Nio is one of the most interesting Chinese automakers, primarily because it’s not a huge exporter of cars and seems content to serve its home market. If you want to understand the state of China’s EV market, Nio is a good place to start, and the company’s CEO thinks the “golden era” of Chinese companies is over.
I agree with this sentiment. It’s a bit glib, but you don’t know how good the times you’re living in are until they’re over. Is this the best The Morning Dump is ever going to get? It’s possible. For the car market in the United States, the golden era is in the past, and maybe in the future. Right now we’re in the…. bronze era? It’s fine. It’s maybe better to be fine for Honda, which made a bunch of questionable decisions, but at least has some hybrids to sell.
If you’re a Spanish police officer, these times are gonna be great if you enjoy driving capable off-roaders.
The Chinese Market Becomes A Little More Like The American Market
I had to explain who Yao Ming was to Mercedes this morning, and then my bones turned to dust. It’s remarkable that I can type at all after that.
The former Houston Rocket was on hand earlier today in China to help Nio CEO William Li show off the new six-seat ES9 electric SUV. According to Li, this is the largest all-electric SUV produced in China. I was going to question that until I remembered that the YangWang U8 is an EREV.
Having former Rocket and current/always tall guy Yao Ming show off your big car is a stroke of genius, and at the unveil they had Ming sit in the car to show off how easily he fit. Also, we got this hilarious photo where the scale is way off on everything.
The ES9, if you’re curious, gets 385 miles of range on China’s notoriously generous test, so roughly 270 miles on the EPA range test. It’ll cost roughly $75,000 and comes with a 47-speaker sound system and a 48-inch center display. It is, in every way, a big luxury Chinese SUV.
It’s Nio’s attempt at improving margins, and it’s been amusing to watch China basically speed run the US automotive industry. Bloomberg was at the event and shared this observation:
Like in the US, new car models in China are getting bigger as they bring higher profit margins. With EV subsidies for cheaper models reduced, there’s also more incentive for consumers to buy larger vehicles. As a result, competition in the large SUV segment is also intensifying, with Nio’s lower retail price indicative of the pressure.
“For survival and also to address customer demands, we’re also making big cars,” Chief Executive Officer William Li at a briefing on Thursday. “And big cars actually sell relatively well.”
Nio has been mostly unprofitable, though sales are growing. It got stuck in the brutal price war and never quite got around to setting itself up to becoming a huge exporter (though the company does sell a few cars in Northern Europe). Reuters was also there, and got Li explaining why he thought the ‘golden era’ was probably over:
A rebound in the world’s largest auto market has yet to materialise, despite the sector’s continued export strength, Li told reporters in Beijing.
[…]
In April, China’s domestic car sales fell for a seventh straight month, though exports remained strong.
China’s automobile ownership hit 370 million vehicles, meaning it’s “no longer a growth market, but rather a saturated market,” Li said.
Yup.
May Was Probably A Decent Month For US Car Sales
The car market in the US continues to stubbornly trod forward in the face of all sorts of headwinds. In many ways, the small ups and downs of any individual month is more a reaction to last year’s tariff-induced and tax credit-induced insanity. The pull-forward of sales due to the tariffs last year made April a little harder, year-over-year, whereas this May the market benefits. That, plus the little boost some consumers got from tax cuts, is propelling sales according to Cox Automotive.
“May sales appear to be holding up despite significant economic uncertainty,” Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough noted. “New-vehicle buyers today are more affluent than ever, so they may not be as impacted by inflationary pressures as much as other consumers who are more acutely feeling the sharply higher fuel costs. If the economy and stock market can remain on this growing but volatile path, new-vehicle sales will likely follow. However, those are two large necessities during extremely volatile times.”
This continues to be the Wile E. Coyote car market, and so long as nothing goes terribly wrong and no one looks down it’ll probably be fine.
Honda Might Have A Good Year Even With All The Drama
I get how reading The Morning Dump might lead you to believe that Honda is going to have a rough year, what with having to delay cars, extend current generation vehicles, and abandon its EV plans.
