AD #4301 – Stellantis & JLR Look to Join Forces; Mercedes’ Insane AMG EV; All Chinese Brands Have U.S. Ambitions

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

STELLANTIS & JLR LOOK TO JOIN FORCES
Antonio Filosa is leaving no stone unturned in figuring out how to turn Stellantis around. This morning he announced that Stella and Jaguar Land Rover have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop new products and technology in the United States. It’s all part of the global trend we’re seeing of automakers joining forces to cut the cost of developing new products. No other details were released, but we sure think it could be a natural for Jeep and Land Rover to collaborate and get into segments where they wouldn’t have the volume to do it on their own.

STELLA TO BUILD CHINESE-BRANDED CARS IN EU PLANTS
It’s also pretty clear how Filosa plans to turn things around in Europe, and it’s all about building Chinese cars at some of its underutilized plants. Two weeks ago Stellantis announced it will build electric cars for Leapmotor in Spain. And yesterday it announced it’s forming a joint venture with Dongfeng in Europe to share sales, purchasing, engineering and manufacturing, probably at one of its plants in France. Stellantis will hold 51% of the joint venture, while Dongfeng will hold the other 49%. This is an important turning point. Stellantis is going to be making cars that are branded as Leapmotor and Dongfeng’s Voyah brand, and not under any of its own brands. In the short term, it’s a win-win-win situation. Stellantis gets to boost plant capacity, the Chinese automakers get to avoid tariffs, and Europe gets to preserve some factory jobs. But in the long run….well, let’s see how it goes.

TESLA RAMPS CHINA FSD HIRING
Tesla is counting on selling FSD subscriptions in China to greatly boost the revenue it generates in a market where it’s losing share. So it just launched a hiring spree across 9 of the biggest cities in China, aiming to recruit 90 technicians to test drive its autonomous technology at validation tracks and on the open road. They’ll evaluate how FSD performs, looking for ways it can be improved and watching out for problems or issues that crop up with software updates. Last year, Elon Musk said FSD would get approval in China in February of this year, but that didn’t happen. Some analysts believe that’s why Musk joined President Trump in China last week. Now Tesla says FSD will be approved in China in Q3.

           

THE CHINESE AUTO BRANDS U.S. AMBITIONS
Yesterday we were talking about Geely’s plans to build cars in the U.S. at Volvo’s plant in South Carolina. And that Great Wall says the U.S. is the Number One market it wants to break into. Well, today, Chery said it also wants to get into the U.S. at what it calls “a suitable time.” In fact, the president of Chery International told reporters that all Chinese automakers want to get into the U.S. market. And all this talk comes about a week after President Trump visited China, so it makes us wonder what was talked about behind closed doors.

TOYOTA & LEXUS U.S. OWNERS PLUG IN THEIR PHEVS
A recent study of plug-in hybrids in Europe found they pollute more in the real world than in the lab. It’s a result of owners not charging on a regular basis, which means they’re running on their gas engines more often. But in North America, it’s the opposite with Toyota and Lexus owners. The Toyota Research Institute just conducted a study to find out how often plug-in hybrid owners charge. It analyzed data from 6,000 PHEVs in the U.S. and Canada and found that on average, Toyota owners plug-in seven out of every 10 driving days and Lexus owners charge between 8 and 9 times per 10 driving days. Only 9% of those Toyota owners and 4% of Lexus drivers were found to rarely charge.

VOLVO JOINS IN-CAR AI TREND
The next big thing in cars is generative AI that people can talk to. It’s already a hit in China, and is spreading fast everywhere else. GM is deploying Gemini, Tesla has Grok, Mercedes and VW are offering Chat GPT, while Ford has its own AI assistant. Now Volvo is demonstrating Google’s Gemini in an EX60 at a Google conference this week. With the driver’s permission, the feature allows Gemini to see and understand its environment from the perspective of the car by using its cameras. It can help the driver remember what a road sign said, make sense of lane markings or provide information about a landmark or restaurant. Gen AI in cars is in its infancy, but it’s only a matter of time before it becomes standard equipment in every new car made.

VW BRANDS LEVERAGE COMMON EV PLATFORM
Some forecasts predict the small electric car segment in Europe will be around 4 times bigger by 2033 and the Volkswagen Group hopes to snag 20% of those sales with its new Electric Urban Car Family. These are meant to be more affordable EVs that are all based on its updated MEB+ front-wheel drive platform. Volkswagen recently launched the ID. Polo with a starting price under 25,000 euros. It will be followed by the ID. Cross. Cupra has the Raval, which starts around 26,000 euros. Skoda just revealed the Epiq and even Audi will have its own version, called the A2 e-tron. The Epiq comes with two battery sizes; 37.5- and 51.5-kWh, which provide an estimated 310- and 440-kilometers or 192- and 273-miles of range on the WLTP test cycle. And there’s three motor outputs, with the most powerful making 155 kW or 207 horsepower. We haven’t seen pricing for the Epiq yet or the Audi A2, which is doing some of its on-road testing now. Audi says it will unveil the model sometime this fall.

KIA LAUNCHES BIGGER SELTOS GLOBALLY
The all-new Kia Seltos is now arriving in most major markets across the world. It rides on a brand-new platform, it’s bigger than the outgoing model and is kind of styled like a baby Palisade. There’s three gas engine options, including a hybrid, expanded ADAS functions and new digital display screens.

MERCEDES UNVEILS INSANE AMG EV
Mercedes revealed the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, which is its new all-electric performance car that uses those axial flux motors we’ve talked so much about. It will feature three of those motors, two at the rear and one at the front. There will be two versions at launch, one that will make 600 kW or about 815 horsepower and another that will make 860 kW or nearly 1,170 horsepower. But Mercedes says the architecture was designed to handle over 1,000 kW or 1,340 horsepower. The batteries for the AMG GT have a unique chemistry and a special cooling system, which allow it to charge at up to 600 kW, going from 10-80% in 11 minutes. A few of the other highlights include an active air suspension system, 4-wheel steering and two underbody active aero elements; a front one that deploys at 120 km/h or about 75 MPH and a rear one that deploys at 140 km/h or roughly 87 MPH. Mercedes says orders will open in “the coming days” and pricing should start a bit over $100,000.

And that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching Autoline Daily.