Chinese Trade Wars – Exports Growing, Prices Dropping

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Chinese domestic passenger vehicle sales (PV), excluding exports, saw a 5.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase in March and a 4.2% YoY growth in April, according to an analyst comment just made public by the respected Global Data Consultancy.* Year-to-date from January to April 2024, PV sales reached 6.3 million units, reflecting a 5.5% YoY increase. Mass production is higher – +9.0% YoY at 7.6 million over the same period. This suggests that the production growth is outpacing sales volume, indicating potential market saturation or a buildup of inventory, according to GlobalData.

Two very real problems are increasing for non-Chinese global automakers. First, is the penetration rate. This is the market share of the vehicles that are the future of the companies that will survive what is an historic reshaping of a global industry. Here, so-called New Electric Vehicles – [NEVs – battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and range-extended electric vehicles combined] that have been heavy promoted, subsidized and pushed forward by the Chinese government are now accounting a 43% share in April, an historic high. The economies of scale are enormous and a clear Chinese competitive advantage.** Continue reading

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Stellantis Promise or Puff? – Clean, Safe, Affordable Mobility

Today at the first Stellantis Investor Day in Auburn Hills, Michigan CEO Carlos Tavares presented what he claimed were  nine key strategic differentiators that Stellantis is using “to unlock value and address the disruption and reinvention of the auto industry worldwide.”

“What consumers around the world are looking for is clean, safe and affordable mobility. This is the reason we exist. We are driving a generational shift in technology and a product wave built on multi-energy platforms and flexible operations with above-group profitability in our commercial vehicles business. Together with the activation of our uniquely aligned partnership with Leapmotor, an innovative Chinese new energy vehicle maker, we’re confident we can deliver what customers want while providing strong shareholder returns this year, and beyond,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. Continue reading

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EPA 2031 CAFE – EVs, PHEVs, Hybrids Will Grow

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New EPA Light Vehicle Emissions standards are now final through model year 2031.* There are multiple ways a global automaker can meet the standards and avoid fines. Key here will be the flexible development and manufacturing of powertrain technologies to meet compliance and avoid non-compliance penalties. The standard means a maker will pay $17.00 per tenth of a mile per gallon under the requirement.

For those  inhabiting the Trump Washington swamp with rabid misinformation fever, he did not decrease the standards as promised. Incremental increases were slowed down. The Biden Administration basically went back to the sharp CAFE increases that occurred under the Obama Administration. Simply put, CAFE will increase because of  significant fines for non-compliance now in place. Continue reading

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Porsche 2024 Annual Meeting Sweep. Dividend Doubled

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At the virtual Annual General Meeting of Porsche AG this week, the shareholders of Porsche AG unanimously accepted all the resolution proposals from management for all of the items on the agenda despite some vocal opposition about its electrification strategy, which is proceeding apace. In accordance with the dividend policy, ~€2.1 billion will be paid for the 2023 financial year. This is ~41% of the Group profit after tax, at €2.30 per share and €2.31 a preferred share. All 10 shareholder representatives on the Supervisory Board were re-elected for another term. At the constitutive meeting of the Supervisory Board following the AGM, Chairman of the Supervisory Board Dr Wolfgang Porsche and Deputy Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board Jordana Vogiatzi were unanimously re-elected.

“In 2023, Porsche impressed while realizing all its ambitious forecasts. Our financial position is robust and, even in uncertain times, we remain highly profitable. For Porsche, 2024 is a year of new product launches, with the biggest model launch program in the company’s history. In the past months we have launched new models for five model series. We are thereby laying the foundations today for our profits tomorrow – and for future dividends,” said Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board. Continue reading

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NHTSA Eases CAFE Regs For 2027-2031 Model Years

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today issued new vehicle fuel economy standards that it projects will save Americans more than $23 billion in fuel costs while reducing pollution. The agency also projects the standards will prevent more than 710 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, reduce air pollution, and reduce the country’s dependence on oil. It does ease light truck standards to the same as cars with 2% per year increase but only in the 2029-31 model years, in effect giving American heavy duty pickup truck makers a slight break in the rate of increase in a segment they dominate.*

“Not only will these new standards save Americans money at the pump every time they fill up, they will also decrease harmful pollution and make America less reliant on foreign oil,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “These standards will save car owners more than $600 in gasoline costs over the lifetime of their vehicle.” Continue reading

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NHTSA Fire Alert – Park Outside! 2020-2024 Kia Tellurides

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today in a Consumer Alert that Kia America has issued a “park outside” recall for 462,869 model year 2020-2024 Telluride vehicle. There is a risk of fire while parked or driving in the vehicles. Kia is advising owners to park their vehicles outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair has been completed.

