Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 8:38
0:00 Rivian’s RJ Scaringe Earns $402 Million
0:52 GM Q1 Sales, Revenue & Profits Fall
1:28 BYD’s Profits Plunge 55%
1:56 Chery to Boost EU Production
2:51 Hongqi to Make Cars in Spain
3:27 Leapmotor to Launch Premium Brand
4:22 Jeep Adjusts Iconic 7-Slot Grille
4:45 Bollinger to Auction Trucks & Equipment
5:30 BYD Expands Its Supercar Business
6:20 China Supercar Hits 100 KM/H in 0.9 Seconds
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone, CSP and Intrepid Control Systems.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
RJ SCARINGE EARNS $402 MILLION
A lot of people were upset when General Motors reported that CEO Mary Barra earned nearly $30 million last year. They just don’t think corporate executives should get paid that kind of money. Same goes for Ford’s Jim Farley making $27.5 million. But that’s nothing compared to Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe. He pulled down a cool $402 million last year, almost all of it in stock and options. Not bad for a company that’s never turned a profit. We’d love to know what you think. We’re posting a poll open to all our viewers. Do you think CEO compensation has spun out of control, or do you think these execs have earned the money they’re making?
GM Q1 SALES, REVENUE AND PROFITS FALL
Speaking of General Motors, it reported its first quarter numbers and they don’t look so hot. GM sold nearly 1.3 million vehicles, which was down more than 10%. Even in the U.S, market, sales were down almost 10%. Revenue came in at $43.6 billion, down a fraction. Its operating profit fell almost 13%, coming in at $2.9 billion. And its net profit of $2.6 billion dropped almost 6%. GM also slightly lowered its guidance for net profits and automotive free cash flow.
BYD PROFTIS PLUNGE 55%
Speaking of earnings, there’s more bad news at BYD. Its sales have fallen sharply and its first quarter income dropped 12% to $20 billion, while its net income plummeted 55% to less than $600 million. This is the fourth quarter in a row that BYD has posted lower earnings. And that will probably continue. The company is slashing prices in China, trying to get its sales going again.
CHERY TO BOOST EU PRODUCTION
Meanwhile several Chinese automakers want to make cars in existing European plants. By saving plants and jobs, they’ll be welcomed with open arms by governments and unions, even though European automakers are deeply worried about losing more market share. Chery is considering boosting production at its plant in Spain, which is a former Nissan plant. At the same time, the company’s CEO says it also wants to partner with other automakers in Europe to share plants. Last year, Chery sold 2.8 million vehicles globally, up nearly 8% from the prior year. Chery is taking inspiration from two other automakers as part of its global expansion plans. It calls the strategy “double T” which means “Toyota plus Tesla.” Chery wants to be both known for quality like Toyota is and advanced technology like Tesla is.
HONGQI TO MAKE CARS IN SPAIN
Meanwhile, luxury maker Hongqi, which is owned by FAW, is in talks with Stellantis to build vehicles at one of its plants in Spain. Reuters reports the discussions are being held through Leapmotor, which both FAW and Stellantis are investors in. Hongqi is planning to launch 15 models in Europe by 2028 and the brand is targeting 1 million sales globally by the end of the decade, with at least 10% coming from outside of China. That million unit mark would be just over double what Hongqi sold last year.
LEAPMOTOR TO LAUNCH PREMIUM BRAND
Leapmotor, as you know, is supplying Stellantis with low cost platforms and cars. But it’s setting its sights higher than that, with the launch of a new premium brand in China next year. The automaker’s current lineup is priced between $9,500 and $39,000. But the new models will start over $43,500 and they’ll be sold outside of Leapmotor’s existing sales network. Leapmotor posted a modest net profit of $78 million last year, but in order to grow it needs to expand beyond the affordable segment and move up-market.
JEEP ADJUSTS ICONIC 7-SLOT GRILLE
Jeep is adding a new feature to its iconic 7-slot grille that will debut on the new Avenger. It’s nothing major, just small, thin, horizontal lights at the top of each slot. But with lighting signatures playing such a big role in design distinction these days we think Jeep designers wanted to add a little something so that you know it’s a Jeep, no matter the time of day.
