+++ A shipment of 500 SUVs left China’s Guangzhou Port for Mexico, marking the foray into North America by Sino-US joint venture SAIC -General Motors – Wuling. The model, called BAOJUN 530, is the first vehicle the carmaker has specifically developed for global markets. Mexico will be the 21st overseas market for the model when the shipment reaches Lazaro Cardenas, the largest seaport in the country, in March. “Considering the presale orders, Mexico can become the largest overseas market for the model”, said SAIC-GM-Wuling in a statement. The joint venture is one of the most bestselling carmakers in China, with over 1.6 million vehicles sold in 2020. +++
+++ Electric car startup FARADAY FUTURE said it is planning to go public on Nasdaq after its merger with Property Solutions Acquisition Corp which is scheduled to be finished in the second quarter this year. The electric car startup’s strategic investors include Volvo owner Geely and the investment arm of a key Chinese city, which is reportedly Zhuhai in Guangdong province. The merger, valued at $3.4 billion, is expected to fetch Faraday Future $1 billion in gross proceeds, which will provide money for the mass production and delivery of its first model, the FF 91, said the electric carmaker in a statement. The model, which accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.4 seconds, is expected to be launched 12 months after the merger is closed, said Faraday Future. That means, the model will hit the market in the first half of 2022. The company is also planning to launch the FF 81 series in 2023 and the FF 71 series in 2024. Faraday Future said it expects to sell more than 400.000 vehicles cumulatively over the next 5 years, and its first flagship model, the FF 91, has received over 14.000 orders. Faraday Future has a manufacturing facility in Hanford, California, and it is working with a contract manufacturer in South Korea. It is exploring the possibility of building manufacturing capacity in China through the joint venture between Geely and Foxconn. The startup has invested over $2 billion since its establishment. In addition to the FF 91, the definition of the FF 81 has been completed, and the research and development work is in progress, said the carmaker. Faraday Future was founded in 2014 in California, the United States, by controversial Chinese entrepreneur, Jia Yueting. Founder of Leshi Internet, Jia filed for bankruptcy in October 2019. +++
+++ FORD is to produce its electric Mustang Mach-E in China, to take on rivals including Tesla’s popular Model Y in the world’s largest vehicle market. The model, which will be available in the second half this year, will have a wheelbase of 2.984 mm and a range of over 600 kilometers. Ford called the model an “electric pony” that inherits the Mustang family’s legendary sportscar performance and delivers driving pleasure. Zhu Jiang, head of Ford China’s electric vehicle program, said the model will be a challenger in China’s premium electric vehicle segment represented by Tesla’s Model Y and Nio’s EC6. “Years ago, they were challengers to the established auto industry. Now we are challengers in the field of electric vehicles”, said Zhu, who worked as Nio’s vice-president before joining Ford in 2020. The model will feature Ford’s latest infotainment system and Level 2 driver-assist technologies. In addition, the vehicle is capable of firmware updates over the air. Ford is the first automobile manufacturer in China to offer cellular vehicle-to-everything technology and will deploy the technology in Mach-E to help improve traffic safety and efficiency. The carmaker said the localized production of Mach-E is a key step in the company’s electrification strategy. Ford is expected to invest $11.5 billion in the sector through 2022. The Detroit Free Press reported that Ford Chairman, Bill Ford, was given a prototype of the Mach-E to drive in early October and he didn’t want to give it back. The chairman is known for its love of the classic Mustang. “We had had to pry it out of his hands”, Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product development officer, told the Detroit Free Press. China is the world’s largest new energy vehicle market. Sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrids reached 1.37 million in 2020, up 10.9 percent year-on-year. +++
+++ GENERAL MOTORS announced that it aims to make most of its cars and trucks emissions-free by 2035, as part of a wider campaign by the American auto giant to go carbon neutral. The move is the latest by a major auto producer to shift away from gas-guzzling vehicles in favor of non-polluting alternatives over concerns that their industry is contributing to climate change. “General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world”, CEO Mary Barra said in a statement announcing the move. “We encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole”. The goal to cut emissions by 2035 only applies to light duty vehicles, but GM said it also wants to become carbon neutral by 2040, which Barra said means removing emissions from all products and operations. “Where removing emissions is not possible (for example if the technology does not yet exist