Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 26th April 2020
Oil prices can’t kill the electric car; Madoff-style car companies; and dodgy maths by volume forecasters. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 20th April to 26th April 2020. A PDF version can be found here.
Before you read the detail, what were my favourite stories of the past week…?
- These Are The Days Of Our Lives — Oil prices fell into negative territory. Briefly. In some parts of the world. It isn’t clear whether, or to what extent, this will filter through to prices at the pump but this much is obvious: if electric cars can gain ground under these economic conditions, imagine what will happen if there is a big price rise. There isn’t yet a widely accepted rule of thumb for X% increase in electric fleet mix with $Y increase in the price of a barrel of oil, will there be soon?
- The Invisible Man — A well-placed insider claims that Karma, the electric car company formed from the remnants of (the first) Fisker, is doomed for the scrapheap and peddling vapourware-laden press releases to try and drum up investor interest (which the firm denies). Given that Karma actually produce a car (albeit a legacy design), how well will less mature rivals face down similar claims?
- Hammer To Fall — VW says that when production resumes, some factories will run at 40% of normal rate due to new workplace spacing and hygiene rules. FCA has a slightly sunnier view, aiming for 70%. But how do these constrained supply-side outputs match with the OEMs’ preferred view of a steady recovery, even if the demand is there? I’m just doing some basic maths here (and putting concerns over financial distress to one side): PSA’s view that the European market would decline 25% in 2020 sounded grim but if you lose two months and then can’t return to full speed, isn’t it optimistic?
News is arranged by company and topic. Stories that apply to more than one company or topic are duplicated.
Find our archive here.
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News about the major automakers
- Preliminary Q1 2020 group EBIT was €617 million. Daimler burned through €(2.3) billion of cash in the quarter and wouldn’t venture an opinion on full year results except to say that they would be worse than 2019. (Daimler)
- Daimler Trucks and Volvo Trucks intend to form a joint venture for fuel cells with Daimler receiving €600 million in return for contributing its fuel cell IP. (Daimler)
- The JV with Volvo Trucks reflects Daimler’s belief that fuel cells have already lost the battle with batteries and the firm has no plans to produce another fuel cell model. (Automotive News)
- Released its 2019 sustainability report. (Daimler)
- Drew €6.25 billion from its agreed credit lines. (Nasdaq)
- CEO Hackett hopes that door handles and steering wheels of future models will contain antimicrobial properties to prevent transmission of diseases. (Detroit News)
- Decided that developing the powertrain for a new Focus RS would be too expensive. (Autocar)
- Corporate espionage experts looking to get their hands on a Mustang Mach E, and associated technology, had their lives made easier thanks to this helpful guide to which engineers have taken them home during the coronavirus lockdown. (CNN)
- Recalling around 1,400 SUVs because the seat belt sensors might not register the occupant properly. (Ford)
Geely (includes Volvo) (history)
- LEVC invoked a force majeure clause in supplier contracts, enabling the firm to suspend payments. (Sky News)
- Lotus’s boss says a forthcoming entry-level sportscar will be the firm’s last with a combustion engine. (Bloomberg)
- Shuttered the Maven short term car rental service with immediate effect. A relatively short time ago, GM was saying everything was going brilliantly. The firm now says it learned lots. (Detroit Free Press)
- Kia reported Q1 2020 sales of 648,685 cars, down (1.9)% versus prior year. Revenue of 14.6 trillion KRW (about $12 billion) rose 17% year-over-year thanks to exchange rates and mix. Operating profit of 446 billion KRW (about $360 million) fell (25)%. Kia hopes that a new line of SUVs will help offset some of coronavirus. (Kia)
- Hyundai reported Q1 2020 revenue of 25.3 trillion KRW (about $21 billion), up 6% on a year-over-year basis. Operating profit of 864 billion KRW (about $710 million). (Hyundai)
