+++ A few short years ago, the idea of an all-electric car from the BMW M brand sounded like sacrilege, but such a car is in the works, and based on statements made by the M division’s boss, it will be extraordinary. BMW has been working on a powerful, quad-motor setup for quite some time and is expected to launch its first Neue Klasse-based performance sedan in 2026 or 2027. It will be sold alongside the combustion-powered M3 and M boss Frank van Meel has said the powertrain is good for as much as 1.360 hp. Van Meel says: “the new EV will beat everything you have ever seen”. To achieve such a lofty statement, BMW is developing its own electric motors and believes that like the S68 engine of the M5 and the S58 of the M3 and M4, its e-motors “will be a benchmark”. The new electric performance sedan from the German brand will be the fastest accelerating car in its history, demolishing the 0-100 km/h sprint in less than 3 seconds. The e-motors could be water and oil-cooled, and an 800 volt electrical architecture will enable ultra-fast DC charging. Van Meel has also revealed that the batteries will have a different chemistry than those of other Neue Klasse models and that they will have an improved cooling system. The use of electric motors won’t just allow BMW to chase monumental power figures. The automaker has engineered a system that can control the car’s chassis and precisely alter the torque at each wheel, improving the car’s dynamics and making BMW “feel like Alice in Wonderland,” according to van Meel. BMW’s M boss added it will have “neutral, linear, and predictable” handling. BMW is also considering a two-motor performance EV that is sold exclusively with rear-wheel drive. This model would use similar hardware and software but have less grunt than the quad-motor version. A fully-fledged M version of the first Neue Klasse X SUV could also be a future addition to the firm’s EV family. +++
+++ Legacy U.S. automakers such as Ford and General Motors should leave the CHINA market to preserve capital amid the costly electric vehicle (EV) transition, a leading auto analyst said. “I think you have to see the Detroit Three exit China as soon as they possibly can”, said John Murphy, Bank of America Securities analyst, at his annual presentation of “Car Wars”; a closely watched industry report. Murphy’s guidance for the Big Three came during a discussion of the harsh cost-cutting measures they would have to take to be competitive with EV manufacturers like Tesla, as well as carmakers abroad. In response to slower-than-expected EV sales, Ford, GM and Jeep-maker Stellantis have focused on cost cutting in all segments of their business. The Big Three will likely have to take more drastic measures to shave off spending, Murphy warned, especially in the automakers’ petrol-engine operations, which provide the bulk of profits today. “Very aggressively manage your core business. And it’s really some tough medicine. There’s a lot of really hard work to do here”, Murphy said at the event. China, the largest automotive market in the world, has proven inhospitable for many foreign automakers, especially in recent years. It is difficult to overcome the strength of Chinese companies on their home turf, Murphy and other analysts noted. Buyers’ loyalty to homegrown brands there is strong, and may become even stronger after the U.S. imposes a more than 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, effective August 1, Murphy said. Ford and GM’s sales in China have slipped over the last decade. The region used to be GM’s largest market, and the automaker is now fighting to post profits there. Ford, noting fierce competition from rivals such as BYD and Geely, is transforming its China business to become an export hub. +++
+++ FISKER is headed towards a liquidation, attorneys said in U.S. bankruptcy court on Friday, as 2 creditor factions previewed a battle over which group will be paid first. Fisker filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware last week after burning through cash in an attempt to ramp up production of its Ocean SUVs. The company initially said it would seek additional financing and continue “reduced operations”, but Fisker’s attorney Brian Resnick said at the hearing in Wilmington the company does “not currently anticipate being able to obtain financing”. Resnick told bankruptcy judge Thomas Horan that the company planned to liquidate its assets, and it has reached a tentative deal with a single buyer for all of its 4.300 vehicles. The California-based company, founded by automotive designer Henrik Fisker, was never profitable, with about $273 million in revenue in 2023 and a net loss of $940 million. Fisker owes over $850 million to 2 groups of bondholders, and attorneys for the larger group accused a minority faction led by Heights Capital Management of seizing control of Fisker’s debt in November through a “suspect” transaction with Fisker. At the time, Fisker was late in providing audited financial statements due under its debt agreements, and Heights used that “minor, technical default” to claim all of Fisker’s assets as collateral on its bonds, Alex Lees, an attorney for other bondholders, said. “They basically handed the whole business over to Heights”, Lees told Horan. “Fisker has been liquidating outside of this court’s supervision, basically for one creditor’s sole benefit”. Lees said that Fisker should have filed for bankruptcy in November. His group intends to challenge the November agreement that put Heights at the front of the line for repayment in Fisker’s bankruptcy, Lees said. Heights’ attorney Scott Greissman said Lees’ claim was “outrageous” and that Heights tried to help Fisker survive. “There may be a lot of disappointed creditors, but none more