AD #4308 – Axle Strike Puts GM Trucks at Risk; U.S. Wants More Local Content in Cars; NIO Abandons PHEVs & EREVs

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

U.S. WANTS MORE REGIONAL CONTENT IN CARS
As we reported last week, the U.S. and Mexico officially began negotiating changes to the USMCA trade agreement. And now we have some details about those talks. Reuters reports that the U.S. is seeking to raise the regional content of cars built in North America from 75% to 82% in order to qualify for preferential trade deal access. And the administration wants 50% of that value to be produced in the U.S., currently it’s 40% for passenger cars and 45% for trucks. The U.S. is also proposing to increase the regional value content for heavy-duty trucks from 70% to 75%. The two countries will continue their negotiations in two weeks and a third round of talks is scheduled for July. The U.S. and Canada will negotiate separately from Mexico, but currently nothing is scheduled with Canada.

GM EXTENDS BATTERY PLANT LAYOFFS
General Motors is delaying the return of hundreds of laid off employees at its battery plant in Ohio. The facility, which is a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, laid off 850 workers and let go of another 480 due to weaker than expected demand for EVs. The laid off workers were supposed to return this month but now GM has delayed the return to work until August.

AXLE STRIKE PUTS GM TRUCKS AT RISK
And speaking of GM production, its truck output could be at risk. Around 1,000 UAW members at American Axle’s plant in Michigan are going on strike over a wage dispute. The supplier builds axles for GM’s pickup trucks and any delays in production would be a big blow to the automaker, since the trucks are some of its most profitable vehicles. GM says it’s closely watching the situation and “assessing any potential impact.”

EU COUNTRIES NOT OFFERING ENOUGH CORPORATE EV TAX INCENTIVES
According to a study from Transport and Environment, which lobbies for clean transportation and energy in Europe, two-thirds of the countries in the EU are not providing enough tax incentives to companies to encourage them to go electric. It says major markets like Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland offer a financial subsidy to companies for buying a gas powered car, as much as 10,000 euro per vehicle in Germany, but offer little to no incentives for EVs. However, 18 of the 27 EU member countries do have lower taxes on corporate EVs than ICE vehicles. But Transport and Environment argues it’s not enough to offset the higher price of EVs. The lobbying group sees corporate fleets as key to reducing emissions because they account for roughly 60% of new car registrations and are driven about twice as many miles before getting sold.

CATL SODIUM BATTERIES ENTER MASS PRODUCTION
China’s CATL, the largest EV battery maker in the world, says it has resolved manufacturing bottlenecks with sodium-ion batteries and is ready to begin mass-producing them this year. It will use them in passenger cars, commercial vehicles, battery-swapping networks and energy storage. Sodium batteries are typically better suited for low-cost vehicles but CATL is developing higher-density versions that will have a range of 600-kilometers or 372 miles. Compared to lithium-ion, sodium batteries are safer and cost less to make thanks to the abundance of sodium.

BYD POSTS 1ST SALES INCREASE IN 8 MONTHS
Good news for BYD, it finally posted an increase in global sales last month, snapping a streak of eight straight months of declines. But it was a small gain. The Chinese automaker sold more than 383,000 vehicles in May, up 0.3% from last year. And its production was up nearly 9% year-over-year. However, BYD’s struggles in China continued with sales slumping 24% in its home market, the 13th straight month it has posted a drop. But BYD was able to offset that by boosting overseas sales 80% to more than 160,000 vehicles.
           

NIO ABANDONS PHEVs & EREVs
In other China news, while most everything out of the country is all about expansion, expansion, expansion, NIO is pulling back in a few areas. The automaker says it’s going to abandon plug-in hybrids and extended range electrics. It also won’t develop a stand-alone van. NIO’s chairman defended the moves, arguing the inflection point for pure EVs is fast approaching. In April, NEVs, including PHEVs and EREVs, accounted for over 65% of sales, but pure electrics represented nearly 70% of that total. And May could be another good month for EV sales in China. However, we wonder how much influence higher fuel prices and a new cash-for-clunkers-like EV program are having on sales right now?

NISSAN APPLYING QUANTUM COMPUTING ACROSS COMPANY
One of the core pillars of Nissan’s turnaround plan is improving business performance and to help do that it’s using a piece of technology that’s starting to spread across the auto industry. Along with partner company Quemix they figured out how to use quantum computing for fluid dynamics calculations. While the results produced by both the traditional and quantum systems are nearly identical, it takes about a day of computing time to do it the old way, opposed to minutes for the quantum computer. Nissan says it’s also looking to apply quantum computing to materials development, mobility services, and optimizing energy management for EVs. This is something we’re starting to see more of. You may remember one recent example of Bosch investing $160 million into British quantum computing company Quantum Motion.

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