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Runtime: 9:40
0:00 Global Conflicts & Tariffs Hit Automakers’ Q1 Earnings
1:09 BYD Eyes F1 Entry as Aston Struggles
1:49 German Company Creates Stunning Monaco F1 Model
2:50 GOP Targets Anti-Drunk Driving Vehicle Tech
3:57 GM Adds Google Gemini AI to Newer Vehicles
4:37 GM “Stress Tests” Level 3 Lidar Driving Systems
5:26 Volkswagen Launches Pre-Sales For New ID.Polo EV
6:52 Autoline Viewers Oppose High Executive Pay
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
GLOBAL CONFLICTS & TARIFFS HIT AUTOMAKERS’ Q1 EARNINGS
The auto industry is starting to show the strain of the war in Iran, Trump’s tariffs, and the slowdown in China. Mercedes, Geely, Volvo and Aston Martin reported their first quarter earnings, and without exception, the numbers show an industry going through tough times. Mercedes saw its sales, revenue, profits and free cash flow drop by double digits. The same goes for Volvo. It was down by double digits across the board. Geely posted marginally higher sales and a nice increase in revenue, but its net profits dropped by 27%. Aston Martin saw a marginal drop in sales, a nice increase in revenue, and though it lost money, it slashed its losses by 87%. Even so, CEO Lawrence Stroll needed to tap an investor group to put another $68 million into the company. Since he bought it in 2020 Stroll and his consortium have put over $800 million Aston.
| Mercedes-Benz Q1, 2026 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 419,430 | -6% |
| Revenue | €31.6 B | -5% |
| EBIT | €1.9 B | -17% |
| Net Profit | €1.8 B | -17% |
| Volvo Q1, 2026 | ||
| Sales | 153,300 | -11% |
| Revenue | kr 72.6 B | -12% |
| Op. Profit | kr 1.6 B | -17% |
| Net Profit | kr 0.7 B | -26% |
| Geely Q1, 2026 | ||
| Sales | 700,940 | +1% |
| Revenue | ¥ 83.7 B | +15% |
| EBIT | ¥5.0 B | -24% |
| Net Profit | ¥4.1 B | -27% |
| Aston Martin Q1, 2026 | ||
| Sales | 939 | -1% |
| Revenue | £270 M | +16% |
| Operating Loss | £8.9 M | +87% |
BYD EYES F1 ENTRY AS ASTON STRUGGLES
Which has us wondering how much longer he’ll be willing to pump money into the company. In fact, if Stoll knew how much it was going to cost him, we wonder if he would have bought Aston in the first place. Even his Formula One team is off to a disastrous start this year. Which makes us wonder about one more thing. BYD says it would love to get into Formula One and is talking to F1 authorities about what it can do. Maybe as a sponsor, as an engine supplier, or even fielding a team? If it wants to field a team, it will likely have to buy an existing one, and maybe Mr. Stroll would be willing to sell at some point.
GERMAN COMPANY CREATES STUNNING MONACO F1 MODEL
Speaking of F1, its most iconic track is in Monaco, where the cars race through the city and flash past the ocean-side marina. And we were amazed to see this miniature model of the city and the race that was created by a German company in Munich called Miniatur Wunderland. It specialized in making miniature models of things like railroad lines, airports and amusement parks. This is not some AI generated stuff, it’s an actual working model. You can find a video online that shows it all in action. They charge $25 to watch a race in person, and we are extremely impressed by the detail and workmanship that went into making this model.
GOP TARGETS ANTI-DRUNK DRIVING VEHICLE TECH
There’s an effort by Republicans in the House of Representatives to end an anti-drunk driving technology mandate for new vehicles. In 2021, Congress passed a bill to require technology that can detect and prevent impaired driving in all new vehicles, and it put NHTSA in charge of developing the rules. But so far, NHTSA hasn’t issued a proposal. And now the law is facing pushback from Republicans who call the technology a “kill switch” and say it will lead to false positives that could leave people stranded in an emergency. Opponents of the law say the technology should be optional instead. However, those in favor of the tech point out that breath-based systems that detect alcohol are 99.9997% accurate, so false positives will be rare and the benefits of reducing drunk driving fatalities outweigh the negatives. And for a deeper dive into this topic, check out our interview with Stephanie Manning from the Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who explains the benefits of anti-drunk driving technology.
GM ADDS GOOGLE GEMINI AI TO NEWER VEHICLES
GM is adding Google Gemini to its vehicles, and not just the new ones. GM says the AI assistant will soon roll out to 2022 and newer Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC vehicles with Google built-in. GM says Gemini is smarter, more intuitive and understands natural conversation better than its current Google Assistant and there’s no cost for the update, which will be available through the Google Play store. However, it does require an active OnStar service plan. Then later this year GM says it will deliver a more deeply integrated AI experience that’s shaped by OnStar intelligence.
