Interesting Car/Truck Manufacturer News

[Weather Man]

Ballard collaborates with MAHLE on fuel cell propulsion systems
Sep. 28, 2020 9:28 AM ET|About: Ballard Power Systems Inc. (BLDP)|By: Akanksha Bakshi, SA News Editor


Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) announces collaboration with MAHLE, on the development and commercialization of zero-emission fuel cell systems to provide primary propulsion power in various classes of commercial trucks.

MAHLE, is a leading international development partner and Tier 1 supplier to the commercial vehicle and automotive industry.

During the initial development phase, Ballard has prime responsibility for system design and the fuel cell stack sub-system, while MAHLE is responsible for balance-of-plant components, thermal management and power electronics for the complete fuel cell system, or engine, and system assembly.

“With our shared vision on the role of fuel cell technology to decarbonize heavy-duty trucks and our complementary capabilities, we expect this collaboration with MAHLE to result in development and commercialization of winning fuel cell engines for customers in the truck engine market in Europe and beyond, at a time where policies are mandating zero-emission powertrain solutions," commented Randy MacEwen, Ballard CEO.

 

[Weather Man]

Ford's unionized Canada workers OK contract; C$1.8B for EV battery production
Sep. 28, 2020 4:29 PM ET|About: Ford Motor Company (F)|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor


Ford (NYSE:F) says its members in Canada represented by Unifor voted in favor of new three-year collective agreements that include C$1.8B in investments to bring battery electric vehicle production to its plant in Oakville, Ont. and C$148M for powertrain facilities in Windsor, Ont.

Ford says the contract will result in more flexible work arrangements and a quicker path for new hires advancing up the ranks, and includes two 2.5% raises and a $7,250 ratification bonus for full-time, permanent workers.

"This is the single biggest investment in the Canadian auto industry in years, providing long-term job security for Unifor members," the union's national president Jerry Dias says.

The agreement is expected to set the tone for upcoming contract talks with Fiat Chrysler and General Motors; Unifor says it plans to meet with Fiat Chrysler this week.

 

[Weather Man]

Toyota confident on electrification growth
Sep. 29, 2020 7:41 AM ET|About: Toyota Motor Corporation (TM)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Toyota (NYSE:TM) projects that its annual global sales of electrified vehicles could reach 5.5M in 2025, although a formal company target wasn't set.

The timeline to reach that level of electrified sales (hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, hydrogen fuel cell) is five years earlier than initially planned by the Japanese automaker.

Seiya Nakao, chairman and president of Toyota China's engineering and manufacturing, said at an industry conference today that auto electrification was progressing faster than expected.

 

[Weather Man]

Nikola slumps as GM overhang unsettles investors
Sep. 29, 2020 10:16 AM ET|About: Nikola Corporation (NKLA)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Hindenburg Research is asking how long Nikola (NKLA -5.2%) partners like Bosch, CNH and General Motors (GM -0.2%) will stay quiet on the issues at the company.

"Will GM put its 112-year brand at risk for $NKLA stock that will likely be worthless by the time $GM can sell, and for cash that likely won't be there when it comes time to spend?," asks the research firm.

Hindenburg also has an answer in the form of a SEC snapshot to those saying Nikola can easily move beyond the drama now that Trevor Milton is gone from the board.

 

[Weather Man]

Vehicle delivery services surge amid pandemic - Cars.com
Sep. 29, 2020 12:34 PM ET|About: Cars.com Inc. (CARS)|By: Khyathi Dalal, SA News Editor


A research from Cars.com (CARS -0.7%) indicated that as the pandemic drives stay-at-home trends there was a surge in buying cars delivered directly to consumers' homes, as well.

61% of recent car buyers said they would want their newly purchased car delivered at home from their local dealership; local dealerships offering home delivery services are up 35% since March.

"During the start of the pandemic, and certainly far beyond, consumers have turned to personal car ownership as their preferred and safe mode of transportation," CEO Alex Vetter commented.

Walk-in traffic to dealership showrooms is down 15% nationwide while 57% of recent buyers said they conducted the bulk of the vehicle transaction online with their local dealership.

Online buying is highest in New York (81%) and Los Angeles (73%), followed by Chicago (65%), Atlanta (64%) and Dallas (63%).

By August, 66% of dealers offered home delivery services, an increase of 35% in less than half a year.

While home delivery is dominated by luxury brands, non-luxury has started entering the top 10.

 

[Weather Man]

Nikola full-speed ahead on ambitious plans
Sep. 30, 2020 8:15 AM ET|About: Nikola Corporation (NKLA)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) posts a new statement to highlight key elements of the company's strategy and vision to become a global leader in zero-emissions transportation.

