AD #4214 – Humanoid Payback Is Less Than a Year; Great Wall Motors Disses EREVs; Tariffs? Porsche Hit Record U.S. Sales In 2025

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

EU AUTO STOCKS DROP ON TRUMP’S GREENLAND TARIFF THREATS
President Trump threatened to hit imports from Europe with even more tariffs because at least 8 European countries oppose his plans to take over Greenland. Investors didn’t waste any time once they heard the news. They started selling off shares in European automakers. Stock prices for virtually every European automaker dropped, with BMW, Mercedes and Porsche all down 3%. No one knows yet if the President will follow through on that threat, or if it will involve higher tariffs on European cars, but many investors weren’t waiting around to see what happens. They just started selling. 

TARIFFS? PORSCHE HIT RECORD U.S. SALES IN 2025
Porsche had a tough 2025 but not in the U.S. The automaker sold just under 280,000 vehicles globally last year, down 10% from 2024. But in the U.S. the company sold a record 76,219 vehicles, which is 52 more than the previous year. While that’s obviously not a big increase, it’s not bad considering the company was down in every other major market, plus it had to deal with the new U.S. tariffs. Porsche also sold a record amount of certified pre-owned vehicles in the U.S. last year, just over 48,000, which is an 11% increase from 2024.

CHINA AUTO EXPORTS SOARED IN 2025 
Chinese car exports continue to soar. In 2020, Chinese automakers exported 1 million vehicles but last year it jumped to 7.1 million vehicles, up 21% from 2024. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, 2.6 million of the exports were electrified vehicles, with fully-electric vehicles accounting for 1.65 million units. But the growth of car exports out of China is expected to slow this year. Automakers are estimated to ship 7.4 million units, a 4% increase from 2025.

LINCOLN MOVES HQ TO DOWNTOWN DETROIT
Ford recently moved into its new headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. But Lincoln won’t be joining it. The brand’s leadership team and other employees will instead work out of the Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Ford bought the old train station in 2018 and spent nearly $1 billion, turning it into a tech hub. Lincoln’s president says that being separate will help differentiate it from Ford. In addition to Lincoln, Ford’s EV business unit, philanthropy arm and its integrated services team, also work at the old train station. Ford plans to have 2,500 employees working there by the end of 2028.

HUMANOID PAYBACK IS LESS THAN A YEAR
Last week we reported that automotive assembly plants building cars entirely with humanoid robots could be a reality by 2030. One Tier 1 CEO told Autoline that even if humanoids cost $250,000 apiece they would pay for themselves in less than two years, because each robot could work two shifts, replacing two workers. And that’s at a supplier company that pays lower wages than the automakers do. The total annual labor cost for the average UAW worker at the Detroit Three is about $140,000 a year, so the payback for a humanoid could be less than a year. The UAW contract expires in 2028 and it will be fascinating to see if the threat of humanoids plays a role in labor negotiations.

GREAT WALL MOTORS DISSES EREVs
Great Wall Motors just introduced a new platform that will support more than 50 production models and offer ICE, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell and pure electric powertrains. But interestingly it won’t include extended range electrics. While the setup is popular with Chinese buyers, Great Wall calls them “corner cutting” and says there’s inherent disadvantages with the system. Range extenders use an engine to generate electricity, which is sent to the battery and/or motors to power the vehicle. But the electricity has to pass through several systems, so there’s energy losses, especially at medium to high speeds. Great Wall estimates that range extenders are up to 13% less efficient than direct-drive powertrains. So, that’s why it says it “will not do” them.

 

CHERY PROMISES SOLID STATE BATTERY THIS YEAR
While solid-state is being heralded as the next big breakthrough in battery technology, there’s some forecasts that say it will only represent 10% of total battery output by 2030. But that size market could still generate over $34 billion and we should start to see progress pick up this year and next. Exeed, which is a brand of Chinese automaker Chery, will have a model out sometime in 2026 with a fully solid-state battery that could have as much as 1,500 kilometers or over 930 miles of range and still perform reliably up to -30 degrees Celsius or -22 Fahrenheit. Most of the models this year are expected to be used in pilot projects for ride-hailing and rentals and larger scale production will ramp up in 2027. CATL and BYD should also have fully solid-state batteries start coming out around the same time. 

FARLEY: FORD TO BE “PORSCHE OF OFF-ROAD”
CEO Jim Farley says he wants Ford to become the “Porsche of off-road racing” so he sent 4 factory-supported Raptor T1+s to Saudi Arabia to compete in the Dakar rally, which lasts for two weeks and covers nearly 5,000 miles. Long story short, Ford didn’t win it. That honor went to the Dacia Sandriders. But Ford did take 2nd and 3rd place overall. Farley pointed out that it took Ford two years to take the overall win at Le Mans in 1966, so he clearly sees the Dakar rally as the same level for off-road vehicles. And it’s interesting to see that Ford’s entries were branded as Raptors, not Rangers or Broncos. That tells us that Ford is building the Raptor name to be a brand unto itself, to become a premium brand for off-road vehicles, just like Porsche is with sports cars.

But that brings to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.