Runtime: 8:41
0:32 Former VW CEO Charged in Diesel Scandal
1:27 Ferrari Is Minting Money
2:30 Car Sales Soar in Brazil
3:34 GM’s Unique Approach to Lightweighting
4:32 Toyota Builds AV Test Center in Michigan
5:34 Dealers Respond to EV Critics
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On today’s show…the Department of Justice just indicted Volkswagen’s former CEO for his role in the diesel scandal…GM is using AI and 3D printing to make cars a lot lighter…and dealers respond to critics who say they don’t know how to sell EVs. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
FORMER VW CEO CHARGED IN DIESEL SCANDAL
Former Volkswagen, CEO Martin Winterkorn was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for conspiracy and wire fraud in his role in the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal. The DOJ says he found out about the cheating in May of 2014 and again in July of 2015 but did nothing to stop it. Winterkorn is the ninth VW executive or manager who has been charged by the U.S. Two are currently serving time in jail, while the others are still in Germany. Here’s our Autoline Insight. This must be very embarrassing to people working in the German legal system. Once again it takes American courts to get to the bottom of this scandal. Now we’ll have to see if Germany extradites top level executives who perpetuated this fraud, or just lets them go free.
FERRARI IS MINTING MONEY
We’ve got Ferrari’s latest financial numbers and it just set a record for the quarter. It sold 2,128 cars in the first three months of the year, up 6% from a year ago. The increase was driven by V12 models. Sales of V8 models were flat. The company generated €831 million, up only 1%, but that was dragged down by foreign exchange, as the euro strengthened against the dollar and pound sterling. EBIT came in at €210 million, up nearly 20%, while net income was up the same amount coming to €149 million. Interestingly, Ferrari spent less money on R&D for Formula One, but that was offset by spending more on R&D for hybrid versions of its production cars. And it earned €149 million for the sponsorship and payments it gets from F1, including all the money it earns selling t-shirts, hats and watches.
FERRARI Q1 2018 EARNINGS | ||
---|---|---|
Sales | 2,128 | +6% |
Revenue | €831 M | +1% |
EBIT | €210 M | +19% |
Net Profit | €149 M | +19% |
Source: Ferrari |
CAR SALES SOAR IN BRAZIL
Just a few years ago the Brazilian economy collapsed sending car sales into a tailspin. There were even rumors that Ford might drop out of the Brazilian market because it was losing money. But the economy is starting to recover and car sales are now soaring. WardsAuto reports that nearly 210,000 light vehicles were sold in Brazil in April, up almost 38% compared to a year ago. For the year sales are up more than 20%. And that is terrific news for the Brazilian auto industry.
GM has come up with an amazing way to cut the weight of cars and that’s coming up next.
GM’S UNIQUE APPROACH TO LIGHTWEIGHTING
GM is taking a unique approach to the way it designs and manufactures parts. It teamed up with the software company Autodesk to test out what it calls generative design technology. Designers just have to plug in what they want the part to weigh, how strong it should be, what material they want to make it out of and how it will be assembled. The system uses cloud computing and artificial intelligence to quickly generate different part designs. The user then picks the design that best fits their need. GM sees even more potential that can be unlocked when paired with 3D printing. For example, it took a seat bracket made of 8 different pieces and, after running it through Autodesk’s software, cut it down to a single part that’s 40% lighter and 20% stronger. And that means we’re going to see a lot more weight taken out of cars simply by using more computing power.
TOYOTA BUILDS AV TEST CENTER IN MICHIGAN
Michigan has become something of a haven for testing autonomous cars and now Toyota is joining the mix. It will open its own AV test facility in October near the Ohio border. The 1.75-mile closed-course test track will include congested urban environments, slick surfaces and a four-lane divided highway with high-speed entrance and exit ramps. As we said, there are a number of other places in Michigan, Toyota could have turned to, but it’s clear the automaker doesn’t want anyone to catch wind of what it’s up to.
Critics says that car dealers don’t do a good job of selling electric cars. Coming up next, we’ll tell you what the dealers say.
DEALERS RESPOND TO EV CRITICS
Electric vehicles make up a tiny fraction of the overall car market. Part of the reason, according to EV advocates, is that dealers don’t do a good job of training their sales staff to sell EVs. On Autoline This Week, we’re joined by car dealers and here’s their response to the criticism.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For more about what role dealers will play in the new world of mobility, you can watch that entire discussion right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
But that’s it for today, may the Fourth be with you.
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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.