Every week, Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein shares his perspective on some of the burning issues affecting the auto industry.
As the tech giant ramps up work on its car, it looks to make a mark in automotive the way it has with smartphones.
Toyota suspends output on 14 lines at 9 Japan plants after earthquake
TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp. said it will suspend production at nine plants in Japan for several days this week because of supply disruptions from a weekend earthquake that rattled the country’s northeast.
The world’s biggest automaker said the interruption is caused by suppliers affected by the Saturday night quake. Toyota said it wouldn’t disclose which parts are affected or the suppliers.
But the parts are not semiconductors, spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto said. That disclosure comes despite the fact that the global industry is facing a shortage of automotive microchips and the fact that a key semiconductor plant in Japan has reduced output due to the quake.
Toyota also declined to say how many units of output would be lost. The suspensions start as early as Feb. 17 at some plants and run through Saturday, February 20, at all the affected lines. Toyota is still considering when to resume operation after that.Toyota said the supply chain issues were not ex…
BorgWarner to acquire battery systems maker Akasol in $880 million deal
BorgWarner is expanding its electrification portfolio after signing an agreement to acquire Akasol, a maker of battery systems for commercial and off-road vehicles based in Darmstadt, Germany, at a value of 727 million euros ($880 million).
Under the terms of the agreement, a BorgWarner unit will initiate a voluntary public takeover of all outstanding shares of Akasol, at a price of 120 euros per share, a 23 percent premium to the three-month average price.
The transaction is expected to close toward the end of the second quarter, BorgWarner said in a statement on Monday.
BorgWarner shares rose 10 percent to $46.28 in premarket trading on Tuesday. Markets were closed during the holiday on Monday.
Akasol, initially set up in 1990, makes battery systems for buses, commercial and industrial vehicles as well as locomotives and ships. It buys lithium cells and adapts them to systems that are used by manufacturers such as Daimler and Volvo. Read more
VW blames suppliers for microchip shortages
FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group says bad planning on the part of its suppliers has compounded a computer chip shortage blighting the global auto industry, claiming it gave ample notice that the coronavirus' hit to car production would be limited.
VW in December was the first automaker to warn of a chip supply crunch that has hit global automakers, forcing them to cut or halt production as the semiconductor industry struggles to keep up with a recovery in the car sector.
The company told its suppliers in April last year -- when much of global car production was idled due to the coronavirus pandemic -- that it expected a strong recovery in the second half of 2020, a VW executive, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
VW says it was made aware of the chip shortage by one of its suppliers at the end of November, but that that warning came too late.
"We have communicated our demand early on. We have passed on our forecasts which have confirmed …
Apple’s lidar foray may benefit Israel’s Opsys Tech
Over the past 10 months, Apple has outfitted its latest iPad Pro and iPhone 12 with lidar sensors that enhance the camera capabilities in both devices. Even though the additions have nothing to do with the company's secretive self-driving vehicle program, the moves nonetheless elicited cheers from one Israeli auto-tech startup.
Opsys Tech has spent the past five years developing a particular kind of lidar for use in driver-assist and self-driving systems called VCSEL, which rhymes with 'pixel.' The company's founders are convinced Vertical Cavity Scanning Emitting Lasers offer advantages over conventional lidar, because they allow more emitters to be packaged on smaller chips and use less power overall.
When Apple started using the same type of lidar, Opsys Tech counted another key advantage — it can further compete on cost.
"By the time Apple finished saying to the world 'I need VCSELs for my phone,' everyone was building capacit…
Japan chipmaker Renesas to resume output at quake-hit plant on Tuesday
TOKYO -- Renesas Electronics, a key supplier of automotive semiconductors, said it will restart production at its advanced chip plant in northeast Japan after an earthquake on Saturday cut power to the facility and shut it down.
A resumption of full output will, however, take a week, which could delay some shipments at a time when customers, particularly carmakers, are struggling with a global chip shortage.
"We will do what we can to ensure there is no disruption to supplies," a Renesas spokeswoman said.
The 7.3 magnitude tremor off Japan's northeast coast caused strong shaking at the Naka factory in Ibaraki Prefecture, which has the company's only cutting-edge 300-millimeter fabrication line.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that aftershocks from the latest quake could last for several days.
In 2011, a deadly magnitude 9 quake shut the plant for three months. After that temblor, which killed 20,000 people and destroyed the …
Jaguar to become all-electric brand as part of new turnaround plan
Future Jaguar models will be built exclusively on a full-electric architecture, Jaguar Land Rover said.
