Covid is just as deadly as lead or leaded gasoline.
The American Automobile Club of America’s Eastern Fall Meet – aka Hersey Swap Meet – in the Pennsylvania town of Hershey is for the moment cancelled. With ongoing COVID-19 concerns and Pennsylvania’s legal constraints on more than 25 people gathering, the Hershey Region Chapter, has just said (30 May) on their Facebook page that the enduring event of 65 years taking place at the beginning of October is cancelled.
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Bolt EV Academy will help educate current and future Bolt EV owners about some of the “advantages” of living electric.
Chevrolet has launched a Bolt EV Academy, a series of 15 videos to help educate current and future Bolt EV owners on the advantages of living electric and how to get the most out of their electric vehicle. Bolt EV has a MSRP $37,495 with optional DC Fast Charging system and before any federal or state tax incentives.
The online series explains several of the Bolt EV’s unique features, driving tips and how-tos. For future Bolt EV drivers, the series will allegedly illustrate “just how fun, easy and convenient it is to live with an electric vehicle “ as explained by the engineers and experts who brought the Bolt EV to life.
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The Nissan global restructuring plan affects 20% of its production capacity.
When Nissan yesterday announced the closure of three factories in Barcelona, with the loss of 3,000 jobs and a further 20,000 jobs in the supply chain, workers protested say IndustriAll. The closure of the Barcelona factories was the direct result of a previously announced restructuring plan that would affect more than 12,000 jobs globally at loss-making Nissan, which has been hit twice – once from the Renault Alliance and Carlos Ghosn criminal matter and then COVID-19. (Nissan Posts -¥671.2 Billion Loss for Fiscal Year 2019)
So far, 4,000 workers have been laid off, 600 in Spain. The unions in Spain, as well as at European level, have been in dialogue with the company and have presented alternative plans. Continue reading
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Honda Motor Company today announced a summary of automobile production for the month of April 2020. As expected, U.S. production was zero because of the COVID-19 Crisis. However, note China. It enforced strict social behaviors in Hunan province, where the disease /plague apparently started.
The Trump Administration denied there was problem. In fact, President said that Covid would go away by April. And even now is falsely maintaining that its response could not have been better as unemployment is approaching Great Depression levels – 41,000,000 Americans have filled for unemployment since mid-March – and more than 100,000 people have died…
Mustang Mach 1 is due back next spring.
The fastback that debuted during the muscle car era in 1960s – as a cut-rate version of the Boss or Shelby – returns for global buyers. It will have a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 engine with performance to match but is no longer the cheap fast Mustang that made it a legend. Well, fast it will be. Price is another matter to be announced.
In 1971 Mach 1 with its competition suspension appeared – longer and larger than the original, with an assortment of powerful engine options. In 1974 Mach 1 changed again to a hatchback. This Mach 1 generation had a five-year run and beefed up its handling capabilities more with an optional Rallye Suspension Package. Continue reading
On a management pro forma basis, which includes the proportionate consolidation of results from Nissan’s joint venture Dong Feng operation in China, operating profit was ¥116.7 billion, which equates to a +1.0% operating margin, and net loss was -¥671.2 billion.
Nissan Motor Co. today posted large financial losses for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2020, aka Japanese fiscal year. The global COVID-19 pandemic substantially affected Nissan’s production, sales, and other business activities in all regions. Overall market demand decreased amid the current global environment, which has resulted in a slowdown in global total industry volume (TIV). In fiscal year 2019, the global TIV fell by 6.9% to 85.73 million units. Nissan’s sales dropped 10.6% to 4.93 million vehicles; market share maintained 5.8% as previously forecast. However, Nissan’s business and brand problems go back several years. Nissan today announced the closure of three factories in Barcelona, with the loss of 3,000 jobs and a further 20,000 jobs in the supply chain. (Renault, Nissan Motor, Mitsubishi Slice, Dice World by Brand)
During fiscal year 2019, consolidated net revenue declined to ¥9.8789 trillion yen, resulting in an operating loss of ¥40.5 billion yen and a net loss1 of -¥ 671.2 billion. This includes costs associated with restructuring and impairments of ¥603.0 billion as Nissan tried to improve operational and efficiency improvements. Free cash flow for the automotive business was, gulp, negative -¥641.0 billion.
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A PEM fuel cell is structured like a sandwich. In the center is a thin plastic film, the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM). This is coated on both sides with a catalyst layer and a gas permeable electrode of graphite paper. The membrane is surrounded by two bipolar plates with milled gas ducts. Through these ducts flows hydrogen one side, and oxygen on the other. Several individual fuel cells are stacked to produce CO2 free energy.
Daimler Truck and Rolls-Royce plan to unite on the development of stationary fuel-cell generators as CO2-neutral emergency power generators for safety-critical facilities such as data centers.
They will offer emission-free alternatives to diesel engines, which are currently used as emergency power generators , or to cover peak loads. They have signed an preliminary agreement, with a comprehensive agreement due and signed by the end of the year.
In April, Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group signed a preliminary, non-binding agreement to establish a new joint venture for the development, production, and sale of fuel-cell systems for heavy-duty commercial vehicles and other uses. The Rolls-Royce Power Systems business unit plans to rely on these fuel-cell systems from the planned joint venture – as well as Daimler’s experience in the emergency power generators it develops and distributes for data centers under the MTU product and solution brand.