in those timeframes) we will compensate for those emissions through carbon credits or carbon capture. Our preference will always be for removal of emissions”, Barra wrote. GM’s move would apply to the pickup trucks and SUVs that are popular in the United States, but the company made no mention of its heavy-duty lineup of trucks. Similar plans are afoot elsewhere in the industry. Volkswagen has announced it wants to offer 70 electric vehicle (EV) models by 2030 and sell 26 million units in 10 years. Tesla has already become the darling of investors who are convinced that the American electric vehicle manufacturer represents the future of the automobile, and its shares are worth much more on the stock market than traditional automakers. GM has already indicated plans to expand its electric vehicle lineup, including by pledging to offer 30 models by 2025 in all 4 of its main brands (Cadillac, GMC, Chevrolet, Buick). It also withdrew from a lawsuit filed by former president Donald Trump’s administration challenging California’s right to set its own emissions standards. But it was unclear if the latest announcement indicated it would produce electric vehicles exclusively. “We are taking action toward making that the case”, a spokesperson told. “It will require collaboration with our industry, governments and customers and we will bring everyone along, especially our employees, in that journey”. Any such move could face a long road to success: Electric car sales in 2019 accounted for only 2.6 % of the global market, according to the International Energy Agency. GM collaborated on its plans with the Environmental Defense Fund, whose president Fred Krupp called the move an “extraordinary step forward”. “GM is making it crystal clear that taking action to eliminate pollution from all new light-duty vehicles by 2035 is an essential element of any automaker’s business plan”, he said. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said GM’s decision indicates it intends to go “all in” on electric vehicles, fueled by the environmental goals of President Joe Biden’s administration and competition from other automakers. “With the Biden Green Agenda on the horizon, we believe other automakers could follow GM’s lead domestically with Tesla continuing to run away with market share in this EV arms race,” he said. However iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said it seems unlikely GM can eliminate traditional vehicles from its lineup entirely. “There will likely always be use cases where gasoline or diesel makes the most sense. EVs can and will replace a certain amount of the current gasoline market over the next decade, but it’s hard to imagine electric vehicle technology replacing all of them”, he said. +++
+++ A lack of labor flexibility, continued industrial action and annual wage negotiations remain major challenges to doing business in Korea and attracting foreign investment, the chief of GENERAL MOTORS KOREA said. GM Korea president and chief executive Kaher Kazem said there are things to be improved to make multinational companies invest further in South Korea. He mentioned the Korea-U.S. FTA, Korea’s stable economy, its manufacturing capability and highly competitive supply base as strengths for wooing foreign direct investment. “Despite these strengths, there are challenges such as continued disruptive industrial relations, short-term cycle labor negotiations and uncertain labor polices, which drives uncertainty and escalation in cost and hinders investment”, he said in an online seminar hosted by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. Citing a World Economic Forum report published in 2019, Kazem said Korea ranked 13th in terms of overall global competitiveness but ranked 51st in terms of labor market competitiveness and 97th in labor flexibility. He said stable labor relations, flexibility and supply certainty are key to foreign companies’ investment decisions. GM Korea needs to respond fast to market demands and keep costs competitive as it exports more than 85 % of the vehicles manufactured at its local plants, Kazem said. “If we look to our peers, Korea lags in important labor practices and regulatory certainty. The bargaining cycle is one year in Korea when compared with the United States at 4 years. The pattern of experiencing consistent industrial action in Korea hinders investment”, he said. Partial strikes cost GM Korea about 25,000 vehicles in lost production in the second half of last year. The company already suffered output losses of 60.000 vehicles in the first half due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. GM has 3 Korean plants (2 in Bupyeong District, Incheon, and 1 in Changwon, South Gyeongsang) whose combined output capacity reaches 630.000 units a year. The Detroit carmaker owns a 76 % stake in GM Korea and the state-run Korea Development Bank and SAIC Motor hold a 17 percent stake and 6 percent stake, respectively, in the Korean unit. For the whole of 2020, GM Korea sold 368.453 vehicles; down 12 % from a year earlier. +++
