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Runtime: 9:35
0:00 Tesla Owners Want FSD Refund
1:14 EU OEMs Slash R&D Jobs Amid Chinese Competition
2:23 Chery Launches Affordable Humanoid Robots
2:50 Rolls-Royce Unveils Project Nightingale Electric Convertible
3:43 Stellantis Global Shipments Surge 12% In Q1
4:36 Uber Invests $10 Billion In Robotaxi Expansion
5:03 Volkswagen Debuts ID.3 Neo With Improved Range
6:09 Porsche Reveals First Ever 911 GT3 Convertible
6:49 CarMax Stock Plunges Despite Beating Earnings Expectations
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
TESLA OWNERS WANT FSD REFUND
Tesla finally received approval for Supervised FSD in its first European country earlier this week but some owners are downright angry about it. That’s because it was only approved for vehicles with the newer AI4 computer. Owners with the older system won’t have the option unlocked yet. Tesla has promised a stripped-down version for HW3 owners but that would be different from the FSD package it promised. And last year, Elon Musk admitted that it will have to “replace all HW3 computers in vehicles where FSD was purchased.” But so far there’s no plan to do that. So, now a Tesla owner in the Netherlands, who paid €6,400 for FSD in 2019, launched a website to band together other owners who purchased the system, so they can either negotiate a settlement or pursue possible legal action against Tesla. And isn’t just happening in Europe. Last year, thousands of Tesla owners in Australia joined a class-action lawsuit, over similar claims that the company misrepresented FSD capabilities.
EU OEMs SLASH R&D JOBS AMID CHINESE COMPETITION
The European auto industry is going through gut-wrenching change. Last week Stellentis announced it’s cutting Opel’s R&D workforce 65%, getting rid of 650 engineers. Yesterday Renault announced it’s cutting its engineering workforce by 15-20%, getting rid of 2,400 engineers. And this comes on top of the 100,000 workers that European suppliers have cut over the last two years. Here’s our Autoline Insight. The European car market has not grown in a decade and is starting to shrink, which has paved the way for Chinese automakers and suppliers to keep making inroads in the region. Earlier this month Reuters reported that Stellantis is deep in talks with Leapmotor to develop an EV for Opel, and with Dongfeng to build cars in the company’s European plants. And Renault is leaning heavily on Chinese suppliers and with BYD to develop EVs. The bottom line: the European auto industry is going to continue to slash engineering and manufacturing jobs until at least the end of the decade.
CHERY LAUNCHES AFFORDABLE HUMANOID ROBOTS
Like Tesla, a number of Chinese car makers are jumping into the robotics business. Chery just started taking orders for humanoid robots this week and priced them at only $41,400. It also has a robot dog that goes for only $2,300. But the humanoid isn’t going to take over factory jobs anytime soon. Chery says it’s perfect for sales, reception and training applications.
ROLLS-ROYCE UNVEILS PROJECT NIGHTINGALE ELECTRIC CONVERTIBLE
Talk about exclusivity. Rolls Royce is coming out with a two-seat convertible that it’s calling Project Nightingale. It has Art Deco design elements. It’s electric. The wheels were designed to look like propellers on a yacht and it has a boattail rear end. But you can’t call the factory and order one. Rolls will only build 100 of them and it will send invitations to its most exclusive customers to buy one. So what will it cost? Well, as the saying goes, if you have to ask….
STELLANTIS GLOBAL SHIPMENTS SURGE 12% IN Q1
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, who was appointed to the role less than a year ago, is starting to help turn the automaker around. Its global shipments in the first quarter were up 12% compared to a year ago, reaching 1.36 million units. Sales were up in all regions led by North America with a 17% increase. Stellantis says the Ram 1500 with the HEMI V8, Jeep Grand Wagoneer and the new Cherokee accounted for more than 100% year-over-year growth in North America. We’ll find out if this boost in sales helped its bottom line, when Stellantis reports its first quarter earnings at the end of the month, the first in the company’s five-year history. Most European companies only report earnings every 6 months, but Stellantis clearly wants everyone to know that things are getting better fast.
UBER INVESTS $10 BILLION IN ROBOTAXI EXPANSION
It seems like the robotaxi market is going into overdrive. The Financial Times reports that Uber is investing more than $10 billion into robotaxis, with $2.5 billion of that for equity stakes with operators and the other $7.5 billion will go towards buying thousands of autonomous vehicles. Uber is planning on launching robotaxi services in at least 28 cities by 2028.
