AD #4206 – U.S. House to Discuss Speeding Up Robotaxi Rollout; SUV Sales Surge in Europe; Xiaomi Updates SU7 Sedan

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

U.S. HOUSE TO DISCUSS RULES TO SPEED UP ROBOTAXI ROLLOUT
A subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing next week to discuss easing rules to speed up the deployment of robotaxis. Currently, the law allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to exempt up to 2,500 autonomous vehicles per automaker that can be deployed each year, as long as they’re deemed safe. But one of the proposals would boost the cap to 90,000 vehicles per year. And it would allow some safety features like rear-view mirrors or steering wheels to be removed, which companies say aren’t necessary for robotaxis. Another bill under consideration would ban states from setting their own rules on autonomous driving while another would require NHTSA to set standards for advanced driving assistance systems.

AUTO INDUSTRY EXPANDS OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE COLLABORATION
To help reduce costs and speed up development, a group of companies across the auto industry have agreed to collaborate on open-source software for next-gen vehicles. Led by the Germany auto lobbying group, VDA, last year it got 11 companies to join the pact, including BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen. And now, it says there are a total of 32 companies that will participate, including Stellantis, truck maker Traton, the supplier Schaeffler and chipmakers Infineon and Qualcomm. The VDA says the collaboration is aiming to reduce development efforts by up to 40% and speed-up time to market by 30%.

CATL BATTERIES DEGRADE SLOWER THAN COMPETITORS
CATL is the biggest EV battery maker in the world and here’s part of the reason automakers choose it over the competition. Morgan Stanley looked at real-world applications of 12 electric vehicles and 100 sample batteries and found that CATL’s batteries degrade at a significantly lower rate. After a combined 2 million kilometers or 1.25 million miles, its batteries retained roughly 400 kilometers or 250 miles of range, compared to the competition, which retained about 350 kilometers or just over 215 miles of range. While CATL has lost market share over the last several years, it still supplies nearly 40% of the world’s EV batteries. 

XIAOMI UPDATES SU7 SEDAN
The Xiaomi SU7 sedan has been on sale in China for less than two years, but the model is already getting a major refresh. However, like Tesla, more of the changes are under the skin. While still very popular with Chinese buyers, Xiaomi took a big hit to its safety reputation after a couple of high-profile incidents. So, the new SU7 features a dedicated backup power system for the door locks, an embedded anti-roll cage, lidar and more computing power across all models. It also comes with an upgraded suspension system, new motors, more range and faster charging compared to the previous model. All those extra features bump the starting price range from about $33,000 to $44,000, which is an increase of $1,400 to $2,000.

TESLA’S 2025 SALES PLUMMET IN EUROPE
2025 was a bad year for Tesla in Europe. The company sold a little more than 235,000 vehicles last year, which was about 90,000 units less than 2024, representing a drop of nearly 28%. In fact, Tesla was down in every country, except for Norway. But Norway changed its EV tax credits in the new year, which will make some Teslas ineligible and that pulled sales ahead at the end of 2025. So, its sales will likely start dropping in Norway this year. 

VOLVO SALES DOWN 7% GLOBALLY IN 2025
But Tesla wasn’t the only automaker that had a tough time in Europe. Last year, Volvo’s sales dropped 10% in the region to just over 330,000 units. However, the company is showing some minor signs of life in other major markets, posting 1% increases in both China and the U.S. at the end of 2025. But that still wasn’t enough to turn around its overall global sales, which came in at 710,000 vehicles, a drop of 7%.

SUV SALES SURGE IN EUROPE
SUVs are becoming more and more popular in Europe. According to Dataforce, in 2020, SUVs accounted for 41% of new car sales in Europe, today, that has jumped to 59%. At the same time, the popularity of hatchbacks is falling. In 2020, they accounted for 35% of sales, now hatchbacks are down to about 24%. SUVs are more popular because of a higher ride height while still fitting into the same parking spaces as small vehicles and hatchbacks. But these aren’t the same type of big SUVs you see in the U.S. The top-selling SUVs in Europe last year were the Volkswagen T-Roc and Tiguan, the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Peugeot 2008 and the Dacia Duster, respectively.

STELLANTIS’ PRODUCTION IN ITALY DOWN 20% IN 2025
And sticking with Europe, Stellantis’ production in Italy dropped significantly last year. According to a labor union, Stellantis built under 380,000 vehicles, including vans, down 20% from the year before. And it’s a steep drop from the more than 750,000 vehicles it produced in Italy in 2023. The Italian government has raised concerns about Stellantis’ decline in production since it’s the country’s only major automaker. The company is addressing those concerns by boosting production of the Fiat 500 Hybrid and Jeep Compass at two of its Italian plants. And Stellantis has pledged to invest €2 billion at its manufacturing sites in the country. But could the Italians end up turning to the Chinese if Stellantis’ changes aren’t enough?

NEW ZF TECH SWITCHES VEHICLE MODES IN REAL-TIME
Vehicle terrain modes, like switching the settings from sand to snow & off-road, are really good at adapting vehicle dynamics to those conditions. But what if you never had to make the decision to switch the settings in the first place? The supplier ZF is showing off how smart hardware, AI and software can be combined to make changes to the chassis in real-time no matter the road type or condition. The top version of its AI Road Sense technology features both cameras and lidar that scan the road ahead so the vehicle can make more precise adjustments to the conditions. In the future, ZF will also integrate steer- and brake-by-wire functions into the system. With the ability to counteract road vibrations, ZF says it can reduce in-cabin tire noise by 3 decibels. 

And if you haven’t done so, be sure to check out our coverage of CES. We have several videos posted on our website and YouTube channel about the new technology on display at the show. And we have more coming.

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