Welcome to today's edition of the Daily 5.
It's never easy to be a North American auto supplier when you face frequent operational crises, impatient shareholders and cost-cutting customers.
For example, many suppliers who bought into rosy electric vehicle production forecasts from their Detroit 3 customers now face the reality of unmet expectations. So, as Kurt Nagl reports today for our affiliate Crain's Detroit Business, they are considering expanding business to a segment of the EV business that is booming: China.
It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't proposition.
On one hand, doing business with China is fraught with risks from intellectual property theft to global political turmoil. On the other hand, Chinese EV makers can deliver on production forecasts and give you inroads into new business in China and Europe.
Back here in Detroit, battery suppliers are avoiding moonshots and focusing on fundamental execution for EV customers, as Hannah Lutz reports in this story. And, unlike common misperceptions, EV sales in the U.S. are still actually growing — just not as much as expected.
Meanwhile, a few product stories broke over the last day. Chevrolet is updating its full-size Tahoe and Suburban SUVs while Nissan redesigned its Murano crossover with an eye on the future. And last night, BMW unveiled its freshened 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe.
Finally, our partners at Bloomberg did this follow-up on Elon Musk's ambitious plans for producing Tesla robotaxis. This was the focus of Musk's glitzy event last week in Hollywood.
As usual for Tesla's product events, it was grandiose but scant on details.
In short, Musk can't put his robotaxis on the road without federal approval. He also can't make very many of them without violating other U.S. regulations.
Bloomberg's story says: "Automakers must secure permission from NHTSA before putting cars on the road that lack a steering wheel or other controls required by U.S. auto safety rules. If Tesla were to overcome that hurdle — which is by no means guaranteed — it could only put a few thousand robotaxis on the road in a given year, effectively rendering its slick self-driving taxi little more than a niche product."
Shares of Tesla, by the way, fell about 8 percent over the past week.
Looking ahead to Thursday, we'll have another installment in our series on how artificial intelligence is being used in the auto industry.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