+++ GREAL WALL MOTORS ‘ total revenue hit a record high of 103.28 billion yuan ($15.95 billion) in 2020; up 7.35 % year-on-year, said the country’s largest SUV and pickup maker. Its net profit surged to 5.39 billion yuan in the same year; soaring 19 % from 2019, despite the Covid-19 that hampered production and sales of most companies in the auto industry. Great Wall Motors delivered 1.11 million vehicles last year; up 4.8 % year-on-year. It was one of the few Chinese carmakers that managed to hit their sales goals in the tough year. China’s overall vehicle market dipped 1.9 % year-on-year in 2020, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. It was the third year in a row that vehicle sales had fallen in the country. The carmaker said its achievements were attributed to its user-oriented approach, its focus on technology, and its transition from a Chinese carmaker to a global mobility provider. It stepped up efforts in overseas markets in 2020. Great Wall Motors acquired plants in Thailand and India, and inked deals to rev up its investment in its existing facility in Russia. The plant, with an investment of $500 million, started production in June 2019 in Tula, a city about 240 kilometers south of Moscow. It is the company’s first wholly-owned overseas plant. Wei Jianjun, founder and chairman of the carmaker, said going global is the only way for Chinese companies to grow stronger. Great Wall Motors started to sell vehicles overseas in 1998, and now it has an international sales network of over 500 dealerships in over 60 countries and regions. Over the years, its accumulated overseas sales have totaled 700.000. Established in 1990, the company has produced over 10 million vehicles. Great Wall Motors (GWM) sold 17.381 units of vehicles in Russia in 2020; up 41 % year-on-year, the company said. The company attributed the robust growth to its localization strategy, featuring complete production and supply chains and products that meet local market needs. In 2019, GWM’s plant in Russia’s Tula region started operation, which marked the first overseas complete vehicle manufacturing factory of Chinese automobile enterprises. Its first “global car” model, the Haval F7, was rolled off the production line in this factory. GWM has nearly 100 dealers in Russia, covering markets in Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Tyumen. As China’s largest SUV and pick-up manufacturer, GWM has 12 whole-vehicle manufacturing bases worldwide and sells vehicles to more than 60 countries, including Russia, Australia, South Africa and Chile. Headquartered in Baoding city, North China’s Hebei province, GWM owns SUV and car brands including Haval, Great Wall, WEY and ORA. +++
+++ HONDA said it will focus in South Korea on reviving lackluster sales this year by launching new gasoline hybrid models amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. Honda Korea has launched the new all-wheel CR-V hybrid and the upgraded Accord hybrid to regain a share in the Korean market, where its sales plunged 65 % to 3.056 vehicles last year from 8.760 a year earlier. “We are targeting to sell 3.000 hybrid models this year and raise the percentage of hybrid models in total sales to 80 % in 2024 (from last year’s 30 %)”, Honda Korea president and Chief Executive Lee Ji-hong said in an online press conference. Honda aims to raise the proportion to 65 % this year based on hybrid vehicles, he said. Asked if Honda has a plan to launch an electric model in Korea, the executive said the company does not have a plan to introduce an electric model for now. Honda currently sells the gasoline-powered CR-V, the gasoline-powered Accord and its hybrid version, the Odyssey minivan and the 7-seat Pilot SUV. In recent years, Japanese carmakers have struggled with declining sales due to a trade dispute between Seoul and Tokyo. Their sales show no signs of rebound amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Japanese brands (Toyota with its luxury brand Lexus, Honda and Nissan with its premium brand Infiniti) sold a total of 20.564 units in South Korea last year; down 44 % from 36.661 a year ago. Nissan and its luxury brand Infiniti withdrew their operations from Korea in December as the local business environment continued to worsen amid the pandemic. In 2019, Japan tightened regulations on exports to South Korea of three high-tech materials critical for the production of semiconductors and displays. It also removed South Korea from its list of countries given preferential treatment in trade procedures. Seoul views Tokyo’s moves as retaliation against 2018 Supreme Court rulings here ordering Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. +++
