AD #4160 – Cadillac Drops CT4, Keeps CT5; U.S. Automakers Hit With $10.6B Tariff Bill; Porsche Wants a New CEO

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

PORSCHE WANTS A NEW CEO
Porsche could have a new leader soon. The automaker is in talks with current CEO Oliver Blume about an early termination. Blume has been Porsche’s CEO for a decade and kept his position after being named CEO of the Volkswagen Group in 2022. But investors aren’t happy with his dual role and with the luxury car maker struggling financially, they want to see him replaced. The board of Porsche even went to the lengths of saying that Michael Leiters is available as a possible successor. Leiters previously worked at Porsche until 2013, he then became Chief Technical Officer at Ferrari for 8 years before being hired as CEO of McLaren. But while Blume will likely be replaced at Porsche, he will continue to be CEO of the VW Group.

OH NO, ANOTHER CHIP SHORTAGE!
Oh no, here we go again. The auto industry is about to get hit with another chip shortage. It’s all got to do with a Chinese company called Wingtech Technology that bought a Dutch chip maker called Nexperia. The Trump Administration warned the Netherlands that Nexperia could get blacklisted because its Chinese ownership posed national security problems for Europe. So the Dutch stepped in and took control of the company. For now, Nexperia is not making chips in the Netherlands and it has stopped exporting them from China. Here’s the problem. Nexperia makes about 40% of the transistors and diodes that go into automotive chips. And while automakers and suppliers are scrambling to find alternate sources, this has blown a big hole in their supply chains. European automakers are negotiating with the Chinese to at least export chips out of China, but it looks like this is going to start shutting down assembly lines before this month is over.

      

U.S. OEMs HIT WITH $10.6B TARIFF BILL
Meanwhile, in the U.S., automakers have been hit with $10.6 billion in tariffs. And that’s just on the tariffs for vehicles and components coming in from Mexico and Canada, which were enacted in April. So on an annualized basis, that suggests the bill will come to about $25 billion. And it doesn’t include the tariffs on steel, aluminum and other commodities. These numbers were calculated by the Anderson Economic Group, which points out there is no way that automakers can absorb these costs without raising prices. So far, automakers have resorted to eliminating incentives and raising destination charges. We think they don’t want to have the Trump Administration attacking them for raising MSRPs. But with their bottom lines getting bashed, it’s only a matter of time before consumers will start paying the price of these tariffs.  

STELLANTIS & PONY.AI TEAM UP IN EUROPE
Stellantis is partnering with Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, to test Level 4 AVs in Europe. Pony.ai’s technology will be integrated into Peugeot e-Traveller electric vans, which will first be deployed in Luxembourg in the coming months and then roll out to more cities in Europe in 2026. The tests will focus on validating safety, performance and meeting local regulations. The companies say the vans are ideal for autonomy, because their size, flexibility, total cost of ownership and efficiency allows them to be used for different applications, from a compact robotaxi to a vehicle that can seat up to 8 passengers.

DOORDASH USES WAYMO ROBOTAXIS
And in other autonomous vehicle news, Waymo is partnering with food delivery company DoorDash to deliver food in its self-driving cars. The service will begin in the coming months in Phoenix and will initially deliver orders from DashMart, which is DoorDash’s convenience, grocery and retail stores. The companies plan to add more local merchants over time but they need to be located within Waymo’s 315-square mile service area in Phoenix. DoorDash customers that are interested in the service just have to opt in to autonomous delivery when checking out. And once the delivery arrives, the customer can open the trunk with the DoorDash app.

  
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CHINA CLAIMS ANOTHER BATTERY BREAKTHROUGH
Solid-state batteries could represent the next big breakthrough in battery tech and ​​China Central Television is making some pretty bold claims about the potential of three new approaches to improving how these batteries perform. While solid-state batteries offer a number of benefits, long-term durability without slowing down the transfer of ions within the battery is still an issue. That’s the main focus of these new methods, which I don’t think I could do a good job of summarizing here, so we’ll provide a link. China Central Television claims that a 100 kilogram or 220-pound solid-state battery pack without these improvements would provide about 500 kilometers or 310 miles of range, but with them it could more than double that number. According to an AI search, a 220-pound battery would only be as big as 25 kWh, so to get over 1,000 kilometers of range would be extremely impressive. Several OEMs plan to have fully solid-state batteries out in the next 2-3 years. However, the new methods being developed in China sound like they’re still in the very early testing stages, so they may not be featured in those first-gen versions.

ICE-BEV-PHEV-EREV IN ONE PACKAGE FROM MAGNA
Magna has developed an intriguingly flexible powertrain that seems to do it all. You can run it just on internal-combustion power, or purely on battery power, or run it as a parallel hybrid, or a series hybrid. And it’s all in one package. Magna’s calls it eTelligent Command. They took a 7-speed DCT, removed 2 gears and replaced them with a 120-kilowatt motor. That’s about 156 horsepower. Then they set it up so the electric motor can send power through the shaft with the 2nd and 4th gears, while the IC engine sends power through the shaft with the 1st, 3rd and 5th gears. Here’s the crazy thing. Both the electric motor and IC engine can send power through those shafts at the same time. Or they can do it individually. And then, just for good measure, Magna added a 160-kilowatt motor on the rear axle, with two clutches to the rear wheels so they can do torque vectoring for better cornering. It sounds pretty complicated, and it is. But we also got to test the eTelligent system in a Range Rover and it drove beautifully, we found it to be absolutely seamless. The 400-volt system is quite efficient. With only 21.5 kilowatt hours of usable battery, it can deliver a 110 kilometer EV driving range, or about 68 miles. Magna is showing the system to automakers and thinks it could be in production in about 3 years.

CADILLAC DROPS CT4, KEEPS CT5
Cadillac is trimming its sedan lineup. Production of the CT4 at GM’s Lansing Grand River plant will end in June. Although, that does mean new models will continue to be sold until they’re cleared out of inventory. That plant also makes the Cadillac CT5, but production of the current model will continue until late 2026 and it’s supposed to get a next-gen version as well. That new model will still be built in Lansing Grand River and could come out sometime in 2028. 

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day and I hope that you have a great weekend.