World’s Largest Automakers 2024: Treading water, mostly.

Sales of #1 Toyota Group, down 4.1% for the year, were impacted by an extended production halt of its kei-car subsidiary Daihatsu after a major safety testing scandal. Worldwide Daihatsu sales were down a whopping 65.5% in February.  Sales of Toyota-branded vehicles including Lexus rose 1.4% in the first two months of 2024.

#2 Volkswagen Group continues to impress and confuse. The group is the only member of the top three with a solid (6.1%) rise in sales for the first two months. Nevertheless, top management won’t stop ringing alarm bells. Volkswagen’s Thomas Schaefer, head of the group’s “core brands,” is cutting costs and head count.

Sales of #3 Hyundai Group were mostly flat in the first 2 months.

Thursday Morning Auto News, Mar 28, 2024: Tesla deliveries hit by soft demand. Ford cuts jobs at F-150 Lightning plant. Tesla tosses assembly line. More.

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Wednesday Morning Auto News, Mar 27, 2024: Fisker stock implodes. Starlink kits sold on black market. Collapsed bridge affects Ford, VW escapes. More.

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Tuesday Morning Auto News, Mar 26, 2024: BYD made its 7 millionth NEV. Musk orders FSD taste test. Musk’s SLAPP suit tossed. More.

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Monday Morning Auto News, Mar 25, 2024: Volkswagen Group warns of slowing sales in 2024. CATL working on fast-charging cells for Tesla. China-based Canadian stole Tesla secrets. More.

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Friday Morning Auto News, Mar 22, 2024: Tesla trims output in China. Warren calls on SEC to investigate Tesla, Musk. More.

 

 

Thursday Morning Auto News, Mar 21, 2024: Tesla has a Musk problem. Angela Chao was drunk when she drowned. Pickup slowdown. More.

 

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Wednesday Morning Auto News, Mar 20, 2024: Mobileye wins expanded contract From VW. Renault, Nissan, MMC eye integration (again). How buying Teslas hurt Hertz More.

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Tuesday Morning Auto News, Mar 19, 2024: Musk says his ketamine use is good for investors. Fisker stops interest payments and production. Renault wants EU war chest to fight Chinese. More.

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Monday Morning Auto News, Mar 18, 2024: China slams SpaceX spy sats. Bursting EV bubble costs Trillions. Former Ford CEO sees “real trouble” for EV startups. More.

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Friday Morning Auto News, Mar 15, 2024: Honda, Nissan join hands. Ross Gerber wants “Real CEO” for Tesla. EV winter. More.

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Thursday Morning Auto News, Mar 14, 2024: Fisker prepares for bankruptcy. Tesla: “Growth company with no growth.’ Partnership talk: Nissan with Honda, Renault with Volvo, Volkswagen with whoever. More.

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Wednesday Morning Auto News, Mar 13, 2024: Wells Fargo downgrades Tesla, Günheide production will take some time to resume, Model 2 won’t ramp until 2027. More.

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Tuesday Morning Auto News, Mar 12, 2024: 13 of 14 automated driving systems rated ‘marginal’ or ‘poor’ in IIHS test. Tesla Grünheide reconnected. Tesla blacklists Cybertruck owner. More.

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Monday Morning Auto News, Mar 11, 2024: Feds probe Honda over braking issues. Tesla Grünheide could get power Monday. Geely’s funding hopes clouded. Hino-Fuso merger delayed. More.

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Friday Morning Auto News, Mar 08, 2024: Dems probe SpaceX. Tesla out of market cap Top 10. Charge goes Chapter 11. Rivian pauses factory construction, unveils SUV. More.

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German BEV sales, 2/24: It’s a tragedy

By a hair, Tesla could have been Germany’s largest BEV maker last month. Would they have squeezed only a paltry 500 units more into the German market, Tesla would have outsold Germany’s juggernaut, the entire Volkswagen Group in terms of BEVs. Which demonstrates the tragedy of charts and statistics.

The tragedy is that German’s formerly high-flying BEV market contracted by 15% in February, taking its market leaders with it into the abyss. Registrations of Tesla cars shrank 21.7% compared to February 2023. Sales of #1 Volkswagen Group withered by nearly 29%.

The reason?

Germany’s formerly generous BEV-subsidies were yanked by the country’s highest courts

Germans desert en-masse to hybrids and plug-in hybrids. In February, hybrids out-sold BEVs more than 2:1. Sales of plug-in hybrids increased by 22.3% yoy.

Thursday Morning Auto News, Mar 07, 2024: Renault promises half-price home electricity. NJ man caught trafficking Starlink terminals. Tesla Grünheide shut for another week. More.

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Wednesday Morning Auto News, Mar 06, 2024: Musk meets Trump. Tesla Grünheide stays shut. BYD makes cheapest EV cheaper. More.

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Tuesday Morning Auto News, Mar 05, 2024: Arson stops Tesla Grünheide. Bezos richer than Musk. Nio losses widen. More.

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Monday Morning Auto News, Mar 04, 2024: Tesla talking with Thailand. Tesla China shipments plunge. Nissan pays back suppliers. More.

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Friday Morning Auto News, Mar 01, 2024: Musk sues OpenAI. SEC charges Lordstown Motors. Musk hasn’t been to therapy. More.

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Thursday Morning Auto News, Feb 29, 2024: Greenest car is a Toyota hybrid. Toyota was right about hybrids all along. VW, XPeng ink deal. BYD brings bigger rebates. More.

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Wednesday Morning Auto News, Feb 28, 2024: Renault confirms EV talks with VW. Nissan plans robotaxi service. Apple car dead. Honda to sell plug-in hydrogen vehicle in NA, JP. More.

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World’s Largest Automakers, January 2024: Same procedure as last year. And Schäfer is insane.

World’s top three automakers enter the new year with a very familiar ranking: Toyota Group #1, followed by Volkswagen Group, and then Hyundai Group, all three separated by a little more than 100,000 units.

Of the three, only Volkswagen Group achieved double digit increases, as it did for most of last year. Remarkably, some Volkswagen managers, notably Volkswagen Passenger Vehicle boss Thomas Schäfer, have been talking for most of last year as if the house is on fire. The result is considerable cognitive dissonance among the workforce.

Schäfer seems to style himself as the Anti-Musk: Musk continues making promises he can’t keep. Schäfer talks of doomsdays that won’t come. You figure it out.

Tuesday Morning Auto News, Feb 27, 2024: Hybrids shine as EVs slump. Boring Co. workers faced chemical burns. Cybertruck owners lash out at Tesla. More.

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Monday Morning Auto News, Feb 26, 2024: Toyota’s winning bet on hybrids. Renault might share Twingo platform with VW. Musk’s Vegas loop has issues. Toyota Mirai at $40,000 off. More.

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Friday Morning Auto News, Feb 23, 2024: Waymo cars keep hitting things. Musk nominated for Nobel. Clerical errors pile Up in earnings reports. Rivian swerves dangerously. More.

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Thursday Morning Auto News, Feb 22, 2024: Musk Is Posting a Lot About Russia.Tesla faces hurdle in Germany. Health hazards at battery plants. More.

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Wednesday Morning Auto News, Feb 21, 2024: Locals reject Tesla expansion. Audi could can tech boss. Twitter employees monitored Musk’s jet. Ford cuts EV prices. More.

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