+++ Lamborghini isn’t the only Italian supercar manufacturer preparing to unveil a new model. Arch nemesis FERRARI published a brief preview video on its social media channels to announce that an enigmatic new car is scheduled to make its global debut on March 16th. The 16-second flick asks more questions than it answers. It shows a steering wheel with what looks like leather upholstery on the sides of the rim and carbon fiber trim on the top and bottom parts. The upper part of the rim features a little screen that might display the engine’s revolutions, though keep in mind this is pure speculation. We also see an ignition button and big shift paddles made out of carbon fiber. At first glance, this looks a lot like the steering wheel that Ferrari puts in the 296 GTB and the 296 GTS. Both cars are already out, however, so there’s no sense in previewing either on social media. Could we be looking at an evolution of the firm’s entry-level model? It’s not unfathomable, but that’s not the only plausible answer. The new Purosangue is equipped with a similar-looking steering wheel. How about the Roma Spider? Our spies spotted it testing at night in September 2022 and the model hasn’t been unveiled yet. They weren’t able to take photos of the interior, but the Roma Coupe is yet another Ferrari model whose steering wheel looks like the one shown in the video. Of course, Ferrari might be giving us a preview of an entirely new model that’s not related to or based on any of the cars in its current line-up. We won’t have to wait long to find out what Ferrari has up its sleeve. As said, it’s planning on unveiling the mysterious car on March 16. +++
+++ U.S. senator Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced legislation that takes aim at FORD ’s deal to use technology from Chinese battery company CATL as part of the automaker’s plan to spend $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Michigan. Rubio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, introduced legislation that would block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries produced using Chinese technology, saying it would “significantly restrict the eligibility of IRA tax credits and prevent Chinese companies from benefiting”. Ford said in response to Rubio that “making those batteries here at home is much better than continuing to rely exclusively on foreign imports, like other auto companies do. A wholly owned Ford subsidiary alone will build, own and operate this plant. No other entity will get U.S. tax dollars for this project”. Last month, Rubio asked the Biden administration to review Ford’s deal to use technology from CATL. Rubio called for an immediate Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of the licensing agreement between Ford and CATL. Rubio said the deal “will only deepen U.S. reliance on the Chinese Communist Party for battery tech, and is likely designed to make the factory eligible for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits”. CFIUS is a U.S. Treasury-led interagency panel that reviews proposed transactions to ensure they do not harm national security. Treasury declined to comment, but Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said last month the Ford deal will “bringing advanced manufacturing capabilities from overseas to the United States is key to our competitiveness, will stimulate our economy, and create good-paying American jobs”. Ford has said the plant would create 2.500 jobs and begin producing lower cost and faster recharging lithium-iron-phosphate batteries in 2026. The $430 billion IRA imposes restrictions on battery sourcing and is designed to wean the United States off the Chinese supply chain for electric vehicles. The IRA will eventually bar credits if any EV battery components were manufactured by a “foreign entity of concern”, in a provision aimed at China. Separately, Democratic senator Joe Manchin criticized comments by a White House adviser that Chinese companies will be “big players” in growing domestic energy production. “It is beyond irresponsible for someone speaking on behalf of the White House to not only condone but also advocate for sending American tax dollars to Chinese companies”, Manchin said. +++
