Monthly Archives: December 2019

BMW and Daimler reorganised the mobility joint venture they established at the beginning of the year. Instead of the previous five pillars (multi-modal; ride hailing; car sharing; parking; and charging), there are now three: ride hailing including multi-modal; car sharing; and parking and charging. (BMW)
- Significance: The rationale of grouping the businesses less by function than by the customer offering: taking a journey, getting hold of a car and destination services for car drivers seems solid. Keeping the car sharing as a separate entity, when an argument could be made that it should sit within the first business unit, implies that BMW and Daimler want to keep their options open for this service which seems relatively successful at gaining customers, but less so at making money from them.
Joint venture car sharing service Share Now will exit North America and shut down in several European cities including London. In North America competition and poor infrastructure were blamed whereas in Europe the customer adoption (and therefore utilisation) was too low. (Share Now)

BMW and Daimler reorganised the mobility joint venture they established at the beginning of the year. Instead of the previous five pillars (multi-modal; ride hailing; car sharing; parking; and charging), there are now three: ride hailing including multi-modal; car sharing; and parking and charging. (BMW)
Joint venture car sharing service Share Now will exit North America and shut down in several European cities including London. In North America competition and poor infrastructure were blamed whereas in Europe the customer adoption (and therefore utilisation) was too low. (Share Now)
Set up a new consulting firm, Mercedes-Benz Applied Science, under the wing of the F1 team. (Daimler)
Will pay a $13 million fine to US authorities over the handling of recalls, with a further $7 million suspended on the condition that Daimler properly complies with a set of corrective actions. (Reuters)

FCA and PSA signed a binding merger agreement. The new firm is aiming for substantial synergies, believing that simply reducing the number of platforms (the plan is two mega platforms with over 3 million vehicles annually from each) and implementing best-practice purchasing will save €3 billion every year. Reducing back office staff and merging logistics, IT and marketing is reckoned to save another €700 million annually. The deal is expected to take 12 – 15 months to close. Comau now won’t be sold until after the deal close. No word as yet on the new company’s name. (FCA)
Selling the Teksid foundry business to Tupy. (FCA)
Unions said FCA and PSA had given their word that no plants would be closed, but admitted that didn’t preclude shift or other manning reductions. (Reuters)

Geely (includes Volvo) ^(history)

Investing $1.45 billion to produce the new Bronco and next generation F-150. (Ford)

Volvo issued 5 billion SEK (about $530 million) of preference shares to Swedish investors, replacing an earlier issue of the same value. (Volvo)

General Motors ^(history)

CEO Barra sees plug-in hybrids as a niche proposition and doesn’t want to invest much capital or engineering time in a powertrain choice that isn’t the “end game” (fully electric cars). She suggested that rivals who don’t pursue a similar path are not customer focused and/or don’t believe in global warming. (Motor Trend)
Cadillac’s new Escalade will come with a gigantic 38” inch curved screen. (GM)
Recalling over 900,000 trucks to fix software and manufacturing issues. (Reuters)

Honda ^(history)

Because it has had to build lots of sensors into the steering wheel to enable advanced driver assistance, Honda decided to have a play with the functionality and has added touch gestures such as; turn on the engine, go faster and go slower. You can also use it to go around corners. (Honda)

Mazda

Recalling over 35,000 Mazda3 in the USA because the emergency brakes might mistakenly activate. (Mazda)

PSA ^(history)

FCA and PSA signed a binding merger agreement. The new firm is aiming for substantial synergies, believing that simply reducing the number of platforms (the plan is two mega platforms with over 3 million vehicles annually from each) and implementing best-practice purchasing will save €3 billion every year. Reducing back office staff and merging logistics, IT and marketing is reckoned to save another €700 million annually. The deal is expected to take 12 – 15 months to close. No word as yet on the new company’s name. (FCA)
Dongfeng is selling 30.7 million shares in PSA back to PSA and these will be cancelled before the FCA merger closes. After the transaction, Dongfeng will have a 4.5% stake in the combined firm. (FCA)
Dongfeng and PSA extended their Chinese joint venture agreement. (Reuters)

Lada couldn’t resist jumping on the trend for rugged SUVs with creature comforts. Following in the footsteps of the new Land Rover Defender and soon-to-be-revealed Ford Bronco, the Russian brand updated its 4X4. (Lada)

Tata unveiled the Nexon, a battery-powered B-sized SUV. Despite the seemingly small 30 kWh pack, Tata claims over 300 km of range (as measured in undefined internal testing). (Tata)
JLR acquired Bowler, a UK firm that modifies cars for extreme off-road driving, out of administration. (JLR)
An Indian tribunal ordered holding company Tata Sons to reinstate ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry. (Reuters)

Tesla ^(history)

Getting a five-year $1.4 billion loan from a set of Chinese banks to replace a shorter term facility. (Reuters)
Reducing the capability of Autopilot driver assistance in Europe, Tesla says this is to comply with regulatory demands. (Electrek)
Tesla is working on a retrofit infotainment computer for older vehicles to bring them up to the latest level but CEO Musk cautioned that the system might cost $2,000 and in his opinion wasn’t worthwhile. (Electrek)
- Significance: Tesla is reportedly struggling to balance the expectation that the device can be upgraded (albeit at a cost) with the operating model of continuously revising specifications, rather than bundling them into model years. This isn’t to criticise the approach of releasing new technologies as they appear, just to point out that the firm has yet to work out all the kinks.

