Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #248 - November 5 - 11, 2021
BANKRUPTCY
According to reports, Byton is heading toward bankruptcy. The EV company missed payroll and suspended all production.
CLOSING
Tenneco is closing its shock absorber plant in Kettering, Ohio, by the end of 2023. The closure will affect 648 jobs at the facility.
EXPANDING
EV maker Mullen Automotive is investing in a 1M sq ft expansion of its plant in Tunica County, Mississippi. The automaker will break ground on the project next year.
QuantumScape is adding three new facilities to expand the production of its solid-state batteries in San Jose, California.
Valeo is expanding its windshield wiper plant in Jaurez, Mexico, with a second production line.
HUMAN CAPITAL
After cutting production and a shift, Stellantis will cut another 400 jobs at its Jeep Cherokee factory in Belvidere, Illinois. The cuts will take effect as early as January 14, 2022.
INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS
EV battery maker SK Innovation aims to sell solid-state batteries by 2025, two or more years ahead of its rivals.
MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS
Sony will invest around $500M in TSMC's new $7B Japanese chip plant as part of a new JV. Production will start at the end of 2024.
Daimler has sold off its shares of French automaker Renault. The automaker added that the industrial collaboration between the two is still intact.
Lordstown Motors officially announced the sale of its factory to Foxconn. The cash-strapped automaker will only occupy 30k out of the facility's 6.2M sq ft of space.
OPENING
Auto parts maker DAG Technology is investing $10M into shifting its manufacturing from China to Michigan. The plant will be located in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and will create 50 jobs.
Tesla will open a battery manufacturing facility in Markham, Ontario, to scale the production of its 4680 cells.
Canadian EV battery material producer First Cobalt is planning to build North America's first cathode chemicals plant. They are planning to be making cobalt sulfate by Q4 of 2022.
GM's Oshawa Assembly Plant restarted production after shutting down in 2019.
SK Innovation subsidiary SK On is building a $2.53B EV battery plant in China.
Volkswagen will build a new EV plant near its HQ in Wolfsburg, Germany, to build a new EV code-named "Trinity." The plant will have an annual capacity of 250k.
REGULATION
Many automakers and countries pledged to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles by 2040. The climate talks at COP26 notably missed commitments by VW and Toyota and the US and China.
RISK ANALYTICS
OESA released its Q4 2021 Supplier Barometer: Capital Markets & Innovation (pdf)
Increasing rubber costs and a higher demand for tires have led to a shortage of tires in the US.
Dept. of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said this week that all major global chip producers have agreed to provide the US with data regarding the chip shortage. Raimondo added that she is "optimistic that they are giving us robust submissions."