AD #4405 – Volvo Cutting Even More Jobs; Union Threatens Strike Against VW; U.S. Military Bans BYD Cars in Japan

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VOLVO CUTTING EVEN MORE JOBS
2026 has not been a good year for Volvo and that continued in the third quarter with the automaker announcing another half a billion dollars in cuts. It sold a little over 141,000 vehicles, down 11%. That drop, paired with lower transaction prices and higher material costs, sent Volvo’s revenue down 23% in the third quarter. Its operating income fell over 187% and net income dropped 226%. As a result the company says it needs to cut another 2,500 white-collar jobs and an undisclosed amount of blue-collar jobs so it can adapt to its current sales volume. Volvo will also consolidate its production to 5 plants, while 2 additional facilities in Belgium and China are exploring building cars for Geely. Not only will Volvo likely make cars for Geely, but its vehicles are going to start sharing a lot more with Geely vehicles, including supplier bases. Volvo hopes these moves will improve its breakeven point and cash flow and it expects to see the full benefits by the end of next year.

BOSCH SPINS OFF PARTS BUSINESS
Bosch, which is the largest automotive supplier in the world, is going to separate its car parts business called Bosch Mobility, into its own limited liability company, while still remaining fully-owned by the Bosch Group. Bosch says it doesn’t plan to list or sell the Mobility business. But it’s losing ground to Chinese competitors in the transition to EVs, software and AI and it says this new structure will allow it to “respond more quickly to market trends in the future” as well as align its operations with new customer needs. The auto parts business is a major part of the Group. It accounted for 60% of its revenue last year and it employs more than half of Bosch’s 413,000 workers. But Mobility’s operating margin dipped to 1.8% in 2025 down from 3.8% the prior year. And Bosch says it needs to close an annual cost gap of nearly $3 billion to hit its profitability targets.

             

STELLANTIS TAKES AV VANS TO PARIS
Stellantis says it’s going to start testing fully autonomous vans around Paris. It’s working with AI company Wayve and NVIDIA to build the autonomous platform and with Bolt and Pony.ai to launch the robotaxi service sometime in 2028. By the end of the decade Stellantis hopes to be operating in 30 municipalities around Paris. It also plans to launch these autonomous vans globally with its partners, which also includes Uber.

BAIDU STARTS ROBOTAXI TESTS IN LONDON
And in related news, Chinese robotaxi company Baidu and Freenow, which is a unit of Lyft, are now testing in London. The companies unveiled Baidu’s RT6 in the city yesterday and they’re aiming to launch a robotaxi service next year. The city is becoming a hotspot for robotaxis. Wayve and Uber launched services in September and Waymo plans to launch by the end of the year.

BAIC PARTNERS WITH CATL FOR BATTERY SWAPPING
Chinese automaker BAIC has teamed up with battery maker CATL to significantly expand battery swapping across its lineup. They’re aiming to have one million vehicles with the technology but did not reveal a timeline to reach that target. BAIC will integrate multiple brands with CATL’s “Choco” swap technology and open CATL swapping stations at its dealerships in China. In addition to that the two companies will collaborate on vehicle and battery development, infrastructure construction and battery management.

GERMAN UNION THREATENS STRIKE AGAINST VW
The showdown between Volkswagen and IG Metall is heating up. The German union is threatening to go on strike if VW doesn’t walk back several labor agreements it cancelled. IG Metall says the automaker gave it notice that it’s terminating 10 of 13 collective agreements by the end of the year, which would put issues like pay, working hours, bonuses and staffing rules back up for negotiation. The union is giving VW until the end of the month to reinstate the agreements or it will go on strike in January. The Volkswagen Group is trying to slash costs anywhere it can as its struggles with the EV transition and growing Chinese competition.

U.S. MILITARY BANS BYD CARS IN JAPAN
And speaking of disputes, the U.S. military has banned BYD vehicles from an air base in Japan over security concerns. Military officials are worried that cameras and sensors in BYD’s cars could collect security info from the base. In June, U.S. government officials placed the automaker on a list of companies that it suspects is aiding the Chinese military. We’ve seen this happen before. Back in 2021, China banned Tesla vehicles from government and military sites over similar security concerns.

FORD ADDS OFF-ROAD TRIM TO MACH-E
Ford is dropping the standard range battery pack from the Mustang Mach-E and adding a new off-road trim, called Trail, for the 2027 model year. The 72 kWh battery will no longer be the base pack. That gets replaced with the 88 kWh battery, while a 91 kWh version is available on the GT and Rally trim. The new Trail trim is a nearly $2,300 package for certain AWD versions that adds specially tuned suspension with additional ride height, plus the steering rack, 19-inch wheels, and Michelin tires from the Mustang Mach-E Rally. You can order a 2027 Mach-E now with a starting price under $40,000, without destination charges, but the new Trail trim won’t arrive until Q1 of next year.

FIAT’S 4-SEAT URBAN CONCEPT
Here’s a cool-looking Fiat concept from the Paris auto show that we missed. The Multiplina is a small urban vehicle that’s meant for short trips, but still has enough room for four people. I think of it like a four passenger version of the Fiat Topolino. They even have some similar styling, but somehow it also looks like a tiny, new-age version of the VW Bus.

Don’t forget we’ll be posting the next installment of Lessons from the Masters with Chris Theodore later this afternoon. Now everyone will be getting into the world of engineering, but our YouTube and Patreon members are a week ahead, as a thank you for all your support.

And that brings us to the end of this show and this week. Thanks for tuning in and I hope that you have a great weekend.