The front power seat motor on the affected vehicles could overheat because of a stuck power seat slide knob, potentially resulting in a fire and increasing the risk of injury. To fix the issue, dealers will install a bracket for the power seat switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs. Continue reading

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Milestones – Three Millionth Subaru Outback

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Subaru of America today said the 3 millionth sale of its Outback SUV in the U.S. The Outback was sold at Subaru of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida, to David Jett, a four-time Subaru owner. After taking delivery of his new Outback, Jett was greeted by Phil Porter Jr., general manager of Subaru of Jacksonville, his staff, and Craig Halliday and Colin Mondero from Subaru of America. (1)

The first-generation Outback, was a more expensive variant of the Legacy wagon, with two-tone paint, white-letter tires, large fog lights, and a raised roof. Equipped with a 2.5-liter Boxer engine, symmetrical all-wheel drive and 7.5 inches of ground clearance, it was a crossover support utility of sorts. During 30 years of production, Outback has won many awards and has been an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick for 16 years running (2009-2024). Known for reliability, 97% of Outbacks sold in the last 10 years are still on the road today. (1)
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GM Annual Meeting Vote Strongly Endorses Board’s Strategy

Stockholders overwhelming endorsed the strategy of management and their performance at the General Motors 2024 annual meetings of shareholders this week. Mary Barra, Chair and CEO firmly, but politely explained the operating philosophy in the face of opposition to addressing climate change with electric vehicles at the center of the product lineup and ongoing moves to increase profitability. About 960 million GM shares constituting 84% of GM’s outstanding common stock were represented at the meeting in-person or by proxy before online voting commenced. Moreover, each of the Board nominees joined the meeting. Also attending were members of GM’s senior leadership team, representatives of GM’s  independent auditor, Ernst & Young, LLP, and Peter Descovich of Broadridge Financial Solutions who served as the Inspector of Elections.

The first item of business was  the election of 12 directors Each year the shareholders elect directors to serve for the coming year until their successors are elected.* The vote tally was based on the preliminary report provided by the Inspector of Elections, for the first item of business, the election of directors, all of the company’s director nominees were elected. Directors received on average a favorable vote of 97% of the votes cast (it will be official with exact numbers when an SEC filing is made on 15 April.) More importantly in AutoInformed’s opinion is that all dissident shareholder proposals following that the Board recommended a vote against were soundly defeated. Continue reading

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Toyota to Expand Huntsville Engine Plant

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Toyota (NYSE: TM) said today it is expanding its Huntsville plant production capacities with a $282 million investment This brings the total investment in Toyota Alabama to more than $1.7 billion, the Japanese company claimed. Toyota Alabama currently supplies engines to seven Toyota vehicle plants in North America. The Huntsville-assembled engines power the Corolla, Corolla Cross, Highlander, RAV4, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra. Toyota Alabama is the company’s largest engine producer in North America, employing more than 2000 non-union workers who assembled more than 770,000 engines in 2023.

“The new lines will further increase the plant’s flexibility and reaffirm Toyota’s commitment to our team and community,” said Jason Puckett, Toyota Alabama president. Continue reading

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US Light Vehicle Sales Strong in May

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According to preliminary estimates, US Light Vehicle (LV) sales grew by 6.8% year-on-year (YoY) in May to 1.44 million units, according to an analysis just released by the respected GlobalData consultancy.* After seeing a lengthy growth streak end in April, the market in the United States returned to YoY expansion in May helped by an additional selling day compared to May 2023. The daily selling rate was estimated at 55,600 units/day in May, compared to 53,100 in April. Both the annualized rate and the daily selling rate were the best for the year-to-date, but neither were as strong as December 2023. Estimated retail sales totaled 1.18 million units in May, while fleet sales finished at ~268,000 units, representing ~18.6% of total sales.

