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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Motor Vehicle, Parts, Supplies Wholesalers Added Sales in 2019

Posted on 21 January 2021 by Ken Zino

U.S. merchant wholesalers posted sales of $8,633.5 billion in 2019, according to estimates from the Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS) released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2018, U.S. merchant wholesalers had sales of $8,633.6 billion. What happened during the pandemic will have to wait a year. Continue reading →

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Volkswagen Ends Production of Golf For US Market

Posted on 21 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Golf stops production in Mexico for US market

EPA-estimated Miles per Gallon of Gasoline Equivalent (MPGe) for the e-Golf was126 city, 105 highway, and 116 combined; the range a mere 83 miles. Introduced early in 2015, it soon was forgotten as a laughable marketing gimmick.

Volkswagen of America announced on Inauguration Day that the Golf ended production for the U.S. market last week. Volkswagen said that the model year 2021 Golf models built at the Puebla, Mexico plant will sustain sales of the European-designed hatchback through year end. The Golf family name will carry on in model year 2022 with the introduction of the all-new Mk 8 Golf GTI and Golf R, arriving this Fall.

First sold in December 1974 as  the “Rabbit” in the U.S. with a 1.5-liter engine with 70 horsepower, almost 2.5 million Golf family models have been sold in the U.S. market. The current Mk 7 Golf debuted for the 2015 model year – an eternity in terms of technical advances, quality and customer satisfaction practices in the auto industry. Continue reading →

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We the People Welcome Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – The New Administration of Hope and Self-Evident Truths

Posted on 20 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Biden Harris Inauguration

A photographic view of the National Mall in Washington on Tuesday 19 January 2021, ahead of the 59th Presidential Inauguration on Wednesday.  Image by Susan Walsh, The Associated Press Pool Photographer for AP Members.

In these times that once again trouble men’s and women’s souls, we the people would do well to remember that We Are What We Were. Our revolutionary war was won – against all odds by citizen soldiers or irregulars who forced a standing British Army to surrender in the field for the first time since the tyrant Napoleon. This happened with some help from the French because the Crown and its privileged generals were fighting an idea first put forth in our Declaration of Independence, then codified in our Constitution that “We the People” would govern ourselves and elect our leaders and peaceably transfer power between administrations.

The idea was bigger and more powerful than the British Army and Navy. It remains a bigger and better idea when used against other forces of oppression. The idea trumps white supremacists or treasonous self-proclaimed militias or QAnon believers or a  president who would be king. (We the People Say Again Farewell to Despots and Treason)

“Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause. The cause of democracy. The people, the will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed,” said President Joe Biden in his inaugural address.

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Honda’s New Mobility Business – Cruise to Send First Self-Driving Vehicles to Japan for Testing

Posted on 20 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on General Motors Cruise self-driving vehicles for Honda’s autonomous vehicle mobility service

A small but symbolic milestone in the mobility business.

Honda today announced that it will work together with Cruise and General Motors on self-driving vehicles for its autonomous vehicle mobility service (MaaS) business in Japan. This, admittedly small but symbolic milestone, is a direct result of the development and commercial agreements signed in October 2018. (see AutoInformed – Honda Joins with Cruise and General Motors to Build New Autonomous Vehicle. Honda Investment Of $750 Million Values Cruise At $14.6 Billion, GM, Cruise, Microsoft to Commercialize Self-Driving Vehicles, GM and Honda to Jointly Develop Honda Electric Vehicles)

Cruise will be sending the first of its self-driving test vehicles to Japan and start development for testing this year. Eventually, Honda aims to launch its MaaS business using the Cruise Origin, a vehicle the three companies are jointly developing solely for autonomous vehicle mobility service businesses. Honda Mobility Solutions Co., Ltd., established in February 2020, will be the operator of such MaaS business in Japan. Continue reading →

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Stellantis – a Mega Merger of Auto Companies Names Execs

Posted on 19 January 2021 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com on Stellantis - FCA PSA Merger

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Today Stellantis officially announced its Executive Team along with the 9 dedicated committees* covering enterprise-wide performance and strategy for running the merged FCA and PSA companies. It is the latest merger in the capital-destroying automotive industry that seeks to pursue scale where the promise of synergies will – it is hoped – result in competitive rates of return, along with a sustainable business. (see AutoInformed on Bye Bye FCA and PSA. Hello Stellantis)

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, said at its inaugural press conference: “This highly competitive, committed and well-balanced team will leverage its combined skills and diverse backgrounds to guide Stellantis to become a great company.” He claimed that this was not a defensive merger. (Stellantis means “brightens with stars”; from the Latin verb stello.)