than Heights”, Greissman said. Greissman said the expected sale of Fisker’s fleet would pay only a “fraction” of Heights’ $185 million in debt. That would leave little hope of repayment for other creditors. Linda Richenderfer, an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s bankruptcy watchdog, said Heights appeared to hold all the leverage, making it likely that Fisker’s bankruptcy would convert to a straightforward Chapter 7 liquidation once the vehicle fleet is sold. Heights “is getting everything it wants”, Richenderfer said. “It has no reason next week to agree to anything more”. Fisker’s fate was sealed in March, when it failed to reach a partnership with Nissan. Before that failed, Fisker paused production and laid off staff to conserve cash, Resnick said. The hyper-competitive EV market has seen several companies, including Lordstown and Electric Last Mile Solutions, file for bankruptcy in the past 2 years as they grappled with weakening demand, fundraising hurdles and operational challenges from global supply chain issues. +++
+++ A new car manufacturing plant by HYUNDAI , under construction in the U.S. state of Georgia will prioritize producing electric vehicles despite a temporary fluctuation in market demand, the company’s CEO said Monday. “Even though the demand for electric vehicles is temporarily fluctuating more than expected, we believe our direction toward electric vehicles is correct”, said Chang Jae-hoon, president and CEO of Hyundai, when asked by reporters in Seoul on how the company plans to operate Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), which is currently under construction in Georgia. “For now, electric vehicles are the top priority”, Chang said. The Hyundai CEO was attending a business event hosted by the Georgia governor Brian Kemp, who was visiting Korea to promote his state’s strong business ties with Korean companies. Georgia has successfully attracted high-profile investments from big Korean businesses, such as Hyundai and LG in recent years. HMGMA is scheduled to be completed in the 4th quarter. The company also plans to produce hybrid vehicles at the plant. “Georgia is not only a key area for our company but also the region where the most Korean companies have expanded, making it significantly important in terms of investment scale”, Chang added. During his Korean trip, which began last week, Kemp also met with key executives of other Korean businesses, including those of SK Group and LG Group. Hyundai Motor and SK On, SK Group’s battery arm, are also building a battery plant in Georgia with an annual production capacity of 35 gigawatt hours. SK On is also operating 2 of its own plants in Georgia. +++
+++ Various reports might help with filling in some of the blanks in MITSUBISHI ’s Momentum 2030 plan. That’s the automaker’s new initiative we heard about last month that Mitsubishi North America president and CEO Mark Chaffin said is “setting the stage for new powertrains and vehicles being introduced, new dealerships being opened, and new technologies being developed to make the shopping and ownership experience faster, easier and more enjoyable”. The first hints of new product suggested a rugged plug-in hybrid van, something else in the Subaru Outback segment, and perhaps an electric pickup. And after Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance partner Nissan introduces a new-generation Leaf for the 2026 model year, Mitsubishi’s supposed to get the Leaf for its own use. Based on a recent trademark renewal, this EV (highlighted in the image) could be called Lancer Sportback. Mitsubishi renewed a trademark application for the name Lancer Sportback at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 12 of this year. And speaking of Lancers, the Japanese automaker applied to trademark Lancer Evolution on August 8 last year. That’s still under consideration. The automaker’s been reusing names around the world of late, such as Colt, ASX and Eclipse (Cross). Mitsubishi’s renewed the trademark application for the name Montero too, submitted last August and approved in February. The new Leaf is expected to be a mini Ariya based on Nissan’s Chill-Out concept from last year’s Tokyo Mobility Show. Before the Lancer Sportback returns, we’ll be looking for a small PHEV crossover debuting in late 2025 to replace the current Space Star, which ends production in the latter half of this year. +++
+++ POLESTAR ’s chairman plans to step down as part of a broader board shuffle for an electric vehicle maker battling operational challenges and stock woes. Håkan Samuelsson, the former chief executive officer of Volvo Car, will be replaced as board chair by current director Winfried Vahland, Polestar said in a statement. Another board member, Carla De Geyseleer, won’t stand for re-election at the upcoming annual shareholder meeting, the company said. Polestar has proposed Christine Gorjanc and Xiaojie Shen as new directors. The changes come amid a steady, 2-year-long decline in the share price. Since its New York listing via a blank-check merger in 2022, Polestar has been struggling with operational challenges, including the manufacturer’s slower-than-expected ramp up and a cooling demand for EVs. Last month, Nasdaq warned the company it could be delisted after management failed to file a 2023 annual report with the US securities regulator on time. Samuelsson was a driving force in the stock market listings of both Polestar and Volvo. Earlier this year Volvo distributed a large part of its Polestar stake to shareholders (namely entities of parent company Geely) to relieve some of the pressure on its own balance sheet. Since the listing, the EV maker has repeatedly tapped its largest owners for funds. When the share transfer and new ownership structure was announced in February, chief executive officer Thomas Ingenlath said it would give Polestar “a more defined and diversified ownership structure” and position it as a “strong, more independent brand” in the Geely ecosystem. Despite the measures, Polestar’s shares have slumped another roughly 69% this year, giving the carmaker a market valuation of $1.5 billion. +++
