VW Strike Becoming More Likely; Ram Reconsiders Mexico Expansion - Autoline Daily 3942

[@Kevriyal5654]

Volkswagen: We need to cut costs or we are going bankrupt. Employee logic: How about a strike to accelerate the decline?

[@rwdplz1]

Volkswagen management: Pays themselves $50,000,000 in bonuses for averting a strike. "We don't have any money for you peasants, we need to cut costs!"

[@4literv6]

Haha the CEO of vag said they need to cut about 17billion in the next couple years just to survive. So the works union council says they can maybe see their way to about $1,600,000,000 in savings! Not even a tenth of the way there. And of course no plant closures and no wage cuts are also being demanded!

[@timothydevries383]

My thoughts exactly. However, long-term unpaid strikes could be beneficial. VW has far too much capacity and could use the downtime to reorganize production.

[@AllanSustainabilityFan]

@@timothydevries383 That's an idea, VW and union heads should sit down behind the scenes and figure out strike logistics that save VW money in the plants that specifically need this downtime haha.

[@juliahello6673]

@rwdplz1 Do the math. In companies that make many billions of dollars a few executives cost practically nothing, but can make the company a huge amount if they make good decisions.

[@TheLastMoccasin]

I love how you cover all the "prototypes" these legacy companies are always releasing and then cover the layoffs due to lack of sales of real products 😂

[@tedg1609]

Good observation!

[@larrys5198]

Ever notice it's always the employees are the ones who have to take the pay freezes and cuts, its never the board or the CEO's.

[@firefox39693]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I love this show.

[@coberfranc]

Just what I want, the smooth lightening acceleration of my super fast electric car, interrupted by fake shifts, really. Jeez.

[@mrjim1973]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" - Ferris Bueller

[@omelborpon3159]

VW's vehicle plans are always "a few years away."

[@HygienistDentist]

We’ll be into something else by the time they get one to the market 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@buntnik]

And a few years behind.

[@russh6414]

Kind of like another electric vehicle company

[@2pdlpwr]

Geesh I hope Hyundai doesnt ruin all their electric cars... NO shifting is the best part of an electric car.. slipping transmitions, studdering, AND GEAR SHIFT, are NOT IN MY FUTURE ev buying list!!. Stop trying to make EV's crappy! Thank you

[@robertlaveyra9940]

Car and Driver magazine like that approach but it should be over, now.

[@3184Patrick]

100% agree. im interested in the new Dodge Charger EV but if its mandatory to get the fake exhaust that would possibly end my purchase. I'm not paying more for a EV to make it like a crappy ice car.

[@juliahello6673]

“We did a focus group of 65 year old men and they said Make EVs exactly like gas cars!”

[@Thatdavemarsh]

You’re not wrong, but as a counterpoint, I do prefer my cvt to make subtle steps. Maybe it’s like 24 FPS vs 120. One is better, but if you are used to it, the switch isn’t easy.

[@3184Patrick]

@@juliahello6673yeah I believe that lol. People need to drive a EV for a month and they would not want to have a noisy gas anymore

[@Pernection]

Hyundai does not need to give Amazon money.

[@3184Patrick]

As someone that hates dealing with dealerships and does online shopping for almost everything i think its a very smart idea to sell their products online and through Amazon is genius. My wife is pushing for us to replace her PHEV with a full EV and Hyundai/kia is at the top of the list. Id definitely look at buying through amazon if it ended up same cost as dealer with way less hassle and bs.

[@FrunkensteinVonZipperneck]

Jeff needs new bicep implants 😂

[@junehanzawa5165]

​​@@3184Patrick You still have to deal with a dealer. Our politicians give all the power to the delaers. They force auto manufacturers to only sell to dealers. Amazon is basically acting as a middle person between you and the dealer to fool the customer, but you're paying all the same bogus dealer fees, since you're still buying it from a dealer. That will always the that way until the dealership monopoly ends in America. Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid are the only ones that sell directly to their consumers and service their own vehicles, and politicians and dealers have been fighting them every step of the way making it next to impossible to setup even service centers in your most states.

[@highlanderapparel]

Thank you for the show Sean the Highlander😊

[@sammi5281]

All these companies have priced there cars out of reach of 90% of the world it’s there own fault

[@juliahello6673]

And yet their profits are negligible. So maybe cars just cost a lot to make and sell?