- Recalling vehicles fitted with the remote parking feature because the car might move even when the driver hasn’t asked it to. (Fox)
Nissan and Mitsubishi (history)
- The alliance partners are reportedly planning a slew of new shared programs, with a focus on electric cars and self-driving technology. (Reuters)
- Mitsubishi issued a profit warning for the 2019/20 fiscal year (which just ended). Preliminary revenue is 2.3 trillion JPY (about $21.3 billion) and operating profit is 12 billion JPY (about $112 million). (Mitsubishi)
- Reported Q1 2020 revenue of €15.2 billion. Automotive revenue of €11.9 billion fell (16)% versus prior year. Pricing and production mix gains were more than offset by volume drops. PSA reports full financial figures every six months. The company expects European industry to be 25% lower than 2019 levels but didn’t give a view on 2021. (PSA)
- Faurecia formed a joint venture with Xuyang Group to develop display systems. (Faurecia)
- Reported quarterly revenue of €10.1 billion in Q1 2020, a drop of (19.2)% on a year-over-year basis, from sales of 672,962 vehicles, down (25.9)%. Renault only reports full financial results every six months. Renault said the effects of coronavirus were “impossible to assess”. (Renault)
- Expects to have a multi-billion euro loan, backed by the French state, lined up by the end of May. (Reuters)
- Global wholesales in Q1 2020 (fiscal Q4) were 231,929 units (of which JLR was 126,979 cars), down (35)% on a year-over-year basis. (Tata)
- CEO Musk said that the Cybertruck could float as a method of increasing the wading depth. (Twitter)
- Unveiled a new B-sized crossover for the European market. Rather than tie into the existing crossover nomenclature with B-HR, Toyota opted for Yaris Cross. The car will launch in 2021. (Toyota)
- Škoda says that 2019 options take rate data shows customers really want larger windows. (Škoda)
Other
- Karma says that, thanks to its new platform, it can develop supercars with a 0-60 mph time under two seconds with 400 miles of range, plus 21 other types of car. (Karma) On the other hand, unnamed insiders claim that many of the recent product reveals have been half-baked and the company is about to implement drastic cuts. Karma strenuously denied the claims. (Jalopnik)
- FAW and hitherto little-known start-up Silk EV plan to make a Hongqibranded sports car. (Reuters)
- BYD and Hino will work together on electric commercial vehicles. (Inside EVs)
News about other companies and trends
Economic / Political News
- EU negotiators said that poor progress was being made in post-Brexit trade agreement talks, with part of the problem being that the UK kept insisting it was an equal-strength partner. (BBC)
- European light commercial vehicle sales in Q1 2020 of 422,681 units fell (24.7)% year-over-year. (ACEA)
- The US Government has granted manufacturers five years (from three) to meet the requirements of the renewed NAFTA / USMCA. (Detroit News)
- As European car making plants gingerly restarted production, measures implemented by VW in Germany were typical: temperature checks; greater distance between workstations and freely available hand sanitiser and face masks. Critically, volumes are drastically reduced because of lower employee densities (for instance, in Wolfsburg, even once everyone is back at work, volumes will be only 40% of “normal” levels). (VW)
- Leaders of the UAW union in the US are sceptical that manufacturers know what the right level of preventative measures required are. (Detroit Free Press)
- Oil prices fell into negative territory as traders scrambled to cover futures contracts. It isn’t clear how much this will flow to prices at the pump. (Reuters)
Suppliers
- Veoneer agreed to sell most of its brake control division to a mysterious “well-established automotive supplier”. The deal is expected to close by mid-year. (Veoneer) Q1 2020 revenue was $362 million. (Veoneer)
- Kongsberg’s Q1 2020 revenue was €262 million and adjusted EBIT was €8 million. (Kongsberg)
- Autoliv reported Q1 2020 revenue of $1.8 billion and operating income of $134 million. (Autoliv)
- Adient reported preliminary Q1 2020 revenue of $3.5 billion. (Adient)
- Valeo’s Q1 2020 revenue was €4.5 billion. The firm says it has enough money to pay a dividend. (Valeo)
Ride-Hailing, Car Sharing & Rental (history)