BOLLINGER TO AUCTION OFF TRUCKS & EQUIPMENT
Failed EV startup Bollinger Motors is auctioning off its assets, and it includes some pretty cool stuff, like battery-testing and -validation systems, tooling, vehicle lifts, inventory and shop equipment as well as 20 B4 trucks and additional vehicles, which will be sold via an online auction on May 13. Bollinger is being forced to auction the assets as part of a court order after suppliers sued over unpaid bills. The company went out of business last year, but don’t expect to get your hands on one of those cool B1 or B2 off-road EVs, founder Robert Bollinger was able to purchase all the intellectual property and prototypes of the vehicles last month.
BYD STEPS INTO SUPERCAR BUSINESS
Another one of BYD’s brands is getting into supercars. First it was YangWang. Now it’s Fang Cheng Bao. It just revealed the Formula X concept and while we don’t have any performance figures yet, up to 80% of the design is expected to carry over to the production model, which could come out as early as next year. The concept is built around a full carbon-fiber body whose design prioritizes aerodynamics with six airflow channels and 19 vent openings. While Fang Cheng Bao has only sold sedans and SUVs up until this point, it says its next-gen architecture will include both mainstream passenger models as well as experimental performance vehicles. So that makes us wonder if it will also come out with something like a Bronco Raptor?
CHINA SUPERCAR: 0-100 KM/H IN 0.9 SECONDS
But speaking of Chinese supercars, appliance maker turned EV maker, Dreame Technology pulled the wraps off its debut vehicle, the Nebula Next 01 Jet Edition. And it’s not just using the word ‘jet’ for show, the car has literal rocket boosters. The company claims it can do 0-100 km/h in a blistering 0.9 seconds, which according to AI would generate 3.3 Gs, about the same as getting launched off an aircraft carrier. While tires are the limiting factor of any supercar, we suspect these thrusters provide little to no force to the wheels, only to the body of the vehicle. The Nebula Next 01 also boasts a solid-state battery, steer-by-wire, AI interior tech and lidar-based autonomous driving functions.
But that wraps up today’s report. I hope to see you tomorrow.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
So, the China “Supercar” is going to be legal…………………………………….where?
@Chuck
Hopefully Dreame’s rocket car is not street legal anywhere, at least not the thrusters on any public road.
And yes, Sean, just as with any aircraft the rocket boosters do not send any power through any of the vehicle wheels. No sticky tires are needed to propel the vehicle but properly spec’ed tires and brakes will be critical to keeping this monstrosity under control.
I was a little late yesterday to leave a comment regarding the advent of air taxis, so my two cents worth….
This whole air taxi thing is just whacky to me. I guess I’m not progressive enough to see how it can work. It appears they are only about a 4-passenger vehicle to begin with. To replicate the capacity of the taxis, Ubers, trains, and other means of getting to/from an airport or anywhere else to a downtown area will take thousands of these things. And what type of air support and infrastructure will it require. For crying out loud, when on a commercial flight, it takes dozens of people and redundancies to make one flight get in the air – how is this going to work? You can’t just have these air taxis taking off willy nilly and going wherever they want without some sort of flight plan or air control. And the cost? I’ve not heard any estimates of what it will cost to ride in one of these things. This will just be another one of those ventures for the wealthy folks to separate themselves from the rest of us. The air taxis will be few and far between, and will cost more than any normal person or someone traveling on business can afford.
I suspect that the jet engines are mostly for show, and provide little additional thrust. But, fanboys will want to have one and light those circles up any time they think they can impress their friends. I wonder where you will have to go to refuel it?
I believe auto industry executive pay is excessive compared to the average worker. Japan used to be 20 times, although today it is closer to 50 times the average worker, while the U.S. numbers are in the 300 times range. Not even addressing the situation at Rivian. I always thought that the goal of a company was to survive as an entity, & I believed it was necessary to turn a profit to do this.
As to CEO pay, I think it’s ridiculous. $402 million for a guy running a company that hasn’t even turned a profit yet? Hire some person who is currently running a successful business, give them a million bucks and turn them loose. And honestly, some of the CEO’s aren’t even all that smart. Many of them have made some pretty spectacularly odd/dumb/weird decisions that even most of your readers would know better than to do. The person at the top needs to be “car guy/gal” that truly understands the industry and all the whims and whams that go into it and into the car buying decision of the public. Besides, who is really worth that kind of money regardless of how well they do their job?
