AD #4192 – Trump Wants Dinky Kei Cars in the U.S.; Humanoid Robot Production Ramping Up; VW Could Get EU Tariff Relief

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

TRUMP OFFICIALLY PROPOSES FUEL ECONOMY ROLLBACK
President Trump made it official. Following through on one of his campaign promises he’s proposing to get rid of President Biden’s fuel economy mandate. This still has to go through the regulatory process, including public hearings, but it’s likely to become official next year. Under Biden, automakers had to average 50.4 miles per gallon for their entire fleet by 2031. Cars had to hit 65 MPGs and trucks, 42 MPGs. Under Trump they will have to hit 34.5 MPGs, which pretty much freezes things where they’re at now. By the way, those numbers are based on raw EPA test results and are about 10 miles per gallon higher than what drivers will see in the real world. Environmentalists were quick to attack Trump, saying this was a gift to the oil companies, and that it would force consumers to pay more at the pump, while it would add more pollution.

     

OEMs NEED TO PLAN FOR FUEL ECONOMY FLUCTUATIONS
Here’s our Autoline Insight. Automakers were unlikely to hit the Biden Administration’s goals for fuel economy and EV sales, so adjustments were probably going to have to be made at some point anyway. Keep in mind that even with the standards frozen where they are right now, fuel economy will continue to get better and emissions will go down as old cars get scrapped and new ones replace them. The U.S. scraps around 12 million old vehicles a year. But make no mistake about it. If and when the Democrats get back into power, they’re going to ramp those regs back up again. So automakers and suppliers better take that into account when dealing with their future planning.

TRUMP WANTS DINKY KEI CARS IN THE U.S.
One of the stranger things that came out of President Trump’s press conference yesterday is that he wants kei cars to be legally sold in the U.S. Those are the small little vehicles that are so popular in Japan. They’re typically priced around $12,000, get around 70 miles to the gallon, can drive down narrow streets and fit into tight parking spots. But they don’t meet current U.S. crash standards, so if those don’t change, they’d be limited to where they could operate and could be a niche at best. Even so, Trump announced that he told the Secretary of Transportation to approve their sale. Of course, the President is not interested in seeing them imported from Japan. He wants them made in the USA and it will be interesting to see if anyone decides to take the plunge.

  

EU COULD DROP TARIFF ON VW CHINESE-MADE EV
Volkswagen could get some tariff relief in Europe for its Chinese-made EVs. The European Commission has started a review of the tariffs it imposed on the automaker last year. VW’s Spanish brand Seat builds its Tavascan EV in China and it gets slapped with a 20.7% tariff. Instead of the tariff, the EU is considering imposing a minimum price on the vehicle instead.

UBTECH RAMPING UP HUMANOID ROBOT PRODUCTION
Chinese humanoid robot maker Ubtech recently started mass producing and delivering its new Walker S2 robot. The company is aiming to deliver 500 units within the year and is targeting to produce 5,000 robots next year and doubling that to 10,000 by 2027. Since the beginning of the year, the company has received $112 million in orders for its robots. Several Chinese automakers already use Ubtech’s robots, including BYD, Dongfeng, Geely, FAW-Volkswagen and Audi-FAW.

WORLD’S 1ST LARGE 1-PIECE LOW-PRESSURE CASTING
Automakers could use a lot less welding robots in the future. Reports say a Chinese supplier has just revealed the world’s first one-piece cast aluminum frame in a special-edition version of BYD’s luxury SUV, the YangWang U8L. Based on the picture provided, this does not look like a true one-piece component to us, but rather several large cast pieces that are bolted to the frame. Very similar to what Tesla does with the Model 3 & Y. However, one big difference is that the Chinese components are cast using low pressure, not massive multi-ton presses, so the machines needed to make the parts are probably a lot less expensive. Also, I don’t think we’ve seen castings this large in such a big vehicle. And the supplier says that no one before this has been able to make parts with such extreme thickness variation, which ranges from 4-50mm or just over an eighth of an inch to about 2 inches thick.

NEW SMART GLASSES INTEGRATE WITH CAR
Here’s something I think we’ll see a lot more of. Li Auto is launching AI smart glasses that will integrate with its cars. They’re easy to pair with the vehicle and allow users to control all sorts or functions, like unlocking the doors, adjusting the climate before even before they enter, checking range and charging status. In the future Li Auto says it will be able to route vehicle audio to the glasses as well, so other passengers won’t hear the navigation or other prompts. The glasses are called Livis, like Jarvis, the AI assistant from Iron Man, and are on sale now for about $280.

WEBASTO SIMPLIFIES EV THERMAL MANAGEMENT
German supplier Webasto developed a new component to help with the thermal management of electric vehicles. It created a 3-in-1 solution that combines the classic chiller function, active battery temperature control and interior heating into a single device. In many vehicle architectures, separate thermal components must be installed, connected, and controlled, each with its own lines and sealing points. This increases the space requirements, weight, and can lead to errors. Webasto’s new part called the Heated Chiller, replaces these devices with a single system, reducing costs, complexity, and materials.

Have you noticed how many automakers are coming out with hard-core off-road vehicles? Is the market going to grow to accommodate them, or is this another bubble that’s going to burst? We’re going to talk about that on Autoline After Hours this afternoon, as well as how President Trump’s new mpg regs and tariffs will impact American manufacturing and jobs. Adam Bernard, who led global intelligence for General Motors, and Warren Browne, who did production forecasting for GM will be on the show. So join John and Gary when we go live at 3 pm eastern time today.

But that brings us to the end of Autoline Daily. Thanks for tuning in and I hope to see you later for AAH.