[@phillyphil1513]

re: "All these companies have priced there cars out of reach of 90% of the world it’s there own fault". now remember, you're saying this at the SAME TIME that the fanboys are "breaking their necks" to brag about sales of $100,000 Dollar Cybertrucks, and at the SAME TIME that all 799 examples of the new $4 Million Dollar Ferrari F80 are sold out... unfortunately just because consumers and laymen blind themselves to seeing CONTRADICTIONS doesn't mean the manufacturers blind themselves to seeing CONTRADICTIONS (in fact it's quite the opposite). oddly enough, Lucid CEO Rawlinson is the latest to speak on this whole idea of "racing to the bottom"... not saying it's right or wrong, but simply to say one must get the courage to STARE INTO THE FACE of the "Medusa" known as the unchecked Free Market that they've been voting for, for the last 100 years. hint: if you understand Economic Models, then you understand how it was always destined to CIRCLE BACK to bite you in the a$$ one way or the other. # THE SAND ALWAYS RUNS OUT OF THE HOUR GLASS

[@nextleveljourney6612]

THEIR- are you Gen Z

[@baronvonjo1929]

​@@juliahello6673True part hard to care when executives get ridiculous bonuses. Cars are far too expensive. Yet automakers struggle to make profits. I personally can't wait for a hard reset.

[@dontelindsey5846]

That bumper is super flimsy on that red VW.

[@stefanweilhartner4415]

yes, and it should be this way.

[@2pdlpwr]

Maybe EV's could stink like ICE, too???

[@seniordockman2946]

Not unless EV’s can find a way to also pollute the air and water as much as ice vehicles!

[@robertlaveyra9940]

Does that VW on the assembly line have drum brakes on the rear? They still do that?

[@3184Patrick]

drum rear is actually good idea. I wouldn't be surprised with EV strong regen to go back to drum brakes. they are way cheaper and as a mechanic i can say they last longer with less issues. rear brakes don't do much and on EV's even less.

[@FrunkensteinVonZipperneck]

IDs have drum(stick) brakes

[@schorriemorrie_04]

I looked at the individual auto sales of the 5 countries in Europe where the most EV sales take place; Germany, UK, France, Netherlands and Belgium. Excluding Volvo, I didn't see any Chinese EV wave. If I had to take a guess, they're probably down YTD, the collapse of LYNK & CO sales aren't sufficiently compensated by the gains of others like BYD. The ACEA is not reporting on Chinese OEMs, not because they're not members of the ACEA, like Autoline daily suggested, Chinese SAIC, Tesla and Mazda are not members, and they report on them, but because their sales are really low. The Chinese EV imports from non-Chinese brands are probably dominated by Teslas, and they are down also. So it looks like they're essentially just talking about Volvo when they're talking about Chinese EV competition in Europe, and Volvo is indeed seeing a huge growth in market share. The majority of vehicles sold by SAIC/MG come with an ICE, so they're even less of an EV brand than Volvo.

[@nicholasglade4572]

All these models are too expensive. By the time you add insurance and financing your looking at a thousand a month.

[@phillyphil1513]

re: "By the time you add insurance and financing your looking at a thousand a month". maybe even $2000 when you consider the so called "low cost" lease on a Cybertruck is $999 per month. oh and don't forget that monthly rate is AFTER "coming off the dime" of a CCR (Capitalized Cost Reduction) of $7500 bucks..

[@robertlaveyra9940]

This is great coverage, thanks.

[@MiguelAngelLozanoOrtiz]

I don't like ads in the middle

[@NewYorksFinest1]

Question: what's going on with the 2025 VW id4? What will happen to the 2024 ID4s?

[@charlesrovira5707]

Thanks *Mr. McElroy.* Informative as always.

[@kevtheobald]

The German workers have enjoyed high wages and protection for decades, but the globalization of profit before people and the rise of the manufacturing abilities of other lower wage areas of the world have eaten away at the economic support needed to keep those high German wages. People focus on EVs and that us partly due to China pushing EVs, but China has been making more and more ICE parts for all sorts of major Western builders. The general public in Western nations have this twenty years ago view of what the Chinese can do. Which is funny considering all the tech built in China and bought by people in Western nations. I guess few bother to figure out where their products are made. The lack of awareness has allowed the CEOs of Western builders to lean harder and harder on cheap Chinese manufacturing to boost profits so their stock option driven pay packages grow to unreal levels. Wall Street is about profits today, even if it hurts the future. This is why CEOs seem to lack the ability to plan for the long haul. The German unions will have little real leverage. They might slow the layoffs and shutdowns some, but the kind of changes really needed will never be accepted by them. When 2040 hits, we are likely to seemany of brands we know today are gone or at least owned by Chinese corporations.

[@rickhammond2473]

The ICE cars are finished and so are the legacy auto makers.Give GM till 2030 and they will be bankrupt.

