AD #4333 – Zoox Getting New Robotaxi Models; U.S. Traffic Deaths Down, But Why?; BYD Yangwang U9 Aims for 500 KM/H

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

LOOK OUT TESLA, HERE COMES ZOOX’S 2-DOOR ROBOTAXI
We’ve got some good intel on Zoox’s future robotaxi plans thanks to our friends at Autoforecast Solutions. It says Zoox, which is owned by Amazon, will continue to build its current robotaxi at its plant in Haywood, California until June of 2030, which is when it will come out with a new version. It’s also going to start manufacturing what AFS calls a 2-door robotaxi at that time, which tells us Zoox is going to go head-to-head against the Tesla Cybercab. By the way, for all you suppliers out there that need to keep track of these things, the program code name for the new Zoox 4-door is VH7, while the one for the 2-door is VT-1.

RARE EARTH FREE MOTOR FROM INDIA
A startup out of India is claiming to have made a breakthrough in electric motors. Vimag Labs is developing a brushless motor that doesn’t use any rare-earth magnets, instead relying on power electronics and software to generate its magnetic field. The company says it can match or exceed the performance of a motor that uses rare-earth magnets. While none of those claims have been independently verified so far, it has received 5 patents for the technology. But with China dominating the market for the materials that are used to make rare-earth magnets, the startup isn’t the only one working on these kinds of motors. Tesla, GM, Stellantis, Honda, JLR, Valeo all have projects and we even spoke to a new company called Modal Motors at last year’s Battery Show.

 

EU SLAPS DUTIES ON CHINESE TIRES
Europe is cracking down on tires made in China. Last year, the EU launched an investigation which found tire imports for passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles from China were entering the region at significantly lower prices. The average import value per tire was only 30 euros. So, to help protect the European tire industry, the EU just slapped new anti-dumping duties on Chinese tires that range from 4.3% to 45.3% depending on the manufacturer.

VW EXPORTS CHINA-MADE CARS TO CENTRAL ASIA
With sales of new cars down sharply in China, Volkswagen is planning to export its China-made vehicles to new markets. It used to only sell them in small volumes in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. But now VW has made deals to introduce models from its Chinese joint-venture partners in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The automaker will assemble 8 models from FAW and SAIC in Uzbekistan starting by the end of the year, which will also be exported to other markets in Central Asia. And VW plans to enter the Kazakhstan market shortly with three models from FAW.

BYD DEVELOPS UPSCALE PICKUP
BYD decided that it can move upscale with its Shark pickup truck. The truck is currently only sold overseas with a BYD logo on it, but in China the Shark will be sold through its premium Fangchengbao brand. The range-extended pickup features a 1.5L engine, front and rear motors and an LFP battery. BYD has completed the truck’s domestic filing with the Chinese government, which means it will soon roll out to the market.

BYD YANGWANG U9 AIMS AT 500 KM/H
Speaking of BYD, it has the fastest production car in the world. Its Yangwang U9 Xtreme officially topped out just over 496 km/h or about 308 MPH. That beat the Bugatti Chiron by about 6 km/h. But with others like Koenigsegg claiming the ability to go even faster, BYD’s VP says it’s planning another speed run and hopes to top the 500 km/h mark, which would be over 310 MPH. While the car’s nearly 3,000 horsepower and massive aero elements are key to setting a new record, the biggest limiting factor will be finding tires that are capable of going those kinds of speeds.

BOSCH OPENS SILICON CARBIDE CHIP PLANT IN CALIFORNIA
Three years ago Bosch bought a semiconductor chip plant in Roseville, California and invested $2 billion to make silicon carbide chips for the auto industry. That plant just started sample production and will launch commercial production later this year. Those chips are made for high voltage applications in EVs, hybrids, data centers and for military applications. When Paul Thomas, the CEO of Bosch North America was on Autoline After Hours last year, he talked about how Bosch kept the workforce at that plant and retrained them. Here’s what he said.

“One of the things we’re most proud of, when we bought the Roseville facility from the current tenant, we retained 99% of the existing associates. And we’ve been training them on how to transition from previous generation normal silicon to silicon carbide. That’s been a very proud moment in our career where we didn’t have to exchange the workforce, we could just teach the workforce.”

Kudos to Bosch for keeping that workforce through retraining instead of firing them all and hiring new people. We wish more companies in the auto industry would take that approach.

U.S. TRAFFIC FATALITIES DOWN, NO ONE KNOWS WHY
Traffic fatalities in the U.S. are finally falling. NHTSA estimates that they fell 6.7% last year, after they spiked in 2020, 2021 and 2022. NHTSA says 36,640 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents last year, even though motorists drove more miles. But the numbers are all over the map. For example, fatalities fell 29% in Rhode Island, but they shot up 27% in Hawaii. The fatality rate, which is calculated on fatalities per 100 million miles driven, is now the lowest it’s been since 2014, which is the lowest on record. But here’s the real puzzle. Why do traffic fatalities fluctuate? Oh sure, there’s plenty of opinions. When fatalities go up, the blame typically goes to full size pickups and SUVs, or to distracted drivers. And when fatalities go down, safety technology or better traffic enforcement gets all the credit. The good news is that the long term trend is a slow downward path, but the reality is, no one really knows why the numbers go up or down.

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