Released the production and sales forecast for 2020. Toyota thinks sales will be very slightly up at 10.77 million units (including the Daihatsu and Hino brands) and production will be 1% higher than 2019; at 10.9 million units. (Toyota)
Toyota found that collecting parts from suppliers in a “milk run” was 12% more efficient (measured by driver hours) than having them all deliver separately. The company worries that an impending shortage of delivery drivers in Japan over the next decade will inflate logistics costs, unless it can find offsetting efficiencies. (Toyota)
Launched, Toyota claims, an easy to use IP licencing portal for companies wishing to access Toyota’s advanced R&D. Anyone hoping to get their hands on the secrets of fuel cells might be a bit disappointed, the system currently only covers four areas, one of which is special types of paint. (Toyota)
Thinks geo-fenced driverless vehicles will appear in commercial service long before becoming available as a retail product. (Reuters)

Fined almost $90 million by an Australian court due to dieselgate. (BBC)
Australian authorities are taking VW to court, saying the company didn’t make proper checks before granting loans to consumers. (Reuters)
ID3s are reportedly being built without the proper infotainment software and supposedly the problem will have to be corrected manually, rather than via over the air updates. (Golem)

Other

Uniti’s boss says the firm will have customer cars on the road before mid-2020. (Autocar)
Magna will help to engineer Ineos’s forthcoming offroader. (Autocar)
Mahindra’s Ssangyong arm said workers had agreed to a set of cost saving measures including lower bonuses and part-paid sabbaticals. (Ssangyong) Mahindra also announced a senior management reshuffle. (Mahindra)
Rivian raised another $1.3 billion, Ford and Amazon stumped up some more cash. (Rivian)

News about other companies and trends

Economic / Political News

November passenger car sales in Europe were 1.2 million units, up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. (ACEA)
The UK house of commons backed voted in favour of the Brexit withdrawal agreement that will see the UK leave the EU on 31^st January 2020. Since it was part of the Conservative manifesto, it should pass all parliamentary procedures as a matter of protocol. Also contained within the bill was a commitment that the transition period will end on 31^st December 2020, meaning that without a trade deal, there will be a “hard Brexit”. (BBC)
The incoming UK government aims to complete enough trade deals that 80% of commerce by 2022. (Reuters)

Suppliers

Denso invested in PiNTeam, a German firm writing software for in-car electronics. (Denso)
Intel acquired AI chipmaker Habana Labs. (Intel)

Dealers

German used car website AutoScout24 is set to be sold to a private equity firm. (Reuters)

A German court ruled that Uber didn’t have the necessary licences to operate in the country. (Reuters) Unfortunately, Colombian judges reached a similar conclusion. (Reuters)
BMW and Daimler reorganised the mobility joint venture they established at the beginning of the year. Instead of the previous five pillars (multi-modal; ride hailing; car sharing; parking; and charging), there are now three: ride hailing including multi-modal; car sharing; and parking and charging. (BMW)
BMW’s and Daimler’s joint venture car sharing service Share Now will exit North America and shut down in several European cities including London. In North America competition and poor infrastructure were blamed whereas in Europe the customer adoption (and therefore utilisation) was too low. (Share Now)

High resolution radar developer Arbe raised $32 million from investors including VC funds spending Hyundai’s and BAIC’s money. (Arbe)
Nvidia reckons that its newest chip is ready for fully autonomous driving and will be in cars from 2022. (Nvidia)
Toyota thinks geo-fenced driverless vehicles will appear in commercial service long before becoming available as a retail product. (Reuters)
Tesla is reducing the capability of Autopilot driver assistance in Europe, Tesla says this is to comply with regulatory demands. (Electrek)

Before you read the detail, what were my favourite stories of the past week…?

US firm LS Power is buying charging network EVGo. (LS Power)
IBM is developing a new battery that dispenses with heavy metals. (ZDNet)

Connectivity

Mitsubishi Corporation and NTT acquired a 30% ownership stake in mapping company HERE. (HERE)
Octo Telematics acquired cloud provider Nebula Systems. (Telematics News)

Other

Isuzu and Volvo Group announced a strategic collaboration for heavy vehicles that will see the UD Trucks brand transferred to Isuzu. (Volvo Group)
Rolls-Royce unveiled an electric plane, saying it will take to the skies in 2020. (Reuters)

Find our archive here.

Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 15th December 2019

December 17, 2019 Ad Punctum TeamAd Punctum, Automotive0

Sustainable electrification strategy; faux insights from the top brass; and more ideas about low-cost hybrids. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 9^th December to 15^th December 2019. A PDF version can be found here.

One Way Or Another — Cadillac’s boss expects the firm to switch out of internal combustion engine cars by the end of the 2020s, but isn’t that bothered either way. His comments imply that the brand will make the same vehicles available with a choice of powertrains, which seems to make sense but differs from many peers (i.e. VW) who plan to offer customers a completely different model if they want an electric car. Those following the latter strategy haven’t answered a simple question though… how can it be sustainable to engineer a whole new line-up of electric cars that look very similar to their conventionally powered siblings (yet aren’t), and sell the same in total?
Captain Obvious — GM’s former president (and now head of the Cruise self-driving subsidiary wrote a blog post about how much the world was going to change… people might not own so many cars in future… just watch this space. What is the point of these forward-looking yet empty missives? Is it to convince us that they get it? Is it supposed to be a consolation for not having any new product to show us?
Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt — Continental’s powertrain division (Vitesco) showed off a new series hybrid design that reduces cost through a simpler transmission and engine unit. Combined with Mahle’s similar (though not identical) thoughts, and the continued march of Nissan’s e-power brand, there is growing evidence to support the hypothesis advanced by the Ad Punctum / Evercore ISI research paper from last year… lower cost plug in hybrids, with smaller form factors, will really benefit the transition to electric vehicles. Who’s next?