Things aren’t great. Also, things aren’t that bad, with Honda hitting 10% of total market share in the United States. What’s going on? While Honda probably should have already rolled out its larger hybrid platform already, it still has the most popular hybrid in the form of the CR-V.
As Honda’s sales chief Lance Woelfe told Automotive News, it’s not so dire:
“We believe 10 percent is an achievable direction for Honda over the next several years,” Woelfer said. “We see a clear opportunity to gain share as we move forward.”
Meanwhile, Honda is sticking with its goal of growing sales 4 percent in 2026, to about 1.5 million vehicles, despite ending production of the Acura RDX and canceling several electric vehicles.
Honda is positioned to achieve that target amid rising gasoline prices, EV market shifts and economic uncertainty, Woelfer said, thanks to its value pricing, “industry-leading” fuel economy and rapidly growing hybrid sales.
In fact, gas prices have emerged as an unexpected tail wind for Honda by accelerating a shift toward hybrids.
The Decade of the Hybrid remains undefeated.
Is It Too Late To Join The Spanish National Police?
The Ineos Grenadier is a great looking rig, and extremely capable, so it’s no surprise that they’re starting to pop up more and more as fleet vehicles for organizations needing something for the most extreme situations.
One of the latest buyers is the Spanish National Police, which nabbed ten of them for the Police Intervention Units:
Specifically designed to work under harsh conditions, the INEOS Grenadier combines a robust ladder frame chassis with permanent four-wheel drive and class-leading off-road capability, making it a particularly valuable tool for police operations that require travel beyond paved streets.
These new vehicles will enhance the UIP’s deployment capability in rural areas, mountainous regions, natural spaces, or environments affected by emergencies, where rapid arrival and the ability to overcome obstacles can be critical. The Grenadier’s capability and local supply lines make it ideal for deployment in defence and public sector fleets across European countries.
Also, it looks cool so much cooler than those random ex-military MRAPs used by police here in the United States. I feel like this is tough but approachable. It’s there to help.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
There’s not only a new Muna, the video for “Eastside Girls” includes a smokey (well, smoking) Ford Ranger.
The Big Question
What was the ‘Golden Era’ of American cars?
Top photo: Nio
China still has a ways to go before they become a “mature” market like the US and Europe. Their car ownership is still at under 20% while the US is over 90% and Europe is in the 80%. Even if the Chinese system is set up to where not everyone needs a car, they still have many years of high demand from people who “need” and “want” a car before they settle into a cycle where people buy a new vehicle based on replacing an old one.
China one child policy = 3 row SUV.
Yeah, that’s pretty American. They’re doomed.
One of the funny things that I notice when I’m in Barcelona is how most private cars and even government vehicles like fire trucks, ambulances and maintenance vehicles are generally well maintained and look to be in good shape. Even old ones. However, for some reason, every police vehicle is beat to shit. I’ve seen cars that couldn’t have been a year old with dents or scrapes in every panel, missing bumpers etc. I wonder if their police academies even teach driving. Or maybe it’s all that Vermouth at the start of their shift. This could be a great marketing ploy for Ineos. “If our vehicles could survive…”
It’s not vermouth, it’s wine. But us non-police people also drink wine and our cars are not dented. So must be something else…
I assumed. Anywhere I would stop in for a morning coffee, I’d be offered a vermouth to go with it. I usually opt for a glass of wine instead. Maybe I’m more local that way. But I also would be walking or taking transit so no peril to a car.
Obviously any era with Pontiac and firebirds.
Contemporary Chinese industries really only have golden peaks – they don’t seem to last long enough to plateau to an age. Example, Xiaomi was the smart and scrappy darling of the smartphone market about 15 years ago. Likewise OnePlus make some very well-regarded phones. Today, One-Plus is pulling out of the U.S. market and Xiaomi dabbled in a bunch of consumer electronics before pivoting to EV’s and we all know how cutthroat that business has been in recent years.
Can we talk about how you even do a 47 speaker sound system?
Or how you make your ICE screen a 48-incher, because it’s one better.
Our amps go up to 11.
Luddite!! /s
I wonder if every single seat has a full complement surround sound system. 8 speakers (4 sets of components, where tweeter and mid are separate) by 6 passengers, less a speaker here or there shared between them, most likely the sub(s).
