Runtime: 9:02
0:31 Ferrari Is a Money Machine
1:12 Skoda Has a Vision
1:51 Do You Know How to Count?
2:55 U.S. January Sales
4:52 Designers Still Want Clay
6:58 Tearing into Tesla’s Model 3
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On today’s show…Ferrari reports its earning and it is minting money…passenger car sales continue to crater in the U.S. market…and our final installment on the design and engineering problems with Tesla’s Model 3. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
FERRARI IS A MONEY MACHINE
Ferrari is a money-making machine. The company just posted its earnings for 2017 and the numbers are impressive. It sold just under 8,400 vehicles, which is up 5%. That helped push its revenues to 3.4 billion euros, which is a 10% improvement. But look at how much of that money dropped to the bottom line. Its earnings before interest and taxes shot up 30%, while its net profit skyrocketed 34%. That’s a lot of money for not a lot of cars, and Sergio says he wants that EBIT number to hit 2 billion euros in four years’ time.
| FERRARI 2017 EARNINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 8,398 | +4.8% |
| Revenue | €3.4 B | +10% |
| EBIT | €775 M | +30% |
| Net Profit | €537 M | +34% |
| Source: Ferrari | ||
SKODA HAS A VISION
Skoda is expanding its SUV range to 3 models and is showing renderings of what the concept will look like. The compact crossover wears the automaker’s signature grille, but the rest is an entirely new design language. The rear taillights have a Volvo-vibe and look, more “shark fins.” A large display screen sits in the middle of the dash and is surrounded by illuminated crystal glass. It’s a hybrid vehicle that by 2025 will be joined by plug-in and all-electric cars. The Skoda VISION X will make its debut at the Geneva motor show.
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO COUNT?
So, do you think you have figured out the way Mercedes names its models? Good for you, but it’s about to change. Mercedes filed for trademarks in Canada and other markets that would change the numbers, but not the letters. All vehicles will have just two numbers now. The models will have a number that ends in zero, while all AMG models will end in a “3.” For example, it’s filed for A 40, CLA 40, GLE 50, CLA 53 and S 73. The new naming should be fairly easy to pick up.
Still to come…despite all the advancements in computer aided design and simulation, designers prefer using clay to design new vehicles.
U.S. JANUARY SALES
Sales of new cars and trucks in the U.S. continue to soften, but the SAAR reached 17.1 million vehicles, so the market is still strong. Automakers sold 1.1 million vehicles, down 3% from a year ago on a daily selling rate basis. Consumers continue to buy fewer passenger cars and more crossovers, SUVs, vans and trucks. The truck segment accounted for 68.8% of all vehicles sold and it’s probably going to hit 70% sometime this year. Here’s another shocking statistic. General Motors, Ford and FCA only accounted for 35% of all the vehicles sold, despite their strength in trucks. That’s mainly because of a double digit drop in sales at both Ford and FCA.
| U.S. SALES, JANUARY 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|
| SAAR | 17.1 M | |
| Sales | 1.1 M | -3% |
| Cars | 364,814 | -11.5% |
| Trucks | 791,582 | +7.9% |
| Source: WardsAuto | ||
Let’s look at the full line manufacturers. GM saw its sales drop, but they fell less than the overall market did, meaning it picked up some market share. Toyota had a very strong month, up 12%, but Cox Automotive says Toyota boosted its fleet sales by 69%. If you take those fleet sales out, which mostly went to daily rental companies, then Toyota’s sales would have been down. Ford saw a 10% drop, and Lincoln really pulled those numbers down with sales falling 30%. FCA sales dropped 16%, with every single brand except Alfa Romeo going down. And just as we predicted, Nissan has surpassed Honda in sales. But Nissan ramped up fleet sales by 48% and without them it would be far behind Honda.
.tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;} .tg td{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;} .tg th{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;} .tg .tg-s6z2{text-align:center} .tg .tg-baqh{text-align:center;vertical-align:top} .tg .tg-hgcj{font-weight:bold;text-align:center} .tg .tg-yw4l{vertical-align:top}| U.S. SALES, JANUARY 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|
| General Motors | 198,433 | -2.7% |
| Toyota | 167,056 | +12.1% |
| Ford | 155,899 | -10.4% |
| FCA | 131,896 | -16.2% |
| Nissan | 123,538 | +5.6% |
| Honda | 104,542 | -5.7% |
| Source: WardsAuto | ||
Overall it was a decent month. The slowdown is really caused by the drop in passenger cars and now we have to wonder: how low can they go? At some point the market for passenger cars has to hit bottom. But right now, they’re still in a free fall.
DESIGNERS STILL WANT CLAY
Automakers are using more and more technology in car development but there’s still one area where an old-school approach is preferred and that’s with design. On Autoline This Week, Michael Simcoe, the head of Global Design at General Motors, explains why clay models are still an important part of the design process.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
For a deeper dive in to GM design you can watch that entire discussion right now on Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
Coming up next, we have our last segment on the engineering problems that Munro & Associates discovered on the Tesla Model 3.
TEARING INTO TESLA’S MODEL 3
Sandy Munro is an expert at design, engineering and manufacturing who does a lot of competitive benchmarking for automakers and suppliers. Right now, he’s doing a benchmarking report on the Tesla Model 3. All week long we’ve been showing you what Munro & Associates have found as they dug into how the Tesla Model 3 was designed and engineered. And here’s the final installment.
(The Tesla Model 3 tear down is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
We hope you’ve enjoyed this look into Tesla’s Model 3. The entire video is available now to watch on our YouTube channel. And when Munro and Associates finishes its complete teardown of the car we’ll let you know what they found.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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.
