I’ve come off the bench this week, as just-auto news editor, Graeme Roberts, takes a well-earned sojorn in Shakespeare’s home county, HQ also of global good news story, JLR, of which more later.
As the calendar starts to inexorably accelerate towards Christmas and the end of the year, there is no let up in the automotive world, which continues its frenetic pace of development and surprise.
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This week’s been particularly newsy, dominated perhaps by events on the Californian West coast as the LA International Auto Show kicked off, with the world debuts covered extensively by our indefatigable Glenn Brooks. Information on the majority of models can be found by searching just-auto’s Product Lifecycle DataBase (PLDB).
Staying in Los Angles, although General Motors‘ 2016 Chevrolet Volt won’t be fully revealed until January’s NAIAS, the US automaker did allow a Californian peek, while back in freezing Michigan (Detroit’s a tad chilly today at -10C), Bill Ford warned of “global gridlock” as the number of cars around the world rises.
I had a small indicator of some mind-boggling vehicle numbers myself as I talked to Faurecia’s deputy general manager China Division, Jingcheng Li, from Shanghai, about how the country could grow to 30m production by 2017. Despite the pace of increase undoubtedly slowing, China still has suppliers eagerly eying its vast potential, as well as infrastructure away from the Eastern Seaboard.
Closer to home in the UK, managing editor, Dave Leggett, reported on the success story that remains Jaguar Land Rover, with the automaker’s announcement of ‘just-drive’, a new connectivity platform that it says integrates multiple smartphone apps into a single, voice-activated in-car experience.
Zipping back across the Atlantic and to Livonia, perhaps it came as no great shock to learn TRW’s shareholders had given a massive thumbs-up to the acquistion by ZF Friedrichshafen of the US supplier for US$12.4bn. TRW stockholders will receive er, US$105.60 in cash for each share of TRW stock. I’ll just let that number sink in. Well, you would, wouldn’t you?
The one fly in the ointment this week came surprisingly from the UK, but in some ways perhaps it wasn’t wholly unexpected as unremittingly booming numbers are starting to plateau. Data issued by the SMMT shows UK car manufacturing fell 6.7% in October to 150,000 units, leaving year-to-date volumes flat, down 0.3%, but record production is still expected in the next few years.
Meanwhile in Italy, Fiat’s global brand chief, Olivier Francois, in an interview with Chris Wright, hinted the automaker’s 500 family could be the template for future C or D segment models, while NHTSA announced it is calling for a national recall of vehicles with certain driver’s side frontal airbags made by Takata.
There are some pretty intense talks taking place this weekend in Vienna surrounding the West’s approch to Iran and in particular how to stop what some believe is Tehran’s pursuit of uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons. Auto has benefitted from a loosening of some of the more draconian sanctions against Iran, while domestic producer, IKCO, is looking to fellow sanctions-hit Russia to boost its fledgling export business.
Suppliers and producers such as Renault and Peugeot, will be hoping the brief Tehran window of opportunity for auto can be prolonged, while Iranian citizens must also be looking to the West to supply higher car safety standards and reduce the country’s appalling accident rate.
I have a rare stress-free 48h as my football team, Southampton, doesn’t play until Monday night, when I’ll be going to the match up the road in Birmingham. We’re in the unlikely position of er, second, in the English Premier League, but don’t worry, normal service will surely be resumed soon enough and us country bumpkins get put in our place by the billionaires.
Have an enjoyable and peaceful weekend.
Simon Warburton
Business Editor
just-auto
