A haunted week ?? : Chilling Q3 results, VW may close 3 German plants & Xiaomi spooked Porsche on the Green Hell

?? This Week In The Mobility World

?? Factories/Manufacturing/Recalls

• Volkswagen Group released its Q3 2024 results last week, confirming the group’s challenging situation: volumes are down, operating results have dropped by 21%, earnings per share are down by 67%, and the slashed financial outlook from late September
• At Audi’s Brussels plant, where Volkswagen Group has already set plans for site closure, the search for a buyer appears to be gaining some optimism. The four-ring brand announced that it is in discussions with a potential buyer, reportedly a commercial vehicle manufacturer, according to Reuters sources. SAIC’s Maxus brand for commercial vehicles could be a potential contender.
• In the US, Ford is pausing the F-150 Lightning production for 2 months following lower demand than expected. An EV market problem? Not that much as the F-150 Lightning is actually being outsold 2:1 by the CyberTruck.
• Stellantis is suing the German OES Brose in the US, saying that the company is abusively increasing its prices, and has been responsible for a two-day shut down at its Windsor factory. It’s the fifth OES sued for its pricing policy by the carmaker this year according to CarScoop.
• Another challenging week for Northvolt: first, payment difficulties emerged for recently laid-off employees, followed by Volvo’s announcement that it would reclaim Northvolt’s shares in their joint venture, NOVO Energy, due to Northvolt’s failure to meet its funding obligations for the project.

???Tech

• We noticed the resemblance between Rivian’s software and what seemed to be embedded in Scout Motors Inc. ’ recently announced models, and our hunch was right: Rivian ’s Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid , confirmed that Scout is indeed leveraging assets from the Rivian-Volkswagen joint venture.
• 10 years after inception: Zoox ’ autonomous shuttle are finally coming into service! Well, only if you’re an employee living in San Francisco or Las Vegas actually. The Amazon-backed start-up is still taking the cautious way, not rushing anything to launch into commercial service. A true milestone in product development, or simply a reaction to the pressure from Waymo and its 150,000 paid trips per week?

???New Car Reveals

From concept to production: 小米科技 reveals the Ultra version of its SU7:

• What better way to showcase its performance against legacy competitors than by breaking the 7-year-old Nürburgring lap record for four-door sedans? Mission accomplished—nearly 9 seconds faster than the previous record held by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
• A true symbol: the €250,000 Taycan surpassed by a Chinese brand whose production model is priced at the equivalent of €100,000.
• Technical specifications are confirmed: refined aerodynamics, a sportier interior with Alcantara and carbon fiber accents (also featured on the exterior), and a whopping 1,548 hp powered by three motors that launch the SU7 from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.98 seconds and 0 to 200 km/h in 5.86 seconds. The battery, sourced from CATL, is optimized to maintain consistent performance even at low charge levels.
• Pre-orders opened now for China, deliveries begin in March 2025.
• In summary: another show of strength from Xiaomi, where technical prowess is matched by the company’s rapid execution. By taking on legacy brands on their own turf, one question remains: when will we see Xiaomi cars in their markets as well?

?? EVs

• In France, a new month, a new drop in passenger cars sales: -11% in October compared to last year. BEV sales share is also dropping compared to last year (23% vs 27%) but again, with many highly anticipated models arriving in dealerships, the most important insights about BEV adoption in France will definitely come from the first 2025 sales figures. Some good news for French EVs though: the Citro?n ?-C3 is topping the charts this month ahead of the Renault Scenic E-Tech and the Peugeot e-208. The Tesla Model Y is only fourth this month. Cocorico!
• Are we at the eve of a pricing war in Europe? With Leapmotor introducing its T03 in Europe and Citro?n having a great start with its ?-C3 topping the charts in France in October, Frandroid spotted that Dacia was aggressively discounting its Spring EV model in countries like Luxembourg or Belgium (Frandroid), with a new entry price now as low as €10k in its 45hp version, an above 30% discount compared to the usual price! An opportunity for car brokers? It’s certainly a topic that will spark discussion: Dacia offering this discount despite the model being impacted by the exceptional customs duty on vehicles imported from China.
• Because yes: tariffs are now official for Chinese EVs imported in the EU, with no changes so far from the European Commission. It’s 10% (regular custom duty) + 17% for BYD, 18.8% for Geely, 35.3% for SAIC, 7.8% for Tesla, 20.7% for any cooperating company (incl. Xpeng, Nio, Dongfeng, Changan, Chery, etc…) and 35.7% for the others.
• Lucid Motors open the orders for its Gravity SUV model on Thursday, with prices starting at around $80k and production poised to start later this year.
• Suzuki will join Volvo Cars’ European CO2 emissions pool this year, exiting the Toyota-Mazda one. Although the compact size of its vehicles helps keep average CO? emissions low, the Japanese brand remains under-equipped in electrified models (with only one, a rebadged Toyota) and is thus compelled to join a CO? pooling arrangement to avoid fines—especially as the CAFE 2025 regulations come into effect.

???Investment/Financial/Legal

• Earlier, we shared Volkswagen’s underwhelming quarterly results, but they weren’t the only ones releasing figures—Stellantis joined in as well. The group is struggling, with net revenue down 27% and volumes down 20%, placing all bets on three major launches: the European debut of LeapMotor and the deliveries of the C3 and 3008. Stellantis boasts impressive order books for these models, with 50,000 and 75,000 orders respectively.

• After Zero Motorcycle’s successful round last week, it’s now Infinite Machine and its futuristic mopeds making headlines with a fresh $6M funding round to fuel its growth, just ahead of its first model, the P1, set to launch in 2025. A hype-driven investment, but for a company whose profile makes it closer to a two-wheeled Tesla than any other competitor in the industry.

See you next Monday!