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Runtime: 6:59
0:30 Nissan CEO Saikawa To Step Down
0:56 VW Wants to Reduce Parts Made In-House
1:51 Amazon Tests Autonomous Delivery
2:36 Top Automakers in Mexico
3:16 CA Police Department to Test Tesla Model S
3:46 Toyota Won’t Make 2019 Yaris Hatchback
4:43 Leave A Message on A Car with Augmented Reality
5:39 Boeing Tests Autonomous Passenger Drone
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On today’s show…in an unexpected twist, Nissan’s CEO says he’s going to retire…VW wants to reduce the number of parts it makes in-house to fund EV development…and Boeing successfully tests an autonomous passenger drone. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
NISSAN CEO SAIKAWA TO STEP DOWN
We’ve got another twist in the plot of the Renault-Nissan soap opera. Now, Nissan’s CEO Hiroto Saikawa, says he will step down and retire after the two companies reset their relationship. This could be a good move to reduce tensions between the two companies since Saikawa played the lead role in getting his predecessor arrested on charges of allegedly hiding tens of millions of dollars in undeclared compensation.
VW WANTS TO REDUCE PARTS MADE IN-HOUSE
Volkswagen is more vertically integrated than most automakers, but it may be taking the first steps to reduce how many parts and components it makes in-house. Bloomberg reports that VW is consolidating its parts-making companies into one business unit. The idea is to reduce headcount and cut costs, then take those savings and invest them into making electric cars. VW’s parts unit has 80,000 workers in 61 factories worldwide and earns 22 billion euros a year in revenue. VW wants to eliminate 6,000 of those jobs by 2023. Here’s our Autoline Insight: vertical integration can make a company more profitable. But it is very capital intensive. And since automakers have to invest heavily in electrification and autonomy, that’s squeezing out investment for traditional parts and components.
AMAZON TESTS AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY
Amazon is trying out small autonomous pods for delivering packages to customer’s homes. Six of these robots, called Scout will be roaming around a Seattle, Washington suburb dropping off packages, which are retrieved from under a lid on top of the pod. A worker will still follow the robots around at first, but we wonder if the end game is to eliminate humans from the package delivery process?
Still to come…a look at the top automakers in Mexico.
TOP AUTOMAKERS IN MEXICO
It was a rough year for automakers in Mexico in 2018. According to WardsAuto, car sales totaled 1.4 million units which is a drop of 7% compared to the prior year. Nissan is the top automaker in the country by a fairly wide margin but its sales tumbled 14% in 2018. GM is the number two automaker, and its sales fell nearly 9%. Volkswagen saw its sales plunge 17%, while Toyota posted a modest 3% gain. And rounding out the top five automakers in Mexico in 2018 is Kia, which posted a strong gain of nearly 9%.
| 2018 MEXICO CAR SALES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle Total | 1.42 M | -7.1% |
| Top Automakers | ||
| Nissan | 314,123 | -14.3% |
| General Motors | 236,069 | -8.7% |
| Volkswagen | 180,131 | -17.1% |
| Toyota | 108,761 | +3.1% |
| Kia | 94,234 | +8.7% |
| Source: WardsAuto | ||
CA POLICE DEPARTMENT TO TEST TESLA MODEL S
In an effort to help reach a goal of reducing municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, the Fremont Police Department is testing out a used Tesla Model S. It will monitor performance, durability, range, costs and any other issues to see if EVs would make good replacements for traditional vehicles. The department says the pilot test could reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 10%. I think it will be an interesting test to keep track of.
TOYOTA WON’T MAKE 2019 YARIS HATCHBACK
We’ve seen a number of slow selling vehicles get the axe recently and the hatchback version of the Toyota Yaris could join that list. The automaker sold less than 2,000 examples last year in the U.S. market, which was a drop of close to 80%. And Toyota has confirmed it will not make a 2019 version and instead sell off the remaining 2018 models. There is a glimmer of hope. Toyota will have an announcement about a 2020 Yaris at the New York Auto Show.
Boeing is now testing autonomous passenger drones. And we’ll have more about that, right after this.
LEAVE A MESSAGE ON A CAR WITH AUGMENTED REALITY
Sometimes companies develop new technology that they don’t see any market for. Even so, it’s worth throwing it out there to see if somebody else does. Mitsubishi Electric exhibited new technology at CES this year, even though it didn’t see any market for it. The technology allows a car owner to leave a message on their car for somebody that can only be seen by that person using augmented reality. So if they hold up a smartphone or tablet, and point it at the car, the message appears on the fender. Well, Uber just happened to see it and instantly saw how to use it. When people come out of the airport, a concert and there’s a whole bunch of Uber cars, they can point their phone and find which one is for them. And that’s why it’s valuable to exhibit new technology even if you’re not exactly sure if there’s a market for it.
BOEING TESTS AUTONOMOUS PASSENGER DRONE
Passenger drones could be the next major disruptor in mobility services, that’s why we’re seeing so much activity in this field. Porsche, Audi, Daimler, Geely, Uber and probably several more I’m forgetting about, are testing or investing in vertical takeoff and landing aircraft or VTOLs for short. And now we can add Boeing to the list, as it just successfully tested an autonomous passenger drone. The prototype completed a controlled takeoff, hover and landing. It’s powered by an electric propulsion system and has a range of 50 miles. Boeing says the next step is to test forward, wing borne flight, as well as the transition between vertical and forward flights.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.
