CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

GM product chief Mark Reuss has officially succeeded Dan Ammann as the automaker's president. Reuss will be in charge for GM's quality organization and also lead its Global Product Group and Cadillac. 

EARNING DIP

Amidst recent "yellow vest" anti-government protests, new car registrations in France fell 15% in December.  

Of the big three Detroit automakers, only FCA saw an increase in sales during 2018. FCA sales were up 9% in 2018 compared to 2017, while GM and Ford sales dropped by 1.6% and 3.5%, respectively.

HUMAN CAPITAL

Bosal Industries Georgia is laying off 58 employees from its facility in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. Bosal supplies exhaust systems to Volkswagen, Honda, Volvo, Subaru and Mazda. 

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Norway has set a new world record as almost a third of new cars sold in the country last year were pure electric. The country is striving to end the sale of fossil-fueled vehicles by 2025.

Like GM last year, Ford announced that they will move to quarterly reporting of U.S. sales figures starting in April. Ford's VP of U.S. marketing Mark LaNeve says that the new reporting schedule is "...kind of transitioning to more of an industry standard".

LABOR DISPUTE

The UAW is suing GM over its alleged use of temporary workers at its assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The union contends that there are about 1,000 laid-off hourly workers with the right to transfer to other GM plants, but the automaker is using temporary workers rather than transferring those workers.

LITIGATION

A Tokyo court has extended ex-Nissan head Carlos Ghosn's detention until January 11. If Ghosn is eventually released on bail, we will likely be restricted to his home or a hotel.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Faurecia has started a new "Clean Mobility" joint venture in China with Liuzhou Wuling Automotive Industry Co., Ltd. The new company will develop automotive exhaust systems and is aiming to have a turnover of $86m by 2023.

GM's self-driving unit Cruise is teaming up with DoorDash to pilot a new autonomous vehicle food delivery service. The pilot will begin early this year in San Francisco, California.

PLANT CLOSING

ZF Chassis Systems will permanently close its Chicago, Illinois plant due to a lost contract. The facility produced suspension modules to the nearby Ford assembly plant. 

Adient will close its Charlotte, Michigan molding plant in May 2019.

PLANT EXPANSION

Britain's VTL Precision is building a new plant in Goose Creek, South Carolina. This second facility will produce engine, transmission and turbocharger components.

PRODUCTION DECREASE

Nissan is cutting its vehicle production in China by 30,000 units over the December-February period. The cut is said to be a result of falling demand and the country's trade war with the U.S.

REGULATION

Italy's upper house of parliament has approved measures to offer subsidies of up to 6,000 euros to buyers of new low emission vehicles while also taxing purchases of gas and diesel vehicles. If approved by the lower house of parliament, the measures will go into effect on March 1, 2019 and last to the end of 2021.

RISK ANALYTICS

The 30k piece puzzle: Brexit and the auto industry