Welcome to the Dec. 10 edition of the Daily 5.
Nissan has been in the news quite a bit lately, thanks largely to its rapidly deteriorating financial health. Maybe some fresh product will help: What appears to be a next-generation Nissan electric vehicle will make a significant departure in styling from the outgoing Leaf hatchback, spy photos indicate. Despite heavy camouflage, a crossover-coupe silhouette is evident with short front and rear overhangs. The headlights slightly resemble those on the redesigned Murano midsize crossover and the Armada SUV.
Nissan is set to show a replacement for the Leaf, the first mass-produced EV in the U.S., in 2025. The EV is set to ride on the same CMF-EV platform as Nissan's Ariya compact crossover and Renault Megane E-Tech compact car. It's unclear, however, if the vehicle will retain the Leaf name. "It's still under discussion," Ponz Pandikuthira, Nissan Americas chief planning officer, told Automotive News in October.
Then again, maybe a new EV might not help Nissan so much. According to a new report from Scotiabank Economics, uncertainty could well be the theme for the North American auto industry in 2025. The financial institution said the region's automotive sector is ending this year with plenty of it ― and there is more on the horizon. Among the factors muddying the waters are President-elect Donald Trump's threat of a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, and the possibility that he will repeal the Inflation Reduction Act; a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; a potential "drawn-out and retaliatory" trade war; and "likely [U.S.] regulatory and incentive changes for fuel efficiency standards."
Meanwhile the average price of lithium ion battery packs has fallen the most in seven years, according to a BloombergNEF survey, in a development likely to accelerate price parity between EVs and gasoline-powered cars. The cost of battery packs has dropped 20 percent to $115 per kilowatt-hour in 2024, according to BNEF's annual battery price survey. An overcapacity in cell production, lower metal and component prices and the continued shift to using cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries drove the decline, the survey said.
Overcapacity isn't stopping Stellantis and Chinese battery maker CATL. They're investing $4.3 billion to build one of Europe's largest electric vehicle battery factories in Spain, encouraged by lower costs and government funding. The factory will be built next to Stellantis' car plant in Zaragoza in northeastern Spain and will start producing lithium iron phosphate batteries — also known as LFP — by the end of 2026, the companies said on Dec. 10.
And finally, Toyota will lower the starting price of its redesigned 2025 Toyota 4Runner SUV $435 to $42,220 including shipping, compared with today's two-wheel-drive base SR5 version, part of an effort to further differentiate it from its higher-end platform mate, the Land Cruiser.
That's it for today. Enjoy the rest of your day!
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— Wes Raynal, assistant web editor
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