+++ The automotive industry is competing to introduce the most environment-friendly vehicles as global society strives to reach zero emissions. Battery-powered or HYDROGEN fuel cell cars have emerged as alternatives to gas or diesel-powered automobiles. While battery electric vehicles appear to have a slight lead on the roads for now, the Hyundai Motor Group is committed to fostering a “hydrogen society” in the belief that hydrogen fuel cells will be equally competitive in achieving a green future and possibly more efficient in fuel use and overall emissions. “Producing electricity with hydrogen is an environmentally-friendly solution for the future and it will grow into a core industry”, Chung Euisun, chairman of the Hyundai Motor Group, recently said. Hyundai, which came up with the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), retained its top rank in the field in 2020. According to SNE Research, the company made 73.8 % of the total 6.600 FCEVs sold around the world from January to September, beating Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda. Hyundai is aggressively expanding its hydrogen business to develop not only passenger cars, but also commercial vehicles and fuel cell systems that are globally competitive. Announcing its own long-term plan dubbed “Fuel Cell Vision 2030” in December 2018, the automaker said it aims to produce 700.000 fuel-cell systems annually by 2030, which includes 500.000 units of FCEVs. By that time, the automaker anticipated the global demand for FCEVs would be around 2 million units a year. The company has said it will, with its suppliers, invest about 7.6 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in research and development, and facility expansion as well. Hyundai’s relationship with fuel cells began in 1998, when it first established a fuel cell development unit. 2 years later, the unit built its first product, a FCEV version of its Santa Fe. The company gradually shaped its business around fuel cell technology in the coming years and it introduced an in-house fuel cell system in 2005. Then the automaker surprised the world by debuting the world’s very first mass-produced FCEV, the Tucson ix35, in 2013, winning several local and international awards, including the Future Auto Awards at the Brussels Motor Show. In 2018 followed the Nexo SUV, the company’s second FCEV passenger car. First debuted at that year’s CES, the model was an improvement in all possible ways from the predecessor and was on par with conventional vehicles. Tested by South Korean authorities, the Nexo recorded the longest battery range in the world for a FCEV, of 609 km on a single charge. It proved to be a successful zero-emission car with autonomous driving capabilities. Following its road map to cement its top position as a hydrogen-powered vehicle brand, Hyundai became the world’s first carmaker to mass-produce hydrogen electric trucks, the Xcient Fuel Cell, last year. The first batch of Xcient Fuel Cell was exported to Switzerland, and the company said it plans to expand sales of the heavy-duty truck to other European countries as well as the North American market. In 2020, Hyundai exported Elec City FCEVs, a hydrogen-powered bus model that can run about 430 km on a single charge, to Saudi Arabia. In the next 3 to 4 years, Hyundai plans to launch new FCEVs of both passenger cars and heavy-duty trucks, the company said. In July last year, the automaker unveiled the concept for a new hydrogen-powered truck, the HDC-6 Neptune. As Hyundai Motor Group aims to transform into a mobility solution group, the company is also advancing with its fuel cell system, which would be applied to other forms of mobility, such as vessels, drones and trains. In September, the company exported its fuel cell system based on the one used in the Nexo to a Swiss hydrogen solution firm GRZ Technologies for non-automotive uses. According to Hyundai, the Swiss company intends to use the system to create a stationary power supply system for generating electricity in peak times. The automotive company also launched an official brand for its hydrogen fuel cell system, HTWO. The brand name HTWO stands for H2, the hydrogen molecule. Not wanting to miss out on opportunities overseas, Hyundai is also building ties with the Chinese government and firms, as Beijing has announced a fuel cell road map of its own to supply 1 million hydrogen electric cars by 2030. In November, Hyundai signed deals with a number of Chinese companies to provide a total of 4,000 fuel cell trucks by 2025. In the latest move, Hyundai signed an agreement with a Chinese provincial government to establish its first offshore fuel cell system plant in Guangzhou on January 15. The plant, which will be constructed in the second half of 2022, is planned to initially produce 6.500 fuel cell systems a year and the capacity will be increased gradually with the market demand. Hyundai’s hydrogen strategy is expected to gain momentum, as it goes hand in hand with the incumbent Moon Jae-in Administration’s Green New Deal policy, aimed at transitioning the country to a net-zero emissions economy by fostering “green” technologies in fields including the mobility sector. +++
