Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #89 - October 19 - 25, 2018

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

Ford has named Anning Chen the new CEO of Ford China and announced plans to make the division a stand-alone business unit. The move is part of the automaker's plan to "return to profitable growth in China".

Rolls-Royce has named veteran BMW exec Johann Wolf as their new Director of Manufacturing. He succeeds Frank Ludwig, effective Nov. 1.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Ford is expanding its autonomous vehicle testing to Washington, D.C. in the first quarter of 2019. They are already testing in Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Miami.

LITIGATION

BMW is recalling 1.6m disel cars worldwide over a potential engine fire hazard. The automaker found that coolant can leak from the affected cars' exhaust recirculation unit, create sparks while driving and cause a fire in "extreme cases".

A court in Stuttgart, Germany has ruled that Porsche SE must pay $54m in damages to investors for not disclosing its involvement in the emissions cheating scandal in a timely manner. The automaker says it will appeal and called the claims "without merit.".

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

FCA has sold its Magneti Marelli auto parts division to Japanese supplier Calsonic Kansei for $7b. The automaker says the deal will close in the first half of 2019.

Lyft has acquired London-based augmented reality developer Blue Vision Labs for $72m. Blue Vision has developed tech that can take in street-level imagery and build collaborative interactive augmented reality layers.

Daimler is forming a ride-hailing joint venture with Geely in China. The company will use Mercedes S-class, E-class, and V-class vehicles among other premium vehicles.

Volvo is acquiring a stake in San Francisco-based EV charging company FreeWire Technologies. The automaker says the investment is part of their commitment toward the transition to electric mobility.

PLANT DISASTER

An explosion and fire has idled production at Meridian Lightweight Technologies' magnesium diecasting plant in Strathroy, Ontario, Canada. This is the second fire at a Meridian plant in the last six months, following the May fire at their facility in Eaton Rapids, Michigan.

PLANT OPENING

Volkswagen is building their first all-electric vehicle and battery plant near Shanghai, China. The first model is being developed in partnership with SAIC and production will start in 2020.

Dyson is building a plant in Singapore for building its first electric car. The plant is expected to open in 2020.

LG Chem is investing $1.8b into a new EV battery plant in China. The plant will be three stories on a 2,134,483sf site and will start the first phase of production next year.

Jaguar Land Rover has opened its new $1.6b vehicle assembly plant in Nitra, Slovakia. The plant is planned to have an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles per year by 2020.

PLANT SHUTDOWN

Ford is halting vehicle production at its plant in Almussafes, Spain for nine days next month due to low demand. They will also halt engine production for 13 days next month.

PRODUCTION DECREASE

British car production fell by 17% in September as a result of new emissions regulations, diesel policy uncertainty, and Brexit uncertainty. 

REGULATION

The state of California is planning to fight the Trump administration's plan to freeze fuel economy requirements at 2020 levels. California's attorney general Xavier Becerra calls the plan "unlawful" and says it violates the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires extensive documentation before overturning existing regulations.

RISK ANALYTICS

Mike Wall of IHS Markit with a video interview on their current automotive outlook on tariff and trade.

SUPPLY CHAIN

Single-source suppliers and supplier bankruptcy risks may cloud Tesla production.

Aston Martin is considering favoring air over sea transport to avoid Brexit slowdowns.