DETROIT, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today reported solid first-quarter earnings. The company’s full-size truck launch is ahead of plan and drove strong pricing for the quarter in North America. Average transaction prices for GM’s all-new full-size crew cab pickup trucks are up $5,800 over the outgoing models. First-quarter 2019… Continue reading GM Reports Income of $2.1 Billion and EBIT-Adj. of $2.3 Billion
Tag: Financial Results
Samsung Electronics first-quarter profit falls 60% on-year as weak chip prices bite
FILE PHOTO: Attendees at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s Unpacked event test out the company’s new devices in San Francisco, California, U.S., February 20, 2019 REUTERS/Stephen Nellis SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd posted a 60 percent drop in first-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, hit by falls in chip prices and slowing demand for display… Continue reading Samsung Electronics first-quarter profit falls 60% on-year as weak chip prices bite
Elon Musk and SEC again ask for more time to reach deal over Twitter dispute
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., smiles while speaking to members of the media outside federal court in New York, U.S., on Thursday, April 4, 2019.Natan Dvir | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesTesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday sought a second delay and requested to provide the court another joint submission on or before April 30, indicating whether they have reached an agreement to settle a dispute over Musk's use of Twitter, both parties said in a court filing.
The SEC in February sought to have Musk found in contempt of a fraud settlement last year after the CEO tweeted details about Tesla production numbers that were not vetted by the electric vehicle company's attorneys.
Instead, U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan ordered Musk and the SEC to try to resolve the dispute on their own. The parties have already requested one extension.
The SEC sued Musk last year for making fraudulent statements after he tweeted on Aug. 7 that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The parties later settled and Musk agreed to step down as chairman and have the company's lawyers pre-approve written communications, including tweets with material information about the company. Musk's lawyers have argued that the February tweet did not contain new information that was material to investors.
BYD Plans New Changzhou Factory For 400,000 Plug-Ins Annually
The investment in Changzhou will amount to around $1.5 billion BYD is going to invest heavily in its new production capacity in China as sales of plug-in electric cars exceeded 250,000 in the past 12 months and are growing. According to Xinhua, the new idea is to set up an industrial base for cars and… Continue reading BYD Plans New Changzhou Factory For 400,000 Plug-Ins Annually
Elon Musk emailed employees about how great Tesla’s autonomy day was, but the plan has lots of holes
Tesla CEO Elon Musk views the new Tesla Model Y at its unveiling in Hawthorne, California on March 14, 2019.Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesTesla CEO Elon Musk did what he does best on Monday when he presented bold, visionary promises that only his most loyal followers would take at face value.
Specifically, Musk gave guidance that Tesla will have a million “robotaxis” on the road next year, meaning a million truly driverless cars that can operate commercially in a ride-hailing network, generating passive income for their owners.
Musk celebrated the day in an email to all employees on Monday afternoon.
Subj. Great day for Tesla!
The Autonomy Day was extremely well-received. Feedback has been incredible. [Smiling emoji here.]
Awesome result of extremely intense effort by the Autopilot Team!
[two clapping emoji]
Elon
Promising safe, driverless cars within a year is already exceedingly optimistic. But Musk went further to say that each Tesla — equipped with some future version of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving software — could generate $30,000 in gross income for owners each year if operated as a robotaxi.
VIDEO1:2601:26Elon Musk says Tesla will have 'robotaxis' on the road by 2020That's not realistic, considering Tesla's production numbers to date and the average salary of a ride-hailing driver in the US today.
The event served as a distraction from Tesla's recent operational, regulatory and financial troubles, which will be in full focus during the company's first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday.
Among some of its recent challenges, Tesla slowed production of its Model S and X vehicles in recent quarters and recently closed stores and laid off thousands of employees. Plus, Musk remains locked in a battle with the SEC over his use of social media to disseminate material business information. Tesla had around $180 million in debt coming due this month. And sales of its Model 3 slowed down in the first quarter.
A history of self-driving promisesIn 2018, ride-hailing trade publication Ridester found that human drivers working 40 hours a week for the likes of Uber or Lyft make annual salaries of about $31,000 before vehicle expenses, and about $20,000 after expenses but before taxes in the US.
Those people are driving cars already deemed street legal, and picking up fares in major cities and at airports where local laws have been, for the most part, hashed out authorizing them to drive there.
Meanwhile, the company has produced only about 600,000 cars to date. Not all of them are still on the road.
Tesla said in its fourth-quarter earnings release that it was aiming to deliver 360,000 to 400,000 vehicles in 2019, about 45 percent to 65 percent more than its deliveries last year.
VIDEO8:0508:05Tesla loses $2.90/share, revenue light, as wellTo reach a million robotaxis in 2020, Tesla would have to continue producing cars near the high-end of its previous guidance. Then, the majority of those cars would have to get the necessary software updates to reach Full Self-Driving status, which currently costs $5,000 when customers order the car or $7,000 as an upgrade if added after delivery, although these prices could change over time. Finally, owners would have to agree to let their cars participate in a Tesla robotaxi network.
