“Morizo” himself resigns, Tesla goes New lengths to lower prices and keep costs down, And Renault and Nissan have homework to do, whether their marriage works out or not.Not only that, but more morning shift Thursday, January 26, 2023.
1st gear: Sayonara Akio
Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda stepped down Thursday morning and introduced his successor, former Lexus boss Koji Sato. It will be Sato’s responsibility to lead the company into the mobility space, the outgoing executive said at an online briefing. car news:
At an online briefing immediately after the announcement, President Toyoda said, “Over the past 13 years, I believe we have built a solid foundation for passing the baton.” There is,” he said.
Toyoda, 66, has worked closely with Sato, 53. Sato has assumed the latter role as head of the Lexus premium brand and leader of his racing Gazoo, the outgoing president’s pet favorite.
Toyota said part of the reason Sato was tapped was because “he likes cars” and “his youth.”
Toyota said it needed someone younger to complete Toyota’s transition into the new era.
“I’ve always been a car maker, and that’s how I changed Toyota,” Toyoda said. “But the automaker is everything to me.
Mr. Toyoda helmed the company for 13 years.When he became CEO in 2009, the company his grandfather started caught in an unintentional acceleration scandal It turned out to be a poorly designed floor mat product.
Mr. Toyoda survived the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 and survived the global recession as a manufacturer. He cemented its position as the world’s number one global automaker and brought much-needed new enthusiasm to the brand. 86, above When GR Corolla — Vehicles he personally tested as a racing driver alter ego,Morizo.’
G/O Media can earn commissions
Bounce back from stress
The Apollo can be used to identify stress, and how you recover from it. It claims that you’ll recover faster from workouts, increase your ability to deep sleep, and improve focus, with just three hours per day of wear.
Of course, in recent years he’s been Criticizes Toyota for slow adoption of battery-electric vehicles Compared to the rest of the industry – somewhat surprising given the market’s early success in popularizing hybrids with the Prius.
Analysts seem to think Sato will make Toyota’s image fresher and more youthful. They also seem to think that 53 is a young age for a company leader, based on industry reactions. Reuters enclosure. It is worth noting that Akio Toyoda is currently 66 years old. This means he was also 53 when he took the top spot.
Do your best, Koji.give it to us lexus supercar and again What looked like the new MR2.
Gear 2: For Tesla, the plan is simple
It basically boils down to “cutting costs everywhere”. The EV maker announced its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Wednesday a few weeks later. reduce prices across the rangeA supposedly revamped Model 3 with reduced material costs is on the line for 2023, but that’s not the only cut the company wants.Around Reuters:
Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said the company will “attack all other cost areas, unwinding the cost increases that COVID-related instability has created over the years.” said.
That means running Tesla’s factories more efficiently with fewer materials in inventory, cutting transportation and logistics costs, and negotiating lower prices for parts, and alerting Tesla’s suppliers.
[…]
Based on data gathered from the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV, Tesla is also redesigning elements of the battery and electric motor system to reduce costs by removing features that owners don’t use. said the company.
As my colleague Eric alluded to yesterday, this is all pretty standard stuff. Tesla raises Model Y price after big devaluation Just below the $55,000 EV tax credit eligibility limit.if you Model Y pricing all options today — hell all colour — It costs a lot of money. For example, red adds $2,000 more to the MSRP. For most automakers, this would be seen as hopeless. But when Tesla does these things, it’s lean, resourceful, optimizing its customer base, or whatever.
Gear 3: Hyundai spends a lot of money
$8.5 billion to be exact, most of which has been allocated to a future Georgia plant that will allow it to sell its EVs in the U.S. while benefiting from tax credits.Courtesy bloomberg:
The company said the money will be used primarily for research and development and the construction of a new plant in Georgia. Hyundai announced in May that it was spending $5.5 billion to build an electric vehicle assembly and battery plant near Savannah, US, with construction set to begin in early 2023.
The South Korean automaker is targeting an astonishing 11.5% revenue growth this year after posting fourth-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates. Hyundai also increased its dividend on the news, an unusual move for an automaker whose stock price rose 6.3%.
“Favorable foreign exchange rates and increased sales of value-added vehicles drove growth in 2022,” Hyundai Vice President Seo Kang-hyun said in an earnings call. He added that the global chip shortage, which has plagued automakers since late 2020, should ease in 2023. However, as competition intensifies, the company’s marketing costs may rise.
Nonetheless, Hyundai could have ended 2022 as the world’s number one, with sales up 21% in North America by the fourth quarter. 3rd largest automaker Next to Toyota and Volkswagen. I love the Hyundai here.
Fourth gear: Renault, Nissan bury the hatchet on February 6
According to two sources close to the automaker, ReutersThe two companies that make up the toughest partnership in the industry (Mitsubishi is there, of course) have multifaceted plans for the richer days ahead.part of it Renault owns Nissan as much as Nissan owns Renault. This has been a major problem for Japanese companies for many years.from Reuters:
Renault seeks Japanese automakers to invest in new electric vehicle business, Nissan sells about 43% stake to largest shareholder Renault, hoping to put 23-year partnership on more equal footing I’m in.
Renault has consistently declined to comment publicly on negotiations with its Japanese partner, while a Nissan spokesman declined to comment on Thursday.
One of the sources told Reuters that the two companies will announce five joint projects to resume the partnership, covering manufacturing, technology and further geographic developments, including India.
A deal to build the successor to the Nissan Micra at the Renault plant in France and an already announced deal to build Junior Alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors’ new ASX and Colt at Renault plants in Spain and Turkey are two of those five. It wasn’t immediately clear if it would be considered part of the project.
I’m strangely excited Minecraft/Colt/Renault 5 Because the official renderings of each, especially the Micra, have looked lovely so far. I expect. No one can profit from doing it anymore.
Fifth gear: Ford expands remote service
Have you ever picked up a dealer for remote service? Ask Ford, it’s the way of the future, and one that many customers are starting to like. That’s not surprising. Recently people seem strangely okay with double payment, maybe triple For take-out orders on DoorDash instead of just picking up bags.
Either way, Ford is doubling down on its remote offering. The automaker currently owns 828 of his vans at 600 dealerships, but that number is expected to rise to 1,400 and his 1,000 each by the end of the year.from car news:
According to Todd Rabourn, director of customer experience for North America, increased customer demand for such services was driven primarily by the coronavirus pandemic, prompting Ford to step up its capabilities. Ford offsets the cost of up to six repair orders per day for each of his mobile units he services and all pickups and deliveries done by dealers, he said. Payments are made based on store guaranteed labor costs, which vary by market.
Rabourn refused to provide the range of support dealers receive, citing varying rates. He also said the company will provide training for technicians on how to operate the van and how to integrate the service.
“We think this is going to become more and more popular with consumers,” Rabourn said. car news“We know our customers want convenience, and we believe these experiences make it convenient to have their vehicles serviced.”
Ford said the remote experience program is optional and available to all dealers.
These ‘experiences’ take the form of pickups and deliveries where the driver picks up the vehicle from the customer’s location, takes it to the garage and returns it later. Or a fully mobile service where eligible work is performed onsite.
Back: Versatile Man
On this day in 1925 – 98 years ago – Paul Newman was born. “The only thing I felt elegant about was racing cars.” New Yorker Quoted from the actor. “And it took 10 years.”
Neutral: What to expect from Sato’s Toyota?
Will EVs increase? Another sports car? (obvious) better design? Better product overall?Toyota is very successful — despite that, some say, some say because of its conservatism. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine drastic changes, but how would you like to image Toyota’s 5 and 10? How many years later?
