Tavares Dips, BYD Made Your Christmas iPad, Hyundai Gets Swole

Welcome to December as we talk about controversial Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares’ abrupt ending. We also talk about a huge partnership between BYD and Apple, as well as Hyundai’s venture into performance. 

Show Notes with links:

• Carlos Tavares has unexpectedly stepped down as Stellantis CEO following escalating tensions with the board over sales declines and stock performance. The leadership change highlights the automaker’s ongoing struggles in key markets like North America.
  • Tavares, known for his cost-cutting expertise, clashed with the board over strategic priorities for addressing sales slumps and rising inventories.
  • The board named Chairman John Elkann to head an interim leadership committee while a new CEO is sought, expected by mid-2025.
  • Stellantis shares have dropped 38% in the past year, with North American sales down 17% while models like the Ram 1500 and Jeep Wagoneer have an average of 112 days supply.
  • Dealers and stakeholders criticized Tavares for his approach, with Detroit dealer Jeff Laethem remarking, “It couldn’t get worse,” as inventory challenges grew.
  • UAW President Shawn Fain added, “He’s leaving behind a mess of painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles sitting on dealership lots.”
    
    
    
• BYD, Tesla’s fiercest EV competitor, has become a crucial partner in Apple’s supply chain, assembling over 30% of Apple’s iPads and expanding its role in producing cutting-edge components like titanium frames for the iPhone Pro.
  • BYD employs approximately 100,000 people and 10,000 engineers dedicated to Apple's supply chain, locally dubbed the "fruit chain," showcasing its significant integration into Apple’s ecosystem.
  • BYD has facilitated Apple’s push to diversify beyond China by establishing production capabilities in Vietnam and India, setting the stage for a broader global supply network.
  • Tim Cook, during his third visit to China this year, highlighted BYD as one of the suppliers “pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” cementing BYD’s role as an innovation leader.
  • BYD is venturing into AI-powered robots for factories in collaboration with Nvidia. Executive Wang Haoyu stated, “We’re raising many fish in a pool... when a fish matures, we can scoop it out,” underscoring their exploratory and adaptive business model.
    
    
    
• Hyundai redefines EV fun with the 2025 Ioniq 5 N. By combining performance, quirky features, and a nostalgic twist, this SUV bridges the gap between electric efficiency and driving exhilaration.
• Powered by 641 HP and 545 lb-ft of torque, it nearly triples the horses and doubles the torque that the standard Ioniq 5 gets.
• Boasts drift modes, launch control, and specialized race-ready settings.
• Features “N e-shift” and “N Active Sound Plus” for fake but fun ICE sensations.
• Engineers balanced performance with durability for track and road use.
• “It's bringing that sense of connection to driving and engagement to EVs […] it’s just back to what makes driving fun

Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/

JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/

Read our most recent email at: https://www.asotu.com/media/push-back-email

Transcript

Paul J Daly: 0:00

All right, listen, listen, there's nothing like the first Monday in a December to get everybody fired up last month, first week, we're talking about Tavares going by BYD, putting together your iPad and Hyundai, getting swole. I haven't said the word, never said that word out

Kyle Mountsier: 0:20

loud. I don't know, that kind of blew my mind when I

Paul J Daly: 0:26

when I put it in the show title this morning, I was like, that's just the word I want to use today.

Unknown: 0:32

So good. You know, a

Paul J Daly: 0:33

lot of people think that, like, we don't, like do the things, but you me and Nathan, every morning or building the show. We're typing the words. We're making the whole thing.

Kyle Mountsier: 0:45

I'll give it like, I put in a solid 10 to 15% of the work. You and Nathan roll a lot of the work, yeah. But

Paul J Daly: 0:51

it really is a group effort, because at any day, anytime that could change, when

Kyle Mountsier: 0:58

an airplane you got this, it's

Paul J Daly: 1:00

kind of like a freestyle hip hop group. It's like, oh, it's your turn to say things, and we're gonna back up and just dance. So I was just gonna say something, and it just, I started thinking to hip hop, and that was it. And you were excited. I was excited. I was so excited. It's not coming to me.

Kyle Mountsier: 1:16

You know? What I'm gonna say is, if you were on the early sign up list, yes, and didn't check your emails from Friday for ASOTU, a shame. You'd have got a 50% off in your email, and it's good through midnight tonight, Monday. So if you're listening to this on Monday, you can still go get ASOTU on tickets for half off if you were on the list by Thursday at midnight, you had to be on the list. It was early. Incentive only, don't worry, we do this, but you have to be on the list. If you were like, I wasn't on the list, I

