Nissan is finally changing things

Nissan may have taken a turn, Volvo wants 2021 to be epic, and Honda. All this and more The morning shift by February 9, 2021.

1st gear: Nissan sees results

Nissan’s history over the past two years is inextricably linked to the story of former CEO Carlos Ghosn, for understandable reasons, as this story involves an ancient green beret, private jets, and musical instrument cases. IMeanwhile, those still at Nissan are trying to recoup what is left, which includes a large withdrawal from Nissan’s strategy under Ghosn, which was all about volume.

They are starting to see results.

Of Bloomberg:

Japan’s second-largest automaker is forecasting a net loss of 530 billion yen ($ 5.1 billion) for the year through March, less than the previously forecast 615 billion yen. Nissan posted operating profit of 27.1 billion yen for the three months through December. Analysts had on average predicted a loss of 46.8 billion yen.

The past quarter was marked by a recovery for the global auto market as a whole, with retail sales hitting previous year’s levels in the United States and surpassing them in China, said Nissan Managing Director Ashwani Gupta , during a briefing on Tuesday. “We are gaining ground,” he said.

Nissan is about nine months on an aggressive turnaround plan to cut its global production capacity by about a fifth and produce 12 new models in the 18 months through November to refresh its aging lineup and generate interest. of stagnant consumers.

Sales of new models like the Rogue SUV, which debuted in the United States in October, have been on the rise, limiting Nissan’s overall global sales decline to less than 10% year-on-year in November and December, against more than 30% decrease in the first half of 2020.

As fun as Ghosn’s story is, I would prefer Nissan to start doing what it does best again which is every 10 years or so something interesting.

2nd gear: Volvo takes a big turn in 2021

Volvo sold 661,713 cars last year, nearly double the number of cars sold in 2010. This number is lower than Volvo’s 800,000. originally hoped to sell in 2020 before the pandemic, but those aspirations have simply been postponed until this year.

Of Automotive News:

[Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson] is optimistic because Volvo had the best second half of its 93-year history, selling 391,751 vehicles globally in the last six months of 2020.

It started 2021 by recording its best January with monthly global sales up 30% to 59,588 vehicles on strong demand from Europe (+ 9%), the United States (+ 32%) and the United States. China (+ 91%). The sharp rise in China came because Volvo sales in January 2020 were slowed by the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

When asked if 2021 would also be the year Volvo hits its long-standing goal of 800,000 global sales, Samuelsson was a little more cautious.

“We envision strong and continued growth and see where we land,” he said.

For the background, Tesla delivered nearly 500,000 cars last year, while Toyota, the world’s largest automaker by volume, delivered 9.5 million.

3rd gear: Honda also expects a great 2021

Things are getting back to normal. I mean “normal”. I mean “normal”.

Of Reuters:

Honda reported a 67 percent increase in profits last quarter due to higher demand and cost reductions.

Operating profit for the three months to Dec.31 was 277.7 billion yen ($ 2.65 billion), Honda said in a statement Tuesday.

“Auto sales results have exceeded the same period last year since October mainly due to the launch of the new N-ONE,” said Seiji Kuraishi, chief operating officer of Honda, at a press briefing, referring to the launch of the company’s micro-city car in Japan in November. .

Honda has raised its full-year profit forecast to 520 billion yen ($ 5 billion), from the 420 billion yen it predicted three months ago.

The N-One, if you are not familiar, rule completely.

4th gear: I’m already very tired of reading this damn shortage of chips

Reuters said that the shortage of chips will cost Honda and Nissan a quarter of a million cars this year.

But Honda cut its sales target of 100,000 vehicles, or 2.2 percent, on Tuesday to 4.5 million cars, while Nissan lowered its target of 150,000 vehicles, or 3.6 percent, to 4.015 million units. , because a shortage of chips forced the two companies to reduce their production.

“Popular models that sell well have been hit hard by the semiconductor shortage,” Seiji Kuraishi, Honda chief operating officer, told an online media briefing. “We had to change and adjust the production plans. But it was not enough, ”he added.

The global auto industry has grappled with a chip shortage since late last year, which in some cases was exacerbated by the former US administration’s sanctions on Chinese chip factories.

The fact that part of the chip shortage can be directly attributed to former President Donald Trump is the least surprising thing.

5th gear: more on Apple and Hyundai

Bloomberg has an interesting story from day two on the ramifications of Apple and Hyundai’s deal to build a car apparently falling apart. Ultimately, Bloomberg concludes, it could be for the best.

While this is a lesson in how to play with the big boys, the Apple automotive experience can prove to be a good thing for Chung and Hyundai, refocusing its ambitions, according to Kim Jin-woo , analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co., who is evaluating a purchase from Hyundai.

“Hyundai has the know-how to manage supply chains based on its experience of over four decades,” said Kim. “The news from Apple could have become a catalyst for stock prices, but Hyundai has developed its own projects for future mobility.”

Investors have already started to listen. Hyundai Motor shares jumped nearly 60% in 2020, while Kia shares rose 41% – an impressive one-year result that many automakers would rather forget as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on sales . Hyundai gained 2% on Tuesday, bringing gains since January to 24.5%.

Last month, Kia changed its name with a new, sleeker logo, removing its oval-shaped badge and announcing a new slogan “Movement that inspires” to replace its old mantra “Power to surprise”.

“Hyundai’s ultimate goal is not to become an Apple car supplier,” said Kim Joon-sung, an analyst at Meritz Securities Co. in Seoul, who is also evaluating Hyundai a purchase. “It would be the next Tesla.”

A partnership with Apple looks great on paper and could result in a short-term rise in the share price, but the actual work of making this damn thing seems like a big boost, when you could spend that time on create your own thing.

Reverse: there was a war

Neutral: how are you?

I can’t find a usable snippet online for my life, but the mood today is really George Clooney getting in a cab at the end of Michael Clayton.

“Just drive.”