Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #124 - June 21 - 27, 2019

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

FCA is shuffling executives around for some of its key brands in North America. The moves came on the heels of former passenger car and Mopar head Steve Beahm's retirement in May.

HUMAN CAPITAL

As part of its ongoing restructuring, Ford is cutting 12,000 jobs in Europe to increase profitability. The automaker says that most positions will be eliminated through voluntary agreements through the end of 2020.

LABOR DISPUTE

After just 9 hours, a labor strike at Faurecia's Saline, Michigan plant ended when the UAW reached a tentative work agreement with the company. The strike disrupted a night shift and a day shift that was scheduled to start at 3AM.

LITIGATION

Porsche is recalling around 340,000 cars due to a transmission problem that could cause the cars to roll when parked. 

Honda's patent infringement suit again Great Wall Motors has gone to trial this week in Beijing. Honda is demanding that Great Wall pay $2.9m for losses resulting from the infringement.

Volkswagen has won a copyright case brought by the daughter of one of the designers who helped style the original VW Beetle. 

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Shareholders for vehicle safety and connectivity supplier WABCO have voted to approve the company's acquisition by Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen. The merger is still subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals, but both companies expect to close the transaction by early next year. 

Toyota is planning to invest $2b into developing EVs in Indonesia over the next four years. The investment is part of the automaker's plan to have half of its global sales coming from EVs by 2025.

Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing is expanding a partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group to ride-hailing operations and autonomous driving. The company and the automaker will work together on fleet expansion and management, mobility product development and ciollaboration on smart driving technology. 

PLANT CLOSING

Mitsubishi North America is relocating its US HQ from California to the Nashville, Tennessee area. The automaker will invest around $18.25m into the new site and bring 200 jobs to the area.

PLANT OPENING

German lithium-ion battery supplier Akasol AG is investing $40m to open a new battery manufacturing plant in Hazel Park, Michigan. The plant will be located at the former Hazel Park Raceway and create around 224 new jobs.

Volkswagen is reportedly planning to build a new $2.27b mega factory in Turkey. The plant is expected to begin production in 2022.

REGULATION

US EPA official Bill Wehrum is stepping down after coming under scrutiny for ethics allegations. Wehrum was in charge of revising power plant rules and revamping vehicle emissions standards.

RISK ANALYTICS

The results for Cars.com's annual "American-Made Index" study are in and it shows that most American-made cars sold in the U.S. come from Japanese automakers. Nine of the top 15 most U.S.-sourced vehicles are made by Honda and Toyota.

A new study from consulting firm AlixPartners says that VW and FCA could face fines of up to $2.08b and $848m, respectively, if they fail to meet EU emissions targets for 2021. The forecast of potential fines is based on vehicle emissions levels reported by the automakers at the end of 2017.

SUPPLY CHAIN

Automotive News has released their annual list of the world's biggest automotive suppliers.