AD #4229 – BYD Sues U.S., Challenges Trump Tariffs In Landmark Lawsuit; Stellantis Sells Canadian Battery Stake For Only $100; Nissan Pivots To PHEVs And EREVs To Offset Slow EV Sales

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

BYD SUES U.S.: CHINESE OEM CHALLENGES TRUMP TARIFFS IN LANDMARK LAWSUIT
Well, here’s an interesting development, to say the least. Chinese automaker BYD is suing the U.S. government, challenging the tariffs it imposed under the IEEPA, or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The lawsuit is specifically targeted against Kristi Noem, the head of Homeland Security; Scott Bessent, the head of the U.S. Treasury; Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative; and Rodney Scott, the head of U.S. Customs. The lawsuit targets 9 executive orders issued by the Trump Administration and specifically challenges tariffs targeting Canada, Mexico, Brazil and India. BYD has four subsidiaries in the United States that make electric buses, batteries, motors and provide services, and they’re the ones who have filed the lawsuit. 

SUPREME COURT TARIFF RULING: WILL BYD WIN ITS LEGAL BATTLE?
Here’s our Autoline insight. BYD has a good chance of winning this lawsuit. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently evaluating the legality of the Trump Administration’s use of the IEEPA to impose tariffs. The act was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 to be used for extreme emergencies, like the outbreak of war. Many in the legal community believe that President Trump overstepped the boundaries of the law. But they also believe that if the Supreme Court rules against Trump, he will simply turn to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, and put those tariffs back in place. We won’t have to wait long to see how this is going to go. We’re expecting a ruling from the court in just a matter of weeks.

CHINA’S DREAME SPENDS $10M ON SUPER BOWL AD, FEATURES EV HYPERCAR
BYD isn’t the only Chinese automaker that wants to get into the U.S. market. We broke the story last month that Geely will make an announcement in the next couple of years to start making cars in South Carolina. And if you were watching the Super Bowl last night, maybe you caught this ad from Dreame, the Chinese company that makes everything from robot vacuums to lawn mowers, that also showed off its electric hypercar concept called Nebula. Dreame says it spent $10 million on the ad, and that car is featured throughout the 30-second spot.

CANADA EYES CHINESE EV JOINT VENTURE: A GLOBAL EXPORT HUB IN THE MAKING?
With the Trump Administration’s tariffs threatening the survival of the Canadian auto industry, Canada is actively pursuing car companies to build vehicles there. Last month, it signed a non-binding agreement with South Korea to bring Korean car manufacturing to Canada. And now Canada’s Industry Minister tells Bloomberg that it’s working to create a joint-venture with a Chinese company to produce EVs in Canada for global export. Canadian suppliers Magna, Linamar and Martinrea could participate in the joint-venture since they already have operations in China. The minister also believes the EVs can be cost competitive globally despite Canada’s higher labor prices. Canada is slowly warming up to Chinese automakers. Last month, it reached a deal to slash tariffs on Chinese EV imports from 100% down to just 6%.

NISSAN PIVOTS TO PHEV: PLUG-IN ROGUE AND FRONTIER TO OFFSET SLOW EV SALES
While Nissan is still committed to fully-electric vehicles, the automaker is moving to plug-in hybrids and extended range-electrics in the short-term because its BEV sales are softer than it expected. Nissan will launch a plug-in version of the Rogue in the U.S. this year with up to 42 miles of electric-only range. In China, it introduced an extended-range version of its NX8 3-row SUV with 115 miles of electric-only range. And for Europe, Nissan is considering importing a plug-in version of the Frontier pickup that’s built-in China and was co-developed with Dongfeng.

STELLANTIS BACKS AWAY FROM BATTERY PLANTS IN GERMANY AND ITALY
And speaking of rolling back EV plans, European battery maker ACC is shelving plans to open plants in Germany and Italy. ACC is a joint-venture between Stellantis, Mercedes and TotalEnergies, with Stellantis being the largest investor. The battery company was established in 2020 and planned to have three plants in Germany, Italy and France, each with a capacity to produce 8-GWh annually. But only the plant in France opened, which is currently making batteries for Stellantis. Production for Mercedes should start in the middle of this year.

STELLANTIS SELLS CANADIAN BATTERY STAKE TO LG FOR ONLY $100 
And in related news, as we reported last week, Stellantis sold its stake in NextStar Energy to LG. NextStar Energy was a joint-venture between the two companies to build EV batteries in Canada. And Stellantis must have really wanted to get out of that partnership because Reuters reports it sold its 49% stake to LG for just $100. However, LG will continue to supply Stellantis with batteries produced at the plant.

XIAOMI SLASHES MILES-DRIVEN TO UNLOCK HANDS-FREE DRIVING
Xiaomi just lowered the threshold to unlock its city hands-free driving feature. Previously owners had to use the vehicle’s other driver assistance systems for 1,000 kilometers or about 620 miles before they got access to city hands-free driving. The idea was to gradually let people get used to its technology. But Xiaomi got so many complaints from owners that it took too long to unlock that it’s lowering the threshold to 300 kilometers or just over 185 miles. The change is part of the company’s most recent over-the-air update, so owners should be able to take advantage right away.

MOBIS WORKING ON HOLOGRAPHIC WINDSHIELDS: THE FUTURE OF NAVIGATION?
A piece of tech we find interesting just got a slightly better chance of making its way into a production model. A couple of years ago Hyundai Mobis, a giant supplier partly owned by the Hyundai Group, and German optics company Zeiss formed a partnership to develop holographic windshield displays. They hoped to start production as early as next year, but now they’ve signed on a couple of new partners and hope to start assembling units at scale before 2029. A company, called Tesa, will make the holographic films and glass supplier Saint-Gobain will integrate those films into the windshield. The holographic displays are brighter, offer better resolution and are smaller than traditional head-up displays. And with the ability to stretch across the entire windshield, we think there’s a number of features people would find interesting, especially turn-by-turn navigation.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day and a special thanks to all our YouTube and Patreon members.