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☆ Ford and GM can afford to put on a brave face
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Automakers General Motors(GM.N) and Ford Motor(F.N) reported operating profit well above Wall Street’s expectations in the first quarter. Their battery-powered makeovers carry risks, but 3.6 million missing car sales thanks to Covid-era shortages means their gas-guzzler cash cows can put on a brave face, thanks to plenty of unfulfilled demand. Ford and GM reported total operating profit 43% and 20% above analyst expectations this quarter, respectively, according to Refinitiv. Reuters GraphicsThis price ratchet added billions to operating profit in recent years. GM increased its expectations for full-year operating profit by $500 million, to a range of $11 billion to $13 billion.

☆ GM Lays Off Hundreds From Product Development in Latest Cost-Cutting Move
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GM executives have said they are taking steps to protect against worsening conditions in the economy and auto market. Photo: Rebecca Cook/REUTERSGeneral Motors Co. cut several hundred full-time contract positions primarily from its engineering hub in suburban Detroit, the latest cost-reducing effort from the auto maker as it navigates an uncertain car market. The contract workers, from GM’s large product-development operation, were terminated over the weekend, a company spokeswoman said. She said several hundred people were dismissed but declined to specify a number.

☆ GM’s Chevy Bolt Heads to Scrapyard With Mixed Legacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

General Motors Co. rolled out its Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle in 2016 to nab a foothold in the nascent EV market and give consumers an affordable plug-in option. Now, the diminutive snub-nosed SUV is headed to the scrap heap.

☆ Mark Hogan, Whose Blunt Talk Rattled General Motors, Dies at 71
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( James R. Hagerty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Mark Hogan became one of GM’s leading experts on the lean manufacturing practices pioneered by Toyota. Photo: Daniel Lipptt/Bloomberg NewsWhen Mark Hogan was growing up in the 1960s, the heads of the big U.S. auto makers were revered titans of American business. Encouraged by his father, he set an audacious career goal: chairman of General Motors . In the 1980s, Mr. Hogan became one of GM’s leading experts on the lean manufacturing practices pioneered by Toyota and coveted by rivals. His blunt talk alarmed the United Auto Workers and stirred worries among other GM executives of renewed war between the company and the union.

HONG KONG, April 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - If Japan is the next Macau, $16 billion MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) may be the only winner left at the table. After years of debate and delays, Japan has finally given approval for a resort in Osaka. But as diversifying from China becomes a popular mantra, this big bet looks smarter than it once did. The 1.08 trillion yen ($8.1 billion) resort is set to open in 2029. U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts International and local partner Orix will each own a 40% stake in the company set up to manage the complex.

☆ Chevrolet Bolt, GM’s first popular electric vehicle, ends production this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Chevrolet Bolt EV, General Motors first fully electric vehicle to be built and sold on a large scale, will go out of production by the end of this year. These new electric vehicles will be based GM’s new electric vehicle platform, Ultium, which is not used by the Bolt. The Bolt was, for a number of years, the best-selling electric vehicle in America that was not made by Tesla, although the gap was very wide. In all other respects, though, it was very similar to the Bolt EV, including the fact that it was available only with front-wheel-drive. To do that, GM engineers created a flexible electric vehicle architecture called Ultium that will be the basis of future GM vehicles.

☆ GM Ditches Apple CarPlay on EVs as Fight for Your Car’s Screen Intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, featured earlier this year at the Washington, D.C., auto show, will be equipped with GM’s new display-screen software. Apple Inc.’s CarPlay, the app that allows drivers to use their iPhones through the car’s display, has become a staple in millions of cars and trucks sold each year and a mission-critical feature for some buyers. Now, General Motors Co. is ditching the popular app on many of its new electric models, along with a similar one made by Alphabet Inc.’s Google for Android phones.

☆ How little engines are taking over American cars in a big way
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

If Americans have experience with three-cylinder engines, it would probably have been in Europe where the engines are fairly common in tiny “city cars” used for basic, around-town transportation. Now, for the 2023 model year, there are ten different models available in the United States with three-cylinder engines, according to Edmunds.com. All of these are at least offered with three-cylinder engines, if not available only with that engine. Vehicles that would have once have been powered by eight-cylinder engines now have turbocharged six-cylinder engines, instead. GM currently offers two different three-cylinder engines and, Hommes said, plans to continue selling them even as GM moves toward selling nothing but electric passenger vehicles by 2035.

☆ Ram electric pickup truck can go 500 miles on a charge, says Stellantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

GM expects to get 400 miles of range from its electric trucks. That’s one reason why having a lot of range can be an especially good thing in an electric truck. The pickup truck battle of numbers isn’t just limited to power and pulling, however. Even the Ram TRX, a pickup designed for high-speed desert driving, has a 702-horsepower V8 engine, only slightly more power than the Ram REV. Essentially a plug-in hybrid, that truck will be for customers who aren’t ready to trust a fully electric truck.

