[ad_1]
The morningAll your daily news on the car at the same place. Is your time not more important? Honda plans to close its only car plant in the UK, the European Union said it would defend itself in a trade war with the United States, Carlos Ghosn was preparing for the lawsuit, General Motors is filing its where his SUVs are, his anti-SUV mentality. All this and more in The Morning Shift of Tuesday, February 19, 2019.
1st gear: Honda plans to leave production in the UK.
We are now about a month away from the European Union leaving the European Union, and Honda has just confirmed the 2021 expiration date of its only UK car plant in Swindon – with the loss of 3,500 jobs, according to Reuters. But Reuters reports that Honda said the decision was definitely, absolutely not related to Brexit, despite its timely timing.
Instead, Honda said the closure was more related to the fact that the company was not doing as well in Europe. and wants to focus on vehicle production where it sells the most. Here are more of Reuters:
But the timing of the announcement, just 38 days before Brexit, comes as Japanese companies are increasingly worried about investing in Britain after leaving the EU.
"This decision was not informed by Brexit," said Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo.
"We needed to consider the rise of electrified vehicles and the different speeds of electric vehicles in North America and Europe."
Honda, which is building its Civic in Britain and Turkey, has announced it will stop making the model in both countries. The announcement comes a little over two weeks after the Japanese automaker Nissan canceled its decision to build a new SUV in Britain.
The Swindon plant accounts for a huge share of automotive production in Britain, with Reuters reporting that it is responsible for 10% of the cars built in the country. By 2018, Swindon would have built 160,000 vehicles.
This makes the closure "a devastating decision for Swindon and the UK," said British Affairs Minister Greg Clark According to Reuters, the country's largest union, Unite, said it would fight to keep the production plant open.
2nd speed: the European Union says it will retaliate if the US imposes tariffs on imported vehicles
In more encouraging developments around the world, the European Union has said it would not just take it if the US imposes tariffs on imported vehicles. And remember: we, the consumers, ultimately pay the cost of taxes, tariffs and trade wars.
Reuters reports that a confidential report from the US Department of Commerce recently sent to President Donald Trump could allow him to impose tariffs of up to 25% on imported cars and parts by designating them as a threat to national security. As the report is not public, Reuters reports that exporters like Germany, Japan and South Korea do not know what to expect.
Trump has promised European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker not to impose tariffs for the moment. and Juncker said that he believes him, the EU seems ready to retaliate if it does not go as planned.
From Reuters:
"Trump has given me his word that there will be no car fare at the moment. I see this commitment as something you can count on," Juncker told the German daily. Stuttgarter Zeitung He did not say when Trump made the promise.
Juncker added that if Trump nevertheless imposed tariffs on European cars, the EU would react immediately and would not feel obliged to keep his promise to buy more soya and liquefied gas in the United States.
Bloomberg quoted the Ifo Institute pointing out that tariffs of 25% could result in a 50% drop in German exports to the United States, and total European exports of 7.7%. Here's more, from Bloomberg:
The car dispute follows US tariffs on European imports of steel and aluminum, using the same justification of national security. The bloc responded by imposing duties on 2.8 billion euros of US imports, ranging from Harley-Davidson motorcycles Inc. to jeans Levi Strauss & Co.
US tariffs on European cars would mark a significant escalation of transatlantic tensions as the value of EU automotive exports to the US market is about 10 times higher than that of the bloc's steel and aluminum exports. As a result, European retaliatory duties would target a larger amount of US exports to Europe.
A 25% US tax on foreign cars would add 10,000 euros to the posted price of European vehicles imported into the country, according to the commission. This would particularly affect German brands such as Volkswagen, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.
According to Bloomberg, a 25% tariff would add 10,000 euros, or $ 11,300 at current exchange rates, to the sticker of imported European vehicles, according to the European Commission.
3rd gear: Ghosn prepares for trial
Carlos Ghosn is still under fire on charges of financial misconduct of his company dating from November, have been refused on bail under his former legal team. With a test coming this year and the potential to get up to 10 years in prison, Bloomberg reports he is reshuffling his legal team and getting ready for the fight.