GM “STRESS TESTS” LEVEL 3 LIDAR DRIVING SYSTEMS
And in other GM news, CEO Mary Barra says the company is “stress testing” its new lidar-based Level 3 hands-free driving system “in a digital environment capable of simulating roughly 100 years of human driving every single day.” This system could be a very important revenue source for the company when it launches on the new all-electric Escalade in 2028. No word on what the Level 3 capability will cost yet, but GM already charges $40/month or $400/year for SuperCruise after its free trial period. And it’s seeing good growth in the segment. Subscriptions were up 70% in the first quarter compared to last year and customers have driven over 1 billion miles using SuperCruise.
VOLKSWAGEN LAUNCHES PRE-SALES FOR NEW ID.POLO EV
Volkswagen kicked off pre-sales for the all-new, all-electric ID.POLO, which is the second model in the VW Group’s new family of small EVs for Europe after the Cupra Raval. They’re all using the updated MEB+ platform, which is front-wheel drive based and offers a number of motor outputs. The ID.POLO is available with 3 motors ranging from 85 – 155 kW or about 115 to 210 horsepower. The two less powerful units come standard with a 37 kWh LFP battery pack, which provides nearly 330 kilometers or 205 miles of range on the WLTP test cycle. The 155-kW setup comes standard with a 52 kWh NMC battery pack that returns up to 454 km or about 280 miles of range. The interior layout is very similar to the ID.3 NEO, whose pre-orders just kicked off a few weeks ago. And thanks to that MEB platform the ID.POLO also comes with advanced driver assistance features, OTA update capability and some bidirectional charging functionality. The base version in Germany will start just under 25,000 euros, while a top variant will start at nearly 34,000 euros.
AUTOLINE VIEWERS OPPOSE HIGH EXECUTIVE PAY
Yesterday, we asked for your input on executive compensation after it was revealed Ford’s Jim Farley made over $27 million last year, Mary Barra at GM made nearly $30 million and Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe made $402 million. And the overwhelming majority voted that executive pay is out of control and they don’t deserve it. Meanwhile, less than 10% said they’re providing shareholders good returns and deserve it. Here’s some of your feedback.
“Rivian’s CEO milking a cow that is barely born is ridiculous. Legacy OEMs are not doing well enough to allow for significant compensation as an indicator of success and smart decision making.”
Duke is Duke had this to say “Jim Farley made $27m last year, and Ford had 150 recalls – what’s wrong with this picture?”
Ricardo Rodriguez wrote “Depends on what the compensation consists of. If it’s cash, then it’s too high. If it’s stock, then they earn it only if the company is successful.”
And NautiPapaT says “Law of Supply and Demand. If these Boards are willing to pay these comp packages, then that is what they are worth.”
Thanks for all of your comments. It’s always interesting to see what you’re thinking.
But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.
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If Stoll sell his F1 team, his son will no longer have a ride.
I agree with many of the selected comments about executive pay. And I agree with Ricardo’s comment, but will add that many executives are more replaceable than the Board thinks and his/her performance is reliant on everyone in the organization… all the way down to the person sweeping the factory floor.(no, I’m not a shill for the UAW; I believe the UAW has done irreparable damage to the industry). As such, the business world should consider a cap to the ratio between the top pay of its executives and the pay of that factory floor sweeper. 100x would be very generous.
Yes, drunk driving is still a problem, and our lax laws about marijuana has made impaired driving worse. But the proposed legislation is seriously flawed:
1. Breathalyzers do yield a high incidence of false positives (mouth wash contains alcohol!). And breathalyzers can be fooled. For example, a “professional alcoholic” can simply breathe into a balloon before entering a bar, then use the balloon contents to fool the in-vehicle sensor upon leaving the bar.
2. The law essentially assumes everyone is guilty til proven sober. The reality is that the overwhelming majority of drunk driving tragedies is the result of a small percentage of repeat offenders. I tried contacting MADD several years ago to share an idea that would address repeat drunk drivers. No reply. MADD’s intentions seem pure, but are limited by tunnel vision.
3. For the past 2 decades (perhaps longer), the state of New Mexico has been actively searching for technology to detect drunk driving. They benchmarked breathalyzers and transdermal sensors, but found too many false positives. They engaged and stimulated academics and technology companies. But NM continues to struggle with risk of inconveniencing the vast majority of responsible drivers.
George Ricci, yeah, I’ve long thought the reason Stroll bought Force India was so his son could drive F1. It is highly unlikely that Lance would be in F1 without Daddy owning a team. He has set a record of 39 consecutive times being outqualified by his team mate, a record that will probably never be broken.