☆ GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay in EVs, with Google’s help
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems allow users to mirror their smartphone screens in a vehicle’s dashboard display. GM is designing the on-board navigation and infotainment systems for future EVs in partnership with Alphabet’s Google. GM’s Chevrolet brand in the past boasted of offering more models with CarPlay or Android Auto than any other brand. GM plans to continue offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mirroring systems in its combustion models. Owners of vehicles equipped with the mirroring technologies will still be able to use the systems, GM said.

☆ 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 Pickup: A Truck With Moves Like a Porsche
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Dan Neil | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

TONS OF FUN The GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 Pickup is built as an off-road/performance flagship, with a three-motor, all-wheel drive array producing up to 1,000 hp, a mechanically locking front differential and ‘virtual’ locking rear, long-travel suspension and adjustable air-suspension capable of lifting the truck another 5.8 inches (Extract Mode). IN THE WORDS of guitarist David St. Hubbins, there’s a fine line between stupid and clever. Parked squarely over the line is the 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1, General Motors ’ all-electric off-road truck. Whatever mean tweet you could compose about GM’s colossal electric sport-utility truck (SUT), I’m here for it. The Hummer truck might be dumb as a hammer, but as hammers go, it’s pretty ingenious.

☆ GM’s EV Push Stalls Amid Slow Rollouts for GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra has called 2023 a breakout year for the company’s electric-vehicle push. It is off to a slow start. The Detroit auto maker is dealing with the slower-than-expected rollout of two high-profile electric vehicles, the GMC Hummer EV and the Cadillac Lyriq, increasing pressure on Ms. Barra after GM lost EV market share to rivals last year.

[1/2] Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe speaks in this handout picture taken in Marysville, Ohio, U.S., March 1, 2023. HONDA/Handout via REUTERSMARYSVILLE, Ohio, March 3 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co (7267.T) is moving rapidly to catch up with electric-vehicle competitors in global markets, but the company's top executive said combustion engines could last through 2040 and beyond. Regarding the Japanese automaker's accelerating transition to EVs, Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe said, “I’ve been in the engine development business for more than 30 years, so personally it’s a little threatening. Before then, Honda in 2024 will get two new electric SUVs, the Honda Prologue and the Acura ZDX, from GM’s Spring Hills factory in Tennessee. Reporting by Paul Lienert in Marysville, Ohio Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The major Detroit pickup truck brands are sitting on growing inventories of unsold vehicles, according to Cox Automotive data provided to Reuters. Inventory levels are over 100 days’ supply for rival Stellantis NV's (STLAM.MI) Ram half-ton and heavy-duty pickups. Stellantis said in a statement it had no downtime planned at any of its North American plants, but constantly reviewed its inventory levels and would make production adjustments as needed. February sales growth was led by a 54% increase in sales to fleet customers, Power and LMC said. Especially for trucks," said Ohio dealer Rhett Ricart, whose Ricart Automotive Group sells Ford and GM trucks at different stores.

☆ Ram reveals its electric truck during Super Bowl and it looks nothing like the concept
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Ram revealed the production version of its electric pickup in a Super Bowl commercial, and it turns out that it looks much like today’s internal combustion powered Ram 1500 truck, instead of the futuristic concept unveiled just last month. But the Ram Rev, due out in late 2024, looks almost exactly like the gas-powered Ram 1500 pickup except for its headlights and taillights. The Ram 1500 Revolution concept truck offered an extra long cab containing a third row of seats, something not found in other trucks. That’s a feature that will be available in General Motors’ Chevrolet and GMC electric trucks which were revealed last year. The Ram 1500 Rev has distinct headlights and taillights from other Ram pickups.

☆ Premarket stocks: Share buybacks could beat last year's record $1.2 trillion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Companies have announced about $175 billion worth of planned stock buybacks so far this year. This year will likely be the first with at least $1 trillion in completed S&P 500 company buybacks, said Howard Silverblatt at S&P Dow Jones Indices. ▸ GM (GM) just inked an exclusive deal for the hottest product in automaking: Semiconductors. The strong dollar is hurting multinationalsThe rip-roaring dollar cut deeply into the earnings of multinational companies selling their wares overseas last quarter. “We got hit with that.”McDonald’s (MCD) and 3M (MMM) also said in earnings reports that they were worried that the strong dollar would affect future sales.

