Tag: Strategy

Ford China sales fall by more than 40 percent, again

JOHANNES EISELE | AFP | Getty Images
The Ford Mustang is displayed during the 17th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai.

Ford's sales in China just keep falling.

The company's sales in the world's largest car market fell 45 percent in October, compared with the same month last year.

Ford has recently said it has seen its business in China deteriorate. Ford's sales in China dropped 43 percent in September over the same month in 2017.

The drop is due partly to a slowdown in sales across the industry and partly to problems unique to Ford.

One major factor hurting sales is a government crackdown on certain forms of lending that made credit available to a wide swath of buyers in China's middle class, especially in its growing second-tier cities, said Michael Dunne, CEO of ZoZoGo, a firm that advises automakers on doing business in the country.

China had for some time allowed peer-to-peer lending schemes, where wealthier people could lend money to the less wealthy. But the recent crackdown on such practices has shut down several companies facilitating the process and left those remaining lenders skittish, along with many consumers, Dunne said.

However, Ford has been hit particularly hard, while U.S. rival General Motors seems to have fared well in the face of those challenges.

Ford's product line in China is a bit stale, and has failed to keep up with the rapidly changing demand in the country, said IHS Markit analyst Stephanie Brinley, who follows the automotive industry.

“Ford is in a unique situation to the degree that they really did have a product problem,” she said. “That market wants to see fresh product faster, and Ford just wasn't delivering it. It is not that their products were inherently bad, it is just that they weren't updating them fast enough for what the market wants. And they are addressing that.”

Ford recently unveiled its Territory SUV, a sport utility vehicle made especially for the Chinese market. The SUV is the first in an upcoming onslaught of new vehicles the automaker is planning for the region. Ford also recently separated its Chinese business unit from its larger Asia-Pacific region and appointed a president specifically for the country, in a bid to accelerate growth.

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Careem has signed an MOU with The Oman Technology Fund to inspire…

And as the leading internet platform in the region we are excited to be able to support a likeminded partner in OTF and the Government of Oman to share in a vision together and help enable Oman to utilise our technology and platform to work across several sectors in the country.

This partnership will give us opportunity to demonstrate how the Careem platform can support governments in their forward-thinking ambitions and help enable Oman to become one of the leading smart cities in the region.

Be it through the introduction of drone technology or cost-effective and environmentally-friendly autonomous vehicles, this represents a significant step into the future and sets an exciting forward-thinking precedent for a new form of public-private-partnership for the region.

The MOU also includes the possibility of the OTF entering joint ventures or other strategic partnerships with us, including making an investment in Careem on behalf of Oman’s sovereign wealth funds. We are excited to be..

Careem and TransAD launch programme to provide new income…

In collaboration with TransAD, Careem has introduced a new programme to provide flexible and safe income earning opportunities to Emiratis and children of Emirati women living in Abu Dhabi.

UAE Nationals and children of Emirati women can now opt to register on the Careem platform and drive private vehicles as part of a new initiative to open up jobs to the local workforce. Customers will be able to book rides originating in anywhere in Abu Dhabi and the service will be priced in line with taxis in the Capital. This follows on from Careem’s new pricing structure for the Capital that was announced in May.

Careem has begun an outreach programme targeting UAE nationals and children of Emirati women to promote the new initiative and to invite eligible Emirati Captains to register on their portal – drive.careem.com. Training sessions will be conducted in Abu Dhabi to upskill Captains on how to use Careem technology; best driving practices; vehicle and road safety and customer service. Care..

Mitsubishi will propose removing Ghosn from board

Marlene Awaad | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Carlos Ghosn, chairman of the alliance between Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., pauses during a Bloomberg Television interview at the Paris Motor Show in Paris, France, on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018.

Mitsubishi will propose removing embattled executive Carlos Ghosn from its board of directors, the company said Monday.

Ghosn, who is chairman and CEO of the strategic alliance among French automaker Renault and Japanese carmakers Nissan and Mitsubishi, was arrested Monday in Tokyo on charges of making misleading financial statements to regulators, Mitsubishi said Monday.

Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa held a press conference earlier on Monday saying Nissan would seek Ghosn's removal from his roles at Nissan.

Nissan said a whistleblower alerted the company to several instances of alleged misconduct on Ghosn's part, including underreporting compensation to regulators and personal misuse of company money.

In addition to being chairman and CEO of the alliance, the chairman of Nissan, and a board member at Mitsubishi, Ghosn is also the CEO of Renault.

Ghosn began spearheading the alliance between Renault and Nissan in the late 1990s. Many industry veterans were skeptical that an alliance between a French car company and a Japanese carmaker would ever work. But the initiative was successful, and the two were joined by Mitsubishi in 2016.

Here is the full statement from Mitsubishi:

“Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) today announces that media outlets reported that MMC's Chairman of the Board and Representative Director, Carlos Ghosn, had been arrested by Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on the charge of filing annual securities reports containing fake statement, in breach of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
“In response to the arrest of Ghosn, and since the alleged misconduct is related to a corporate governance and compliance issue, it is to be proposed to the Board of Directors to promptly remove Ghosn from his position as MMC's Chairman of the Board and Representative Director.
“We will readily conduct an internal investigation on whether Ghosn has been engaged in the misconduct like the above within MMC.
“MMC deeply apologizes for any concern caused by the recent event.”