I’m not saying it’s a *good* idea, only reaching to think how it might be possible.
Same! I’m just super curious how they managed to stuff that many speakers into a car. Even more curious to see how it’s tuned to work together.
46 speakers for stereo, one for mono.
As long as that one speaker is the one from Back to the Future.
I wonder how that impacts range. Would that work out to 20Hz to 20Khz on the EPA cycle? Do you need the extended battery?
Ludacris? Oh, wait…Xzibit from Pimp my Ride can hook you up. He’ll even add a fish tank!
You take a 46-speaker system and add a subwoofer.
The US golden era probably depends on the definition of “golden”. Just like the “golden” rule could be the kindergarten version of be nice to others, or the attorney version of “he who has the gold makes the rules”.
Golden era of growth/democratization- Ford Model T years
Golden shower era- probably the malaise years?
Golden era of “you need a bar of gold for a new car, as they are practically all luxury cars”- current
Golden era would be 2000-2010. Enough tech for really good ECUs, physical buttons instead of screens, rapidly improving fuel economy without excessive tech (DI causing valve fouling for ex), and massive fit/finish improvements compared to the 90s that carried through the 2010s.
winner winner chicken dinner, except some of the design language in this era was horrible.
Some, which is way better than current-almost universally terrible. At least in my opinion. Generally better than 90s bar of soap styling as well.
A good argument could be made for any of the following:
1908-1925 or so. Relative to the world, a single American car model was far enough above anything anyone else built that it defined an era.
1949-1972. Relative to the world, the entire American car industry was far enough above everyone else in terms of style and technology that it defined an era.
2010-now. American cars, relative to history, are the best built, safest, most efficient, and best performing they’ve ever been.
I’d say the mid 2000s to about 2020 (before quality control took a nosedive during The Event).
Horsepower, safety, and comfort were all aligned with fairly good pricing to create a fantastic car market.
Is there qualitative data showing that quality drop? I know a lot of people feel this way, but I’d be curious to see metrics on it.
I’m reasonably sure that The Morning Dump actually had some data driven stories about it a couple years back, but I’m too lazy to search.
It sure seemed like the GAF button was broken on the factory lines to me as well.
Oh no, the Gigantic Amount of Failures button is working VERY well.
Well, I couldn’t find it on this site, but J.D. power echoes what I’ve seen when it comes to the drop of quality.
Although in my industry, I’ve watched it in the parts themselves more.
I doubt there is enough true data for cars built post 2020 yet. I remember when I was researching articles to disprove a news article here I found out they were using 2005 data in a 2026 study.
Maybe we could use recall data or repair costs to establish some qualitative data quickly.
the 2010 thing is where I diverge. basically from the mid to early nineties the fuel injection system developments put some real advances into the vehicle system, but after 2006, too much problems related to variable valves, cylinder deactivation and various other efficiency attempts really made me think to the 73 to mid eighties problem era, not really golden to me.
I think you nailed it, it’s all relative, and can be defined by:
Marked dominance: 1908-1920something due to the jump start on mass production),
Technological dominance: 1949-1972 as we managed to avoid the postwar reconstruction costs and could reinvest war technological spending on making the most decadent cars in the world, or
Absolute product capability in a vacuum, without comparing to any other contemporary products: it just kept getting better until 2017ish, when we killed the Viper and were about to kill the Focus ST, and every year since then the technological advancement hasn’t been enough to make up for the diminishing model offerings, in my opinion.
You do know how to speak my language.
I would argue the Focus ST, despite carrying an American badge, it’s not an American car.
AKA: The end of near-limitless growth regardless of product quality.
This is massively good for consumers.
It means the pencil gets sharper and product gets less frivolous. Maybe we see a focus on core product improvements instead of twelve updates on four platforms of BYD Seal variants per year.
What, you don’t need 46 speakers in your minivan? Luddite. /s
Yo, can I write a check? Living rent free in my head for 22 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGFmJ631JBM
Yes! Also, Dikembe Mutombo waving his finger going “ah, ah, ah” from about the same time frame.