The company notes that it has business partners and suppliers to significantly reduce execution risk, improve commercialization timelines and build long-term competitive advantages.

"A number of world-class firms, which include the Bosch group of companies, CNH Industrial N.V., Hanwha Group and Nel Hydrogen, are strategically involved and have invested capital. The Nikola Board of Directors comprises a number of individuals from its strategic business partners and suppliers. Bosch, one of our suppliers, was an early investor in Nikola, leading the Series B and C private investment rounds, and we have filed jointly owned patent applications related to batteries and fuel-cell technologies."

The release also ran through the advantages of hydrogen.

The biggest item might be that Nikola expects the first batch of five prototypes of the Nikola Tre to be substantially completed at its JV facility in Ulm, Germany in the next few weeks.

NKLA +1.45% premarket to $18.14 with the GM partnership announcement delayed, but not necessarily DOA.

Source: Press Release

 

[Weather Man]

Tesla rallies ahead of Q3 deliveries report
Sep. 30, 2020 10:09 AM ET|About: Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Analysts are buzzing over Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) Q3 deliveries report that could be posted sometime Thursday or Friday.

Credit Suisse estimates Q3 deliveries of 140K vs. 136K consensus.

Credit Suisse's math: "Decomposing 3Q deliveries, we assume June/July combined deliveries of ~75k; for context, this is the highest first-two-months of a quarter for Tesla, ahead of the prior high of ~50k in Oct/Nov 2018, and also ahead of Oct/Nov 2019 of ~47k…upside this quarter has primarily come from the US (in part aided by the ramp of Model Y) and also from China. Assuming Jul/Aug of ~75k, our forecast assumes September deliveries of ~65k units, which would represent the highest-ever final month of a quarter for Tesla (prior high of 63k in Dec’19). While aggressive, we believe this is feasible given Tesla’s typical quarter-end wave."

 

[Weather Man]

Supercars in super jeopardy at Volkswagen
Sep. 30, 2020 2:58 PM ET|About: Volkswagen AG ADR (VWAGY)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


The pivot goes on at Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) with the German automaker reportedly reviewing the future of the Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati brands as the shift to mass producing electric cars hits a higher gear.

Sources tell Reuters that Volkswagen's management board will look at the automaker's supercar strategy at a meeting in November.

The review could result in technology partnerships for the high-performance sports car and superbike brands, restructuring, or other options up to and including a listing or sale.

 

[Weather Man]

Mazda U.S. sales rose ~29% in September
Oct. 1, 2020 10:17 AM ET|About: Mazda Motor Corporation (MZDAY)|By: Niloofer Shaikh, SA News Editor


Mazda (OTCPK:MZDAY) unit sales +28.7% Y/Y to 24,237 in September.

Car sales down 5.6% to 4,848 units while Truck sales grew 41.5% to 19,389 units.

CPO sales expanded 35% to 6,016 units.

Sales of the CX-5 saw its best September since launch with 13,582 vehicles sold.

YTD Mazda U.S. sales fell 2.3% to 203,280 units.

 

[Weather Man]

General Motors' sales drop 10% in Q3
Oct. 1, 2020 11:53 AM ET|About: General Motors Company (GM)|By: Niloofer Shaikh, SA News Editor


General Motors (GM +2.6%) reports auto sales in the U.S. declined 10% in Q3 to 665,192 units vs. -14.1% forecast by Edmunds.

The Chevrolet brand experienced best quarter ever with 45% growth, while the Cadillac brand was also +45% and Envision increased 44%.

Kurt McNeil, GM vice president, U.S. Sales Operations said, “Industry-wide, dealers are selling a high mix of large pickups as the summer comes to an end. Our strong large pickup and all-new full-size SUV lineups from Chevrolet and GMC are selling extremely fast.”

"While the economy has made a substantial rebound in the third quarter, retail auto sales have been even more resilient,” said GM Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg. “Super low auto loan interest rates have boosted retail auto sales; yet more strength comes from pandemic-induced demand.”

 

[Weather Man]

Battery patent sends Aspen Aerogels sharply higher
Oct. 1, 2020 1:58 PM ET|About: Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (ASPN)|By: Stephen Alpher, SA News Editor


The company has received a patent for Lithium-Sulfur batteries.

ASPN +12%

Developing ...

 

[Weather Man]

Mitsubishi Motors' new vehicle sales surges in Q3
Oct. 1, 2020 3:13 PM ET|About: Mitsubishi Motors Corpor... (MMTOF)|By: Shweta Agarwal, SA News Editor


Mitsubishi Motors (OTCPK:MMTOF) reports Q3 2020 sales increased to 24,857 units, up 49% from the previous quarter and 1.5% at this time a year ago.

