Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #195 - October 30 - November 5, 2020

BANKRUPTCY

Honeywell bought $1.6m of shares of its bankrupt, former subsidiary, Garrett Motion. It's just the latest in an interesting tale of legal maneuvers, lawsuits, and shareholder positioning.

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

GM has named former Delta Air Lines CFO Paul Jacobson as its new CFO. It is the first CFO they have hired from outside of the company in a decade.

EARNING DIP

New car sales in Europe's four largest markets dropped last month amidst a new wave of coronavirus cases in the region. Sales for October fell 3.6% in Germany, more than a fifth in Spain, 10% in France and .2% in Italy compared to last October.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Europe is battling China in a race to establish hydrogen production capacity.

LABOR DISPUTE

In its new tentative labor agreement with Unifor, GM has agreed to invest $1.3B into reopening its assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The automaker had previously shuttered the plant in December 2019.

LITIGATION

Audi recalled over 94k vehicles in the US over potentially defective C-pillar padding that may not absorb enough impact in the event of a crash. The recall covers specific Q7 crossovers from 2018-20.

Polestar has issued a recall to replace faulty inverters in nearly all of its Polestar 2 sedans.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Daimler Truck AG is taking a minority stake in Luminar Technologies Inc. Luminar is developing lidar systems for autonomous vehicles.

Plastic Omnium announced a fuel cell joint venture with ElringKlinger.

Modine Manufacturing announced a deal to sell the liquid-cooled portion of its automotive business to Dana Incorporated. The sale will close in the first half of 2021.

China's Great Wall Motor has completed its acquisition of GM's Rayong assembly plant in Thailand. The plant will be retooled to produce pickups, SUVs, and sedans.

PLANT CLOSING

SKF will close its Avallon, France bearing plant, consolidating its production to St-Cyr-sur-Loire.

PLANT EXPANSION

Doosan Solus will expand production at its plant in Hungary. The Tatabbánya Industrial Complex plant plans to produce 75k tons of copper foil for the European battery market.

Valmet Automotive has expanded its battery production capacity at its plant in Salo, Finland.

PLANT OPENING

Hyundai's subsidiary Mobis is building a plant in McCalla, Alabama. Mobis plans to manufacturer front- and rear-axle modules at the facility.

Japanese supplier Nidec is building a new $1.9b plant in Serbia for building EV motors. The plant is planned to open in 2023 and will produce 200k-300k engines per year.

REGULATION

Germany has approved a $2.3b aid package to help its auto industry. The plan, due to start in 2021, aims to distribute grants to key players by 2024. It will invest funds towards promoting R&D, digitalizing supply chains, 3-D printing, and more.

The German Federal Environmental Agency has fined Tesla $14m for allegedly not complying with a law requiring them to recycle returned vehicle batteries for proper disposal.

Uber and Lyft won a massive victory in California this week as voters approved a new ballot initiative allowing the ride-hailing companies to classify their employees as independent contractors.