So what is China’s equivalent of the Malaise era cars? And what will we be seeing at China’s Radwood equivalent?
Either the low-speed EVs like Torch’s Changli, or the late aughts 3-wheeled EVs that made it to the US
Most of their ICE vehicles right up to the present day.
Well some of them are Alfa Romeo 164s, while others are Seat Toledos and Volkswagen Santanas.
We are in the golden era of American automobiles right now. Cars have never been better, cleaner, or more fuel efficient.
And quality at Ford has never been so Job Number One (derogatory)
I don’t know about that. It definitely feels like a transition era. EVs are dragging the average down, not because they are terrible, but because they will be leaps and bounds better in twenty years so you can’t say we’re in the golden era of EVs. It seems we are just at the crest of peak touchscreen and electric door handles, neither of which were improvements over physical switchgear and mechanical door handles. So, interiors will hopefully have a better user experience in the coming years.
No doubt EVs will get better but I can’t see how they are dragging things down today. I have a 2017 Bolt. It is a nothing special commuter car but will run 0-60 in 6.5 seconds and costs less than 3 cents per mile to fuel.
We have hybrids like the RAV4 getting fuel economy in the 40’s for a family crossover.
600 hp in a street legal factory car doesn’t even turn a head anymore.
If you consider curb weight, then yes. Everything is made of gold.
THANK YOU MATT. Please continue to beat the drum of CLTC to EPA range discrepancy, this factor alone has caused so much widespread misinformation about the difference between Chinese and non Chinese EVs. I won’t pretend that the Chinese automakers are not ahead of Europe and US companies, but the gap is far smaller than reported.
I think that last line cuts both ways. A lot of people I talk to about Chinese cars still have that vibe like it’s the original “invasion” from Japan and/or South Korea. But everything I read and watch shows Chinese cars are on par with what’s on offer in NA and Europe.
I mean, we all have a pretty good conversion rate in our head between CLTC, WLTP, and EPA.
Given their natural habitat, cars can generally deliver their respective rating. My Polestar 3 does 315miles EPA but when putzing along in local traffic, it can easily hit 4xx miles, matching CLTC.
My biggest issue is the delta is almost never stated, nor is it even understood to exist by many journalists, automotive or otherwise. Also many of us here understand the difference and have ballpark conversions, but the average non-enthusiast reading about Chinese EVs with a rated 450 mile range have no idea that they’d be in the low 300 range in the US.
It’s really a narrative issue, with many stating Chinese EVs are going to eat everyone else’s lunch and completely dominate the market based on specs that absolutely are not realistic for 90% or more of actual use cases in the US and Europe. The narrative around EV technology dominance is actually important when it comes to public policy, consumer purchasing, and general sentiment, and a very widely inaccurate state of affairs is being spread ad nauseum right now which does everyone involved a disservice.
I think it’s easy to say the 50’s and 60’s, but the early 00’s had some neat stuff. Cobalt SS, Neon SRT-4, Viper, Solstice/Sky, Focus SVT, Ford GT. They all had a full lineup of almost anything you could want.
2010-2020. Horsepower was growing again alongside fuel efficiency. We had some connected features but not an obnoxious amount and they weren’t necessary if you didn’t want them. The US got genuinely good compact cars for a hot second. If you got the manual ones and not the Ford PowerShi(f)t transmission or whatever Chrysler was slinging. The ZF 8-speed went into all the things possible and genuinely made people not exactly miss a manual transmission. Also EV’s got moved from rich person’s toy to a viable daily driver.
The US golden era has to be the insane postwar boom through about 1972.
But as far as the Chinese gold era, is like 5ish years really an era?
I consider that the first US auto manufacturing golden age, the second is ’86 to about ’00. Taurus SHO, ZR-1, ZJ, Viper….. The Malaise era was finished.
Oh, believe me, I KNOW.
This I did NOT know. I tend to be unaware of videos. But see people three-across in a Ranger bench takes me back, so I’m here for it.