Paul J Daly: 1:49

know we're not. We're not those people like, where it's like, everybody can get it now. Well, no, we can't do that, because the next time we say you have to be on the list, you'd be like, nah. So congratulations to the people who did get the tickets. By the way, I don't need to do a little we should do a little wall of fame, but, but like, I'm excited when the first when the first tickets go out, it gets a whole bunch of energy into our camp, that's for sure. Yes, it does. This year's going to be a thing. Hey, we have a webinar coming up this Friday, December 6. These have been amazing. These are so do edge webinars, especially getting your team, marketing team, specifically calibrated for 2025 this is part two of the part one with our friends at stream company. So we're talking about measuring your results looking back at 2024 and now we're talking about planning 2025 the last three or four, if you just sit down and watch these. Kyle said it best with your marketing team or with your marketing partners. And watch these, it will certainly get your thoughts starters going. So this is 2025 ad strategies. What we're talking about Friday. You can get on the list for that webinar. So you can get the link, watch it live, or watch it later by going to asotu.com

Kyle Mountsier: 2:56

and look, if you haven't started your 2025 planning, you got like, two weeks to figure that stuff out.

Paul J Daly: 3:02

You better get on maximum, maximum, maximum. You and I and Nathan and Al and miles and the Nashville production team are all by the end of this day, going to be on the ground in Saint Augustine, Florida, to be filming the next episode of more than cars. This is going to be our third episode for season two that we have already filmed. So season two is coming hot. If you want to be a part of that, you're an industry partner, let us know we have a lot of cool stuff to do. And if you're a dealer that like, hey, I want to be featured on more of the cars, reach out crew@asotu.com Send us an email, and we'll talk. So this is we're shaping up today. It's gonna be next few days, gonna be Bozar Ford. Now we were at CMA. Was it last week? Two weeks ago?

Kyle Mountsier: 3:43

Two weeks ago, yep, two weeks ago.

Paul J Daly: 3:45

Did we do that? And then we were on the ground, like two weeks before that, with our friends at roarman in Lafayette, Indiana. So the season could be amazing. You can see season one, you know, you go to Prime Video. How about that? Go on Prime Video and search more than cars, and you can watch it on prime. Right now, it's still $1.99 to buy the season. But if you do that, listen, it's not that we're trying to get money off this. We're just trying to show Amazon there's an appetite for auto industry content, and a lot of people have done that and pay the dollar 99 I wish we could see who it was, because we can just see that people have done it, you know, yeah,

Kyle Mountsier: 4:19

but it's okay, hey, if you watched it on prime, let us know. We'll shout you out. Alright? Well, I

Paul J Daly: 4:24

think it's time for some news.

Kyle Mountsier: 4:25

Let's get into the news. The first baby. Let's start sporty on

Paul J Daly: 4:29

a Monday, Carlos Tavares has unexpectedly stepped down as the Lantus CEO, following escalating tensions with the board over sales declines, stock performance, you know, especially ongoing struggles in key markets like North America. We've heard two or three things about that from dealers he's known for, like cost cutting expertise. He clashed with the board, though, over strategic priorities addressing sales slumps and how to address rising inventories. The board named Chairman John Elkin to head the interim leadership committee, while a new CEO is found. They're looking at maybe. 2025 for that happening, Atlanta shares down 38% in the past year. North American sales down 17% and models like the RAM 1500 and Jeep Wagoneer have an average of get this. 110 day supply on the dealers and stakeholders have been very critical at Tavares, with Detroit dealer Jeff Latham, remarking it couldn't get worse. Well, maybe he woke up and feels a little bit better now. UAW president Sean fain added he's leaving behind a mess of painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles sitting on dealership lots. Listen to that.

Kyle Mountsier: 5:36

Wow. Look, look one. The fact that Sean fain gets in on this article cracks me up. Two I've I've watched countless LinkedIn, Twitter threads, X threads with dealers saying, hey, look, we're excited about this. Hopefully they choose the right next person, because it has been painful being a scientist dealer. I've heard the side remarks of like, Oh no, no, we're not looking for any stellanis dealers, especially those that are consolidating. So Stellan is needs a strong personality, someone that is well loved within the dealer network to gain back some of that trust. Because, hey, look, 112 day supply doesn't do good for dealers or the OEM, because the OEM isn't going to get any more inventory into there's the other is going to because they're going to start rejecting that stuff. So that's right, man, I, you know, an unexpected step down. Not sure if that I feel like pushing this for a little while. Everyone was talking like it would be January, February, March, somewhere. Q1, so we'll see. I have a feeling some people over at Solanas probably have some people on deck in their minds, and maybe we see someone appointed before mid 20

Paul J Daly: 6:47

I know I don't remember who said it in the article, but they did say, like, the next CEO needs to be a peacemaker, right? Yeah, obviously you need somebody that's going to rebuild trust. Rebuild trust like, that's all there is to it. I was around, you know, this is, this

Kyle Mountsier: 7:02

is a total, if this happens, my mind would be blown. But, like, gonna make a prediction, folks. But like, would chip Perry not just make the right person?

