Mercedes is ready to say goodbye to internal combustion engines

Mercedes says the “tipping point is getting closer” on electric vehicles, Hyundai has made big profits, and Tesla and Bitcoin. All this and more in The morning shift by July 22, 2021.

1st gear: Mercedes doubles its electric car by doubling

Mercedes keeps talking about electric vehicles. It already said it is accelerating the development of electric vehicles this month, but now the company possesses attached a dollar figure to this pledge. It would be $ 47 billion this decade, the company said Thursday.

Of Bloomberg:

Mercedes-Benz of Daimler AG has pledged to spend more than 40 billion euros ($ 47 billion) this decade to electrify its range and defend its position as the world’s leading manufacturer of luxury cars through a historic transformation of the ‘industry.

[…]

It has pledged to be ready to go all-electric by the end of the decade, where conditions permit.

Additional plans include:

• Launch of three electric platforms only in 2025: MB.EA for mid-size and larger passenger cars, AMG.EA for performance cars and VAN.EA for electric vans and light commercial vehicles.
• Form additional partnerships in Asia and Europe to source batteries. The company needs more than 200 gigawatt hours of cellular capacity by 2030.
• Reinforcement of electric vehicle recharging offers with partners including Shell.

Mercedes will manufacture eight fully electric cars on three continents next year. It accompanies the EQS with models including the compact EQA and plans to unveil the electric version of its best-selling E-Class sedan at the Munich auto show in September.

Forty-seven billion dollars this decade is more or less what DG, Ford, and Stellantis said they would spend too, while Volkswagen said it spend a little less than double. The great electric race is on.

“The tipping point is approaching and we will be ready as markets switch to electricity only by the end of this decade,” Chief Executive Officer Ola Kallenius said in a statement. “This step marks a profound reallocation of capital. “

Gear 2: Elon Musk says Tesla will accept Bitcoin for payment if its renewable energy consumption is 50% or more

You’re here said in March that he would accept bitcoin, before Elon it worked in may. Elon told a conference on Wednesday that it was still a possibility for the future, if the energy used to harvest bitcoin is half renewable or more.

Of Reuters:

“I wanted a little more due diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy use is most likely equal to or greater than 50%, and that there is a trend for that number to increase, and if that ‘is the case, Tesla would start accepting bitcoin again, “Musk said.

“The answer is most likely that Tesla would start accepting bitcoin again.”

[…]

“Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy. We can’t be the company that does this and not do proper due diligence on bitcoin’s energy consumption, ”Musk said.

Musk added that he personally owned bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin, with the exception of bitcoin owned by Tesla and SpaceX.

“I could pump, but I’m not vacuuming,” Musk said. “I certainly don’t believe in increasing the price and selling… I would like to see bitcoin succeed.”

I have to admit that “I could pump, but I don’t throw” made me laugh.

3rd gear: Hyundai posts big profits because it says chip shortage will be less severe this year (for Hyundai)

Korean automaker posted profits of $ 1.57 billion for the second quarter on Thursday, and global sales of just over one million cars for April, May and June. Interestingly enough, he said that Genesis helped.

The company sold 1,031,349 units worldwide between April and June, an increase of 46.5% from the previous year. Sales in markets outside Korea increased 73.6% to 830,667 units, driven by the recovery in automotive demand in most markets around the world. Sales in Korea fell 11% to 200,682 units.

[…]

Sales of SUV models and luxury brand Genesis models boosted sales volume and lower incentives helped boost revenue and profitability in the second quarter, with recovery underway after the global COVID-19 pandemic having stimulated automobile demand.

Hyundai has also said it believes the chip shortage will improve later this year; Hyundai has been a bit more adept at dealing with it than other automakers, which analysts attribute to Hyundai’s conservative supply chain policies.

Hyundai Motor expects year-over-year sales growth to slow for rest of year amid unfavorable business environment caused by resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic, as well as supply instability semiconductor chips, fluctuations in commodity prices and unfavorable exchange rates. However, the company will continue to proactively address these issues.

Regarding the global chip shortage, Hyundai Motor expects the situation to gradually improve in the second half of the year. The company plans to boost its component inventory with sufficient orders for one year, secure additional supplies and strengthen cooperation with various semiconductor partners.

4th gear: meanwhile, the shortage of chips it is not going so well for GM

GM will temporarily shut down “most” of its full-size truck production in the United States, according to the Detroit Free Press. Full-size truck production, of course, is GM’s bread and butter, so it’s the worst news possible for the general; this too this is far from the first time that the shortage of crisps has bit him in the ass, and it probably won’t be the last.

In a notice to union members obtained by Free Press and confirmed by GM, the automaker will make the following production adjustments from Monday:

• Flint Assembly, where GM builds the full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, will operate on a shift for the week and is expected to resume regular production on August 2.
• The Fort Wayne, Indiana assembly, where GM builds the full-size light pickups, will be idle for the week, and is expected to resume regular production on August 2.
• Silao Assembly in Mexico, which also builds full-size light pickup trucks, will idle during the week and is expected to resume regular production on August 2.

“These most recent schedule adjustments are due to temporary parts shortages caused by semiconductor supply constraints in international markets facing COVID-19 restrictions,” the GM spokesperson said. , David Barnas, in a statement. “We expect this to be a problem in the short term.”

5th gear: Penske and Cox have a new used car sales platform

The killer feature, that’s what they say, is that the new platform – called, of course, “Esntial Commerce” – will handle everything from “signing to contract”.

Of Automotive News:

“There is no other standard product on the market that allows a complete transaction” [Michael Kabcenell, Penske’s vice president of retail strategy] noted. “Believe me, I watched.”

Penske said the tool has been up and running for a few months after being developed with Cox for a year and a half. Pordon declined to provide information on specific sales or the number of customers who have used the platform, but said its use has increased. It is possible that the tool will replace Penske’s preferred purchasing system, but no decision has been made, [Penske spokesman Anthony Pordon] noted.

“He can get real personalized payments on every vehicle in inventory instantly,” Kabcenell said. “So it makes it very easy for customers to consider their budget and the financial aspect of the transaction throughout their buying journey, not at the end. “

Using Esntial Commerce, customers can also compare four different vehicles, select vehicle protection products, evaluate their trade-in vehicle, obtain approval for financing, sign documents online using online procurement capabilities. and set up delivery to their home or to a CarShop store.

Used car sales have come a long way from when your best bet was a classified ad in your local newspaper, and it all seems fine but like any online platform it will live and die on the reaction of users, who vote with their feet.

Reverse: Wiley Post