AD #4394 – Nissan’s China Pickup Going Global; Autonomous Trucks Get Rules Exemption; Audi Workers Take Military Jobs

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

AUDI WORKERS TAKE MILITARY JOBS
We’ve been following the struggles of German automakers as well as the growing collaboration between the auto and defense industries. And here’s an example of those two worlds colliding. In order to avoid layoffs, Audi is now sending workers from its plant in Ingolstadt to defense and aerospace companies for up to two years. The workers still receive their collectively bargained wages from Audi plus an allowance and they can return to the automaker once their assignment is complete. The program is voluntary and targeted at non-production employees, like managers and technical or quality workers. Audi says interest has been stronger than expected and it has more applicants than available positions.

GAC OFFICIALLY BUYS FAW TOYOTA
GAC is officially going to buy out FAW’s stake in Toyota. As we previously reported, GAC and FAW announced they are going to merge some of their operations and that will include FAW selling its 50% stake in FAW Toyota to GAC, who also has a partnership with Toyota. But even after the sale FAW Toyota will continue to operate as an independent entity. However, it will eventually form an alliance with GAC Toyota in the areas of R&D, procurement, production and sales. The idea is to leverage the respective strengths of each company to cut costs and move faster.

CHERY CONSOLIDATES DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
But moves like this are part of a bigger consolidation effort we’re seeing in China because it has too many plants making too many vehicles. And now we can include Chery in this conversation. It’s going to integrate both its domestic and international operations together, under the leadership of a single person. And its Jetour brand, which was established as a mass-market brand, will start making higher-end off-road vehicles.

VOLKSWAGEN DEPLOYING HUMANOIDS IN CHINA FACTORIES
And circling back to FAW, it’s planning to deploy humanoid robots at its factories with its other joint-venture partner in China, Volkswagen. The automakers have teamed up with robotics company UBTECH to develop and test humanoids for logistics and smart manufacturing. FAW-Volkswagen operate five plants in China and produce 35 models between its VW, Audi and Jetta brands.

AUTONOMOUS TRUCKS GET SAFETY RULES EXEMPTION
To help speed up the deployment of autonomous commercial trucks, the U.S. Department of Transportation just approved a five-year exemption for Aurora and other self-driving truck companies, which covers rules that require drivers to place reflective triangles around a stopped truck. The warning devices are placed outside a truck to help prevent crashes but since autonomous trucks don’t have drivers, companies had been seeking an exemption. Now companies are allowed to mount warning beacons on the cab to provide warnings to other drivers. Companies planning to use the exemption must notify the Federal Motor ​Carrier Safety Administration and disclose any crashes when the beacons are activated or should have been activated.

U.S. TOOL & DIE INDUSTRY FALLS BEHIND CHINA
As we’ve talked about, the U.S. tool and die industry is in decline. And a new study from the Center for Automotive Research or CAR shows just how much trouble it’s in and why it needs to be rebuilt. The U.S. tool-and-die workforce declined about 23% from 2009 to 2025, while the average worker age rose from 49 to 54 years old. Also, U.S. metalworking machinery employment declined 46% between 1990 and 2026 and metalworking machinery imports increased from $4.5 billion in 1989 to $16.0 billion in 2025. CAR estimates that a new vehicle program requires more than 2,100 different tools, while a major vehicle redesign requires more than 1,600. But the study found that North America can’t launch, redesign, or refresh vehicles at scale without Chinese tooling, and that North America’s current economic model for tooling is no longer competitive with China’s.

          

BMW iX4 IS A FASTBACK iX3
BMW is continuing its tradition of offering fastback versions of its SUVs, but now with its EVs. The company just revealed the iX4, which is the fastback version of the new iX3. The model will only come with AWD. Depending on the market, there’s a version that makes 275 kW or about 370 horsepower and we calculate will get about 330 miles or 530 kilometers of range on the EPA test cycle. But it won’t go to North America. There’s also a version with 345 kW or about 465 horsepower and a nearly 109 kWh battery pack, which will provide an EPA estimated 428 miles or roughly 690 kilometers of range. These setups will launch in March of next year and then will be followed by an M Performance version later in 2027. It produces 450 kW or just over 600 horsepower, will do 0-60 MPH in 3.7 seconds and get an EPA calculated 390 miles or about 630 kilometers of range. This same setup will actually launch a little bit earlier in the iX3 in January of next year.

NISSAN’S CHINA PICKUP GOING GLOBAL
Nissan is taking the pickup truck that is designed, developed and manufactured by its Chinese joint venture and will start shipping it out of China. Depending on the market it will be sold as either the Frontier Pro or the Navara Pro and offer a wide range of powertrain setups, including gas, diesel and either a 1.5L or 2.0L plug-in hybrid. Sales kick off in Mexico this month, followed by other countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Philippines by the end of this year. And then right-hand markets, like Australia and New Zealand will be added in 2027.

Don’t forget about Autoline After Hours today. John is out but we’ve got Jamie Butters, Greg Migliore and Autoextremist himself Peter DeLorenzo. Co-host Gary Vasilash wants to break down Q3 sales, see who’s running at the top of brand loyalty and get everyone’s thoughts on that all-new Jaguar. Join the action live at 3PM EST today on the Autoline website or YouTube channel.

But that’s a wrap for this show. Thanks for tuning in and I hope to see you later.