New logos and just about nothing else noteworthy. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 4th January to 10th January 2021. A PDF version can be found here.
Before you read the detail, what were my favourite stories of the past week…?
- New Look — both GM and Kia announced new logos. GM’s has a weird nod to the past; where the whole GM was underlined before, only M is underlined now. Additionally, even though GM is clearly an acronym of a name, the logo is now in lower case. Kia’s is written in an edgy logo that makes it hard to read. What’s next? Ford’s blue oval becomes a rhombus?
- Apparently Nothin’ — No, I’m serious. Practically everything written in the review this week is just about sales volumes. There is so little real news that Mercedes were able to make headlines with a massive screen that isn’t even a massive screen (although it is three screens glued into one large border so it looks as though it could be a single piece). Will next week be more interesting?
News is arranged by company and topic. Stories that apply to more than one company or topic are duplicated.
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News about the major automakers
- Announced that the EQS (A forthcoming all-electric version of the S-Class) will boast a gigantic screen that stretches from the instrument cluster to the edge of the passenger door. Except it isn’t a single screen, it is a large piece of glass which has several different screens embedded in a way that makes it look like they could be one. (Daimler)
- Delivered 735,605 Mercedes-Benz cars and vans in Q4 2020, down (1.3)% on a year-over-year basis, all explained by lower car sales. In the full year Mercedes sold 2,528,349 vehicles, just over (10)% down on 2019. The company also confirmed that it has met its targets for European fleet CO2. (Daimler)
- Sold 1,999,388 vehicles in the US and Canada in 2020, down (18)% year-over-year. (FCA)
- Unveiled the next generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. (FCA)
- Despite its short shelf life as a company, S&P raised its credit rating for FCA. (FCA)
- Sold 542,749 vehicles in the USA during Q4, down (10)% versus 2019. In the full year, Ford’s sales of 2.044 million fell (16)%. (Ford)
Geely (includes Volvo) (history)
- Volvo sold 661,713 cars in full year 2020, down (6)% on prior year. (Volvo)
- Volvo reckons that electric cars will account for over 60% of the output at its Ghent, Belgium, plant by 2022. (Volvo)
- Geely plans to have 5,000 battery swap stations across China by 2025. (China Daily)
- GM’s US deliveries of 771,323 units rose 4.8% on a year-over-year basis (in Q4 2019 GM was affected by the UAW strike). In the full year, GM’s sales of 2,547,339 vehicles dropped (12)%. (GM)
- Sold 954,325 vehicles in China during Q4, a 14% increase over the prior year. In the full year, sales of 2.9 million units fell (6)% versus 2019. (GM)
- Unveiled a new logo. It is still a box with the letter GM written inside, but now they are lower case and only the M is underlined, which GM thinks makes it look a little bit like a plug. (GM)
- Hyundai is targeting sales of 4.2 million in 2021. (Hyundai)
- Hyundai sold 4.426 million vehicles in 2020, down (15)% versus prior year. (Hyundai)
- Not to be outdone by GM, Kia unveiled a new logo. Kia says it reflects symmetry. It looks a bit like “KV”. (KV)
- Said in a press release that it was working with Apple on an electric car, then issued a series of revisions, in the final of which Hyundai simply acknowledged that it was working with potential partners. (BBC)
- Opel’s boss warned the German workforce that progress on job cuts had been insufficient and that he wanted to reduce the company’s pension burden. (Manager Magazin)
- Renault Samsung will cut pay for managers as part of a cost recovery effort. (Economic Times of India)
Subaru
- Created a CTO position to help it makes sense of emerging technologies. (Subaru)
- CEO Diess believes that traditional automotive players, including VW, have failed to convince customers that they can survive in a new “competitive environment” and cautioned that there are some people in the company who haven’t faced up to the looming threat. (Bloomberg)
- Bentley sold 11,206 cars in 2020, slightly up on 2019. (Bentley)
Other
- Nio unveiled the ET7 saloon. When equipped with a 150 kWh battery, the car boasts a 1,000km range, according to the outdated NEDC standard. (Nio)
- Rivian is reportedly looking to raise several billion dollars in an investment round that could see the firm valued at $25 billion. (Bloomberg)
- Lucid is rumoured to be considering a factory in Saudi Arabia. (Green Car Reports)
News about other companies and trends
Economic / Political News
- US light vehicle industry in December of 16.3 million units fell about (3)% versus prior year. In the full year, sales fell about (8)%. (Wards)
- UK Passenger car sales in December of 132,682 units fell (11)% versus prior year. Full year sales of 1.63 million cars fell (29)% from 2019 levels. (SMMT)
- German passenger car sales in December of 311,394 vehicles rose 10% on a year-over-year basis. In the full year, 2.92 million customers snapped up a new motor, (19)% down on 2019. (KBA)
- Spanish sales of 105,841 passenger vehicles in December were almost identical to a year earlier. Overall 2020 sales of 851,211 units fell (32)% from 2019. (ANFAC)
- Italian passenger car sales of 119,454 units in December fell (15)% on a year-over-year basis. Full year sales of 1.38 million cars fell (28)% from 2019. (UNRAE)
- French passenger car sales of 186,323 units fell (12)% compared to prior year. Full year 2020 sales of 1.65 million cars fell (26)% versus 2019. (CCFA)
Suppliers
- MacLean-Fogg acquired smaller concern Master Automatic. (MacLean-Fogg)
- Michelin announced a turnaround plan for its French operations that will see 2,300 job losses (split about equally between offices and factories). (Michelin)
- Sensor company Tactile Mobility raised $10 million from investors including Nexteer. (FINSMES)
- Hesai Photonics is hoping to list in Shanghai. (Caixin)
Dealers
- Online car maintenance platform Tuhu raised $200 million. (Deal Street Asia)
Ride-Hailing, Car Sharing & Rental (history)
- Car rental firm Kyte raised $9 million. (Auto Rental News)
Driverless / Autonomy (history)
- Nodar says it has developed a sensor with a range of 1,000m (although it prefers to talk about how accurate the measurement is when an object is 150m away). (Nodar)
- Autonomous vehicle developer Oxbotica raised $47 million from investors including BP. (TechCrunch)
- Infra-red sensor company FLIR is being acquired by Teledyne. (FLIR)
- Waymo said it would only refer to self-driving cars as autonomous in future, suggesting a frustration that others (e.g. Tesla) has hijacked the term. (Waymo)
- Baidu is reportedly planning an EV brand, with Geely doing the manufacturing. (Economic Times of India)
Other
- CNH is reportedly still trying to see truck making arm Iveco. (Deal Street Asia)
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