VW has no fun trademarking I.D. name series

VW ID family
Volkswagen has generated a lot of buzz with the names for its upcoming series of electric cars: I.D., I.D. Crozz, I.D. Lounge, I.D. Vizzion, and I.D. Buzz, for its recreation of the iconic Microbus.

Keep in mind that these are all the names of the concept vehicles, not necessarily the production vehicles. But now a report in VW Vortex last week confirms that VW has trademarked names for the electric cars with the Intellectual Property Office of the European Union.

DON’T MISS: Base price of VW's electric cars could be as low as $21,000

The names VW trademarked are I.D. 1, I.D. 2, I.D. 3, I.D. 4, etc. all the way through I.D. 9.

The move suggests a couple of things about VW’s strategy:

First, it might, if they want to use the full swath of badges, have nine more-or-less affordable electric cars on the market in Europe based on its new MEB electric-car architecture.

READ THIS: Volkswagen details the foundation for 10 million electric vehicles

These will likely include the basic Golf-size I.D. hatchback (not necessarily the I.D. 1), the $21,000 entry-level model that VW announced earlier this month, and production cars based on the concepts known as the I.D. Crozz crossover, the large I.D. Lounge sedan, and the long-awaited I.D. Buzz.

That leaves four more models we don’t know about.

European car-buyers have long preferred—or at least been more accepting of numbers for car names than Americans. The numbers usually denote a hierarchy in capability, power, or size.

CHECK OUT: VW plans 27 electric cars by 2022 on new platform

Americans have expressed an interest in actual names for cars, which is becoming difficult as automakers have trademarked more and more pronounceable, comprehensible, and relevant words—even misspelled—for cars. As a kind of compromise, automakers have turned to letter combinations, such as Acuras with its lineup of ILX, TSX, TL, RLX, RDX, MDX, and NSX. Over X-ed yet?

Since VW only trademarked the I.D. 1 through 9 names in Europe, perhaps the cars could retain their concept names when they make it to America.

Nissan boss arrested over ‘misconduct’

Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been arrested over claims of financial misconduct, the carmaker has said. Mr Ghosn, a towering figure in the car industry, will be sacked from the Japanese firm after a board meeting on Thursday, its chief executive said. He has been accused of “significant acts of misconduct”, including under-reporting his pay… Continue reading Nissan boss arrested over ‘misconduct’

Lidar startup AEye raises $40M Series B led by the Taiwanese government’s investment firm

Lidar technology developer AEye will scale its operations globally through manufacturing partnerships after raising a $40 million Series B. The round was led by Taiwania Capital, the investment firm created and backed by Taiwan’s National Development Council, and included returning investors Kleiner Perkins, Intel Capital, Airbus Ventures, and Tychee Partners. This brings the California-based startup’s… Continue reading Lidar startup AEye raises $40M Series B led by the Taiwanese government’s investment firm

Lightfoot gets $4M to nudge more drivers to go smooth with a ‘Fitbit for cars’

UK car tech startup lightfoot, which sells a telematics system that gives real-time feedback to drivers combined with a rewards platform to further incentivize good driving, has picked up £3.2 million (~$4M) from London-based early-stage venture fund BGF. Former Dyson CEO, Martin McCourt, also contributed to the investment, and will join lightfoot’s board as a non-executive… Continue reading Lightfoot gets $4M to nudge more drivers to go smooth with a ‘Fitbit for cars’

VW-backed ride-hailing app Gett seeks buyers to compete with bigger rivals

November 19, 2018 Gett Inc., the ride-hailing app valued at more than $1 billion and backed by Volkswagen AG, is looking for buyers in a bid to compete with larger rivals, people familiar with the matter said. The Israeli tech company has approached potential bidders including other car-hire firms, the people said, asking not to… Continue reading VW-backed ride-hailing app Gett seeks buyers to compete with bigger rivals

VW wants to be the most profitable electric car company in the world

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
The Volkswagen logo is displayed at Serramonte Volkswagen on November 18, 2016 in Colma, California.

Volkswagen announced it's to spend 44 billion euros ($50 billion) on new plants, electric cars, autonomous driving and mobility services.

The war chest is to be spent in the four years between 2019 and 2023 and represents about a third of the company's total outlay allocated to the four-year period.

“One aim of the Volkswagen Group's strategy is to speed up the pace of innovation. We are focusing our investments on the future fields of mobility and systematically implementing our strategy,” Herbert Diess, the CEO of Volkswagen, said in a press release, issued after a Supervisory Board meeting Friday.

VW CEO: We will be most profitable electric car firm
12 Mins Ago | 02:22

Diess told CNBC's Annette Weisbach that he expects the German carmaker to be the most profitable maker of electric cars thanks to its economies of scale. The auto group said it wanted to improve productivity by focusing its electrification strategy within Germany, while pushing some traditional engines to multi-brand factories in eastern Europe.

German plants in Emden and Hanover will be converted to build electric vehicles, while the Volkswagen Passat family will now be built in the Czech Republic. A new location in Eastern Europe will be built for some Skoda and SEAT cars.

VW Group added that it wanted its automotive division to lower its capital expenditure ratio to 6 percent of revenues from 2020 onward.

VW CEO: Politicians are beating auto firms up
11 Mins Ago | 02:06

Diess said VW's previous “bad behavior” meant that his firm had been “beaten up” by politicians in Germany and abroad but he hoped that relations were improving.