Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #205 - January 8 - 14, 2021

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

After just one week on the job, Kia COO Bill Peffer has left the automaker. He has been named the new CEO of Maserati North America, effective immediately.

HUMAN CAPITAL

With help from a $2.8M grant from JobsOhio, Honda is planning a $200M investment into its engine plant in Anna, Ohio. The project will create 120 new jobs there.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

GM unveiled a new logo and website late last week as part of its latest effort to show its seriousness about an all-electric future.

Audi is aiming to phase out combustion engines and offer only EVs in 10 to 15 years.

NHTSA has expanded a voluntary data-sharing initiative designed to gather and distribute data on the testing and development of automated driving systems nationwide.

LITIGATION

Volkswagen recalled 56k Golf vehicles to fix a software issue affecting the infotainment system and backup camera. The recall affects the most recent eight-gen models made through July 2020.

Toyota has settled a probe from the U.S. Justice Department over its delayed filing of emissions-related defect reports for $180M. In a court filing, the Justice Department said that the automaker routinely filed reports late or failed to report at all from 2005-2015.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Magna and LG announced a joint venture to manufacture electric drivetrains.

PPG is acquiring Stuttgart, Germany based Wörwag, a manufacturer of automotive coatings.

Chinese tech giant Baidu is teaming with Chinese automaker Geely to form a new EV venture. Geely says the venture will focus on intelligent and connected vehicles.

Geely is also starting a new 50/50 JV with iPhone maker Foxconn that will build EVs for other automakers and provide consulting services.

PLANT CLOSING

Ford is ceasing operations in Brazil by the end of the year. Production will stop immediately at its Camacari assembly plant and Taubate engine plant, while production at its plant in Horizonte will continue through the fourth quarter.

PLANT DISASTER

An explosion killed a worker and seriously injured an additional six at CATL's Brunp facility in Ningxiang, China.

PLANT SHUTDOWN

FCA is idling production at its assembly plants in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, and Toluca, Mexico, until the end of January due to the ongoing global microchip shortage.

Ford is halting production at its Louisville, Kentucky assembly plant from Jan. 11-17 due to the ongoing microchip shortage affecting many automakers and suppliers in the industry.

Honda is shutting down its Swindon factory in the UK due to supply chain issues. The closure is thought to be related to a semiconductor shortage.

Chip shortages have also suspended production at Subaru's three Gunma Manufacturing plants.

The semiconductor shortage began with the Covid-19 pandemic. Automakers dropped orders anticipating plunging sales, and demand for consumer electronics boomed. "Then automotive came back faster than expected, and that's where you get into this problem."

PRODUCTION DECREASE

Toyota is slowing the production of its San Antonio, Texas, manufactured Tundra pickups. A supplier shortage of semiconductors has caused the slowdown.

REGULATION

The Trump administration has agreed to delay the start of significantly higher penalties for automakers that fail to meet fuel efficiency requirements. The move could save the auto industry hundreds of millions of dollars at least.

NHTSA issued new rules this week that would allow manufacturers to bypass some crash standards for their autonomous vehicles that carry only goods, not people. It also gives manufacturers a freer hand to design passenger-carrying vehicles without standard controls like steering wheels and brake pedals.