Category Archives: news analysis

Porsche Mourns Jochen Mass Death

Posted on 9 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Porsche AG (P911.DE) said this week that it mourns the “death of one of the family – with gratitude, respect and deep affection.” Jochen Mass, the  former works racing driver died on 4 May 2025 at the age of 78 in Cannes, France.

“We are very saddened by the news of his death. Jochen Mass was a driver with depth. One who could understand the car like few others”, said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsports. “He had an excellent feel for technology and for everything that makes a team strong. We are losing a remarkable driver and a trusted companion who was with us for many years. His legacy extends well beyond his success – it lives in memories, in stories and in his way of thinking about motorsports. Our thoughts are with his family.” Continue reading →

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Mazda Japanese BEVs to Adopt North American Charging Standard

Posted on 9 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Mazda Motor Corporation (MMC 7261.T)* today announced that a deal was reached with embattled Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) for charging ports on the company’s battery electric vehicles (BEV) launched in Japan from 2027 onward. Earlier this year, Mazda said that it will build a new module pack plant for automotive cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The new plant will produce modules and packs of automotive cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells procured from Panasonic Energy Co. The completed battery packs will be installed in Mazda’s first battery EV that uses a dedicated EV platform and will be manufactured at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant. The annual production capacity is planned to be 10 GWh. This could see a U.S. export version, but there’s the ever-changing Trump trade barriers in play. The former Auto Alliance joint venture in Michigan is now a Ford Mustang plant and given Mazda’s strained relations with Ford, as well as Ford’s own struggles with Trump tariffs, it’s a highly unlikely source of Mazda BEVs in AutoInformed’s view.

Tesla itself presents another problem for U.S. sales, AutoInformed opines. Tesla said in late April that 2025 profits during Q1 plunged from $1.39 billion to $409 million. This was a drastic drop from analyst guess-timates as Elon Musk’s DOGE chainsaw kicked back on the company and slashed revenue from $21.3 billion to $19.3 billion. Amidst the carnage of lower customer deliveries, lower margins and lower profits, Elon Musk also claimed that he was leaving DOGE behind as his major work there was finished. Musk will only be spending a day or so weekly on the unpopular Trump DOGE executive order. However, the Tesla brand is unquestionably damaged. Tesla links could be highly toxic, the automotive brand equivalent of an EPA superfund cleanup site. Continue reading →

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NASCAR, TelevisaUnivision Announce Mexican Broadcast Deal

Posted on 9 May 2025 by Ken Zino

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (“NASCAR”) and TelevisaUnivision,* Mexico’s leading media company, have reached an exclusive broadcast agreement for free-to-air coverage of the sanctioning body’s Mexico City race.  Under this new agreement, TelevisaUnivision will serve as the exclusive free-to-air (FTA) broadcaster in Mexico for the highly anticipated 2025 NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City, scheduled for Sunday, June 15 at 3 pm ET or 1 pm. local time. The race will be broadcast live on TelevisaUnivision’s ‘Canal 5’ with full Spanish-language commentary. Continue reading →

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Toyota FY 2025 Results – Net Profit Drops 21%

Posted on 8 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Toyota Motor Corporations (NYSE: TM) said today in Japan that consolidated vehicle sales for this fiscal year 2025 were 9 million 362 thousand units, which was 99.1% of consolidated vehicle sales for the previous fiscal year. Toyota and Lexus vehicle sales was 10 million 274 thousand units, which was 99.7% of such sales for the previous FY 2024 due to supply constraints caused by the certification issue and other factors. The proportion of electrified vehicles was 46.2%, a significant increase from the previous fiscal year, mainly led by HEVs, which were increased by 850,000 year-over-year. Continue reading →

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A Freshened 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross Debuts

Posted on 8 May 2025 by Ken Zino

TMNA, the North American arm of Toyota (NYSE: TM) said today in Plano, Texas that the 2026 model Toyota Cross compact SUV has been tweaked.

“The 2026 Corolla Cross is continuing to bring entry SUV customers the combination of style and value that’s just right. For model year 2026 it receives two new front fascia designs, with a modern, color-matched look for the Hybrid version and a bold, rugged design for the gas-powered model. The new front-end designs create a distinct look for each powertrain while also evolving the crossover’s compact, sporty shape. The interior also receives an update with a reconfigured console storage design and larger available touchscreen,” Toyota said. Continue reading →

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CARB – Cap and Trade Funds ~$33 Billion of Climate Fixes

Posted on 7 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Nearly $33 billion has been raised to fund so-called climate solutions in communities across the state with money from the state’s Cap-and-Trade Program, according to a new report published by the California Air Resources Board (CARB)* today. The annual report provides detailed information about California Climate Investments, which tracks funds generated by cap and trade auction proceeds and allocated to 117 programs by the State  Legislature.

“California is proving that cutting pollution creates jobs and boosts communities. By holding polluters accountable, we’re sending billions of dollars back to communities and back to people’s wallets through credits on utility bills,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “And we’ve got the receipts: healthier and cleaner communities and thousands of good paying jobs.” Continue reading →

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BMW Group Q1 2025 Earnings Drop 25%

Posted on 7 May 2025 by Ken Zino

“The more challenging the environment, the more crucial it is to have compelling products, a consistent strategy and a high degree of flexibility. Our technology-open approach remains a key success factor: with our young, highly attractive models and our broad range of drives, we are able to meet the various needs of customers worldwide. This enables us to achieve robust results and stay on course to meet our ambitious full-year targets,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. Continue reading →

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Audi Group Q1 2025 Revenue +12.4% Profit down 12.5%

Posted on 6 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Audi AG’s overall financial performance in the first quarter of 2025 was  the result of relatively weak sales, a common problem facing global automakers given the ongoing political and tariff trade wars that are negatively affecting the business environment. Audi Group is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group.*

“The first few months of 2025 saw us take decisive steps towards repositioning our company,” said Audi CEO Gernot Döllner. “This includes the agreement for the future concluded between company management and the works council in March, which aims to increase productivity, speed and flexibility at our German sites. The year will continue to be very challenging due to the global economic conditions. But Audi has started to execute its strategy and is delivering on it. Our model initiative is now, step by step, coming onto the global markets. We are particularly encouraged by sales and order intake for our new electric models.” Continue reading →

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Ford Motor 2025 Q1 Net Income $47M Down from $1.3B!