+++ GENERAL MOTORS is offering buyouts to salaried workers in an effort to accelerate the cost-cutting efforts announced in its 2022 earnings report. The company has not announced how many employees it wants to shed. Its immediate intent is to eliminate $2 billion in operating costs from its balance sheet as it works toward its intended goal of transitioning from internal-combustion to EVs by 2035. “As part of our plan to accelerate attrition and achieve $2 billion in cost savings by the end of 2024, General Motors is announcing a Voluntary Separation Program for all U.S. salaried employees with at least 5 years of service and all global executives with at least 2 years of service”, GM spokesperson Maria Raynal told in an emailed statement. “This voluntary program offers eligible employees an opportunity to make a career change or retire earlier. We are offering three packages based on level and service to the company. Employees are strongly encouraged to consider the program”. “By permanently bringing down structured costs, we can improve vehicle profitability and remain nimble in an increasingly competitive market”, Raynal said. GM extended the offer to U.S. salaried employees and some global executives. U.S. workers with at least five years’ tenure were offered a month’s pay for each year of service (capped at 1 year) along with interim health coverage and a partial payout of bonuses due for 2022. Global executives with at least 2 years of service were offered their base salary, applicable incentives and interim health coverage. All employees who were offered a buyout are eligible for outplacement services. The deadline for employees to accept the package is March 24 and those who take the buyout will have to exit the company by the end of the second quarter (June 30). In a call with reporters that followed its January earnings announcement, GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the company’s position was strong enough that it expected to avoid layoffs. Instead, the company would rely on limiting hiring and fill only strategically important roles as they become vacant through natural attrition, which has evidently proved insufficient thus far. +++
+++ SUBARU has an intensely loyal following, but it doesn’t move anywhere near the volume of new vehicles that its Japanese rivals do. The shift to electric vehicles brings a whole new set of challenges, all of which the automaker will need to navigate without the benefit of unlimited funds. To “survive the age of electrification”, as its incoming CEO put it, Subaru is changing its executive bench and focusing its efforts on using its small size as a competitive advantage. The automaker announced Atsushi Osaki as CEO and said Subaru America CEO Tom Doll would step aside. Jeff Walters, the company’s current senior vice president of sales, will take over as president and COO. The automaker’s moves signal its renewed focus on EV development and on the U.S., its most successful market. Interestingly, the management shuffle is similar to the one Subaru’s partner Toyota announced earlier this year. Outgoing Subaru CEO Tomomi Nakamura took a similar view on EVs to Toyota’s outgoing CEO, Akio Toyoda. Osaki struck a different tone in his first remarks, saying that Subaru is looking ahead to determine the best ways to respond and adapt to the changes electrification brings to the market. Speaking at a press conference last week, Osaki said, “we at Subaru want to survive the age of electrification by being nimble. We will put various systems in place while focusing on flexibility and expansion”. The automaker currently has 1 electric vehicel on sale, which it co-developed with Toyota, but has recently said that it plans to offer several new models by 2025. Subaru sees potential in Australia, Canada and other parts of Asia but has struggled to meet demand due to chip shortages. Osaki noted that EV growth is unpredictable and said that flexibility and quickly responding to changes in the market would be essential to overcoming those challenges. +++
+++ Tesla began opening some of its SUPERCHARGERS in New York and California to non-Tesla electric cars last month, but a recent video shows how the ultra-fast Supercharger stations could quickly become a headache for Tesla owners. YouTuber Marques Brownlee took his Rivian R1T to a Tesla Supercharger in rural New York last week and he said on Twitter that the visit “descended into chaos” when other non-Tesla drivers showed up as well. In the video, Brownlee said he had to take up 2 parking spots next to a charger because the charging port on his EV was on the front driver’s side of his vehicle while the charging station was equipped for Teslas that have the charging port on the back-left corner of the car. Brownlee said that he felt the experience made his Rivian a better car because he would no longer have to rely on more “risky” public chargers, but it could deter Tesla owners. “Suddenly you’re taking up 2 spots”, Brownlee said. “If I was like a huge Tesla person I would probably be worried about you know my own Tesla experience. Will it get worse because more people are charging? Potentially, you’ll have more people waiting in line more people taking up more spots”. The situation only got worse when a Lucid Air and a F-150 Lightning electric pickup showed up. For the F-150 Lightning driver, Tesla’s retrofitted charging cord was only long enough to reach the car’s charging port when the driver had pulled so far up the front of his car was practically touching the charging stand and the cord was pulled completely taut; a scenario the driver said felt “too risky”. In a separate YouTube video, the same F-150 Lightning driver, Tom Moloughney, who