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Runtime: 10:05
0:00 Ram to Get 1st SUV in 2028
1:11 BYD’s Q3 Net Profit Plunges 33%
1:54 VW Group Posts €1.3 Billion Net Loss in Q3
2:45 VW Wants to Share More Platforms
4:47 Kia Delays EV4 Launch in U.S.
5:43 Cadillac Boosts Celestiq Starting Price By $60,000
6:25 Ford Revives Engine Plant in India
7:07 NEVs Account For 60% Of China Sales in October
7:41 Gasoline Use in China Drops Because Of EVs
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RAM TO GET 1ST SUV IN 2028
Ram is expanding beyond trucks and commercial vans. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa told Wall Street analysts that Ram will get its first SUV in 2028. Although, if you want to get technical, Dodge did start offering the Ramcharger in 1974, well before Ram ever became its own brand. The new model will be built at the automaker’s Warren Truck plant in Michigan and it will be offered with a gas engine and a range-extended hybrid. That’s all the details the company provided. But that plant currently only makes the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. So, this new Ram model will also likely be a full-size SUV. Since he took over as CEO in June, Filosa has quickly expanded the Ram lineup. In addition to the new SUV, the Hemi V8 for the 1500 pickup was revived, two new SRT models will debut in the next three months and Ram will get a new mid-size pickup in 2028.
BYD’S Q3 NET PROFIT PLUNGES 33%
It looks like some of the shine might be coming off of BYD. The automaker sold 1.15 million vehicles in the third quarter, down nearly 2% compared to last year. Its revenue of $27 billion, was a slight drop of 3%. And BYD’s net profit tumbled by a third, dropping to $1.1 billion. Tough competition and the price war in China are putting a dent in the automaker’s earnings. And its market share in China dropped to 14% in September, down from 18% a year earlier. But while BYD is struggling in China, it expects to double exports this year compared to last year.
| BYD Q3 2025 Earnings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 1.15 M | -1.8% |
| Revenue | $27.4 B | -3.1% |
| Net Profit | $1.1 B | -32.6% |
| Source: BYD | ||
VW GROUP POSTS €1.3 BILLION NET LOSS IN Q3
But BYD wasn’t alone in its struggles, Volkswagen also had a tough third quarter. While its sales were up 4.5% to 2.2 million vehicles and that brought in €80 billion in revenue, which was up 2% from a year ago, VW took a big hit to its operating and net results. The automaker posted an operating loss of €1.3 billion and a net loss of €1.1 billion. VW says the main culprits for the drop are U.S. tariffs, which VW estimates have cost it €5 billion this year and from backing off Porsche’s plans to go all-electric. While VW had a rough quarter, the company is still sticking to its outlook for the full year but says that could change if the Nexperia chip shortage isn’t resolved soon.
| Volkswagen Group Q3 2025 Earnings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 2.22 M | +4.5% |
| Revenue | €80.3 B | +2.3% |
| Operating Loss | -€1.3 B | -146% |
| Net Loss | -€1.1 B | -169% |
| Source: VW Group | ||
VW WANTS TO SHARE MORE PLATFORMS
One way it’s looking at turning those results around is with even more platform sharing. That’s according to the company’s CFO, who says VW wants to be able to make more cars from different brands on the same production lines. This was a little surprising to me because it already does a lot of platform sharing. VW’s MQB and MEB architectures are used by most of the Group brands, including Audi, while Audi and Porsche have a couple of platforms that they share. One of those is PPE, which underpins vehicles like the new Audi Q6 and the new Porsche Macan electric. But now that could spread to more of the brands. I think it would make sense for higher-end models from Volkswagen or even Cupra to use PPE. And the more scale it can get with its hardware and software, the more VW can drive down costs.
KIA DELAYS EV4 LAUNCH IN U.S.
It was only several months ago that a senior product planner at Kia told us that the company expected the all-electric EV4 sedan to hit the U.S. market in early 2026. But that won’t happen and it may never. Now Kia says that due to market conditions for EVs in the U.S., the EV4 is being delayed until further notice. We believe ‘market conditions’ means tariffs. President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which set the expiration date for the federal EV tax credit, had already come out by the time we met with that Kia product planner in July. So, Kia should have already known buyers were going to lose access to that $7,500 credit before the EV4 was going to hit the market. But now with tariffs adding costs to vehicle imports, it could be that the model was just going to be too expensive, impacting both sales and profits.
CADILLAC BOOSTS CELESTIQ STARTING PRICE BY $60,000
Speaking of prices going up, Cadillac’s already expensive Celestiq is getting more expensive for the 2026 model year. Instead of eight years of connected services and a premium pattern on the smart glass roof being offered as options, they’ll now come standard. And that pushed the starting price from around $340,000 to the low $400,000s. I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘market conditions’ also played a role in this price increase, but so far it hasn’t seemed to turn off Celestiq buyers. Cadillac says all 2025 output has been reserved and the brand is taking orders for these new models.
FORD REVIVES ENGINE PLANT IN INDIA
Here’s another sign of how much the auto industry has changed in just the last few years. Ford is spending about $370 million to fire its old engine plant in India back up. The automaker pulled the plug on the plant about four years ago. But it’s pivoting away from some of its EV plans and focusing more on ICE. So, the India plant will be retooled to make up to 200,000 high-end engines a year for export. No word on what those high-end engines will be, but the plant used to make gas and diesel 4-cylinder units. While we don’t know exactly where the engines will end up, they’re not being exported to the U.S.
