CEO: VW of America Profit Best in Decades
Volkswagen of America had its most profitable year in decades in 2020 and turned its first profit since 2012 in the U.S., thanks to a new lineup of more profitable crossovers and the knock-on effects of the pandemic, CEO Scott Keogh said. According to Automotive News, the German automaker doesn't break out its performance by regions, but Keogh told journalists gathered for the Munich auto show that the brand had a $700 million turnaround in 2020 from the previous year because of sales of the Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, and Tiguan crossovers. Keogh also said VW dealers in the U.S. — who historically have had some of the thinnest profit margins in the industry — are now seeing an average 5 percent return on sales in 2020, which he said was revolutionary "because 60 percent of them were losing money two years ago." Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
EV Start-Up Rivian Beats Tesla, GM, Ford as First Automaker to Produce Electric Pickup
EV start-up Rivian is the first automaker to bring an electric pickup to the consumer market, beating Tesla, General Motors, and others in what’s expected to be a hotly contested segment in the years ahead. According to CNBC, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe on Tuesday tweeted that the company’s first R1T pickup for a customer drove off the assembly line in the morning at its plant in Normal, Illinois. “After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal! Our team’s collective efforts have made this moment possible,” he said. “Can’t wait to get these into the hands of our customers!” A Rivian spokeswoman confirmed that the vehicles being produced are saleable. She declined to discuss the company’s plans for ramping-up production, including how many trucks were produced Tuesday, and who will be the first customers to receive the vehicles. Read more here (Source: CNBC).
2022 Toyota Tundra to Make Auto Show Debut at Detroit's Motor Bella
Right after its official debut during Sunday night's nationally televised NFL game, the redesigned 2022 Toyota Tundra will make its first auto show appearance next week in Detroit, reports Automotive News. The full-size pickup will be shown at Motor Bella, an outdoor event set for Sept. 21-26 at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, a suburb about a half hour north of Detroit. It will be the first auto show in the region since COVID-19 upended plans for the 2020 North American International Auto Show. The unveiling is set for 9 p.m. Eastern time. The first ad for the 2022 Tundra will air Sunday night during the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens game on NBC. Two days later, Toyota Marketing executive Joe Moses will conduct a press briefing on the Tundra at Motor Bella at 10:10 a.m. The new Tundra enters the hypercompetitive, highly profitable full-size pickup space with the line's first redesign in nearly a decade and a half. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Hyundai Teases Big Ioniq 7 SUV While Hinting Smaller EVs Are Coming
Barely a week after showing off a concept version of its next all-electric model, the Ioniq 6, Hyundai is teasing what will be its biggest BEV, the Ioniq 7, reports The Detroit Bureau. Hyundai’s all-electric sub-brand’s next vehicle may be a Pallisade-sized SUV call the Ioniq 7. At the same time, the automaker is signaling it may also take the new Ioniq sub-brand down market, with smaller cars and crossovers, including a possible replacement for the current Kona EV. That would fit into the broader electrification strategy the South Korean carmaker has laid out in recent months, with a broad mix of battery and fuel-cell powered products. Hyundai promises to have 10 electrified models in its U.S. line-up by next year, though that will include conventional and plug-in hybrids, as well as BEVs and FCVs. Read more here (Source: The Detroit Bureau).
U.S. Asks 12 Automakers for Assistance in Tesla Probe
The U.S. auto safety regulator said Tuesday it has asked 12 major automakers for assistance as part of its probe into crashes involving Tesla vehicles striking emergency vehicles while using advanced driver assistance systems like Autopilot, reports Reuters. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent letters to General Motors Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen AG, and others questions as the agency conducts a "comparative analysis" with other "production vehicles equipped with the ability to control both steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously under some circumstances." In August, NHTSA opened a formal safety probe into Tesla driver assistance system Autopilot after 12 crashes with emergency vehicles. The probe covers 765,000 U.S. Tesla vehicles built between 2014 and 2021. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
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