+++ The HYUNDAI MOTOR GROUP slumped in their 3 major markets last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, company data showed. Hyundai and Kia, South Korea’s 2 biggest carmakers, saw their sales slump in the United States, Europe and China in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic affected vehicle production and sales. Among the 3 markets, the automakers performed worst in China, with their combined sales plunging 27 % to 664.744 units last year from 908.828 the previous year, their sales data showed. They have suffered declining sales in the world’s biggest automobile market since 2017, when Seoul and Beijing were at odds over the deployment of a US anti-missile system called THAAD in South Korea in 2017. In Europe, their sales declined 21 % to 841.520 autos last year from 1.06 million units a year ago, while their US sales fell 7.6 % to 1.33 million units from 1.22 million during the same period, the data said. Hyundai and Kia fared better than their rivals in the world’s most important US market last year, helped by robust sales of models such as Hyundai’s Palisade SUV and Kia’s Telluride SUV. An improved product mix and lower incentives also helped them report relatively better results in the US compared to other markets. Hyundai’s sales figures included the number of models sold under its independent Genesis brand. Hyundai currently sells the G70, G80 and G90 sedan and the GV80 SUV with the Genesis plaque in global markets. For the whole of 2020, Hyundai’s global sales fell 15 percent to 3.74 million units from 4.43 million a year ago. Kia’s declined 5.9 percent to 2.61 million from 2.77 million during the cited period. Hyundai and Kia aim to sell a total 7.08 million units this year, 12 % higher than their sales of 6.35 million last year. To achieve the target, they plan to focus on promoting recreational vehicles and launching more localized models to woo customers in the major markets. +++
+++ KIA ’s net profit dropped 17.7 % in 2020, hit by slow demand for cars amid the Covid-19 pandemic, provisioning costs related to the problematic Theta 2 engine and a walkout by its labor union in the latter half of the year. Its annual revenue hit an all-time high thanks to strong sales of sports-utility vehicles (SUVs), which tend to be more expensive than sedans. Korea’s second-biggest carmaker by sales reported 1.5 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in net profit for 2020; down 1.8 trillion won compared to 2019. Its revenue came to 59.1 trillion won, a record high; up 1.8 % from 58.1 trillion won in 2019. Kia had to provision 1.26 trillion won in the third quarter last year for costs related to the recall of its Theta 2 gasoline direct injection engines. It also produced approximately 47.000 fewer cars than expected due to disruption caused by unionized workers staging a series of partial walkouts over wage negotiations. Kia sold 2.6 million cars last year; 7.6 % fewer than the 2.8 million it sold in 2019. Its sales experienced a 6.2 % on-year jump in Korea and 210.7 % jump in India after first launching in the market in 2019. Sales in North America slipped by 8.8 % in 2020 and by 17 % in Europe. Kia’s performance in the 4th quarter was one of its strongest yet. Its net profit came to 976.8 billion won for the 4th quarter, a whopping 182 % up from the previous year’s 346.4 billion won. Revenue was 16.9 trillion won during the October – December period; up 5 % from the same period last year. Its operating profit came to 1.3 trillion won, a record-breaking figure for the carmaker’s quarterly performance. It was an on-year jump by 117 % and exceeded the market consensus by 29 %. The market consensus for fourth-quarter revenue was 16.8 trillion won. “Production disruption due to a partial walkout and slow demand due to Covid-19 made a challenging condition for business, but with sales expansion of more profitable SUV models, we could improve our earnings”, the company said in a statement. Sales of SUVs in the 4th quarter accounted for 58.7 %; up from 52.5 % the year before. This year, Kia hopes to sell 2.92 million units globally; up 12.1 % from what was sold last year. The highly anticipated EV model, known only by its codename CV, will have its world premiere in March and start sales in Korea and Europe in July. It will hit the United States in December. +++
+++ MERCEDES-BENZ Korea will launch 9 new models this year, including 2 electric vehicles, aiming to re-create the sales success of last year, the automaker said. This year, the German brand will augment its flagship luxury sedan lineup by launching new C-Class and S-Class models. Also coming to local consumers this year are the revamped CLS, the 4-door coupe, and a new engine variant for the G-Class, the G 400d. The automaker is also planning to roll 2 two pure electric vehicles: the new EQA in the first half of this year and the EQS in the second half, as well as charging products specialized for the EQ lineup. “We will continue to drive innovation as the global automotive industry is going through an era of transformation and prepares itself for a future of sustainable mobility to open the era of sustainable future mobility”, said Thomas Klein, the new president and chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, during an online press conference. Klein began his term January 1. The German automaker retained its top position in the imported vehicle market here in terms of sales last year. It was its fifth year at the top. In 2020, it sold 76.879 units here. Sales of SUVs grew 13.4 % on-year, while its performance-oriented Mercedes-AMG brand reported a 60.3 % jump. Electric car sales rose by 63.1 % compared with the year before, the company said. Mercedes-Maybach, the automaker’s high-end luxury brand, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The company said it will introduce the brand’s first SUV, the Mercedes-Maybach GLS, reinforcing the company’s SUV lineup. It will also launch the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, a transformed version of its top-class sedan, the company said. The company’s “Mercedes me” app is coming to South Korea for the first time in the world. The app will provide loyalty benefits to customers booking services through partnerships with more than 50 partners, such as car washes, chauffeur companies and golf courses, the company explained. An online sales platform that enables customers to purchase cars online will also be established this year, the company said. +++
