CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

Former Nissan and VW exec Paul Wilcox will take over as the new managing director of UK automaker Vauxhall. Vauxhall is now part of Stellantis, which is a result of the merger between FCA and PSA.

HUMAN CAPITAL

Audi is reducing production and putting 10k workers on leave due to the ongoing microchip shortage. The automaker expects to make up for the lost output in the second half of the year.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Experts believe that the automotive semiconductor shortage could last as long as a decade.

Some of the hottest topics at last week's virtual Consumer Electronics Show? AVs, air taxis, and drones.

Israeli company StoreDot has manufactured the first EV battery that can be charged in just five minutes. Despite the breakthrough, these new batteries are unlikely to be produced at scale with existing charging infrastructure.

LABOR DISPUTE

India's ACMA wants the Haryana State Government to reconsider a new labor law. The bill requires private companies to reserve 75% of jobs for the local workforce. ACMA believes the quota will be detrimental to Haryana's auto hub.

LITIGATION

Volkswagen is facing an EU fine of around $121M for missing its 2020 target for CO2 emissions.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Audi has partnered with FAW to build EVs in Chungchun, China.

New vehicles from FCA will be the first to use Amazon's new Alexa Custom Assist technology. Custom Assist is different from previous Alexa functionality as automakers can build their own platform from it.

Cruise has joined up with Microsoft to use its cloud computing platform for its autonomous systems.

American Axle & Manufacturing and Suzhou Inovance Automotive will partner to develop electric drive systems.

PLANT CLOSING

Nissan is closing its sole production plant in the Philippines in March 2021. The closure comes as the plant's labor agreement reaches its expiration.

PLANT OPENING

Hyundai has announced plans to build its first overseas fuel cell plant in Guangdong, China. The plant will have an annual capacity of 6,500 fuel cell systems and is planned to open halfway through 2022.

Hitachi is establishing a new EV motor plant in Berea, Kentucky. The plant will create 200 jobs and start production between April 2022 and March 2023.

PLANT SHUTDOWN

Ford is halting production at its Saarlouis, Germany assembly plant due to the ongoing microchip shortage. Production will not resume until the end of February.

Honda and Toyota have restarted their Malaysian plants this past week. The government reversed a decision to suspend nonessential industries due to a Covid-19 surge.

REGULATION

President Biden this week ordered US agencies to revisit fuel efficiency standards. The Trump administration finalized a rollback of fuel economy standards last March.

The Canadian government has launched the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada. The effort seeks to position the country as a leader in hydrogen energy storage.

SUPPLY CHAIN

Bloomberg: A Year of Poor Planning Led to Carmakers' Massive Chip Shortage

After photos of some of its upcoming vehicles leaked to the media, Ford has warned its suppliers that they could "face business repercussions" for leaking information.