Stellantis includes 14 brands and some of them may die, Tesla is delivering a model Y made in China, and also for the elderly. All this and more in The morning shift for January 19, 2021.
1st gear: some Stellantis Marques seem likely to die
Stellantis, which is as the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Groupe PSA was called, includes 14 different brands. Let’s wind them up: Fiat, Chrysler, Peugeot, Opel, Jeep, Maserati, Dodge, Ram, Citroën, DS, Alfa Romeo, Vauxhall, Abarth and Lancia.
You forgot about Opel and the DS, I know. It’s okay, this is a safe space, you can admit. Anyway, there are many brands! Probably one or a few of them will die in the USA, according to Automotive News. Two of the most vulnerable brands appear to be Fiat and Chrysler:
The highlights of the post-merger project in North America are no secret: produce as many Ram pickup trucks as possible and push Jeep to higher price levels and new segments.
But Stellantis executives will have to find out how the rest of the FCA’s extensive list of brands fits into the long-term puzzle and whether cuts need to be made.
Chrysler is reduced to two minivan nameplates and the old 300 sedan. Alfa Romeo is seeing signs of life – its US sales grew 1.6% in a bear market last year – but volumes are low for the Giulia sedan and the Stelvio crossover.
Fiat has maintained its small car line, but slowing sales have fallen further in the midst of the pandemic, dropping by more than half last year to just 4,303 vehicles. Meanwhile, Dodge has carved out a niche as a muscle brand, but has no electrified offerings, and two of its three nameplates still in production are cars in a market that is heavily inclined towards SUVs and crossovers.
Add the seven brands that the PSA Group is contributing to the merger, and it seems likely that there will be some simplification. But killing any FCA brand would not be an easy decision or process, although almost none of the company’s dealerships is a single brand store that would be left out.
“You have to be very cautious if you’re thinking about killing a brand as a parent company,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com, a used car search site. “I see two brands like Fiat and Chrysler. It certainly seems easy to imagine them leaving, which are not justified given their sales volume and market share. But I also feel all the rules that we would normally be assuming for [FCA] are different now because of the merger with PSA. “
G / O Media can receive a commission
Dodge is the “muscle brand”. For some reason, I can’t stop saying “muscle mark” in my head.
2nd gear: More Stellantis
Investors like the merger. For a while.
In Reuters:
Stellantis, the automaker created by the combination of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot-owner PSA, got off to a positive start on Monday, its shares rising 8% on its debut in the European market and valuing the deal at around 42 billion euros ($ 51 billion).
[…]
“We have the scale, the resources, the diversity and the know-how to successfully capture the opportunities of this new era in transportation,” said President John Elkann in a video on the Borsa Italiana website to mark the occasion.
Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said the merger would add 25 billion euros in value to shareholders over the years, thanks to projected cost cuts.
“I can say that the focus from day one will be on creating value that is the result of implementing these synergies,” said Tavares in the same video.
Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and PSA said Stellantis could cut costs by more than € 5 billion a year without closing plants.
Stellantis’ $ 51 billion is a lot of money, but at the time of writing, Tesla is worth almost $ 800 billion (on paper).
3rd gear: last year was the worst year recorded for car sales in Europe
Nobody had a good year last year. Even if you did, no one wants to hear about it. The news for automakers in Europe are in line with all others.
In Bloomberg:
Auto sales in Europe fell the highest ever recorded last year, as relatively resilient demand in the second half contributed a lot to offset the collapse during the initial Covid-19 outbreak.
New vehicle registrations fell 24%, said the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers on Tuesday, the biggest annual drop since registrations started in 1990. A strong year-end for Volkswagen AG and the PSA Group limited the decline sector in December to just 3.7%.
The automakers were able to better deal with government measures to curb the spread of coronavirus throughout the year, helped by subsidies and resellers by adopting online ordering tools. But the collapse in sales in March, April and May was difficult to recover, with the industry managing a single month of growth throughout the year. In contrast, China’s automotive market expanded over the second half.
4th gear: Tesla spoke to the media!
The news here is that Tesla is now delivering the Ys model made in China, but I am more concerned with the fact that Tesla actually made a comment to the media. It has been absolute silence from the California company for a while now.
In Reuters:
Tesla Inc said on Monday it had started delivering its Model Y sport utility vehicles, made in Shanghai, to customers in China.
A representative from the U.S. automaker made the comment in response to a Reuters consultation.
5th gear: a little reckoning is happening in Japan with the elderly and cars
Almost a third of Japan is over 65 and it is an ongoing debate there (and everywhere else) how old is too old to drive. Automakers are adding safety features, and many seniors are voluntarily giving up their license after a horrible accident in 2019.
In Bloomberg:
According to the National Police Agency, 350,428 people aged 75 and over returned their driver’s licenses in 2019, the highest number ever recorded.
[…]
Last year, Toyota updated its Safety Sense offering. The technology was designed to prevent or mitigate frontal collisions, as well as keeping drivers in their lane. Using high-resolution cameras on the windshield and bumper-mounted radars, it can detect approaching cars or pedestrians – or even bicycles during the day – and give audible and visual alerts. If drivers do not respond, automatic braking can be activated. The new software also has intersecting functionality to help detect obstacles if a car is making a turn from a stationary position.
Other Toyota Safety Sense features include correcting unintended lane exits, automatic switching between high and low lights at night, depending on traffic around, and detecting slower cars ahead on a highway and automatic maintenance from a pre-distance -definite. Assistive technology for traffic signs detects stop and speed signals when they are overtaken and displays an alert on the dashboard if drivers themselves have forgotten them.
[…]
The aspirations of Subaru Corp. are similar; it wants to eliminate all fatal accidents by 2030. Like many other automakers, it is using stereo cameras, which have two or more lenses with a separate image sensor for each, providing the ability to capture three-dimensional images. Called EyeSight, the technology looks ahead and alerts drivers of any danger. Subaru says vehicles equipped with Vision are involved in 61% fewer accidents and 85% less rear collisions. Pedestrian-related injuries are reduced by 35%.
Reverse: Zeppelin
Neutral: how are you?
The guy across the street spends about 90% of his time polishing, waxing and taking care of his old Chrysler hot rod. I would like to love anything very much.