News is arranged by company and topic. Stories that apply to more than one company or topic are duplicated.

Find our archive here.

News about the major automakers

Signed a five year contract to buy €540 million of lithium from Ganfeng. BMW says it now has enough raw materials for all the batteries it will use. (BMW)
Making some of the algorithms that BMW uses to check quality in plants available publicly. (BMW)

BAIC reportedly plans to increase its stake in Daimler to around 10 percent, which would make it the largest shareholder and eclipse local rival Geely’s interest. (Manager Magazin)
Daimler has punted the market launch of the all-electric EQC in North America to 2021 so that it can concentrate on initial sales in Europe. (The Print)
Announced the electric powertrains will be built at the Untertürkheim, Germany, plant. (Daimler)

US unionised employees voted in favour of the new contract negotiated with the UAW. (FCA)
Revamped the product development organisation, it will now have new “transversal program and execution management functions”. In plain English, it will be just like where they select a team of specialists in Mission: Impossible, but with designing cars, not fighting baddies. (FCA)
When asked about the potential for electric drive on the forthcoming very small (i.e. sub-Renegade) Jeep, executives said enigmatically that it will have “the electrification we need”. (Auto Express)
Will use blockchain to audit raw material suppliers. (FCA)

Ferrari

Announced a new credit line; at €350 million it is smaller than the previous €500 million revolver. (Ferrari)
Ferrari’s CEO says the company won’t have a fully electric car until “post 2025”. (Reuters)

Geely (includes Volvo) ^(history)

Ford reckons it can cut down on energy usage in electric vehicles by changing the lighting colour so that occupants feel either cooler (blue) or warmer (red) than they really are and use air conditioning less. (Ford)
Released the 2020 trend report. (Ford)
Recalling over 550,000 SuperDuty trucks because the seat belts might set fire to the carpet (in a crash). (Ford)
Ford is pushing the boundaries of niche segmentation by releasing a Focus Active X Vignale. In Ford’s words the vehicle combines the “upscale specification” of the Focus Vignale with the “rugged exterior styling” of the plastic-clad Active X model. Let’s see if it catches on. (Ford)
ArgoAI’s revenue will come from licensing its technology for self-driving vehicles on a per-mile basis. (Reuters)

Proton’s CEO hopes the brand will be profitable this year. (Reuters)
Quanergy and Geely announced a collaboration to develop lidars for use in vehicles and traffic-related infrastructure following a successful pilot scheme in China. (Quanergy)
Lynk&Co unveiled the 05, a sporty SUV. (Motor Authority)

General Motors ^(history)

Confirming earlier comments (in August) implying Cadillac would have an all-electric line-up by around 2030, the brand’s chief expects to be able to switch to sales of electric cars — if there is enough demand — “by the latter part of the decade”. (Detroit News)
- Significance: Cadillac’s comments imply that the forthcoming product portfolio will be capable of integrating either battery electric, or combustion engine, powertrains and that the brand will therefore be following an architecture more like BMW / Mercedes than VW / Rivian etc.
GM will loan the company buying the Lordstown, USA, plant (a sibling of Workhorse) up to $50 million and has an option to re-purchase the entire factory (although that expires in mid 2020). (Business Journal of Youngstown)
GM’s former president (and now CEO of self-driving subsidiary Cruise) caused a stir by saying that cars are awful and need to change in every way. Showing he had learned from GM’s past mistakes of over-promising and under-delivering, he declined to say when things might improve. (GM)
Investing $1.5 billion in the next generation of mid-size pickup trucks to be built in Wentzville, USA. (GM)
Unveiled the next generation Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban SUVs. (GM)
CEO Barra said GM had intended to bring a new autonomous car to the CES show in January 2020 but because of the strike it didn’t get finished in time. The reveal will be rescheduled for some time later in the year. (Motor Trend)

Honda ^(history)

Honda’s CEO is rumoured to be planning a big organisational shake-up of the product development function, including taking an axe to the senior management structure. (Reuters)
Reportedly planning to offer a Level 3 “eyes off” driver assistance system in the Japanese market Legend model, but with an eye-watering option cost of tens of thousands of dollars. (Nikkei)

Mazda

Plans to invest over $30 million in the AutoAlliance Thailand plant, jointly owned with Ford to produce a forthcoming vehicle. (Bangkok Post)

Nissan (includes Mitsubishi)^(history)

Japan’s market watchdog recommended that Nissan be fined $22 million for under-reporting Carlos Ghosn’s compensation. (Nissan)

Rumoured to have offered the CEO job to SEAT’s CEO Luca de Meo. (Economic Times of India)
Despite a recent labour agreement (in June), South Korean workers at Renault-Samsung have got the hump and are going on strike. (Korea Herald)

Tata Motors CEO Butschek says there won’t be any more layoffs in India because he wants the company to have capacity ready when the economy rebounds, as he expects it to do soon. (Business Standard)

Toyota executives hinted that the next generation Aygo sub-B car could have substantial electric-only range, and could even be fully electric. (Automotive News)
Toyota’s long-time North American boss is retiring. (Toyota)
Recalling around 14,000 cars to fix problems with the instruments and seat belts. (Toyota)
Toyota and Denso formed a joint venture called MIRISE to develop automotive semiconductors. (Toyota)
UK firm TRB and Toyota Tsusho are opening a US facility for carbon fibre components. (TRB)
- Significance: Given Toyota Tsusho’s close knit relationship with its namesake OEM, the move appears to herald increased usage of carbon fibre in US-built products, with electric vehicles hinted at in TRB’s press release.

