AD #3899 - Stellantis Looking for Replacement CEO; Kia Launching Commercial Vans in Japan; Chinese Exports Likely to Grow More

Speaker 1: This is Underline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. In a surprising revelation, the chairman

of Stalantis, John Elcan, admitted that the company is looking for a replacement for its CEO, Carlos Tavares. Tavares has

come under public fire from the Italian government, the UAW, and the company's US dealer base. Sales and profits have

dropped sharply this year, and the stock price is down thirty three percent since January. Stillanta said it's normal for

a company to start looking for a CEO replacement well before that CEO's contract expires, and that's true. All major

corporations always have contingency plans to replace senior executives just in case something happens, or as part of the normal rotation through executive suites. But it's highly unusual for a

company to go out and publicly announce its searching for a new CEO nearly sixteen months before his contract expires.

Speaker 2: So here's our autoline insight.

Speaker 1: This announcement is going to put enormous pressure on Tavares to get things turned around or his contract won't be renewed.

And it's a signal to the US dealers, the UAW, the Italian government and shareholders that the board of directors is aware of their displeasure and is ready to make changes.

Speaker 2: Speaking of Stillantis.

Speaker 1: It's pushing back against the UAW, which is threatening to strike the company for allegedly failing to live up to its labor agreement. Stillantis is delaying plans to open its

Belvidere assembly plant, it's eliminating a shift at its Warren truck plant, and it's planning to move production of the Dodge Durango out of Detroit and probably to Windsor, Canada.

Speaker 2: But Stillantis says.

Speaker 1: It's free to make these moves because it signed a side letter to the labor contract that allows it to take market conditions into account when deciding where to locate production and how to run its plants. We think that

if the union does go on strike for contract violations, the first thing the company will do is run to the courts to get an injunction to stop the strike.

And that side letter may give Stilantis all the power that it needs. But it isn't the only auto maker

with union problems. Oliver Bluma, the CEO of Volkswagen, says

he expects significant concessions from German labor unions. VW is

entering negotiations to close at least two assembly plants in Germany and is looking for significant headcount reduction. But the

unions say that closing plants is out of the question and they're going to resist any layoffs and so this.

Speaker 2: Could get ugly.

Speaker 1: VW desperately needs to cut costs, while the unions are in no mood to compromise.

Speaker 3: There's nothing wrong with heavy metal. Hey light enough, but

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Speaker 1: It took twenty five years to do it, but Buick says it's the first automaker in China to make two million premium vans. The GL eight was introduced in nineteen

ninety nine and the Milestone example, the all new plug and hybrid version that debuted in April, just rolled off the assembly line. To also help celebrate the occasion, Buick

revealed a new future van concept called the Organic Mobile Private Villa or OMPV for short. There's only this one picture,

but it says it will have adjustable lighting and amenities as well as a transformable interior that sounds like it will take advantage of reconfigurable seating, and I really like all the wild designs in cool time you can get in these Chinese vans like the gl eight, But it's a Buick that will probably never make it to its home market because of the US's new rules on Chinese evs and technology, which will essentially ban all vehicles made in China, and that's not just limited to premium vans.

A US Commerce Department officials said they anticipate that any vehicle that's manufactured in China and sold in the US would be prohibited from entering the market. That means that

gm Ford, Polestar in Volvo could have to stop importing vehicles like the Buick and Vision, Lincoln Nautilus, and S ninety Sedan. The official says that the automakers are aware

of this, but they are allowed to apply for special authorization to.

Speaker 2: Sell the models.

Speaker 1: We expect gm Ford, Polestar in Volvo to do that, but it's unclear how strict the Commerce Department will be.

Despite being blocked from the US, Chinese automakers continue to increase their number of X sports through the first eight months of the year, nearly four point one million vehicles have been exported from China, which is an increase of twenty seven percent. Russia was number one with over seven

hundred and five thousand Chinese vehicles entering its borders, followed by Mexico with more than three hundred and twenty three thousand imports, and then the UAE at roughly two hundred and three thousand vehicles. And we can only expect these

numbers to grow with automakers like byd adding even more car hauling ships to its fleet. It's about to launch

the second which can carry seven thousand cars, of seven ships that it plans to deploy in the next two years.

Toyota is buying back a huge amount of its stock.

It already repurchased eight point three billion dollars worth of its stock, or nearly four percent of its shares. Even

so its stock is up only one percent, even though it's raking in records. The stock buyback is part of

the company's effort to loosen up its cross shareholdings with banks and insurance companies. The Japanese government is pushing large

corporations like Toyota to unwind partnerships which will allow them to concentrate on the core business and make decisions faster.

Speaker 2: Western automakers are.

Speaker 1: Lagging behind China when it comes to smart car technology, but great Wall Motors may have come up with a solution to help merge US and European systems with Chinese tech.

It says it independently developed a new automotive grade software chip that uses open source architecture to define the interaction between hardware and software. So, despite being behind China, the

chairman of great Wall says quote, relying on open source architecture can lessen the restriction by European and American technologies and ensure the possibility of architecture expansion with the access option of luxury brands. Foreign automakers have not had much

success in Japan, so the Hondai Group is taking a different approach. Instead of selling passenger vehicles, it's jumping into

the commercial segment. Kia announced that it will start offering

its platform Beyond Vehicles or PBV vans in Japan starting in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 2: The mid size PV five.

Speaker 1: Will be the first to launch, followed by the PV seven and then other models in variants. The electric vans

are based on a software defined vehicle platform and they're customizable based on the customer's needs. Will be very interested

to see if Kia is able to have any success selling commercial vehicles in Japan. Volkswagen is partnering with Google

to integrate generative AI into the automaker's mobile app. The

feature is now available to all twenty twenty four model year at Lists and Atlas Cross Sport owners in the US through the MYVW app. Drivers can use the AI

Virtual Assistant to answer questions about the vehicle or even provide info about warning lights by pointing a smartphone camera at them. VW says the new AI powered Virtual Assistant

will roll out in most model year twenty twenty in newer vehicles starting next year. That brings us to the

end of today's show. Thanks for making autoline a part.

Speaker 2: Of your day.

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AD #3899 - Stellantis Looking for Replacement CEO; Kia Launching Commercial Vans in Japan; Chinese Exports Likely to Grow More

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