+++ TOYOTA has decided to postpone the launch of the new Crown Estate model, originally scheduled for late July, due to the company’s irregularities surrounding the model certification required for mass production, it was learned Friday. This decision has been communicated to major dealerships nationwide. Toyota is currently investigating the certification fraud and has deferred obtaining new certification. The revised launch date has yet to be decided, and production at the factory will also be put on hold for the time being. The Crown is one of Toyota’s flagship models, and in 2022, the company announced the release of 4 new variants as the 16th generation of the series. The Crossover, Sport and Sedan models are already on sale. The Estate, initially scheduled for release by March, had already been postponed for further development. A Toyota spokesperson said, “We want to prioritize the investigation into the model certification application and the formulation of measures to prevent reoccurrence”. Toyota announced Friday that it will extend the production halt of 3 models implicated in the model certification fraud until the end of July. Production of the Yaris Cross, Corolla Fielder and Corolla Axio, initially halted until June 28, will now remain suspended. Investigations by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry and Toyota are ongoing, and resumption of production will be decided based on the results. This delay is expected to affect vehicle deliveries. Approximately 100 primary suppliers, directly dealing with parts for the three models, are affected by the production cutback. To compensate for the prolonged suspension, Toyota will prepay the suppliers for ordered parts and support their management. +++
+++ Geely-baked ZEEKR ’s product planning was exposed by Deutsche Bank. This high-end EV brand aims to launch 7 vehicles by 2026, including 4 crossovers, 2 minivans and 1 wagon.
One of the upcoming cars is the 007 Station Wagon, designed for European markets. Zeekr is a high-end EV brand under Geely Group launched in 2021. It has delivered over 67.000 cars to its owners in the first 5 months of 2024. The current Zeekr model line includes X crossover, 001 liftback, 007 sedan and 009 minivan. Soon, the high-end brand from Geely will broaden the model line by 7 cars. According to the leaked product planning, Zeekr will launch 2 vehicles this year. The first one is the Zeekr Mix MPV. It has already applied for a sales license in China. This funky multi-purpose vehicle made its official debut at the Beijing Auto Show 2024. This year, Zeekr will also launch the CX1E (Zeekr Ark) crossover. In 2025, 3 more Zeekr-branded cars will launch in China. One of them is the Zeekr 007 Station Wagon (CC1E), designed for European markets. It is currently in the pre-production stage. The other 2cars are SUVs with codenames EX1E and DX1E. There is not mich information about them. However, the first letter in these models’ codenames can refer to their size class. In other words, the DX1E is a mid-size D-SUV and the EX1E is a large E-SUV. In 2026, Zeekr plans to launch two more models. The first one is a minivan codenamed Beluga. And the second car is the crossover codenamed Grampus. Information about them has yet to be revealed. Meanwhile, I will remind you of some general info about the upcoming Mix, Ark and 007 Station Wagon. The Zeekr Mix is a minivan with dimensions of 4.688 x 1.995 x 1.755 mm. Despite being small, it boasts a sizable wheelbase with a length of 3.008 mm. As a result, it has a spacious interior with a 3+3 seat layout. There also will be options with 5 (2+3) and 4 (2+2) seats. The styling of the Zeekr Mix follows the brand’s latest design language, first introduced by Zeekr 007 sedan. It has a distinguishing Zeekr Stargate interactive led light strip at the front end. It can project images and text. The Mix has a bulky body shape, which helps it to stand out. The powertrain of the Mix comprises a silicon carbide synchronous permanent magnet electric motor for 310 kW and 440 Nm on the rear axle. Its entry-level variant is powered by a 77 kWh LFP battery suitable for 550 km of range. The long-range version offers a ternary NMC battery for 102.7 kWh and up to 712 km range. Both of these packs are CATL-made. The Zeekr Ark (also known by its codename CX1E) is an SUV that stands on the PMA2 platform that also underpins the 007 sedan. This architecture derives from the SEA modular platform created by Geely. The Ark follows the Hidden Energy design language of the mentioned Zeekr sedan. Even the interior of this vehicle stays in line with the 007. Because of lots of similarities, the Zeekr Ark is often called an SUV-variant of the Zeekr 007. The CX1E’s specs have yet to be revealed. However, its body length reaches 4.7 meters. It will likely adopt the same powertrain system as the 007 sedan. Its peak power output reaches 636 hp. The 100 kWh ternary NMC battery pack from CATL supplies power to e-motors. The Zeekr 007 SW (code name CC1E) was previously confirmed to have entered the pre-production stage. There are no official images nor spy shots of this car. However, car enthusiasts made some unofficial render images of the 007 SW. This car is designed specifically for the European market, since station wagons aren’t popular in China. This move from Zeekr underlines how serious their overseas is. +++
