Good morning! It’s Friday, April 26, 2024, and this is The morning shift, your daily roundup of the biggest automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
1st course: ViFast handed over another billion US dollars
Vietnamese car manufacturer VinFast really tries to get taken seriously even as a high-performance automobile manufacturer. It has established a number of new electric vehicles stationary retailers here in the USA and has already angered some automotive journalists. However, it doesn’t seem to do one thing A good car manufacturer should: Sell cars.
Now the company has been gifted another billion dollars by its extremely wealthy owner. Reports Automotive News. The new round of financing from the company’s founder, Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, is intended to help the company expand its business operations worldwide. As Automotive News Reports:
The move represents its strongest endorsement yet for the Vingroup JSC unit, which has been touted as a possible challenger to Tesla Inc.
“We will put all our resources into VinFast,” Vuong said at a shareholder meeting in Hanoi, without specifying a timing for the cash injection. He described VinFast as the future of Vingroup and said there was no question of abandoning the company.
VinFast, which entered the U.S. in 2022, has been losing money as it battles with the likes of Tesla for a share of the increasingly competitive electric vehicle market. In addition to plans for factories in India and Indonesia, the company is investing $2 billion in a manufacturing facility in North Carolina.
The launch of Vinfast’s VF8 electric model was a difficult affair, with several reviewers claiming credit for the car just wasn’t ready for sale in America. This coupled with a falling share price, which VinFast is now valued at around 90 percent less than in August, everyone has questioned the future of the company.
Despite its difficulties, the company hopes to break even on its investments next year, and he says so could even make a profit then. In its most recent financial filings, the company reduced its losses to just over $600 million.
2nd gear: Honda is investing billions in its Canadian electric car factory
Honda saw VinFast getting an extra billion dollars and apparently said, “Hold my beer.” The Japanese automaker just pledged a massive cash injection into its North American business that will fuel its growth a new hub for electric vehicles north of the border in Canada.
The Japanese automaker just announced an $11 billion investment in its factories in Canada. reports CNBC News. The huge cash injection will support the construction of new assembly and battery plants in Ontario, Canada, as well as other integral facilities Design and assembly of electric cars. As CNBC News reports:
The company said the new North American epicenter for electric vehicles will include new assembly and battery plants, as well as other facilities to support the production of all-electric and fuel cell-powered vehicles.
Honda announced that vehicle production will begin in 2028, with an annual vehicle capacity of 240,000 units once fully operational. The investment in Alliston, Ontario is expected to make a major contribution to Honda’s goal of offering exclusively all-electric and fuel cell-powered vehicles by 2040.
Honda’s commitment to electric vehicles comes amid turmoil in the world of electric cars, as many of the company’s competitors are scaling back their electric car plans, delaying them or canceling some entirely. This week alone, Toyota has pushed back its plans will build electric vehicles in the US from 2025 to 2026 as the company continues to make millions thanks to its commitment to hybrid vehicles instead of electric models.
However, Honda is remains at its pivot point when running on battery powerand says the new location in Canada could create up to 1,000 jobs across the electric vehicle supply chain.
3rd Gear: Boeing profits fall as deliveries slow
Prepare for a series of shocking news dangerous mechanical problemsA government investigation Production quality and the mysterious Death of a whistleblower could have a negative impact on your profits. Shocking, I know.
This is such a shock Boeing was there this weekafter announcing that profit fell in the first quarter of 2024 due to a slowdown in deliveries, reports Reuters. The Seattle-based aerospace company was forced to cut production due to a federal investigation into its quality control practices following a series of failures on its 737 Max planes. As Reuters explains:
Quarterly revenue of $16.57 billion was below last year’s $17.92 billion but beat expectations of $16.23 billion. Shares of Boeing and Spirit Aero were down about 3% in early afternoon trading.
Boeing CFO Brian West told analysts that cash burn will be “significant” in the second quarter, but expects free cash usage to improve from the cash burn of $3.93 billion in the first quarter. That was less than the $4.49 billion analysts had expected after the Jan. 5 accident involving a nearly new 737 MAX 9 jet.
“Well, it could have been worse. While the loss and cash outflow are not as bad as feared, the company clearly still faces some serious challenges,” Vertical Research Partners analyst Robert Stallard said in a note.
A A cap on Boeing’s production was introduced from the Federal Aviation Administration after giving the company 90 days to clean up its production practices. This deadline expires on May 29th. Thereafter, the company may be able to return to capacity if the government is satisfied with the progress made.
The Problems for Boeing However, it can be assumed that work will continue even after this period has expired. Reuters reports that the company has about $8 billion of debt due in 2026, which will further weigh on its profits.
4th Gear: The Emily GT could actually go into production
Let’s end the morning with some good news, because it turns out that somewhat excellent Emily GT EV The project, thought up by a group of former Saab engineers, could actually go into production. The car, designed by Swedish startup Nevs, seemed to be on rocky ground last year, but now it has Supporting Canadian electric vehicle company EV Electrawhich now claims to have an operational factory in Europe.
EV Electra has reportedly purchased a factory in Italy that could begin producing Emily GT cars “within the next few years.” reports the British outlet Autocar. As the website reports:
CEO Jihad Mohammad wrote on LinkedIn: “Yes, we made an offer to buy a car factory in Italy and yesterday it was finally approved (not the Maserati factory) and in this new location we will build electric cars that will shock everyone. “.
“We have more than [a] Now there are only a few models left, after several acquisitions a year [the] over the last two months, and there’s another one happening this week that will allow us to stay at the top of our game.
“I promised my team not to reveal any further details because our investors need to know before anyone else. Then an official press release will clarify all questions.”
It remains unclear whether the cars were assembled in Italy will be Emily GTs or another model from EV Electra. However, in late 2023, the company’s new backers unveiled four iterations of the Emily GT, including an electric sedan, a shooting brake and a convertible. If just one of these comes to market, I’ll be a happy boy.