DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy EV sales have slowedIn October 2023, it took nearly twice as long to sell an EV in the U.S. as it did in January. Prices of EVs are down 22% year-over-year and that's mainly driven by Tesla. About two thirds of total EVs sold are from Elon Musk's brand. Companies like Ford have ramped up hybrid production as demand for electric has leveled off. While slightly more than half of consumers say EVs are the future and will eventually replace ICE vehicles, less than a third of dealers say so.

Persons: EVs, what's Organizations: Tesla, Elon Musk's, Companies, Ford, ICE Locations: U.S

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHere's why Tesla is at the center of the UAW strikesThousands of workers are striking the big three Detroit auto manufacturers Ford, GM and Stellantis. The strikes are unlike any other in recent American auto history. Even United Auto Workers' president Shawn Fain calls the demands audacious. Legacy carmakers already struggle to compete with Tesla's manufacturing costs and selling price. So are Elon Musk and Tesla the strikes' big winners?

Persons: Tesla, Shawn Fain, carmakers, Elon Organizations: UAW, Detroit, Ford, GM, United Auto Workers

☆ How Tesla is at the center of the UAW strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

The UAW strikes hitting the Detroit Three automakers — GM , Ford and Stellantis — could widen the electric vehicle gap between them and Tesla, which already controls 60 percent of the EV market. The three Detroit automakers all use union labor, and those workers are represented by the United Auto Workers union — Tesla does not. Already, industry insiders say labor costs at GM, Ford and Stellantis are considerably higher than they are at the electric car maker. But Tesla workers have attempted to unionize its factories in the past. While attempts have so far been unsuccessful, recent polls show about two-thirds of Americans are supportive of unions.

Persons: Stellantis, Tesla Organizations: UAW, Detroit Three, — GM, Ford, Detroit, United Auto Workers, GM

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHere's how Kia went from being an underdog to one of the most popular car brands in the worldFor many of its early years in the U.S., Kia was a low-cost value brand, and its cars were often criticized for poor quality, reliability and design. But with a brush with bankruptcy and a 51% stake investment by Hyundai Motor Group, Kia grew fast, started winning awards and became one of the most desired car brands. Sales have increased threefold in the U.S. over the past 20 years. But growing too fast and catering to a higher-income customer comes with a fair share of challenges.

Persons: Kia Organizations: Hyundai Motor Group, Kia Locations: U.S

☆ How Kia pulled off a massive turnaround in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

When the automaker arrived in the U.S. in 1994, its cars were poorly reviewed, and it was seen mostly as a low-cost value brand. Now, Kia is winning awards and commanding higher markups than its peers. U.S. sales have gone from about 12,000 units in 1994 to almost 700,000 units in 2022. "We had a record in 2022," said Steve Center, chief operating officer of Kia America, adding that the first half of 2023 brought another sales record. But Kia believes it can take on electric as well as it took on internal combustion.

Persons: Kia, Steve Center, I've, Ivan Drury, Edmunds, We've, we'll Organizations: Kia America, ICS, BMW, Audi, U.S ., EV Locations: Korean, U.S, .

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHere's why Constellation Brands bet big on Modelo. And won against Bud LightConstellation Brands, which owns the U.S. licensing rights to Mexican beers like Modelo, Corona, Victoria and Pacifico is on fire. For the first time in 22 years, Modelo Especial beat out Bud Light as the country's top-selling beer in May. Constellation reported revenue of $2.5 billion in the quarter ending May 31, a 6.4% increase from the same quarter last year. The company's beer business delivered double-digit net sales growth of 11%.

Persons: Bud, Bud Light Organizations: Constellation Brands, Modelo, Bud Light Constellation Brands, Pacifico, Modelo Especial, Constellation Locations: Corona, Victoria

☆ Roundabouts are safer than traffic lights. So why are there so few in the U.S.?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Consider the simple roundabout — a traffic circle well known in Europe but less familiar across most of America. Proponents say roundabouts can dramatically reduce crashes, injuries and deaths, can improve traffic and even save a city a fair bit of money. "'Can you get rid of this traffic light near my house or near my business?' The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is funded by the insurance industry and issues widely watched crash test ratings for vehicles, says roundabouts are considerably safer for drivers and pedestrians and cause much less congestion than traffic lights. We have been rated over and over by various organizations [as] one of the best places to live in the United States; one of the best places to retire; one of the best places to raise families; one of the best places for single people.

Persons: Mayor Jim Brainard, Brainard, Brainard's Organizations: Mayor, Insurance Institute for Highway Locations: Europe, America, U.S, Carmel , Indiana, Carmel, United States

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHere's why the U.S. is having so few roundaboutsResearch shows roundabouts reduce crashes, clear up congestion and can save cities money. But America has a fraction of the roundabouts that far smaller countries like France, Spain and the United Kingdom have. Some states are adopting them, and the small town of Carmel, Indiana, now leads European cities. So why haven't more U.S. cities done this? Are they are all they are cracked up to be?