Orix corporation will offer retail financing on VW vehicles sold in India. (Autocar)
Porsche’s Taycan received an initial US range assessment of 201 miles, far below the best Tesla Model S derivatives (at 373 miles), despite batteries of a similar size. (Clean Technica)
Although Audi and SAIC refuse to give any concrete details about a future joint venture, a request for quotation posted on a purchasing website suggested the two parties are planning to build the Audi A7L (The National)
VW’s MOIA unit will operate self-driving vehicles in Qatar. (VW)
VW is rolling out a new pay for performance model for mid-level managers, based on recent changes for the executive team. (VW)
Porsche SE invested in lidar firm Aeva. (Aeva)
Suspended operations at a joint venture plant in Algeria. The plant has reportedly not made any vehicles since October. (France 24)
Porsche says it has 10,000 binding orders for the Taycan, with another 20,000 deposits. (Inside EVs)

Other

Nio still wants to launch in Europe, but isn’t sure when, and whether it will be with current products, or the planned next-generation portfolio, (Autocar)
Gordon Murray’s forthcoming T.50 supercar will feature ground-effect aerodynamics enhanced with a fan to improve downforce. (Gordon Murray)
SAIC’s MG brand plans to invest over $420 million in India as it launches a four car range and builds out a 250 dealer footprint. (Economic Times of India)
The founder of VinFast’s parent group says the brand needs to sell at least 100,000 cars per year to be sustainable and thinks it will cost $2 billion to enter the US market. (Straits Times)
Sono Motors received approval to offer future profit sharing to customers in return for deposits on new cars and says that €13 million of a €50 million funding target has been raised but warns that if it doesn’t have the full amount by the end of December, the whole company could fold. (Sono Motors)
McLaren have a new model, the 620R; it looks like a 570S but is faster. (McLaren)

News about other companies and trends

Suppliers

Brose says that although the economic outlook isn’t great it will invest €1.5 billion – €2 billion between now and 2021 and will start an in-house VC unit. (Brose)
Valeo held an investor day. The company is betting that greater use of electrification and driver assistance will increase Valeo’s content per vehicle (and thus profits and revenue). (Valeo)
UK firm TRB and Toyota Tsusho are opening a US facility for carbon fibre components. TRB says that the parts are about the same price as aluminium stampings. (TRB)
Aluminium smelter GFG Alliance has put expansion plans for a Scottish plant on hold because of Brexit. (BBC)
Toyota and Denso formed a joint venture called MIRISE to develop automotive semiconductors. (Toyota)

Dealers

Used car website Carsome raised $50 million. (TechCrunch)

Gossiping Uber insiders told journalists at the firm’s Christmas party that they are confident the ban on operations in London would be overturned and was politically motivated. (Business Insider)
Lyft has started a car rental service; the firm hopes that offering free taxi rides to and from the rental location will help to sweeten the deal. (Lyft)

A journalist’s recent ride in a Waymo driverless car in Phoenix convinced them that the firm has become far better at handling difficult scenarios (such as closed off lanes and construction sites) than the last time they tried the service in about 2017. (The Verge)
Waymo bought simulation firm Latent Logic and said it would set up an engineering centre in the acquisition’s home town of Oxford, UK. (The Telegraph)
Uber is reportedly in talks to acquire simulation firm Foresight. (Business Insider)
A major investor in Zoox says the company will have its own self-driving cars on the road in two years. (The Driven)
Lyft’s autonomous driving team choose their favourite papers from a machine learning conference. (Lyft)
Self-driving start-up Bluespace.ai raised $3.5 million. (FINSMES)
Porsche SE invested in lidar firm Aeva. Aeva says that its latest design can detect objects 300 metres away and will cost under $500 per unit (once high production volumes are reached). (Aeva)
Quanergy and Geely announced a collaboration to develop lidars for use in vehicles and traffic-related infrastructure following a successful pilot scheme in China. (Quanergy)
VW’s MOIA unit will operate self-driving vehicles in Qatar. (VW)
ArgoAI’s revenue will come from licensing its technology for self-driving vehicles on a per-mile basis. (Reuters)

Before you read the detail, what were my favourite stories of the past week…?

Xpeng and Nio will share their charging infrastructure, and customer information, although it seems that for now they will operate independent branding. (Bloomberg)
Continental’s Vitesco powertrain unit unveiled a low-cost series hybrid powertrain that uses electric drive to reduce the complexity of the transmission and reliance on the internal combustion engine. The system saves money through the simpler transmission, and the use of a cheaper port fuel injection engine. (Vitesco)
- Significance: This solution, hot on the heels of Mahle’s series hybrid, shows Tier 1 suppliers are challenging themselves more on the potential for reduced cost, yet capable, hybrid powertrains that focus on the electric motor more than the internal combustion engine, and support the hypothesis of Ad Punctum and Evercore ISI’s E-FIRST research paper from late 2018 that such systems will help OEMs design vehicles that can be either battery or ICE powered, without resorting to completely different architectures.
BMW signed a five year contract to buy €540 million of lithium from Ganfeng. BMW says it now has enough raw materials for all the batteries it will use. (BMW)

Connectivity

Nokia said it has entered mediation with Daimler (and others) in a dispute over IP. (Reuters)

Other

Lime says electric scooter rental services are profitable in Germany six months after launch — so long as you look at figures for the (undefined) core business. (Manager Magazin)
Scooter rental start-up Neuron Mobility raised $18.5 million. (TechCrunch)
Bicycle sharing firm Wheels started installing sharable helmets in the back of the bikes, with removable strips so that users don’t have to share bacteria with the previous occupant. (The Verge)

Find our archive here.

Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 8th December 2019

December 10, 2019 Ad Punctum TeamAd Punctum, Automotive0

Blurry maps give rubbish directions; customers seeing dealers less often; and electric cars in emerging markets. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 2^nd December to 8^th December 2019. A PDF version can be found here.

Green Light — European car making trade body ACEA published a list of things its members hope governments will do to encourage autonomous vehicles. It has a handy timeline for implementation that climbs by year to 2028 then skips 20 years and ends up at 2050. Did I read that right? How do you know that you are asking for the right things if you have so little confidence in showing how it will affect timing?
How Come You Don’t Call Me — VW is moving European customers to 24-month service interval. The brand says that reliability is so fabulous nowadays that it seems primitive to check the car after a single year of driving. Good news for tired customers who dread arranging a trip to the garage, but how will dealers react to seeing their beloved customers less? And will warranty rise when owners have fewer chances to say, “and just take a look at this while you’re at it please” as the car is being serviced?
All Around The World — Hyundai thinks that by 2035, electric vehicles will be mainstream products in emerging markets. Ambitious? Yes. Likely? Maybe. That’s less than three product cycles, so there is plenty of work to be done. But if prices keep falling, someone develops reliable chargers within microgrids and (whisper it) battery swapping can be cracked, then it sounds plausible. Any reason why those same innovations wouldn’t catch on in the West and China too?

News is arranged by company and topic. Stories that apply to more than one company or topic are duplicated.

Find our archive here.

News about the major automakers

Invested in the Series B round of existing portfolio company May Mobility. (Deal Street Asia)
Spending €400 million to build the iNEXT in Dingolfing, Germany. (BMW)
Changed tack on Apple CarPlay and will now off the smartphone add-on free with latest level infotainment systems. Customers who have purchased subscriptions will have the featured enabled forever without charge. Owners of older vehicles will however have to stump up some cash or go without — even though BMW could enable the system remotely if it wanted to. (Autocar)
Suing Valeo and Denso for price fixing on air conditioning parts. (Reuters)
Reportedly the target of a hacking attack by a Vietnamese group. BMW says it knew of the intrusion and was keeping a close eye on the perpetrators to see what they would get up to. (ZDNet)

Started battery production in Thailand. (Daimler)
Daimler and Geely’s Chinese ride hailing joint venture is called StarRides. (Daimler)
Two thirds of Daimler’s planned headcount reductions will come in Germany, according to union leaders. (Reuters)

Looks set for a fight with Italian tax authorities over the value of its US assets. FCA says that even if it loses the case, there won’t be a cash impact. (Detroit News)

Geely (includes Volvo) ^(history)

Ford is dramatically scaling back its GoRide Health non-emergency ambulance service and shifting the brand to a smaller scheme testing autonomous vehicles. It was only in May that Ford heralded the scheme’s expansion to more US cities. (TechCrunch)
Ford says it has recruited 3,000 technology specialists in the last three years. (Ford)
Recalling over 250,000 F-Series trucks because the tailgate might open by mistake. Around 4,000 Explorers and Lincoln Navigators were also recalled because of fuel leaks. (Ford)
Developed a way to use waste produced by roasting coffee beans in non-visible plastic parts. Ford hopes that McDonalds will send lots of the stuff its way. (Ford)
A presentation to a group of investors showed neatly how Ford had evolved its intended all-electric vehicle design into the Mach E (actually not all that much). (Ford – P12 to P14)

Daimler and Geely’s Chinese ride hailing joint venture is called StarRides. (Daimler)

General Motors ^(history)

GM and LG Chem are investing $2.3 billion in a new joint venture factory for batteries with an annual capacity of 30 GWh. The chosen site is in Lordstown, where GM has just sold off a vehicle plant and the output is destined for the forthcoming line of large electric vehicles GM says it will launch in 2021. (GM)
Intends to relocate around half of the employees at the Detroit-Hamtramck, USA, plant once production of conventional models ends in early 2020, indicating lower volume expectations for the all-electric vehicles that will follow. (Fox)
Agreed to sell its stake in a Russian JV to partner Avtovaz, allowing GM to exit the country. (Reuters)

Hyundai / Kia^(history)

Hyundai announced a new set of product objectives called Strategy 2025. The headline was a beefed-up target for electric vehicles — by 2025 the aim is now to sell 670,000 FCEVs and BEVs annually (previously it was over 560,000 BEVs and an unspecified number of FCEVs) and be in the top three EV manufacturers globally (given Tesla’s current volumes, and VW’s aspirations, Hyundai would have to be next best). The target operating margin for the automotive business in 2025 is 8% with a 5% global market share. Hyundai believes it needs to rest on two pillars — hardware and services — in an echo of Ford’s strategy circa 2016. Perhaps the most adventurous target set by the strategy is that by 2035, electric vehicles will be mainstream in emerging markets. (Hyundai)
Reportedly the target of a hacking attack by a Vietnamese group. (ZDNet)

Nissan (includes Mitsubishi)^(history)

Nissan told US office staff not to turn up for work at the start of 2020, hoping to cut costs. (Detroit News)
Nissan’s recently departed CEO says the company discounted the Leaf too heavily to meet aggressive sales targets and this damaged the brand. (FT)
Nissan’s limited edition GT-R50 is going into production soon – and you can still order one. (ItalDesign)
Although Nissan will be introducing some plug-in hybrids in Europe, executives say the firm views the technology as a stopgap until battery electric cars fall in price. (Auto Express)
Appointed Renault’s Hadi Zablit as the general secretary for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. (Renault)
Nissan and Renault both want to concentrate on improving their financial performance before returning to the subject of the correct capital structure for the alliance. (FT)