- Uber launched new contactless delivery services to try and make up for the drop in taxi business. Uber Direct is like Uber Eats, but for things that aren’t food. Uber Connect is a peer-to-peer courier service. (Uber)
- Hertz laid off 1,000 staff as part of moves to weather an impending recession. (Auto Rental News)
- GM shuttered the Maven short term car rental service with immediate effect. A relatively short time ago, GM was saying everything was going brilliantly. The firm now says it learned lots. (Detroit Free Press)
Driverless / Autonomy (history)
- Venti Technologies and Aerosun Corporation hope to develop a range of driverless cleaning vehicles. (Venti)
- Portable charger maker SparkCharge raised $3.3 million. (Charged EVs)
- Charger developer FreeWire raised $25 million from BP and others. (FreeWire)
Connectivity
- US car makers, desperate to preserve a radio spectrum reservation, said they would put 5 million connected cars and pieces of roadside infrastructure within the next five years if the government abandoned plans to reallocate most of the capacity to other user groups. (Bloomberg)
Other
- An exposé of scooter rental service Bird’s culture and operations suggested that insiders believe the company is destined to fail (soon). (The Verge)
- Didi Chuxing’s bicycle rental unit Qingju reportedly raised $1 billion, some of it apparently from right under the noses of rival Hellobike. (Technode)
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Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 19th April 2020
Tesla moves further down the road to cast bodies; Ford’s age problem; and you have permission to plan for a recession. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 14th April to 19th April 2020. A PDF version can be found here.
Before you read the detail, what were my favourite stories of the past week…?
- Why Stop Now — Tesla is so happy with the use of large castings in the Model Y that plans are afoot to go further and roll back some of the changes to Model 3. The use of castings for the vehicle body is nothing new, but Tesla’s approach to replace assemblies made up of stampings and extrusions with castings far bigger than normal is innovative and makes things simpler (and hopefully cheaper, if you can overcome weight and engineering change problems). Will Tesla now proceed to the completely cast underbody as promised?
- Respect My Conglomerate — Ford celebrated the recruitment of two new executives, one aged 44, the other 36. They are going to work in new-fangled departments like data analytics and digital experience. All well and good, but why doesn’t Ford seem to have any homegrown talent under 45 in senior positions? Could it be that ageing managers have supressed talent? Or, everyone they recruited from school is no good? Will the new recruits stay?
- Extinction Level Event — The head of the IMF is expecting a mega recession, so it’s official: we are allowed to talk about it without fear of being labelled a scare mongering demand destroyer. Kongsberg Automotive (a supplier) thinks that even in the best case, global industry will fall around 10% in 2021 (and crater in 2020). Which OEMs will be the first to openly agree? Will Tesla and Uber survive?
News is arranged by company and topic. Stories that apply to more than one company or topic are duplicated.
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News about the major automakers
- Released its annual sustainability report. (FCA)
- Recalling 425,588 vehicles to fix windscreen wipers that might fall off. (FCA)
- Prompted by an intensive study led by new COO Farley, Ford announced an executive reshuffle: The head of the Americas will now run all markets except China and Europe, receiving extra help from a new North America COO and an expanded role for the leader of the South America unit. The head of Ford’s much-vaunted Team Edison electric car project will run commercial vehicles in North America, without a clear replacement. Two lower-tier external recruitments were made in data analytics and digital experiences. (Ford)
- Significance: Ford’s external recruitment highlights the firm’s dearth of under 45s with significant leadership experience, perhaps in part explaining the tardiness on upgrading the portfolio for electrification and connectivity. The last major hire at a similar age didn’t fare too well, leaving relatively quickly citing an unease with the company’s culture.
