Good morning! Today is Friday, July 14, 2023, and here it is Morning shift, your daily compilation of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Gear #1: Mazda’s Master Plan
Mazda has a multi-year plan towards electrification that will eventually culminate in electric vehicle production in North America, just as others are trying to do now. But that part of the plan is not likely to materialize until between 2028 and 2030, CEO Masahiro Moro told the media on Friday. And when it happens, it’s likely to happen in Mexico. From auto news:
Moro said Mazda is planning two fully electric vehicles.
One type will be electric vehicles based on the existing architecture, while also supporting hybrid and internal combustion powertrains. The other will be a dedicated EV platform. Both will be introduced in phase two 2025-2027, Moro said. But production is expected to begin in Japan.
Mazda has only two production facilities in North America.
It has an assembly plant in Salamanca, Mexico, which produces the Mazda2 and Mazda3 compact cars as well as the CX-3 and CX-30 compact crossovers. It also has a joint venture plant with Toyota in Huntsville, Ala., where Mazda builds the CX-50 crossover.
Mazda has the capacity to produce 150,000 vehicles per year in Huntsville.
But Moro said Mazda wants Huntsville to focus on increasing production of the CX-50 through the end of the decade. For instance, the company has said that it plans to introduce production of a hybrid version there. Sales of the CX-50 in the US totaled just 21,466 units as of June.
Mazda must also consult with its partner Toyota before introducing electric vehicles there, he said.
“At this point, we’re not thinking about that,” Moro said of electric vehicle production in Alabama.
Like our friends at car news pointed out, Moro understands the US market. He used to be the division president of this ancient car company. But Mazda doesn’t yet have the muscle to compete with the biggest players in the electric vehicle space. Damn it – it’s just helping itself get the benefit of having one Large SUV within.
Once the brand’s electrification platform is ready, all production will take place in Japan for the first few years. This is probably a prudent move, even if the automaker will miss out on offers around that time. Its partner Toyota is currently shipping bZ4X From Japan; Neither is Nissan, it still hasn’t been able to build its new car Ariya SUV in the United States, like the Leaf. If all goes well, four out of every 10 Mazdas sold globally will be electric in the next seven years.
2nd gear: VinFast slows down
Investors of a special purpose acquisition company that planned to merge with VinFast to get the fledgling EV maker listed on US stocks have withdrawn more than 80% of their shares. . Reuters Friday report:
The move represents a new setback for VinFast, which had originally planned to list in the US and has struggled to start production and increase sales outside of Vietnam.
Vinfast earlier this year delayed a plan to build a US$4 billion electric vehicle factory in North Carolina. It pushed the plant’s launch date to 2025 from 2024.
Shareholders of Hong Kong-based SPAC have yet to vote on the proposed merger with VinFast, but exercised their right to buy back their shares on Tuesday.
Black Spade Acquisition (BSA) said the acquisition amounted to about $147 million. “After the acquisition (…), the amount remaining in the trust account is approximately $28.56 million,” SPAC said in a statement.
This is another setback that VinFast has made much recently. But when you consider how successful the company is, it’s really no surprise:
VinFast, which was founded in 2017 and started selling electric vehicles in California this year, previously filed for an initial public offering in the US for listing on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “VFS” in September. 12 years ago, with a valuation target of about $60 billion.
For reference, $60 billion is considered low-end for Porsche’s initial public offering. That landed at $72 billion. Porsche!
3rd gear: From Porsche to Rivian
Speaking of Porsche, former North America chief Kjell Gruner left the company last week and it seemed like a shock to everyone. We now have some insight into why. Gruner was lured away by Rivian, according to sources in contact with car news:
During his relatively short tenure as CEO, Gruner has led Porsche’s U.S. business through the pandemic and put the brand on track to its three-year highest sales in the last three years. this year.
Porsche told dealers it expects US sales to hit 80,000 units next year, up nearly 15% from 2022.
Gruner’s role at Rivian is unknown, but the CEO is unlikely to replace founder RJ Scaringe as CEO.
With a background in marketing, operations and strategy at established auto brands, Gruner can help electric vehicle manufacturers in a variety of capacities. Prior to his most recent role, Gruner was marketing director of Porsche AG and vice president of global marketing.
Gruner joined Porsche in 1999 from the Boston Consulting Group. In 2004, he left Porsche for Daimler, where he became chief strategy officer of Mercedes-Benz Cars before returning to Porsche in 2010.
Gruner is a great fit for a public company because of its marketing background, said a Porsche retailer.
“He’s attuned to ever-changing consumer trends and knows which variations and styles are likely to change,” said one of the sources, who requested anonymity.
Rivian, of course, is well done these days tooand may finally emerge from the initial doldrums of startups that have so much cut short the ambitions of electric vehicle makers.
4th gear: For now, Mitsubishi is finished with China
Doing business in China has unkind to many foreigners at the end, but it’s especially bad for Mitsubishi Motors. Things got so bad that Mitsubishi decided to suspend operations in the country indefinitely and lay off employees, while it prepared a list of electric vehicles with the goal of being able to return to the market one day. some. From Bloomberg:
The Japanese carmaker says China’s shift from gasoline cars to cleaner cars has affected its existing product line and saw sales fall far short of expectations. , according to a July 12 company memo that went viral on Chinese social media.
“Over the past few months, management and shareholders have tried their best, but due to market conditions and with great reluctance and regret, we had to seize the opportunity to switch to energy vehicles. new. The company will revive after going through trials and tribulations,” the memo said. […]
The decision to close Mitsubishi’s China operations stemming from production at its Changsha plant in Hunan province was suspended in March. Chief Executive Officer Takao Kato said in May that the company would try to overcome difficulties in China amid speculation that the automaker would dominate the market.
Mitsubishi saw annual sales in China peak in 2019 at around 134,500. The company produced 34,575 vehicles in the country by 2022, the ratio dropped to 1,530 in January and then zero in April. Mitsubishi has an electric SUV in China, the Airtrek, which sold just 515 car last year.
That is quite reduced. Here in North America, Mitsubishi’s fortunes are risingbecause it decided to aggressively market the first competitive SUV it had in decades.
Reverse: The day that great photo was taken
On this day in 1991 — 32 years ago — Nigel Mansell stopped on the winning lap at the end of the British Grand Prix to pick up Ayrton Senna and take him back to the pit, after the McLaren driver had run out of fuel.
Neutral: This is a good speech
This has nothing to do with cars (well, it does a little). Damn, today is Friday. Now you probably know that SAG-AFTRA has joined the Writers Guild of America against the Union of Motion Picture and Television Producers. But if you haven’t seen the speech of SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher yesterday afternoon, you should watch it, because it is shoot up. That’s necessary, because AMPTP’s plan is obviously to wait until Writers and actors began to lose their homes. Let’s fuck them, union.
