Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #208 - January 29 - February 4 , 2021

EARNING DIP

New car sales in the UK fell by around 40% year-on-year in January due to coronavirus-related lockdowns.

LITIGATION

After mounting pressure from NHTSA, Tesla has agreed to recall 135k vehicles with touch-screen display issues.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Daimler AG announced it is splitting into two standalone companies. Daimler Truck will focus on electric and autonomous trucks and busses. Mercedes-Benz will focus on electric luxury vehicles.

Apple is reportedly gearing up to invest $3.6B into Kia Motors as part of a collaboration to build EVs. Apple is aiming to produce 100k vehicles annually with Kia by 2024.

Atlis, an EV pickup startup, will work with South Korea's Media Tech and Malaysia's Greatech to produce battery cells and packs at its location in Mesa, Arizona.

Cosworth will acquire UK-based Delta, a developer of dynamics control and battery systems.

HELLA will sell its shares of the joint venture Mando HELLA Electronics to Mando.

Chinese automaker FAW is teaming up with US startup Silk to build EVs in Italy. The exact location for the new venture hasn't been determined.

FAW is also rumored to acquire Brilliance, BMW's main Chinese partner, for $7.2B.

PLANT EXPANSION

Ford plans to spend $1B to expand its Silverton assembly plant in South Africa.

GM is investing $75M into its transmission plant in Toledo, Ohio, to build 10-speed truck transmissions.

CBAK Energy will expand production in its Nanjing and Dalian facilities to produce 8GWh of lithium-ion batteries yearly.

PLANT OPENING

South Korea's SK Innovation will build Europe's largest battery plant in Hungary, its third in the country.

VW supplier Sese Industrial Services is investing $42M into a new axle components plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The 300K sf plant will employ 240 people.

Toyoda Gosei will begin the construction of a new plant in Ohira, Kurokawa-gun, Miyagi, Japan. The plant will produce radiator grilles and large painted plastic parts.

South Korean auto supplier KB Autosys is opening a $38M plant near Columbus, Georgia. The plant will produce brake pads and bring 180 jobs to the area.

PLANT SHUTDOWN

GM is shutting down its plants in Fairfax, Kansas; Ingersoll, Ontario; and San Luis Potosi, Mexico starting Feb. 8 due to the semiconductor shortages. It will run its Bupyeong 2 plant in South Korea at half capacity.

Stellantis was able to reopen its Brampton, Ontario plant after the chip shortage forced it to close in mid-January.

Ford shut down its Oakville, Ontario assembly plant for a week. The automaker cited quality issues and semiconductor parts shortages.

Those shortages also caused Ford to close its Louisville, Kentucky plant and drop two shifts at its Chicago assembly plant.

PRODUCTION DECREASE

Nissan, also affected, has slowed truck production at its Canton, Mississippi plant with three non-production days.

REGULATION

A group of 15 US senators urged the White House to work with Congress to address the global semiconductor shortage.

RISK ANALYTICS

Advisory firm AlixPartners predicts that automakers are likely to lose around $61B this year due to the global microchip shortage.

SUPPLY CHAIN

Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bollore says the automaker has avoided the chip crisis due to negotiating directly with suppliers. Bollore added, "We are so small compared to other actors that in fact, our allocation doesn't change the picture for other customers."

Volkswagen is looking into buying microchips directly from manufacturers to ensure they get the chips they need.