NEVs ACCOUNT FOR 60% OF CHINA SALES IN OCTOBER
Sales of new energy vehicles or NEVs in China are expected to be very strong this month. The China Passenger Car Association is forecasting 1.32 million sales of fully-electric, plug-in hybrid and extended range electric vehicles, accounting for nearly 60% of the market. Overall, sales are expected to total 2.2 million units, which is a 2.6% drop compared to last year. A holiday period during the first week of the month led to the slowdown in sales.
GASOLINE USE IN CHINA DROPS BECAUSE OF EVs
That holiday, known as the “Golden Week,” usually results in a surge in gasoline use because people are going on vacation and taking road trips. But according to Chinese consultancy, SCI, gasoline demand in October is expected to fall 9% to 12.5 million tons, about the same as September. Consumption in China actually peaked in 2023 and demand is expected to fall another 4% this year compared to 2024. And it’s all got to do with more and more Chinese consumers ditching their gas-powered vehicles for NEVs. To drive the point home, during the Golden Week, daily use of electricity at charging stations increased 45%, compared to last year.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and I hope that you have a great weekend.
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Anyone out there have any idea what Stellantis is up to? Their announced product offerings over the past few years has been wild with several not coming to market. RAM SUV? Wonder what the Vegas Sports Book odds will be on this?
The rebadged Wagoneer should be called a Dodge Ramcharger, and the big pickup trucks should be called Dodge Ram. What was the purpose of the Ram “brand” in the first place?
I was never a fan of the brand name RAM. I also hated the goofy and stupidly large RAM badge plastered on the tailgates. They could have intended to make Dodge unibody based vehicles and RAM body on Frame vehicles. It is just that they never expanded the Body on Frame vehicles and shrunk the unibody vehicle offerings at Dodge. Thus making the RAM brand name redundant and it would be better to just call them all Dodge vehicles again. Everyone I know still calls their truck Dodge Ram and not Ram 1500, 2500, etc…
Seems the RAM based SUV is an attempt to compete with the Tahoe/Expedition since the extended length Durango couldn’t compete in that space. Best of luck to Ram as those are very well established players with fiercely loyal followings. A standard Ram truck with an enclosed box on the back is not going to cut it in that market. It is going to have to be something truly special and cheaper to get people out of their Tahoe/Expedition.
Well, it’s about time!!!! I have always said that Stellantis/Ram/Dodge/Chrysler, was leaving money on the table, by not having a full-size SUV, like GM and Ford have for their brands! I guess they are making it a Ram, so as to not directly overshadow the Dodge Durango, since they have committed to a next generation of that model. The GW should have always been just a premium model like the GMC Yukon, with Chrysler having a full-size SUV to compete with the Navigator and Escalade, but at least it is a step in the right direction! Good job, Stellantis! When the competition is good, the consumer wins!
MERKUR DRIVER —
While the Expedition/Tahoe crowd might be entrenched, there are a lot of Dodge faithful who will never buy either of them. With a Ram full-size SUV, Stellantis can compete aggressively on price against Ford and GM, as well as the Toyota Sequoia, as well as the Nissan Armada! Then there is the thought of putting the TRX motor in that SUV, or giving it some of the styling of it as an SRT and the possibilities can get pretty exciting!
@Cadillac Celestiq: sold out for 2025. I have never seen a new one driving on the road. How many of those $350,000+ vehicles have been sold?
Probably two years ago I had a prototype parked in front of my house when a GM engineer visited an estate sale in our street. That prototype had driven many miles according to the engineer and it looked quite beaten up. I remember that the length of the vehicle was enormous.
Hey RAM, how about making a two-door version of your new SUV, similar to the original RAMCHARGER, I would definitely buy one since my company car for a while was a two door Tahoe, the best vehicle I have ever driven, rode like a Cadillac, wasn’t too hard to park due to the two door shortened wheel base and length, had plenty of room for five people, great acceleration and handling, the only down side was the gas mileage but with the new engines of today that probably wouldn’t be too bad. You make a two door RAMCHARGER type SUV and I will be the first in line to order one, guaranteed!
The Wagoneer is direct competition to mid-trim Tahoe now, or would be if they’d put the “hemi” in it. It’s almost a given that the upcoming Ramcharger, or whatever they call it, will be a slightly de-contented version of the Wagoneer. I suppose having two nameplates will increase sales somewhat, as with GMC which is almost redundant to Chevy trucks and SUVs. Maybe they will differentiate the Dodge, er Ram from the Jeep partly by putting the V8 in the Ram and continue with the turbo six in the Jeep.
Probably Toyota and Nissan should just drop their big trucks. None of them sell very well.
Good rundown — clear and to the point. Curious about the Ram SUV: do you think Stellantis will platform-share with Jeep Wagoneer or build a distinct architecture to compete with full-size SUVs from Ford and GM? Also, any thoughts on how VW’s tariff hit might reshape their US pricing strategy?
Wim, from what I can find, about 25 Celestiqs have been sold. No wonder most of us have never seen one. It’s interesting that you saw the prototype.
Interesting that you only mention the tariff impacts on VW but not the insane EU climate penalties. If VW had not had to pay those , that billion euro loss would have been a small profit. But really the good news is that they lost money. And they should get used to it.