Locations: America, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Carmel , Indiana

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow Aurora got self-driving trucks on the roadTrucking is an integral part of the economy, representing over 70% of freight moved in the U.S. Yet, it is dogged by driver shortages, safety issues and supply chain challenges. Pittsburgh-based Aurora is hoping to solve these problems and more by bringing self-driving technology to trucks. While other autonomous companies such as Starsky Robotics and TuSimple have folded or scaled back efforts in the U.S., it is now delivering loads for customers such as Uber Freight and FedEx in Texas.

Persons: Aurora Organizations: Pittsburgh, Starsky Robotics, Freight, FedEx Locations: U.S, Texas

☆ How EVs are upending the 100-year-old auto supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Companies that make parts for internal combustion engines are facing a harsh future. Revenues for internal combustion engines, as well as fuel and exhaust systems, are expected to decline 44% through 2027, according to the 2023 Deloitte Automotive Supplier Study. While the supply chain is shifting away from parts, the total powertrain part supply pie is also shrinking. While automakers bring more of their supply chain in-house, there are thousands of parts in cars that come from companies all over the world — a branching supply chain of firms each dependent on the success of the others. Bigger firms are either spinning out their internal combustion divisions or just winding them down to pivot toward EVs.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: Battery, Bosch

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow EVs Are Disrupting Small Car Parts SuppliersCompanies that make parts for internal combustion engines are facing a harsh future. The switch to EVs means companies need different parts, and EV powertrains have thousands fewer components than ICE cars. Automakers are finding more efficient ways to build cars, and are making a greater share of parts in-house. Many suppliers are small, family owned firms that have been around for decades. But even the large publicly traded suppliers such as Bosch, Denso, American Axle, Magna and ZF are affected.

Organizations: Suppliers Companies, EV powertrains, Bosch

☆ How EV range is determined and why the process is flawed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The official government process used to test and certify those ranges has potential flaws. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been testing vehicles since 1971, but only started testing EVs in 2012. EPA Engineers say these are exciting times, but it can also feel like the "wild west." The fact that it can test any vehicle at any time forces automakers to meet EPA standards. But independent groups have found that their own tests yield results that are different from official EPA range ratings.

Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Engineers, EPA Locations: U.S

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow the EPA determines electric vehicle rangeSince the Environmental Protection Agency was founded in 1970, one of its primary tasks has been testing gas burning vehicles - both to see how much they pollute and to tell consumers how many miles per gallon they are liable to get in a car. But since electric vehicles came to market in significant numbers after 2010, the agency has begun shifting toward testing EV range. The trouble is that EV technology is changing…fast. The agency has had decades to refine standards for gas burning cars, and just a few years for EVs. CNBC went inside the EPA's testing lab to find out how they test for EV range.

Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, EVs, CNBC

☆ America's biggest asphalt maker faces a 'golden age' with some green strings attached
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

There are about 2.8 million miles of roads in the United States, and 94% of that is made of asphalt. There's also recycled asphalt pavement, which is exactly what it sounds like: pavement that has been scraped off a road, ground up and used again. Right now, CRH says about 25% of every mile of road it paves is recycled asphalt pavement, though there are some places where the share of recycled asphalt is much higher. The reason: When recycled pavement was first introduced, it had a tendency to degrade faster, simply because it was older. The industry, represented by the National Asphalt Pavement Association, wants to raise the level of recycled asphalt in any given road to about 50% of the mix that is laid down.

Persons: Randy Lake, we're Organizations: Investment, Jobs, Solutions, Asphalt Pavement Association Locations: United States, Irish, Canada, U.S, North America, America

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailInside America's largest asphalt maker and road paver94 percent of the roads in the U.S. are paved with asphalt. Companies like CRH - the largest road paver in America - are newly flush with billions from the US government which is the largest buyer of asphalt in the country. Some in the business say it's the golden age of infrastructure. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure law, is adding $1.2 trillion, a 40% to 50% increase over the previous FAST Act. But there are some strings attached.

Organizations: Infrastructure Investment, Jobs Locations: U.S, America

☆ Why GM is sunsetting the classic Chevrolet Camaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Fans like Mercado have helped keep the Camaro alive since it was introduced as a competitor to the Ford Mustang in 1966. That makes the Ford Mustang the last vehicle in the segment standing in its current gas-burning form. By that time it was lagging far behind competitors: The Ford Mustang sold 72,489 units in 2019, and the Challenger, 60,997. Sedans and smaller calls made up 43% of all vehicle sales in 2010. "Just like we've done in the past, it had a little bit of a hiatus," said Harlan Charles, product manager for Corvette and Camaro.