PSA (includes Opel/Vauxhall) ^(history)

Dongfeng reportedly plans to sell all or part of its stake in PSA. (Reuters)
Made some changes to Opel’s supervisory board, with Group CEO Tavares stepping away and PSA’s HR head becoming the new chairman. (Opel)
Opel says owners of the all-electric Corsa will have far lower running costs that for traditionally-powered models, but the Lion’s share of the benefit comes from the government grant. (Opel)

Investing in Nino Robitcs, a developer of motorised mobility devices. (Renault)
Appointed Renault’s Hadi Zablit as the general secretary for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. (Renault)
Nissan and Renault both want to concentrate on improving their financial performance before returning to the subject of the correct capital structure for the alliance. (FT)

Land Rover is reportedly working on two new vehicles to enter the portfolio sometime after 2021 — a high end all-electric SUV that might be branded as a Defender, and a low-end Land Rover sharing many components with the Tata Harrier and (shock horror) possibly available as front wheel drive only. (Autocar)
Invested in self-driving vehicle developer Apex.ai. (JLR)
Unveiled a major facelift for the F-Type. (JLR)
Hot on the heels of Audi, Jaguar has told I-Pace customers that they will be treated to improvements that will boost the range. In Jaguar’s case, only software changes (delivered over the air) are required. (Electrek)

Tesla ^(history)

Elon Musk won the defamation suit brought against him. (Reuters)
Tesla said the Chinese government had confirmed that locally-built models will qualify for grants. (Reuters)

Toyota’s North American sales team say they could shift double the amount of RAV4 plug-in hybrids, but that scare battery supplies are holding them back. (Bloomberg)
Invested in the Series B round of existing portfolio company May Mobility. (Deal Street Asia)
Announced a series of senior leadership changes. (Toyota)

Moving European customers to a 24-month servicing cycle. (VW)
VW’s offices were raided again by German authorities, seeking evidence about manipulation of diesel emissions. Worryingly, the reported line of questioning was over the EA288 engine — a product that VW have said is completely legal. (Handelsblatt)
VW executives said the pace of improvement at German plants was lagging other countries. (Reuters)
Reshuffled the design leadership, sort of demoting Porsche’s design chief by taking away his Group-wide role. (VW)
Audi says that by 2025, CO₂ emissions from the manufacturing process will be reduced by 1.2 tons per car. (Audi)

Other

Critics of SAIC’s MG brand beware: the company has taken a dim view of a customer who made a YouTube video of his car being pulled by a donkey after he says the company didn’t fix it properly. MG ominously said it would be taking “appropriate action” because of the damage being done to the brand’s reputation by the stunt. (India Today)
Workhorse completed a transaction with Moog that saw it sell the IP to an electric air taxi it was developing and create a JV to sell a drone designed to operate from delivery vehicles. (Workhorse)
Mysterious Chinese investment vehicle Qingdao Wudaokou New Energy Industrial Fund took a large stake in Chery’s automotive operations and parent company. (Deal Street Asia)
Aston Martin is reportedly the subject of interest from the owner of the Racing Point F1 team. (Autocar) The news came at the same time the company’s new Welsh factory opened. (AML)

News about other companies and trends

Economic / Political News

November US light vehicle SAAR of 17.09 million units fell (1.8)% versus prior year. (Wards)
UK passenger car registrations of 156,621 units in November fell (1.3)% year-over-year. (SMMT)
November passenger car registrations in Germany of 299,127 units rose 9.7% versus prior year. (KBA)
French November passenger car sales of 172,735 units rose 0.7% year-over-year, despite fewer selling days. (CCFA)
Passenger car sales in Italy during November reached 150,587 units, a 2.2% increase over prior year. (UNRAE)
Spanish passenger car registration of 93,158 units in November rose 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. (ANFAC)
Kansas City, USA, will make public transport free at the point of use. (Curbed)

Suppliers

Nidec completed the acquisition of motor manufacturer Roboteq. (Nidec)
Garrett is suing former parent Honeywell over an asbestos indemnity Garrett says was imposed on the company just before spin-off. (Garrett)

Dealers

US online used car marketplace Vroom raised $254 million. (TechCrunch)
Car selling website CarDekho raised $70 million. (Economic Times of India)

Uber released a safety report detailing the number of incidents such as sexual assaults and deaths of passengers and drivers. The company believes that it compares favourable to US national averages, or figures from similar services, but admits that more can be done to keep stakeholders safe. (Uber) There was some criticism that the data only covers Uber’s definition of active service. (TechCrunch)
Ride hailing firm Arcade City is relaunching services. (ABS-CBN)
MVL’s blockchain-based ride-hailing service Tada raised $5 million. (MVL)
Ford is dramatically scaling back its GoRide Health non-emergency ambulance service and shifting the brand to a smaller scheme testing autonomous vehicles. It was only in May that Ford heralded the scheme’s expansion to more US cities. (TechCrunch)
May Mobility raised $50 million from investors including Toyota and BMW. (Deal Street Asia)
Daimler and Geely’s Chinese ride hailing joint venture is called StarRides. (Daimler)

Waymo says it has completed 100,000 autonomous taxi journeys. (Bloomberg)
European car making trade body ACEA published a wish list of things it hopes governments will do to encourage automated driving. The car companies seem unclear as to how the timeline will develop, even if they get everything they want; ACEA’s plan moves year-by-year up until 2028, at which point it leaps to 2050. (ACEA)
Volvo Group (the one that makes trucks) is investing in self-driving vehicle developer Apex.ai, alongside JLR. (Volvo) It also put money into VC fund Autotech Ventures. (Volvo)
Uber has applied for a patent for a robotic car cleaner that would be stored in the boot (trunk). (Business Insider)

Before you read the detail, what were my favourite stories of the past week…?

