Toyota’s 2020 Global Sales down -10.5% Year-on-Year

Posted on 1 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Toyota’s 2020 Global Sales down 10.5% for calendar year 2020 when compared to 2019. The sales results were substantially influenced by the Covid 19 pandemic that was in force for virtually all of 2020, and is ongoing. Japanese domestic production was flat at ~3 million vehicles. The results include those for subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. and Hino Motors, Ltd. (See AutoInformed.com on Toyota Motor North America Reports December 2020 Sales Increase 22.9%. Yearly Sales Drop -11.3%)

For consolidated Toyota numbers, this was the first decrease in nine years for global sales.  For sales inside of Japan, including mini vehicles or K cars, it was the first decrease in two years. Sales outside of Japan showed the first decrease in four years. Continue reading →

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Ford Picks Google over Apple for Connected Vehicle Offerings

Posted on 1 February 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on privacy and connected cars

This raises yet again privacy concerns and who owns and can sell your personal information.

Ford Motor and Google today announced they will improve Ford’s connected vehicle experience. Ford has also named Google Cloud its preferred cloud provider in data, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). As part of this six-year partnership (no rush antitrust regulators it begins in 2023) future Ford and Lincoln vehicles at all price points will be powered by Android, with Google apps and services built-in.

GM is already working with Google to bring new options for a voice assistant, embedded navigation and in-vehicle applications to compatible Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles in regions around the world starting in 2021. Broad deployment across all GM vehicle brands is expected to roll out in the years following. (Google Voice Assistant, Navigation and App to Debut at GM) Continue reading →

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IndustriALL Global, IndustriAll European Trade Union Ask for Justice and Solidarity in Covid Fight

Posted on 1 February 2021 by Ken Zino

“The universal right of access to medical supplies, especially vaccines and potential medicines to treat Covid-19, should not depend on the purchasing power of governments and other market dynamics,” said IndustriALL Global, IndustriAll European Unions this morning. “We believe that there should not be first- and second-class citizens and no-one should be left behind.”  The announcement comes as the EU and other political entities are fighting over vaccines.

IndustriALL said the common global endeavor and public-private cooperation to find drugs and vaccines “demonstrated the best internationalism.” This of course is in distinct opposition to the chauvinistic politicians and institutions that are embroiled in selfish behaviors as anyone who follows global politics and the COVID-19 pandemic is aware. Continue reading →

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Volkswagen Group Starts Small Scale EV Battery Recycling

Posted on 30 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Volkswagen Starts Small Scale EV Battery Recycling

The recycling process does not require energy-intensive melting in a blast furnace.

Volkswagen Group Components opened its first plant for recycling electric car batteries in Salzgitter, Germany yesterday. The pilot plant aspires to mass-produce recovery of valuable raw materials such as lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt in a closed loop together with aluminum, copper and plastics, achieving a recycling rate of more than 90% over the long term. (Honda to Recycle Rare Earth Metals from Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries in World’s First Mass Production Process)

Salzgitter only recycles batteries that can no longer be used for other purposes. Before the battery is recycled, an analysis determines whether the battery is still powerful enough to be given a second life in mobile energy storage systems such as the flexible rapid charging station or the mobile charging robot. Larger volumes of battery returns are not expected until the late 2020s at the earliest. Continue reading →

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Environmental About Face – General Motors Ditching Internal Combustion Engines by 2035. Carbon Neutral by 2040?

Posted on 29 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on GM Converting to all EVs and becoming Carbon Neutral

The Cadillac Lyric EV was just the latest step of many in remaking GM into a force against Global Warming and fossil fuel use.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) says it will have an all-electric future with the elimination of tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035. It is the most sweeping endorsement thus far by an international automotive powerhouse that climate change and global warming need to be addressed as the serious crisis they are. Nissan announced a similar initiative just before GM. (Nissan Establishes Carbon Neutral Goal for 2050) It is also a GM retreat from opposing President Obama era fuel economy regulations that would have resulted in 50 mpg vehicles that the anti-environment Trump Administration eviscerated. (President Obama Unveils 54.5 MPG Fuel Economy Regulation for 2017-25. It will Alter Vehicle Choices and Increase Costs, President Obama to Announce First Fuel Economy Regulations for Heavy Trucks, Buses. $50 Billion in Fuel Savings Claimed, US DOT and EPA Want to Slash Fuel Economy Standards. Trump Administration Proposal Has Many Critics)

More than half of GM’s capital spending and product development team will be devoted to electric and electric-autonomous vehicle programs. And in the coming years, GM plans to offer an EV for every customer, from crossovers and SUVs to trucks and sedans. This neatly coincides with President Biden’s executive orders dealing with climate change and converting federal fleets to EVs. The success of the initiative will depend on the voters, err buyers, who will ultimately decide. Continue reading →

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Nissan Establishes Carbon Neutral Goal for 2050

Posted on 28 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Nissan Establishes Carbon Neutral Goal for 2050

Click to Enlarge.

