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| Challenges? Sure. But look what’s really happening |
It feels like we’ve been focused for a long time now on the crisis reality that the auto industry has been living under.
And it’s not because we’re obsessed with gloom, believe me. It’s because that’s just what’s been going on. Everywhere. All at once. The disruption of the trade war of the past few years, tariffs, difficulties getting metals, the pandemic, challenging workplace protocols, the labor shortage, the microchip shortage, the petrochemical supply-chain disruption, problems at the ports, and now the resulting collapse of vehicle inventories.
But here’s the thing: A fantastic story of resilience is coming into focus.
That’s the word that kept coming up in conversations for this week’s issue as people talked to us about far-flung issues — from the performance of the world’s supply chain, captured in our latest Top Suppliers ranking, to the way retailers are dealing with inventory shortages, to the way companies are confidently pushing ahead through it all with their business strategies.
Resilience. The auto industry is resilient. The people of the auto industry are resilient.
Volvo is putting more money into its South Carolina assembly plant to make it their first all-EV manufacturing site. Nissan and Infiniti are temporarily sacrificing production of some models in order to make sure they have enough chips for robust launches of key new models this year.
As this issue was nearing completion, I broke away to attend a reception for a Cadillac dealership in Brentwood, Tenn., a wealthy community just outside Nashville. Currie Andrews and his son, Nelson, have been thriving there for decades and have just completed an expansion in the midst of all this mayhem. That’s impressive enough. But as he thanked a big crowd for coming, Nelson dropped a news bomb — he will soon construct a second Caddy dealership in metro Nashville.
Read through this week’s paper and see if you don’t agree that the key word for this moment is “resilience.”
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“Our growing presence in the Southeast region strategically enhances our nationwide network that is foundational to Lithia and Driveway conveniently serving customers throughout the entire vehicle ownership life cycle.” |
– LITHIA CEO BRYAN DEBOER |
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From “Lithia enters Mississippi and sheds store in California” |
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Coming Monday in Automotive News:
A troublesome year for top suppliers: The global microchip shortage has been disruptive, to be sure, but it’s also just the latest in a string of body blows that have thwarted business planning and outlooks around the supplier landscape since the waning days of 2019. Automotive News releases its annual top suppliers list, and looks at how key players knocked off their game by the pandemic managed to keep the damage to a minimum.
The promise … and the problem: Advances in electronic technology — the result of billions of dollars in investment — promise to keep drivers alert, engaged, safe and entertained while keeping vehicle software wirelessly up to date. All the comforts of a smart home, but with a catch. Drivers have to figure out how to use them, and as J.D. Power will tell you, consumers aren’t always happy with all the electronic magic at their fingertips. Automotive News looks at the latest and upcoming tech, and the challenge of getting the customer to buy into all of it.
Weekend headlines
VW brand to end combustion engine sales in Europe by 2035: The target would prepare the brand for tightening of the EU’s CO2 emissions reduction goals.
Tesla to recalls vehicles in China for Autopilot upgrade: Regulators say Autopilot can be activated by drivers accidentally, causing unexpected acceleration.
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Toyota starts to lift mask requirement: Toyota Motor North America will allow some of its U.S. manufacturing and office employees to work without a mask beginning next month if they provide proof of vaccination and wear a “company-issued identifier.” The policy will apply July 5 to production facilities in Missouri and Tennessee and July 12 to headquarters in Plano, Texas, and plants in Indiana and Kentucky.
Investment firms join bidders for majority stake in top supplier: Hanon Systems, the world’s second-largest supplier of auto thermal management systems, is on the block, and Carlyle Group, Bain Capital and auto supplier Mahle have each submitted preliminary bids to buy a 70 percent stake in the South Korean supplier. The company is worth an estimated $5.8 billion. Hanon ranked No. 42 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers based on revenue generated from automakers in 2019.
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A selection from Shift and Daily Drive:
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June 28, 1971: Birthdate of Elon Musk, CEO and self-appointed “technoking” of Tesla.