Meanwhile, truly driverless vehicles do not yet exist. Tesla doesn't sell one. Neither does any other company.
Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanual Rosner, who took a test drive of the vehicles Tesla showed on Tuesday, was skeptical, writing, “Throughout the ride, the car performed relatively well but experienced a few rough maneuvers and had one disengagement where it failed to recognize cones blocking off some parked vehicles on the side of the road.”
He continued, “Given our own test ride still faced issues despite being on a pre-planned course and under relatively simple road conditions, we believe the company's targeted timeline for both full self-driving and its robotaxi service is at the very least aggressive. Ultimately, we still wonder whether Tesla can even solve the large challenges of fully autonomous driving with its vision-based approach alone.”
Musk has made grandiose promises about self-driving before.
In October 2016, Musk touted Tesla's second-generation autonomous driving hardware, saying that system could power full level 5 autonomy in his company's cars — that means the car could drive in all conditions with zero human attention. Musk said the company expected that a Tesla would be able to complete a hands-free trip across the US by late 2017. As of April 2019, Tesla has not demonstrated any of its vehicles completing such a trip, although self-driving pioneer Anthony Levandowski says a car from his new start-up accomplished the task last December.
Analysts were generally skeptical. Cowen analysts wrote, “The Tesla Network robotaxi plans seemed half baked, with the company appearing toeither not have answers to or not even considered pretty basic question on the pricing,insurance liability, or regulatory and legal requirements.”
Even some historical Tesla bulls were not swayed by the presentation.
Dan Ives, Managing Director of Wedbush Securities said, “The presentation was more visionary and lacked the details the Street wants to know which is key to credibility. It was more geared to the autonomy world as Musk is telling technologists 'don't forget about Tesla,' with Waymo and Uber getting a ton of credit.”
Tesla stock traded down about 4% on Monday, and ticked up by less than a point in mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock is down about 30% from its most recent peak in December, and down about 9% from a year ago.
VIDEO2:3902:39Tesla's Elon Musk promises 'robotaxis' by 2020
Ford electric vehicles and hybrids: Here are some of the many models arriving soon
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2013 Ford Focus Electric
With last week’s announcement of a strategic partnership with electric truckmaker hopeful Rivian, cemented by a pending $500 million equity investment, Ford Motor Company is covering the bases for how the market might evolve and assuring multiple paths toward a future where vehicles with charge ports are the norm.
“Across the world, we're fortifying our franchise strengths in trucks, commercial vehicles, and performance vehicles and bolstering our SUV franchise, executing the unique approach to electric vehicles that takes advantage of our strongest nameplates,” said Ford CEO Jim Hackett on Ford’s Q1 earnings call, the day after the Rivian announcement.
In Ford’s business update the company noted its strengthened electric vehicle plan, which includes a future vehicle developed with Rivian.
Ford said in March 2018 that globally it will be creating 16 fully electric vehicles and 40 electrified vehicles through 2022. Everything the company has said since then about electrification fit neatly into that frame—except for one other thing, autonomous vehicles, which we’ll get to.
THE ELECTRIC CARS
Here, rounded up, are at least some of the fully electric vehicles that Ford has in the works:
2020 Ford electric SUV teaser
Mustang-influenced electric crossover. Ford has been pushing ahead with its plan to build this much-anticipated alternative to the Tesla Model Y. To make sure that the vision doesn’t become too diluted (or convoluted) along the way, it’s been focusing those efforts through a focused electric-vehicle team (Team Edison) that will guide it though all the way to production, delivery, and support.
Although Ford has dodged recent questions about pricing and position for this vehicle, which has been referred to as Mach 1 and Mach E, executives have at several points stressed the importance of affordability and noted that it’s one of the main targets for the project. The electric SUV will land in a middle ground between small EVs like the Hyundai Kona Electric and Chevrolet Bolt EV, and larger premium ones like the Audi E-tron and Tesla Model X. Based on comments from several company officials, expect it to start around $45,000 (or even less) when it arrives, in the second half of 2020.
Fully electric Lincoln crossover. As Ford’s North American president, Kumar Galhotra, said earlier this year, it will emphasize “understated, quiet luxury.” It could arrive as soon as 2021, which would beat the Cadillac EV we’re expecting to be a top alternative.
Other future “C-EV” vehicles—maybe even a sedan. The Ford (and Lincoln) electric vehicles are expected to be just the first two to be conceived on what Ford has described is a scalable electric vehicle platform. This platform, which was conceived to be in what’s called the C-segment globally, is intended to spawn an entire suite of electric-car variants. Although Ford is exiting the traditional, mainstream sedan fold, for instance, company officials have hinted to Green Car Reports that we may see the sedan form factor again in a niche—as a Lincoln EV, perhaps.
