Trade News

BMW North America named Raymond Wittmann to be its next CFO and Marcus Casey to become head of marketing communications, replacing a pair of executives who are taking posts with BMW in Europe.

Both appointments, announced Friday, will take effect Sept. 1.

Wittmann, 50, replaces Stefan Kramer, who was executive vice president and CFO since September. Kramer will now be head of finance and global financial services at the BMW Group headquarters in Munich.

Wittmann is an aerospace engineer by trade and previously was a vice president at BMW plants in Munich and San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Casey, 44, who was named vice president of marketing, will "oversee all marketing communication for the BMW brand within the U.S. market," the automaker said. He previously was vice president of digital e-commerce and vice president of business management at BMW's Munich plant.

Casey replaces Uwe Dreher, who was vice president of marketing since 2019. Dreher wil…

Auto supplier Piston Group said it will manufacture batteries for electric vehicles for energy storage technology startup Our Next Energy Inc., or ONE.

Piston Group said it plans to produce ONE's Aries battery packs, which utilize lithium iron phosphate chemistry to "increase range and reduce cost while eliminating nickel and cobalt supply chain and safety concerns."

Piston Automotive, a subsidiary of Piston Group, will build the batteries at a factory in Van Buren Township, Mich., about 25 miles west of downtown Detroit. Production is expected to begin late this year.

"Our commitment to growth and product expansion over the past decade with other EV industry leading partners has been a key foundation to our success," Piston Automotive President Bob Holloway said in a statement. "Piston Automotive's expertise in battery assembly process design, testing and service, combined with ONE's innovative battery pack design, is an exciting opportunity and a grea…

Audi of America has hired Ogilvy as its creative agency of record, ending an eight-month review. 

Venables, Bell & Partners had held the account since 2007. The review began 10 months after Audi of America hired Tara Rush as its chief marketing officer. Rush was promoted from her previous role as chief communications officer.

Rush in a statement to Ad Age said: “With the launch of our global brand campaign, ‘Future is an Attitude,’ we are transforming and reshaping the perception of Audi in the U.S. We are thrilled to welcome Ogilvy as our new creative and strategic agency of record. Together, we will bring to life an innovative, purposeful and electric future—a story we look forward to sharing with our Audi fans and customers.”

The global campaign, which was announced in late 2020, plays into the brand’s aggressive electric vehicle goals. It also marks a shift to more centralization in Audi’s marketing, or as the automaker said in a 2020 state…

Executive Editor Jamie Butters gives you the top headlines and Publisher KC Crain talks about upcoming EVs coming from General Motors' brands, what's required to promote market adoption and meeting customer demands with GM President Mark Reuss.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

When Jeff Wells placed a reservation for a Rivian R1T pickup in early 2019, he was one of the first in line for a truck from the Amazon-backed EV startup that at the time promised to tap in to a niche not served by other automakers.

But Wells, an accountant from Southern California, has become increasingly frustrated as he sees others, who placed their order years after him, receive trucks while he keeps waiting.

"It's just annoying and it feels like there's no order to how they're doing things," he said of Rivian.

Wells is one of dozens of reservation holders who in recent weeks have complained about unreliable delivery timelines and delays in online groups and forums.

The complaints mounted after Rivian Automotive Inc. in late April said it was changing the production sequence of vehicles, prioritizing those with specific interior and exterior color and wheel options.

"Building in few build combinations reduces complexity with our suppli…

The average age of U.S. light vehicles in operation has risen for a fifth straight year, S&P Global Mobility said in a report released Monday.

The average age rose to 12.2 years in 2022 — a nearly 2 percent increase from the average life in 2021 of just over 12 years, according to the research.

S&P Global said in a statement that the increase was driven by the global microchip shortage and supply chain issues causing a "constrained supply of new cars and light trucks, amid a strong demand for personal transportation."

Todd Campau, automotive aftermarket practice lead for S&P Global, told Automotive News that supply shortages are causing owners to either keep their vehicles longer or purchase used ones.

"People do value their vehicles; people do still feel the need to have a vehicle available to them, maybe even more coming out of the pandemic, so that's caused the vehicle fleet just to grow a little bit," Campau said. "And because the…

Mercedes-Benz plans to cut 15 to 20 percent of its dealerships in Germany, and about 10 percent globally, as part of broad overhaul of its distribution network, executives said.

Mercedes is also moving toward a more direct-sales – or "agency" – model, and is targeting 80 percent of European sales through this method by 2025, with 20 markets in total, from five today.

At the same time Mercedes is targeting 25 percent online sales by 2025.

The automaker says the moves will cut distribution costs and allow it to rein in incentives as the automaker seeks to move even farther upmarket with higher average selling prices.

"We want to have more proximity to the customer and therefore have better control over pricing," CFO Harald Wilhelm said last week at Mercedes' capital markets day. "That's why we are moving from the current dealer role." 

Mercedes did not indicate if the dealership consolidation plans would impact its U.S. dealership base.…

The troubled, ever-evolving Tokyo Motor Show will rebrand itself yet again in an attempt to breathe life, energy and attendance into Asia's onetime premier auto expo.

When the show returns in 2023, it will open under a "Japan All-Industry" banner, said the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, which has hosted the event since its inception in 1954.

JAMA Chairman Akio Toyoda said it was important to bring together different sectors at a time when collaboration is needed to achieve carbon neutrality.

"We want to rename next year's Tokyo Motor Show the Japan All-Industry Show, going beyond the mobility industry, with all of Japanese industry working as one team, including startups," Toyoda said last week. "We aim to make a totally new show, transforming it in both name and reality."

Toyoda did not elaborate on the scope of how many sectors and companies might be included.

In April 2021, JAMA canceled the biennial Tokyo show scheduled fo…

DETROIT — Stellantis has reversed course on the most controversial changes it imposed on suppliers earlier this year, but not every tweak it made has been rolled back.

Gone is a new rule requiring North American suppliers to immediately pass on cost savings to Stellantis, which created an issue because there was no corresponding allowance for suppliers to get higher prices from the automaker when their costs rise. Stellantis also removed its newfound ability to extend a supplier's contract unilaterally.

The pullback is a win for a supply base that has faced extensive pressure in recent years as the auto industry pushes through the pandemic and a microchip shortage that has curbed vehicle production.

While the North America changes have been undone, Stellantis is keeping its revamped global terms and conditions in place. Some suppliers might still demand the company eliminate some aspects they find unfavorable, said Jonathan Joriss…

TEL AVIV, Israel — Automakers should stop treating cybersecurity researchers as adversaries and instead consider them collaborators.

So says David Colombo, the teen hacker who exploited flaws in third-party software that allowed him to access approximately two dozen Tesla vehicles this year.

His hack spotlighted vulnerabilities that let him open and close car doors and honk the horns. While speaking at EcoMotion, the annual Israeli innovation and mobility conference held this month, he implored others in the auto industry to remember that this is not a Tesla-specific problem.

"Automakers are consciously ignoring vehicle security vulnerabilities, and this puts all car users and [pedestrians] in serious danger," said Colombo, who founded his own cybersecurity tech firm. "The fact is that I, as a 19-year-old with free time, was able to hack into a Tesla quite easily. Like me, there are a lot of hackers who can do that."

His sentiments run counter to…

The founder and managing director of venture capital firm Maniv Mobility explores Israel’s role in advancing auto-tech and reflects on his experience with one-time electric-vehicle startup Better Place.

How do I subscribe?

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

Spotify: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" can be streamed through Spotify on your desktop, tablet or mobile device. Click here to subscribe.

Google Play: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" is available on Android devices through the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe.