Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #279 - June 10 - 16, 2022

BANKRUPTCY

Michigan-based EV maker Electric Last Mile has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The decision comes just four months after its CEO and chairman resigned.

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

Chief Manufacturing Officer Celina Mikolajczak is departing QuantumScape. Bloomberg covers the impact: QuantumScape's Manufacturing Drama Tests Silicon Valley Moonshot

HUMAN CAPITAL

Stellantis announced this week that there would be an undisclosed number of indefinite layoffs at its Sterling Heights, MI, stamping plant starting on June 20. The new round of layoffs comes after the automaker laid off 98 workers back in March.

GM is looking to broaden its talent pool by lifting four-year degree requirements from some positions. The strategy can be traced back to 2020 when CEO Mary Barra said that the automaker wanted to be "The most inclusive company in the world".

Flex-N-Gate is using robots at some of its plants to fill jobs that they have been unable to fill. The company stresses that robots won't eliminate human jobs, but that the required skill-sets will change.

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Japanese automakers are working to support their suppliers as materials prices surge and the yen weakens.

A group of auto safety experts and consumer advocates are teaming up to assist NHTSA with developing technology that could prevent drunk/impaired drivers from starting their vehicles. A provision in the $1T infrastructure law orders the agency to issue a rule by 2024 that requires all new vehicles to equip the technology.

Both NIO and Nicola announced plans to make their own batteries.

Michigan EV battery startup Our Next Energy, or ONE, is planning to put its 600-mile range battery into a BMW prototype vehicle by the end of the year. The technology uses two batteries to achieve a more extended range.

LABOR DISPUTE

South Korea's truckers returned to the roads Wednesday after a late-night union and government agreement. The strike had raised fuel prices, crippled ports, and shuttered industrial hubs.

OPENING

Battery maker SVOLT is planning to build a new $2.5B industrial park in Dazhou, China. The park would house almost the entire production chain for LFP batteries.

Albemarle opened a new lithium plant in Antofagasta, Chile, its third.

RECALLS

Ford has issued a recall for 2.9M vehicles due to a transmission problem that can increase the risk of rollaway crashes. The NHTSA says that a bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission can degrade or detach.

REGULATION

NHTSA released a summary report on ADAS-related crashes.

GM, Ford, Stellantis, and Toyota sent a letter to Congress this week urging them to lift the cap on the number of EVs eligible for a consumer tax credit of up to $7,500. They argue that the move would encourage consumer adoption of EVs.

RISK ANALYTICS

Foley and Lardner: Inflation Woes: Four Key Ways for Companies to Address Inflation in the Supply Chain

Despite rising gas prices and interest rates, GM and Ford's CFO are not seeing changes in consumer demand yet.

Fisker sees a "sort of end" to its supply chain crisis. They have switched to more available chips and believe battery prices will drop next year. Fisker is outsourcing its vehicle production to Magna and Foxconn.

A new study from EV battery health analytics company Recurrent suggests that hopeful EV truck customers make more reservations than they intend to buy. A big reason is that customers are hedging their bets as they are unsure which automaker will actually deliver the vehicles.

SHUTDOWN

Toyota will shut down additional domestic production in June and July. The company cited COVID-related supplier staffing issues and supplier production defects.