Hyundai Tweaks 2022 Kona and Kona Electric SUVs

Posted on 16 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Kona and Kona Electric SUVs

The Kona EV does not have any advances in EV or battery technology.

Hyundai has tweaked what are now 2022 Kona and Kona Electric SUVs models for the U.S. market. New to the EV is a 10.25-inch digital cluster and 10.25-inch navigation center stack display with new “connectivity features.” The screen comes with a split-screen function, multiple Bluetooth connections and additional voice-recognition features. Drivers can activate and control features such as climate, radio station, rear window and side mirror heating, as well as steering wheel heating through Dynamic Voice Recognition. Drivers can check stocks, weather, or perform POI searches using their voice when connected to Blue Link.

Otherwise,  the Kona EV does not incorporate any advances in EV or battery technology. Instead it has a different front fascia design. New headlamps and Daytime Running Lamps provide a different look. New lower fender sculpted vents are aerodynamically functional. In profile, a different alloy wheel design has been optimized for “efficient airflow.” Oh, there are new taillights as well. The real selling points are carryover. Continue reading →

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Ford – EVs Present Environmental, Human Rights Issues

Posted on 15 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance

Could there be a problem with acid runoff into essential water and food sources?.

Ford Motor said this morning in Dearborn that it is the first American automaker to join the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, IRMA, “to safeguard human rights, communities where such work is done, and the broader environment.” Ford said this is another step Towards its desire to responsibly source all raw materials used within vehicles globally. BMW Group and IndustriALL are already members.

This follows Fords desire to catch up with other global automakers on what now appears to be a headlong rush to electric vehicles and sustainable mobility. Ford has nearly doubled, to $22 billion, what it will invest in developing EVs and solutions.  This will increase the company’s reliance on mined material, particularly related to production of electric vehicle batteries. Continue reading →

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Porsche SE Profit For Fiscal Year 2020 Forecast at €2.6 Billion

Posted on 12 February 2021 by Ken Zino

In Stuttgart this morning Porsche Automobil Holding SE (Porsche SE) said fiscal year 2020 profit is projected at ~€2.6 billion based on current data. The group result after tax of Porsche SE is influenced significantly by Porsche’s equityportion from its capital stake in Volkswagen AG of currently about 31.4%, and thus by the group result after tax of Volkswagen AG. Continue reading →

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Census – 35% of Households Say it is Difficult to Pay Expenses

Posted on 12 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Census Bureau employees continue doing their jobs whilst under attacks from the Republicans and Covid19. Help is on the way, but it took President Biden to signal the “beginning of the beginning of recovery” on 20 January 2021 at noon. It’s a disaster recovery plan that is needed under the disastrous policies of the voted out of office Trump mis-adminstration.

Better late than never. But for the suffering it’s small compensation for enduring a seditious President for four years who – based on his actions in office was unemployed all the while being pampered, housed, fed and subsidized – aka welfare for the rich –  by taxpayers he disdains. ( see AutoInformed on Snapshot – The Trump Economic Depression, Small Business Pulse Weak – Large Negative Covid Effects) Continue reading →

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BMW Largest US Automotive Exporter for 7th Consecutive Year

Posted on 12 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on BMW Is Largest US Automotive Exporter

Two clear trends – SUV mania and electrification.

BMW Manufacturing led the nation in automotive exports by value for the seventh consecutive year, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. BMW Manufacturing exported 218,820 Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes during 2020 with an export value of more than $8.9 billion. The BMWs produced in Spartanburg, South Carolina, were exported through the Port of Charleston, SC (more than 189,000 units), and through five other southeastern ports: Savannah, GA; Brunswick, GA; Jacksonville, FL; Miami, FL; and Everglades, FL. More than 13,000 BMWs were also exported via rail. The top five export countries from BMW Manufacturing were China (23.3% of export volume), Germany (12.9%), South Korea (7.8%), Canada (6%), and Russia (5.3%). (AutoInformed on BMW Manufacturing Largest US Auto Exporter Again, Largest US Auto Exporter – BMW Manufacturing, China – Future Export Base for Global Markets?)

Spartanburg experienced a production interruption due to the coronavirus pandemic. After a five-week non-production period, associates returned for one shift on May 4. With new health guidelines and procedures in place, production slowly ramped up as the supply chain stabilized and customers returned in the summer. During the last six months of the year, Plant Spartanburg produced nearly 218,000 BMWs, a record for any six-month period in the factory’s history.  The plant produced 361,365 vehicles for the entire year 2020. Continue reading →

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Pandemic Negative Impact on Global Auto Industry Is Permanent. Debate is over How Bad and Who Gets Hurt