[@kevtheobald]

@rickhammond2473 GM might live on if government leaders give them even more taxpayers dollars. We preach survival of the fittest, but the US leadership seems to bail out the bloated companies over and over again.

[@rickhammond2473]

@@kevtheobald NOT this time around

[@stickynorth]

Guess that near idled plant at Belvedere is kinda useful after all isn't it? I suspect this is where you'll see the next announcement from Stellantis about American production... Funny how fast history can change...

[@jeffs6090]

There will be a phev for the Tiguan, and they literally said we should get it in NA in 2025!

[@silveradodedel]

You didn’t cover the Jaguar commercial/ advertisement

[@ashishpatel350]

he did yesterday

[@garydmercer]

Want to cut costs? Start with executive salaries first

[@1HeatWalk]

EVs are way more simple with less moving parts compare to its ICE counterparts. There is no reason for them to be charging so much for EVs but greed.

[@Roddy451]

I'll Be Bak...

[@saintkamus14]

Aren't those "IG METAL" guys the gangsters trying to get Tesla to join an union, "or else"?

[@juliahello6673]

This is why unions are a bad idea. In theory they would take into consideration the good of the company since that ultimately benefits the workers. In reality, it morphs into zero sum game attitudes where the company is seen as the enemy and anything that hurts it is good, or at least neutral.

[@georgeburns7251]

Yes, unions hate the companies that they work for. Like Americans hate America and elect a felon to ruin it.

[@tedg1609]

A civil war inside the company

[@HygienistDentist]

If Jeep sees a strong demand for one!? I’m here waiting for them to bring it out. I had to buy a Tesla in the meantime

[@Anderskars]

Seriously? You can't foresee anything..

[@davidmenasco5743]

Here's some background on the difficulties of the German auto industry: If you follow folks like Jeffrey Sachs, Richard Wolff, or John Mearsheimer, you will know that the US foreign policy establishment (so to speak) has been stalking Russia for over 20 years, and basically forced the war in the Ukraine, and this in turn forced a break in economic relations between Europe and Russia. This break in relations has caused massive strife in Europe due to a sudden large increase in energy costs. The energy costs have raised the cost of manufacturing, making it impossible to meet expected price targets, while the population has been burdened with high energy costs as well. This is surely not the only factor, but is a key driver of the woes of the European and especially the German auto makers, and their suppliers. I'm no fan of Trump, but if he can repair relations with Russia, it might actually save manufacturing in Europe.

[@tommihelich2613]

Sachs has been employed by Russia. Wolff is an unreconstructed Marxist. Mearsheimer wants to blame the West for having the audacity of placing NATO right up against Russia. All three are basically apologists for Russian expansion. At what point do you tell the Russians NO!? Apparently when Vladimir invades Ukraine.

[@Freedom_from_imp]

Northvolt was created to wane European auto makers off Chinese batteries. I knew the company was not viable from the start. Their technology is years behind and they could never be competitive considering where the batteries are being manufactured.

[@deancade9682]

It's so funny, as Tesla just has to wait, and many vehicle and battery manufacturers will be gone. Europen unions will destroy their jobs.🤣

[@PhanoftheShow]

VW America has to be the most clueless out of touch brand in North America next to Honda and Stellantis

[@nickayivor8432]

Enjoy your weekend with all your family around you and everyone else 👍 WELL-INFORMED,Sean McElroy Autoline Network Take care,Sir From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧 ⏰️ 20::44PM Good Evening

[@1225KPH]

That's PRESIDENT Trump.

[@TheJ1s]

I don't have high hopes for VW anymore, I truly thought they be the one to truly rival Tesla but they don't seem to want to let go of ICE vehicles, or do hybrids. Now that Musk is part of one the offices, many automakers just got scared.

[@Pernection]

Nor should they let go.

[@jamesvandamme7786]

@@Pernection They should get into buggy whip manufacturing.

[@FrunkensteinVonZipperneck]

@@jamesvandamme7786 Ooh! Beat me daddy! Eight to the bar❤

[@rp9674]

Hybrid - like that's a new great thing

[@johnsullivan8673]

Northvolt….lol

[@davidgrisco1939]

Thank goodness the woke era is over...make autos great again!

[@TeslaRoadtrips]

lol make North America a one bit, obsolete geographic truck market. hooray

[@taniabanes4707]

@@TeslaRoadtrips Trucks rule, like it or not

[@TeslaRoadtrips]

@@taniabanes4707 here, Brazil and Thailand. thats it 🤣🤣

[@pauld6967]

800 cycles of fast charging is great if you only fast charge once a week. However, if you are one of those Uber or Lyft drivers that are charging up practically every day, 800 cycles isn't so great.