Fully electric luxury SUV. The Michigan-based company Rivian plans to introduce its R1T and R1S in the U.S. in late 2020. With last week’s announcement, the two companies will “work together to develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford’s growing EV portfolio using Rivian’s skateboard platform.” Rivian has already teased a tow rating of up to 11,000 pounds and a range of up to 400 miles, aided by battery packs of up to 180 kwh.
2019 Ford F-150 RTR
Fully electric F-150. Ford has confirmed it’s a project, but that’s about it. Since the F-150 is at the core of Ford’s heritage and profitability, you can bet it’s moving along, Rivian venture or not. Just don’t expect it to arrive quite as soon. But with continued U.S. demand for the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, which are based on the F-150, we could see this paying off in broader scope.
THE HYBRIDS (SOME PLUG-IN)
Unlike GM, which discontinued the Chevrolet Volt and sees electric as a near-term future for the company, Ford aims to push full hybrids and plug-in hybrids out in more of its next-generation vehicles:
2020 Ford F-150 hybrid. Separate from the fully electric F-150 project, Ford is producing an F-150 hybrid, and it’s due soon—as a 2020 model. The F-150 hybrid is expected to use a 10-speed automatic transmission, as part of a hybrid system that should still allow a wider range of engine-off coasting and idling without sacrificing much if any towing or hauling ability. Ford has teased that the F-150 will have a power takeoff for tools and worksites—a feature that would be even more useful with a charge port, if that’s a hint.
2020 Lincoln Aviator plug-in hybrid
2020 Lincoln Aviator plug-in hybrid. The Aviator plug-in hybrid will come with a version of Ford’s soon-to-be-ubiquitous 10-speed modular-hybrid transmission. It will be the top-performing version in the Aviator lineup as well, with a projected 450 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. The Ford Explorer on which it’s based is (in the U.S.) only available as a hybrid, with the Explorer plug-in hybrid saved for Europe for now.
2020 Lincoln Corsair, 2019 New York International Auto Show
2020 Ford Escape plug-in hybrid and 2020 Lincoln Corsair plug-in hybrid. These models arrive later in 2019 and employ a revised version of the variable-ratio/planetary hybrid system Ford has used in a number of other hybrid products, including the C-Max Energi and going back to the previous Escape Hybrid.
2020 Ford Mustang hybrid. A hybridized version of Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission is also going to be the basis for the Hybrid Mustang. The hybrid pony car is likely to gallop to the performance potential of hybrid tech rather than eke out every possible mpg—possibly with a V-8 still a part of the presentation.
New Ford Bronco
2021 Ford Bronco hybrid. Ford still hasn’t confirmed final specs for its much-anticipated Bronco—or even revealed its production form—yet the company long ago confirmed that it would arrive in leaner shape, with a hybrid version.
Kia Motors America and B.R.A.K.E.S. Teen Defensive Driving School Expand Midwest Training Schedule
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Fleet of Kia Vehicles Utilized to Teach Teens and Their Parents Responsible Driving HabitsTeens who graduate from B.R.A.K.E.S. are 64 percent less likely to be in a crash in their first three years of driving Kia Soul, Forte and Rio models used for hands-on instructionKia Motors America and B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe) are expanding the number of free defensive driving classes offered in the Midwest. Working with B.R.A.K.E.S., Kia aims to reduce the high rate of teens involved in motor vehicle crashes. B.R.A.K.E.S. has provided training for more than 30,000 teens and their parents nationwide since the program was founded in 2008. Research shows that teens who complete the B.R.A.K.E.S. program are 64 percent less likely to be in a crash in their first three years of driving1. Midwest-based Kia Dealer Marketing Groups – with additional support from the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Transportation and other area busin..
BorgWarner Sales Declining, but Management Prepares for Growth
Vehicle technology company BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) certainly had an eventful first quarter: end-market declines, tariff impacts, supplier bankruptcies, and the announcement of restructuring plans that will impair earnings growth in the near term.BorgWarner’s North American revenue was flat year over year, compared with a 2.5% market decline.Thinking further ahead, management outlined a plan to reduce annual structural costs by some $40 million to $50 million over the next couple of years, but this will result in “restructuring expenses in the $80 million to $100 million range through the end of 2020,” according to Lissalde on the earnings call.
Elon Musk and S.E.C. Reach New Accord, Lifting Cloud Over Tesla
If it was not already clear, securities regulators are giving Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, a laundry list of things he cannot riff about on Twitter. A revised agreement between Mr. Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission, filed in federal court in Manhattan on Friday, spells out just when Mr. Musk must… Continue reading Elon Musk and S.E.C. Reach New Accord, Lifting Cloud Over Tesla
Renault to propose joint holding company with Nissan: source
TOKYO (Reuters) – Renault will propose a plan to create a joint holding company that would give the French carmaker and Japanese partner Nissan equal footing, a person with knowledge of the issue told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logos of car manufacturers Renault and Nissan are seen in front of a common dealership of the… Continue reading Renault to propose joint holding company with Nissan: source