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Tag Archives: autoinformed.com
Porsche Penske Motorsport Wins – Rename the 963 to 967?
The 2024 season was one of the most successful in Porsche’s long-distance racing history as the Porsche 963, won seven of eight possible titles together with the works team Porsche Penske Motorsport. Maybe it should be call 967 to honor the success in only the second year of racing the 963. The overall result of the 2024 season in the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was six out of six possible titles in North America, as well as the world championship crown for the works drivers Kévin Estre from France, André Lotterer from Germany and Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium in the FIA WEC. Porsche missed the manufacturer’s title in the world championship with the 963 this year by two points.
‟ ‘Nobody’s perfect’ – we already used this slogan in 1983, when only one third-party manufacturer appeared in the top 10 of the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport in a release celebrating the season today. It turns out that 41 years ago, Porsche publicized the Le Mans result under the ‘Nobody’s perfect’ on a now well-known poster. It depicted the racing cars from Stuttgart in the first eight places in the overall classification and in tenth place, with a Sauber BMW in between in the ninth spot. In AutoInformed’s view it also is just another example of Porsche’s sense of humor – counter the false stereotype on the lack of German humor. Remember the pink pig Porsche 917 endurance racer at Le Mans in 1971with the cuts of ham stenciled on the car? Continue reading
Posted in engineering, news analysis, performance, racing, results, shows and events
Tagged André Lotterer, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, fia, FIA World Endurance Championship WEC, imsa, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Jonathan Diuguid, Josef Newgarden, Ken Zino, Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, LMDh, LMH Hypercars, Porsche 963, Porsche Penske Motorsport, Thomas Laudenbach, X @KenAutoinformed
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Slight Improvement in J.D. Power 2024 Sales Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction with the vehicle purchase process continues to rise as new-vehicle inventory and pricing improve year over year, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study, SM released this week.* Overall customer satisfaction with the vehicle purchase experience is 801 (on a 1000-point scale), up from 793 in 2023.** Continue reading
Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, news analysis, results, sales, shows and events
Tagged 2024 U.S. Sales Satisfaction, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, J.D Power 2024 SSI Study, Ken Zino, Stewart Stropp, X @KenAutoinformed
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Nissan Motor Posts Disastrous First Half Results
Nissan Motor Company today in Japan announced weak financial results for the six-months ended 30 September 2024. Net revenue decreased by ¥79.1 billion year-over-year (YOY) to ¥5.98 trillion yen, with consolidated operating profit decreasing ¥303.8 billion to ¥32.9B. This was a paltry operating profit margin of 0.5%. Net income was ¥19.2 billion. Global sales volumes decreased year-on-year to 1.6 million units.*
“Profitability was affected by higher selling expenses and inventory optimization efforts, particularly in the US, along with rising manufacturing or monozukuri costs,” Nissan said in its earnings release. It’s also selling 149,028,300 shares of Mitsubishi, which will reduce Nissan’s stake in Mitsubishi from 34.07%. It could be the beginning of the end of alliances within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance or the complete demise of the Alliance. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, financial results, manufacturing, marketing, mobility company, news analysis, results
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, China Trade Wars, Guillaume Cartier, Ken Zino, Makoto Uchida, Nissan Arc business plan, Nissan Motor Company, X @KenAutoinformed
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BMW Q3 2024 Profits Drop 61%
BMW AG posted results yesterday for Q3 of 2024 that saw earnings at €1696 million compared to 2023 at €4352M for a plunge of -61.0%. It was the worst quarterly performance in ~four years. Consequently, its stock took a beating.
“Group revenues remained significantly down on the previous year in the third quarter of 2024 at 32,406 million (2023: € 38,458 million; -15.7%; adjusted for currency effects -15.3%). The primary reasons for this decline were negative volume effects and product mix effects in the Automotive segment resulting from delivery stops related to the supplied ABS [There were ~1.5 million vehicles recalled for a bad braking system- Autocrat], among other factors,” BMW said in an earnings release. Continue reading
Trump Presidency Effects on Auto Industry – All Bad?
After the election of Donald Trump, Jeff Schuster, Vice President Research Automotive at the GlobalData* consultancy, offered thoughts some of the changes expected in the US automotive industry from Trump 2.0. Fasten your safety belts! AutoInformed thinks it’s going to be a bumpy job, climate and economy threatening ride.
“Automotive is one of the sectors that could see a significant mid-term impact from the new Trump presidency in the areas of Trade, Electric Vehicle Transition and Regulations, “said Schuster this morning. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, economy, environment, fools 'n frauds, labor issues, manufacturing, news analysis, people, results, shows and events, transportation
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, GlobalData consultancy, Jeff Schuster, Ken Zino, second Trump Presidency, X @KenAutoinformed
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Toyota Motor FY2025 Q2 Earnings Down Significantly
Toyota Motor* today in Tokyo (NYSE: TM, 7203T) posted a FY Q2 profit drop of ~¥1.28 trillion yen year-over-year at ~¥573.7 billion. Toyota sold 2.3 million vehicles globally, compared to 2.4 million YOY. Quarterly sales revenue rose a tad ~¥11.44 trillion (~$75 billion) from ¥ 11.43 trillion. Nonetheless, Toyota re-affirmed its full fiscal year 2025 profit forecast of ¥3.57 trillion (~$23 billion), down from ~¥4.94 trillion fiscal year 2024. Simply put Toyota’s certification problems and plant shut downs clobbered earnings.