Posted on 6 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F)* late yesterday announced weak first- quarter 2025 financial results and “suspended” financial guidance, including full year adjusted EBIT and adjusted free cash flow because of Trump tariff-related” uncertainties.” Ford first-quarter revenue of was $40.7 billion; net income $471 million with an adjusted EBIT of $1 billion. Operating cash flow was $3.7 billion. Improvements in cost and quality favorably contributed to performance in the quarter, Ford claimed. When excluding the nearly 200 million impact of tariffs, this was Ford’s third consecutive quarter of year-over -year cost improvement. Ford estimates a tariff-related net adverse adjusted EBIT impact of about $1.5 billion for full year 2025, subject to ongoing tariff-related policy developments. For comparison, General Motors earned $2.78 billion, $3.35 per share, for the three months ended March 31. During Q1 of 2024 GM earned $2.98 billion, or $2.56 per share. Continue reading →

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Volkswagen Recalls ID.BUZZ Third Row Seats

Posted on 5 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling ~6000 model year 2025 ID. BUZZ vehicles. The third-row rear bench is wide enough for three passengers, but is designed for two passengers and equipped with two seat belts. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, Occupant Crash Protection.

“Based on the third-row rear bench seating surface width, the vehicle is required to have three DSPs. The third-row rear bench in the ID.Buzz has only two DSPs and with this only two seat belts available. If three passengers were to be seated the third-row rear bench, there would be insufficient seat belts for all three passengers. This could increase the risk of an injury for passengers in the event of a crash,” Volkswagen said in the mandatory safety defect recall filing made public today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Continue reading →

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Latest Ford Recalls – Bronco SUVs and F-150 Pickups

Posted on 5 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is recalling 2022-2023 model year Bronco SUVs, 2023 F-150 Lightning pickups and 2025 F-150 pickups for The 360-degree view camera; the high-voltage battery pack; and the air bag warning label, respectively. All told ~129,000 Ford products are affected – a relatively small number for the automaker.

“Missing or loose retention nuts on the high voltage battery junction box bus bars in the high voltage battery pack may result in electrical arcing, which can increase the risk of fire. In addition, a ‘Stop Safely Now’ message may occur in the instrument cluster followed by loss of motive power, which can increase the risk of a crash.” Ford said in the mandatory safety defect recall filing mad public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this morning about what appears to be the most serious recall.
Continue reading →

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Magna International Posts Q1 2025 Results

Posted on 2 May 2025 by Ken Zino

“Our operating results for the first quarter of 2025 exceeded our expectations, with strong incremental margins on better than anticipated vehicle production and, for the balance of the year, we remain confident in our ability to execute on variables within our control in a complex and uncertain industry environment. We are actively advancing several initiatives including operational excellence, restructuring, commercial recoveries, and reduced capital and engineering spending to mitigate the impact of tariffs,” said Swamy Kotagiri, Magna’s Chief Executive Officer. We remain focused on generating long-term free cash flow to invest for profitable growth and drive compelling capital return to shareholders.” Continue reading →

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April 2025 Transportation Sector Unemployment Falls

Posted on 2 May 2025 by Ken Zino

Unemployment in the transportation sector was lower than overall unemployment. BLS reports that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in April 2025 was 3.9% or 0.3 percentage points above the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in April 2025 was 4.2%. (However, this was before the chaotic Trump tariff pandemic started by his executive order – AutoCrat.) Continue reading →

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GM Recalls 1.14 Million V8 Engines for Failures and Fires

Posted on 2 May 2025 by Ken Zino

General Motors is recalling more than a million V8 engines used in 2021 – 2024 model year Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, and Tahoe, and GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with the 6.2L V8 gas engine (RPO L87). The connecting rod and/or crankshaft engine components in these vehicles may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine damage and engine failure. This safety defect recall follows years of GM investigating the problem and concluding that no problem existed. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) continued its investigation based on persistent complaints from users, NHTSA had an active engineering analysis open when GM made the recall decision.

In the required safety defect recall filing – only some of it was made public by NHTSA, GM said “Engine teardown analysis identified two primary root causes, both of which are attributable to supplier manufacturing and quality issues: (1) rod-bearing damage from sediment on connecting rods and crankshaft-oil galleries; and (2) out of specification crankshaft dimensions and surface finish.” The supplier will remain publicly unknown until all the documents are made public, which is likely next Monday in AutoInformed’s experience. Continue reading →

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EU Commercial Vehicle Sales Weak in Q1

Posted on 1 May 2025 by Ken Zino

The first quarter of 2025 was feeble for EU’s commercial vehicle market looking at data released today by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, aka ACEA derived from its French name.

“Significant declines in key markets along with sluggish economic growth, lower prior order intake, and the complex regulatory landscape contributed to the business uncertainty,” ACEA said. Continue reading →

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