+++ RENAULT SAMSUNG has started taking applications for voluntary redundancy amid dire prospects for its continuing operations in Korea. A total of 4.200 workers who have worked for the carmaker for more than 2 years are eligible to apply. “We expect to have posted the first operating loss in 8 years after production and sales fell to the lowest levels in 16 years last year”, Renault Samsung said. “We are going into emergency mode to cut costs”. Earlier this month Renault Samsung decided to let go 40 % of its 50 executives while the remaining ones agreed to a 20 % pay cut. The company’s union in a statement said, “Top management staff are responsible for this crisis and they need to leave. Do not pass the blame on to frontline union workers”. Renault Samsung has almost nothing to do at the moment after the parent company stopped producing the Nissan X-Trail last year over dwindling demand and constant battles with the union. Lee Hang-gu at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute said, “The Renault group is restructuring its operations centering on Europe and China. If the Korean plant can’t boost profitability, it could end up having to close”. +++
+++ Car sales in SOUTH KOREA last year mirrored the country’s growing income disparity. Sales of used cars, which are usually bought by low-income earners, rose to a record, but so did sales of luxury vehicles. Used-car registrations in 2020 increased 7 % to 3.95 million. The most popular was Hyundai’s Porter pickup truck, which is commonly used by small businesses, followed by Kia’s Picanto and Bongo pickup. But sales of their new versions have been declining steadily, showing how heavily small businesses were hit by the coronavirus lockdown. One industry insider said, “People who buy one-ton mini trucks like the Porter or Bongo are usually delivery workers or small businesses like florists. It’s likely that distressed business owners have been selling their trucks and office workers who lost their jobs are buying them to start their own business”. The Picanto is a popular starter car for young people and now they have little money they are buying it second-hand. But luxury cars accounted for a record 15.7 % of the imported car market last year. Sales of ultra-expensive luxury cars increased 1.5 times to 43.158 compared to 2019. Sales of Porsches, which cost over W100 million, almost doubled to a record 7.779 and surpassed Fords, Toyotas and Land Rovers to rank within the top 10 imported brands for the first time. One import-car dealer said, “Mercedes, BMWs and other luxury sedans have become so common now that a growing number of discerning customers opt for Porsches”. Sales of supercars costing between W300 million and W500 million each also boomed. Bentley’s sales surged 129.5 % to 296, Lamborghini’s 75.1 % to 303 and Rolls-Royce’s 6.1 % to 171. +++
+++ Troubled SUV maker SSANGYONG told its labor union it cannot pay the wages of 4.800 workers this month. Ssangyong’s liquidity shortage is so bad that some parts suppliers are demanding to be paid in cash instead of promissory notes. The automaker decided to meet with the union over how much of the wages to withhold. “Anywhere from a month’s to several months’ of wages could be delayed”, a staffer said. Ssangyong owner Mahindra is in the final stages of talks with U.S. automobile distributor HAAH Holdings over a sale. Since applying for court receivership in December, Ssangyong has been restructuring its operations. The debt-ridden automaker needs to wrap up sales talks by February 28 or face court receivership. SsangYong said its 4th quarter net losses widened from a year earlier due to weak sales amid the coronavirus pandemic. For the 3 months ended December, net losses deepened to 173.6 billion won ($155 million) from 155.9 billion won in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement. “Weaker sales and tougher competition with rivals weighed on the quarterly results as the Covid-19 pandemic prolongs”, it said. Operating losses also widened to 114.5 billion won in the 4th quarter from 99.8 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 3.4 % to 888.2 billion won from 919.2 billion won during the same period. For all of 2020, net losses widened to 478.5 billion won from 341.4 billion won the previous year. Operating losses deepened to 423.5 billion won from 281.9 billion won, while sales declined 19 % to 2.95 trillion won from 3.62 trillion won. SsangYong logged net losses in the past 16 consecutive quarters through the 4th quarter. Its sales fell 19 % to 107.324 vehicles last year from 132.799 units a year earlier. If Mahindra fails to sign a deal with a potential investor in SsangYong, SsangYong said it is considering submitting its plan for rehabilitation procedures next month under a “pre-packaged” bankruptcy plan. The pre-packaged plan is a combination of a workout and court protection, under which a restructuring plan is agreed upon in advance of a company declaring its insolvency. It is intended to shorten and streamline the bankruptcy process. +++
