+++ FORD closed 2024 with staggering losses from its electric vehicle (EV) business, shedding $5.1 billion; an increase from the $4.7 billion lost in 2023. 2025 doesn’t look much better, either, with the company forecasting up to $5.5 billion in losses. Despite the EV unit’s bleak financials, CEO Jim Farley insisted that “Ford is becoming a fundamentally stronger company”. Ford managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations for the fourth quarter of 2024, posting $48.2 billion in revenue, up $2.2 billion year-over-year. Gains from its petrol-powered vehicle sales helped offset net losses from an unprofitable EV business. In total, Ford generated $185 billion in revenue for the year, its highest ever, but its EV segment, Model e, lost approximately $37,000 on every electric vehicle sold in the 4th quarter alone. According to Ford, these losses were driven by pricing pressures and a 35% drop in revenue from its Model e division, which is facing increased competition from rival automakers. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada could further inflate costs for Ford, which builds its popular Mustang Mach-E in Mexico. CEO Jim Farley acknowledged that a few weeks of tariffs would be “manageable”, but prolonged trade restrictions could lead to “a huge impact on our industry, with billions of dollars of industry profits wiped out and adverse effect on the U.S. jobs, as well as the entire value system in our industry”. Elevated costs would also drive prices higher for consumers, Farley said. The potential elimination of Biden-era EV incentives is another looming challenge. If Trump follows through on his promise to end federal EV tax credits, it could further hinder Ford’s ability to compete with market leaders like Tesla and General Motors, both of which have broader and more profitable EV line-ups. While Ford has been slow to introduce new EVs to its line-up, its rival General Motors released several new EV models in 2024 and reported a “positive variable profit” from its electric vehicle sales. Ford, meanwhile, currently offers just 3 EVs (the Mustang Mach-E, the F-150 Lightning and the E-Transit) and had to cancel plans for an electric 3-row SUV. To address these issues, Ford is rethinking its approach. Farley announced that the company is working on new powertrain strategies, including plug-in hybrids and extended-range EVs with small gas engines capable of charging the battery and delivering more than 1.100 km of range. The company is also exploring flexible vehicle platforms to accommodate multiple powertrain options. +++
+++ HYUNDAI is making big moves to boost its struggling electric vehicle (EV) sales in South Korea, rolling out significant price cuts on popular models like the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric. This move comes at a critical time as Chinese automaker BYD enters the South Korean market, intensifying competition for Hyundai and Kia in their home country. Hyundai recently announced sweeping price cuts across its EV line-up, with discounts ranging from 1 million won ($700) to 5 million won ($3.500) for buyers in South Korea. The Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 are now available at a discount of 3 million won ($2.000), while the Kona Electric sees up to 4 million won ($2.700) in savings. Hyundai is also extending these discounts to commercial electric vans and premium models like the Genesis GV60. With these reductions, the Ioniq 5 now starts at approximately $30.700 after factoring in government subsidies and additional incentives. This marks a significant price drop from its previous retail price of $37.400. The discounts are part of Hyundai’s “2025 EV Every Care” promotion, which aims to make EVs more accessible amid a downturn in domestic demand. Despite Hyundai’s global success, particularly in the U.S., where its EV sales continue to climb, the South Korean market tells a different story. In January, Hyundai sold just 75 units of the Ioniq 5 domestically. As a result, the company has decided to halt production of the Ioniq 5 and Kona Electric from February 24 to February 28 at its Ulsan plant to manage excess inventory. South Korea’s automotive market has been hit by political instability and declining consumer confidence. In 2024, Hyundai and Kia both saw domestic sales decline, with Hyundai’s sales dropping 7.5% and Kia’s falling 4.2%. This downward trend raises concerns about their ability to maintain dominance in their home country. Further complicating matters, BYD, the biggest EV maker around the globe, has officially entered the South Korean market. The Chinese giant aims to sell at least 10.000 vehicles in its first year, starting with models like the Seal and Dolphin. BYD’s competitive pricing strategy could disrupt the local market, challenging Hyundai’s grip on South Korea’s EV sector. China’s dominance in EV production is already reshaping the global auto industry, and South Korea is no exception. With BYD’s rapid expansion and cost-effective offerings, Hyundai is facing increased pressure to retain market share. Whether Hyundai’s price cuts will be enough to fend off this new competition remains to be seen. +++
