Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #132 - August 16 - 22, 2019

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

Current Ford Europe head Steven Armstrong has been announced as the new head of the automaker's Changan Ford JV in China. Armstrong will take over for Nigel Harris on October 1.

HUMAN CAPITAL

Over 3,000 temporary employees lost jobs at Maruti Suzuki India due to the automotive slowdown.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Business Today on India's unprecedented automotive slowdown: In Reverse Gear

Deloitte: 2019 Global Automotive Supplier Study

Waymo is releasing its first set of multimodal sensor data from autonomous vehicles to researchers for free on its website. The "high-resolution sensor data" could help researchers make headway in 2D and 3D perception and make progress in areas such as domain adaptation, scene understanding, and behavior prediction.

Renault has started selling cars in Russia with the help of Russia's "Google," tech giant Yandex. The Renault platform is the first such online car sales scheme operating in Russia.

Management Briefing Seminars 2019 closing session panel video: Big Ideas and Shiny New Objects: Where Are We Headed?

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

EV startup Aiways has acquired a 50% stake in struggling Chinese SUV maker Jiangling Holdings. Aiways paid $248m for the stake.

Audi is reportedly joining an alliance with Daimler and BMW to develop advanced driver assistance systems. Audi is expected to announce the partnership at the Frankfurt auto show in September.

PLANT EXPANSION

Canada's Global Plas is adding a 77k sf plant a few blocks away from its existing 55k sf plant in Concord. The injected plastic door and fenders supply Toyoda Gosei, then into Toyota's RAV4, assembled in Cambridge, Ontario.

PLANT OPENING

Webasto opened its new plant in Irapuato, Mexico. The 377k sf facility will house 460 to 580 employees producing sunroofs.

CRP Industries is planning to invest $2.5m into a new plant near Conway, New Jersey for manufacturing electric power steering systems. The plant will be 50k sf and is expected to hire 115 employees over the next five years.

DaikyoNishikawa broke ground on a new facility near Huntsville, Alabama. The facility will produce large resin bumpers and instrument panels for the nearby Mazda Toyota plant.

Toyota Mazda supplier Vuteq is investing $60m to open a new injection molding facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The plant is expected to create around 200 jobs through 2021.

Mahindra Ideal Lanka has opened an assembly plant at Welipenna, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The plant will produce about 5000 compact SUVs per year. Local production avoids the 100% - 300% import duties placed on similar vehicles produced outside Sri Lanka.

PLANT SHUTDOWN

Tata Motors announced its third factory closure this month. The Jamshedpur unit closed for August 16 and 17, aligning with Independence Day. Officials said there had been a sharp decline in purchased vehicles from the plant.

Indian electrical manufacturer, Lucas TVS, was shutdown August 16 and 17 due to a "business slowdown." The notice went viral on social media. They manufacture starters and alternators for Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche. The company stated the number of "non-working days" could be extended.

REGULATION

Mercedes-Benz is reportedly the next automaker to enter into California's new voluntary light-vehicle emissions agreement that already includes VW, Ford, Honda, and BMW. The pact is countering the Trump administration's attempt to roll back emissions requirements from Obama-era levels.

President Trump took to Twitter this week attacking automakers, especially Ford, for reaching an agreement with California on fuel economy standards. He called executives "foolish" and said that the automakers' founders are "rolling over" at the "weakness of current car company executives."

California's DMV is starting an investigation into Volvo's Care vehicle subscription service. The inquiry will look into claims that the service violates parts of the State's vehicle code.

SUPPLY CHAIN

A new report from IHS Markit suggests that rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China will have an impact on emerging markets.