Harley-Davidson is doing better (for now)

Harley has done better than expected, Consumer Reports is fighting with Tesla and Elon Musk again. All this and more in The morning shift by July 21, 2021.

Gear 1: Harley Profits Better Than Wall Street Expected

Harley is made with cheap motorcycles, because it’s the five-figure bikes that pay the big bucks. An older, different (Flavored with Buell) Harley’s version would have argued that maybe we should make cheap motorcycles to build up a client base for the future, but that’s not what Harley is today. Harley is on profits now, because that’s what shareholders want, and also, probably, because that’s what’s easiest.

It’s almost certainly bad in the long run, but who really thinks in the long term? For now, this short-term strategy is working.

Of Reuters:

U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as it capitalized on its focus on selling high-margin touring and cruising motorcycles under a new recovery plan.

[…]

The company has downgraded its operating profit forecast from motorcycle sales to 6% to 8% in 2021, from 7% to 9% previously estimated, citing higher tariffs on its bikes in the European Union, its second market.

However, it raised the forecast for growth in operating income for its financial services segment.

On an adjusted basis, Harley earned $ 1.41 per share in the quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of $ 1.17 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Revenue from motorcycles and related products nearly doubled to $ 1.33 billion. The company said its deliveries doubled to 56,700 units in the second quarter.

Harley recently dodged a bullet in Europe, and benefited of Trump being dismissed from his post, although his biggest fans will probably never recognize him. Like someone who has a motorbike Approval: The future in this space is so clearly e-bikes and scooters, and Harley’s efforts there have been weak at best. His new motorcycles seems well, but that seems to be more fan service.

2nd Gear: Consumer Reports has another chance at Tesla

Consumer Reports has a long and complicated history with Tesla, recently restore the Top Safety Pick + status of Model 3 after previously take a test to make fun of the companythe demands of its driver assistance systems. CR is back this week, tell reuters that Tesla’s full self-driving is rubbish, in so many words.

The influential consumer post cited videos posted on social media of drivers using it and raised concerns about issues including “vehicles missing corners, rubbing against bushes and heading for parked cars.”

Consumer Reports said it plans to independently test the software update known as FSD Beta 9, as soon as its Model Y receives the update.

Tesla and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) did not immediately comment.

“The videos of FSD Beta 9 in action don’t show a system that makes driving safer or even less stressful,” says Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center. “Consumers are simply paying to be test engineers to develop technology without adequate security protection. “

It is not, to be clear, a one-sided relationship like Tesla has with most of the others media-Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla doesn’t care what CR thinks, or at least he did. And CR doesn’t have a dog in this fight either, he buys all the cars he tests, including his Teslas. You can trust either a nonprofit organization offering a sincere review or Elon. Difficult choice.

3rd gear: speaking of Elon! He announced something good

A big hit on Tesla, for years, has been that if he truly believed that if he was here to change the world and solve climate change or whatever, then why are his charging stations only for Tesla? ? Because, if you wanted mass adoption of electric vehicles, you would surely want it to be as easy as possible, even if people weren’t buying your brand. Well, Elon asserted Tuesday that its charging stations would work with non-Tesla electric vehicles later this year.

The tracking here will be of the utmost importance, and I don’t expect it to be flawless, but, that said, good for You, Elon, even though it’s part of a lucrative galaxy brain scheme. The US charging network needs to improve, period, and that will help.

4th gear: Daimler feels the shortage of chips

Demand for Mercedes still looks good, the problem, like many other automakers, is that it just can’t produce enough cars. due to the shortage of chips. This hurt sales and the Daimler share price, according to Bloomberg, although Daimler is still doing well.

Daimler AG said early year growth in its main Mercedes-Benz division will be offset by the global semiconductor shortage that the luxury carmaker expects to curb in the second half of the year.

Mercedes car sales are now expected to be roughly flat this year rather than significantly higher from 2020. The lack of chips will have a negative impact on business as the year progresses and visibility on the market. supply trend is small, Daimler said Wednesday.

Shares of the automaker fell 1.4% at 9:50 a.m. in Frankfurt, wiping out an earlier drop of 4%. The stock is still up about 19% for the year.

[…]

“The entire industry is currently struggling with longer delivery times, which unfortunately also affects our customers,” said Managing Director Ola Kallenius. “We are doing what we can to minimize the impact.”

5th gear: Ford’s Argo AI autonomous unit to launch on Lyft

The whole proposition of Lyft and Uber is predicated on a future in which human taxi drivers are eliminated and robotics is the thing, which is very dark but, you know, welcome to the modern world. Uber pretty much gave up that future last year, in a retreat that wasn’t funny at all, but Lyft is still in the game, partnering with Ford’s Argo AI.

Of Reuters:

Ford Motor Co. and its autonomous unit IA Argo plans to launch autonomous vehicles on the Lyft ridesharing network by the end of the year.

The service is slated to launch in Miami later this year and in Austin, Texas next year with a safety driver inside Ford Escape hybrid vehicles. Over the next five years, companies want to deploy at least 1,000 robotaxis in several cities, according to a press release on Wednesday.

The first truly autonomous cars are expected to launch in 2023, said Jody Kelman, Lyft’s autonomous team leader.

The partnership marks the first large-scale U.S. collaboration between an automaker, self-driving car developer and ridesharing company. Companies are hoping to gain valuable insight on how to turn the robotic axis into a commercially viable business, a challenge that no company has yet answered.

It seems that robotaxis could still be a short-term thing, in very limited environments. As a business, that’s probably a good long-term bet as well, but it will take several billion to get there.

Reverse: VW