241101 WARNING the Auto Industry is on the Verge of a MAJOR Crisis.mp4

Nov 1, 2024 ............................... 7:28

Why you should care about the auto industry's latest failures. The impact will affect the not just the global economy but it impacts jobs, suppliers, communities and the future of the auto industry.
Volkswagen is closing three plants in Germany, and Audi is halting production in Belgium, sparking fears of a crisis in Europe’s car industry. One significant factor impacting the industry is Europe’s high energy costs, which German carmakers say are four times higher than in China and the United States.

Stellantis is struggling, and its troubles lie specifically with is North American business – home to Jeep, RAM, Dodge and Chrysler. The spotlight is on Stellantis and it seems like things are getting worse. Their third quarter sales in the U.S. were a disaster, falling 20%. For the year they’re down 17%. And investors are heading for the exits.

Ford’s Q3 net income is down 26% and cost issues have caused it to drop its full-year adjusted earnings projection to around $10 billion. Ford is going to idle F-150 Lightning EV plant in mid-November for rest of year. They lose $40,000 for each vehicles sold. This is not sustainable.

General Motors may have said that their latest round of white-collar job cuts are to their "software and service" employees but that's not exactly true. The layoffs come from GM's Ultium division which is the sub-EV company GM created to differentiate it from its gasoline engine department.

I can confirm that thermal engineers, who work on battery programs in Ultium have been let go from the company, without warning. Thermal Engineers play an important part in the development of EV's because thermal management involves the cooling of batteries, power electronic systems, and the motors.

The impact is real and we will be watching an reporting back as the industry changes.

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/ @car-smarts