+++ TESLA plans to expand the production capacity of its Shanghai factory to 450.000 cars per year. It is noteworthy that the production capacity of Shanghai factory was 150,000 a year when it officially delivered the first batch of made-in-China Model 3 sedans earlier in 2020. The Shanghai Gigafactory is able to produce more than 250.000 cars a year so far, according the carmaker’s fourth quarter financial report in 2020. As Model Y started production in the end of 2020, the Shanghai-based factory has been in full production. “We ramped up Model 3 in China to over 5,000 cars per week”, said Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, during the conference call about the company’s fourth quarter financial report. Based on these data, the factory will have a production capacity around 200.000 per year for the Model Y. Data from the China Passenger Vehicle Association show that 137.459 China-made Model 3 sedans were sold last year, topping the list of the most popular electric cars in the world’s largest new energy vehicle market. That helped Tesla’s global deliveries in 2020 to reach 500.000 units; up 36 % on a yearly basis, despite COVID-19 that hampered production and sales of many established carmakers, including Volkswagen and GM. Apart from the Shanghai plant, Tesla is also working to build capacity in Berlin and Texas, which are expected to start production this year. “We are planning to grow our manufacturing capacity as soon as possible”, said Tesla in a statement. “Over a multiyear horizon, we expect to achieve 50 % average annual growth in vehicle deliveries. In some years we may grow faster, which we expect to be the case this year”. Tesla was the first and only international electric carmaker to build a wholly owned plant in China. The first China-made model, the Model 3, started deliveries last January. Now around 5.000 Model 3s are rolling off the assembly line in Shanghai each week. Tesla started to deliver its Model Y earlier this month. The carmaker began exporting the Model 3 from China to Europe in October, and will start the shipments of such models to other Asian countries this year, it said. Ye Shengji, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said China’s new energy vehicle market will continue the current momentum, estimating their sales to reach 1.8 million units this year. Last year, NEV deliveries in China totaled 1.37 million; up 10.9 % year-on-year, despite a dip in the country’s overall vehicle sales, according to the CAAM. China has been the world’s largest market for NEVs after overtaking the US in 2015. The growing global popularity of NEVs has lifted Tesla’s deliveries and its valuation in the capital market, experts said. Tesla’s share price surged nearly 10 times during the year. The company’s revenue totaled $31.5 billion in 2020, while net profit reached $721 million, marking the first ever financial year in which Tesla made a profit, according to its financial statement. “The past year was transformative for Tesla. Despite unforeseen global challenges, we outpaced many trends seen elsewhere in the industry”, said the carmaker. +++
+++ Riding a sales surge amid a global pandemic, TESLA reported that it posted its first annual net profit in 2020. In a year that saw its stock soar to make it the world’s most valuable automaker, Tesla earned $721 million, capped by a $270 million profit in the 4th quarter. It was the company’s 6th straight quarterly net profit after years of mostly losses. A year earlier, Tesla lost $862 million. Data provider FactSet says that was at the end of a string of annual red ink that began in 2006. Once again the company needed regulatory credits purchased by other automakers in order to make a profit. Without $1.3 billion in credits for the year, Tesla would have lost money. Other automakers buy the credits when they can’t meet emissions and fuel economy standards. Tesla said that excluding special items, it made $2.24 per share for the year, falling short of Wall Street expectations of $2.45. Full-year revenue was $27.24 billion, also less than estimates of $31.1 billion. From October through December, the company made an adjusted 80 cents per share, below Wall Street estimates of $1.02. 4th quarter revenue was $9.31 billion, below estimates of $10.47 billion. Tesla’s vehicle sales rose 36 % last year, but the company fell just short of its annual goal to deliver 500.000 vehicles. The company delivered 499.500 vehicles for the year. The sales jump came even though Tesla was forced to close its only U.S. assembly plant for almost 2 months as the novel coronavirus surged in the spring. The factory in Fremont, California, reopened in May with Musk defying orders from local health authorities. Musk had promised 500.000 deliveries before the pandemic hit, but aided by sales from a new factory in China, the company almost hit the number. +++