Persons: Francisco, Cisco, Mercado, General Motors, Dodge, Ford, That's, Harlan Charles, we'll Organizations: CNBC, Ford, General, Stellantis, Dodge, Challenger, P Global Mobility, Sports, GM, Corvette

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailInside the growing business of converting gas-powered cars to electric vehiclesInterest in electric vehicles is at an all-time high, with sales of new EVs up 55 percent in 2022 compared to the year prior. But there are still a lot of gas cars on the road today, and it's likely there will be for a long time. EV conversions are becoming a bigger trend that could help. Both the shops and aftermarket community are growing substantially to meet the new demand. CNBC explores what it takes to convert a gas-powered car to an electric vehicle and whether it could go mainstream.

Organizations: CNBC

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThreats to the billion dollar parking industryWhile historically family-owned, the parking industry is today largely dominated by two players: SP Plus (SP+) and ABM. But the industry is facing some challenges. Aside from the rise of e-commerce and ride-hailing, a post pandemic world where workers are rarely driving into urban areas is forcing the industry to pivot and expand its services, as well as heavily invest in technology. It remains to be seen if those strategic decisions will pay off.

☆ How the $8 billion parking industry is evolving to stay alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

There are between 700 million and 2 billion parking spaces in America — or put another way, between 2.5 to seven spots for every registered vehicle. The entire parking industry pulled in about $121 billion in 2022, according to Jerry Marcus, who runs a Boston-based parking consultancy called the Parking Advisory Group. The entire parking industry is projected to pull in about $144 billion in 2023. Within the larger parking industry, there's a group of companies that manage parking facilities for owners. That industry pulled in somewhere between $8 billion and just over $10 billion in revenue in 2022, according to market estimates.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPorsche's $100 million EV alternativeMore than 70% of Porsche cars ever made are still on the road, according to some estimates. But to protect that heritage with electric vehicles on the rise, the German automaker has invested $100 million in eFuels, a class of carbon-neutral synthetic energy. Opponents are skeptical, calling eFuels expensive and inefficient. But Porsche and eFuel maker, HIF Global, believe they can reach large-scale production within a few years and prove skeptics wrong.

☆ Why Porsche is investing $100 million on eFuels to keep its cars on the road
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Porsche has invested more than $100 million in the development of eFuels. "With this approach we have another lever, another opportunity to reduce the CO2 footprint for the combustion engine-driven cars," said Karl Dums, senior manager of eFuels at Porsche. "Electric cars are more expensive to produce, so they are margin dilutive," said Daniel Schwarz, managing director at Stifel. "And Porsche managed to increase the share of electric cars and increase the profitability in parallel." But critics of Porsche's $100 million push into eFuels argue the resultant fuel will be too expensive and inefficient to ever compete with electrification.

☆ Why Ford and VW shut down their multi-billion dollar self-driving project
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Robert Ferris | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy Ford and VW shut down their multi-billion dollar self-driving projectFord invested $1 billion in self-driving startup Argo AI in 2017, and Volkswagen later joined with a $2.6 billion investment. At its height, Argo AI was reportedly valued at $12.4 billion. But in 2022 it shut down. Ford said it didn't attract new investors, and that profitability was "a long way off". VW still pursued autonomous driving projects for commercial uses, and Ford focused on more modest L2 and L3 driver assistance tech.

☆ How Ford and VW's multibillion-dollar self-driving car project failed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ford Motor bet a billion dollars on a startup called Argo AI to catch up to flashy tech companies like Google , Uber and Tesla . Volkswagen , the second-largest automaker in the world, signed on as a backer in 2019, investing $2.6 billion Argo AI at a valuation of more than $7 billion. By 2021, Argo AI was valued at $12.4 billion and counted 2,000 employees, with offices on two continents and self-driving tests underway in seven cities. There were plans to bring a self-driving taxi service to market by 2021, rivaling those by Waymo and Ford's larger Detroit rival, General Motors . But in October 2022, Argo AI shut down.

☆ Oil companies made $200 billion in profits in 2022.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Robert Ferris | Alex Wood | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailOil companies made $200 billion in profits in 2022. Here's howOil companies such as ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, TotalEnergies and BP pulled in record profits in 2022, as the price of crude oil skyrocketed. But those record profits spurred backlash from politicians and others alike. President Joe Biden called it "a windfall of Russia's invasion of Ukraine" and criticized the industry for not investing enough in domestic production. Company executives on the other hand say that Biden's message conflicts with his call to push for greener alternatives.

☆ Oil companies hit with backlash after bringing in $200 billion in profits last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Oil companies pulled in record profits in 2022, as oil prices skyrocketed. Revenues for the biggest integrated European and American oil companies nearly doubled during 2021. "Oil companies' record profits today are not because they're doing something new or innovative," President Joe Biden said Oct. 31. The industry has said the depiction of oil companies as greedy war profiteers is false. And while oil companies raked in cash in 2022, their fates are closely tied to the price of oil — when it falls, they lose.

Search resuls for: "Robert Ferris"

25 mentions found