I think there was a US golden era from about 1986 – 1996. Ford built the original Taurus, then the SHO. GM released the original ZR-1 world beater and the STS. Chrysler was on a roll with the ZJ Grand Cherokee, ’94 RAM and the original LH sedans. We had funky designs and funky colors. It seemed the US industry was FINALLY waking up to challenge the world.
Throw in the Viper, the probe, hell even the GT90 concept. You could buy a geo tracker and have all of the fun of a wrangler but not have to pretend you’d take it offroad. If you did want to go offroad, you could get a 2door Tahoe or a White Bronco. Times were fun…
(oh yeah, this also introduced the Explorer and the downward spiral that followed)
Ford and GM BOTH built new, in-house, ground up OHC V8 and V6 engines during this period. Chrysler designed an OHC V6. Paint and interior material fit/feel/quality improved by leaps and bounds.
I’d say the late 90s through mid 00s was when materials science started to mature as a field in the auto engineering world and cars stated to become truly durable. Early 90s dashboards would cave in from sitting in the sun. I have a 2004 that’s never been parked in a garage that’s only just beginning to show signs of body rust.
The interior of my partner’s ’07 Corolla still looks damn near new. The horizontal paint has suffered due to never being garaged.
It is also the era when US manufacturers paired with asian manufacturers the most, improving greatly their cars.
No doubt, the Ford-Mazda partnership was perfect and never should bave been dissolved.
I was going to say this one, for no other reason than it was the last time the industry was looking forward instead of back.
The Buick Roadmaster wagon and Chevy Impala SS.
OTOH, Ford Tempo and Dodge Omni.
1990s by far.
Yes the Chinese auto industry is just like the US industry, they put Yao Ming in a Nio the same way the US put Shaq in a Buick.
They put Tiger Woods in a Buick but he keeps putting it in ditches.
I was beginning to wonder if we were renaming The Morning Dump to something else.
Not any more.
I’m not a huge fan of the thumbnail and topshot not having the label on them. I’m generally anti-icon-only. But it’s nice that the name persists.
Well, the icon is a dump truck. I suspect this may be due to some ‘smut’ filter on some app to improve site visibility across the web.
Fair. I just think it’s strange that all the other features have words on them (Cold start, member’s rides, etc.) but not the morning dump. Maybe they could just use TMD instead and get around filters that way.
I saw Yao Ming in person at the NBA Rookie Game. It was his rookie year, but he had been voted to play in the actual All-Star game. It was the era of big suits, and he was wearing one that absolutely hung off of him, and that combined with his flat top haircut made him look just like Frankenstein’s monster.
I hope the two-days-in-a-row of Spani-related articles have nothing to do with me becoming a member on Tuesday 😛
Having said that, is Europe the only market which cannot be like US (or China)?
If tomorrow’s TMD includes my recipe for butifarra negra that’s just a total coincidence!
That is worse. Targeting my specific region?
No wonder customer service comes fourth!
They’d be fools to not let you pay your membership in olives.
I actually have real olive tree in my house in the Northern part of the region…
“I had to explain who Yao Ming was to Mercedes this morning, and then my bones turned to dust. It’s remarkable that I can type at all after that.
The former Houston Rocket was on hand earlier today in China….”
So Ming works on rockets in Houston for NASA? Odd that you would expect Mercedes to know everyone that works in the space industry.
Just kidding – I assume Ming plays a game involving a ball of some sort at the professional level.
https://youtu.be/vGFmJ631JBM?si=zc8sDYvDhX8hRXwl
Exactly where my mind went as soon as Matt brought up Yao!
Can’t say that I recall ever seeing this commercial.
It was on one of the superbowls.
That would explain it. I haven’t watched a superbowl since the 90s
The 1920’s, everything was new and innovations were huge leaps from the years prior and people were just finally ditching horses as primary means of transportation. You had a fuck load of recent and start-up manufacturers, brands, and a whole bubble of fake money to keep it flowing and yeah, this is pretty much exactly what has just happened in China
I was going to say from about 1955 to “Unsafe At Any Speed,” but you’re probably right.
This is probably the correct answer, now we will see many players go out of business and the remainders get consolidated into larger entities.
Post ww1 logic tracks.
Also coincides with the rise of wrist watches & disposable razors following WWI.