ABT and Schaeffler formed a joint venture to modify VW-brand vehicles to become all-electric. (Schaeffler)
Ahamani Group and Renon formed a JV to guild a 200 MWh battery pack factory in India. (Autocar)
Toyota’s North American sales team say they could shift double the amount of RAV4 plug-in hybrids, but that scare battery supplies are holding them back. (Bloomberg)
Hyundai announced a new set of product objectives called Strategy 2025. The headline was a beefed-up target for electric vehicles — by 2025 the aim is now to sell 670,000 FCEVs and BEVs annually (previously it was over 560,000 BEVs and an unspecified number of FCEVs) and be in the top three EV manufacturers globally (given Tesla’s current volumes, and VW’s aspirations, Hyundai would have to be next best). By 2035, Hyundai believes, electric vehicles will be mainstream in emerging markets. (Hyundai)

Connectivity

BMW changed tack on Apple CarPlay and will now off the smartphone add-on free with latest level infotainment systems. Customers who have purchased subscriptions will have the featured enabled forever without charge. Owners of older vehicles will however have to stump up some cash or go without — even though BMW could enable the system remotely if it wanted to. (Autocar)

Other

Nikola and Iveco unveiled the fuel cell powered truck the pair are set to sell in Europe. (Italdesign)

Find our archive here.

Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 1st December 2019

December 3, 2019 Ad Punctum TeamAd Punctum, Automotive0

Rosy assumptions for fuel cells; car companies vs capitalism; and is this how FCA butters up acquisition targets? Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 25^th November to 1^st December 2019. A PDF version can be found here.

How Far I’ll Go — In their capital markets presentation, Faurecia forecast that fuel cells will have a total cost of ownership roughly equal to battery electric powertrains by 2030 (in commercial vehicles). The maths seems based on some pretty extreme cost reductions for fuel cells, without the same optimism on batteries. The only justification for fuel cells over battery electric seems to be range, at what level of charging power does that cease to be a strong argument?
You’re Welcome — Sono Motors wants to raise €50 million from the public to get the Scion solar-augmented car into production. The firm is willing to give people who buy cars now a stake in future profits. Fintech innovation or wishful thinking?
Shiny — FCA has apparently been sniffing around some of the less well-heeled electric car start-ups in the USA, asking them to build demonstration cars. Is this a precursor to a lucrative licensing deal (as the start-ups hope), or a smart (albeit ruthless) way of performing due diligence ahead of these companies potentially collapsing? Could FCA build a world class electrified vehicle team simply by picking through the carcases of multiple failed start-ups?

News is arranged by company and topic. Stories that apply to more than one company or topic are duplicated.

Find our archive here.

News about the major automakers

Changed the structure of employee bonus payments so that they are lower, linked to dividends and employees with longer contractual hours get the same fixed level as their co-workers. BMW’s CEO hopes this will avoid the need for “drastic measures”. (Xinhua)
confirmed the location of the new plant being built in China (in partnership with Great Wall) that will build the forthcoming Mini E. The factory will have capacity for 160,000 units per year. (BMW)

Daimler announced it had reached an agreement with German unions to reduce staff cost and jobs, without providing any details. Although voluntary redundancies appear inevitable, the press release proudly said the 2029 employment guarantee was untouched. The company is asking workers to reduce their hours (e.g. from 40 hour per week contracts) and will let go of temporary staff. (Daimler) Executives told journalists that the number of redundancies would be in five digits. (The Guardian)

Reached a tentative agreement with the UAW. (FCA) FCA apparently agreed to around 8,000 new jobs in the US and unlike GM and Ford won’t close any plants. (Detroit Free Press)
PSA and FCA have a 50-strong team working to finalise the merger details. (Reuters)
Reportedly has been asking distressed electric car start-ups (amongst them Faraday Future and Seres / SF Motors) to build demonstration versions of their electric powertrains integrated into FCA models. (The Verge)
Tried to assuage union concerns about the risk to jobs in Italy arising from the PSA merger by saying 90% of the investments announced in the country were already underway. (Reuters)
Recalling over 50,000 Fiat 500 cars because the cable that controls the gearshift might come loose. (FCA) FCA is also recalling 100,000 vans because the air conditioning could catch fire. (FCA)

Hyundai / Kia^(history)

A new Lincoln SUV program will apparently use a Rivian platform. (Reuters)
Received a fine of approximately $2.5 million from the South African regulator because Kugas sold in the country kept catching fire. (Xinhua)
Recalling over 75,000 Ranger pickup trucks to fix problems with the taillights. (Ford)

Honda ^(history)

Launched a minor refresh of the Civic in Europe. (Honda)

Investing $1.55 billion to build a new plant in Indonesia and develop a portfolio suited to local tastes. (Hyundai)

Mazda

Mazda says sportscar customers are changing and that the formula for the MX-5 might need to change with them. The company appears to be struggling with the cost and weight trade-offs of an electric powertrain. (Autocar)

Nissan (includes Mitsubishi)^(history)

The head honchos of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi thrashed out a new organisation structure that will see combined activities led by a General Secretary (yet to be appointed). (Nissan)
Is automating a series of jobs in factories that have traditionally required extensive training or put physical strain on employees such as headliner and powertrain installation on assembly, plus sealant application in the paint shop. Nissan says it has developed special ways to make minute adjustments and detect clips locking in place. (Nissan)

