Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #231- July 9 - 15, 2021

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

Uwe Hochgeschurtz has been named Opel Brand CEO, starting September 1. Hochgeschurtz is currently CEO Renault Germany.

DISASTER

VW temporarily shut down production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, assembly plant due to a fire. Some employees were treated for smoke inhalation, but nobody was seriously injured.

Widespread flooding is threatening to shut down the European petrochemical industry. Shipping routes along the Rhine river in Germany are at risk as the water will continue to rise in the coming week.

EXPANDING

LG Chem will spend near $9B to grow its battery materials operations and shift to greener production methods. This investment includes a new cathode materials production plant in Gumi, South Korea.

Martinrea is expanding its Springfield, Tennessee, facility. The plant will upgrade large presses, robots, and welding cells, adding 30k sf.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Stellantis has signaled that "...that they'd rather be late and sure that the demand and profitability is there, than be early and wrong" in the shift to EVs.

Stellantis' EV day also revealed that it is working on two types of liquid battery chemistries, planning for solid-state, while launching vehicles on four EV platforms.

Vauxhall will transition to produce only EVs by 2028. The new models will be built at its Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, United Kingdom.

LABOR DISPUTE

Striking UAW workers at Volvo's Dublin, Virginia, heavy truck plant narrowly ratified a six-year contract.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Toyota's Woven Planet has acquired Carmera. The company specializes in real-time geo-information and produces an HD map platform for autonomous vehicles.

Chinese battery maker EVE Energy will take a 28.1% stake in Jinkulun Lithium Industry Co.

Stellantis has partnered with SVOLT to provide EV batteries. The company will produce the cells at its plants in China and is building a new gigafactory in Saarland, Germany.

VW has extended its partnership with Gotion High-Tech Co. The two companies will develop a "unified cell" that is chemically adaptable. They plan to build a gigafactory to produce the new batteries at VW's Salzgitter facility in Germany.

OPENING

South Korea's SK Siltron CSS will build a new plant in Bay City, Michigan. The company manufactures high-power semiconductor components on silicon carbide wafers for EVs.

GM is opening an advanced design center in Pasadena, California. The campus will focus on non-production future vehicle mobility projects. It hopes to recruit new West Coast design students with projects like its lunar rover and its flying Cadillac concept.

Maruti Suzuki will build a new assembly plant in Haryana, India. The plant will transition production in 2-3 year phases from its plant in Gurugram.

Germany's Next e.Go Mobile will build a production plant in Lovech, Bulgaria. The company will produce small, budget EVs.

RAW MATERIALS

Producing cost-effective green hydrogen to power vehicles is difficult and expensive. The Hydrogen Council released a report highlighting investment in global hydrogen projects and discusses the ambitious targets set by China.

REGULATION

The EU proposed climate legislation that would effectively ban gas and diesel-powered vehicles in 2035.

NYT on the impact: How Europe's Ambitious New Climate Agenda Will Affect Businesses

Spain aims to stimulate its economy by spending $5B to speed the transition to EVs. Its goal is to have 250k EVs registered in 2023, up from 18k registered in 2020.

SHUTDOWN

Semiconductor shortage shutdowns:

GM

• CAMI, Ontario - Aug 16

• Lansing, Michigan - July 26

• Spring Hill, Tennessee - July 26

• San Luis Potosi, Mexico - July 26

• Ramos, Mexico - July 26

• Wentzville, Missouri - July 19

Stellantis

• Detroit, Michigan - Aug 9

• Windsor, Ontario - July 31

• Toluca, Mexico - July 31

• Belvidere, Illinois - July 31

• Sterling Heights, Michigan - July 26

• Toledo, Ohio - July 19