“May is usually an important month for the automotive industry, with warmer temperatures and Memorial Day sales events traditionally bringing consumers out to buy vehicles. This year was no different, with incentives being significantly higher than a year ago, allowing for some buyers to make deals that were not possible when inventory levels were low,” said David Oakley, Manager, Americas Sales Forecasts, GlobalData. Continue reading

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Mazda Releases Certification Results in Japanese Fraud Cases

Mazda Motor Corporation (MMC) in Hiroshima today said it investigated all of its 2403 tests (*1) for applications for Type Designation as requested by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT Notification No. 2018). “The investigation results confirmed irregularities in a total of five tests in two test categories, which was reported to the Ministry on 30 May. The irregularities identified this time encompass 150,878 units produced and 149,313 units sold. (*2),” Mazda said. The Japanese Transport Ministry is also investigating Honda, Suzuki, Toyota and Yamaha Motor, among other companies. (Read AutoInformed on: Toyota Releases More Details on Vehicle Certification Fraud)

“We would like to express our sincere apologies for the inconvenience and concern this may cause to our customers, business partners, dealers, and all other stakeholders related to Mazda,” MMC said. Continue reading

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Toyota Releases More Details on Vehicle Certification Fraud

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Akio Toyoda – scion of the Toyoda family and Chairman Toyota Motor Corporation.

Toyota Motor Corporation* and Toyota Motor East Japan are under investigation since January by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for fraudulently certifying that vehicles were complaint with required tests. Today, Akio Toyoda, Chairman said, “As the person responsible for the Toyota Group, I would like to extend my sincere apologies to our customers, car enthusiasts, and all stakeholders for this issue, following Hino, Daihatsu, and Toyota Industries Corporation. I am truly sorry.” AutoInformed here notes that Toyota certifies ~ 50 models per year, but over the years tens of thousands of reports are filed. Toyota stopped production in Japan of the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross. The issue thus far doesn’t affect off-shore production.

“All the cases are related to certification. The certification system in Japan verifies whether a product meets the established standards mainly in the fields of safety and environment using measurement methods in accordance with rules. Vehicles can only be manufactured and sold after meeting certification test standards. The point of this issue is that the vehicles were mass-produced and sold without going through the correct certification,” Toyoda said. Continue reading

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Michigan Central Station Reopening June 6th

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Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said today that the Michigan Central Station* will offer a first look at the interior restoration of its ground floor this week, during its reopening as part of Michigan Central OPEN from June 6-16. Ford started the preservation project after acquiring the abandoned train station in 2018 to be the centerpiece of Michigan Central, a 30-acre technology and cultural hub in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. Michigan Central will bring Ford employees together with external partners, entrepreneurs, students, and competitors, to co-create new products, services, and technologies that add value to a new generation of Ford customers and help build a better world.

“Michigan Central means a great deal to us all. In many ways, this building tells the story of our city. This Station was our Ellis Island – a place where dreamers in search of new jobs and new opportunities first set foot in Detroit. But once the last train pulled out, it became a place where hope left. In 2018, I decided it was time to change that by re-imagining this station as a place of possibility again. Over the past six years, Ford Motor Company and teams of forward thinkers, designers, community leaders, and more than 3000 skilled tradespeople have worked to bring this landmark back to life,” said Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford. Continue reading

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GM Changing Software and Services Organization

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General Motors (NYSE:GM) said this morning that it is promoting Baris Cetinok and Dave Richardson to head its Software and Services organization as the company continues to develop electric, autonomous and connected vehicles. Cetinok and Richardson came to GM in September 2023 to work on vehicle operating and digital systems, “laying the foundation for software to become a central component of GM’s customer experience.” The former technology executives take over for Mike Abbott, who left GM in March 2024 less than a year after leaving Apple to join GM because of health reasons. They will be based out of the new GM Mountain View Technical Center in California.*

“GM’s journey toward a tech-forward future is clearer than ever, thanks to the exceptional talent within our team and the leadership of Baris and Dave,” said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra. “They bring energy and vision, combined with extensive technical and management experience, that will continue to strengthen our software engineering and product teams. These elevated roles will ensure continuity, speed, and quality as software becomes even more central to the vehicle.” Continue reading

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Supplier Relations Study – Toyota Ascending, Ford Slumping

The results of the 24th annual North American Automotive OEM-supplier Working Relations Index® [WRI®] Study appraising relations between U.S. automakers and their suppliers by Plante Moran shows five of the six OEMs improved overall relationships while managing continued frictions over cost recovery issues related to materials and tooling, and the overall fairness of supplier-commercial relations in general. The Working Relations Index® measures the total commercial relationship, which is a function of perceived trust, timely communication, mutual profit opportunity, assistance, and a reduction in conflict in dealings with automakers. (AutoInformed on Toyota, Honda, GM Lead in Supplier Relations)

The two big  issues – cost and fairness – have been created and compounded by changing electric vehicle (EV) demand that sees automakers switching to hybrid configurations, or canceling EV programs and again ramping up conventional powertrain production. These are occurring while rising costs are squeezing automaker’s suppliers. Continue reading

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