Nissan Motor Company wants to achieve carbon neutrality across the company’s operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050. *** As part of this effort, every all-new Nissan vehicle offerings in Japan, China, the U.S. and Europe by the early 2030s will be electrified.

The company’s electrification and emissions reduction efforts support the aims of the U.N. Paris Agreement on climate change and global progress toward carbon neutrality by 2050. Nissan introduced the world’s first mass-market electric car, the Nissan LEAF, and has sold more than 500,000 of the zero-emission vehicles to date. Nissan also continues to work with industry coalitions and authorities to develop infrastructure and raise public awareness about the benefits of electric vehicles. Continue reading →

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Ford to Manufacture Mustang Mach-E in China

Posted on 28 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Ford to Manufacture Mustang Mach-E in China

Not enough chrome and bling for Chinese tastes?

Ford Motor announced today that Mustang Mach-E, its first global SUV built on an all-new, all-electric platform, will be manufactured in China by Changan Ford for local customers. As part of Ford’s late-to-market electrification strategy, Mustang Mach-E “will set new standards in style and performance in the Chinese high-end EV market when it becomes available in China later this year.”

Ford will also localize production of the Mustang Mach-E’s GT performance edition in China, a first by a global automaker to locally manufacture high-performance editions. The GT high performance edition will adopt a front and rear dual-motor layout, joining the 3-second club with its impressive 0-100km/h acceleration capabilities. Continue reading →

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Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

Posted on 28 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Penske

Roger will continue to be able to fund his highly successful racing addiction.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) announced yesterday that its Board of Directors has increased the Company’s dividend to $0.43 per share. The new dividend is payable on March 1, 2021, to shareholders of record on February 10, 2021. The stock late today was trading at $62.0,+$1.24 or +2.06%. (See AutoInformed.com on Penske Automotive – May Business Improving, Penske Automotive Q1 2020 Results -46% at $0.64 per share, Penske Automotive Increases Dividend to $0.40 Per Share) Continue reading →

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Promoting Aluminum – Constellium, Novelis Form Alumobility

Posted on 28 January 2021 by Ken Zino

Constellium and Novelis have announced the launch of Alumobility, a non-profit organization  providing implementation-ready methods to advance the adoption of aluminum automotive body sheet. This consortium of the aluminum producers and technology partners  will work – not without self-interest – to fulfill the “promise of a lighter, more efficient, more sustainable mobility future. ”Alumobility will help further develop smarter, lighter, safer, and more sustainable vehicles.

Automakers of course continue to use lightweight, high-strength, aluminum, as well as steel, plastics composites – carbon fiber and the like, to make vehicles. Alumobility has developed technical studies that address the next-generation aluminum door and an all-aluminum structural B-pillar. It claims aluminum can effectively compete with other materials for mass production vehicles at an attractive cost to manufacturers. Continue reading →

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BMW Says It’s Solvent, Marginally Profitable During 2020

Posted on 27 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on BMW

BMW – Battery cells combined into a battery module at Shenyang Battery Plant in China.

BMW AG said today its preliminary Automotive segment Free Cash Flow for the fourth quarter 2020 is around €2.8 billion (Q4 2019: € 1.5 billion), leading to around €3.4 billion (2019: € 2.6 billion) for the full year 2020. It claimed this exceeded “current market expectations.”

The positive operating result of the Automotive segment in the fourth quarter is partially due to “better than expected re-marketing results in the pre-owned car market.” This of course has a positive effect in the Financial Services segment, leading to a Return on Equity for the segment which is only slightly down on prior year as opposed to a moderate decline as indicated in the current outlook. However, the EBIT margin in the Automotive Segment for the full year 2020 is at the “upper end of the 0 – 3% corridor.” The Group EBT remains within the outlook and in line with market expectations. (COVID Effects: BMW AG FY Earnings Guidance – Zero) Continue reading →

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GM to Sell Navistar Hydrotec Fuel Cell Power Cubes for EVs

Posted on 27 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com  on GM to Sell Navistar Hydrotec Fuel Cells

Click to Enlarge.

General Motors said today it will sell its Hydrotec fuel cell power cubes to Navistar for use in its production model fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV)  based on the International RH Series. Terms were not disclosed. Navistar’s FCEV will get energy from two GM Hydrotec fuel cell power cubes. Each Hydrotec power cube contains 300-plus hydrogen fuel cells along with thermal and power management systems. The power cubes are “easy to package and can be used in a wide range of applications, including marine, earth-moving and mining equipment, locomotives and power generators.”