Paul J Daly: 7:13

I almost was talking about, this reminds me of when chip Carrie Perry came to true, car and right and did the whole, did the whole tour. I don't know, but I think that, I think that he should be in the list for advisory, because he did a good job. Without a doubt, some people love chip okay, I know. Let's let's keep moving. Let's keep moving. Do we have a second? Let's not do a segue. This one blew our minds this morning BYD Tesla's fiercest EV competitor. You know, being a topic of conversation has become a crucial partner and gets Apple. Apple supply chain, assembling over 30% of Apple's iPads and expanding its role in producing components like titanium frames for the iPhone. Pro beauty has get this 100,000 people, 10,000 of those are engineers just dedicated to Apple supply chain. They've dubbed this the fruit chain. You know, get it Apple, showcasing this integration they've facilitated apples push to diversity beyond China, establishing production capabilities further in Vietnam, in India, setting the stage for a broader supply chain. Tim Cook, during his third visit to China this year, highlighted them as one of their suppliers. He said they are, quote, pushing the boundaries of what is possible by BYD also venturing into AI powered robot factories, or robots for factories, in collaboration with Nvidia and their executive White House said we are raising many fish in a pool, and when a fish matures, we scoop it out. I mean, look, nailed it.

Kyle Mountsier: 8:52

I There's not much to comment on this. You can read between the lines of every part of the story, but the fact that this is a reality for BYD, who looks like an auto manufacturer, to really be a tech company like this is where Tesla has won over and over and over by diversifying their tech output, not just in the vehicle, and taking a different stance, a different position, on where to do that. But look, here's the bigger thing, and this is the one that I would look out for on the horizon that I didn't even see coming is look at those iPads potentially going straight in or, or at least the OS being more fully integrated into the vehicle, and then, my goodness, how crazy, or how easy would it be for Apple to just create a partnership out of this, and all of a sudden have vehicle manufacturing, and that's right, was in production in the US, like that.

Paul J Daly: 9:48

I know, wow, you think of how everything's shaping up with Elon Musk and his influence in the White House and everybody getting where, guess what? There's always when a force rises, an opposing force always rises. As well. So this should be a very interesting four years. I it's like, honestly, it's like, you kind of have to stop being like, am I going to be nervous about this or not nervous about this? It just is. It just is what it is. And let's figure out how we're going to be an amazing industry of networked auto dealers, franchise dealers, dealers who are on the ground deeper and deeper and deeper, like it's just time to dig in. Speaking of digging in, segue,

Kyle Mountsier: 10:28

you can dig in with Hyundai's new car. They're redefining EV fun with the ionic 5n it's a new series of the ionic by combining performance, quirky features and a little bit of a nostalgic twist. This SUV bridges the gap between electric efficiency and driving acceleration. Still funny that they call it an SUV, but Okay, uh, powered by 641 horsepower, I said that, right, and 545 five feet of roar that's ripples the horsepower and doubles the torque that the standard ionic five gets other fun things outside of just the fact that it can go way fast is it has modes for drifting, launch control and race ready settings that access to right in the dash.

Paul J Daly: 11:18

I want to try the drifting mode that's unbelievable. Because if you're not a skilled drifter, there's probably some, you know, technological help that you get when the car knows you're trying to drift. Yep. And so exactly, look, I think this is really great move by Hyundai, the Onyx five, very popular EV, you see them all over the place, and for them to just say, hey, look, we can make them fast, we can make them fun. We can make them performance oriented. There's a whole sub sub culture for the hot hatchback and to bring the hot hatch back into the EV space on Hyundai to do it, I think that the right brand to do it, and I think this is just another iteration of EV technology is going to make it deeper into culture

Kyle Mountsier: 11:54

well. And here's the fun thing too, is they've they've added the sounds too, and they've added the feel. They even give you their N E shift, which is like feeling like you're shifting the car, even in an electric I would like how that feels active sound, plus, so that you can get you like you know sounds like it. So I think so here's

Paul J Daly: 12:13

the deal. I think that purists obviously will turn their nose up at this and give it all the hate and give it all that. But let's face it, the people who have actually driven a stick shift are, I mean, not to be morbid, but they're literally dying every day. That's right, yeah, you know, like the generations who was like, even had that experience. And so there's, there's an element of, like, when you watch racing and things like that, and they're shifting going on, and you hear it, I think like this, the new generation, like J is going to love to jump in these things and see what it's like to drive a six shift, even though it's not, but they don't care.

Kyle Mountsier: 12:43

Yeah, or see what it's like to drive 545 foot, pound of that is because it's an electric motor. That's that's impressive. Very impressive.

Paul J Daly: 12:52

Look. Listen, I guess we're wrapping it up, folks. December is here. You have a job to do in the midst what's going on everywhere else you can still care about the people everywhere every day, right where you are. You.