Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #212 - February 26 - March 4, 2021
CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT
Toyota Europe has named Matthew Harrison as its new CEO starting April 1. Harrison will take over from Johan van Zyl, who has been CEO since 2015.
EARNING DIP
New auto sales in the UK fell by 36% last month. It was the UK's worst showing since 1959.
In February, new auto sales in Germany fell by 19%, making it the country's lowest since 2007.
Meanwhile, Norway has a 3% year over year rise in vehicle registrations.
INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS
Volvo has committed to producing only electric vehicles by 2030. It also plans only to sell cars online.
Nissan says it has made a breakthrough by achieving 50% thermal efficiency in its next line of e-POWER hybrid engines. The automaker says the new motors can improve fuel consumption by 25% and further reduce CO2 emissions.
LITIGATION
As part of the ongoing UAW corruption scandal, Fiat Chrysler pleaded guilty this week to one count of conspiracy to violate the Labor Management Relations Act. The automaker will pay a $30M fine.
MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS
Aurora has acquired OURS Technology. OURS developed a lidar-on-a-chip that allows long-range sensing and instant velocity measurement.
PLANT EXPANSION
Germany's Infineon is looking to expand automotive semiconductor production at its Dresden facility. It will also move up production and expand capacity at its new chip plant in Villach, Austria.
BorgWarner is investing $62M into its plant in Arden, North Carolina, to add new technology, machinery, and jobs.
PLANT OPENING
GM and LG's Ultium is looking to build a second battery cell manufacturing plant in the US. Its first plant is under construction in Ohio.
Bethel Automotive Safety Systems Co., Ltd. is investing $50M into a new automotive chassis components plant in Saltillo, Mexico. The plant will start production in the third quarter of 2022 and create around 550 jobs.
PLANT SHUTDOWN
Ford has extended production cuts at some plants in Europe due to the global semiconductor shortage. Most notably, production at the Focus plant in Saarlouis, Germany, will be halted for five weeks.
GM is extending its car and crossover plants' shutdowns to divert chips, prioritizing pickups and SUVs. San Luis Potosi, Mexico, will stay closed through March. While plants in Kansas and Ontario, Canada will be shutdown through mid-April. Its Gravatai factory in Brazil will have downtime in April and May.
PRODUCTION DECREASE
Jaguar Land Rover is planning to cut its manufacturing capacity by 25% over the next five years. JLR is also planning to make their Jaguar marquee all-electric over the next four years and introduce six EV Land Rover variants.
REGULATION
Several automotive industry groups are backing a new bill that would provide tax credits to manufacturers that retool, expand or build facilities to produce clean-energy parts or technologies. The bill would distribute $8B among qualifying manufacturers.
NYT: Canada Catches Up in the Race to Produce Zero-Emission Vehicles
RISK ANALYTICS
Power outages in Texas have affected production at petrochemical plants, and some auto industry executives are predicting an impending shortage in automotive seating foam as a result. An anonymous executive said that "This problem is bigger and closer than the semiconductor issue."
SUPPLY CHAIN
After four months of growth, ISM reports that supplier and customer inventories dropped 50% in February.
Supply Chain Dive: A growing appetite for EVs tasks the supply chain to scale