runs EV charging channel State of Charge, said he might feel more comfortable pulling his car up to the station sideways; a move that could take up three spots at once. Similarly, the cable was also not long enough for the Lucid driver, according to Moloughney. “If you’re a Tesla owner it’s not a good day”, Moloughney said. “Soon that exclusivity of being able to drive wherever you want and plug in it’s going to get more complicated because Superchargers are going to start to get clogged up with non-Tesla vehicles”. Ultimately, Brownlee said the transition is going to take a lot of finagling, but he was happy with the charging experience for his Rivian, which took about 30 minutes and $30 to charge from 30% to 80%. “This is probably the first time and not the last time that you’re going to see this shuffling of who can charge where”, Brownlee said. “Hopefully people are nice about it, but there’s gonna be a bit of an etiquette question when you’ve got cars that are not exactly optimized trying to figure it out”. Musk called Brownlee’s video “interesting” on Twitter. The billionaire agreed to begin opening up some of the electric-car maker’s Superchargers to non-Tesla owners earlier this year. Previously, Tesla’s chargers (which account for a large portion of EV chargers in the U.S.) had been primarily accessible only to Tesla owners. While regular Tesla stations have always been open to non-Tesla EVs through a special adapter, the carmaker pledged to make its ultra-fast supercharging stations compatible with other electric cars by the end of 2024. +++
+++ TESLA could begin producing its first cars in Mexico next year, with the electric vehicle maker close to receiving its final permits allowing factory construction to begin in Nuevo Leon near the U.S.-Mexico border, the state’s governor said. “They are waiting for the final permits … once that’s done, they can start, hopefully this very month, in March”, Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said in an interview. “I think by next year, in 2024, there will be the first autos”. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk announced the investment last week, saying the Austin, Texas-based company had selected Mexico for its next “gigafactory” with plans to produce a “next generation vehicle”. Mexican officials have said the factory will be the world’s biggest to produce electric vehicles, with investment worth $5 billion. Subsequent phases of the plant could involve making components such as chips and batteries, Garcia said. “That’s why they bought a very large plot of land”, he added. The site in Santa Catarina, next to the state capital of Monterrey, spans several thousand acres, the local mayor said last week. Garcia said the investment would act as an “anchor” attracting Tesla suppliers, and that the green light given to Tesla by Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (after the latter had expressed concerns over scarcity of water) sent a positive signal to other potential investors. “It’s like a kind of guide, that when they want to come set up here, it’s very important they follow the law”, he said, noting he had sent Lopez Obrador technical memos about the state’s industrial water supply. “The president, by authorizing and backing Tesla, sent a message to the world that they should come to Mexico”. +++
+++ Vietnam’s automaker VINFAST on Friday said it will push back its plan to start operations of its electric vehicles factory in the United States until 2025, citing a procedural delay. The unit of conglomerate Vingroup JSC flagged the plan to build a $4 billion EV factory in North Carolina’s Chatham County on 712 hectares of land in March last year, with commissioning targeted for July 2024. “We need more time to complete administrative procedures”, VinFast said in a statement on the delay, which did not specify when in 2025 the plant was expected to start operations. Once the facility assembles VinFast EVs, customers may be entitled to incentives under terms of the Inflation Reduction Act signed by U.S. president Joe Biden. VinFast last month was awarded an Air Permit from local authorities to start construction. It still needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed to minimize damage to water quality and wetlands. The plant, with phase one including capital expenditures for the construction of $1.4 billion, is expected to create more than 7.000 jobs and churn out 150.000 vehicles a year, according to the company’s latest prospectus released on Thursday. Last year VinFast filed for an initial public offering in the United States to list on the Nasdaq to fund its the plant construction. VinFast started its first sales outside Vietnam last week, delivering its first 45 cars in California on the first day. Its revenue in 2022 was 14.9 trillion dong ($631 million), down about 6.9% against 2021. Net losses rose 55% to 49.8 trillion dong from 32.2 trillion dong, its latest prospectus showed. +++