Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #227 - June 11 - 17, 2021
CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT
Lordstown Motors CEO and CFO resigned this week after the company stated it might not have enough money to stay in business. Recent SEC filings show its EV preorders are non-binding.
DISASTER
A massive fire broke out at lubricant supplier Chemtool's plant in Rockton, Illinois, on Monday. No one was injured, but damage to the facility appears to be extensive.
EARNING DIP
New car sales in China fell by 3% in May, the first drop in 14 months.
EXPANDING
Fehrer Automotive expanded its facility in Gadsden, Alabama. The plant makes molded polyurethane seat pads.
INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS
GM announced this week that it would increase its EV spending by 75% to $35B through 2025. Two new battery plants are part of the investment, with location details to be announced later.
In a similar move, Daimler AG is reportedly pushing its EV launches forward a year, dropping gas equivalents in the process.
MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS
Faurecia has acquired the Scotland-based backlighting technology firm designLED.
Nvidia is acquiring DeepMap, a high-definition mapping startup. The company plans to use the technology to augment its AV offerings.
OPENING
Flex-N-Gate is building a new $52M, 205k sq ft plant in Troy, Michigan. The plant will create 245 jobs and will produce fascias and underbody rear rails.
Germany's Draexlmaier will build an EV battery plant in Timisoara, Romania.
Plug Power will build a green hydrogen production facility in Camden County, Georgia. The plant will produce 15 liquid tons/day for fuel cell vehicles.
PRODUCTION DECREASE
VW and Daimler are cutting plant shifts due to the semiconductor shortage. As a result, VW dropped workers' hours at its factory in Wolfsburg, Germany. Meanwhile, Daimler decreased production at its German plants in Bremen and Rastatt.
PRODUCTION INCREASE
Toyota Kirloskar India restarted production at its Bidadi plants in India. The area is currently affected by a coronavirus outbreak.
RAW MATERIALS
VW is looking to get "actively involved in raw materials business." VW Mining?
RECALLS
GM recalled 285k vehicles from the 2021 model year over an issue that can cause the airbag malfunction indicator lights to fail.
Ford has issued a recall for select 2021 F-Series trucks due to improperly tightened front-wheel hub extenders. The recall affects 17k vehicles in the US, 779 in Canada, and 231 in Mexico.
REGULATION
The feud over federal regulation for AVs continues to heat up as lobbyists and trade groups pressure US lawmakers.
SHUTDOWN
Nissan is idling production of three models at its plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, for four extra weeks following the plant's two-week summer shutdown starting later this month. The extension is a direct result of the chip shortage.
Hyundai shut down production at its plant in Montgomery, Alabama, due to the ongoing chip shortage.
However, Hyundai resumed production at its four Ulsan, South Korea plants after a brief shutdown. The downtime was due to a COVID-19 outbreak at its supplier Hyundai Mobis that led to a parts disruption.