Good morning! It’s Wednesday, August 28, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
1st Gear: Walter P. Chrysler’s Heir Wants To Buy Back Chrysler
Stellantis is in something of a bind right now, it’s facing off against the Italian government, is struggling to sell Jeeps in a world of SUVs and might be about to head to court against its own shareholders. Because of this, the heir to the Chrysler family thinks it’s time for them to step in and save the historic American car brand from Stellantis.
Frank B. Rhodes, Jr. is the great-grandson to Chrysler founder Walter P. Chrysler and he isn’t too pleased with the way Chrysler is being run these days. As a result, he’s launched a campaign to take back control of the brand, as well as Dodge, Plymouth and Mopar, reports Motor1:
Rhodes made a short video discussing the need to protect Chrysler and Dodge’s future. It heavily relies on nostalgia, highlighting Chrysler’s first car from 1926 and the company’s involvement with the US military during World War II, which doesn’t exactly scream forward-thinking to any potential investors.
Rhodes’s proposal is light on how exactly he plans to create a new Chrysler Corporation that revives the Chrysler and Dodge brands. He told Mopar Insiders he wants to strike a “balance between innovation and tradition,” like introducing hybrid versions of classic models, focusing on high-performance cars, and broadening appeal with more affordable options, which doesn’t sound too far off from Matt McAlear’s hope for Dodge now that he’s at the helm.
Rhodes wants to buy the Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, and Mopar brands, operations, facilities, and employees to create a new Chrysler Corporation, giving Stellantis the opportunity to have a “graceful and profitable exit” from ownership duties. And he’s hopeful that potential investors can also see the value in reviving the brands but hope and potential won’t pay the bills alone.
Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth won’t come cheap, when the automaker was originally purchased by Fiat back in 2014 the price sat at a cool $4.9 billion. Fiat Chrysler has since merged with France’s PSA Group to become the Stellantis we know and love today.
Under Stellantis’ ownership, Chrysler has had a far from troublesome tenure. At the end of 2023, the automaker posted 19 percent year-on-year growth and Dodge, likewise, was in the black with five percent year-on-year growth.
2nd Gear: America’s Crappy Data Laws Cost Uber $324 Million
Uber has found itself in a legal fight against the European Union after it exported driver data from Europe to America. That move might not sound all too serious for a global company like Uber, but America’s crappy data protection laws aren’t quite up to European standards, so the ride-hailing company is now facing an eye-watering fine.
Uber reportedly sent driver data from France, where it’s protected under Europe’s strict general data protection regulation, to America, where it isn’t, reports Fortune. The move sparked outrage among drivers in France, 170 of which were behind the case.. After investigating the data transfer, Uber has been hit with a $324 million fine over its handling of the data transfer, as Fortune reports:
The Dutch Data Protection Authority said the data transfers spanning more than two years amounted to a serious breach of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires technical and organizational measures aimed at protecting user data.
“In Europe, the GDPR protects the fundamental rights of people, by requiring businesses and governments to handle personal data with due care,” Dutch DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a statement.
“But sadly, this is not self-evident outside Europe. Think of governments that can tap data on a large scale. That is why businesses are usually obliged to take additional measures if they store personal data of Europeans outside the European Union. Uber did not meet the requirements of the GDPR to ensure the level of protection to the data with regard to transfers to the U.S. That is very serious.”
Uber isn’t happy with the ruling and says it’s prepared to fight the fine. The company said in a statement that the $324m figure is “completely unjustified,” adding that it will “appeal and remain confident that common sense will prevail.”
3rd Gear: Hyundai Pivots To Hybrids As It Chases 30 percent Growth
Hybrids are so hot right now, with everyone from Ford to Porsche plowing big bucks into hybrid models in recent months. Now, after flying the flag for futuristic EVs, Hyundai is following suit as it believes hybrid powertrains could be key to massive growth for the automaker going forward.
Hyundai has announced plans to double its range of hybrid cars up to 14 models while also retaining its target to sell 2 million electric cars a year by 2030, reports Bloomberg:
The move to accelerate the production of hybrids comes amid a broad slowdown in EV demand. Ford Motor Co., Porsche AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG have all walked back their EV ambitions in recent months, while Tesla Inc. is well off the pace of 1.8 million cars sold last year.
To help combat range anxiety, Hyundai will also release an extended-range EV — which uses a small gasoline engine to keep an on-board battery charged while driving — in North America and China. The car will be capable of traveling more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) on a single charge.
“While the rate of electrification is slowing, we’re still seeing stricter environmental regulations around automobiles, which means we can’t just sit and watch dwindling sales of EVs,” Hyundai’s Chief Executive Officer Jaehoon Chang said at the investor day. “Extended-range EVs can tackle some of these issues, including consumers who are hesitant to purchase EVs because of their concerns over charging.”
Despite the shift in attention away from EVs, electric models like the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 have been doing well for Hyundai and have boosted its EV sales here in the U.S. The automaker now accounts for a little over 10 percent of the EV market and has seen sales of its battery-powered cars grow 60 percent year-on-year.
4th Gear: Thomas Ingenlath Steps Down As Polestar CEO
It’s all change at Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar, with CEO and face of the brand Thomas Ingenlath stepping down from the Geely-owned brand from October. The ex-Volvo design boss will be replaced at the automaker by former Opel and Vauxhall boss Michael Lohscheller.
Ingenlath steps down from the role as P0lestar CEO after seven years, reports British outlet Autocar. He took the helm when Polestar was initially set up as a standalone brand by Geely and has led the launch of models like the Polestar 2 and the Polestar 3 electric SUV:
Confirming his resignation in a public statement, Ingenlath said: “I am very proud of what we’ve achieved together in the last seven years. We had the vision of an electric premium brand which puts performance and design at its core.
“And we made it: the dream became reality. Polestar is the only true global premium electric brand; we just launched the Polestar 3 and 4; we are producing on two continents. Thank you to everybody who contributed so far on this journey. It was a lifetime experience to build up this brand with you all. I wish Michael and the team the best for the next chapter of Polestar.”
Ingenlath did not give an official reason for his departure, nor any indication of his future intentions.
Now, Polestar will be run by Lohscheller who joins the Swedish company after stints with Vietnamese company Vinfast, where he worked as CEO, and Nikola Motor, at which he was president of the company.