AD #4304 – 1st Peek at Chrysler’s New Models; Ford Escape Going on UEV Platform; Xiaomi Loses $5,600 Per Car

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

FIRST PEEK, CHRYSLER’S NEW MODELS
Stellantis sure showed us a lot last week about where it’s headed in the future. In fact it showed too much to cover in Autoline Daily, so we’ll be putting out a separate video with a lot more detail. But on today’s show let’s look at what’s happening with the Chrysler brand. Of course it’s keeping the Pacifica minivan, but it’s adding three crossovers: one mid-size which will be called the Airflow, and two compacts called the Arrow and Arrow Cross. The Arrow has a boxier rear end, while the Arrow Cross has a slight fastback design. Except for the grille, the two of them are identical to the Fiat Grizzly. They’ll be based on an optimized version of the Stella Small platform, and we believe the Arrow Cross will be priced under $30,000. Meanwhile, the mid-size crossover called the Airflow will be based on the new Stella One platform, which we’re pretty sure was mostly developed by Leapmotor. And there’s the key to how Stellantis plans to feed all the brands in its line-up. The lesser brands will just get rebadged versions of products from its key retail brands, which are Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Peugeot.

FERRARI UNVEILS LUCE EV, STOCK TAKES A HIT
Ferrari revealed its first electric vehicle, the Luce, which is also the company’s first 4-door 5-seater. It’s built on a bespoke 800-volt platform and weighs 2,260 kilograms or just under 5,000 pounds. But the Luce features 4 in-house developed electric motors, one at each wheel, which combine for up to 725 kW or about 970 horsepower, so it will do 0-100 km/h in 2.5 seconds. Like some other performance EVs, it will pump out fake engine noises as well, which get more or less intense depending on the driving mode. Ferrari also developed the 122 kWh battery pack in-house and it provides up to 530 kilometers or 329 miles of range, probably based on the WLTP test cycle. Other highlights include an active suspension system, rear-wheel steering and displays that were co-developed with Samsung. The company says it approached the Luce’s design in an unconventional way, entrusting the project to a designer from outside the Ferrari Design Studio, which was meant to underline its uniqueness. But investors didn’t like what they saw. Ferrari’s stock fell over 6% after the EV’s reveal.

FORD ESCAPE GOING ON UEV PLATFORM
Looks like Ford is not getting rid of the Escape crossover altogether. Autoforecast Solutions reports the Escape will go back into production in 2029, but this time it will be fully electric, made off the company’s new UEV platform and built at the Louisville assembly plant. The program’s code name is CE1, the model is referred to as the U833 and production will go all the way to March, 2037.

HYUNDAI & KIA PICKUPS BUILT ON THE SAME LINE
Autoforecast also reports that Hyundai and Kia will build their mid-size pickups for the U.S. market at Hyundai’s assembly plant outside of Savannah, Georgia. They will be body-on-frame trucks that will offer hybrid and EREV powertrains. The platform is code named IMA. Hyundai will keep the Santa Cruz name, but internally it’s called the TE, while Kia’s version is the TV. The Santa Cruz will go into production in October, 2029, while Kia’s TV will start going down the line in March of 2030.

CHINA REDEFINES MOORE’S LAW & IT’S ALL ABOUT SPEED, NOT TRANSISTORS
Moore’s Law says that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles roughly every two years, while the cost of computers is cut in half. However, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, made that observation in 1965. So Huawei has come up with the Tau Scaling Law. While Moore’s Law is about making the components smaller to pack more of them in, the Tau Scaling Law is about rearranging those components to make data move faster. Huawei says its already started producing chips based on these principles, but that more collaboration is needed to expand it further.

IRAN WAR CHOPS AUTO PRODUCTION IN JAPAN & THAILAND
The war in Iran continues to disrupt the global auto industry. Car production in Thailand fell to its lowest level in five years in April. Automakers produced nearly 103,800 vehicles, a decline of 0.4% from a year ago. And exports out of Thailand, which is the largest car manufacturer in Southeast Asia, fell more than 8% to 60,000 units. Meanwhile, exports from Japan to the Middle East plummeted 90% last month, because of disruptions caused by the war.

           

TESLA CHANGES FSD’S NAME IN CHINA
Tesla changed the name of its FSD or Full-Self Driving system in China. Now it’s called Tesla Assisted Driving. This isn’t the first time it changed the name. It was originally called Tesla FSD Intelligent Driving and later the FSD was dropped. Tesla is obviously changing the name to satisfy regulators who thought Full Self Driving implies it’s a fully autonomous system, which it is not.

MERCEDES, BMW RUSH TO CATCH TESLA FSD IN EU
Even so, with Tesla getting the OK to start selling FSD in parts of Europe as well, the premium German automakers are rushing to make sure they don’t get left behind. Mercedes announced it will launch its MB.Drive Assist Pro system in Germany by the end of the year. It’s a Level 2++ system that features point-to-point driving. The technology has been available in China since the end of last year and it will roll out in the U.S. sometime this year. BMW is also planning to roll out a similar system by the end of the year in Germany as well. By the way, do you know why automakers keep adding plus signs to their ADAS levels? Because once you go to Level 3 you face a lot more regulatory and legal scrutiny.

WAYMO SUSPENDS FREEWAY DRIVING
And in one last bit of autonomous news, this time at Level 4, Waymo has suspended its robotaxi service on highways and it also halted its operations in Atlanta. It did this in order to update software to improve performance around construction zones and flooded roads. Earlier this month, the company recalled around 3,800 vehicles over concerns they could enter flooded roads with higher speed limits.

XIAOMI LOSES $5,600 ON EVERY CAR
Chinese EV maker Xiaomi has become one of the most popular brands in China. In the first quarter, it sold nearly 81,000 vehicles, up over 6% from a year ago. But despite that success, it’s losing thousands of dollars on every car it sells. Xiaomi’s car business generated about $3 billion in revenue and posted an operating loss of $457 million in Q1. That means it’s losing $5,600 for every car it sells. And that’s up from $900 it lost per car in Q1 of last year. Xiaomi blamed the loss on vehicle purchase tax subsidies, lower deliveries of its SU7 Ultra, and rising costs for components.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and making Autoline a part of your day.