The GM move is the latest in what is shaping up to be a headlong rush by commercial truck makers to drop dirty diesel and gasoline fueled vehicles in favor of fuel cell powered truck and heavy equipment. Proposed regulations – globally – are providing the incentive to change product lines to more sustainable ones. It’s the price of survival. The Japanese – thus far – appear to be leading the way. Continue reading →

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, ENGIE EPS JV to Explore e-Mobility

Posted on 26 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Fiat 500 EV adds Alexa

“The two companies join forces in order to move forward into the new era of a more sustainable mobility, offering innovative solutions and services to make access to electric mobility easy and convenient for everyone.”

In Turin today Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and  ENGIE EPS signed an agreement for a Joint Venture that will offer products and solutions such as charging infrastructure and “green energy packages” to electric vehicle customers in Europe. It’s the latest move from a major automaker that recognizes that gasoline and diesel engines are going the way of the dinosaurs – as will automakers that don’t act quickly on the transition.

The new JV will be an Italian e-Mobility technology company, with access to a portfolio of more than a hundred patents, a team of electrical and system engineers, and an established automotive industrial footprint. “Electrification represents an inevitable trend poised to disrupt urban mobility and – most of all – an unstoppable paradigm changes of worldwide energy systems,” said Carlalberto Guglielminotti, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager ENGIE EPS. Continue reading →

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eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Resumes

Posted on 26 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Return of eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series

The races include Bristol Motor Speedway’s new dirt configuration, Talladega Superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, and Texas’ Circuit of the Americas.

NASCAR and iRacing jointly announced today that a “new-look” Pro Invitational will see NASCAR Cup Series stars compete virtually in a 10-race schedule offering fans a new mid-week competition featuring NASCAR’s top drivers. NBC Sports will air the final five races of the series, with its schedule and details to be announced at a later date.

The first five mid-week events will air on FS1 (S for Sedition?– editor. Note Bene NASCAR has been proactive in banning the Confederate, aka Traitors’ flag. see NASCAR Disavows Racist Confederate Flag and The Confederate Flag, Conservative Politics and NASCAR ) on select Wednesday nights beginning March 24th. The races include Bristol Motor Speedway’s new dirt configuration, Talladega Superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, and Texas’ Circuit of the Americas’ facility. NBC Sports will pick up the second half of the 10-race season once the network’s broadcast window begins in June. Continue reading →

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Wrangler 4xe Plug-in Hybrid Pre-Booking Begins in Europe

Posted on 22 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Jeep Wrangler 4xe Plug-In Hybrid

The plug-in hybrid electric technology of the Jeep Wrangler arguably makes it a vehicle suited for everyday use in the city, with zero-emissions drive in the full-electric mode.

Pre-booking for the Jeep Wrangler 4xe “First Edition,” a plug-in hybrid version of the Wrangler, kicks off today in European markets via a dedicated website. Italy, France, Germany and Switzerland are live with other markets involved in the initiative to follow soon. The Wrangler 4xe Plug-in Hybrid is expected to arrive in European dealerships before this summer. (Jeep Renegade and Compass 4xe Ready for Euro Orders) Marketing has been shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic as was made clear by FCA’s – now Stellantis – challenges of introducing new Jeep Renegade and Compass models in Europe. (Stellantis – a Mega Merger of Auto Companies Names Execs)

This latest marketing ploy started early last year, with pre-booking of the Renegade and Compass 4xe. Jeep claims it was a “resounding success, generating a lot of interest across Europe.” The arrival of the Jeep Wrangler 4xe is the latest step in the brand’s evolution and another step in the strategy towards the electrification of its entire range, announced in 2020. This will include the introduction of at least one electric or electrified version of each model in the coming years. Continue reading →

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First Look – 2021 Buick Envision Mid-Size SUV

Posted on 21 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on the Buick 2021

Avenir Trim version and basic 2021 Buick Envision right. Click to Enlarge.

The latest Buick Envision is lower and wider and, for the first time, there are expensive Sport Touring and Avenir trims. Starting at a MSRP of $32,995* the pricing tops above $48,000 without dealer installed accessories such as mats – reflecting the seemingly endless US demand for luxury SUVs.

Envision is between the smaller Encore/Encore GX and the larger Enclave, with 52.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind first-row seats and 25.2 cubic feet behind the second-row seats. Whether the small 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder is a luxury engine is debatable even with 228 horsepower (170 kW) and 258 lb.-ft. of torque (350 Nm), direct injection and Stop/Start technology. It’s coupled to a nine-speed automatic transmission with electronic shift control. On paper, absent test drives, AutoInformed thinks this is roughly a 25-mpg set-up. Continue reading →

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