Shift: A podcast about mobility

On Shift: A podcast about mobility, Automotive News tech and innovation team leader Pete Bigelow takes an optimistic yet skeptical eye at the new tech and business models planned for the auto industry. Shift is a production of Automotive News, the leading publication covering the auto industry. Check out our reporting online at autonews.com/shift and follow us on Twitter @Automotive_News.

Cox Automotive’s Erin Keating: EV sales drop after the end of the tax credit

Erin Keating, senior director of economic and industry insights at Cox Automotive, joins Automotive News reporter Laurence Iliff on the “Shift” podcast to explain how the EV tax credit sales drop is more complex than it seems — automakers pulled back on production in anticipation of slumping demand. “You can’t sell what you don’t have,” she said. Keating discusses how automakers are courting a more receptive electric vehicle buyer and how the industry can get to price parity with intern...

11-16
29:52

Upstream’s Jennifer Tisdale: Is the auto industry ready for the next vehicle hack?

Jennifer Tisdale, senior director of strategic engagements, North America, at Upstream Security joins Hannah Lutz, Automotive News director of technology and innovation coverage, on the Shift podcast to explain. Tisdale breaks down what’s possible versus vs. what’s probable in a vehicle cyberattack, and she explains how evolving automaker-supplier collaboration and clear standards will help reshape cybersecurity.

11-09
24:55

Abhijit Boora on how automakers are delaying tariff impacts using customs tools

Abhijit Boora, a director at AlixPartners, explains during a conversation with Staff Reporter Molly Boigon how record net inflows to foreign trade zones and bonded warehouses indicate automakers are delaying tariff impacts. He also discusses data that suggests automakers are reporting a small amount of U.S.-made content in vehicles imported from Canada and Mexico. Companies may have to work to shore up domestic supply chains and document U.S. sourcing to avoid significant tariff costs.

11-02
30:59

General Motors product chief Sterling Anderson on GM’s next steps, guided by technology

General Motors is envisioning “what your vehicle could become if we think about it as the most useful, technologically advanced robot most people will ever own,” Sterling Anderson, GM’s executive vice president, global product, and chief product officer, said on the Shift podcast. Anderson spoke with Automotive News reporter Lindsay VanHulle in New York on Oct. 22. He detailed parts of GM’s next chapter: a centralized vehicle computing architecture that makes vehicles smarter over time, “eyes...

10-26
32:30

QNX's John Wall on how software recalls are changing the development process

John Wall, COO of QNX, which makes operating systems, development tools and more for the automotive industry, explains the results of a new survey of developers during a conversation with Automotive News staff reporter Molly Boigon. Respondents said that cybersecurity is the greatest risk to software-defined vehicle development, but also flagged that cybersecurity regulations are challenging. They also indicated that a slew of recalls is changing their development approach.

10-19
19:16

Shmuel De-Leon on solid state battery benefits, why the U.S. should speed development

Shmuel De-Leon, CEO of De-Leon Energy, an Israeli battery consulting firm, explains the safety and performance benefits of solid-state batteries in electric vehicles. He spoke with Automotive News reporter Richard Truett at The Battery Show Oct. 8 for the Shift podcast. The U.S. should support solid state battery development to compete with China long term, he said. “Hurry up with a national program to support the battery industry, to build a battery supply chain, to develop new technol...

10-12
20:51

Magna’s Todd Deaville on how the mega-supplier uses AI

Magna International is leaning on artificial intelligence to improve manufacturing and to gain supply chain insights amid shifting trade policy. Todd Deaville, vice president of advanced manufacturing innovation at Magna, joins Automotive News supplier reporter John Irwin, on this week’s Automotive News Shift podcast. Plus, Shift hosts Hannah Lutz and Molly Boigon break down what the end of the federal EV tax credit means for the auto industry. Highlighted stories: The end of EV ta...

10-05
18:29

Mike Murphy of the EV Politics Project: How EVs became polarizing

Mike Murphy, CEO of the EV Politics Project and the American EV Jobs Alliance, discusses how electric vehicles became political and the future of sales once the federal tax credit is eliminated, plus how the public views EVs. Murphy also shares how he became an EV advocate after spending his career as a Republican strategist and political consultant.

09-28
31:37

Automakers, be prepared for China competition in U.S., Larry Dominique says

Automakers shouldn’t count on Chinese vehicles’ exclusion from the U.S. market forever, warns Larry Dominique, previously with Stellantis and PSA North America and now president of LD Management Consulting. If automakers “don’t push for innovation and push for technology, when those gates do open, they’re going to have that much more of a gap to catch up on,” he said on the Automotive News Shift podcast. Dominique and Jerry Hirsch, senior editor of technology and innovation coverage at Automo...

09-21
27:14

Policy changes to slow EV sales but cost, charging improvements will buoy sector

The elimination of the federal electric vehicle tax credit, scheduled for Sept. 30, will reduce EV sales initially, but charging infrastructure improvements, supply chain efficiencies and more EV options will push the sector forward long term and open the door to more efficient vehicles across powertrains, panelists said at Automotive News Congress in Detroit Sept. 11. Elaine Buckberg of Harvard University’s Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, Elizabeth Krear of the Center ...

