization service in China for the top versions of its SU7 and YU7 models. The company will offer unique finishes for the body, wheels and brakes, there’s new materials available across the entire interior as well as custom stitching and badging and you can even choose from a few different 24K gold emblems. Xiaomi says it’s first going to try out the program for a year and will limit the service to 40 vehicles a month. But customers have to commit to at least $14,000 worth of upgrades, so it has the potential to make at least $6.7 million over that year. And you can understand why other brands, like Porsche, offer similar services.
CATL TO START SHIPPING SODIUM-ION BATTERIES NEXT YEAR
It looks like we’ll see EVs in China with sodium-ion batteries soon. Battery maker CATL announced that it will start shipping the batteries to EV makers next year. CATL’s sodium-ion batteries can provide up to 500 kilometers or 310 miles of range, enough to meet the needs of 40% of the EVs in China. They have an energy density of 175 Wh/Kg, which is below lithium-ion batteries, but is similar to LFP. However, sodium-ion batteries outperform lithium in extreme temperatures, they’re also safer and cheaper to produce since sodium is more abundant than lithium.
DREAME TECHNOLOGY RIPS OFF ROLLS-ROYCE CULLINAN
That Chinese vacuum maker, Dreame Technology, is back at it again. In late August, the company announced it formed Dreame Automotive to develop an EV supercar that would take on Bugatti. But the vehicle that it rendered is just a blatant ripoff of the Chiron. Well, it also formed another division, called Starry Automotive, which is said to take on Rolls-Royce. And the vehicle that it came up with is just a blatant ripoff of the Cullinan. I can only assume both Bugatti and Rolls-Royce would pursue legal action if either vehicle hits the market by their planned 2027 launch. You know, I thought we were done with these copycat designs, and I wonder if things like this hurt people’s view of the Chinese automotive industry?
But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and I hope that you have a great weekend.
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Since 2024 China has had cars with sodium-ion batters. The JMEV EV3 and the JAC Yiwei, which began production in late 2023 and were available for sale in early 2024. These are primarily small, “microcars” designed for urban use, as sodium-ion technology has lower energy density than lithium-ion, limiting range but offering benefits like lower cost and enhanced safety. Key suppliers for these vehicles include Hina Battery and Farasis Energy, with major battery makers like CATL and BYD also investing heavily in the technology.
While Dreame Technology’s take on the Cullinan is more of an insult to rolls-Royce, the four door Chiron on the other hand is another thing entirely! Is that image a CGI created picture, or something created by photoshop? It looks good and is just a shame that Bugatti never chose to do more than just one model line! A sedan with half to one third less power and sold after the coupe finishes it run, would keep interest going in the brand and offer and alternative to the likes of the Phantom and Ghost. The original Veyron used a reworked VW Phaeton platform, so using those bones and creating a front mid-engine layout, as opposed to the rear mid-engine of the Veyron, could have been their starting point. Even if they wanted to save the might W16 engine for the coupe, Bugatti could have followed a similar format and strapped four turbos on an already power Audi/VW W12, and would have managed 850 hp with ease! With the Dreame vehicle being an EV, they don’t have the trouble of squeezing a massive engine under that body work and present a package that looks closer to the original! As you said Sean, Dreame’s lawyers may want to be getting their arguments ready, should the company decide to put this vehicle on the road, especially outside of China!
I suspect VW group acquired the Bugatti nameplate to create the most over-the-top, cost no object sports car they could could come up with. I doubt they want to dilute that with SUVs, sedans, or pickup trucks. They have other brands for that.
Kit —
I think your right about Bugatti and the VW Group, but despite how much the their vehicles cost, much of the talk is they make little to no money on each model sold! With all the tech used on the engine and transmission, the body and aerodynamics and the materials used to make and appoint it, it’s a wonder they break even on each copy. While it is an incredible vehicle, they depreciate just like any other uber luxury vehicle and the more it’s driven, it does so faster. I don’t see how a Bugatti coupe couldn’t sit atop top the auto industry landscape, while another vehicle with a wider appeal, but still limited sat below but above Roll-Royce, wouldn’t work?! With VW being the masters of economy of scale, if Rolls-Royce can make big profits selling 3, maybe 4, models and less than 10K of them at their prices, why couldn’t Bugatti do the same with less the two models, produce around 5K at the prices they demand?!
Bugatti should make a modern day version of this, elegant, but not needing to go 300 mph.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1934-bugatti-type-57-kriessern-st-gallen-2897483
Or a modern day rendition of this would be good.
https://share.google/images/mSKku6Nsnrr8G5gSb
It looks long, but it’s no longer than the millions of “crew cab” pickups on the road. With that hood, they wouldn’t need the short W16. They could just make a V16 out of the regular V8 used in Audi A8, and maybe others.
Modern versions of those vehicles may turn out looking like the most recent Bentley concept, but with and engine, instead of batteries. Me personally, I’m not so much with the styling of the Chiron or the Dreame four door rip-off, but more put out by Bugatti/VW’s decision to not expand the brand more that just coupes and convertibles! When Bugatti/VW first came out with the W16 Veyron and reading about the investment and engineering it took to put that car on the road, it didn’t make since to do a bigger engine, but seemed like and opportunity to get a return on that investment and the equity that came with the revitalization of the Bugatti name and uniqueness of their 16 cylinder engine being in a W format, which was one of the models highlights! In the space of the average V12, Bugatti had a W16 in the Veyron. Yet, to compete with the V12 cylinders in both the 7 Series and S Class, Audi had put a twin turbo 12 cylinder of their own under the hood of the A8, but made little acknowledgment that, like the Bugatti power plant, it was a W configuration too! While VW and Bugatti management were floating the idea of doing a sports cars as a second model, the bodes of with VW would use to create their own model, I just couldn’t understand why the would capitalize on the W12 in the A8, by giving it four turbos like the Veyron, and Bugatti redesign (like they did with the Phaeton for both the Veyron AND the Continental GT and Flying Spur) and use that as a second model?! It would have had waaaay less investment the a ground up, two door sports for both brands, and could have gone head-to-head with the Rolls-Royce/BMW Phantom. I even wondered if a destined W16 might work, but figured it would probably had been too big to fit in the Audi engine bay. I know emissions probably dictated what they did or did not do, but it is fun to fantasize about what they could have done, but there is no doubt a lot of things the public is not privy to and leads to the decisions that the companies make.