FIX EXCESSIVE PAY The excessive compensation (pay) for top management in PUBLICLY held companies and top union leaders at the expense of the owners (stock holders), the customers, & the workers. In a public company the owners (stock holders) and in the case of unions the workers have no control over top management compensation.
The solution is: Guideline linkage of top management / CEO compensation in publicly owned companies to the workers who are the ESSENCE of that public company’s business is a way. While private companies and individuals should be and are free to enjoy the wealth they create
The pillaging of major corporations by management should come to a stop. Massive option awards and transfers of wealth with no say by the owners (stock holders) is more akin to theft.
The workers who are the essence of a company’s core business need to be made part of the ownership of public companies that employ them in a creative way. Public companies should buy back shares with profits – does not dilute current owners stake – and vest the shares to all long term workers of the company at retirement or departure based on total years with the company. Rewarding bad or me to CEO’s with excessively high compensation and/or lucrative severance packages etc in PUBLIC companies is not the answer. This would highly incentives employees to see a company succeed thru their inputs.
I think Stroll would except investment and a peice of ownership by BYD or any company, Chinese or not, but only if it did not mean he would loose total control of the company. While Stroll’s F1 investment has been substantial, it is the money spent on the Aston Martian car company side that has cost him the most! While Aston has built some power and incredible machines under Stroll, the styling of many of the vehicles have not been setting the world on fire under him either. While the DBX has helped support the brand, as unsettling as it may be to hear or say, Aston Martian may need another CUV and/or sedan to help subsidize the automotive side of the company! Or Stroll may have to spend even more of his own money to keep both sides of the company afloat.
The Kill Switch Law will add unnecessary cost and complexity to vehicles. Drunk and Impaired Driving is still a huge problem and has been exasperated by the legalization of marijuana and the legal system not holding criminals liable for their criminal offenses. This has made impaired driving even worse than ever before in history. A Computerized Nanny Mobile is not the solution. Drivers can wear facial masks, eyewear and gloves that can elude any detection mechanism used for the detection of a driver’s level of impairment. Those Impaired Drivers who are frequent users, may have a high tolerate which could probably foul the system. I agree with Drew, “The proposed legislation is seriously flawed” and should be rendered null and void immediately. Lauren Fix of “Car Care Coach” has been discussing the downsides of this law for sometime now. Another Law which requires support is Jay Leno’s Law in California concerning classic vehicles. Government Officials are slowly eroding our freedoms, liberties and individual rights.
Drew/nick —
What you say makes since, but it will never happen! For the only way it will, is not on the good nature of the CEO’s and top executives, but by an act of law makers! These leaders of industry have the financial ability to keep things the way they are! Besides, if EU executives make more then US executives, or vice versa., what do you think will happen? The successful exec will jump ship to green pastures! So to keep top talent compensations will continue to rise. Tha5s how we got in this situation in the first place. What is crazy is that, if a decision by a CEO goes bad and the stock drops, the company loose money and the investors are angry! Yet, if that same CEO lays people of ‘to right ship’ as it were, that move is viewed as a positive and the stock rises and the CEO is applaud it for making the right decision during a tough time. Of course i’m oversimplifying it, but, even though the reason why the company lost money and cost employees’ their jobs, the CEO’s leadership can still be considered a success, because at the end of the day the company made money in the long run!
wmb – I understand and respect your comment. Ultimately, a committee of the board recommends compensation. Ultimately, the shareholders are responsible to balance the need for effective talent versus the cost of such talent versus the performance of that talent. Many times, the downstream employees pay the consequences of poor penthouse decisions. In the Japanese culture, the leadership pays the consequence.
Many factors determine a business’s success. Some are controllable; some are less controllable. One of the controllables that doesn’t get enough credit is the cohesiveness of the people in a company. A crisis often helps people to focus together and set aside their differences. A great leader fosters and maintains cohesiveness thru thick and thin. I am suggesting cohesiveness is harder to maintain as pay disparities grow unexplainably wide.
The very rich, and also near-very-rich like car company CEOs live in a completely different world than I do. If I were getting paid a tenth of what these CEOs are getting, I would be very happy, unless I absolutely hated the job. I guess these people want “bragging rights” about how much they are getting paid, if they would threaten to leave their job because they were getting “only” 10M a year.
As far as CEOs, most of them could be easily replaced by someone else who could do as well or better. People talk about professional athletes getting too much money, but the elites of them would be much harder to replace than most CEOs. It would have been easy to replace Roger Smith with a much better leader for GM, but it would not have been so easy to replace Michael Jorden with a better basketball player in that time frame.