AD #4317 – U.S. Tariffs Cost Japanese Automakers Billions; VW To Cut 28,000 German Jobs By 2030; Peugeot Launches All-Electric E-208 GTI

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

EU AUTOMAKERS DEMAND STRONGER “MADE IN EUROPE” RULES
Europe’s largest automakers, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault, are joining forces to urge the EU to adopt simple “Made in Europe” rules and stronger incentives to boost local production. The automakers sent a joint letter to European Parliament members calling for 70% of cars sold in the EU to have 70% local content, covering the full value chain from engineering to manufacturing. On top of that they want incentives to boost car and battery production. And they are also asking for more flexibility in regulations, especially for small cars, to make EVs more affordable and support local supply chains. Collectively, the three auto groups combine for about 60% of Europe’s car production. 

VOLKSWAGEN TO CUT 28,000 GERMAN JOBS BY 2030
And just to underscore the challenges automakers in Europe face, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said it plans to cut 19,000 jobs in Germany by the end of the year. And it will cut a total of 28,000 jobs by 2030 to help save money.

TESLA EARNS FSD APPROVAL IN BELGIUM
And staying in Europe for the moment, Tesla continues to rack up more approvals for its hands-free driving system. It just got authorization for supervised FSD in Belgium, but it has to wait until it successfully completes a series of tests. Belgium is now the fifth country to approve FSD in Europe, after the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania.

           

U.S. TARIFFS COST JAPANESE AUTOMAKERS BILLIONS IN LOSSES
Japanese automakers are getting hammered by U.S. tariffs along with shifts in EV and emission policy. According to Automotive News, they have cost Japan’s automakers $28 billion so far and by March of next year that number could rise to as much as $40 billion. Toyota is being hit the hardest, with an expected impact of more than $17 billion. Honda isn’t far behind at $15 billion and Nissan’s impact is expected to hit $3 billion. The automakers not only face tariffs on models they import from Japan, they also get hit with tariffs for vehicles they build in Canada and Mexico, where they have a large presence. And when you combine that with rollbacks in EV and emission regulations, Toyota, Honda and Nissan have had to adjust plans, which triggered massive EV write-downs.

RENAULT TWINGO EV FLEETS MONITOR URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
Renault hopes to help maintain cities with fleets of Twingo EVs strapped with an array of sensors on their roofs. It says they can detect pollution, places with too much noise and bad roads. That last one builds on a piece of tech Renault first showed nearly 2 years ago that literally listens to the sound of tires over pavement to determine road conditions. Along with sidewalk signs that are also equipped with smart sensors and even pedestrians, Renault says it can provide all this data to cities, municipalities and governments, on a single platform so they can maintain and make improvements to the infrastructure. 

FORD EXPLORER SALES SURGE AS SMALLER SUVs DROPPED
The Ford Explorer is attracting former Escape and Edge owners, despite having a higher sticker price. Ford stopped building the Edge in April 2024 and the Escape last December. And surprisingly, the Explorer has benefited the most from those models being dropped. Through May, sales of the Explorer in the U.S. are up 18% from a year ago, making it the fastest growing model in Ford’s lineup. Meanwhile, sales of the two models closest in size and price to the Escape in Ford’s lineup are down. Bronco Sport sales have slipped 1.5% and the Maverick is down 12% this year. Ford says higher inventory, the new off-road Tremor trim along with name recognition have helped lead to the boost in Explorer sales.

WAYMO LAUNCHES MONTHLY ROBOTAXI SUBSCRIPTION
Waymo is launching a new membership plan that costs $30 a month. It will be an invite-only offer to its most frequent users in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix to start. Then it plans to expand to more cities in the future. For that $30, members will get a 10% discount in the form of rider credits, preferred pickups, 5 cancellations a month and early access in new cities. At the end of 2025 it cost roughly $17.25 for a Waymo ride in the San Francisco Bay Area, so Bloomberg estimates a user would need to use the service at least four times a week for the membership to pay for itself. While that might seem like a lot, Waymo says it will be reaching out to “tens of thousands” of customers in those first 3 cities with the offer. In total the robotaxi company operates in 11 cities, giving rides to 500,000 paying customers a week, and by the end of the year it plans to expand to 20 cities, hitting 1 million paid rides a week.    

XIAOMI EXPANDS INTO EXTENDED RANGE ELECTRICS
Xiaomi saw its sales shoot up the last few years, but like most Chinese automakers they’ve started to plateau in 2026. So, with just two models on the market Xiaomi is moving into new segments. It plans to launch a medium-to-large or full-size SUV, but unlike its current cars, it won’t be EV-only. The automaker received approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to produce extended range electrics. While Xiaomi could have made the model electric, some Chinese consumers still worry about range with large SUVs, so extended range electrics are common in the segment. 

PEUGEOT LAUNCHES ALL-ELECTRIC E-208 GTI HOT-HATCH
Peugeot revealed details about that hot-hatch version of the E-208 we reported on recently. The car’s top output figure goes from 155 horsepower up to 281 horsepower thanks to a new M4+ electric motor. It’s also lower, wider, has stiffer springs and shocks, thicker sway bars, a limited slip diff and a number of special touches inside and out. Peugeot is now taking orders for the E-208 GTi and in France it starts just under 43,000 euros, including taxes.

SHOULD AUTOMAKERS SHARE A COMMON SKATEBOARD DESIGN?
Should automakers agree to use a common skateboard design across the industry, then put all their efforts into exterior styling, interior design and their user experience? They could eliminate billions in capital expenses, get enormous economies of scale, and make cars a lot more affordable. That’s one of the ideas we got into with Chris Borroni-Bird on Autoline After Hours. Chris is a scientist who worked at Chrysler, General Motors, Qualcomm, MIT and Waymo. And he has a radical vision of where transportation and mobility are headed in the future. There’s a lof of fascinating things in that show, so that’s why we think you should check it out if you haven’t already.

But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for tuning in and I hope that you have a great weekend.