Archives for October 2018

• Buoyed by truck sales, GM earnings sail past expectations – Washington Post: Despite signs of decline in the auto market, General Motors is flourishing, reporting a 25 percent jump in income for the third quarter, boosted by higher-priced domestic truck and SUV sales in North America and China. GM’s income came in at a record …
• Jaguar Land Rover posts £90 million loss after sales drop – Autocar: Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) boss Ralf Speth says the firm will launch a series of cost and cash flow improvement programmes to boost profits after posting a pre-tax loss of £90 million in the previous financial quarter. The British firm says that lower …
• As GM shifts to SUVs, it sees a strong jump in profits – Freep: During their 26 years of marriage, Bernie and Pam Burrier have driven mostly General Motors sedans. But four years ago they switched to a three-row SUV and haven’t looked back. “When our family comes, we have seven seats so we can accommodate …
• GM Shares Surge as Pricey Cadillacs Fuel Surprise Jump in Profit – Bloomberg:

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• Fiat Chrysler third-quarter earnings rise 13% – Automotive News: Fiat Chrysler said earnings rose 13 percent in the third quarter while reducing its forecast for how much cash it will have on hand at the end of the year.
• Fiat Chrysler’s net cash guidance cut overshadows special dividend pledge – Reuters: Fiat Chrysler (FCA) reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and promised to pay 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in special dividends, but a lowered net cash forecast and a charge related to U.S. diesel talks weighed on shares.
• Fiat Chrysler profits beat expectations thanks to sales in North America – FT: Profits at Fiat Chrysler beat expectations as record profits from its Jeep and Ram brands in its North American heartland offset losses racked up in China and Europe. The group posted a 38 per cent fall in net earnings in the third quarter to €564m …
• PayPal rival Adyen expands to Canada and picks up new customers including Adidas, Dollar Shave Club – CNBC: Adyen, the Dutch firm that processes payments for the likes of Facebook and Uber, is expanding to Canada and signing up a host of new firms to its client roster.

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• Booking Holdings becomes latest investor in Southeast Asia’s Grab – Reuters: U.S. travel firm Booking Holdings Inc has invested $200 million in Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab as part of a strategic partnership between the two companies.
• Hyundai’s U.S. head steps down amid shakeup of global operations – Automotive News: Hyundai Motor America CEO Kyung Soo Lee has left the position to return to South Korea as an adviser for the company. The automaker also has created two entities to develop future technologies and appointed new heads of product strategy and design …
• Take-up of car finance deals slows as appetite for diesel wanes – Guardian:
• Tesla’s third-largest shareholder says it’s willing to pump more money into the company – CNBC: Baillie Gifford, which holds a 7.72 percent stake in Tesla, called CEO Elon Musk an entrepreneur of “vision and ambition, who’s working towards a social good.” Tesla posted a $311.5 million net profit in the third quarter – its first in two years …

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• Alphabet’s Waymo begins charging passengers for self-driving cars – FT: Waymo has begun charging passengers in Arizona for rides in its autonomous cars, making it the first self-driving car developer to launch commercial services. Ruth Porat, finance chief at Google’s parent company Alphabet, which counts Waymo among what …
• Autoliv cuts 2018 growth forecast on weakness in China and Europe – Reuters: Sweden’s Autoliv , the world’s largest maker of airbags and seatbelts, cut its full-year organic sales growth forecast on Friday, citing lower demand in China and a negative emission-test related impact on car production in Europe.
• Cabin for retired leader rises as feds question UAW spending – Detroitnews: Since then, federal prosecutors have secured the convictions of seven people linked to a conspiracy in which the government says Fiat Chrysler funneled cash and things of value to UAW officials in an attempt to influence the collective-bargaining process.
• Car parts group Faurecia to buy Japan’s Clarion in $1.3 billion deal – Reuters: ) – French car parts company Faurecia (EPED.PA) has agreed to buy Japanese car navigation system maker Clarion (6796.T) from Hitachi (6501.T) in a 141 billion yen ($1.3 billion) deal to strengthen its presence in new auto technologies.

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• Tesla shares pop 10% after blowout earnings suggest it may be a ‘sustainable self-funded entity’ – CNBC: Results suggest the third quarter was Tesla’s strongest by virtually ever metric.
• Which new technologies make vehicles unreliable? – Freep: Like fans of a losing sports team, Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler are left to say “wait till next year.” … Giving witness to the fallibility of other Japanese brands, Honda builds two of CR’s 10 least reliable vehicles, the Clarity sedan and …
• Wall Street on course for bounce after tech selloff – Reuters: Tesla surged 11 percent after the electric carmaker made good on billionaire Chief Executive Elon Musk’s promise it would yield a net profit in the quarter, encouraging hopes it will not have to raise more capital soon. The results came as a relief to …
• Here’s what every major analyst had to say about Tesla’s earnings: ‘This quarter was different’ – CNBC: Wall Street analysts raised price targets on Tesla, with many sounding more positive on Musk’s ambitious company.

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• Inside Zoox, a start-up building self-driving cars from scratch – CNBC: Silicon Valley start-up Zoox is trying to develop the complete autonomous vehicle solution. From the self-driving tech, to the vehicle itself, it is building a service that will one day operate as a robotic taxi service.
• How this self-driving car company aims to make the roads safer with a new type of vehicle – CNBC: Zoox, a Silicon Valley start-up that has largely been shrouded in secrecy, is developing the complete self-driving package. In addition to the autonomous technology that will pilot its vehicles, it is building a car from the ground up specifically …
• Ford sees higher metal costs, hopes China and US can settle trade issues – Yahoo: (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co has seen higher steel and aluminum costs driven by trade tariffs bite into profit, but is hopeful the United States and China can avoid further tensions that could make things more costly, a top Ford executive said on …
• Self-driving car industry needs better metrics, DOT official says – Automotive News: Autonomous vehicle manufacturers need a better yardstick to show that their products are safe, said Derek Kan, undersecretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

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• Subaru nearly halves profit forecast after faulty inspections – Automotive News: The inspections violated transport ministry norms and eventually led to the recall of 395,000 vehicles.
• Ford CEO Jim Hackett faces impatient investors ahead of third-quarter earnings – CNBC: Investors and industry analysts have become frustrated by Ford’s weak performance and CEO Jim Hackett’s lack of details on restructuring plans.
• Uber to introduce clean air fee to all London rides – Guardian: Uber will charge its customers in London an extra 15p per mile on every trip to help its drivers buy electric cars. The ride-hailing app hopes to create a £200m fund from the levy to encourage almost half of its 45,000 drivers to use fully electric …
• Uber raises London fares to subsidise electric vehicles – FT: Uber will raise fares in London by 15p a mile in early 2019 to subsidise electric vehicle purchases by its drivers. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing company laid out the details of a clean air fee that it estimates will raise £200m over the next …

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