Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #217 - April 2 - 8 , 2021
CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT
Waymo CEO John Krafcik is stepping down. COO Takedra Mawakana and CTO Dmitri Dolgov are being promoted to co-CEOs.
INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS
A rush of investment and government support jumpstarted the EV battery supply chain in Europe. Bloomberg examines the companies involved in the race.
MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS
Toyota and SinoHytec have formed a new 50/50 JV, Toyota Sinohytec Fuel Cell Co, to produce hydrogen fuel cells.
Eissmann Group completed its takeover of Minda KTSN Plastic Solutions.
PLANT DISASTER
An explosion at the OPC Polymers facility in Columbus has left eight people injured and one dead. Federal records show the company, a division of Yenkin-Majestic, has a history of safety violations.
BASF's Greenville, Ohio plant reported a smoking chemical tote. Hazmat crews and fire crews quickly contained the situation.
PLANT EXPANSION
Continental's is expanding its ContiTech facility in Timisoara, Romania. The company produces aluminum AC ducts and transmission belts at the site.
PLANT OPENING
A March fire has Renesas temporarily moving automotive semiconductor production from its Saijo plant to Ehime. The company is also asking a Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer to produce chips for it.
Eberspaecher is opening a new facility in Louisville, Kentucky. The 125k sf building will manufacture exhaust systems.
Electric motor company Exro Technologies is opening a new 37k sf plant in Calgary, Canada. They hope to be certified for automotive production by the end of 2022 and produce 100k units/year.
Chinese automaker Xpeng is planning to build a new factory in Wuhan, China, with an annual production capacity of 100k units.
Germany's Draexlmaier opened a new electrical systems production plant in Kumanovo, North Macedonia.
PLANT SHUTDOWN
GM is restarting midsize truck production in Wentzville, Missouri, after a two-week shutdown.
However, GM is idling production at six of its plants in North America this month due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
Production on trucks at the Spring Hill Assembly plant will halt for two weeks starting April 12, 2021.
Production will stop at Ramos Assembly in Mexico, and Lansing Delta Township in Michigan, the week of April 19.
Downtime at the Lansing Grand River Assembly plant is extended through April 26 along. GM plants in Kansas and Ontario will continue to be shut down through May 10.
Subaru is halting production at its plant in Yajima, Japan, from April 10-27 due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
RAW MATERIALS
Rio Tinto has started producing lithium from waste rock at its borate mine in Boron, California. The demonstration plant will run through the end of the year as Rio decides whether they want to invest $50M into a full-scale production plant.
A lab has developed a new type of battery that eliminates the need for rare earth metals at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. The battery is using self-standing carbon-fiber mats as both electrodes.
REGULATION
President Biden said this week that Senate leaders are preparing to introduce legislation to deal with the ongoing semiconductor shortage. A virtual summit that is expected to include senior US auto executives and White House officials is scheduled for Monday.
EPA chief Michael Regan says that the agency will introduce new automobile emissions limits by the end of July. The Trump administration had previously relaxed emissions limits through 2026.
RISK ANALYTICS
Bloomberg Businessweek: How Toyota Steered Clear of the Chip Shortage Mess