AD #2571 – Hinrichs Frontrunner for CEO of Ford, Nissan Drops the Versa Note, Environmental Impact of VTOLs

This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.

HINRICHS FRONTRUNNER TO BECOME CEO OF FORD
Well the race is on to see who replaces Jim Hackett as CEO of Ford. The company announced this morning that Joe Hinrichs will be in charge of all of Ford’s operations around the world, and Jim Farley will be in charge of all the future stuff, including mobility and autonomy. Both will get the title President. Here’s our Autoline Insight. Hinrichs and Farley are clearly the front runners to replace Hackett. And it sure looks like Hinrichs is in the lead right now. He’s in charge of where the company makes all its money today, while Farley is in charge of the company’s future. But none of the operations he oversees, like Autonomy, Mobility and Data Analytics, are viable businesses. His challenge is to turn them into operations that make money, but that could take years. So when the board of directors decides it’s time for a new CEO, Joe Hinrichs will probably end up running the company.

NEW STUDY SHOWS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF VTOLs
Passenger drones could be the next revolution in mobility because they could cut down on travel time and congestion. To find out the environmental impact of the vehicles, the University of Michigan and Ford did a deep dive into what are officially called VTOLs or vertical takeoff and landing vehicles. Researchers looked at energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and time savings of VTOLs compared to passenger cars. For trips of 100 kilometers or 62 miles, passenger drones carrying a pilot and three passengers had 52% lower emissions than a gasoline powered car and 6% lower than battery electric vehicles. However, anything less than 35 kilometers or 22 miles, gas powered cars were more efficient. The authors of the study also say other areas need to be addressed such as cost, noise and societal and consumer acceptance. But it sure looks like VTOLs just took another step closer to reality.

AUDI EXPANDS USE OF 3D PRINTING IN PRODUCTION
3D printing is not widely used for making production parts for cars, but it sure is becoming popular in manufacturing. Audi is expanding its use of 3D printing to make custom designed tools for use in vehicle assembly at one of its factories in Germany. Audi is getting input from line workers about what tools to make for their individual needs, to make manufacturing more efficient and flexible. The company can print the tool onsite and then deliver them within a day. This trial is part of an effort by Audi to create a global 3D printing network.

And we’ll be back with more right after this.

FORD TO FORM JOINT VENTURE WITH MAHINDRA IN INDIA
Despite being one of the fastest growing markets in the world, Ford is struggling in India. It spent more than $2 billion in the region over the last 20 years, but only has 3% market share. Now Reuters reports that Ford will end independent operations in India and is close to signing a deal with Mahindra to form a new joint venture there. Ford’s current Indian unit would transfer most of the business to the new joint venture, including assets and employees. The deal is expected to be done in the next 90 days, which would see Ford own 49% and Mahindra 51%.

FORD PLANS TO TURN LINCOLN INTO A CHINESE BRAND
Not only is Ford giving up control of its operations in India, it’s going to turn Lincoln into a Chinese brand. Or to quote from Ford’s own release, “the Lincoln brand is reinforcing their ‘China First, Customer First’ strategy, cementing China’s position at the fore of the brand’s global strategy.” In China, Lincoln is perceived as a much more luxurious brand than it is in the United States. Lincoln built beautiful dealerships in China that offer levels of customer service that are largely unmatched in the U.S. And with its “China First, Customer First” strategy, Lincoln has the potential to grow much faster in China than it does in the U.S.  

Be sure to join us tomorrow afternoon for Autoline After Hours when we’ll have Masahiro Moro, the CEO of Mazda North America in the house. If you’ve got questions about where Mazda is headed, send us an email to viewermail@autoline.tv, and then join us at 3 pm eastern time when we go live.

MCLAREN TO DEBUT NEW GRAND TOURER
Supercar maker McLaren has a bold plan to introduce 18 new models by 2025 and the next example will be a Grand Tourer that debuts in May. And it’s a true Grand Tourer. Engineers are working to make sure the car can go 1,000-miles with two people and luggage, and without the need to stop and fill up. And it will do that with a twin-turbo V8. The mid-engine car does not have a name yet because it is completely unique and won’t be part of an existing model series.

HANDFUL OF UNSOLD LEXUS LFAs STILL LEFT IN U.S.
Speaking of supercars, Lexus stopped production of the LFA in 2012, but there are still a handful of unsold models in the U.S. Autoblog followed the saga for over a year now, which started with 12 LFAs left, but now that’s dwindled down to 5. These are all officially classified as dealer inventory but don’t look for any blowout prices for these $375,000 exotics. If dealers have been willing to hang on to these cars for 7 years, they’re probably not going to cave anytime soon.

NISSAN DROPS THE VERSA NOTE
While the LFA, one of the most expensive cars you can buy slowly fades away, Nissan confirmed it will stop selling one of the cheapest cars in the American market. The Versa Note hatchback, which starts under $16,000, will go away at the end of the month. The sedan will live on, and we’ll see a resigned version debut this weekend. Customers will have to look elsewhere for their next economy hatch.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow.