Good morning! Today is Friday, June 23, 2023, and here it is Morning shiftDaily summary of big and small auto news.
Number 1: Ford
Ford has experienced round Later round about layoffs in the past year, ostensibly to better position the automaker for our electric future and also to cut costs to improve margins. Or perhaps they are merely regular exercises in cutting off Ford’s lowest performing employees, who really might say, it’s capitalism. In one day, out the next.
Based on The Wall Street Journal, is expected to see a new round of layoffs in the next few weeks. The WSJ says those laid off will be “mostly” salaried people in the U.S. A Ford spokesman did not deny WSJ that layoffs are going to happen, which means they are bound to happen.
It’s not known how many people Ford plans to lay off in this latest batch. The cuts are expected to affect employees in Ford’s gasoline engine business, as well as its software and electric vehicle divisions. [people familiar with the matter] speak.
A Ford spokesman said the company had nothing to announce.
“As we have said, part of the ongoing management of our business includes aligning our global team to meet future business plans, as well as maintaining remain cost competitive as our industry evolves,” he added in a statement.
Ford seems to have a cost problem – in a bit of modesty, Ford CEO Jim Farley has said that the company’s products have been good in the past and that’s why they don’t have to think about the cost. dysfunctional Ford – but this is still bad for anyone on the receiving end.
Didn’t Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford just say that Ford is a “family company, no matter what anyone says”? Ah, yes, he was. Well, Ford is a family company until you are no longer a member of the family.
2nd device: Audi has a revival plan
The plan involves electric cars and RS cars, a lot of them for China. Audi — and parent company Volkswagen — have had a lot of software problems with their cars lately, that didn’t help. Audi is also stuck in a predicament and has been for a while, while other German automakers always seem to shine a little brighter. Is Audi the Buick of the German luxury brand? No one can say that, that would be a terrible insult.
Volkwagen Group CEO Oliver Blume has a plan to fix things, at all costs, based on auto news.
Blume says Audi’s revival will focus on the faster development of electric cars. He emphasized that the brand’s sport-oriented models offer great potential in this area.
“The growing RS franchise is a very attractive business, both from a customer as well as a financial standpoint,” Blume said. “So we planned a line of high-performance BEVs.”
Blume said Audi has a “huge opportunity” with upcoming products, starting next year.
In 2024, Audi will launch the Q6 E-tron, the brand’s first vehicle to use the Volkswagen Group’s PPE (premium electric) architecture. The all-electric crossover will feature VW Group’s much-delayed 1.2 software.
The Porsche e-Macan, also on this platform, will launch at the same time.
VW Group says the PPE platform will allow for faster charging times, averaging just 21 minutes to go from 10% to 80% of battery capacity. It will also offer semi-autonomous driving features from Mobileye’s SuperVision system.
car news said that Blume didn’t even refuse to say the forbidden word, Artemis, but is an EV coverage plan discussed under the previous administration. too much for meandjets.
3rd gear: CarMax made some money
CarMax, which primarily buys and sells used cars, reported quarterly earnings on Friday that exceeded Wall Street analysts’ estimates, which isn’t terribly important. However, these are still tracked as an overall measure of the “activity” of the used car market. predict where things might go.
And, anyway, on Friday, CarMax said it is performing better not because the market is doing better but because of its own cost-cutting measures.
From Reuters:
The company’s shares were up 6.8% before the bell, as it also reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue.
Although used car prices have cooled down recently, retailers have been hit hard as inflation pressures and an improvement in the supply of new cars have made consumers reluctant to buy cars. used.
The industry is also struggling to lower the price of cars purchased at higher prices, forcing companies like CarMax and Carvana (CVNA.N) to profit by offering them at lower prices, as well. like cutting costs.
In December last year, CarMax said it was pausing some hiring, halting share buybacks and cutting costs in the face of a “used car recession”.
“Our intentional actions are driving trends of improvement in the business, despite the challenging macro environment,” Chief Executive Officer Bill Nash said in a statement on Friday.
Used car market: as confusing as ever, unless you’re an insurance adjuster, whose car values become very accurate.
4th Device: UAW General Counsel is Out
The UAW, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers, mostly at major US automakers, elect a new president earlier this yearand he come up with some fighting words. Shawn Fain also mentioned the word “purge” for some UAW employees, a word that is very disturbing if you are a member of UAW staff.
This was the backdrop to Thursday night’s news that Abigail Carter, the UAW’s top lawyer, had been ousted. The Detroit free press report:
Two sources familiar with the situation who agreed to speak on the matter on condition of anonymity confirmed that Abigail Carter, who served as the union’s general counsel, as of Wednesday no longer works for the union. .
The reason for his departure was not disclosed by Free Press.
Carter could not be reached for comment.
The United Auto Workers union declined to comment Thursday on the situation or clarify who is leading the union’s legal department or who will replace Carter.
Carter seems to keep a fairly low profile, although at the time the UAW was preparing to renegotiate his contract later this year with the Big Three, in what would be an impressive showdown, a relatively routine continuation. often, or most likely, a skirmish involving one or two strikes in which both sides shed blood, as the last time. Someone other than Carter would be the lead attorney for it, a good thing when negotiating contracts.
5th device: Bahrain buys into McLaren
Bahrain’s state investment fund is called Mumtalakat and it owns the majority of McLaren Group, which makes cars and also has a racing team you may have heard of. Mumtalakat said on Thursday that it is recalibrating its investment in McLaren.
From Reuters:
Sky News reports that Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund has purchased £400 million ($510 million) worth of shares and warrants in McLaren from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Ares Management (PIF) ARES.N).
Mumtalakat said in a statement that the proposed restructuring, which is being discussed by shareholders, is aimed at achieving the group’s long-term goals.
Mumtalakat sees the restructuring “as the optimal governance structure to execute McLaren’s Performance in the Future strategy,” it said.
The Sky News report says the transaction will not result in any new funds being pumped into McLaren.
Reuters also says that McLaren wants to go public at some point in the next few years, possibly when the global market for supercar companies gets better, which is essentially never.
Reversed: Happy Birthday Michele Mouton
She runner-up in the 1982 World Rally Championship driving a car called an Audi Quattro. She loves the noise.
Neutral: I fear I might rent a Tesla in the near future
My mom will turn 80 in August, which requires a trip to Ohio for a big party, which is a lot of fun for the participants. The flight is booked and I have a place to crash. I was going to make my dad drive a motorbike taxi for me because he was retired and had nothing better to do, but then I managed to find a way to rent a car, which was cheaper than I expected. Hertz will even rent me a Tesla at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for no more than a Chevy Spark or whatever, and since I’m a masochist and like to participate in silly experiments, I’m considering that. Enjoy me and guess how many public Tesla Supercharger locations are in Northeast Ohio. If your prediction is single digit then you are about right.