GM told Reuters that it is working to streamline how many unique kinds of chips are in its cars. But it is securing capacity for its suppliers to have the chips made because the overall number of chips is expected to rise. By the end of 2023, almost 18 million vehicles will have been removed from production plans since the chip shortage began, according to Auto Forecast Solutions. The auto chip shortage dramatically changed the way carmakers deal with their chip suppliers, with whom they previously rarely had direct contact. Several auto companies have now created teams and divisions to better secure chip supply and think about the design of digital platforms for cars going forward.

☆ GM signs exclusive deal for US computer chip production
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Semiconductors are a major component of electronic parts such as the computer modules that are required to make automobiles. It’s an unusual agreement in that GM is contracting directly with a firm that will supply manufacturing services to companies that, in turn, provide parts to GM. Under this agreement, the various electronic component manufacturers that make parts for GM will use GlobalFoundries to make semiconductors for them. Last summer, the federal government passed legislation to boost computer chip manufacturing in the United States so companies could import fewer computer components from China. The agreement is also part of an overall plan by GM (GM) to reduce the number of different chips needed to build GM (GM) vehicles.

☆ Tesla just ignited a price war in electric vehicles. Investors should see it as an opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The event may have created a compelling entry point for investors who have been on the sidelines of the long-term shift to electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are becoming much more popular in the U.S. but still make up a small portion of automobiles on the roads. Cutting prices certainly caught the eye of consumers and boosted interest in Tesla vehicles, according to data from Edmunds. And, there are still issues with electric vehicles that make them impractical for large groups of consumers, said Mike Ward, an analyst at The Benchmark Company. There’s also a huge potential in firms that make batteries, key parts of electric vehicles that are also seeing surging share prices.

☆ America isn’t quitting gas guzzlers yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ford missed its profit guidance by $1.1 billion, it said on Thursday night. It was bad enough that boss Jim Farley admitted to leaving “$2 billion in profits on the table” by mismanaging costs and supply. With EV sales under 4% of U.S. volume for both companies, the jump in profit from pricing is coming from combustion-engine sales. Detroit-based peer Ford Motor reported revenue of $44 billion for its fourth quarter on Feb. 2, 9% higher than analyst estimates. However, it recorded $10.4 billion of adjusted operating profit for the full year, below guidance of $11.5 billion.

☆ Ford is getting back into Formula 1 racing to help sell EVs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —America’s major automakers are getting back into Formula 1 racing. The new power units will rely much more on electric power and will burn renewable fuels in less powerful V6 engines. Formula 1 racing is very popular in Europe and has recently found increasing popularity in the United States. Ford currently competes in a variety of motorsports, including endurance sports car racing, drag racing and off-road races. Ford and Red Bull already work together in rally racing.

☆ GM’s Fourth-Quarter Profit Soared as Supply-Chain Problems Eased
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Mike Colias | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An new Corvette showed at the North American International Auto Show last year. General Motors Co. reported a 15% rise in fourth-quarter net income, as vehicle output rebounded from supply-chain troubles and pricing held strong despite mounting consumer pressures. GM said strong results in North America helped offset weakness in China to lift its net profit during the October-to-December period to $2 billion, from $1.7 billion a year earlier. One-time losses from an exit of some Russian operations and payments to buy out some U.S. Buick dealerships cut more than $1 billion from the bottom line.

☆ Consumer Reports calls Ford’s automated driving tech much better than Tesla’s
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And in a recent ranking by Consumer Reports, which tested ADAS from 12 different carmakers, Tesla’s ranked seventh. GM’s Super Cruise, which ranked second, is the only other system tested by Consumer Reports that works this way. Ford’s driver monitoring technology is one of the major reasons that BlueCruise ranked so highly in Consumer Reports’ testing. Kia and Genesis did not immediately respond to requests from CNN Business for comments on Consumer Reports’ assessments. For the most part, vehicle owner’s manuals were of little use in learning how to use the systems, Consumer Reports said.

☆ GM’s New Hybrid Corvette Will Be Its Fastest Yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Joseph Pisani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray can go from zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, about 0.1 second faster than the 2023 Corvette Z06. The first gas-electric hybrid Corvette will also be the fastest version of the American sports car, General Motors Co. said Tuesday. The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray will start at just over $104,000 and go on sale later this year, 70 years after the first Corvette was unveiled.

☆ Automakers won’t go back to normal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Jan 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For U.S. automakers, 2023 is all about trying to stay in their lane. That left 2021 at around 15 million sales; full-year 2022 sales are likely to come in at 13.7 million, according to Cox Automotive. But while supplies may return to normal, the industry might not follow suit. Automakers’ production may not return either, though. Some automakers may want a controlled exit from the pandemic – but getting everyone to play along is another matter.

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