Biden Team Sees Chip Relief Coming Soon for Carmakers on Supply Gains
Biden administration officials say they’re starting to see signs of relief for the global semiconductor supply shortage, including commitments from manufacturers to make more automotive-grade chips for car companies that have had to idle production. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who has led President Joe Biden’s efforts on chip supply, has brokered a series of meetings between semiconductor manufacturers, their suppliers, and their customers including automakers. Senior administration officials said the meetings helped ease mistrust between the sides related to the chipmakers’ production and allocation and automakers’ orders. The result has been more transparency about the manufacturers’ production and shipments and a gradual increase in supply for automakers, Raimondo said in an interview. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Consumer Reports Says Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' Software Lacks Safeguards
Consumer Reports said Tuesday that Tesla Inc's "Full Self-Driving" software lacks safeguards and raised concerns the system's use on public roads puts the public at risk citing reports from drivers. The influential consumer publication cited videos posted on social media of drivers using it and raised concerns about issues, including "vehicles missing turns, scraping against bushes, and heading toward parked cars." Consumer Reports said it plans to independently test the software update known as FSD Beta 9, as soon as its Model Y receives the update. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
New Vehicle Prices Set All-Time Record, With No End in Sight to Rapid Rise
New vehicle prices continued an unprecedented rise last month, the upward jump reflecting a variety of factors, including ongoing inventory shortages triggered by the pandemic and problems sourcing critical semiconductors. Prices on new vehicles are at an all-time high. The average prices of a new vehicle in June was $42,258, according to KBB.com analysts. The typical new vehicle buyer laid out an estimated $42,258 in June, according to Kelley Blue Book. That was up $928 from May, and $2,527 – or 6.4% — from June 2020. The recent surge in pricing has been one of the most dramatic in the last half century, with only a few exceptions, notably during the inflation-plagued era of the late 1970s and early 1980s. To put the latest surge into perspective, the typical new vehicle price was around $36,000 at the end of 2019, according to manufacturer data. Read more here (Source: The Detroit Bureau).
GM Hires Nio and Lyft Executives; Stellantis Poaches Amazon VP
Automakers General Motors and Stellantis have poached executives from several technology companies, including Amazon and Lyft, as the industries continue to vie for top talent. The automakers announced the hires Tuesday, marking the latest round of talent swaps between the automotive and technology industries as the sectors converge with the emergence of connected, autonomous and electric vehicles. GM is adding four new executives to its BrightDrop EV commercial delivery and logistics business, which the company announced in January. Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, said it has hired Ned Curic, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa Automotive, as its first chief technology officer since the company was formed through a merger of Fiat Chrysler and French automaker PSA Groupe in January. Read more here (Source: CNBC).
BMW Can't Finish Production of 10,000 Cars Over Chip Crunch
BMW said on Tuesday nearly all its German plants were affected by an ongoing shortage of semiconductors that are currently preventing the luxury carmaker from completing around 10,000 cars. The Munich-based company earlier this month said that the bottleneck, which has affected carmakers around the world, has already led to 30,000 vehicles in lost production so far this year. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
Vote for CNA National in the Dealers' Choice Awards
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