YTD sales decreased 24% to 72,617 units.

Model-wise sales: Mirage: 5,839 units (-29.5% Y/Y); Eclipse Cross: 2,429 units (-25.7% Y/Y); Outlander Sports: 7,719 (+4.6% Y/Y); Outlander: 7,923 units (+62.23% Y/Y); Outlander PHEV: 947 (+42.2% Y/Y).

The company says "this sales performance signals a continued recovery of new vehicle sales across the U.S., following a substantial disruption of business through the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and safer-at-home orders."

 

[Weather Man]

American Honda's September sales beats pandemic, up 11.5%
Oct. 1, 2020 5:12 PM ET|About: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC)|By: Shweta Agarwal, SA News Editor


Honda's (NYSE:HMC) U.S. total sales rose 11.5% Y/Y to 127,058 units in September, but Q3 sales declined 9.5% to 388,433 units.

Sales increased 1% for cars and 19.9% for trucks in September.

Acura September sales increased 16.6% on strong performances from MDX, RDX and ILX, taking Q3 volumes to +1.6%.

Honda brand sales climb 11% as trucks set September record with 20.4% jump; however Q3 sales down 10.6%.

"September marks a high-water mark for Honda sales this year with double-digit gains and our first month in positive territory since the pandemic began. Powered by the strong performance of our Honda and Acura SUV lineups, we’ve been building momentum throughout the third quarter and early indications from dealers and customers are that the just-released 2021 Acura TLX is a real winner. So we’re optimistic for a strong close to 2020,” said Dave Gardner, executive VP of National Operations at American Honda.

 

[Weather Man]

Carvana success pushes Morgan Stanley off bearish view
Oct. 2, 2020 9:29 AM ET|About: Carvana Co. (CVNA)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Morgan Stanley hikes Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) to an Equal Weight rating after having it slotted at Underweight.

Analyst Adam Jonas says Carvana has meaningfully accelerated the online sales dealer model.

"Carvana has disrupted the used car dealer industry by offering a comprehensive end to end experience for consumers to transact in the buying and selling of cars online. CVNA built the necessary infrastructure, logistics network, online product capabilities and heavily advertised to consumers, which is all a part of their recipe for success."


Volkswagen Q3 U.S. sales down 7.6% to 86,446 vehicles
Oct. 2, 2020 6:01 AM ET|About: Volkswagen AG ADR (VWAGY)|By: Mamta Mayani, SA News Editor


Volkswagen of America (OTCPK:VWAGY) reports Q3 2020 sales of 86,446 vehicles, down 7.6% Y/Y.

Q3 total car sales decreased 22% Y/Y to 34,139 units, while SUV sales increased 4.7% to 52,307 units from the prior year.

"Sales rose in September, led by our SUVs, as our new Atlas Cross Sport, refreshed Atlas and Tiguan keep drawing customers to the brand. We intend to build on that foundation and will expand next year with the Taos and ID.4," said Duncan Movassaghi, EVP sales and marketing, Volkswagen of America.


Honda to withdraw from Formula One at end of 2021 season
Oct. 2, 2020 5:51 AM ET|About: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC)|By: Jignesh Mehta, SA News Editor


Honda (NYSE:HMC) will withdraw from Formula One (NASDAQ:FWONA) at the end of the 2021 season as it shifts to a goal of carbon neutrality.

Honda supplies engines to Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri.

In its statement, HMC noted: “Toward this end, Honda needs to funnel its corporate resources in research and development into the areas of future power unit and energy technologies, including fuel cell vehicle and battery EV technologies, which will be the core of carbon-free technologies”.



Li Auto Q3 deliveries surge 31% to 8,660 vehicles
Oct. 2, 2020 4:55 AM ET|About: Li Auto Inc. (LI)|By: Mamta Mayani, SA News Editor


Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) has delivered 3,504 Li ONEs in September.

The company’s vehicle deliveries in Q3 2020 reached 8,660 units, +31.1% Q/Q.

YTD deliveries reached 18,160 vehicles.

As of September 30, Li Auto had 35 retail stores covering 30 cities.

 

[Weather Man]

Ford tops expectations with a 5% drop in Q3 unit sales
Oct. 2, 2020 9:38 AM ET|About: Ford Motor Company (F)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Ford (NYSE:F) reports U.S. sales fell 4.9% in Q3 to 551,976 vehicles to beat the consensus expectation for a 6.7% drop.

Truck sales rose 0.6% to 311,751 units and SUV sales were down 0.7% to 191,803 units, while car sales plunged 37.5% to 48,424 units.