- Raised $8 billion in bonds that mature between 2023 – 2030. Analysts noted the high interest rates — 9.625% for the longest-dated debt. (Ford)
- Raised an additional $1.95 billion credit line. GM said it would only be used for the captive finance company (although the terms aren’t so prescriptive). (GM)
- PSA’s Q1 sales of 627,024 vehicles fell (29)% on a year-over-year basis. (PSA)
- JLR’s fiscal full year (April 2019 to March 2020) retail sales of 508,659 units fell (12)% year-over-year. (JLR)
- CEO Musk says the use of large castings to replace traditional stampings in the Model Y subframe had been so successful that the company is going forward with a plan to replace components with even bigger castings, and to roll some of the changes into the Model 3, but not for some time. (Clean Technica)
- Announced preliminary financial results for Q1 2020. Revenue was around €55 billion, with an operating profit of €0.9 billion with VW saying it lost €(1.3) billion on commodity and currency hedging. Cash flow was €(2.5) billion. Financial guidance for the full year was withdrawn. (VW)
- Bugatti engineers say that working restrictions in place to prevent virus transmission have led to a 30% increase in the time it takes to complete calibration drives but they are still having fun. (VW)
News about other companies and trends
Economic / Political News
- The recently appointed head of the IMF expects a massive global recession to follow coronavirus. (BBC)
- French president Macron believes that people will want to push harder on clean air and climate change related regulations. (FT)
- European passenger car registrations in March of 853,077 units fell (52)% on a year-over-year basis. (ACEA)
- European car makers trade body ACEA explicitly called for a financial stimulus to encourage “fleet renewal” by customers who might otherwise keep their cars. (ACEA)
Suppliers
- Motherson says customer (OEMs) are suggesting financially distressed suppliers as potential takeover targets and it will share some plans in October. (Autocar)
- Tenneco has outsourced some engine components that it (or previously Federal Mogul) traditionally supplied to Burgess Norton. It is unclear whether any asset transfer is involved. (Burgess Norton)
- Bharat Forge thinks that as a result of coronavirus, OEMs are more likely to diversify their supply bases so that they are better placed to weather similar shocks in future. (Autocar)
- Endurance Technologies acquired Italian clutch specialist Adler. (Endurance)
- Michelin took a 20% stake in recycling company Enviro, developers of a promising process that can break down used tyres to their constituent raw materials. (Michelin)
- TomTom reported Q1 2020 revenue of €131 million and a net loss of €(63) million. (TomTom)
- Kongsberg’s worst-case scenario for a coronavirus recovery is that factories restart en masse in May but take until mid-July to get up to normal speed. Even in the company’s best case, in 2021 industry would be (9)% – (11)% worse than 2019. (Kongsberg p.13)
- Goodyear issued preliminary Q1 2020 financial results. Revenue was $3 billion and the PBT loss will be in the range $(185) million to $(195) million. (Goodyear)
Dealers
- Mazda started giving quotes for bodywork repair based on photographs uploaded by the owner. (Mazda)
Ride-Hailing, Car Sharing & Rental (history)
- BMW and Daimler’s FREE NOW ride hailing service absorbed Kapten. (Kapten)
- Fleet management software developer Autofleet raised $7.5 million. (FINSMES)
- Uber says coronavirus has caused a write down of investments in other companies totalling around $2 billion. (Uber)
Driverless / Autonomy (history)
- Zoox and Tesla settled a lawsuit over documentation (about parts ordering and how to run a warehouse) ex-Tesla employees had taken with them when they joined the self-driving start-up. (The Verge)
- APB Corporation licenced Nissan’s battery technology for use in stationary storage applications. (Autocar)
- Significance: With stationary storage producers (obviously) looking to use the most up to date technology, it remains to be seen how much revenue used batteries will capture when in direct competition with brand new products.
Other
- Lime acquired the remnants of electric skateboard maker Boosted. (The Verge)
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Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 13th April 2020
Easily fixed warranty problems; outrageous ideas about solar power; and a good excuse for sensible ideas. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 6th April to 13th April 2020. A PDF version can be found here.
Before you read the detail, what were my favourite stories of the past week…?
- What Goes Around… Comes Around… — FCA is recalling about 320,000 vehicles because the rear-view camera video lingers too long in the display after the driver selects a forward gear. Apparently, this can be distracting and cause crashes. What I’m wondering is why (years after Tesla blazed a trail for over the air updates and mainstream manufacturers connected their infotainment systems to the cloud) the control of the rear view camera image is considered such a security risk that this repair requires a visit to the dealer?
