AD #4373 – Tesla Cybercab Unboxed Assembly Details Revealed; Duffy Slams Ford Over China Ties; Oil Hits $100 A Barrel as Reserves Plunge

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

DUFFY SLAMS FORD OVER CHINA TIES
The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, attacked Ford yesterday for using Chinese technology for the LFP batteries it’s making in the United States, as well as partnering with Geely to make cars in Spain, and for continuing to import the Lincoln Nautilus from China to the U.S, for the next three years. He accused Ford of failing to be a “reliable partner for the American public.” Duffy sent a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley, and released it to the media. 

FORD FIRES BACK AT TRANSPORTATION CHIEF
Ford fired back immediately, saying “Duffy’s letter is a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines at the expense of a company that has done more for American manufacturing than virtually any other in the nation’s history.” Ford also pointed to a press release from the White House just last week praising Ford for investing $3 billion and creating 1,700 jobs to make batteries at the very plant that Duffy is attacking. Ford said “Had Secretary Duffy reached out before issuing his letter to the press, we would have been happy to share more details about Ford’s U.S. commitment.”

Here’s our Autoline Insight. As we get closer to the midterm elections on November 3, we can expect the political rhetoric to really ratchet up. And unfortunately, the auto industry is likely to be a target for some politicians or their parties that are behind in the polls. So we probably haven’t seen the end of this.

 

CHINA GAS CAR SALES DROP 40%
As we reported yesterday, China’s car market is going from bad to worse, with sales tumbling 24% in August to 1.5 million vehicles. But it was an even worse month for gas-powered cars. According to the China Passenger Car Association, ICE vehicle sales were down 40% in August, totaling 536,000 vehicles, which translated to a market share of about 35%. And not surprisingly, no gas-powered model was on top of the sales chart. The Toyota Corolla was the best-selling ICE vehicle in China last month, coming in at 13th overall. And it’s the second time this year gas-powered vehicles have failed to crack into the top 10.

OIL HITS $100 A BARREL AS RESERVES PLUNGE
There’s a good chance gas prices are going up again. For the first time since July, oil hit $100 a barrel due to the ongoing war with Iran. And experts worry if there’s no solution soon, oil could hit $120-$150 a barrel. On top of that U.S. oil reserves dropped by about 1.2 million barrels last week to their lowest level overall since 1982. 

LYFT LAUNCHES WAYMO ROBOTAXIS IN NASHVILLE
Robotaxis continue to expand into new cities across the globe. Ride-hailing company Lyft announced that its now offering fully-autonomous rides with Waymo vehicles in Nashville. Lyft customers are matched with a Waymo vehicle at no additional cost, as long as the trip begins and ends in Waymo’s current service area. Customers can also opt out of an autonomous ride if they prefer a human driver. And as part of the partnership, Lyft’s subsidiary, FlexDrive, will provide fleet management for Waymo’s vehicles in Nashville.

    

PONY.AI LAUNCHES DRIVERLESS RIDES IN QATAR
Meanwhile over in Qatar, Chinese robotaxi company Pony.ai and its local partners, are now offering driverless rides in Doha. This is a big milestone for Pony.ai. It’s the first time the company has achieved commercial deployment at scale outside of China.

TESLA CYBERCAB FEATURES HIDDEN MANUAL CONTROLS
The Tesla Cybercab doesn’t have a steering wheel or pedals, but you can still control the car manually from inside the cabin. A couple of riders got into the robotaxi with a screen that showed a digital joystick at the bottom left corner for controlling vehicle movement. You must need special access to use the controls as neither rider was able to move the vehicle with the joystick. But it shows that Tesla still thinks there’s a need for manual control in certain situations.

STELLANTIS EXPANDS EUROREPAR REPAIR SERVICES
Stellantis is expanding its Eurorepar Car Service brand. Eurorepar already offers a full lineup of parts from wipers, to brakes and bumpers as well as a digital portal for customers to find a qualified repair shop, no matter the make, model or age of their vehicle. And now it’s adding body and collision repair to those services. Users provide info about their vehicle and what type of work they’re looking for and Eurorepar will identify places that are capable of fixing the vehicle. It can also supply the parts for the repairs as well as training and repair procedures to the shops if they need it. Stellantis says there are roughly 300 repair centers in Italy that are already included in its body and collision network and it will progressively expand to other European markets.

TESLA CYBERCAB UNBOXED ASSEMBLY DETAILS REVEALED
Tesla posted a video on X yesterday that gives us our best peek yet at how it’s using unboxed assembly to make the Cybercab. We only get a glimpse of 8 assembly steps and they go by pretty quick, but here’s what we think we’ve been able to see. The Cybercab uses RIM body panels, or reaction injection molding, that are molded with machines from SAR in Germany. Tesla uses in-mold coloring to eliminate the paint shop, and, if we’re right, note the impressive depth of gloss it’s able to get with the process. We also see that the operator in the video has a patch on his work vest that says D.O.P.E. for Department of Plastics Engineering. This shot of the headliner structure doesn’t give us much info, but here we see the outer and inner hood panels being joined and bonded using ABB robots. This shot of sound deadening and carpeting being attached to the rear bulkhead shows there’s no need to get in and out of the car to install it. And the front module sits on a rotating platform to provide easy access to install components. The left and right body sides are joined to the center module while a roof bow gets bolted into place. The roof with the headliner then goes on top and lastly the doors get attached at the next station. We can’t wait to learn more about this plant and compare it to what Ford is doing with the Fathom.

But that’s a wrap for today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.