+++ TOYOTA and its group companies are stepping up efforts to develop auto parts for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and expand their market amid a global shift to eco-friendly cars that do not emit carbon dioxide. The largest automaker in Japan last month released its second-generation hydrogen-powered Mirai sedan, meaning “future” in Japanese, with a longer range than the previous model, which was the world’s first mass-produced fuel-cell vehicle. The 5-seater Mirai has 3 tanks to hold the hydrogen fuel that is used to generate power for its electric motor, giving it a range of up to 850 kilometers, roughly 30 % more than the first-generation, 4-seater sedan that can travel 650 km on its 2 tanks. Toyota launched the original Mirai in 2014. FCVs are powered by electricity generated through a chemical reaction between hydrogen stored in the tanks and oxygen in the air. Last week, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a speech in the Diet that he wants electrified vehicles (electric cars, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles) to make up 100 % of Japan’s new car sales by 2035. The key factor for the new Mirai’s longer range is the third tank, which was developed by Toyoda Gosei; a Toyota group company manufacturing rubber and resin parts for vehicles. Toyoda Gosei utilized its cutting-edge technology to develop the new tank by covering the inside with a unique resin material that can resist high pressures of about 70 megapascals to efficiently contain hydrogen fuel. The chemical company built a new plant to mass-produce the tank in Inabe, Mie Prefecture, investing ¥12 billion. “We could not manufacture the new Mirai model without the tanks produced at the plant”, Yoshikazu Tanaka, the Toyota chief engineer in charge of developing the FCV, said at a ceremony in the factory in early December. “In the future, we would like to have our products used for other cars including commercial vehicles”, Toyoda Gosei president Toru Koyama told. Aichi Steel, a Toyota affiliate that makes steel products for auto parts, said it has developed a special stainless steel that can withstand high-pressure hydrogen as a material for Mirai components, such as hydrogen receptacles, without using costly rare metals. Toyota Industries, which currently makes auto parts and assembles Toyota’s RAV4, has launched a new air compressor to effectively deliver air including oxygen to the generator on the Mirai. Denso, a Toyota group company and one of the world’s largest auto parts suppliers, manufactures high-quality silicon carbide power semiconductors for the Mirai in a bid to reduce electricity consumption and improve vehicle fuel efficiency, the company said. +++
+++ TOYOTA ranked top in global auto sales in 2020 for the first time in 5 years on a robust pickup in sales in China and the United States, overtaking Volkswagen. Toyota said it sold 9.53 million vehicles globally last year, including those sold by its group’s minivehicle maker Daihatsu and truck manufacturer Hino; down 11.3 % from a year earlier. The Japanese auto giant, however, suffered less of an impact from the coronavirus pandemic than other carmakers. Toyota’s global annual sales logged their first decline in 5 years, after they fell sharply in the April-June quarter due to the worldwide economic fallout from the pandemic. However, sales recovered in its main markets such as China and the United States from the fall, posting 3 consecutive months of increase from October, Toyota said. A Toyota official said the company’s aggressive sales strategy, which saw it roll out a series of new models, contributed to relatively solid sales in 2020 compared with other automakers. “Our sales dropped from a year earlier amid the pandemic, but the decline was limited to around 10 percent level”, the official said. In 2020, the Toyota group sold 2.16 million vehicles including minicars in Japan and 7.37 million in overseas markets, while producing a total of 9.21 million units worldwide; down 14.1 % from the previous year. Toyota alone sold 8.69 million cars; down 10.5 %, while production decreased 12.6 % to 7.91 million vehicles. Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s global sales last year fell 15.2 % to 9.31 million vehicles. The total sales of the 3-way alliance of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi stood at 7.8 million vehicles, down 23.2 %, due to its slower sales recovery in its main auto markets including the United States and Europe. Nissan’s sales plunged 22.2 % to 4.03 million vehicles after it abandoned the expansionary production strategy of former chairman Carlos Ghosn. Renault’s sales fell 21.3 % to 2.95 million units, while Mitsubishi logged a 33.1 % decline to 819,904 vehicles. The combined auto sales of Japan’s 8 major automakers sank 15.9 % to 23.49 million vehicles, with all manufacturers posting declines amid the pandemic. +++