Electric vehicles are declining in sales.

0:00 Speaker 1 What the heck is going on in the automobile industry with us today is Robert Lutz, and he’s been with almost every major automobile company that there is and a board member right now with Ford Motor Company, was with Chrysler and he was vice chairman of General Motors. Well, Bob Lutz, what the heck is going on? It looks

0:25 like Ford has settled with the UAW. Give us a briefing of what does that mean in the future.

0:35 Speaker 2 Well, I think the contract. First of all, this is not like other labor negotiations. This was a gun to the head from a government sanctioned monopoly called the Labor Union. And in the past, the UAW always had a realistic respect for the needs of an automobile company to stay competitive.

0:59 This time they did not, And I think a lot of what had to be given back was exactly the same things that caused the American automobile industry to be in big trouble in eight So I think we’ve settled.

1:16 But it means that the labor costs for the American companies, for General Motors and Stilantis, which is Franco Italian, are going to be uncompetitive with the rest of the world.

1:31 Speaker 1 Yes, it’s not just a competition within the United States. It’s a world, it’s a world community, a community. Now, or are you in competition with everybody? Well?

1:41 Speaker 2 Sure, First of all, you’ve got Tesla, which has no union, You’ve got the transplant companies down south who have no union, and then you’ve got the Koreans, the Japanese, and ultimately the Chinese. And what we’re going to see playing out over the next few years is once again declining profitability and losses, market share losses for the American based companies.

2:07 Speaker 1 Now, the other thing with the with with President Biden and pushing the electric cars versus like the chairman of Toyota says, well, I want to make electric cars, but I’m going to make all cars to let the people choose, from which I’m going to hear it with letting the people choose versus forcing electric cars down.

2:28 Speaker 2 Point, Well, this is this is the problem with the whole electric car movement. As I’ve told you in a past interview, I believe in the future of electric cars. With more advanced batteries, quicker recharge times, and a denser net of recharge stations, electric cars will ultimately take over but it’s going to be a gradual process. The problem

2:52 with this whole thing, it’s been a combination of liberal media hype and government pressure that has tried to force a development which takes time to it takes time to manifest itself. So basically the public is having a gun to its head. The media we’re always all electric cars, electric cars, everybody’s got to do them. A lot of

3:21 people got caught up in the hype. As I say, the transition will happen, but why not let it happen gradually and naturally as people come to the conclusion that my next vehicle is going to be electric, and it’s going to take time for a lot of people to realize that.

3:42 Speaker 1 Agree that the CEO of Toyota saying I’m gonna make all the cars, I’m gonna make hybrid, I’m gonna make diesel, I’m gonna make gas, I’m gonna make electric electric customer selected, Yeah.

3:55 Speaker 2 Well, he’s the only one that wasn’t being politically correct. I think a lot of the others didn’t believe what they were saying, but they felt the right thing to say.

4:07 Speaker 1 Now, in other words, they’re afraid of the government.

4:11 Speaker 2 Well, yeah, afraid of the government and afraid of the media, and afraid of alienating public opinion because of the pressure on climate change, etc. Etc. So yeah, it’s a case of I’ll quill Toyota being the only one who was not being politically correct and who dared speak what many of us realized.

4:34 Speaker 1 Anyway, Bob, we have a minute left. What else would you like to tell you American people.

4:43 Speaker 2 I’d say to the American people, as I always say, be open minded about electric cars. If you find one that suits you and has the range that you need and is affordable, go ahead and buy it with confidence, but don’t let yourself be pressured into it by the government.

5:01 Speaker 1 Thank you, Bob Lutz, a veteran in the automobile industry, and you’ve done it all and continue to speak out. Thank you for speaking out to the American people. And we’ll catch up with you again real soon.

5:13 Speaker 2 Okay, thanks very much. Thank you.