Posted on 11 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Global Auto Industry Covid EffectsConsultancy LMC in a wide-ranging, thoughtful presentation this morning on the auto industry post pandemic concluded that some negative effects are long term and permanent. While perhaps a starting conclusion to many analysts who view the recovery is akin to the deep U-shaped curve that the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09 followed, the argument is compelling in AutoInformed’s view. LMC says globally this is a K-shaped curve. There are winners and losers. (Trade to Plunge as COVID-19 Upends Global Economy, COVID-19 Chaos as LMC Automotive Cuts Global Light Vehicle Sales Forecast by 3.7 Million Units)

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Global Auto Industry Covid EffectsLight vehicle demand presents a complicated and mixed global scenario with ongoing hits from social distancing LMC notes. The Oxford-based group warns those who think the pandemic impact will largely dissipate, in typical British understatement, “could be incorrect.” (Good and Bad? January US Light Vehicle Sales Down -3%) Continue reading →

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General Motors Posts 2020 Earnings of $6.4 Billion. Q4 at $2.8B

Posted on 10 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on GM 2020 Financial Results

“Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac were especially well prepared when demand recovered faster than expected – Chevrolet and GMC with their outstanding full-size and midsize pickups. All with a mix of new small- and full-size SUVs, which we launched on time despite the pandemic, said CEO Barra.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today reported 2020 full-year Earnings of $6.427 billion and Q4 earnings of $2.846 billion – both hurt by production interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Takata airbag-inflator recall announced in November. For the full year GM’s market share was flat at 10.7%; deliveries declined 900,000 at 6.8 million.

GM Financial reported record full-year EBT-adjusted of $2.7 billion. GM North America posted full-year EBIT-adjusted of $9.1 billion, and EBIT-adjusted margin of 9.4%. GM International lost money at a full-year EBIT-adjusted of $(0.5) billion with China Equity Income of $0.5 billion. Cruise struggled with a full-year EBIT-adjusted loss of $(0.9) billion. (see AutoInformed – NHTSA Nixes GM Petition for Exclusion of Millions of Big Trucks and SUVs from Takata Airbag Recalls, GM 2020 US Sales – Infected by Covid –  Are Down -12%, GM to Make CAMI a Commercial Electric Vehicle Plant, GM, Cruise, Microsoft to Commercialize Self-Driving Vehicles) Continue reading →

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Herd Immunity? Toyota Motor Reports $9.87 Billion Q3 FY 2021 Profit. Ups Forecast by +54%

Posted on 10 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Toyota Q3 2021 Financial ResultsToyota Motor, the world’s largest automaker posted a $9.87 billion Q3 FY Profit compared to $9.45b during the same period one year ago. This appears to AutoInformed a Toyota herd immunity from the Covid-19 virus and variants that are killing other automakers. As a result of the strong showing upholding Akio Toyota’s vow to remain profitable despite the ongoing Global Pandemic, Toyota increase its yearly forecast by 54%. Toyota now predicts a record operating profit $19.13 billion (¥2 trillion), surpassing an earlier projection of ¥1.3 trillion.

Toyota thinks it will sell 9.73 million vehicles this year, up 3.3% from the old forecast of 9.42 million. Nonetheless, this is still a decline from last year’s 10.46 million  – a drop that other global automakers would welcome. If this were an endurance race, competitors are still making repairs in the paddock, as Toyota continues to smoothly run the course. Continue reading →

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Nissan Losses ¥37.8 Billion in Q3. Alliance Still Shaky

Posted on 9 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Nissan Losses

Nissan COO-CPO Ashwani Gupta (L), CEO Makoto Uchida, center – February 2021 in Japan.

Nissan Motor Company today announced financial results for the April-December period of fiscal year 2020 and a revised outlook for fiscal year 2020. During Q3 of the fiscal year, consolidated net revenue was 2.22 trillion yen, consolidated operating profit was 27.1 billion yen, and the operating profit margin was 1.2%. The net loss in the third quarter was 37.8 billion yen based on an average exchange rate of 124.6 yen/euro for the period.

As for the unstable Alliance post-Ghosn, “Nissan’s results during the Q3 of fiscal year 2020/2021 (October 1st to December 31st 2020), after IFRS restatements, will have a negative contribution to Renault’s Q4 2020 net income estimated at – €123 million,” Renault said in a separate release. Continue reading →

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FAA Expands Weather Camera Program to Hawaii

Posted on 8 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on FAA Expands Weather Camera Program

Weather cameras in Alaska have been successful for 20 years.

The Federal Aviation Administration is expanding weather-camera services to Hawaii to enhance aviation safety and pilot decision-making. The cameras, which already are installed in Alaska and Colorado, improve safety by providing pilots with near-real time video of weather conditions at their destinations and along their intended flight routes. Continue reading →

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Tesla Recalls 135,000 S and X Models for Display Blackouts

Posted on 8 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Tesla Recalls and Defects

Electronics wear out as do mechanical parts.