- SexyBack — Flexible solar panel maker Armor thinks that the secret to covering a car in solar panels without ruining the styling is using a retractable cover stored in the rear bumper. First off, apologies, this was unveiled in February so for some won’t count as new news. Some will point to inefficiencies in using flexible cells, plus the fact that the system can’t charge whilst the car is driving. I’m drawn to the slightly bonkers, out-of-the-box, feeling of it all. Are we all being so imaginative?
- Not A Bad Thing — Aston Martin wants to use the coronavirus to shift from build to schedule (where the factory and dealers decide what cars people will probably want) to build to order (where a customer needs to order the car first). Why don’t car makers only build the cars people have paid for anyway, you might think? I’m afraid the answer to that lies in arcane practices around production levelling and supply base planning that make build to order harder than it sounds. But Aston are far from the only company that works this way; will the period of coronavirus-enforced reflection prompt others to go the same way?
News is arranged by company and topic. Stories that apply to more than one company or topic are duplicated.
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News about the major automakers
- Delivered 477,111 cars in Q1 2020, down (21)% versus prior year. (BMW)
- Delivered 483,241 passenger cars in Q1 2020, a drop of (18)% on a year-over-year basis. (Daimler)
- Daimler’s CFO got the backs of the finance staff up by announcing a reorganisation (a combination of the corporate Daimler and car making finance teams) but withholding details until after the coronavirus passes. Insiders reportedly believe that this is the first step in a push to eliminate most of the 6,000 positions at the group holding company, citing massive duplication with Mercedes-Benz. (Handelsblatt)
- CFO Wilhelm said that passenger car and van divisions will make a Q1 2020 profit, despite coronavirus. (Reuters)
- PSA and FCA are working hard to close their merger agreement ahead of schedule. (Reuters)
- Recalling about 320,000 vehicles because the display from the rear view camera doesn’t disappear quickly enough once drivers start moving forward. (UPI)
- Significance: This is exactly the type of fault that manufacturers should be fixing quickly and cheaply with over the air updates.
- Issued a profit warning for Q1 2020 results. Revenue will be about $34 billion and adjusted PBIT will be around $(0.6) billion. Ford’s latest net cash figure suggests net cash burn of over $7 billion since the end of 2019. The CFO said the company has enough money for there to be zero production to the end of Q3 2020. (Ford)
- Recalling about 68,000 trucks and large SUVs in North America because of a potential rollaway issue. (Ford)
- Interested in raising even more money to cover potential cash burn. (Bloomberg)
Geely (includes Volvo) (history)
- Geely’s Chinese brands sold 206,027 units in Q1 2020, a (44)% drop on prior year. (Geely)
Nissan and Mitsubishi (history)
- Nissan’s forthcoming recovery plan will reportedly replace a long-standing sales target of around 6 – 7 million vehicles annually with a lower figure of around 5 million. (Reuters)
- Nissan is apparently asking banks for a $4.6 billion increase in its credit line. (Reuters)
- The head of the Vauxhall brand in the UK believes that coronavirus will irrevocably change buying habits, with (retail) customers relying far more on websites and manufacturer call centres for initial enquiries, then being handed over to a dealer. (Autocar)
- PSA and FCA are working hard to close their merger agreement ahead of schedule. (Reuters)
- Announced a new China plan. Renault will sell its shares in Dongfeng Renault to Dongfeng and the company will cease production and sales of Renault branded cars (although existing customers will be looked after). The brand will continue with commercial vehicles and electric cars through three other joint ventures (one of which is with Dongfeng). (Renault)
- Cancelled the 2019 dividend. (Renault)
- S&P downgraded Renault’s corporate bonds to junk (BB+/B). (Reuters)
- Reached a wage agreement with workers at Renault Samsung in South Korea. (Yonhap)
- Hoping to raise an additional €4 billion – €5 billion. (Reuters)
- Toyoda Gosei invested in cloud computing service Uhuru. (Toyoda Gosei)
- Over 60,000 Toyota customers in North America have deferred lease payments as a result of coronavirus. Around one third of Toyota’s dealers have suspended sales. (Toyota)
