GM is doing its best during difficult times, Tesla is subpoenaed again for that tweet, and Volkswagen are currently building the ID.4 in Tennessee. All that and more in this third installment of Morning shift for July 26, 2022.
Equipment one: Chung still has a plan to reach the year-end goal
GM ended the second quarter reporting a 40% year-over-year drop in net income due to the ongoing semiconductor crisis, although rising vehicle prices – particularly for large trucks and SUVs – have slowed. allowing the company to earn an additional $1.6 billion in net sales. The company still believes it will achieve forecasted full-year net income of $9.6 billion to $11.2 billion, but fears of a potential recession have prompted the company to cut hiring. present. Are from Reuters:
The Detroit automaker’s net income fell 40% in the second quarter from a year earlier as supply chain difficulties, including a global semiconductor chip shortage, sent its stock down 1.2% in pre-market trading.
In a letter to shareholders, Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said the company has “proactively taken proactive steps to manage costs and cash flow” in the face of a potential economic downturn.
“We have also modeled multiple recession scenarios, and we are ready to take deliberate action when and if needed,” she added.
The company has taken steps to offset inflation and other challenges, said Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson.
“We’ve slowed down some of the hiring (and) we’ve eliminated some of the costs and expenses that we’re going to take on this year to try to balance that with the pressure we’ve put on us. seen from both inflation as well as a number of other supply chain challenges,” Jacobson told reporters during a conference call, adding that GM has no intention of firing.
The average transaction price for a GM vehicle increased by $6,600 in the last quarter alone. GM expects global deliveries to improve dramatically before 2022 launch, and has reason to be optimistic for the future; Chief executive Mary Barra announced Tuesday that the manufacturer has signed a “binding agreement” for all the raw materials it needs, including lithium and cathode feedstock, to achieve annual production one million EVs in North America over the next three years. However, what will happen between now and then – that’s anyone’s guess.
2nd Gear: Big GM brands thrive when they feel like it
In other GM news, Automotive News charting a timeline for how the company intends to transition to full electrification for many of its brands. Four years from now, the only gas-powered Cadillac will likely be the Escalade:
Cadillac and Buick will be the first GM brands to go all-electric. Both plan to go all-electric by 2030. By 2026, the Escalade will be Cadillac’s only remaining gasoline-powered brand, and it will be sold alongside battery-powered versions.
But General wouldn’t choose that strategy with brands like Chevrolet and GMC, which sell its bulk. In those cases, they will allow ICE-powered models to launch until the middle of the next decade, albeit with “small” upgrades to the existing nameplates:
The EV transition for Chevrolet and GMC is smoother as GM aspires to launch an all-electric vehicle lineup by 2035. The brands have a wide range of EVs coming, especially towards the end of the decade. this, but many of their gasoline-powered vehicles will continue past 2026 with no definite end date.
This is perhaps a more realistic direction than the arbitrary statement of “going all electricity by 2030” that some manufacturers, especially those from Europe, have resonated with. in the past few years. Then again, Europe’s strict emissions laws require the likes of Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz to take a tough approach to the transition. Of course, investors tend to eat lessalso.
3rd gear: Tesla
Tesla is spending hundreds of millions more because it tries to increase output and maybe, someday, someday, give us Cybertruck.
Are from Reuters:
Tesla Inc (TSLA.
The company now expects to spend between $6 billion and $8 billion this year and each for the next two years, up from its previous spending plan of $5 billion to $7 billion, as it looks set to grow. ramping up production at its new facilities in Texas and Berlin .
Last month, Musk said factories were “losing billions of dollars” as they struggled to increase output due to battery shortages and port issues in China.
Cybertruck is probably the most anticipated vehicle of this decade, assuming it come here this decade.
4th item: Taycan Trouble
A report from German media picked up by Electrive announced a new global recall for Porsche Taycan, numbering more than 40,000 vehicles. The problem is related to the harness for the front seat. If damaged, it may render safety features inoperable.
Porsche is recalling 40,421 units of the Taycan electric vehicle worldwide. There is a possibility that the belts of the driver and passenger seats may be damaged during the longitudinal adjustment of the seat.
In this case, the airbag and seat belt tensioners may be deactivated. The recall has internal code “ANA5” applicable to the construction period from July 10, 2019 to May 18, 2021.
Mistakes and software bugs, especially regarding electric vehicles, were what ultimately forced Herbert Diess, former CEO of Volkswagen beyond his role. He will be replaced by Porsche director Oliver Blume on September 1. This new recall comes right after another recall, also with a total of about 40,000 units, that is. may result in “sudden power failure.”
5th Gear: ID.4 is under construction right here, right now
Volkswagen also started production”well enough” ID.4 battery-electric crossover in the United States this week, at the Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant, Reuters reported.
The German automaker said it plans to deliver ID.4 SUVs built in Tennessee in early October and will increase production to 7,000 vehicles per month by the end of 2022. VW is actively leasing more than 1,000 new manufacturing workers through the end of five years, and plans to further increase U.S. electric vehicle production next year.
In 2019, VW announced an investment of $800 million in the factory to build electric vehicles. The SUVs with batteries supplied by SK Innovation are made in Georgia. The automaker has delivered 190,000 ID.4 vehicles worldwide since its launch in 2021.
Volkswagen also intends to begin construction of a lower wattage version of the ID.4, rated at 62 kWh, at the dedicated Chattanooga plant in the US, at a lower base price. rumored for around $35K. That variant will go on sale in the 2023 model year. The ID.4 currently starts at $41,230, excluding federal tax credits and shipping.
Reverse: A Dark Day at the Michigan Highway
On this day in 1998, 24 years ago, three fans – Kenneth Fox, Sheryl Laster and Michael Tautkus – were killed at CART’s US 500 at Michigan Speedway. Are from History.com:
While circling the fourth turn at the Michigan Speedway (two-mile oval) at the 1998 US 500, driver Adrian Fernandez lost control and crashed into one of the track’s retaining walls. The car was smashed, the right front tire and part of the suspension flew through a 15-foot-high wall into the stands. Traveling nearly 200 mph, the debris hit fans in the eighth and tenth rows. Two people were killed instantly; Another person died shortly after, and six others suffered minor injuries. To the outrage of Sports Illustrated reporter Rick Reilly, who wrote a scathing editorial about the incident in the magazine, race officials did not stop the event, the victory going to the young Canadian driver. Greg Moore.
Moore, of course, would be tragically killed just over a year later, during CART’s 1999 season finale. The ’90s are often hailed as the golden era for America’s open wheel racing, but it it certainly has its dark moments too.
Neutral: What Say You?
I’ve driven exactly two EVs, a hole in my experience that I’m looking to fix in the final weeks of this summer. It’s ID.4 and Mini Cooper SE, and I like but probably don’t either. If you’ve driven several, which is your favorite and why?