The Stellantis name will be used exclusively at the Group level, as a corporate brand. The names and the logos of the Stellantis Group’s basic 14 brands remain unchanged. What actually happens to the brands is an entirely different matter. AutoInformed readers likely realized that such mergers are difficult, and the road – looking backward – is littered with abandoned or failed promises of synergies and sales from such ventures. (FCA + PSA = Massive Job Losses, FCA-PSA Merger – Surviving Platforms and Powertrains) Continue reading →

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GM, Cruise, Microsoft to Commercialize Self-Driving Vehicles

Posted on 19 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on GM and Cruise

Cruise Automation COO Dan Kan, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt, then GM President Dan Ammann – Cruise offices in San Francisco – June 2018. (l to r)

Cruise and General Motors today announced they have entered a long-term strategic relationship with Microsoft to “accelerate the commercialization of self-driving vehicles.” The companies claimed they will bring together their software and hardware engineering, cloud computing capabilities, manufacturing ability, and partners to “create a safer, cleaner and more accessible world for everyone.” AutoInformed thinks that making money on autonomous vehicles remains a distant promise.*

Microsoft will join General Motors, Honda and institutional investors in a combined new equity investment of more than $2 billion in Cruise, bringing the post-money valuation of Cruise to $30 billion. Founded and headquartered in San Francisco, Cruise’s stated goal is to build the world’s most advanced self-driving, all-electric, shared vehicles. GM will launch 30 new electric vehicles globally by 2025. Volkswagen and Ford havelinked with Pittsburgh autonomous vehicle company Argo AI, already.  Hyundai in with Fiat Chrysler since the summer of 2020  to use Waymo’s driverless car technology.  Continue reading →

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GM to Make CAMI a Commercial Electric Vehicle Plant

Posted on 18 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on CAMI and Electric Commercial Vehicles

Out with the old, in with the new…

General Motors plans to bring production of its recently announced BrightDrop electric light commercial vehicle, the EV600, to its CAMI manufacturing plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. This is contingent on the almost certain ratification of a tentative 2021 agreement reached with Unifor (agreed on 18 January in the morning -editor) and confirmation of less certain government support. (See AutoInformed BrightDrop? General Motors New Business Claims It Will Electrify, Improve Goods and Services Delivery) The C$1 billion investment will support GM’s plan to deliver BrightDrop EV600s in late 2021. The World Economic Forum estimates so-called urban last-mile delivery emissions are on track to increase by more than 30% by 2030 in the top 100 cities globally

This investment and Canadian workforce will make CAMI into Canada’s first large-scale auto plant converted to produce electric delivery vehicles. GM says work begins immediately to transform the CAMI over the next two years from Chevrolet Equinox production to the production of EV600s, to serve the growing North American market for electric delivery solutions. Continue reading →

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Union Strike Saves Rolls-Royce Jobs in Barnoldswick

Posted on 15 January 2021 by Ken Zino

Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on saving the Rolls-Royce Jet Engine Factory in BarnoldswickThe Rolls-Royce jet engine factory in Barnoldswick in the United Kingdom has been saved after a nine-week strike by members the organized labor Unite group. The future of the factory was closure when Rolls-Royce last summer announced that it was transferring the production of its Trent jet engine blade work to Singapore. The workforce voted for industrial action and began targeted strike action on 6 November last year which ran until Christmas Eve. Workers returned to the picket lines at the start of 2021.

The hamlet of Barnoldswick, home to 11,000 people, rallied in defense of their community. The Rolls-Royce factory, in operation since 1943, is the birthplace of the jet engine and the main employer there. The shuttering would have had devastating consequences for the prosperity of the local community. Continue reading →

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Alpine and Lotus to Study Joint Development of an Electric Sports Car as Groupe Renault Restructures

Posted on 14 January 2021 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Lotus and Alpine JV

Voila’.

Groupe Renault and Group Lotus have signed a memorandum of understanding to study the joint development of an electric sports car. A feasibility study for the joint engineering, design and development of an EV sports car will also explore the development of a joint services offer combining their engineering expertise to use Alpine’s motorsport platform covering Formula One to Formula E and Endurance racing is also under study.

It’s a strange twist when French and English performance car purveyors with winning race teams find themselves cooperating. This also comes as the so-called *Renaulution plan that aims to restore Groupe Renault’s competitiveness based on return, not sales or market share was approved in Boulogne-Billancourt by the Board of Directors this morning, Continue reading →

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