- Reportedly contemplating withholding the (already promised) €3.3 billion dividend to shore up cash. (Bloomberg)
- Agreed an eight-month contract with German unions to tide everyone over until the worst of coronavirus (hopefully). Pay is frozen but there was some minor adjustment to conditions. (VW)
- Reckons that showroom traffic in Chinese dealers is about the same as this time last year. (VW)
- Creating a joint venture in China with DU-POWER to build charging stations. (VW)
- Created a four stage framework, with unions, for a staged return to normality in factories and offices. (VW)
Other
- Aston Martin plans to use the coronavirus-enforced shutdown to shift to a build to retail order scheduling system, saying that it has worked well so far on DBX, and that it’s how Ferrari do it (although he admits that this will increase waiting times). CEO Palmer also hopes to remain in position until at least 2025. (Autocar)
- McLaren’s CEO reckons that sports car manufacturers will offer a mix of powertrains (electric and traditional) for the next two to three decades. (Autocar) The firm is also hoping that it can help develop synthetic fuels that might make gas-guzzling more palatable (carbon capture issues notwithstanding) but stresses that the technology is only in the early stages of development. (Autocar)
- Mahindra’s boss told managers and union officials at Ssangyong that he wouldn’t abandon the brand but stopped short of offering any more money. (Yonhap)
- Nio delivered 3,838 cars in Q1 2020, a (4)% drop year-over-year, with the start of sales of the ES6 failing to offset seasonality, coronavirus and a drop in the popularity of the ES8. (Nio)
- Karma showed off what the brand claimed was a prototype for a semi-autonomous all-electric van. The vehicle appeared to share much of its styling with a Ram ProMaster, but with much better wheels. (Karma)
- Mazzanti started a crowdfunding campaign, offering 7% of the company if it can raise €300,000. (Mazzanti)
News about other companies and trends
Economic / Political News
- European vehicle manufacturers’ trade body ACEA called for a UK-EU trade agreement that looks almost identical to existing single market rules in almost all respects, with relaxed rules of origin requirements (except for batteries), special customs clearance measures and continuation of regulatory cooperation. There was a meek request for free movement of skilled personnel. (ACEA)
Suppliers
- A BorgWarner plant in Seneca, USA suffered significant damage from a tornado, which killed a security guard. The company said customers would be unaffected (especially since so many are currently closed). (Detroit Free Press)
- Visteon embarked on a fresh job-cutting spree, on top of a program announced in January. (Visteon)
- Bosch has been having trouble restarting production at its factory in Rodez, France. Despite measures proposed by managers to minimise the risk of virus transmission, there is a high rate of absenteeism, apparently partly in protest at plans to wind down the site’s workload in future. (Les Echos)
Driverless / Autonomy (history)
- Autonomous trucking company Einride is experimenting with having a single remote operator monitor and control multiple vehicles at once. (TechCrunch)
- Flexible solar panel maker Armor has come up with a way of integrating lots of solar cells without having to worry too much about the effect on the vehicle’s styling. Instead of being permanently installed, they are part of a retractable cover that emerges from the rear bumper when the car is parked. (Armor)
- Battery developer ProLogium raised $100 million. (Deal Street Asia)
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Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 5th April 2020
Tesla’s opaque reporting; Volvo goes it alone on autonomous; and a big thumbs up for sharing. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 30th March to 5th April 2020. A PDF version can be found here.
Before you read the detail, what were my favourite stories of the past week…?
- Nothing To Regret — Tesla reported Q1 deliveries. The numbers were a bit down on the prior quarter, as expected but what I found interesting was the reporting itself. With the launch of Model Y, Tesla has chosen to bundle the new car with the Model 3’s numbers, meaning there isn’t any specific vehicle line detail available. Being fuzzy on sales in normally the preserve of low volume manufacturers or, for the likes of Daimler and BMW, fringe models. Why the lack of transparency?
