AD #4357 – Stellantis To Build JLR SUVs in U.S.; Jeep Delays Next-Gen Cherokee; Geely H1 Revenue Rises on Exports

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

STELLANTIS TO BUILD JLR VEHICLES IN U.S.
We were floored when Stellantis and Jaguar Land Rover announced they would start making vehicles together in the United States. But it’s happening. JLR’s Chief Financial Officer confirmed that it will enter “new segments” with U.S.-specific Defender-branded vehicles. The models will be developed with help from Stellantis and built at Stellantis plants, rather than JLR building its current models in the U.S. Obviously, it’s all about getting around the tariffs, because JLR imports all its vehicles to the U.S.

JEEP DELAYS NEXT-GEN CHEROKEE TO 2029
Meanwhile, Jeep is delaying the next-gen Cherokee so it can build the model on the new STLA One platform. Instead of production starting in 2028, it will kick off in the second half of 2029 at the company’s Belvidere plant in Illinois, making it the first U.S. vehicle assembled on the new STLA One platform. Belvidere will get an additional $200 million investment for the new platform, which is on top of the $600 million Stellantis already announced to build the Jeep Compass there next year. 

STELLANTIS CONSIDERS SELLING BRAMPTON PLANT
The new Compass was supposed to be built at Stellantis’ Brampton plant in Ontario, Canada, which like Belvidere has been sitting empty since 2023. But with the threat of President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian-made vehicles, Stellantis stopped retooling at Brampton. And now with the Compass moving over to Belvidere, the Canadian union Unifor says that Stellantis is “seriously” considering selling Brampton. The union’s president claims the automaker told it that it plans to open discussions with a third party about a potential sale. But it’s not another automaker and Unifor doesn’t expect there to be large-scale vehicle production at the plant anymore. The union counts about 2,200 Brampton workers as members, but as many as 8,000 workers could be impacted if Stellantis sells the plant. 

  

UK REVIEWS STRICT 2030 EV MANDATE
The UK has laws on the books to ban the sale of new ICE vehicles by 2030. But now the commitment to that ban is starting to wobble. Under the current mandate, automakers face a ramp up of EV sales until 2030, when all new vehicle sales must be zero-emission. The ones that don’t comply, face fines as high as 12,000 pounds or $16,000 per vehicle. This year’s EV target is 33% of all sales but currently the UK’s EV share is at 28%. So the government is now reviewing the targets to see if they’re still achievable. And while the UK says it’s sticking with its ICE ban, we think there’s a good chance it’ll ease off.

GEELY H1 REVENUE RISES ON EXPORTS
Like most Chinese automakers, Geely is really benefiting from strong exports. The company sold just over 1.4 million vehicles in the first half of the year, which was up about 1%. But nearly 475,000 of those were exports, a huge jump of 158%. We suspect the higher prices of those export models helped push Geely’s revenue up 15% to $25.7 billion. However, the company’s net profit fell nearly 2% to $1.3 billion. Not surprisingly Geely says it plans to keep expanding outside of China, where car sales are down about 20% so far this year.

LI SHUFU STEPS DOWN AS CHAIRMAN OF GEELY AUTO
Speaking of Geely, it looks like the company’s founder and chairman is starting to roll out his succession plan. Li Shufu, who’s 63, announced he’s stepping down as chairman from the company’s automotive operations. With the move, not only will there be a new chairman of Geely Auto, but also a new vice chairman and CEO. By stepping down Li Shufu gives himself more time to put into his other businesses. However, he is not giving up his role as chairman of the Geely Holding Group, which is the parent company of Geely Auto.

LYNK & CO EXECUTIVE FINED AFTER LEAK
Here’s something we don’t think we’ve ever seen before. Lynk & Co, which is part of the Geely Group, fined one of its executives $7,500 for accidentally leaking details about its refreshed 02 model during a livestream. Lynk & Co says the penalty was “light” due to the executive’s “repentant attitude.” We’ve seen executives demoted or fired for indiscretions but this is the first time we think we’ve seen one fined.

 

FACTORIAL CEO PREDICTS SOLID-STATE BATTERY FUTURE
The EV battery industry is going to split into two paths by 2030: one using LFP and sodium batteries for cheaper cars and the other using solid state batteries to replace NMC in cars that require higher performance. That’s the prediction of the CEO of Factorial, the solid-state battery company based in Massachusetts. She says U.S. and European automakers better start embracing solid state batteries now or they’re going to get left behind by Chinese and South Korean companies. Factorial, whose partners include Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz, is developing solid state batteries that can be made in existing battery factories to significantly lower investment costs. Solid state batteries work, but now the challenge is to mass produce them. And the race is on to see who can do that first.    

SPLIT VIEWS ON AUTOMOTIVE-MILITARY CONVERGENCE
We’re seeing a growing military presence in the U.S. and European automotive industries, so we decided to do a poll with our Autoline members. The question we posed to them was “We’re seeing a growing convergence of automotive and military in the US and Europe. How do you feel about this?”

41% of those responding said it’s a dangerous world and automotive needs to play a role.

25% said it makes them feel uneasy and that the future looks scary.

8% said they’re completely opposed to this.

And another 25% said they’re for it all the way.

Thanks to all you members who participated in the poll. This is a pretty serious topic, and it’s important to know how you feel about it.

But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for tuning in.