09-14
22:40

Ralph Nader, consumer crusader, is not done yet

Ralph Nader, a consumer advocate and a former presidential candidate, says the auto industry moved too quickly on electric vehicles and needs to devote energy to making internal combustion engine vehicles more efficient. He acknowledges his 2000 presidential campaign overshadows his crusade for automotive safety, an effort that created regulatory agencies, saved lives and won him a spot in the Automotive Hall of Fame.

09-07
30:50

Ahead of IAA, Anshuman Saxena unpacks Qualcomm’s big driver-assistance ambitions

Anshuman Saxena, vice president and head of ADAS and automated driving at Qualcomm, details the company’s long-simmering efforts to deliver driver-assistance technology on a global scale. Underway for years, those efforts will debut aboard BMW’s Neue Klasse platform during the IAA mobility showcase in Munich next month. Saxena discusses that development, plus broader driver-assistance plans at Qualcomm. The company has roughly $45 billion in expected auto industry revenue, and roughly a...

08-31
36:58

AAA’s Greg Brannon finds traffic-jam tech struggles in real-world congestion

Greg Brannon, director of automotive research at AAA, details the results of a new technical evaluation of traffic-jam driver-assistance technology. Researchers found it experiences a “notable event” every 9.1 minutes. He examines the differences in performance between hands-off and hands-on traffic-jam assist technology and offers automakers solutions for improving future systems. Further, Brannon looks at how even well-performing systems can lull drivers into a state of automation com...

08-24
35:17

Harry Campbell on how robotaxis reshape the ride-hailing business

Harry Campbell, known in the mobility world as The Rideshare Guy, explores how an influx of new driverless deployments and self-driving partnerships are disrupting the status quo in the ride-hailing realm. He examines the new tie-up between Lucid, Nuro and Uber, and probes the latter’s widening influence in bringing robotaxis to cities across the U.S. in meaningful numbers. Further, Campbell, a ride-hailing driver himself, details how the rise of robotaxis are affecting human drivers who rely...

08-17
46:04

EV policy rollbacks could threaten U.S. global competitiveness, says Biden-era charging leader Gabe Klein

Gabe Klein, who led the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation under President Joe Biden, warns that the Trump administration’s reversal of federal EV incentives and emissions rules could devastate the nation’s ability to compete globally, especially with China. In this episode, Klein breaks down the Joint Office’s role in accelerating private EV charging investments and filling gaps in charger deserts with public funding. While he expects a period of instability in the EV charg...

08-10
36:57

Plus CEO David Liu on global growth and going public

David Liu, CEO of automated-driving tech company Plus, discusses how $300 million in proceeds from an expected SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX will fund the company’s next phase of growth. He details ongoing partnerships with Volkswagen’s Traton Group, Hyundai and Iveco, and underscores the company’s vision for rolling out autonomous trucks at global scale. Further, Liu discusses efforts to develop trucks equipped with both autonomous-driving software and equipped with hydrog...

08-03
34:31

Kurt Kelty breaks down GM’s EV battery strategy

Kurt Kelty, vice president of battery, propulsion and sustainability at General Motors, discusses a flurry of recent battery developments that underscore the automaker’s long-term electric vehicle outlook. They include a new foray into energy storage systems alongside Redwood Materials, for which GM will provide both new and second-life batteries, production plans for lithium iron phosphate batteries with Ultium Cells in Spring Hill, Tenn., and work on a lithium manganese-rich chemistry. ...

07-27
39:55

Factorial Energy’s Siyu Huang on bringing solid-state batteries from the lab to roads

Siyu Huang, founder and CEO of Factorial Energy, provides updates on the company’s ongoing work with Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai, and details the company’s efforts in developing solid-state batteries that allow for much faster electric vehicle charging times. She discusses what the end of federal tax credits will mean for EV sales and the expected trickle-down fallout on battery startups. Further, Huang explains why Factorial pursues both semisolid and solid-state battery innovation...

07-20
40:28

Redwood Materials’ Cal Lankton Gives Old EV Batteries New Life

Lankton, chief commercial officer at Redwood Materials, details why the company just opened its Redwood Energy business unit and how it is repurposing used electric-vehicle batteries in energy storage systems. He discusses Redwood’s first major project, a system that utilizes more than 700 used EV battery packs that’s already the largest microgrid in North America. That system powers an AI data center at a Redwood facility in Sparks, Nevada. Further, Lankton explains the economics...

07-13
26:57

Michael Dunne shares China’s playbook for automotive supremacy

Michael Dunne, CEO and founder of advisory firm Dunne Insights, details how Chinese automotive startups like BYD asserted dominance over Detroit’s legacy carmakers. He explores Ford CEO Jim Farley’s effusive praise of Chinese automakers during the recent Aspen Ideas Festival and the difficulty legacy automakers have in keeping pace with clean-sheet tech startups. Finally, Dunne discusses a workaround that American consumers might utilize in purchasing Chinese EVs and avoiding high tarif...

07-06
44:49

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