“This fiscal year, while maintaining our ability to earn 5 trillion yen, we are strengthening and accelerating our investment in people, including suppliers and dealers, and investment in growth areas. We are taking such measures a step higher, expanding total investments to 830 billion yen,” said Toyota Chief Financial Officer Yoichi Miyazaki. Continue reading
October 2024 US Light Vehicle Sales Up at 1.34 Million
Light Vehicle (LV) sales grew by 11.5% year-on-year (YoY) in October 2024, to 1.34 million units. Although the month had two additional selling days than it did in 2023, sales still exceeded expectations and provided a more cheerful perspective on the industry than has generally been the case in recent months, according to preliminary estimates released today by the respected GlobalData consultancy.
“Sales have generally disappointed for much of 2024, but October provided a pleasant change of pace. While the fundamentals of the market have probably not shifted to a great extent, some consumers appear to have been enticed by the gradual uptick in incentives, allied with greater vehicle availability and an easing in interest rates. A number of brands highlighted how Electric and Hybrid Vehicles performed better,” said David Oakley, Manager, Americas Sales Forecasts, GlobalData. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, economy, manufacturing, marketing, news analysis, sales
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Biden Administration economic recovery, David Oakley, GlobalData, Jeff Schuster, Ken Zino, X @KenAutoinformed
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U.S. International Trade Deficit Up in September
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $84.4 billion in September, up $13.6 billion from $70.8 billion in August, revised. As the economy continues to expand, consumers are buying more raising the deficit. The news comes on Election Day where under new Trump Administration – if it returns – proposed tariffs by Trump will cost consumers billions upon billions of dollars, send the cost of living soaring and hurt the economy overall. Trumpa-nomics 2 the sequel: Tanking the Economy Again. Continue reading
Posted in customer satisfaction, economy, financial results, fools 'n frauds, labor issues, manufacturing, news, news analysis
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, balance of trade, Chinese trade war, Ken Zino, Trump economics nonsense, Trump taxes on the working class, US Trade deficit, X @KenAutoinformed
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Conflicting China September 2024 Light Vehicle Sales
As of 25 September, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), more than 1.1 million vehicles were registered for scrapping and trading-in on the National Auto Trade-in Platform. The actual number of those that have resulted in new vehicle sales remains unclear. If they all did, it would imply that approximately half of the 2.1 million PV sales in September were subsidized. Moreover, auto exports are increasing their importance and significance for the Chinese auto industry. Thus the trade wars will continue. The Chinese government has told giant EV makers BYD, SAIC and Geely to halt investment plans in Europe. This will likely play out globally in other trade blocs and countries. Continue reading
Posted in news analysis
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, China September2024 Light Vehicle Sales, Chinese EV trade war, GlobalData, GlobalData Asia-Pacific Light Vehicle Sales Forecasting Team, Ken Zino, X @KenAutoinformed
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Ford Motor Recalls a Transit Recall for Wheel Lockup
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is recalling 2023-2024 Ford Transit vehicles previously repaired under recall number 24V-102. Incorrect bolts may have been used to attach the rear axle shaft, which can lead to the rear wheel locking up or separating from the axle, according to documents made public today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, news analysis, recalls, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Ford Transit recall 24S05, Ford Transit recall 24S67, Ford Transit recalls, Ken Zino, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA 24V-805, NHTSA 24V805, X @KenAutoinformed
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Toyota Motor, Joby Aviation Meet at Toyota’s Technical Center
Toyota Motor Corporation and Joby Aviation executives came together at Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka, Japan on Saturday 2 November. Present were Akio Toyoda, chairman Toyota Group, and Joby CEO and founder, JoeBen Bevirt, along with Joby’s air taxi, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL*). After its first flights in Japan on previous day, the plan was to get senior executives on board, so to speak.
However, the weather kept them on the ground. Nonetheless, their aspirations still soared upward. “Since its founding, Toyota has been working to realize a society in which everyone can move freely. About 100 years ago, in 1925, Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Group, offered a prize to encourage the development of a storage battery that could provide enough performance ‘to fly an airplane across the Pacific Ocean.’ Since then, Toyota has continued to focus on the challenge of air mobility through the generations,” Toyota said in a release likely prepared when the Sun was shining. Continue reading
Posted in aviation, economy, environment, milestones, mobility company, news, news analysis, shows and events, transportation
Tagged akio toyoda, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, eVTOL, FADEC, Higashi-Fuji Technical Center, JoeBen Bevirt, Ken Zino, Sakichi Toyoda, Shigeki Tomoyama, X @KenAutoinformed
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Asahi Kasei and Honda to Make Lithium-ion Battery Separators
Asahi Kasei Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in Toykyo this morning that they have signed a shareholders’ agreement to convert an existing Asahi Kasei subsidiary in Canada into a joint venture company. This agreement was reached as a result of continued discussions on collaboration for the production of lithium-ion battery separators in Canada based on the basic agreement announced on 25 April 2024. They plan to establish and start the operation of the joint venture company in early 2025, subject to obtaining permits and approvals from relevant authorities. Continue reading
Posted in news analysis
Tagged Asahi Kasei and Honda, Asahi Kasei Battery Separator, Asahi Kasei Honda Battery Separator Corporation, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, E-Materials Canada Corporation, Hipore™ separator business, Ken Zino, lithium-ion battery separators, X @KenAutoinformed
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American Airlines and JetBlue Alliance Blocked
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit last Friday affirmed the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’ ruling in favor of the Justice Department and the Attorneys General of six states and the District of Columbia in their civil antitrust lawsuit to stop the Northeast Alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue. Continue reading →