AD #4250 – Slate Names New CEO Ahead of $25K Pickup Launch; Ford Suspends Guidance Over Tariff Impact; Renault Turning to EREV Technology

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

VW PROFITS HALVED BY TARIFFS & CHINA LOSSES
Volkswagen sold just over 9 million vehicles last year, only a slight drop from the year before. As a result it brought in slightly less money with revenue hitting nearly 322 billion euros. But due to tariffs, Porsche’s EV writeoffs and lower sales in China, VW’s operating profit was more than cut in half to 9 billion euros and net profit fell over 44% to about 7 billion euros. The company is forecasting that this year won’t be too much better, it’s only expecting a flat or small bump in revenue. So, sales should roughly be the same as 2025.

RENAULT UNVEILS ‘FUTUREADY’ STRATEGY & 36 NEW MODELS
Renault’s new CEO Francois Provost revealed his first strategic plan for the company, called futuREady. Compared to former CEO Luca de Meo’s plan, Provost expects Renault to produce a lower operating margin and have less free cash flow. But he thinks the company will be more sustainable at those levels. And to help fuel its future, the Group as a whole, including Alpine, Dacia and Renault, will launch 36 new models between now and the end of the decade. Some of those vehicles will ride on a new 800-volt platform that will be split into three setups; 100% electric, 4X4 electrics with decent towing capacity and extended range electrics. We get a look at Alpine’s new Performance Platform as well that will underpin the brand’s first EV sportscar, which is expected to be the next-gen version of the A110. Interestingly, Renault also wants to do more contract manufacturing. It mentions its alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi, but we wonder if it could also turn to the Chinese.

FORD SUSPENDS 2026 GUIDANCE OVER $2.5B TARIFF IMPACT
Ford suspended its full-year guidance because of U.S. tariffs. Previously, the automaker forecasted as much as $8.5 billion in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes. But Ford has suspended that guidance and says it expects a tariff impact of $2.5 billion this year. While the company believes it can offset about $1 billion of that, it means that tariffs will lower its adjusted EBIT by $1.5 billion on a net basis this year. Ford will provide an updated outlook when it reports its second quarter earnings.

  

SLATE AUTO NAMES NEW CEO AHEAD OF $25K PICKUP LAUNCH
EV startup Slate Auto only debuted about a year ago but it already has a new CEO. The company named Peter Faricy as its new leader, replacing former Chrysler executive Chris Barman. Barman will remain at Slate as President of Vehicles, where she’ll be responsible for creation, testing and manufacturing. Faricy previously worked at Ford, he was also VP of Amazon Marketplace, he served as chairman and CEO of the SunPower Corporation and most recently he was a part of Bessimer Venture Partners. The leadership change comes at an important moment for Slate. The company is aiming to start delivering its affordable EV pickup to customers by the end of the year. Slate says it has 160,000 reservations and it will announce pricing for the truck at the end of June, which is expected to be around $25,000.

NIO POSTS FIRST-EVER QUARTERLY PROFIT AS SALES SURGE
Chinese EV maker Nio posted a quarterly profit for the first time in its history. The company reported an operating profit of $115 million in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to a nearly $870 million loss the previous Q4. Nio was able to turn things around thanks to strong sales. It delivered a record of more than 124,800 vehicles in the quarter, a 70% increase from the prior year. Its revenue jumped 76% to just over $5 billion, which beat analyst estimates. And it posted an adjusted net profit of $105 million. The momentum will continue into this year. Nio expects to deliver up to 83,000 vehicles in Q1, which would be almost double what it delivered in the first quarter of 2025.

      

ZOOX EXPANDS ROBOTAXI TESTING TO PHOENIX & DALLAS
Autonomous vehicle company Zoox announced it’s expanding and will begin testing in Phoenix and Dallas. With the new locations, Zoox now operates in ten markets, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington DC. But it’s currently only offering rides to the public in Las Vegas and San Francisco, which are free. Zoox will first manually map the new locations before beginning autonomous tests with a safety driver on board. Once that’s complete, it will deploy its purpose-built robotaxis for testing. Since launching its service in Las Vegas and San Francisco last year, Zoox says it has driven more than 1 million autonomous miles and served more than 300,000 riders.

NISSAN & UBER PARTNER ON WAYVE-POWERED AUTONOMOUS CARS
And in related news, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reports that Nissan is finalizing a deal with Uber to provide it with autonomous vehicles for a robotaxi service. Nissan is developing self-driving tech with Wayve Technologies and Uber is also an investor in Wayve. No details on the partnership were given but Nissan plans to launch its next-gen ProPilot system with Wayve technology in Japan and the U.S. by early 2028, which is an eyes-on, hands-off system.

FIRST LOOK: REFRESHED CHRYSLER PACIFICA REVEALED
Here’s our first look at the refreshed Chrysler Pacifica that we talked about the other day. It goes on sale this summer, but there’s only two pictures so far, which show a much different front end inspired by the Halcyon concept. However, former Chrysler CEO Chris Feuell recently told us that it will also have a number of “thoughtful and beautiful” improvements to the interior, including upgrades to the infotainment system. We don’t know for sure yet if the new Pacifica will also get the new plug-in hybrid system she talked about, but Stellantis cancelled the feature for the 2026 model year.

STELLANTIS TAPS TOYOTA & BOSCH FOR HYBRID TECH
However, the company is not giving up on hybrids, but it is turning to outside sources. CNBC reports that the hybrid system for the new Cherokee comes from a supplier, called Blue Nexus, which is backed by Toyota. The setup combines a 1.6L 4-cylinder engine with two electric motors, which generates 210 horsepower. And for Stellantis’ range extended electrics, which are supposed to first debut in the Grand Wagoneer and then the Ram pickup, will use core technologies from Bosch. That setup produces nearly 650 horsepower and provides up to 500 miles of range.

U.S. DOT SELECTS 8 PROJECTS FOR eVTOL PILOT PROGRAM
To help speed up the development and deployment of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft or eVTOLs, the U.S. Transportation Department announced it selected eight projects for a pilot program. This is part of an executive order that President Trump issued last year and the government received more than 30 proposals. One of the approved projects includes a partnership between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as well as Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, BETA Technologies and Electra.aero. Other proposals from the DOTs in Texas, Pennsylvania and North Carolina were also chosen. The pilot program, which runs for three years, will help operators prove the viability of their aircraft and allow cities to begin developing the infrastructure to support eVTOLs. And the government says it will use the results of the pilot to help regulate the industry.

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