- Build Me Up Buttercup — Volvo and Veoneer are dissolving their partnership for developing self-driving technologies. Volvo seems rather pleased with its side of the deal, retaining all the advanced driverless bits, but the outcome seems to be going against the grain (which is major manufacturers teaming up). Does Volvo really believe it can make it all alone, or does this only make sense in the context of a merger with Geely?
- Wherever You Will Go — GM will build two new electric cars for Honda in North America. The agreement builds on an earlier deal to share electric powertrain components and shows that GM is open-minded about sharing electric vehicle parts (perhaps partly after looking at VW and Ford). It is also something of a rarity for Honda to borrow someone else’s car (although not unprecedented). Will this move make others take notice?
News is arranged by company and topic. Stories that apply to more than one company or topic are duplicated.
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News about the major automakers
- Believes that in eight to ten years recycled batteries will become a significant source of raw materials and says that solid state batteries won’t be any good for passenger cars, even by the late 2020s, although it does see the technology as suitable for commercial vehicles. (Daimler)
- Negotiated an additional €12 billion credit line. (Reuters)
- US sales of 446,768 units in Q1 2020 fell (10)% from a year earlier. (FCA)
Ferrari
- Stopped share repurchases to conserve cash. (Ferrari)
- Reported Q1 2020 US sales of 516,330 units, (12.5)% down on prior year. (Ford)
- Called for a stimulus to boost demand once coronavirus recedes and thinks that the shutdown has permanently accelerated a move towards online sales, at least in the USA. (Reuters)
- Invested in autonomous driving software provider Phantom AI. (FINSMES)
Geely (includes Volvo) (history)
- Geely reported 2019 full year financial results (excluding Volvo). Revenue of 97.4 billion RMB (about $13.7 billion), down (9)% versus prior year. Net profit of 8.3 billion RMB (about $1.2 billion) fell (35)%, blamed on intense competition in China. (Geely)
- Volvo sold 131,889 cars in Q1 2020, a drop of (31.2)% from prior year. (Volvo)
- Volvo and Veoneer agreed to dissolve the Zenuity driver assistance technology joint venture. Volvo will take on the bits that developed self-driving and Veoneer will get the simpler, but closer to production, L1 – L3 driver assistance technologies. (Veoneer)
- Honda will engineer two new vehicles using GM’s electric vehicle platform, and GM will build the finished products in North America under a deal that strengthens an existing agreement to share battery technology. (Honda)
- Sold 618,335 vehicles in the USA during Q1 2020, down (7)% on a year earlier. (GM)
- Sold 461,716 vehicles in China during Q1 2020, a drop of (43.4)% on prior year. (GM)
- GM’s decision to draw a $16 billion credit line appears to have imperilled discussions aimed at extending and slightly raising the amount on offer. Banks stung by the move are reportedly only willing to negotiate an extension of the credit that is soon to expire, not the full amount. (Reuters)
- Honda will engineer two new vehicles using GM’s electric vehicle platform, and GM will build the finished products in North America under a deal that strengthens an existing agreement to share battery technology. (Honda)
- Hyundai’s Q1 2020 sales were 904,726 units, (11.4)% worse than a year earlier. (Hyundai)
- Kia’s Q1 2020 sales were 644,102 units, a drop of (0.9)% from Q1 2019. (Kia)
- Constructing a new facility in Singapore that will include a pilot plant for electric vehicles and develop an automated production philosophy similar to that proposed by recent investment Arrival. (Business Times)
Mazda
- Toyota’s financial arm started providing leasing deals to US Mazda dealers on a white label basis. (Toyota)
- Negotiated an additional €3 billion credit line. (Reuters)
- Dongfeng said plans to reduce its stake in PSA — a pillar of the PSA / FCA merger plan — were under review following the drop in PSA’s share price. (Reuters)
- Reported Q1 2020 deliveries of 88,400 units, a 40% rise on a year-over-year basis. Production fell (2)% quarter-over-quarter, as the addition of Model Y and the Shanghai plant failed to offset lost production from coronavirus. Tesla stopped reporting Model 3 sales figures independently, combining them with Model Y. (Tesla)