+++ LUCID MOTORS is ready to carve out a new path for electric vehicle makers in the industry. CEO Peter Rawlinson envisions a future where only 20% of the company’s business comes from cars, while the other 80% is focused on licensing its electric vehicle technology to automakers looking to improve and release their EV offerings quickly. Rawlinson compared Lucid Motors’ ambitions to Intel’s role in the computing industry. “Just as there’s an Intel inside your laptop, there’s a Lucid inside a Honda or a Toyota”, he said. Lucid’s luxury EVs aren’t just meant to be sold, they’re meant to showcase what’s possible with the company’s powertrains. “People think, ‘Oh, why didn’t you just be a supplier, Peter?’ Because we need the cars as a shop window for our product”, Rawlinson said. He aims to scale production from about 9.000 cars in 2024 to 1 million per year by the early 2030s. But even at that level, the goal isn’t to flood the market with Lucid Motor branded vehicles: it’s to demonstrate how efficient and powerful Lucid’s technology can be. Lucid Motors has already established itself as an innovator in EV efficiency. The company’s first model, the Air, was the first EV to surpass 800 km of range. The top-tier Air Sapphire boasts 1.234 hp and can hit 100 kph in about 2 seconds. That efficiency extends beyond range and power. Rawlinson emphasized “miles per kilowatt-hour” as a key advantage, pointing out that Lucid Motors’ cars can achieve superior performance with fewer costly battery cells. This efficiency-first approach could be a major selling point for automakers looking to cut EV production costs. Lucid’s transition into a technology supplier is already underway. The company signed a $450 million deal with Aston Martin to provide motors, battery tech, and charging components. Under this agreement, Lucid will manufacture parts in Arizona before shipping them to the United Kingdom. But Rawlinson sees Lucid’s business future differently. Instead of manufacturing components for every customer, he envisions a model where automakers license Lucid’s tech and produce components in-house while Lucid retains control of the encrypted software that powers them. Rawlinson remains cautious about setting expectations, emphasizing that the 80-20 split is more of a vision than a guaranteed business plan. However, he believes that if larger automakers slow their EV development due to shifting policies, Lucid will be well-positioned to step in as the go-to supplier. +++
+++ MITSUBISHI is facing a tough financial year, with the company slashing its net profit forecast by a staggering 76%. The automaker now expects to make just 35 billion yen ($226 million) by the end of the fiscal year in March, a sharp drop from its previous prediction of 144 billion yen. The dramatic revision stems from a combination of factors, including weak wholesale sales, rising supplier costs due to inflation, and higher marketing expenses in North America. The company also lowered its global sales target for the year, now expecting to sell 848.000 vehicles, down from the previously projected 895.000. While this is still an improvement over the 815.000 units sold last year, it signals ongoing struggles, especially in key markets like Thailand and Indonesia. Southeast Asia has long been a crucial region for Mitsubishi, but the automaker is losing ground there. CEO Takao Kato pointed to a steep decline in Thailand’s vehicle demand, which once stood at 1 million units annually but has yet to recover post-pandemic. Household debt and unfavorable exchange rates are worsening the situation, forcing Mitsubishi to restructure its operations in the region, including offering early retirement to 300 employees. Mitsubishi’s strengths lie in plug-in hybrid technology, pickup trucks, and its presence in the Asia-Pacific market; areas that could complement a larger alliance. However, its lack of scale and investment in North American market growth and auto intelligence development leave it vulnerable in an industry increasingly focused on electrification and technology. Despite its struggles globally, Mitsubishi had a relatively strong 2024 in North America, with sales up 26%; the brand’s best result since 2019. The company plans to build on this momentum with an expanded line-up next year. At a meeting with dealers in January, Mitsubishi shared plans to offer “a compact crossover-coupe” electric vehicle next year. +++
+++ NISSAN hasn’t ruled out closing its Sunderland plant as part of a radical restructure of the cash-strapped company after talks with Honda over a merger broke down. Nissan said on 13 February that it will shut three plants globally between now and the end of the 2026 financial year as it works to find savings equivalent to €2,3 billion. It named only its Thailand plant as 1 of the 3 slated for closure. “Given the latest performance of our company and the changing environment, it is essential we explore options without any taboo and carry out a deeper structural reform,” CEO Makoto Uchida said on the company’s latest financial results call. +++
+++ OPEL ’s next-generation Corsa Electric will land in 2026 with a bold new look, dramatically longer range and more upmarket billing. The new model is due to be one of the first cars to ride on parent company Stellantis’s new STLA Small platform; a replacement for the CMP architecture that underpins today’s car, as well as a host of technically related siblings from brands such as Peugeot and Jeep. Able to accommodate hybrid powertrains but designed primarily for EVs, this new skateboard architecture has been engineered to underpin cars that range from the A segment to the C-segment, with a primary focus on Europe. Swapping to this new platform, the 7th-generation Corsa is around 10% larger overall than the car it replaces, according to a source familiar with the new model, and is capable in electric form of travelling much farther on a charge, with a maximum range of 540 km, up from 400 km today. The next Corsa will also be positioned with more of a premium focus while keeping its price range broadly in