Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #273 - April 29 - May 5, 2022

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

Aston Martin hired Amedeo Felisa as CEO and Roberto Fedeli as CTO, both from Ferrari. Tobias Moers, the former CEO hired to turn the company around, is exiting after clashes with ownership.

NYT: How Elon Musk Winged It With Twitter, and Everything Else

EARNING DIP

In April, new car sales dropped by 17% compared to a year earlier.

Tier 1 automotive seating supplier Adient reported an $81M net loss for Q2 of 2022. Adient says the decline is due to "numerous external factors including supply chain disruptions (and resulting operating inefficiencies) and increased freight costs."

HUMAN CAPITAL

Stellantis has reached a deal with unions in Italy to cut 480 jobs through voluntary layoffs at its plant in Mirafiori this year.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Analysts believe Mexico will come out ahead with reshoring efforts. For over eight years, the country has had lower shipping and labor costs than China.

Consumer's misperception of EVs being unsafe is a hurdle to widespread adoption.

MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS

Stellantis is investing $2.8B into retooling its plants in Brampton and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to support EV production. Brampton will get at least one new EV, while the Windsor plant will add a new flexible "multi-energy vehicle architecture" to provide EV capabilities to multiple models.

Plastic Omnium is buying the European and North American auto lighting units of Varroc Engineering for $634M. The supplier plans to create a new lighting business unit as part of the acquisition.

Toyota is teaming with Invisible AI to install its computer vision platform in all 14 of the automaker's manufacturing locations in North America. The technology essentially puts electronic eyes on every corner of the operation to look for any possible issues.

Bosch is investing $526M in technology to produce "green" hydrogen in transport and other sectors. Bosch believes the long-haul trucking market will be the first to adopt, but future passenger car applications are up for consideration.

OPENING

Rivian has secured $1.B in incentives for its plant near Rutledge, Georgia.

Stellantis' COO Mark Stewart said that Michigan was 'absolutely' in the running as home to a new EV plant.

Summit Polymers is building a $37.5M, 140k sq ft plant in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. The plant will make plastic interior components and create around 218 jobs.

Dakkota Integrated Systems officially opened its new instrument panel plant in Detroit, Michigan. The site was formerly the site of Kettering High School and will supply Jeep.

Chinese EV battery material maker Semcorp is planning a $916M battery materials plant in Sidney, Ohio. Specifically, the plant will make separator film for EV batteries.

RECALLS

Ford recalled over 250K Explorers due to a rear axle mounting bolt that can fracture and cause a parked vehicle to roll away.

Ford has acknowledged an issue with low milage Bronco engines failing.

REGULATION

This week, the Biden administration announced that it would provide $3.1B to support efforts to make EV batteries and components in the US. The funding is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted last year.