- What Do You Mean? -- GM told investors that it will save over $1 billion for each plant it converts to all-electric vehicles. But the maths is a bit suspect: that saving comes from not having to invest in new stamping, body assembly and paint facilities. These are exactly the same parts of the factory that would be re-used by an internal combustion engine model. So all GM is really saying is that it is better to convert a plant than bulldoze it and build a new one somewhere else (assuming there is no endemic workplace culture). But isn’t that kind of obvious?
- Friends Will Be Friends -- VW CEO Diess invited Elon Musk to address top managers at the German firm and show them what they were up against, and Musk agreed. Musk told the enraptured throng that Tesla was an amazing problem-solving culture created in his own image. They probably all clapped. Are we on our way to a new, happier, world where top executives exhort their rivals to attempt to outdo them in the spirit of ultimate competition? Or does Musk have an underlying reason for sprinkling his magic dust over VW… like, convincing Europeans that his company isn’t a threat?
- Make Some Noise -- AMG’s technical chief doesn’t think that artificial engine noises are the way to go for all-electric cars, fearing the creation of a pastiche. He still wants to give a nod to the internal combustion engine experience by incorporating vibration. Remember when polyphonic ringtones used to cost several pounds to download (looking at you, Crazy Frog fans)? Yet now everyone has their phones set to silent. Will there be a time when the whole discussion appears academic?
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 29th September 2019
GM failing to plan; Toyota’s spiderweb; and what counts as insight when it comes to autonomy? Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 22nd September 2019
What price Amazon’s electrification; GM flees its low cost engineering centre; and Golf takes a leaf out of the McLaren P1’s book. Please enjoy our […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 15th September 2019
Vauxhall expects a post-Brexit windfall; how to keep an electric car youthful; and preserving the staircase of talent. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 8th September 2019
Small electric cars; hoping for a trickle-down effect from Lambo’s supercar; and how to make even more special edition sportscars. Please enjoy our auto industry […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 1st September 2019
Ford’s Qashqai rival arriving unfashionably late; self-driving cars that are hard to teach; and learning lessons about all-inclusive leasing. Please enjoy our auto industry and […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 25th August 2019
Volvo makes lots of new friends; Ford’s throwaway autonomous car assumptions; and bad news for unicorns. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 18th August 2019
Green bonds for green cars; a rental company’s PR coup; and thinking harder about subscriptions. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 12th […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 30th June 2019
Renault and Nissan love arguing; buyers are happy with hybrids if they are cheap; and is the start-up bubble deflating? Please enjoy our auto industry […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 11th August 2019
Continental says good riddance to combustion engines; unusable industry standards; and ways to shake up the used car market. Please enjoy our auto industry and […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 4th August 2019
Proving yourself as a carmaker; the rise of the Porsche Taycan; and contingency plans full of holes. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 21st July 2019
Nothing to see at Tesla; affordable car subscriptions; and inventive Japanese car sharing users. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 15th July […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 14th July 2019
Musk says price will skyrocket; managing the decline of combustion engines; and why are factories for electric cars so expensive? Please enjoy our auto industry […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 7th July 2019
Hypercars for all; jobs for the masses; and are Norwegians making everyone else look silly? Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing for 1st […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 23rd June 2019
New cars for old people; self-driving brains that use modular decision making; and VW’s blockbuster plant closure plan. Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 16th June 2019
Phantom “production-ready” self-driving cars; electric car start-ups struggling to raise money; and why have VW dropped Aurora? Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility briefing […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 9th June 2019
Share the past as well as the future; FCA dancing with multiple self-driving suitors; and are Ford staff right to be unhappy? Please enjoy our […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 2nd June 2019
Smaller pay packets for fat cats; saving money by thinking differently; and how loyal will young customers be? Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility […]Read More
Auto Industry Briefing — week ending 26th May 2019
Stingy electric car charging stations; buy-what-you-see car showrooms; and can FCA and Renault do a deal without Nissan? Please enjoy our auto industry and mobility […]Read More