AD #4307 – Toyota Cancels Next-Gen EV; BYD Takes Responsibility for ADAS Crashes; Mitsubishi Adding Nissan-Based Pickup

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

TOYOTA CANCELS NEXT-GEN EV
Three years ago Toyota announced its own skunk works program, called the BEV Factory, to develop its next generation of EVs. It was going to use things like gigacastings and modular manufacturing that sounded a lot like Tesla’s “unboxed assembly.” But then the BEV Factory got rolled into its legacy corporate structure and was renamed as BR BEV. Then the program was delayed. And now, the first vehicle coming off the next gen EV platform, the Lexus LF-ZC, has been cancelled. Toyota blames slow sales of electric cars in the United States. Presumably development will resume if and when EV sales pick up, but it sure is disappointing to hear that a breakthrough process is being put on the back burner.

BYD LAUNCHES IN-HOUSE ADAS CHIP
Legacy automakers would never dream of designing their own microprocessors. But it’s becoming quite a thing with a number of startups. Tesla and Rivian are developing their own semiconductors for autonomous driving. In China, Li Auto, Xpeng and Nio are doing the same. And now we can add BYD to the list. It just unveiled a new chip for L3 and L4 autonomous driving, which BYD claims has the best energy efficiency in the industry and uses 20% less power than similar chips.

BYD TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADAS CRASHES
And speaking of BYD, it’s taking full-responsibility for its ADAS technology that it calls “God’s Eye.” As long as the system is being used properly, BYD will cover all costs associated with traffic accidents, including repairs to the owner’s vehicle as well as third-party property damage and personal injury. The coverage requires no additional purchase of special “intelligent driving insurance” which is common with other automakers in China. Also, there’s no payout cap, and it will not impact the owner’s insurance premiums for the following year. However, it’s only one full-year of coverage. BYD’s God’s Eye package costs $1,800, which seems like a good price compared to Tesla, which charges $8,000 for FSD in China.

           

CHINA TAPS BRAKES ON ROBOTAXIS, BUT GROWTH CONTINUES
Back in March, Chinese tech giant Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxi service suffered a big failure when 100 vehicles suddenly stopped working on roads in Wuhan, causing a massive disruption. In response, the Chinese government increased scrutiny on robotaxis and began restricting their deployment. But despite the increased government pressure, operators are moving forward with expansion plans. Pony.ai and WeRide revealed they have increased their fleets by a couple hundred units from last year and Baidu says its ridership is up 120% from a year ago. Executives at those companies are urging regulators to adopt rules similar to the airline industry, which reward companies for strong safety records and penalize those with poor performance.

SLATE OPENS NON-REFUNDABLE PRE-ORDERS
The bare-bones Slate truck seems to have struck a chord with consumers, racking up more than 160,000 reservations. But now we’ll start to see how serious some of those reservation holders, who put down a $50 refundable deposit, really are. On June 24th Slate will open pre-orders, requiring a $300 non-refundable deposit to lock in delivery. Reservation holders only pay $250 and will be the first to receive their trucks, which is scheduled to start happening late this year. Slate says it will also reveal the official starting price, expected to be in the mid-$20,000 range-ish, at the same time it opens the non-refundable pre-orders.

RIVIAN R2 MATCHES MODEL Y EFFICIENCY
Looks like all the effort Rivian put into making the new R2 as efficient as possible paid off. The EPA published its official ratings for the R2 Performance, which is the first version of the SUV to hit the market. The model achieves up to a combined 105 MPGe, uses 32 kWh per 100 miles and has 330 miles of range. Electrek points out those first two numbers are the exact same as the Tesla Model Y Performance, despite the R2 being bigger, boxier and nearly 800 pounds heavier. The Rivian also has 24 more miles of range, and while it does have a larger battery, it’s a difference of less than 3 kWh. Both models offer similar levels of technology and pricing is pretty evenly matched, so consumers might have a tougher choice.

STELLANTIS’ FRENCH REVIVAL
All week we’ve been reporting on the new products Stellantis is bringing out with its U.S. brands, now let’s take a look at what it’s doing with its French brands. Peugeot, which is one of the four core retail brands within the company, will get 8 new models including two BEVs in the B segment and one SUV in the C segment. At least one of the B-segment cars will get steer-by-wire, reducing wheel turning by one-third, which allows it to use a square steering wheel with holes at each corner. Peugeot’s also getting a sedan and it will develop a shooting brake with Dongfeng. Meanwhile, Citroen, which will become one of the second tier brands, will have seven launches by 2030, including two models that will take it into brand-new segments. It’s also bringing back the Citroen 2CV or the famous Deux Cheveaux, but this time as an electric and with a price tag under €15,000. It’s a retro-futuristic design that everyone will instantly recognize as a Deux Cheveaux. Though we’ve seen the car, Stellantis isn’t releasing any pictures until it’s unveiled at the Paris auto show in October.
You can use Slides 25 & 27:

By the way, if you’d like to read John’s analysis of the Stellantis re-org, we’ve got it posted on our website.

MITSUBISHI ADDING NEW NISSAN-BASED MID-SIZE PICKUP
Mitsubishi dealers in the U.S. are getting their wish for more new products, but the company is going to enter a segment that’s already very crowded. It’s going to launch a mid-size pickup in the American market that will be built in the U.S. and sourced from Nissan. While Mitsubishi didn’t provide a lot of details, the truck is expected to be based on the refreshed Frontier, which goes into production at Nissan’s plant in Canton, Mississippi in 2028. Mitsubishi will also enter other new segments in the U.S. through collaboration with Nissan as well as put a greater focus on off-roading and it’s even considering the Pajero, a larger SUV that’s coming back to global markets. The automaker hopes these moves will boost sales, which were just under 800,000 last fiscal year, by about 130,000 units over the next 5 years.

HONDA STOPS RIDGELINE PRODUCTION
Speaking of mid-size pickups, Honda is stopping production of the Ridgeline for a surprising reason. It will not make any new models for the next 18 months because it can’t meet emission regulations. While the Trump Administration has made moves to reduce regulations on the environment, Honda, along with BMW, Ford, Stellantis, Volkswagen and Volvo, are still bound by old contracts to improve vehicle efficiency that they signed with California. And those rules run through the 2026 model year. So now Honda will wait until the 3rd quarter of 2028 to resume production of the refreshed Ridgeline at its plant in Alabama.

BRIDGESTONE’S NEW PERFORMANCE TIRE
Attention all you hard core driving enthusiasts. Bridgestone, which is one of Autoline’s great sponsors, is launching a new ultra-high performance tire, the Potenza Sport EVO. It’s got wider shoulders for crisper steering response, a new polymer compound to make it last longer, and an optimized rib pattern with circumferential grooves for better wet weather handling. It also has 20% less rolling resistance and is 10% lighter.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in and I hope that you have a great weekend.