AD #4321 – UAW Attacks GM Over Co-Bots; CATL Profit Tops 7 China OEMs; NHTSA Wants Plasma in EMT Trucks

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

CATL PROFIT TOPS 7 CHINA OEMs
In China, at least, suppliers can earn more money by making parts for cars than automakers can by making cars. CATL, the giant battery maker, posted a Q1 profit of $3 billion, which is more money than the top 7 Chinese automakers put together. Here’s the thing. Automakers are caught up in a vicious price war that has crippled their profit margins. But that’s at the retail level. Suppliers, who don’t face consumer pressure, are always under price pressure from automakers. But if they have a commodity that automakers desperately need, and if they have a dominating position in the market, like CATL does, then they can price their products to make a tidy profit.

CHINA CRITICS SAY EVs TOO HEAVY
There’s growing criticism in China over EVs becoming bigger and heavier. The average curb weight of EVs is now up 28% compared to 2020. A midsize electric sedan weighs more than 4,400 pounds on average, compared to 3.500 pounds for a comparable gas-powered car. Critics say the heavier EVs are damaging roads, they’re gobbling up raw materials and they’re putting a burden on the electrical grid. Like in the U.S., fuel taxes help pay for road maintenance in China, which EV drivers obviously don’t have to pay. So now, state-run media is demanding that EV drivers pay their fair share. And if it’s the state media that’s saying it, you know what’s going to happen. It’s only a matter of time before they’re put in place.

           

UAW ATTACKS GM OVER CO-BOTS
General Motors is trying to make one of its EV plants more efficient by adding cobots to the operations, but it’s getting an earful from the UAW. Automotive News reports that GM added 50 cobots to its Factory Zero plant in Detroit, which triggered the president of UAW Local 22, which represents the plant, to say he’s disgusted by it. Cobot stands for collaborative robot. They work alongside human employees and generally handle repetitive tasks that are ergonomically tiring. Sean Fain, the UAW president, says AI, robots and mass automation are a threat to workers, so no doubt we’re going to hear a lot more about this from the union. Factory Zero makes the electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and Sierra pickups, the Cadillac Escalade and the Hummer SUV and pickup. GM only sold 5,779 of them in Q1 which was down 36% from the year before. And that prompted GM to cut a shift and lay off 1,200 workers.

NHTSA WORKING ON NATIONAL AV STANDARD
The Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor puts on the Management Briefing Seminars every year. We were there this week and while there are far too many details to report of what was said, here’s a couple of bullet points.

• The Chinese auto industry is so heavily subsidized that GM and Ford would need $15 billion in U.S. subsidies to match them.
• It costs the average U.S. supplier $300,000 in people time to answer one RFQ, or request for quote, from an automaker.
• The U.S. auto industry needs the USMCA to be cost competitive. If President Trump pulls out of the trade agreement, then the U.S. can’t compete with China.
• And NHTSA is working on coming out with a national standard for autonomous vehicles, which will supersede the mish-mash of state regulations that currently exists.

LARRY BURNS ON AAH
Speaking of autonomous vehicles, that’s going to be the topic on Autoline After Hours later today. We’re going to have Larry Burns back on the show talking about his vision of how AVs are going to change the world and society as we know it. Larry is the former head of R&D at General Motors and has been an AV proponent for decades. Joann Muller from Axios will also be on the show, so join John and Gary when it all goes live at 3 pm eastern time today.

ANALYSTS: VW COST CUTTING NOT ENOUGH
The Volkswagen Group is going through a wrenching cost cutting campaign, trying to become more competitive. It’s cut several million units of capacity. It’s cutting costs by billions of euros. It will get rid of 19,000 employees in Germany by the end of this year and 28,000 by the end of the decade. But analysts aren’t satisfied. They say that’s not enough, and want to see the company restructured so it can generate reliable financial returns. For example, VW could sell off its marine engine business, which could raise €8 billion. One thing’s for sure VW is nowhere close to earning a 10% profit margin, which is its goal by 2030. Last year it generated a 2.8% return. VW stock fell 3% after its shareholder meeting yesterday and is down 19% for the year.

MASERATI COULD GET PARTNER
Talk about trying to save a European car company. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa says it’s in talks with two potential partners for Maserati. Filosa says Maserati is not for sale and that it won’t sell its Cassino plant which is one of two plants in Italy that builds Maseratis. Filosa didn’t say who the potential partners are, but said they’ll provide technology and development support. Last year, Maserati lost €198 million and it only sold 7,900 vehicles globally, which was down 30% from 2024 and its lowest sales since 2012.

NHTSA WANTS PLASMA IN EMT TRUCKS
Our last item today is kind of a bad news, good news story. The bad news is that over 36,000 Americans were killed in vehicle accidents last year, a national tragedy. Even more tragic, over 40% of those who were killed were actually alive when the first responders arrived. And I hate to be gruesome, but they died because they bled to death before they could get to the hospital. But the good news is that NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is working on equipping EMT trucks with blood and plasma, so they can do transfusions right at the scene of the accident. Speaking at the Management Briefing Seminars, Peter Simshauser, the chief counsel at NHTSA, said by equipping EMT trucks with blood and plasma, they believe they could save over 5,000 lives a year.

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