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Welcome to Daily Drive for Tuesday, April 7th, 2026. I'm Kellen Walker in Las Vegas. Today on the show, gas prices are almost $4.15 a gallon, widening the economic advantage for EVs. Audi workers push back as execs hint at more job cuts. And Volkswagen praises Rivian's tech, but gets vague when you ask when drivers will be able to use it in VW cars. Plus, Hyundai Motor North America CEO Randy Parker talks about the brand's new Boulder concept and more.
Even with our EV and hybrid sales, you know, we're conquesting a lot of business because of those products. And so, we expect that to continue with body-on-frame trucks as well.
Let's run through all the news you need to know to keep up in the auto industry. Gasoline prices have climbed more than 30% since late February due to the Iran war, hitting an average of $4.14 a gallon. The spike is widening the economic advantage for EVs. Seattle-based environmental advocacy group Cultura says the average US driver could now save more than $1,800 a year on fuel and maintenance by switching to an electric vehicle. Cultura policy director Rob Sergeant says growing used EV inventory is making electric vehicles more affordable than ever. He warns that resistance to EVs could cost Americans more at the pump and erode US competitiveness.
Audi workers thought they had a deal. Last year, they agreed to cut 7,500 jobs by 2029 in exchange for €8 billion in investments. But now, CEO Gernot Döllner is hinting at even more cuts. But leaders of Audi's works council aren't having it. They say workers are holding up their end of the bargain. Now it's management's turn to deliver on those promised investments. Adding fuel to the fire, Audi may not build a successor to its A8 flagship at its Neckarsulm plant.
And Volkswagen Group of America CEO Pablo Di Si is praising the automaker's joint venture with Rivian, saying it's delivering the technology VW needs, but he wouldn't say when US vehicles will actually get it. The partnership completed winter testing this year on reference vehicles, including the ID.1, which won't be sold here. Joining me now to talk about it is our own Jack Wszola who covers Volkswagen Group and its brands for us at Automotive News. Jack, welcome back to Daily Drive.
Hey Kellen, good to be here.
VW has committed to pay nearly $6 billion in this joint venture. What does this software-defined architecture actually do differently than what's in VW vehicles today?
Yeah. So, you know, when this joint venture was first announced, Volkswagen Group said the partnership would help accelerate the rollout of software-defined vehicles. And what that looks like in more real-life terms is probably highly automated driving features and what they're calling advanced infotainment solutions that can be updated throughout the life via over-the-air updates. So what that looks like if you're a driver or passenger, it's probably a little bit snappier infotainment, better tech, and probably just an overall better technology experience. There's been a common complaint with Volkswagen infotainments is that they can be kind of laggy, kind of slow, not the most responsive. When the ID.4 launched, that was a key negative point about that car. And Volkswagen, to their credit, have tried to fix that. But it seems like they're really aiming to just provide a better experience for the passenger, for the driver. I think that's one thing that people seem to like about Rivians. That's commentary we've seen with the reviews is that their software, their infotainment is really good. And so I think Volkswagen Group's just trying to replicate that with the help of Rivian basically.
Well, what's the holdup? What do they actually need to work out before they deploy the software in their vehicles?
Yes. So, I think it's a little nuanced. I mean, part of it is just the way the product rollouts are lining up. For the Volkswagen brand, they're going to start with the production version of the ID.1, which the US market isn't getting, but Europe will get that car, and that's supposed to be about 2027. For the US, it's not so much that there's a holdup. I think it's just the way that the product plans are playing out. The software is aimed for EVs. Volkswagen brand doesn't really have any new EVs coming here in the US for a couple years, but Audi and Scout will probably get the software first. That could be sooner than the Volkswagen brand. But I think that there's still quite a bit of R&D to do with the joint venture. They've talked that Rivian and Volkswagen Group still need to do some training across all their brands to make sure everyone's kind of ready to go. So it does still look like some of the first Volkswagen Group products with the tech will be in 2027. It just won't be in the US market for the Volkswagen brand. We should be finding out more in the near future, but definitely more to come. They just surpassed what they're calling a milestone in March with some completion of some winter testing. I'd imagine there's going to be more testing, whether it's hot or cold temperatures, in the near term, but definitely more to come.
