EV Battery Prices Could Drop 50% From 2023; Mexico Tariffs Hurt GM the Most – Autoline Daily 4137
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Three weeks ago, we reported that Jaguar Land Rover was crippled by a cyber attack and had to stop production. Well, it still hasn’t started back up. The Telegraph reports the shutdown could actually last until November, but JLR says that won’t be the case and put out a statement saying it will restart production on September 24th. The attack has impacted the automaker’s entire global operations. And now there’s concern about the financial impact on JLR suppliers, which could lead to job losses if production doesn’t resume soon. We’ve been reporting on how Mexico is going to slow down a flood of imported Chinese cars by slapping them with a 50% import tariff, but Warren Brown, an analyst and forecaster, points out that General Motors will probably be hurt the most by the move. Over 60% of the cars GM sells in Mexico are made in China. Mexico is also putting 50% tariffs on cars from South Korea and India. And GM Mexico sources a lot of cars from there, too. In fact, 77% of GM sales in Mexico come from those three countries. At the end of last year, the International Energy Agency says that the price of an EV battery pack dropped to about $120 per kilowatt hour. And now, Goldman Sachs projects that those prices will continue to fall. It claims by the end of this year battery pack prices will be $111 per kilowatt hour and that by next year they could be around $80 per kilowatt hour. That would be a 50% drop from 2023 and could provide the tipping point for when EVs reach cost parody with IC vehicles. Several factors are all coming together at the same time to help drive down those prices. Energy densities are increasing. Newer battery chemistries are eliminating expensive materials. Lithium and cobalt prices are down. And companies are cutting costs for manufacturing. Ford is moving its world headquarters several miles to the west into a spectacular new building. The current headquarters, nicknamed the glass house, was built in 1956. The new building is officially called the Henry Ford II World Center, but Ford personnel have already nicknamed it the hub. Over its 122year-old history, the Ford Motor Company has had a handful of headquarters. It moved into the first one in 1903 on Mac Avenue in Detroit, but it quickly moved out of there into its new Pquette plant in 1904. In 1910, it moved into the Highland Park plant. Then in 1936 it moved its headquarters to Schaefer Road in Dearbornne which was very close to the Rouge plant. And in 1956 it moved into the Glass House. And then sometime in the second quarter of next year, Ford will move everyone into the new HQ which will also house the company’s design studios. It’s located at the company’s engineering and technical centers. And Ford says 14,000 employees will be within 15 minutes walking distance of the nerve center of the company. At CSP, we work with OEM engineers across the country on their journeys to lighter, safer, and more eco-friendly vehicles. Learn more at thecsp.com. Despite slow sales growth and its stock dropping 15% from an all-time high in February, Bloomberg reports that twothirds of the financial analysts that it tracks now have a buy or equivalent rating on Ferrari. And that’s the highest it’s been since late 2020. In the first half of the year, Ferrari sold nearly 7,100 vehicles, up just 1% from the year before. But its revenue and net profit both rose by 9%. A good portion of that growth was driven by owners spending extra to customize their car. The company is also expanded its lineup with a number of limited edition models which carry a higher price tag. But even with more models, Ferrari is not trying to significantly ramp up sales. True demand for its vehicles is estimated to be two to three times its actual yearly shipments. And that’s why those analysts are expecting Ferrari’s earnings to rise at a double-digit pace in the next 5 years. It’s becoming harder and harder to find factory workers. At the same time, labor costs are becoming more expensive. So, Lear, the giant seat supplier, is pushing to make its factories completely automated without any human intervention. The company is opening an innovation center north of Detroit, which will be able to demonstrate its fully automated production. Lear’s CEO, Ray Scott, says automation is a benefit for humans by taking undesirable jobs and improving ergonomics. But make no mistake, this is also about cutting costs and keeping factories running. And that’s a big goal for many suppliers right now. A new study from financial analytics firm Rapid Ratings found that about 20% of suppliers are in financial distress and that was before the impact of tariffs. With the tariffs, it could lead to a 23% increase in the number of suppliers under financial distress. And because of that, a quarter of suppliers have delayed investments and laid off workers. And another third are considering doing the same moves. According to a survey from MIMA, a group that represents suppliers in the US, Microvision, a company that makes LAR, says it’s cracked the code on how to make it cheaper. Traditional LiDAR has been bulky, power hungry, and expensive, which means it’s been limited to higher-end cars. Movia S flips that script. It’s smaller, ultraefficient, and built with everyday car costs in mind. The company’s new triar splits the workload between short and long range sensors, just like the industry used to do with radar and cameras. That means easier packaging. Think behind the windshield or in the grill instead of a big box on the roof and at much lower cost. Microvision says the nextG sensors will come in under $200 for short range and about 300 bucks for long range when production kicks off in 2028. If they can hit those targets, LiDAR could finally move beyond luxury and premium cars and find its way into more mainstream models. And that wraps up today’s report. Thanks for watching Autoline Daily. [Music] Autoline Daily is brought to you by Alex Partners, when it really matters. CSP, the composits solution partner, Intrepid Control Systems, Over-the-air Engineering, Boost Your Game, and thanks to the following YouTube and Patreon members. We help businesses respond decisively to their most critical challenges. From urgent performance improvement to enterprisewide transformation, we work across the full value chain in automotive and in industrials, helping clients navigate disruption, drive innovation, and unlock sustainable growth. Alex Partners, when it really matters. Developing today’s vehicles, issues can happen in an instant. 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Autoline reports breaking global car news, with great insight and analysis. Also, top auto executive interviews. We cover electric vehicles (EV), autonomous vehicles (AV) and internal combustion engine technology (ICE), as well as car sales & financial earnings and new car reviews.
0:00 JLR Still Crippled by Cyber Attack
0:43 Mexico Tariffs Hurt GM the Most
1:22 EV Battery Prices Could Drop 50% From 2023
2:15 Ford Moving Its Headquarters
3:47 Wall Street Giddy About Ferrari
4:50 Lear Developing “Lights Out” Factories
5:30 20% of Suppliers in Financial Distress
6:09 MicroVision Targets Cheaper Lidar
Story Links:
JLR Still Crippled by Cyber Attack: https://www.reuters.com/en/jlrs-uk-factory-stoppage-cyber-attack-stretches-three-weeks-2025-0
Mexico Tariffs Hurt GM the Most: https://highspeedrodeo.substack.com/p/mexicos-50-auto-tariffs-will-bite
EV Battery Prices Could Drop 50% From 2023: https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/electric-vehicle-battery-prices-are-expected-to-fall-almost-50-percent-by-2025
Ford Moving Its Headquarters:
https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/new-ford-world-headquarters
https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/the-many-homes-of-ford-on-the-american-road
Wall Street Giddy About Ferrari: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-16/ferrari-analysts-are-the-most-bullish-they-ve-been-in-five-years
Lear Developing “Lights Out” Factories: https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/suppliers/an-lear-launches-manufacturing-center-0915/
20% of Suppliers in Financial Distress: https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/an-trump-tariffs-manufacturing-sentiment-0915/
MicroVision Targets Cheaper Lidar: https://microvision.com/sensors/movia-s
Read the transcript here: https://www.autoline.tv/daily/ad-4137-ev-battery-prices-could-drop-50-from-2023-mexico-tariffs-hurt-gm-the-most-jlr-still-crippled-by-cyber-attack/
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