AD #4241 – Nissan Plans Dual Pathfinder Strategy By 2030; Aston Martin Slashes 20% of Workforce; Tesla Sues California Over Autopilot Name Change

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

ASTON MARTIN SLASHES 20% OF WORKERS AMID FINANCIAL STRUGGLES
As we reported earlier this week, Aston Martin is struggling financially due to U.S. tariffs and weak demand in China. And now the automaker is taking action to stop the bleeding, announcing plans to slash 20% of its workforce. It employs around 3,000 workers, so the cuts would amount to about 600 jobs and result in annual savings of $54 million, according to Aston. The company also cut its five-year capital spending plan from 2 million to 1.7 million pounds by delaying its investment in electric vehicles. Chairman Lawrence Stroll and his investor group have pumped a lot of money into the company trying to turn it around. They initially paid about $240 million to acquire a stake in 2020 and they’ve invested more than $810 million since then.

LUCID CUTS WORKFORCE AND LOWERS 2026 PRODUCTION TARGETS
And speaking of job cuts, earlier this week Lucid announced it’s cutting 12% of its global workforce. And now the automaker says it expects lower production growth this year. Last year, the company nearly doubled production to just under 18,000 units, thanks to the ramp up of its second model, the Gravity. But Lucid’s CEO says he expects the automaker to produce between 25,000 and 27,000 vehicles, which would be 40-50% growth compared to 2025. While that’s not bad, it is lower than a previous estimate. Lucid is planning on launching a third model later this year but it’s not expected to have a big impact on volume. That model will first be made in Saudi Arabia, and will later at its plant in Arizona. While it doesn’t need a second plant at the moment, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is Lucid’s majority owner, so it likely doesn’t have much choice in ramping up operations in the country.

      

WAYVE RAISES $1.2 BILLION FOR AUTONOMOUS TECH
While McKinsey thinks the future of autonomous vehicles is still in flux, it says the technology is at a turning point, both from a development and business case standpoint. And UK-based self-driving startup Wayve could be a good example of that. In its latest funding round the company raised $1.2 billion from investors that included Mercedes, Microsoft, Nissan, NVIDIA, Stellantis and Uber. What likely helped lure those companies in, is that Wayve offers Level 1 to Level 4 driver assistance solutions that use AI to sense, make decisions and then execute without HD maps. Its tech was also designed to integrate with any vehicle’s existing hardware and software, so a big benefit is that companies don’t have to make big changes to their architectures. Nissan will be the first to launch vehicles with Wayve’s software, an eyes-on, hands-off system, and potentially a Level 3 system as well. The latest funding now brings the startup’s valuation to $8.6 billion.  

“JAY LENO LAW” EXEMPTS CLASSIC CARS FROM SMOG TESTS
They call it the Jay Leno law, though officially it’s called Senate Bill 1392. The famous TV personality and car collector is pushing for legislation in California that will exempt classic cars from the state’s strict emissions regulations. In California, all cars have to undergo an emissions test every other year. But most inspection stations there are not equipped to test cars that were built before OBD II sensors were mandated. And only 7% of all smog inspections in California involve classic cars, according to MEMA, or the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association. So, the bill would only exempt collector vehicles. It requires collector-vehicle insurance with proof at registration, and phases in eligibility in a controlled way–starting with certain older model years and expanding gradually over time. MEMA points out that classic cars aren’t driven nearly as often so the impact on the environment should be minimal.

  

NISSAN TO LAUNCH DUAL PATHFINDER STRATEGY BY 2030
Nissan is going to offer two completely different versions of the Pathfinder by the end of the decade. Automotive News reports that it is going to sell unibody and body-on-frame versions of the Pathfinder starting in mid-2029. The models will have distinct design, capability, performance, ride handling and pricing. The unibody version will have more refined ride and handling, while the body-on-frame Pathfinder will feature a boxy design and have greater off-road capabilities. The unibody Pathfinder will only be powered by an ICE, while the body-on-frame model will have both gas engine and hybrid options. The body-on-frame version will be built at Nissan’s plant in Mississippi alongside four other models based on the same truck platform. The current unibody Pathfinder is made at Nissan’s plant in Tennessee.

HYUNDAI UNVEILS UNMANNED ROBOT FOR FIREFIGHTING
Hyundai not only helps keep troops safe in South Korea, now it’s turning its attention to firefighters. The HR-Sherpa is an electrified 6-wheeled unmanned vehicle that a division of the Group, called Hyundai Rotem, originally made for military applications, like for reconnaissance and patient transfer. But Hyundai also worked with the Korea National Fire Agency and is now upfitting the HR-Sherpa with an infra-red camera, big water cannon and a spraying system to keep the ground around the vehicle’s airless tires nice and cool. Thanks to lidar, cameras and AI, the vehicle can go places firefighters can’t, either on its own or via remote operation. Hyundai says there’s already two models in operation and two more are on the way.

TESLA SUES CALIFORNIA OVER AUTOPILOT NAME CHANGE
Ever since Tesla came up with the name Autopilot, safety advocates have criticized it as misleading. While the system is quite impressive, it definitely can’t drive itself in all situations. Last month, the California Department of Motor Vehicles forced Tesla to drop the name, threatening to revoke the automaker’s license to sell cars in the state. So Tesla now refers to the system as Traffic Aware Cruise Control. Sounds to us like the name a legal department would come up with and no doubt the marketing team cringes every time it hears it. But now that it’s changed the name, Tesla filed a lawsuit against the California DMV trying to overturn the ruling that it engaged in false advertising with the Autopilot and FSD names. 

TESLA BATTLES TRADEMARK SQUATTER OVER CYBERCAB NAME
Speaking of brand names, Tesla has another headache on its hands. A French beverage company called UNIBEV trademarked the “Cybercab” name back in October 2024, which was two weeks after Tesla unveiled the Cybercab. But here’s the problem, for some reason, Tesla never trademarked the name. Now Tesla is appealing to the US Patent and Trademark Office to get the name back. Tesla says it’s a clear case of trademark squatting, where someone trademarks a name with no intention of ever using it, only wanting to sell it. We think Tesla has a pretty good case and will end up winning this. But this is a big lesson for everyone in the industry. Don’t go throwing a name around unless you know for sure you already have the rights to use it.

GENUINE PARTS COMPANY SPLITTING INTO TWO PUBLIC ENTITIES
All of you who work on your cars are familiar with brand names like NAPA and Genuine and for those of you Down Under, the Repco brand. Well, the parent company of those brands, the Genuine Parts Company, is splitting into two. The company, which does $24 billion in annual revenue and has been around since 1928, is under pressure from an activist investor group, Elliot Investment Management to make the split. One company, involving all those brands you’re familiar with, will be called Global Automotive. The other part, which handles parts and repairs for industrial equipment, will be called Global Industrial, though it will operate under the brand name Motion. When investors got wind last month that the split was coming, they bid up the share price by 22%. But after the company officially announced what it is doing, the price dropped right back down again. It reminds us of that old Wall Street saying, “Buy on the rumor, sell on the news.”

But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.