Honda confirms it has a new CEO

Honda has a new CEO, Kia starts its ramp-up of Carnaval and Renault. All this and more in The morning shift for February 19, 2021.

1st gear: Honda confirms it has a new CEO

This it was just wednesday this week when sources told Reuters that Honda’s head of research and development would become its CEO, news that Honda denied. Except that now Honda’s head of R&D has become its new CEO, the company confirmed with a press conference and everything.

This is apparently an attempt to keep up with Teslas.

From Reuters:

Honda Motor Co, Japan’s second-largest automaker in sales, said on Friday that its chief executive, Takahiro Hachigo, would step down and be replaced by Toshihiro Mibe, his head of research and development, on April 1.

Mibe, 59, who worked with Hachigo to promote structural reforms, has been president of the R&D unit since 2019, after stints in engine development and the powertrain business after joining the company in 1987.

“We would consider using external insights or potential alliances among other actions to make decisions without hesitation,” said Mibe at a news conference in which he called for “Honda’s great transformation at great speed.”

His appointment, first reported by Reuters this week, comes at a time when Honda is racing to recover in the field of all-electric cars and faces competition from new competitors and tech giants like Tesla, Apple and Amazon.

“He is looking to the future, a direction that Honda should take,” said Hachigo at the conference, attributing Mibe’s experience in environmental technology and energy and his attention to change as reasons for choosing.

Honda is in a weird middle ground, which is doing very well in many ways, but I could see that it would be taken by surprise in five years if the transformation to electric cars really happened and was left like, “Come buy the Honda Insight. “

2nd gear: Kia Carnival is coming!

The artist formerly known as Kia Sedona it’s not a minivan, you idiot. It is a “multipurpose vehicle,” a term that has been around for some time, but that always confuses me. Are all vehicles multipurpose?

Anyway, Kia started the ramp-up.

From Automotive News:

Carnival will be unveiled on February 23 and will be the first vehicle in the United States to feature the new Kia logo and badge.

Kia said that Carnival MPV will expand “the limits of design and innovation to become a multifaceted and unexpected companion”.

Based on a previous image released by Kia, it will offer three rows of seats, space for seven or eight passengers and a “bold and square” style reminiscent of the brand’s latest utility vehicles, such as Telluride, Sorento and Seltos.

The changes are designed to remain viable in a market that is moving away from traditional minivans and adopting crossovers and SUVs. While the minivan segment continues to shrink, it remains a key entry point for some brands for buyers, especially families, who want more functionality (think of multiple cup holders and storage boxes), more flexible seating and entry and exit easier in a vehicle.

An “unexpected companion” is my favorite description of a new minivan, probably forever.

3rd gear: Renault has record loss

For most automakers, that would be bad news. IIn fact, it’s for Renault too. That’s it Renault is the type of company – partly owned by France itself – which I feel will be persist in good and bad times and always be with us.

All this means is we probably shouldn’t worry too much about the fact that Renault is predicting very bad things for 2021.

From the Financial Times:

Renault suffered a record loss of € 8 billion in 2020 and warned of a difficult year ahead due to weak demand and the global shortage of microchips that rocked the industry.

The automaker and its alliance partner Nissan, which contributes to the French group’s income, were severely affected in the first half of last year, when the pandemic hit demand across Europe.

The net loss was worse than the € 7.8 billion forecast by analysts, but performance improved from July, with Renault describing 2020 as a “year of contrasts”.

The operating margin was 3.5 percent in the second half of the year and Renault generated positive automotive free operating cash flow, although the company still suffered a net loss of € 660 million.

In fact, it was a year of contrasts. I still can’t believe it twingo is dead.

4th gear: Daimler has no fun with its electric car brand in China

China has been moving rapidly towards EVs, but somehow Daimler’s EV brand there, Denza, is not doing so well. Bloomberg it says that Daimler is now putting the brand “on alert”.

Daimler AG CEO Ola Kallenius said the success of the latest Denza crossover will determine the future prospects for the Chinese electric car brand with partner BYD Co. Ltd., after years of poor sales.

“Money investment is behind” for the model, Kallenius told reporters on Thursday. “Now we will see how Denza develops and then we will make decisions.”

The lukewarm demand for Denza’s EVs has raised concerns as the car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz works to increase returns. BYD declined to comment.

Daimler and BYD established the brand a decade ago to exploit growth in the Chinese new energy vehicle market. Although sales have skyrocketed, fierce competition in price-sensitive volume segments is presenting a challenge in terms of profitability.

5th gear: Uber remains bad

The title in this story from Reuters it is so clear that it is almost shocking. “Uber drivers entitled to labor rights, the main UK court rules affect the business model.” Like, the entire Uber business model is exploiting its employees.

A group of Uber drivers are entitled to labor rights, such as the minimum wage, the British Supreme Court ruled on Friday in a blow to the free ride that has ramifications for millions of others in the gig economy.

In a case led by two former Uber drivers, a London labor court ruled in 2016 that they had due rights that also included paid holidays and rest breaks.

Uber drivers are currently treated as self-employed, meaning that, by law, they only receive minimal protections, a status that the Silicon Valley company sought to maintain in a long legal dispute.

“The Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Uber appeal,” said Judge George Leggatt on Friday.

[…]

It may still take several months for the details of Friday’s decision to be worked out at a new hearing by the labor court to resolve the practicalities of the sums due to drivers, according to the lawyers.

Law firm Leigh Day says qualified drivers may be entitled to an average compensation of £ 12,000 ($ 16,780). It represents more than 2,000 potential applicants.

Uber is simply not defensible.

Reverse: John Paul Jr.

It is the birthday of the last race driver. He had a strange life.