line with today’s car. This is part of a bid to steal sales from rivals such as the Renault 5 and Mini Cooper E, as well as the upcoming Volkswagen ID.2 and Cupra Raval. The new Corsa will take heavy inspiration from Opel’s radical Experimental coupé concept from 2023, chiefly at the front end, where it will completely forego vents and intakes in favour of a minimalist, smooth treatment that signals its all-electric innards. In place of a conventional grille, the electric Corsa will feature a slick new interpretation of Opel’s ‘Vizor’ motif. Ultra-slim LED headlights will be joined by a wraparound transparent panel that houses an illuminated badge and the sensors for the supermini’s suite of ADAS functions. Like the 2023 concept car, the new Corsa will have a prominent vertical crease running along its bonnet and down its visage, forming a cross-shaped ‘compass’ design with the headlights. This motif will be emulated at the rear and is set to become a defining signature of new-era Opel models. It is understood the German car maker is also looking to tone down its branding for its next generation of cars so the badging is expected to be kept to a minimum. Meanwhile, flush-fitting door handles will contribute to the more minimalist aesthetic and aid aerodynamic efficiency, while new wheels (to be offered no smaller than 19 inch) will be designed to channel air as effectively as possible under the car. The reinvention will be even more eye-catching in the Corsa’s cabin, which will be totally overhauled in line with the brand’s repositioning of its smallest model. The primary objective is to offer functionality and material appeal that cement its new premium billing. Plush recycled textiles will be used extensively throughout the cockpit, it will feature new standard equipment including a panoramic roof and ambient lighting, and there will be a slick new ‘floating’ centre console that frees up space where a transmission tunnel would have been; a benefit of the EV-first STLA platform. There will be no conventional driver display. It will be replaced by a standard-fit head-up display interface, as with the latest Mini Cooper. The Corsa will follow its newer SUV stablemates in adopting a heavily reduced suite of physical buttons and switches. The primary control panel will be that new floating central touchscreen, angled towards the driver for easy on-the-move access in an evolution of the brand’s ‘Pure Panel’ dashboard arrangement. More details of the next Corsa’s technical make-up will arrive around the start of next year, when Stellantis gives a full debrief about the STLA Small platform. But it has already been confirmed to house batteries of up to 82 kWh in capacity and that would seem a likely option for the Corsa, given its top-end 340-mile range. STLA Small retains 400 Volt charging hardware, like CMP, and that will restrict charging speeds compared with more expensive 800 Volt-equipped cars, but the new Corsa is expected to be able to top up more quickly than today’s car, which maxes out at 100 kW. What remains unclear is whether Opel will keep today’s combustion Corsa on sale in its current form alongside the all-new EV or offer an ICE-powered version of the new-generation car. While STLA Small can house hybrid systems, the company is unlikely to invest heavily in a new generation of ICE models when European legislation will force its retirement in a few years, so a heavy visual update of the current Corsa hybrid would seem the more viable option. +++
+++ PEUGEOT is considering reviving the 208 GTi as a hot EV, new boss Alain Favey has said. Favey said bringing the GTi moniker back was “a question I’ve been asking myself very much” since taking over the role of CEO from Linda Jackson as part of a wide-reaching Stellantis management shake-up just 10 days ago, The GTi badge has not appeared on a 208 since the second-generation car arrived in 2019 and it has not adorned a Peugeot car since the 308 GTi went off sale in 2021. The Peugeot Sport Engineered (PSE) sub-brand was originally expected to fill the GTi gap in Peugeot’s line-up, but it was only ever attached to a variant of the 508 and was effectively killed off in December. But when asked during the brand’s E-Lion Day if there were any plans for an e-208 GTi, Favey said: “I am very eager to connect the Peugeot brand with what it stands for to its past, to its heritage in every sense. So we will look back at what the heritage of the brand is and we will see to what extent this can be adapted to the modern world, and there is nothing excluded in our review of this and certainly not the GTi badge, for sure”. It would make sense for any hot models to use the same set up as Lancia Ypsilon HF and Abarth’s 600e, with which the e-208 shares its e-CMP platform. Both send 240 hp through the front wheels and use a limited-slip differential from Torsen. The Abarth 600e is also offered with a 280 hp motor, but this is unlikely to be offered on the smaller e-208, given its positioning. Giving the green light to an e-208 GTi would also be likely to result in a hot version of the Opel Corsa Electric, given the 2 models are twinned. It remains to be seen whether Peugeot or Opel deems an electric hot hatch to be commercially viable, especially as the Corsa and 208 are expected to be replaced next year by new-generation models based on Stellantis’s new STLA Small platform. But given the Abarth 600e proves that the e-CMP platform can easily accommodate a more potent front motor and a performance-targeted chassis makeover, hot versions of the 208 and Corsa could be launched as performance swangsongs for the outgoing generation. +++