Carmakers Shift Up a Gear in Race to Go Electric
With electric car sales soaring and regulations increasingly favoring zero-emission vehicles, a flurry of announcements on Monday showed how the global auto industry has kicked into a higher gear as it races to speed past the fossil-fuel car era, reports Reuters. As part of its own 30 billion euro ($34.7 billion) electrification plan Stellantis said it had entered a preliminary agreement with battery maker LG Energy Solution to produce battery cells and modules for North America, where the world's No. 4 automaker expects more than 40% of its U.S. sales will be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030. read more That follows a recent announcement that Daimler AG will take a 33% stake in battery cell manufacturer Automotive Cells Company (ACC), founded in 2020 by Stellantis and TotalEnergies in 2020. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
Honda Reveals Trio of BEV Concepts, Shifts Long-Term Strategy
Honda revealed a trio of new battery-electric concept vehicles expected to anchor its shift to an all-electric future in China — and help it accelerate the transition to battery power in other markets, including the U.S., reports The Detroit Bureau. The announcement marks a major shift for the third-largest Japanese automaker. Until now, Honda had been planning to offer a broad mix of different electrified technologies, from conventional hybrids, to pure-electric models, as well as fuel-cell vehicles. Now, CEO Toshihiro Mibe said, the goal is to shift exclusively to battery and hydrogen power, starting with the Chinese market. “China is at the forefront of technological innovation, so we will seek to rapidly respond by introducing leading edge technologies and products for our Chinese customers,” Mibe said during an online presentation. Read more here (Source: The Detroit Bureau).
Audi Extends Production Stops Due to Semiconductor Shortage
Audi is extending production stops due to a lack of semiconductor supplies, with most of the assembly lines at its factories in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in Germany at a standstill this week, reports Automotive News. The short-time work plan, which was originally scheduled to end last Friday, has been extended, an Audi spokeswoman told Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche. In Ingolstadt the assembly line for the Q2 crossover and A3 compact car will be at a complete standstill next week. There was no production on the line last week. The other two lines, on which the A3, A4 and A5 are built, are running on at least some days, but only in one shift each: one Monday to Thursday on the early shift, the other Tuesday to Thursday on the night shift. Production of the A4 and A5 will also stop in Neckarsulm this week. The A6, A7, and A8 models will be produced from Monday to Thursday, but the A6 and A7 will only be produced in one shift each. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Cars Are Making Money Like Homes – for Now
Financially, your car is behaving more like your home right now, bringing new opportunities and hard-to-foresee risks, reports The Wall Street Journal. Used-vehicle values have broken records over the past year, with inflation running at an unprecedented 24%, according to the latest official data. This is painful for car buyers, but there is a less-discussed flip side: It is a great time to be a car owner. As used-car values have rocketed, the proportion of car loans that are underwater has fallen dramatically. This can be seen from trade-in values. The percentage of vehicles that had negative equity when traded was 17.6% in September, the lowest since 2009, according to car-shopping data website Edmunds. This number usually hovered above 30% in the years before the pandemic. Many consumers may benefit from refinancing, since the extra equity in their vehicle may qualify them for a lower interest rate. And it is a sensational time to downsize or reduce the number of cars you own. Read more here (Source: The Wall Street Journal).
AutoNation Continues to Expand Used-Car Store Program
Roughly a month after debuting its first AutoNation USA store in Denver, AutoNation said Monday it has opened a second used-car store in the city: AutoNation USA Denver Broadway. According to Auto Remarketing, this location is the third of five AutoNation USA stores the retailer plans to debut in 2021. AutoNation USA Denver 104 was announced on Sept. 15. By the end of 2026, the dealer group expects it will be operating more than 130 AutoNation USA stores. In May, the retailer said it opened AutoNation USA San Antonio, its fourth pre-owned store in Texas. In addition to the San Antonio store and two Denver locations, AutoNation is also planning to open AutoNation USA locations in Phoenix and Austin, Texas. Read more here (Source: Auto Remarketing).
Around the Web
Auto Supply Chain Constraints Weighed on September's Industrial Production [WSJ]
Rolls-Royce Soars as Rich Clients Get Younger [Automotive News]
Michigan Gov. OKs Auto Bill That Lets Dealership Adjust Hours, Closures [Automotive News]
