Runtime: 5:24
0:26 Tesla Cuts Workforce
0:57 Prosecutors Allege FCA/UAW Conspiracy
2:00 Ferrari To Offer Bridgestone Run-Flat Tires
2:35 Used Car Prices Hit Record High
3:50 Toyota Makes Big Bet on Mobility
4:19 Volvo S60 Polestar Details
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On today’s show…Tesla fires a big chunk of its workforce…Ferrari commits heresy and offers run-flat tires…and Toyota makes a billion-dollar bet on ride-sharing. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
TESLA CUTS WORKFORCE
Tesla announced it is firing 3,000 employees, about 9% of its workforce. They are all salaried and none of them work in Tesla’s assembly plant. Here’s my Autoline Insight. That kind of headcount reduction should save at least $300 million a year. This is a desperate move by Tesla to make a profit in the third and fourth quarters of this year. And it shows that Tesla is now acting more like a traditional old-time automaker: fire as many people as you can to make a profit.
PROSECUTORS ALLEGE FCA/UAW CONSPIRACY
Several executives from FCA and the UAW have been convicted of embezzling at least $1.5 million. The CEO of FCA, Sergio Marchionne, and the president of the UAW, Dennis Williams, have said this was done by a rogue group of officials. But the US Justice Department disagrees. It says this was a conspiracy between FCA and the UAW to violate the Labor Relations Management Act. Federal prosecutors say the conspiracy started before 2009 and occurred during the time of three UAW presidents’, Ron Gettelfinger, Bob King and Dennis Williams.
Still to come…Bridgestone develops run-flat tires for Ferrari.
FERRARI TO OFFER BRIDGESTONE RUN-FLAT TIRES
Most enthusiasts hate run-flat tires. They have stiff sidewalls that can adversely affect the handling of a car. But Ferrari just announced its going to make run-flats available on the new Portofino convertible, specifically Bridgestone Potenza S007s. Bridgestone says that despite the added stiffness, these run-flats can handle “high G cornering” because they were developed specifically for the Portofino. The Potenza S007s will be available on all European and North American Ferrari Portofinos.
USED CAR PRICES HIT RECORD HIGH
The used car market in the US is starting to heat up. According to Edmunds, the average transaction price of a used car in the first quarter was $19,657. That’s over 2% higher than last year and an 18% increase from five years ago. It’s due to a growing number of near-new vehicles coming off-lease. And this will help sales of new cars. When people can get more money for their trade-in, it makes it easier to buy a new one.
Don’t forget to join us for Autoline After Hours tomorrow afternoon. We’re going to have Lightning Systems in the studio talking about how they convert Ford Transits into electric vans. So join me and Gary Vasilash for some of the best insights as to what’s going on in the automotive industry.
Coming up next, Volvo gives us some details on its Polestar performance sedan.
TOYOTA MAKES BIG BET ON MOBILITY
Toyota is making a big bet on mobility services and just invested $1 billion in the Asian ride-hailing service Grab. The automaker will also be involved in the management of the company. More and more carmakers are jumping into mobility services because they see a chance to make big money. Ford has its Chariot service, GM has Maven, Daimler has car2go, and VW has MOIA, just to name a few. And we’re likely to see more be added to the list.
VOLVO S60 POLESTAR DETAILS
Volvo gave us some details on its new Polestar engineered S60 sport sedan. It will be Volvo’s first American-built car, will be offered with Polestar Engineered-colored gold brake calipers and gold seatbelts, along with Polestar emblems. The performance option also comes with mutli-link front and rear suspension and adjustable Öhlins shock absorbers, as well as black chrome exhaust tips. ECU tuning will bump power up by 15 horsepower to 415 horsepower, while also improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. It will be built in Charleston, South Carolina officially gets unveiled next week.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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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.