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Yesterday, California led a lawsuit with 22 more states and other jurisdictions challenging the Trump Administration’s plan to roll back vehicle emissions standards. Since these emission rules were enacted eight years ago, they have reduced air pollution and protected the air we breathe. Now the Federal swamp along the banks of the Potomac is over-populated by big money special interests and giving off fetid emissions that need to be cleaned up through more regulation.
The California Air Resources Board helped develop the original 2012 rules and is represented in this case by the California Attorney General. Trump is among global warming deniers, a position – as usual – that has no basis in fact, but is funded by lobbying groups working for those who benefit from exploiting and increasing the use of carbon-based fossil fuels. The 2012 rules would have had automakers increase the average fuel economy of cars and trucks to ~54 miles per gallon by 2025. The new Trump mini-standards require automakers to only improve their average fleet-wide fuel economy to 40 miles per gallon.
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Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation today announced several initiatives as part of a new business model “to enhance the competitiveness and profitability” of the three sometimes at odds companies.** It’s a “survival by consolidation strategy,” which will have international political and product and employment implications for autoworkers, dealers and suppliers.
The member companies plan to build on existing Alliance “benefits” in areas such as joint purchasing by using their respective positions and geographic strengths to support their partners’ business development. The three companies of the Alliance will cover all vehicle segments and technologies globally, while increasing their respective competitiveness.
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You decide the odds because they are based on the nature of contacts, their duration, location and the behaviors of others. The risks are certain.
It appears that large sub-segments of the U.S. population are anti-science, anti-vaccine or is that dumb and proud of it? They are putting other people at risk.
GM Canada Workers assemble masks using ultrasonic welding stations, which bind the ear strings to the material.
The Government of Canada today contracted General Motors of Canada to provide 10 million face masks over the next year with production to begin immediately. GM Canada will manufacture the face masks at cost at its Oshawa Operations for the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Canada received its Medical Device Establishment License on April 22 and the company built and installed the mask making machinery, sourced materials and trained its workers in approximately one month. Continue reading
The UK automotive industry is today calling on government to allow the country’s 4900 new car showrooms to reopen “as a matter of urgency,” as new calculations from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal a £61 million daily cost to the Treasury of keeping dealerships closed.
The move at first glance appears to a bad one given the scope of the COVID-19 crisis in the UK and the ineptness of the response from 10 Downing street. Coronavirus Cases are currently listed at 254,195, with 36,393 Deaths. These numbers are most assuredly understated given the disarray of policy, confusing government briefings, complications at the National Health Service, and perhaps political interference in the reporting system – a global problem. (Government scientist admits March halt on community testing and tracing for coronavirus was due to limited capacity)
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A serious competitor for western automakers with the world’s largest vehicle market as home.
Xpeng Motors, an electric vehicle and technology company, says that it has received the official production license from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for its newly-built, wholly-owned factory, the Zhaoqing Xpeng Motors Intelligent Industrial Park in Guangdong Province.
The approval will accelerate the production of the “super-long range” sports sedan Xpeng P7, a pure EV, the company’s second production model, ensuring customer deliveries scheduled for 2Q 2020 at ~$32,400 – $49,200.
“The Zhaoqing manufacturing plant is an essential component of our vision to build a smart mobility ecosystem, from in-house R&D to smart manufacturing to customer services. Obtaining the production approval for the plant will hasten our progress in producing and delivering best-in-class products and services for our customers,” said He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of Xpeng Motors, which also built the plant.
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COVID-19 continues as a Global disaster.
Workers at two Nissan auto plants in Barcelona are on indefinite strike due to a lack of clarity about the future of Nissan operations in Spain, according to the global union IndustriAll. The Barcelona factories shut due to the corona virus lockdown in mid-March, and partially reopened on 4 May, only to be hit almost immediately by strike action over a failure to confirm a commitment to maintaining employment levels. (2020 Nissan Frontier – Hinting at a Next Gen Version)
The workers are striking due to Japanese media reports that Nissan intends to reduce its staff by 20% globally and shut the Barcelona plants. Nissan could in theory shut all its European plants, as the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance continues its post Carlos Ghosn struggles. Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced about 600,000 vehicles.
On 14 May, the Nikkei Shimbun published a speculative story on Nissan’s future production strategy. “Nissan in fiscal 2019 produced about 55,000 vehicles in Spain, accounting for about 10% of its European output. It will shift its Barcelona production to Renault plants in France and elsewhere,” said the Nikkei,
“Nissan has not made any official statement on this subject. Nissan’s midterm planning is in progress and has not been concluded yet. As announced earlier, Nissan will announce a revised midterm plan along with fiscal year 2019 financial results on May 28,” said a Nissan statement.
“Nissan unions have been in communication with the company since last year about the global business plan and the future of the factories in Spain. These are still under consideration and no decisions have been communicated. European works council representatives confirm that they had not been consulted on any restructuring plan,” according to IndustriALL.
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Auto Assembly Plant Restarts – Yes, Maybe and Unknown
FCA, GM, and Volkswagen announced planned to restart production at four plants during the week of 31 May 2020.
Click to Enlarge.Courtesy of the Center for Automotive Research.
FCA’s Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois is scheduled to begin production on 1 June at an estimated weekly production capacity of 6,430.
GM announced plans to restart production at its plants in Arlington, Texas and Fairfax, Kansas. They will begin production with one shift.
Volkswagen said its plants located in Puebla, Mexico, is scheduled to begin production during this week at a weekly production capacity of 15,309 units.
The following table depicts automakers who previously announced restart dates before the week of 20 May 2020 that have not publicly confirmed the restart of their operations.
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