AD #4171 – Samsung Partners with BMW On Solid-State Batteries; China Eases Export Restrictions on Chips; GM Restructures Software Development

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

GM RESTRUCTURES SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
GM says it’s going to combine its software and product division into one organization and as a result, it’s losing one of its top software executives. The company’s vehicle software engineering and Global Product teams will now be brought together in an effort to speed up how GM develops and implements new technology. The new organization will be led by Sterling Anderson, who was hired in May as executive VP of global product and chief product officer. Anderson previously helped develop the Tesla Model X and Autopilot and co-founded autonomous trucking company Aurora. That experience no doubt played a role in GM having the confidence to give him more responsibility with its software division. However, the company’s former senior VP of software and services engineer, Dave Richardson, has “elected to step down from his role at GM.” Richardson, a former Apple executive, was brought into GM, along with another Apple exec, in June of last year to take over for the company’s former head of software, Mike Abbott, who left due to health reasons. 

NEXTSTAR WON’T PRODUCE EV BATTERIES ANYTIME SOON
Due to current EV market conditions, that $5 billion battery plant that Stellantis and LG built in Canada is not going to make cells for electric vehicles anytime soon. Their partnership, called Nextstar Energy, was established in 2022 and was supposed to make batteries for Stellantis EVs built across North America. But Stellantis and most other automakers have pulled back on some of their EV plans, which is why Nextstar is “expecting a prolonged slowdown in the EV market.” So, it’s transitioning to energy storage systems. While that might seem like a bad thing, Nextstar says there will be little difference and expects to need about the same number of workers. It will run two shifts on one line to start and hopes to add another line and more workers in the future. Energy storage systems is an expanding market and Tesla even just reached a $2.1 billion agreement with Samsung SDI to supply it with batteries for energy storage systems over the next three years.

SAMSUNG PARTNERS WITH BMW ON SOLID-STATE BATTERIES
And speaking of Samsung, it’s joining BMW’s effort to develop all-solid-state batteries. BMW has been working on the tech since 2016 with startup Solid Power, which it’s also invested in. Solid Power will supply sulfide-based solid electrolyte to Samsung, which it will use to build cells that will then be evaluated for use in test vehicles. The companies say the all-solid-state batteries offer increased energy density and longer vehicle ranges than current batteries. Ford is also an investor in Solid Power but it’s not part of this partnership. 

        

CHINA EASES CHIP EXPORT RESTRICTIONS
Good news for automakers. They should soon be getting relief from that Nexperia chip shortage. China agreed to loosen export restrictions as part of last week’s trade talks with President Trump. China’s Commerce Ministry released a statement over the weekend saying that it will allow eligible companies to be exempted from its export ban. However, China didn’t say when it will grant exemptions or when they’ll take effect. Automakers have been warning for the last several weeks that production could soon be halted because of the chip shortage. It started when China banned Nexperia exports in retaliation to the Dutch government taking control of the company. Nexperia is based in the Netherlands but is owned by Chinese company Wingtech.

RENAULT TO BUILD GEELY VEHICLES IN BRAZIL
Renault and Geely are making a partnership they announced early this year official. Geely bought a 26.4% stake in Renault’s Brazil operations. As part of that investment, Renault will start making both Renault- and Geely-branded vehicles at its plant in Brazil and Geely gets access to Renault’s sales and service centers in the country. Geely’s EX5, an electric SUV, is already on sale at Renault dealerships in the region. But a whole lineup of Geely zero- and low-emission vehicles will eventually be offered in Brazil. As for its part, Renault will be able to increase production at that plant. Plus, it will get access to Geely’s GEA platform, so it can develop its own zero- and low-emission vehicles for Brazil.

RENAULT IN TALKS WITH CHINA OEMs TO JOINTLY BUILD CARS
And Renault must really be seeing some benefit from this partnership because Reuters reports that it’s also in talks with other Chinese automakers, like Chery, to jointly produce and sell cars. However, there are no new projects to announce yet.

  

GEELY TOPS 300K MONTHLY SALES FOR 1ST TIME
And going back to Geely for a moment, I think Stellantis could take a page from its book. We once worried that Geely had too many brands, but it has started to make moves to consolidate. It merged Zeekr and Lynk & Co, then took Zeekr private again. It also integrated two other brands it controlled, into one called Geely Galaxy. And the moves could be starting to pay off. Geely sold more than 300,000 vehicles in a single month for the first time ever. The official number was just over 307,000 units, up 35% compared to last year. And for the full year it sold nearly 2.5 million vehicles, an increase of over 44%. A lineup full of both hybrid and electric vehicles is allowing Geely to adapt to market conditions and it’s even going to buy out an old GM-SAIC plant to make its NEVs.

WAYMO EYES CANADA EXPANSION
It looks like Waymo wants to expand into Canada. Records show that consultants working on behalf of Waymo, registered to lobby the Canadian government on autonomous vehicle regulations. While the filings don’t indicate Waymo is planning to operate in Canada, in a statement to Automotive News, Waymo said it is pushing for regulations that “will allow us to serve Canadians in the future.” Waymo entered its first international market, Japan, in April and next year it plans to test vehicles in the UK. There is currently autonomous vehicle testing in Canada but not for ride-hailing, it’s mostly focused on commercial vehicles, or more limited programs, like autonomous shuttles running on fixed routes or delivery robots with no passengers.

TOYOTA REVEALS FUEL CELL POWERED TACOMA CONCEPT
Toyota is showing off a hydrogen powered Tacoma overlanding concept at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. The truck features a second-gen Mirai fuel cell stack and three hydrogen tanks housed within its frame rails. The powertrain also includes a nearly 25-kWh battery along with a front and rear electric motor that combine for 547 horsepower. One of the truck’s unique features is its exhaust water recovery system, which captures and filters one of the only byproducts of the fuel cell stack, water, for camping and outdoor use. The water is essentially distilled, containing no minerals, making it suitable for washing and showering but it’s not recommended for drinking. The Tacoma H2-Overlander Concept was created by the Toyota Racing Development engineering teams in California and North Carolina.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.