AD #4375 – Europe Auto Suppliers Face Major Layoffs; Ford Invests $1B In Kentucky Plant; New Renault Niagara Pickup Debuts

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

FORD INVESTS $1B IN KENTUCKY PLANT
Ford is making big commitments to the state of Kentucky. It’s pouring nearly $2 billion into its Louisville Assembly Plant to make the Fathom and other models off its Universal EV platform. And another roughly $2 billion is going to Glendale, Kentucky where the company will make energy storage systems. But the Kentucky Truck Plant is Ford’s largest manufacturing facility in the world and there’s no other plant that generates more revenue for the automaker. So, it’s investing $1 billion to build a new state-of-the-art paint shop in Kentucky. Ford didn’t provide much detail, only saying it will replace the existing paint shop with something more modern and efficient as well as cleaner. The company plans to lay the groundwork for the new operations late this year. 

CHINA TARGETS 70% EV SALES BY 2030
China just laid out its latest five-year plan for the auto industry and here’s the highlights. It wants EVs and hybrids to account for 70% of sales by 2030. That target shouldn’t be hard to reach since EVs and hybrids accounted for 65% of sales in August. The new plan also sets a goal for 40% of commercial vehicles sales to be electric by the end of the decade. China expects to have several automakers in the global top 10 by that time as well and that they’ll have a greater say in setting global standards. China is also targeting large-scale deployment of self-driving vehicles by 2030.

 

EUROPE AUTO SUPPLIERS FACE MAJOR LAYOFFS
We’ve been following the struggles of the European auto industry and a new study shows job losses are likely to continue to accelerate, especially for suppliers. According to the European supplier association CLEPA, in 2024 and 2025, suppliers announced 104,000 job cuts, while only creating 7,000 new positions. And CLEPA warns that supplier job losses could increase to 350,000 by 2030 due to Chinese competition, higher material costs and regulatory challenges. CLEPA says suppliers can’t offset losses with new engineering and software jobs fast enough and that raises the risk that future investment will shift outside of Europe.

VOLKSWAGEN RESTRUCTURING COSTS TOP $18 BILLION
Closing 4 plants and laying off 100,000 workers in Germany is going to cost the Volkswagen Group an estimated 16 billion euros or $18.6 billion. The majority, about 10 billion euros, is being set aside for all the job cuts. And while it’s a huge amount of money, the Group wasn’t likely to get much value from those investments in the future.

EUROPE DRIVES AUGUST GLOBAL EV GROWTH
Sales of electrified vehicles increased globally for the sixth straight month in August. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, automakers sold 1.8 million BEVs and plug-in hybrids last month, up 2% from a year ago. Europe fueled the growth with sales increasing 36% to 380,000 units, mainly thanks to subsidies in the region’s major markets. In China, electrified vehicle sales dropped 11% to just over 1 million units and in North America, sales tumbled 33% to 140,000 vehicles. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, sales shot up 97% to 290,000 units. Through the first eight months of the year, automakers have sold 13.4 million electrified vehicles.

    

STELLANTIS PARTNERS FOR AUTONOMOUS LAST-MILE TECH
Stellantis is deepening its ties with China. The automaker’s commercial division, called Stellantis Pro One, is partnering with UQI Robotics, a Chinese company that comes up with autonomous logistics solutions using AI and robots. And UQI itself is a joint venture between two other Chinese companies; Miracle Automation and UBTECH, who makes humanoid robots and has partnerships with several automakers. Stellantis and UQI plan to collaborate in autonomous last-mile logistics and will unveil a Box-on-Wheels concept soon. We think it will be similar to the Chitu α, an autonomous shuttle that UQI already produces, which interestingly is contract manufactured by Foxconn in China. Stellantis says the two companies will initially focus on Europe, but will explore other international markets.

MASERATI IN TALKS WITH HUAWEI & JAC
And speaking of Stellantis, back in June, CEO Antonio Filosa revealed that it’s in talks with two potential partners for Maserati. At the time Filosa didn’t reveal the companies but now we know. According to an Italian newspaper, Stellantis is in talks with China’s Huawei and JAC Group. The discussions are focusing on using Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility platform for Maserati with the goal of starting production of the first vehicle by the end of 2027. And the deal could also include a dual branding strategy that would see vehicles sold in China under JAC’s Maextro luxury brand while Maserati would be sold internationally. Stellantis is turning to the Chinese more and more to help develop vehicles, also having production partnerships with Leapmotor and Dongfeng.

NEW RENAULT NIAGARA PICKUP DEBUTS
Renault is getting into pickup trucks, but not for Europe. The all-new Niagara is the first of 14 new models that will launch international markets by 2030. It will be built in Argentina and sold across Latin America, but mainly targeting Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. The truck is based on a new Renault Group modular platform for pickups and features a design that’s similar to the Hyundai Santa Cruz. The company said it went with the look because trucks are gradually shifting into more diverse areas of use and expects the Niagara to be used for both leisure and business. While the platform is capable of supporting gas, diesel, flex fuel, LPG, mild hybrid and full hybrid powertrains, the truck will initially launch with a turbocharged 1.3L engine that can run on gas or flex fuel and makes about 160 horsepower. It can be paired with a manual or automatic transmission and rear- or 4-wheel drive, with a max towing capacity of 710 kilograms or about 1,500 pounds. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any mention of the starting price.

CHRIS THEODORE SHARES AUTO INDUSTRY LESSONS
Lots of books have been written about the auto industry. But nothing like this. We’re doing an 18-part video series with Chris Theodore about everything it takes to run a car company. Chris worked at Ford, Chrysler, American Motors and a number of other companies developing new products like the Dodge Viper, PT Cruiser and the 2004 Ford GT. During his career, he worked for some of the greats in the industry like Lee Iacocca, Bob Lutz, Carroll Shelby and others. He learned from the masters. And now he’s sharing what he learned. And we’ll be giving all of you an intro to the series at 4 pm eastern time today.

But that wraps up today’s show, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.