Tesla is recalling 2012-2018 Tesla Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles with a center display equipped with a NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and an 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device in the US. In the required NHTSA filing Tesla said then the 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device for the center display reaches lifetime wear, the eMMC controller will no longer be able to maintain the integrity of the filesystem, causing a failure in some of the center display functions.

NHTSA prompted the recall when it started an investigation of last June*. The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE20-010 to investigate incidents of media control unit (MCU) failures resulting in loss of rearview camera in model year (MY) 2012-2015 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with an integrated 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device. The eMMC NAND flash devices have a finite lifespan based upon the number of program/erase (P/E) cycles. Continue reading →

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Second Chattanooga Motorcar Festival Now in October 2021

Posted on 7 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival

Corky Coker, left, with Linda Vaughn and the 2019 Grand Marshal, Brian Redman, at the 2019 Chattanooga Motorcar Festival award ceremony.

Joseph “Corky” Coker has been named the Grand Marshal for the 2021 Chattanooga Motorcar Festival. At the inaugural event, in 2019, Coker was recognized as the Festival’s “Honored Collector.” The 2020 Festival, originally scheduled for October was postponed until Oct. 15-17, 2021, due to pandemic restrictions. The Festival will return this year with a “more dynamic schedule of fun events for car fans and families alike.” Racing star Brian Redman, the inaugural 2019 Grand Marshal, returns to as Grand Ambassador of the Festival.

Born in Athens, Tenn., Coker worked for his father Harold, who opened the Coker Tire Company in Chattanooga in 1958, sweeping floors and cleaning wide whitewalls. Having grown up on the family farm, Coker originally planned to become a veterinarian but soon discovered that he actually enjoyed working at the tire store. “I suddenly realized that selling hot-rod and Model A tires to these guys made them very happy,” he said. “I really got my head into it and started developing some ideas and goals of my own.” Continue reading →

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Ford Motor 2020 Loss $1.3 Billion. Microchip Shortage Looms

Posted on 5 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on weak Ford Motor 2020 Financial Results

Click to Enlarge.

Ford Motor in the beginning yet again of another multiyear reorganization reported a $1.3 billion loss on $127.1 billion in revenue for 2020 and a $2.8 billion net loss on $36 billion in revenue for Q4. 

Chasing General Motors, Ford said it would increase its planned investments in electric and autonomous vehicles to more than $22 billion and $7 billion in turn through 2025. GM caught the industry by surprise when it said it would have 30 new EVs globally during roughly that period. It was the latest Ford attempt to appease the capital markets which remain skeptical about the lackluster performance of the Dearborn based automaker. (See AutoInformed.com on Environmental About Face – General Motors Ditching Internal Combustion Engines by 2035. Carbon Neutral by 2040?) Continue reading →

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Subsidized Mercedes-Benz Compact EQA EV Available to Order

Posted on 5 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Mercedes-Benz EQA

As confusing as this sounds, Mercedes actually has reduced the complexity of its EQA models.

A combination of Mercedes cash on the hood with taxpayer subsidies means its EQA compact EV in Germany is “entry level” starting at 37,970.50 euros for the EQA 250 including 19% VA. Rated at power of 140 kW, other variants will follow including a series of all-wheel-drive models with an additional electric powertrain (eATS) and an output of 200 kW or more, and a version with a range of more than 500 kilometers (WLTP). The EQA comes with one year of Mercedes me Charge included. For Mercedes me Charge customers in Europe, this includes ‘green charging’ during this period at no extra cost. The EQA is available to order now, with the first models reaching retailers in the spring.

The relatively low German price is based on discounts of 9000 euros: government share 6000 euros, Mercedes-Benz share 3000. If the EQA is used as a company car, only a quarter of the gross list price is subject to taxation for private use. The Mercedes-Benz Bank offers financing and leasing terms for both private and business customers. The EQA 250 with Business Package is available for leasing by business customers from 399 euros a month. The leasing offer is valid for orders placed by 31 March 2021, while stocks last. Continue reading →

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Electrify America Adds Solar EV Charging in Rural California

Posted on 4 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on sustainable EV charging

Twenty of the 30 solar-powered charging stations are located at health care centers.

Electrify America, a public ultra-fast charging network, has added 30 solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging stations with two Level 2 chargers each to its network in the state of California. The off-grid, standalone chargers are strategically located throughout the Central Valley and inland areas of Southern California to provide greater access to sustainable EV charging for drivers in rural parts of the state.

Electrify America’s EV charging infrastructure plans in California include a commitment to increasing access to EV charging infrastructure in rural areas of the state, to both facilitate regional travel and drive adoption of EVs in rural communities. With complimentary charging, the new solar units help remove two barriers to EV adoption in these locations – access to public charging and affordability. The network said it ensured that more than half of these chargers were located in disadvantaged and low-income communities, demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to serve these populations. Continue reading →

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