The F-Series did the heavy lifting again, with sales up 3.5% to 221,467 units during the quarter. Explorer sales soared 74% to 59,060 units.

Sales commentary: "Despite the challenging pandemic environment, our retail unit sales were down only 2 percent and we had our best third quarter of pickup truck sales since 2005. F-Series finished the quarter on a high note with September sales up 17.2 percent with over 76,000 F-Series pickups sold. This is a testament to our winning product portfolio and the performance of our great dealers."

Shares of Ford are down 0.81% in early trading.

 

[Weather Man]

Tesla Q3 deliveries of 139.3K top expectations; shares remain lower
Oct. 2, 2020 8:09 AM ET|About: Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) says it delivered 139,300 vehicles in Q3, including over 124K Model 3/Ys.

The consensus estimate was for 136K deliveries, although the last few estimates in from Wall Street were right around the 140K mark.

The company produced a total of 145,036 vehicles during the quarter.

"Our net income and cash flow results will be announced along with the rest of our financial performance when we announce Q3 earnings. Our delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct. Final numbers could vary by up to 0.5% or more."

 

[Weather Man]

BorgWarner backed Romeo Systems to go public via SPAC (RMG Acquisition) deal
Oct. 2, 2020 4:20 PM ET|About: BorgWarner Inc. (BWA)|By: Khyathi Dalal, SA News Editor


BorgWarner (BWA -0.9%) +1.4% AH, backed California-based Romeo Systems, maker of EV batteries, is in advanced talks to go public through a merger with blank-check company RMG Acquisition (RMG +8.0%) +3% AH, Bloomberg reported as cited by close sources.

Combined company's equity value is estimated to be ~$1.4B and a deal could be announced as soon as Monday, as per Bloomberg's report.

In 2019, BorgWarner announced that it would take a 20% stake in battery module and pack supplier Romeo Power for an undisclosed amount.

Carrying out business as Romeo Power Technology, led by Founder and Chairman Michael Patterson and CEO Lionel Selwood, it supplies batteries to EV maker Nikola for its semi-truck model, the Nikola Tre.

 

[Weather Man]

Auto makers, pumping billions of dollars into developing electric cars, are now facing a critical choice: get more involved with manufacturing the core batteries or buy them from others.

Batteries are one of an electric vehicle's most expensive components, accounting for between a quarter and a third of the car's value. Driving down their cost is key to profitability, executives say.

But whereas the internal combustion engine traditionally has been engineered and built by auto makers themselves, battery production for electric cars is dominated by Asian electronics and chemical firms, such as LG Chem Ltd. and Panasonic Corp., and newcomers like China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.

With regulators world-wide pushing car companies to sell more electric cars, auto executives worry there won't be enough factories building high-quality batteries........

GM, Ford need electric-car batteries, but take different paths to get them

 

[Weather Man]

Heavy duty truck demand roars back in September
Oct. 4, 2020 7:35 PM ET|About: PACCAR Inc (PCAR)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Preliminary North America Class 8 net orders in September were up 145% from a year ago to 31,100 units, according to new data from ACT Research. Class 8 orders rose 60% from the level seen in August.

The North America Classes 5-7 market orders rose 48% during the month to 26,900 units.

Overall, Classes 5-8 orders were up 88% from a year ago.

"Preliminary data show that September orders for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles posted positive readings for a fourth consecutive month, after 19 consecutive months of negative year-over-year comparisons," notes ACT senior analyst Kenny Vieth.

"As orders rebounded to relatively healthy levels early in Q3, most of those orders were targeted at filling open 2020 build slots. With most of that work done by the end of August, we suspect the lion’s share of September's orders were booked into 2021," he added.

 

[ON D BIT]

Heavy duty truck demand roars back in September
Oct. 4, 2020 7:35 PM ET|About: PACCAR Inc (PCAR)|By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor


Preliminary North America Class 8 net orders in September were up 145% from a year ago to 31,100 units, according to new data from ACT Research. Class 8 orders rose 60% from the level seen in August.

The North America Classes 5-7 market orders rose 48% during the month to 26,900 units.

Overall, Classes 5-8 orders were up 88% from a year ago.

"Preliminary data show that September orders for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles posted positive readings for a fourth consecutive month, after 19 consecutive months of negative year-over-year comparisons," notes ACT senior analyst Kenny Vieth.

"As orders rebounded to relatively healthy levels early in Q3, most of those orders were targeted at filling open 2020 build slots. With most of that work done by the end of August, we suspect the lion’s share of September's orders were booked into 2021," he added.

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