Maxx, I’m with you on the air taxis. They will be for people who are willing and able to pay $1000 for a 5 mile ride from the airport to downtown in a city.
The EV/rocket “supercar” is just a concept that would never be close to street legal, unless the rockets are removed, or at least disabled. To get the .9 second 0-100 km/h acceleration, the rockets would need to do something, or tires as sticky as fuel dragster tires would be needed.
Sorry to pop people’s bubble, Helijet a helicopter service from Nanaimo port dock to Canada place is the fastest to go roughly 10 miles which is over water with BC ferries that same trip will be 4 hours vs Helijet is like 20 minutes then onto a Skytrain to anywhere in Vancouver. An Evtol service even if the same price will be quieter, but expecting it to be much cheaper. Then there is medical emergencies to Vancouver hospitals. Anytime there is a water component with shorter distances it completely changes the economics.
FYI Harbour Air the local seaplane firm was one of the first electric seaplanes a few years ago which could be another option for those with water and mountains in the way of automotive transportation.
Always amazes me when Upper Management get hefty raises when the company isn’t performing as expected. They obviously get paid well for poor performance. Must be nice.
Dave, I’d expect EV air taxis carrying one or two people to be more expensive that the helicopters with 12 passengers, but we’ll find out. If the air taxis can be price competitive, what you describe would be a good application, and flights could be “on demand,” rather than on a schedule.
Dave —
So, if I’m understanding you, the Evtols would do a lot of what helicopters do, but probably for a lot less to run, repair (being electric it might have fewer moving parts?) and perhaps a little more maneuverable/Versatile in its operation?! Being essentially human sized drones with the controller inside the vehicle, I just wonder if they could fly as high as helicopters? If so, like them, they could be restricted to only landing on the top of buildings or have the same takeoff/landing requirements and flight paths as helicopters. But with just about anyone being able to flight a drone, would a Evtol’s be open to the same ‘freedoms’ for pilots? I would hope that an operator would be required to have vigorous training and the thought of radio control piloting with passengers on board to be strictly forbidden!
Regarding CEO salaries, while they seem to be a big number and only getting bigger, what is the difference between their actual pay, the bonuses many are receiving and stock options? There was a report on Autoline a few weeks ago, that indicated that Chinese automotive CEOs only made a fraction of what they’re counter parts made in the US and EU. That more of the businesses financial success was returned to the company to reinvest into products! So, in the US and EU, is the CEO/head-of-the-company paid a salary like the other employees, or is their pay tied to the success of the stock? Or do they receive a salary AND benefits tied to the stock and can receive additional bonuses when the stock does well and/or out performs expectations?! I think that is what needs to be ironed out before we suggest whether a CEO is being paid too much. If their pay is ONLY stock options, then their pay is only a result of how the stock does, good or bad. Yet, they get a salary, plus stock and bonuses and it several hundred million dollars and the company is not making money and they are layoff employees, that is a problem, IMHO!
The rocket ship car that is also an EV concept, is a child’s dream turned into reality! How many things can one put into a vehicle and still pretend it’s safe?! So you put highly flammable jet fuel next to a battery pack, that people are already afraid could experience thermal runway, and we haven’t even mentioned the jet engine on the back of the car! The owner would essentially have a missile sitting in their driveway! Could you imagine that vehicle parked in a parking garage, or trying to pull into or out of a parking space?! How do you stop it, once you’ve fired the jets? What happens if you hit a pole hole or a speed bump/hump with the jet engines on? Do you become airborne? Turn on the jet engines and talk about ground level harmful emissions! If Tesla had a hard time initially finding insurance companies to cover their vehicles, I see a similar situation here! If passenger jets over head can be loud, what happens when your neighbors brings one of these things home and starts it a 4 o’clock in the morning on their way to work? What about the overcompensating single dad who’s co-parenting with his ex and showing up in the drop off line at his child’s school?! Then, turning the jets on to impress his son or daughter in front of the friends, as he’s leaving?! Wow! The number of things that could go wrong and bad choices that could/would be made, if this vehicle ever went into production! SMH!
It seems unfair and disconnected to see Mary Barra earn $29 million after just writing off $26 Billion as a result of her poor direction over the past five years regarding “…damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead…” on EVs. She and her minions obviously have a poor feel for the pulse of the marketplace.