Perfect. Jack, as always, thank you so much for joining me.
Yep. Anytime. Thanks, Kellen.
Coming up, Hyundai Motor North America CEO Randy Parker talks about the brand's new Boulder concept and its big push into body-on-frame vehicles. That's next on Daily Drive.
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Welcome back to Daily Drive. I'm Kellen Walker. At the New York International Auto Show last week, Hyundai unveiled the Boulder concept, signaling the brand's ambitious move into body-on-frame vehicles. It's a major strategic shift for Hyundai, taking aim at a segment long dominated by competitors like Jeep and Toyota. Automotive News deputy editor Lindsay Van Houweling spoke with Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America. They talk about what inspired the Boulder concept, how it fits into Hyundai's broader product strategy, and what this move means for the brand's future in the US.
Randy Parker, welcome to Daily Drive.
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
So, you had a reveal today, global reveal on the stage, the Boulder concept. Tell us about it and really what the inspiration is behind it, knowing that Hyundai has said it's making this big move into body-on-frame vehicles.
But first, let me just say that today has been a very exciting day for the Hyundai brand. It started at breakfast this morning with the IONIQ 6 N winning the World Performance Car of the Year. So that's where it all got started and then of course we launched the Boulder Concept which you see out on stage and what a great morning. The Boulder concept is basically our design future of tomorrow and it's our entry into body-on-frame trucks. What Boulder really represents is the possibilities of us going into body-on-frame are endless and that's really what we tried to get across today. By 2030, we've already said that we are going to be bringing in a body-on-frame pickup truck. So showcasing the SUV first is a good way for us to tease what the future could potentially look like.
You know, knowing it's a design study, it does look sort of production ready. Is it something that we might see the Boulder vehicle in some production form down the road?
Well, if I told you that, I'd have to kill you. But I would say that again, the possibilities are very endless. I can't give away too many secrets today, but if you just take a really good look at what that body-on-frame SUV looks like, I think it's going to give you a really good indication of what the future could be.
Jose Muñoz was saying to reporters afterward that it's sort of powertrain agnostic right now, that it wasn't sort of specified in that, you know, something like that could potentially be in multiple different powertrains. Does the Boulder concept have a specific powertrain now or do you see it potentially being something that could be internal combustion, electric, hybrid, some combination?
Yeah, it could be all of the above. What we're really trying to do right now is try to do things the right way by listening to our customer. We're going through many, as you can imagine, focus groups to better understand what are consumers' expectations in this space, whether it's a powertrain, fuel efficiency, capability, performance. We're really right now focused on learning from the customer, meeting customer expectations, and then we'll decide which powertrain direction and derivatives we want to go in.
The customer expectation piece is something that you and the other executives today sort of highlighted as the reason for wanting to move into body-on-frame. It is a new segment for Hyundai here in the US and I guess talk about what you're hearing from customers and how that really inspired the brand to want to move in this direction. Why that's an important opportunity?
Sure. Well, customers have been telling us for a very, very long time that they like our portfolio, but they want to see more. They absolutely want to see more. And so, we've made a decision to enter a very competitive segment. We know it's highly, highly competitive. We're not taking that lightly. And so, as I said, we want to try and do things the right way. We want to listen to our customers first, do a lot of research. That way we are ahead of the curve opposed to behind the curve when we launch.
And that's the midsize pickup segment specifically.
When you think about other applications of it, looking at off-road utility for instance with the Boulder concept, how do you see, where do you see kind of the white space opportunities and how do you think that body-on-frame approach is going to help Hyundai differentiate there?
Well, I think it's going to give us a new entry that we can play in. It's going to bring in different types of buyers that we've never experienced before. We're seeing that right now even with our EV and hybrid sales. You know, we're conquesting a lot of business because of those products. And so we expect that to continue with body-on-frame trucks as well.
So I know the announcement today was that they're going to be built, designed in America, built in America.
