AD #4402 – Honda Designing Cars for Humanoids; VW’s New China Partnership Failing; GM Buys Back 40% of Shares

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

GM SALES DOWN BUT PROFIT UP
General Motors posted its 3rd quarter earnings, which were quite good considering all the headwinds it’s facing like tariffs, soaring fuel prices, and higher interest rates. GM sold nearly 1.4 million vehicles worldwide, down 11%. Sales were down in all its markets except South America, and they were especially strong in Brazil. Despite the drop in sales, GM’s revenue grew almost 3% to $50 billion. And it posted a net profit of $3.3 billion, up from last year’s $1.3 billion, when it took a massive write-off on its EV investments. Another bright spot is that it posted a 40% increase in revenue from SuperCruise subscriptions. So far this year, GM sold 243,000 vehicles equipped with the hands-free driving technology.

GM HAS BOUGHT BACK 40% OF SHARES
And yet, GM missed analysts estimates for its earnings per share and GM stock fell nearly 7% in pre-market trading. One thing that may get investors to change their minds is that GM’s board authorized the company to spend $20 billion to buy back shares over the next several years. Since 2014, GM bought back about 40% or 694 million of its shares. GM’s stock price is up about 94% since Barra became CEO and shareholder equity is up 50%.

VW’S NEW CHINA PARTNERSHIP FAILING
In 2023, Volkswagen formed a partnership with Chinese automaker Xpeng to help turn around its China business. VW said the deal would help it develop vehicles tailored for China faster, which it has done, but Chinese consumers aren’t interested. Their first model developed together, the ID. UNYX 08, went on sale in April and it’s only averaging 267 units a month through August. That’s well below its target of 3,600 a month. Part of the problem is its price. The model starts just over $34,000 but it doesn’t offer as many advanced technologies as vehicles with similar prices. Another issue is VW’s decision to sell it through a new EV focused dealer network. It only has 166 locations in China, compared to the more than 3,000 dealerships VW operates with its joint-venture partners FAW and SAIC. Because of that many car buyers weren’t even aware the model existed. VW will launch its second model developed with Xpeng later this month.

EV SALES GROWING FAST IN EUROPE
EV sales soared in Europe last month. More than 300,000 fully-electric vehicles were registered in September, which is a gain of 70% compared to a year ago, giving BEVs a market share of nearly one-third. Through the first nine months of the year, nearly 2 million BEVs have been registered in Europe, up about 40% from last year. EV sales are booming due to high oil prices, new subsidies and more affordable models entering the market.
 
             

HONDA DESIGNING CARS FOR HUMANOID WORKERS
Many automakers are working on humanoid robots and some don’t think it will be too long before they’re working on factory floors. So now Honda says it’s going to start changing the design of its future cars so they can be manufactured by humanoids. While the company’s CEO thinks we’re far from having these robots throughout the factory, their roles are evolving, from installing wiring harnesses to final vehicle inspections.

EV TRUCK SALES TAKE OFF IN CHINA
Soaring prices at the pump have already started impacting what types of cars consumers are buying and the same is happening with heavy-duty trucks. A few years ago EV trucks made up about 8% of heavy-duty sales in China, which the government wanted to increase to 40% by 2030. But it’s well ahead of that goal. So far this year, Bloomberg NEF estimates that electric truck sales in China are up nearly 80% and are on pace to account for roughly a third of all heavy-duty sales. Truck maker Scania expects that momentum to carry into next year, forecasting that EV trucks will make up half of sales at the start of 2027. So it’s speeding up plans to make battery-powered trucks at its first wholly-owned Chinese plant, which opened last year.

CATL EXPANDING HEAVY-DUTY BATTERY SWAPPING
And this surge in demand is why battery maker CATL is expanding its efforts in heavy-duty battery swapping and not just in China. It also has a deal with DHL and Octopus Energy to build a European battery swapping network for big trucks.

CATL REVEALS EV TRUCK RANGE EXTENDER
And speaking of CATL and electric heavy-duty trucks, it just unveiled a new range extender. The 77 kWh battery pack is mounted behind the cab and while CATL didn’t reveal how much range it provides, it’s meant to be paired with the company’s battery swapping technology. The setup aims to match the operational efficiency of a diesel truck and lower an operator’s Total Cost of Ownership.

REFRESHED G-CLASS NOT COMING UNTIL 2032
We’ve got some great future product intel from Autoforecast Solutions. It reports that Mercedes is going to redesign the G-Class, but not until 2032. It will stay on the same platform, but will get a complete redesign and will stay in production at the Magna assembly plant in Austria until 2039.

CAR PRICES UP LESS THAN HOUSING, MEDICAL & EDUCATION
The Center For Automotive Research or CAR in Ann Arbor did a deep dive into new car pricing in the U.S. market and came up with some unexpected findings. On an inflation-adjusted basis, new car prices are up only 8% since 2002. And for passenger cars, inflation-adjusted prices are actually down 16%. Prices for new vehicles have gone up less than housing, medical care, education and child care. CAR points out that “today’s vehicles are safer, more powerful, more fuel-efficient, and equipped with technology – from advanced driver assistance systems to full connectivity – that did not exist two decades ago.” So why all this talk about an affordability crisis? CAR says you have to look at the total cost of ownership. Insurance costs have soared, and so has fuel, maintenance and financing costs. People are also spending more on other things, which is impacting what they can afford to spend on a new car. As a result, the new car market is becoming more dependent on people with higher incomes. It found that the top 20% of high-earning households now account for 55% of new car sales, the highest it’s ever recorded.

WAYMO HAS BIG GROWTH PLANS
We’ve been following the growth of robotaxis this year and Waymo has ambitious goals. Currently, it has 4,000 robotaxis in its fleet, but Semafor reports the company plans to expand that to 8,000 by the end of this year and 20,000 by the end of next year. It will use the $5 billion it raised earlier this month from lenders to help pay for the expansion. Waymo currently operates in 15 U.S. cities and also has plans to expand internationally to London, Singapore, Tokyo and Toronto.

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