Honda Reveals New Modular Hybrid Platform; Bentley Adding Another SUV – Autoline Daily 4174
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Porsche had a disastrous third quarter. Its profits were down 99% and it actually reported an operating loss. While it shift from EVs, which it already sunk a bunch of money into, played a role in that decline, sales were also down 6%. And China continues to lead the way with deliveries dropping 26% in the third quarter. But one way Porsche hopes to turn that around is by adopting the same in China for China philosophy as parent company Volkswagen. And it just opened a new R&D center in China. That might not sound like a big deal, but this 10,000 square meter facility is the first R&D center that Porsche has ever built outside of Germany. and it will use it to deploy vehicles and tech that are more suited to Chinese consumers. The first will be a new China exclusive infotainment system that launches across several models in the middle of next year. Ford is giving its dealerships a facelift in the hopes of making them more welcoming while also making the buying experience less stressful. With the help of its global dealers, the center of the stores feature an ovalshaped desk that has Ford branded food and drinks, and it’s surrounded by lounge seating and display areas for vehicles. There are traditional desks to talk with the staff, but the stores will now also feature hospitality spaces to go through the buying process. Customers can also build price and continue their purchase online as well. There’s no deadline for dealers to adopt the new look, but anyone opening a new store or going through a renovation will be asked to make the switch. Ford says it plans to have 110 facelifted dealerships by the end of next year across its global network. And in other retail news, Polestar is considering opening dealer operated used car centers as a way to expand its service coverage. Instead of selling directly to consumers like most EV startups, Polestar went with a hybrid approach. It partnered with parent company Volvo to open showroom only stores and to have vehicles serviced at Volvo repair shops. But Polestar only has 32 stores in 19 states, which means some customers have to drive long distances for service or repair. So to get around the problem, Polestar is considering allowing dealers to open their own standalone used car centers with repair shops. A final decision hasn’t been made yet, but one should be made soon. According to the head of the brand in North America, Nissan has been struggling recently and it just posted a net loss for the fifth straight quarter. The automaker sold 773,000 vehicles, down 4.5% compared to last year. That dropped its revenue by nearly 4% to 19.5 billion. The company did manage to post a modest operating profit of 350 million bucks, a 61% gain. However, it posted a net loss of 722 million. Nissan has slashed thousands of jobs and shut down plants in order to cut costs. And it even just sold its headquarters in Japan for more than 600 million bucks to raise cash. And while Nissan struggled in the first half of its fiscal year, it expects to see improvement in the second half. Sales should improve thanks to the introduction of new models. And excluding US tariffs, it expects its operating profit to break even. Ferrari also posted its earnings, and it had a strong third quarter. The sports car maker sold 3,400 vehicles, up 1% from a year ago. Ferrari says ICC models accounted for 57% of sales while hybrids made up the remainder. That brought in€ 1.8 billion e in revenue, a 7% gain. Its operating profit of 503 million is an 8% increase and its net profit was up 2% to 382 million euros. And despite all the volatility in the global auto market, Ferrari should remain stable. The company says its orders are booked through 2027. The automotive and industrial sectors are undergoing a historic transformation. Electrification, digitalization, supply chain reinvention, regulatory shifts. The pace is accelerating and the pressure to adapt is real. This is not a time for hesitation. It’s a time for bold decisions backed by fast, effective execution. You need a partner who understands complexity from factory floors to boardrooms and delivers measurable results. That partner is Alex Partners when it really matters. If I’m reading this right, Honda is going to allow body flex in its nextG hybrids as a way to improve handling. The company revealed plans for a new midsize hybrid platform and a new hybrid system for larger vehicles that will start coming out around 2027. Here’s the line in the release that’s tripping me up. Quote, “By generating vehicle behavior as if the body flexes during cornering, the load put on each tire will be controlled to improve road holding performance. Plus, this picture of the vehicle structure sure looks like the front end is flexing. Let me know what you think. Am I crazy?” Because the sure sounds crazy or do I have it right? Anyway, this is all part of an effort to improve the overall rigidity of its hybrid vehicles. The company lessened the structure in some places and bulked it up in others, but by optimizing that over the entire vehicle, it cut 90 kg or nearly 200 lb compared to its current hybrid platform. The new platform is also much more modular because Honda wants all models built off the platform to share more than 60% of their components, which will improve its production efficiency and drive down costs. Here’s that new hybrid system for large vehicles that I mentioned. It’s specifically targeting a high towing capacity, and that’s one of the reasons this setup will mainly be