AD #4382 – Hyundai Supplying Vans to GM; CATL Developing Batteries for U.S. Trucks; Mercedes Could Close 2 German Plants

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

MERCEDES COULD CLOSE 2 PLANTS IN GERMANY
Yesterday the Volkswagen Group announced it’s slashing its profit margin to just 1% for the year and will also need to speed up its restructuring plan, which includes cutting 100,000 jobs and closing up to 4 plants. But if you follow this show, we’ve been reporting that it’s the entire German auto industry that’s in trouble right now. One of the big problems is higher labor costs that are making companies less competitive. And now Mercedes has warned some of its German workers that it will have to close two plants unless it’s able to reduce costs in the country. While the automaker didn’t say what kind of cost reductions it’s looking for, it says without them it will have to close one German assembly plant and one German powertrain plant.

HYUNDAI SUPPLYING VANS TO CHEVY & GMC
We’ve got some great insight into the van partnership between Hyundai and GM, thanks to Autoforecast Solutions. It says Hyundai will start producing its Solati van in the U.S. at the beginning of 2029 and then in August both Chevy and GMC will get models off the same platform. But these vans might not be built in the Hyundai Group’s current U.S. plants in Alabama and Georgia. They may require a new facility and current trade issues almost certainly mean it will need to be in the U.S. But now that Chevy and GMC are getting new large vans just before the end of the decade, does that mean that the Express and Savana vans will finally be phased out? They’ve been around in their current form since 1995, but they still have some appeal to consumers, selling about 65,000 units combined last year.

GM TEASES NEW ‘MONGOOSE’ DIESEL V8
Speaking of GM, it says it’s coming out with a new 8.3L V8 diesel engine for its heavy-duty trucks that it nicknamed ‘Mongoose.’ Why Mongoose? Well, the Ford 6.7L Power Stroke diesel is called the ‘Scorpion.’ So I bet you can guess what Mongoose love to kill and eat.

EVs DRIVE SALES GROWTH IN EUROPE
Car sales in Europe were strong last month thanks to soaring sales of EVs. According to Dataforce, automakers sold more than 835,000 vehicles in August, up 4.6% from a year ago. And due to high fuel prices, battery-electric vehicle sales skyrocketed 52% to more than 245,000 units, which pushed BEV market share to 29%, up from 20% a year ago. And when you add in hybrids and plug-in hybrids, which were up 8% and 13% respectively in August, electrified vehicles accounted for more than half the market for the first time. Chinese brands also had a strong month in Europe with sales increasing 111%, reaching a record 11.7% market share. And through the first 8 months of the year, automakers have sold more than 9.2 million vehicles in Europe, up 5.6% from last year.

CATL DEVELOPING BATTERIES FOR U.S. TRUCKS
Despite pressure from the auto industry and lawmakers on the Trump Administration to maintain a ban on Chinese cars and components, Chinese battery maker CATL believes the U.S. market still offers a “huge business” opportunity despite “very intense geopolitics.” In an interview with the Financial Times, CATL’s chief technology officer says it has developed batteries specifically for American pickup trucks and that U.S. automakers have tested them, but it didn’t reveal which ones. And while CATL didn’t share any specs about the batteries, it did say it’s open to licensing the technology to American companies to manufacture them in the U.S.

CATL STARTS TRIAL PRODUCTION IN HUNGARY
And in related news, CATL says it started trial production of battery cells at its plant in Hungary today. It will set up, optimize, and validate production equipment and manufacturing processes during the trial phase, which will have a capacity of 34-GWh. Once the site is set for full-scale production, capacity will increase to 100-GWh.

 

USED CARS GETTING OLDER WITH MORE MILES
It’s becoming harder to find used cars with lower miles that aren’t too old. According to Edmunds, in 2019 a used car priced between $10,000-$15,000 was less than 5 years old with about 58,000 miles on average. Today, the same budget will get you a used car that’s almost 9 years old on average with 98,000 miles. Part of the reason is the higher prices for new cars, which makes a vehicle more expensive once it hits the used market. Another factor is fewer vehicle leases, which is shrinking the inventory of used cars. Before the pandemic, about 4 million vehicles were leased a year in the U.S., this year it’s on pace to drop 2.5 million. And that means the pool of used vehicles could be smaller for the foreseeable future.

CEER REVEALS WEDGY PRODUCTION EVs
In April an all-new EV startup out of Saudi Arabia, called CEER, showed off its first teaser and now it’s revealing its first two models. One is a sedan, called the Exobot sedan, and the other is an SUV, called the Exobot SUV. Specs include an 800-volt architecture, a 112 kWh battery pack, 850 horsepower and the ability to do 0-60 MPH in under 3 seconds. Styling kind of reminds us of the Honda 0 Series vehicles, but unlike those models, the CEER EVs are scheduled to come out early next year. And we think this is an interesting company. It’s staffed by executives with global automotive experience, including Europeans, Asians, and several Americans who used to work at General Motors. Meanwhile, Foxconn developed the platform, a part of the Hyundai Group is providing the powertrain, BMW is licensing some of its components, and the Saudi Private Investment Fund is paying for it all.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.