PSA (includes Opel/Vauxhall) ^(history)

Faurecia held a capital markets day, explaining how the footprint will be reduced to improve profitability and giving an overview of some of the next generation technologies the company will offer. Faurecia confidently predicts that by 2030 fuel cells will have comparable total cost of ownership to all-electric powertrains in commercial vehicles (p63). This analysis forecasts a drop of more than two thirds in the price and operating cost of fuel cells, the justification for this extreme decline wasn’t made public. By 2030 Faurecia thinks for commercial vehicles, fuel cell market share might be almost as high as all-electric share. (Faurecia)
PSA and FCA have a 50-strong team working to finalise the merger details. (Reuters)
Reportedly closing in on a deal to sell its share in Chinese JV Capsa (with Changan) to Baodeng. The plan would be for the factory to continue producing DS models on a contract manufacturer basis. (Les Echos)
Has contracts in place that guarantee battery supply for the next three years, but CEO Tavares is concerned about the longer term outlook. (Automotive News)

Unveiled a mildly refreshed Espace large MPV. Apparently, 60% of vehicles sold are of the top trim level. (Renault)
The head honchos of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi thrashed out a new organisation structure that will see combined activities led by a General Secretary (yet to be appointed). (Nissan)
Removing the option to lease the battery for the Zoe in the UK because residual values are stronger than expected, reducing the lease payments for the car itself. (Fleet News)

Revealed an updated version of the F-Type sports car. (Jaguar)
JLR said all vehicles now being sold are connected and capable of over the air updates. Some owners of recently purchased cars will receive free upgrades to bring their vehicles up to the latest standard. (JLR)

Tesla ^(history)

Rumoured to have pulled forward orders for mass production parts to support Model Y to early 2020. (Electrek)
Now claims 250,000 orders for the Cybertruck. (Reuters)
Has apparently begun deploying mobile charging stations powered by a whopping 3 MWh battery. (Electrek)
CEO Musk says the Cybertruck is the last unveiling for “a while”. The company still needs to deliver the previously revealed Model Y, Semi Truck, Roadster and Cybertruck into production. (Electrek)
- Significance: If there is truly no more product forthcoming in the next two to three years, this implies that either Tesla believes the Model S and Model X can continue to hold their own against a swelling cohort of new competition, or the business is resigned to seeing their market share wilt.

Toyota Tsusho joined the Series C round of Indian bus aggregator app Shuttl. (Deal Street Asia)
Dropped non-hybrid versions of the Corolla from the European line-up. (Autocar)

Sold the 100,000^th all-electric Golf, a fantastic sales performance from a model most would forget to mention in a line-up of top selling electric cars. Full year 2019 sales are likely to top 30,000 units. (VW)
Audi reached an agreement with German unions to extend the job guarantee to 2029, but only on the proviso that 9,500 German positions are eliminated by 2025. Capacities at Audi’s German plants will be trimmed too, although the firm stresses that it will continue to hire and train younger workers. Audi says the measures will save €6 billion by 2029. (Audi)
Audi’s next product plan calls for €37 billion of R&D and CapEx between 2020 – 2024, €12 billion of this will be for electric vehicles. (Audi)
The head of VW’s component division is looking for a partner to help with the seating business. (Automotive News)
Audi has discovered some improvements that boost the eTron’s range by 25 km (under WLTP). The changes involve new hardware and software. (Audi)
- Significance: The changes indicate that Audi has taken unflattering comparisons to Tesla seriously.

Other

Sono Motors hopes to raise €50 million in a crowdfunding campaign. If successful, the company hopes to be able to use a similar route to raise further funding as the program progresses. Sono says it has discovered that institutional investors are too focused on short term profits. Sono’s unique approach is to promise early buyers that they will share in the profits made from future sales. (Sono Motors)
Bollinger Motors says the breakeven point for the B1 and B2 program is under 3,000 units per year. Initial orders are around 80% for the SUV version (B1) and 20% pickup. (Trucks)
Fisker aspires to be the number one e-mobility provider on the planet and will offer its entry level product, Ocean, on a flexible $380 per month lease. The car will have an intriguing “California mode”, which supposedly gives the feeling of being in a convertible without having to take the roof off. (Fisker)
StreetScooter says it will start selling electric vans in the USA from early 2020. (Reuters)

News about other companies and trends

Suppliers

Trelleborg is acquiring Tritec Seal. (Autocar)
Panasonic is selling its semiconductor division to Nuvoton. (Panasonic)
Autoliv has a new CFO. (Autoliv)

Dealers

Indian used car website Spinny is finalising a round to raise $50 million. (Deal Street Asia)
CarDekho, a used car website, acquired Carmudi Philippines. (Deal Street Asia)

Uber lost its operating licence in London, again. Uber will appeal the decision but the regulator has pledged to stand firm, citing numerous instances of what it considers to be safety failures. (BBC)
- Significance: Alongside New York, London has shown a willingness to flex its regulatory muscles regardless of a company’s size. The city appears interested in new modes of transport but doesn’t view early entry or global reach as a good enough reason for market access to continue if it is unhappy with an operator. So long as alternative providers exist, this seems a viable regulatory model and exponents of first mover advantage would be unwise to discount it.
An analysis of fare data in Chicago suggested that ride hailing companies are increasing the prices for shared rides more than for single user journeys. (Reuters)
Shuttl raised $18 million from Toyota Tsusho and other investors. (Deal Street Asia)

Cognitive Technologies and Sberbank have formed a joint venture to develop self-driving cars. (Reuters)