deployed in the US. Since its primary source of power is a newly developed V6 engine, you can probably expect it to be an option in models that already offer a V6. In combination with new drive units and battery pack, Honda is aiming for over 30% better fuel efficiency and a 10% bump in acceleration compared to the same gas only versions. And speaking of new models, Bentley is coming out with another SUV. While it doesn’t have a name yet, it’s referred to as an urban SUV, so it will be smaller than the Bentega. The only real details we have are that it will be built at the company’s updated home plant in England and will be able to go from zero to 100 miles of range in 7 minutes of charging. That obviously means the new model is electrified, but I’m not convinced it will offer a pure electric option at first. Bentley announced it’s extending the availability of its IC vehicles and talked about how it’s seen positive customer demand for plug-in hybrids. But we’ll know more about the new SUV when it’s fully revealed next year. Bentley also revealed it’s bringing back the Super Sports name. It says the new Super Sports will be the lightest, most driver focused and first rearwheel drive Continental GT ever. Look for the model to debut a week from today. Another company is getting involved in humanoid robots. German supplier Sheffller is forming a partnership with startup Neuroobotics. Sheffller plans to integrate the humanoid robots into its global production by 2035. And while it didn’t say exactly how many it will have, it will be a mid fourdigit number, so presumably around 5,000 units. The two companies will collect production data from Sheffller’s global network, which will be used in AI models to train the robots. Sheffller will also supply the planetary gear actuators for the humanoids which are used in joints for rotational movement such as the shoulders, elbows, knees or wrists. Formula E revealed its nextG race car called the Gen 4. The car is made from 100% recyclable materials and it contains 20% recycled content which is double the current car. It’s also the first openw wheeled race car with active all-wheel drive at all times to help with traction. The new car produces 450 kW or 603 horsepower of peak power, but that can be boosted to 600 kW or 804 horses for overtaking. The race car also features 700 kW for regenerative braking and a battery with a capacity of 55 kwatt hours, a 43% increase over the previous car. The new car will make its debut in the 2026 2027 Formula E season. And before we wrap this show up, don’t forget about Autoline After Hours at 3 PM Eastern time today. We’ll dive deeper into Porsche’s problems, take a look at Uber’s massive robo taxi plans, and try to work out if Toyota’s new concepts could actually make their way to production. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope to see you later. 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. Developing today’s vehicles, issues can happen in an instant. What good is knowing your problems without the data to solve them? Meet wireless Neovi Cloud. Your secure off-the-shelf solution empowering realtime collaboration for quick resolution. With wireless Nevi Cloud, your team can prevent issues before they can escalate. driver communication data and remote diagnostics to analyze and resolve your problems using OTAA, allowing your executives oversight throughout the process. Wireless Neby cloud, your vehicle update solution in production and on the road. Intrepid control systems driven by your data. 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.
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 Porsche Opens 1st Overseas R&D Center
1:07 Ford Dealers Getting a Facelift
2:00 Polestar Considers Adding Used-Car Centers
2:50 Nissan Struggling, But Expects Improvement
3:50 Ferrari Posts Strong Third Quarter
5:18 Honda Reveals New Modular Hybrid Platform
7:08 Bentley Adding Another SUV
7:55 Supersports Returns to Bentley
8:12 Schaeffler Training Humanoids for Production
8:57 New Formula E Cars Get Bigger Battery
Story Links:
Porsche Opens 1st Overseas R&D Center: https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2025/company/porsche-china-research-development-hub-opening-shanghai-41022.html
Ford Dealers Getting a Facelift: https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/New-Ford-Retail-Experience-Enhanced-Customer-Experience
Polestar Considers Adding Used-Car Centers: https://www.autonews.com/volvo/an-polestar-plan-to-expand-service-capacity-1105/
Nissan Struggling, But Expects Improvement: https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/IR/FINANCIAL_RESULTS/ASSETS/DATA/2025/20252nd_summary_821_e.pdf
Ferrari Posts Strong Third Quarter: https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/corporate/articles/ferrari-financial-results-q3-2025
Honda Reveals New Modular Hybrid Platform: https://global.honda/en/newsroom/news/2025/4251106eng.html
Bentley Adding Another SUV: https://www.bentleymedia.com/en/newsitem/1754-bentley-announces-updates-to-beyond100-ambitions
Supersports Returns to Bentley: https://www.bentleymedia.com/en/newsitem/1755
Schaeffler Training Humanoids for Production: https://www.schaeffler.com/en/media/press-releases/press-releases-detail.jsp?id=88136515
New Formula E Cars Get Bigger Battery: https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/762858/formula-e-and-fia-unveil-the-all-new-gen4
Read the transcript here: https://www.autoline.tv/daily/ad-4174-honda-reveals-new-modular-hybrid-platform-bentley-adding-another-suv-schaeffler-training-humanoids-for-production/
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