- Created a joint venture to supply electricity from renewable sources to Toyota in Japan. (Toyota)
- Formally established a joint venture with BYD to develop electric vehicle technology. (Toyota)
- Toyota’s financial arm started providing leasing deals to US Mazda dealers on a white label basis. (Toyota)
- Says that in Germany 50% of customers are now ordering all-electric versions of the Up! city car and one in seven Passat sales are for the plug-in hybrid powertrain. (VW)
- Audi has apparently decided not to develop an all-electric version of the A8 and will only offer the car as a plug-in hybrid. (Automotive News)
Other
- Mahindra rejected pleas from South Korean subsidiary Ssangyong for a $400 million cash infusion, saying the brand should find alternative sources, but that it might be prepared to chip in $30 million. (Times of India)
- Despite Nio’s financial troubles, the company’s VC arm invested in Chinese cloud computing provider BoCloud. (China Money Network)
News about other companies and trends
Economic / Political News
- ACEA says 1.1 million workers directly employed by car and truck makers have been laid off as a result of coronavirus, and 1.2 million units have been lost. (ACEA)
- US light vehicle SAAR in March of 11.37 million units fell (35)% on a year-over-year basis. (Wards)
- March passenger car registrations in Germany of 215,119 units fell (37.7)% from prior year. (KBA)
- UK passenger car registrations in March dropped (44)% versus 2019 to 254,684 units. (SMMT)
- Spanish March registrations of 37,644 units fell (69.3)% from a year earlier. (ANFAC)
- Italian passenger car registrations for March of 28,326 units fell (85.4)% from prior year. (UNRAE)
- Passenger car registrations in France during March fell (72.2)% to 62,668 units. (CCFA)
- German car making bosses reportedly warned chancellor Merkel that many suppliers could go to the wall and restarting production will not be easy without all EU countries being given the all clear, due to the spread of the supply base across the economic bloc. (Handelsblatt)
Suppliers
- BorgWarner said Delphi has materially breached the merger agreement by drawing a $500 million credit line. The announcement appeared to be positioning to improve the deal terms. (BorgWarner)
- Nidec bought part of Secop’s non-automotive business. (Nidec)
- Toyoda Gosei is putting all its Indian assets into the joint venture with Minda. (Toyoda Gosei)
- Valmet Automotive’s 2019 FY revenue was €652 million and operating profit was €18 million. (Valmet)
- Volvo and Veoneer agreed to dissolve the Zenuity driver assistance technology joint venture. Volvo will take on the bits that developed self-driving and Veoneer will get the simpler, but closer to production, L1 – L3 driver assistance technologies. The Zenuity brand will continue, but only as a passive IP holding company. (Veoneer)
Dealers
- Ford thinks that the shutdown has permanently accelerated a move towards online sales in the USA. (Reuters)
Ride-Hailing, Car Sharing & Rental (history)
- Ride hailing firm Via says it is worth $2.25 billion after a Series E funding round that included investment by FCA’s controlling shareholder EXOR, which forked out $200 million. (Via)
- Grab appointed a new CFO. (Grab)
Driverless / Autonomy (history)
- Autonomous vehicle simulation firm Qcraft raised $24 million. (VentureBeat)
- Self-driving warehouse robot developer Seegrid raised $25 million. (VentureBeat)
- Lidar firm Quanergy raised an undisclosed amount and appointed a new CEO. (Quanergy)
- Waymo shared a blog post explaining how it creates new images, even lidar point clouds, to improve object identification. (Waymo)
- Yamaha and Tier IV created a joint venture, eve autonomy, to offer autonomous logistics to factories. (Autocar)
- Ford invested in autonomous driving software provider Phantom AI’s $22 million round. (FINSMES)
- Battery technology developer Addionics raised $6 million. (TechCrunch)
- Daimler believes that in eight to ten years recycled batteries will become a significant source of raw materials and says that solid state batteries won’t be any good for passenger cars, even by the late 2020s, although it does see the technology as suitable for commercial vehicles. (Daimler)
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