Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #240 - September 10 - 16, 2021
EARNING DIP
Nissan has lost $1B in sales this past year as a result of the pandemic.
EXPANDING
TG Missouri Corporation is expanding its plant in Perryville, Missouri, to increase interior and exterior auto components production. They have also purchased a new building near their plant in New Albany, Indiana.
HUMAN CAPITAL
As part of a $1B investment, Ford is adding 1.2k jobs at its Silverton, South Africa plant. The key objective is to expand the plant's production capacity.
INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS
Tesla successfully patented a laser-powered wiper replacement that blasts debris off the windshield.
NYT examines the economy created around EV startups: Can a Green-Economy Boom Town Be Built to Last?
MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS
GM has invested millions into radar sensor software maker Oculii. The automaker could use the software to boost the resolution of radars and scale up its partially automated vehicles and fully self-driving cars.
Foxconn is pausing its EV project with Byton due to Byton's worsening financial situation.
OPENING
US-based EV battery materials startup Redwood Materials plans to build a plant that will produce 100GWh of cathode active materials and anode foil by 2025. The company will use materials from recycled batteries.
Hyundai and LG have begun building an EV battery plant near Jakarta, Indonesia. The facility will produce new NCMA based cells.
Axalta broke ground on a new coatings plant in Jilin, China. The 46k sq m facility will produce basecoats for the Chinese market.
Chipmaker TSMC is planning to build a new advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The plant is part of a $100B expansion plan.
PRODUCTION DECREASE
Covid-19 outbreaks in Malaysia and Vietnam continue to affect Toyota. The company expects to make 330k fewer vehicles in October.
PRODUCTION INCREASE
Ford will invest $250M towards increasing the production capacity of its F-150 Lightning EV. There have already been over 150k reservations for the truck to date.
RAW MATERIALS
Aluminum prices have hit their highest levels since 2008 due to supply concerns in China.
RECALLS
GM is taking a direct role with LG to identify and "wisely resolve" battery production issues. The problematic batteries are known to cause fires in GM's Bolt EV.
Toyota recalled 158k Tundra pickups due to a faulty headlight circuit that could turn on low and high beams simultaneously. The recall covers vehicles from 2018-21.
REGULATION
Honda, Tesla, and Toyota are pushing back on the proposed $4.5k tax incentive for EVs made in the US by unionized workers. The proposed bill would favor EVs built by UAW workers at Detroit's Big Three.
The Chinese government will encourage consolidation among EV makers.
SHUTDOWN
VW subsidiaries continue to be affected by the semiconductor shortage:
SEAT will partially shut down assembly at its Barcelona, Spain plants well into 2022.
Skoda will pause production at its Mladá Boleslav and Kvasiny plants in the Czech Republic for a week at the end of September.