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We’re coming to you live from Bozard Ford Lincoln as we’re finishing up our More Than Cars shoot. Today, we’re talking about how Nissan is trying to reassure its dealers that the sky isn’t falling, how the US added 12,000+ new EV chargers in Q3, and how Google’s Veo, a generative AI video model, beat OpenAI’s Sora to market.

Show Notes with links:

• Nissan Motor Co. is under pressure as financial challenges force the automaker to cut jobs and slow production. Activist investors and speculation about its future as an independent company are adding to the turmoil.
  • U.S. dealers received a memo from Nissan Americas Chair Jeremie Papin outlining turnaround priorities: product competitiveness, business stabilization, and growth.
  • Nissan has slashed its full-year income outlook by 70%, cut $2.6 billion in expenses, and laid off 9,000 workers globally, including 500 U.S. salaried employees.
  • Market share has plummeted, dropping 25% over five years to just 5.6% in the U.S., with dealership profitability hitting a 15-year low.
  • Production reductions include a 17% U.S. output cut, fewer assembly shifts, and an anticipated 100,000-vehicle drop in fiscal year production.
  • Papin reassured dealers of Nissan’s liquidity, stating, “Our $9 billion in net cash allows us to prioritize future investments in research and development.”
    
    
    
• The US added 12,000 new EV charging ports in the past three months, bringing the total to nearly 204,000 marking a doubling of chargers since late 2020, pre-Biden administration and NEVI Program launch.
  • NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) Formula Program contributed 126 ports across 31 stations in nine states this quarter, an 83% increase in open NEVI ports since Q3.
  • Coverage of DC fast chargers on major corridors grew from 38% in 2020 to 59.1% in 2024; expected to reach 70% by late 2025.
  • 41 states have announced charging projects under NEVI, with 35 awarding agreements for over 3,560 fast charging ports across 890+ locations.
  • Rhode Island became the first fully built-out NEVI state, while states like Kentucky, Hawaii, and Maine opened new stations, advancing access nationwide.
  • The program has allocated nearly $2.4 billion in funding across two rounds to all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. 
  • $586 million has been set aside for a third round of funding for fiscal year 2025.

• ​​Google’s Veo, a generative AI video model, is now available via Vertex AI, beating OpenAI’s Sora to market. Veo offers powerful tools for businesses to enhance content creation pipelines.
• Veo generates realistic 1080p videos over a minute long from text or image prompts.
• Text-to-image tools also roll out to all Vertex AI users next week, with features for brand-specific editing.
• SynthID watermarking prevents misinformation and co

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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