[@jamesvandamme7786]

Just got to pick the battery that suits your use. 800 charges would last me the rest of my life.

[@3184Patrick]

if most new EV's are 350miles of range times 800 cycles is 280,000miles...

[@rp9674]

An EV charge cycle is the process of fully charging and then fully discharging an electric vehicle (EV) battery

[@pauld6967]

@@3184Patrick That's a big IF. The majority of EV types whose stats I have looked at are in the 200 to 250 mile range. Again, it is a matter of how often one fast charges. If it is once a week, you will go over 15 years before the degradation hits. If it's once a day (not inconceivable for an Uber/Lyft driver) however, that degradation hits in a little over 2 years. Yes, that is better than dropping off after a single year and I would be in the 15 year user category. That doesn't change the fact that I would like to see 1,600 cycles instead of 800.

[@pauld6967]

@rp9674 That is your definition. It is not certain this is the definition of "a charge cycle" used by the battery manufacturer. I know people who consider "a charge cycle" as the process of driving up to a DC unit, plugging in and topping up with no consideration whatsoever of the battery's state of charge when they plugged in nor how full it is when they decide to unplug and get back onto the road.

[@JimmyPham-i3q]

Kia ev9 has 501 hp not 500

[@creamy9000]

pedantic

[@taniabanes4707]

American jobs back to America and Mexicans back to Mexico, Trump’s the best 🇺🇸

[@unclegeorge7845]

I wonder whos going to harvest the vegetables and build the houses?

[@taniabanes4707]

@@unclegeorge7845 I didn’t know they grew vegetables in NYC’s high end hotels, in parks or underneath freeways

[@user-wz8hp2ix9f]

How Americans can afford UAW made products?

[@unclegeorge7845]

@@taniabanes4707 A: When was the last time you were "in NYC’s high end hotels, in parks or underneath freeways"? B: I'd suggest (Pun Warning) that the fruit is much lower in agricultural areas of our country and governments know how to pick the low hanging fruit. C: When you're in one of those "NYC’s high end hotels" take notice of almost all of the service personnel. Jam packed with people of Canadian, Irish and German citizenship? Right.

[@unclegeorge7845]

@@user-wz8hp2ix9f By working as a member of UAW labor force.

[@brianjurko9085]

Typical Canadians, focussing only on Anodes and completely ignoring Diodes. Pure elitist nonsense.

[@DanBurgaud]

VW = bye bye

[@rp9674]

I think the union hate comes from corporate worship, jealousy or greed / cheapness, people that wouldn't want to pay $100 more for a car someone to have a better life

[@juliahello6673]

The UAW was asking for factory workers to have a wage that was equivalent to the wages of General Practitioner doctors. And for a job that only requires a GED.

[@phillyphil1513]

@@juliahello6673 re: "The UAW was asking for factory workers to have a wage that was equivalent to the wages of General Practitioner doctors." okay well is that a reflection that a Factory Worker is being paid too much...? or is it a reflection that Doctors are being paid too little...? see the truly astute person will take the time to look at things DIELECTRICALLY before they just assume they have the correct interpretation of the problem (because you might not).

[@nguyep4]

​@@phillyphil1513keep demanding higher wages then corporations will keep increasing prices on the products. Hospitals will pass the cost to their patients. Unions get pay from their members, higher wager, higher their profit. Unions are mostly for themselves, the admins.

[@andrewm2002]

VW closing plants in Germany while building one in South Carolina... Not a great look. Maybe close your Chinese plants first. I gotta stand with the German workers on this one. They weren't responsible for the terrible management decisions

[@FrunkensteinVonZipperneck]

VW will provide equal opportunity - close plants EVerywhere😂

[@tedg1609]

Actually, the unions got Deitz fired. He was the one chance VW had to make modern cars :/

[@MarkMeszarosYNG]

I still feel Tessla a will lose customers due to elon's politics! And full self-driving will never happen!

[@rodrigogaya5276]

I'm pretty sure it's already happening, supervised or not 😂

[@davidsc4680]

Come on Mark, make us all happy and short TSLA!😂

[@robfelts8076]

He will and definitely has lost customers because of his actions and politics. He's also gained a lot too. Elon is not as shortsighted as some suspect. He's not a nice guy, but he's no dummy either.

[@bobbbobb4663]

@@davidsc4680Why doesn’t Musk buy shares if this price is soooooo cheap?

[@TheLastMoccasin]

@@bobbbobb4663 He's broke from buying Twitter (and the election) 🤣