VOLKSWAGEN DEBUTS ID.3 NEO WITH IMPROVED RANGE
The ID.3 was Volkswagen’s very first vehicle to come off its modular EV platform, called MEB, when it went on sale in 2020. And now it’s getting its first successor model, which has migrated to its new MEB+ platform. With a slight name change to ID.3 Neo, the styling of the EV is not too different, but it does preview the new front-end look you’ll see on upcoming ID family vehicles. The model features the company’s latest software, which powers the new digital driver’s cluster and infotainment system as well as the ability to charge other electronic devices. There are three motor and battery sizes available. Output ranges from about 165-225 horsepower, while battery packs come in 50-, 58- and 79-kWh, which will provide up to 630 kilometers or about 390 miles of range on the WLTP test cycle. No word on pricing yet, but pre-sales kick off in Europe tomorrow.
PORSCHE REVEALS FIRST EVER 911 GT3 CONVERTIBLE
For the first time ever Porsche is going to offer the 911 GT3 as a convertible. On top of that fully automatic retractable roof, the 911 GT3 S/C features a number of lightweight components as well as unique touches inside and out. Power comes from a naturally aspirated 4.0L 6-cylinder engine that makes roughly 500 horsepower and is exclusively mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. It will do 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and orders are open now. Pricing starts around $275,000 in the U.S.
CARMAX STOCK PLUNGES DESPITE BEATING EARNINGS EXPECTATIONS
When we’ve posted our Autoline Stock of the Day we’ve been focusing on the automotive stock that gained the most. Today, we’re flipping the script and looking at the stock that did the worst. And that honor goes to Carmax, even though it released earnings that beat expectations. The company that lets you buy and sell cars online announced it’s going to start selling older cars with a lot more miles on them, and will sell to customers who have lower credit scores. Carmax says it’s about providing customers with more affordable choices, but investors clearly did not like the news and the stock dropped over 15%, closing at $41.66.
And that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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Interesting that Carmax is changing focus, to buying and selling beaters to sub-prime buyers. Well, probably not beaters, but different from what they seemed to specialize in a few years ago. I’ve done very well selling Carmax a couple late model, low mileage “specialty” cars. At the time, there were a lot of Benzes, BMWs, Lexi, etc. on their lot.
Out of curiosity, I checked Carmax and Carvana offers for my low trim 2024 Prius. Carvana offered $2400, about 10% more.
Is it brand dilution that concerns Carmax investors?
I suspect demand for lower cost vehicles is high especially for sub prime buyers who tend to make more profitable transactions. Carmax will compete with small dealers, should bring efficiency to that market. What’s the issue i wonder
Not that it has much to do with Carmax stock price, but I checked Carmax and Carvana on-line offers for my other car, a 2022 Highlander LE hybrid. The offers were essentially the same, within about 1% of each other. Apparently Carmax doesn’t want gen 5 Priuses, or maybe has too many of them, because Carvana’s offer for my 2024 Prius was about 10% better.
Kit, did you leave a zero off the price of your Prius?
Ziggy, my post wasn’t clear. Yeah, it looked like I left off a zero. Carvana offered $2400 more than Carmax. The Carvana offer was $24K.
@Ziggy, I assumed the same; 24,000.
Again, I don’t get the humanoid robot that is sold for anything other then manufacturing or anything outside of physical jobs with repetitive motions and moving lifting heavy and or awkward objects. In today’s report, the image of a humanoid robot that was given a blond ponytail, as well as a woman’s partial face and shape made even less since! Then the report said that it was not attended for manufacturing, but sales and training, at a price of $40K+?!?! A humanoid robot is going to train a human to what, pretend to be a woman/female and teach/train people to type?!?! Model and sell cloths?! Sell makeup?! Sell shoes?! Clean a pool and yard work? Repair and install power and natural has lines? Her cattle? Car racing? Train astronauts or replace them on the next trip to the moon? What could it sell or train people to do, that would not be done better if it were done by an actual person? Then, what happens when that humanoid robot falls do a flight of stairs while vacuuming? If it’s damaged and not covered by your home owner’s insurance, that $40K used to buy it may be gone just as quickly!
wmb, I don’t know what “natural has lines?” and “Her cattle?” is supposed to mean, but one thing made sense. Robots, though not humanoid, should replace people on the next trip to the moon. Sending people to the moon, or other places in space, makes little sense. We put people on the moon in 1969 to prove something during the “cold war” with the Soviet Union, but what is the point of repeating it? We can look at the moon, bring more samples back, and do anything else for scientific discovery re. the moon without people going there.
Kit —
Sorry, but that was supposed to read ‘natural gas lines’ and ‘heard cattle’ and I was just calling out random jobs that are done everyday, to see where would a humanoid robot could be used in ‘training’ a human, let alone train them to do it better! So, where exactly, outside of manufacturing is the application for this type of product.