CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

BMW has appointed BMW Netherlands head Stefanie Wurst as the new head of its Mini brand. Wurst will start the new position in February.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Crain's Detroit Business: Supply chain crisis shifts power balance between automakers and suppliers

"Historically, the automakers have had an enormous amount of leverage and have exerted it over the supply base," said Thomas Walters, commercial litigator at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP who represents tier one, tier two and medium size suppliers.

"I think the OEMs are in a position where they have no choice but to share in the pain with everybody else that's in the same circumstance."

GM will leverage its EV components outside of the automotive industry.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Geely and Renault will reportedly announce a JV to produce HEV in South Korea. The venture would help Geely develop its South Korean market, reintroduce Renault to China, and export cars duty-free to the US.

Tata Motors has formed a new EV subsidiary Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited TPEML.

OPENING

Rivian officially announced late last week that it would build a new $5B plant in Georgia. The plant will be located east of Atlanta and create around 7.5k jobs.

Automotive News' Top 10 North American Automaker Factory Investments of 2021:

1. Hyundai/Kia: $7.4B - Alabama / Georgia

2. Ford/SK Innovation: $5.8B - Kentucky

3. Ford/SK Innovation: $5.6B - Tennessee

4. Rivian: $5B - Georgia

5. GM/LG Energy: $2.3B - Tennessee

6. Toyota: $1.29B - North Carolina

7. GM: $1B - Ramos Arizpe

8. Toyota: $803M - Indiana

9. GM: $800M - Ontario

10. Toyota: $461M - Kentucky

PRODUCTION INCREASE

GM restarted its Corvette assembly lines after a tornado damaged the facility. The Bowling Green, Kentucky plant sustained damage to the exterior and a roof fire. The company initially idled the plant and its 1.2k workers for nine days.

Analysts believe that the semiconductor crisis is slowly improving. The 11.33M worldwide vehicles forecasted to be lost have been adjusted down to 11.31M.

RECALLS

Ford recalled nearly 185k F-150s from the 2021 and 2022 model years due to a flaw that could cause the driveshaft to fracture.

REGULATION

Biden's "Build Back Better" plan hit a major roadblock this week when key Senate Democrat Joe Manchin said he wouldn't support the bill.

Automakers say that they need government support to comply with the EPA's "aggressive" new emissions rules.

Michigan enacted a $1.5B economic fund to attract large-scale development projects. The bill responds to Ford's choice to make its EV projects in Kentucky and Tennessee.

US auto safety regulators opened an investigation into games that can be played on the front center touchscreens in Tesla vehicles. NHTSA says the "Passenger Play" functionality could distract drivers.

RISK ANALYTICS

Many companies are choosing not to exhibit and attend CES 2022 due to rising cases of the omicron variant.

SHUTDOWN

GM is extending the production halt at its Bolt EV plant in Orion Township, Michigan, through the end of February.

Stellantis's Cassino, Italy plant remained closed this week through the holiday. The facility is currently affected by the semiconductor shortage.

Lack of chip supplies also extended Skoda's holiday break through January 10, 2022.