AD #4344 – Lucid Stock Up 24% On Big Investment; Mahle’s Hydrogen ICE Tech; Chinese Co to Make 300,000 Axial Flux Motors

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

LUCID STOCK UP 24% ON BIG INVESTMENT
Last week Lucid was in the news as rumors swirled through the industry that it might file for bankruptcy. The stock was down 58% for the year. But then yesterday a Saudi Prince, Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz, bought 5% of the company, and that was enough to get everyone to jump into the pool. When the market closed yesterday, Lucid’s stock had shot up 24%. Abdulaziz is a billionaire, a member of the royal family, and is often called the Arabian Warren Buffet.

FORD Q2: INVESTORS LIKE WHAT THEY’RE HEARING
Ford reported its Q2 numbers, which are a mixed bag of ups and downs. It sold just over a million vehicles in the last 3 months, down 12% due primarily to discontinued models like the Ford Escape, and due to production shortages with the F-150 because of an aluminum shortage. Lower sales dragged down revenue by close to 4%. Yet, the company boosted its operating profit 25% to $638 million. That’s a pretty good achievement. But the bottom line looked bad. Ford lost $1.3 billion. But that was mostly due to a $3.6 billion write down of its battery joint venture with SK. With that write-down out of the way, Ford actually increased its guidance for the rest of the year, saying it will make up to $11 billion in EBIT and generate up to $7 billion in free cash flow. Both numbers are up roughly a billion dollars higher than before. That was music to investor’s ears and Ford stock was up 8% in aftermarket trading yesterday.

EARTHQUAKE SHUTS SOME JAPAN PRODUCTION
Yesterday, Japan was rocked by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake, which shut down one of Lexus’s assembly plants. Toyota also suspended production through the end of the week at an engine and hybrid powertrain plant. It’s estimated the shutdown will cause up to 5,000 units of lost production. The plant builds the ES, UX, NX and RX models and about 90% of them are exported. Suppliers Aisin and Ahresty also suspended output. Nissan also has two assembly plants in the region where the earthquake struck but they’re still making cars.

NISSAN & HONDA TO SHARE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
Speaking of Nissan, it’s in talks with Honda to revive their software partnership. According to a report from Japan, the two automakers have agreed in principle to jointly develop an operating system for software-defined vehicles, based on Nissan’s technology. But as of now, there’s no timing for a formal announcement. Back in 2024, the two of them announced plans to jointly develop EVs and software and even talked about merging together. But the merger fell apart after Honda pushed to take full control of Nissan. But now that Honda is hurting from all its EV write-offs, its a lot more amenable to sharing power.

AUDI’S GIANT Q9 SUV
Audi took the wraps off its first full-size SUV, the Q9. In the U.S., the standard model is offered with a 2.9L V6 twin-turbo, mated to an 8-speed transmission, which produces 429-horsepower and 442-lb-ft of torque. All-wheel drive is standard. There’s also a performance version, called the SQ9, powered by a 4.0L twin-turbo V8, which cranks out 591-horses and 590-lb-ft of torque. It moves from 0-60 MPH in just 3.8 seconds. For the first time, Audi’s adaptive beam headlights will be available in the U.S., which automatically adapt to traffic and other road users to reduce glare. And the model will be available with Level 2+ hands-free driving. The Q9 is built in Slovakia and will go on sale in the fourth-quarter of the year with a starting price of $87,700.

BMW TO AXE ANOTHER 8,000 JOBS
It seems like everyday we’re reporting about the struggles of the German auto industry and today it’s BMW’s turn. It plans to cut several thousand jobs in Germany by the end of 2027 through voluntary severance packages. The cuts will be with white collar personnel, none of it involves blue collar workers. By the end of the decade BMW plans to get rid of about 8,000 jobs.

AUDI WORKERS PROTEST PLANT CLOSING
Hot on the heels of that announcement, thousands of Audi workers protested earlier today against the possible closure of the automaker’s Neckarsulm plant in Germany. Audi’s works council says nearly 6,000 people participated in the protest. Parent company Volkswagen has warned that the facility is one of four plants in Germany that could close by 2030, if it isn’t able to find an alternative solution. Neckarsulm employs about 15,000 workers and builds the Audi A5, A6, A8 and e-tron GT.

 

CHINESE CO TO MAKE 300,000 AXIAL FLUX MOTORS
Mercedes is getting a lot of attention with the axial flux motors it’s using in the AMG GT. But it’s not the only one making them. A Chinese company called Pan-Good Motor is ramping up production to make 300,000 axial flux motors a year. It says that thanks to a combination of steel and rare earths and new thermal processing techniques, its motor is half the weight and size of conventional radial flux motors. It’s filed 1,708 patents for its design Unlike Mercedes, which is using its motor for a high-performance sports car, Pan-Good is going after the medium and heavy-duty truck market.

MAHLE’S HYDROGEN ICE TECH
I was in Germany last week visiting Mahle, the big supplier based in Stuttgart. It showed off a bunch of technology it’s working on, including using hydrogen for fuel for internal combustion engines. The idea is to replace diesel engines in medium and heavy-duty trucks. One thing’s for sure, hydrogen is far cleaner than diesel fuel. Check out these pistons that Mahle was testing. On the left are pistons used in a hydrogen ICE, on the right are diesel pistons. The ones on the left look practically brand new. Using hydrogen means there are virtually zero carbon dioxide emissions, and NOx drops 91%. Particulate matter emissions can’t even be measured because they’re so low. Even so, on a volume basis, hydrogen has less energy than diesel. So the thermodynamic efficiency using hydrogen is about 42%, compared to about 48% for a diesel. And there’s actually a lot of changes that have to be made to use hydrogen, including changing the ignition and injection systems, the crankcase scavenging, the air intake, exhaust and engine controls. The cost of the engines is about the same, but the size and cost of a hydrogen fuel tank is significantly more expensive, about $30,000 versus two grand. So if any of you engineers out there have an idea of how to come up with a cheap hydrogen fuel tank, you have an opportunity to make a fortune.

BOB GALYEN ON AAH
Hey, you’re really going to want to tune in to Autoline After Hours tomorrow. We have Bob Galyen coming back on the show. He was the former CTO of CATL and boy does Bob know batteries! His goal right now is to help the US not just close the battery gap with China, but to leapfrog it. And I think you’re going to find this to be a fascinating show.

But with the we wrap up today’s report, thanks for watching Autoline Daily.