Ghosn, former director of Renault and was president of Nissan and Mitsubishi, went to jail after allegations of financial misconduct by Nissan. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance has suffered a lot from this problem, but Renault, which has kept Ghosn as CEO long after Nissan and Mitsubishi abandoned it, they even claimed recently to have found evidence of financial misconduct.
For Ghosn, this is the moment of the legal battle. Bloomberg reports that with a legal system in Japan with a conviction rate of 99% Facing him, Ghosn completely reworked his legal team last week, including adding a senior lawyer called "The Razor".
From Bloomberg:
He replaced a group led by former local prosecutor Motonari Otsuru by a group overseen by Junichiro Hironaka, known for his aggressive tactics aimed at defending prominent clients, such as a former high-ranking official accused of corruption. Hironaka will hold its first press conference as a lawyer from Ghosn on Wednesday.
"Otsuru was a bad idea because he is not one of the lawyers who oppose prosecutors and probably does not have a relationship of trust with Ghosn," said Nobuo Gohara, a lawyer and former prosecutor in Japan. "Hironaka is the type of lawyer who will fully fight prosecutors' charges."
Ghosn's defense team includes Takashi Takano, who was a member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult behind the 1995 sarin gas attack in Tokyo.
A Tokyo-based defense lawyer, quoted by Bloomberg, Nobuko Otsuki, has called Takano and Hironaka "all the stars."
4th Gear: GM Invests $ 36 Million In Future SUV Production In Michigan
Most of the news concerning the production of General Motors lately is about the number of factories closed and the number of jobs removed, but the Detroit Free Press reports that the company puts $ 36 million in his plant in Lansing Delta Township in Michigan for its future crossover and SUV production.
This is very much in line with GM's idea of "investing in the future" – or at least in the present, since crossovers and SUVs are what people want right now.
The Lansing Delta Township plant builds both the Chevrolet Traverse and the Buick Enclave SUVs, and the press reports that opened in 2006, it is GM's newest factory and has approximately 2,600 employees. The plant has also received many investments from GM over the years, according to the statement:
The investment comes as GM disables another five of its North American plants this year, generating 6,200 jobs, as part of a restructuring plan to cut 8,000 white-collar jobs through buybacks. dismissals and involuntary layoffs.
The UAW has praised the investment.
"Members of UAW Local 602 are under the exceptional leadership of Gerald Kariem, Director of UAW 1D Region, and applaud this investment on behalf of the entire labor force and community", said Terry Dittes, vice president of the UAW. "Delta Township builds the world-class Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. In UAW, we expect other investments like this from General Motors to build where they sell. "
Since 2009, GM has invested more than $ 600 million in the plant. In 2015, GM announced it would invest $ 5.4 billion in plant improvements in the United States over the next three years.
Mary Barra, CEO of GM Traverse and Enclave are important products of the company's "growing cross-portfolio", and said the investment will help "prepare the plant for future cross production".
5th gear: McLaren will resist
You know how in the terminator films, the faction of the human population still struggling against the inevitable takeover of the robot is aptly named "Resistance"? McLaren is the resistance of the auto industry, still fighting the inevitable takeover of crossovers and SUVs.
While Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Ferrari have all succumbed to the assault of SUVs and their appeal, and although Bugatti discusses his place in the world, McLaren has not yet cracked. He said that he would not do an SUV at the beginning of last year, in September of last year, and again this month.
From Automotive News:
Despite market pressures on premium car manufacturers to offer SUVs, the McLaren brand will remain a major asset.
"I can easily answer that question and say no," said Mark Roberts, head of design operations at McLaren Automotive. "We really offer the ultimate driving experience. For us, it does not mean any compromise. An SUV does not allow us to follow through on that. This is not a type of vehicle without compromise. "
McLaren is the resistance. For how long, well, it remains to be seen.
Reverse: the winners of the Daytona 500
It's mid-February, that is, there were a handful of different Daytona 500 winners every day of this time of year. On February 19, 1978, 1984, 1989
1995 and 2006, The biggest NASCAR race was won by Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Sterling Marlin and Jimmie Johnson.
Neutral: Do you think McLaren will yield?
If so, how long will it last?
[ad_2]
Source link