The historic marque, known for its performance sports cars, will become all-electric starting in 2025 to "realize its unique potential," Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bollore said during an online presentation on Monday.
Jaguar currently sells a single full-electric car, the I-Pace crossover.
Sister brand Land Rover will get six new full-electric models in the next five years with the aim of making 60 percent of its sales zero emissions vehicles by 2030. The first battery-powered Land Rover will be launched in 2024.
In addition, JLR will phase out diesel engines, Bollore said.
The strategy forms Jaguar Land Rover's new business plan called "Reimagine."
The aim is to give the Jaguar and Land Rover brands two distinct personalities, said Bollore, former CEO at Renault, who took the top job at JLR in September.
Jaguar models w…
Tundra engine may not be up to the job
TO THE EDITOR:
It looks like Toyota is going to miss the mark again (" 'World beater' Tundra hotly anticipated," autonews.com, Feb. 6). A hallmark of the big-truck market is variable power options. A one-size-fits-all 6-cylinder is great for the Tacoma midsize crowd, but most people buying a big truck, such as the Tundra, need large towing capacity like a turbodiesel or large-torque V-8.
I drive a Honda Ridgeline, which has more than lived up to expectations, and a Dodge Cummins that has unbelievable torque and great mileage. If only it had Toyota reliability. I would love to see Toyota or Honda build a powerhouse pickup. That, I believe, people would pay up for.
TERRY GARVIN, Delhi, Ohio
How industry can prepare for 3D printing’s future role
More than a century ago, the industrial genius of Henry Ford ushered in the era of modern manufacturing, fundamentally transforming how people around the world live, work and get around.
For generations, the principles of mass production have varied little across industries and products. But today, the manufacturing sector is at an inflection point.
This new era of transportation will be driven by three key trends.
1. Personalization. One-car-fits-most hasn't been the name of the game in the auto industry for a long time. Consumers want their cars to be seamless extensions of the rest of their lives — from integrating digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa to loading driver settings automatically based on who unlocks the door. That personalization is only accelerating thanks to advances such as 3D printing, which make it more practical — and affordable — to customize a vehicle's components to a customer's specifications.
2. Flexibility. With th…
Lincoln talks facilities, not electrification
Lincoln executives promised dealers that they were committed to electrification but declined to provide any new details.
The brand used its make meeting at the NADA Show to tout the company's progress on a facility program and thank dealers for their perseverance through the pandemic.
"The main message was really thanking the dealers for the incredible job with COVID and how it positioned us to get a fast start this year," Lincoln President Joy Falotico told Automotive News.
Falotico was joined by Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of the Americas and International Markets Group; Lisa Drake, COO of North America; Elena Ford, chief customer experience officer; and Ford Credit CEO Marion Harris. New Chief Marketing Officer Suzy Deering joined for a panel discussion.
Executives stressed the importance of growing online sales and improving customer service experiences such as pickup and delivery.
"I think Lincoln is poised to handl…
F&I ‘not getting its fair due’ in digital retail
Elliot Schor has spent nearly 20 years at JM Family Enterprises, a company he hadn't heard of until shortly before he joined as an intern. In fact, he never thought he'd enter the automotive industry at all.
After graduating from the University at Albany, State University of New York, in 2001, where he toyed with the idea of entering medical school, the New York native traded bonds on Wall Street. He watched the planes crash into the World Trade Center on 9/11 from his Manhattan office.
After a few years, Schor departed New York, following a girlfriend to Miami and enrolling at the University of Miami in the process. That girlfriend, now his wife, suggested at the time he look for a job at one of the largest companies in the state — JM Family Enterprises.
"I'd never heard of Jim Moran," Schor said. "So I did some research."
Schor quickly landed an internship at the company. After completing his MBA, he was an analyst f…
Pardon me, but would you have any Bitcoin?
Is Bitcoin the Grey Poupon of the 2020s?
Whatever it is (seriously, we're still kind of trying to figure it out), there's apparently a good chance someone driving a Rolls-Royce might have some.
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta last week said his dealership, Post Oak Motor Cars in Houston, has sold 17 Bentleys and Rolls-Royces in exchange for the digital currency. He told CNBC that his employees had suggested accepting Bitcoin back in 2018.
"We've always talked about being innovative and ahead of everybody else and don't be a dinosaur around here or you won't last," said Fertitta, who's also CEO of dining and hospitality company Landry's Inc.
Fertitta was even ahead of Tesla, which told the Securities and Exchange Commission last week that it planned to start accepting Bitcoin "in the near future." In addition, Tesla said it had converted $1.5 billion from its balance sheet into Bitcoin.
Tesla's investment, and CEO…