Good morning! It’s September 2, 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: Stellantis Commits To All 14 Brands… For Now
Stellantis and its 14 international car brands have been having a rough time of it recently. Jeep has witnessed plummeting sales in America, struggling marques have been threatened with the chop in Europe and the heir to the Chrysler family has warned that he is the only person who can save the brand. Now, Stellantis has hit back at such fearmongering, claiming that it’s not for sale and it’s committed to all 14 of its brands.
Last week, Stellantis was issued with a 17-page proposal from Chrysler heir Frank B. Rhodes, who argued that the brand would be much safer in his hands. However, the multinational giant has politely declined that invitation with a 75-word statement, reports the Drive. As the site explains:
The company sent a response, but instead of reaching out to him directly, a press release was sent out.
“Stellantis acknowledges the interest in its North American brands and reaffirms the Company’s commitment to its entire portfolio of 14 powerful, iconic brands, which were each given a 10-year timeframe to build a profitable and sustainable business,” the August 30 statement said. “Like the Jeep and Ram brands, Chrysler and Dodge are at the forefront of Stellantis’ transformation to clean mobility, benefitting from the group’s cutting-edge technology and scale. The Company is not pursuing splitting off any of its brands.”
Unsurprisingly, Rhodes was disappointed, but more so in how the communication was handled rather than the dismissive tone. “Since I sent the proposal to Carlos Tavares and [Chrysler and Ram CEO] Christine Feuell, I expected the courtesy of their reply to come directly to me. Instead, I have learned about their comments from my media friends.”
Despite claiming that the company remains committed to all 14 brands, Stellantis hasn’t shown much support for struggling marques in recent months. The automaker previously warned that brands like Lancia, DS Automobiles and Abarth could be reevaluated going forwards, adds Motor1, and company boss Carlos Tavares also claimed that any brand not making money would be “shut,” as Motor1 explains:
This reaffirmed long-term commitment from Stellantis comes only a month after the CEO hinted unprofitable brands could be killed. Carlos Tavares declared that automakers hemorrhaging money will get the axe: “If they don’t make money, we’ll shut them down. We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money.”
Immediately after this statement was made, Reuters cited industry experts saying Maserati could be up for sale and that either Lancia or DS Automobiles could be phased out. However, it seems none of this is true since all 14 will continue under Stellantis. It really wouldn’t make sense to terminate Lancia now considering the Italian brand is finally getting new models and is once again expanding its presence outside its domestic market.
All this just makes it sound like Stellantis is committed to its brands… for now. The automaker has simply reaffirmed its 10-year plan for profitability, which kick started in 2021 when Stellantis was formed by the joining of Fiat-Chrysler and PSA Group. So does this mean Rhodes will be able to take back his family’s brand come 2031? We’ll have to wait and see.
2nd Gear: Ford Recalls 90,000 Cars Over Engine Issues
Ford is pretty good at selling cars, having shipped almost 1 million of them so far this year. But as well as selling cars in high numbers, it’s also pretty good at recalling them in equally massive figures. Now, the Blue Oval has another recall up its sleeve that’s set to impact almost 100,000 cars.
Ford has announced a recall of more than 90,000 cars and pickups sold across America, reports Reuters. The recall relates to engine issues uncovered in the impacted models, which includes the Bronco SUV and F-150 truck. Reuters reports:
Ford will recall 90,736 vehicles as engine intake valves in the vehicles may break while driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Saturday.
The recall impacts certain 2021-2022 Bronco, F-150, Edge, Explorer, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with either a 2.7L or 3.0L Nano EcoBoost engine, the NHTSA said.
As part of the remedy, dealers will perform an engine cycle test and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge, the regulator said.
Rather worryingly, this isn’t even the first Ford recall to be announced this month, with the company also announcing that certain 2023-2024 Ford Transit models have been recalled due to incorrect labeling on some vans. The company has also recalled everything from cop cars to brand new Bronco Sport models already this year, putting it at the top of the recall leader board for the year.
If you are worried that your car (or van) might be affected by a recall, there are a few easy ways to check if it’s the case. First up, the NHTSA has a super handy app that you can use to see if your vehicle is impacted by a recall, or you can head to the regulator’s website and plug your VIN into its recall search tool.
3rd Gear: Uber Found A Way Into The Self-Driving Taxi World
Self-driving cars are so hot right now, with Waymo expanding its ride-hailing services across America, Tesla continuing to tell everyone that it really does have a self-driving car on the way and now Uber has announced that it is investing heavily in the space.
Ride-sharing platform Uber may have found a way into the lucrative market with an investment in autonomous driving startup Wayve, reports Bloomberg. Uber has backed British startup Wayve, which currently has a fleet of self-driving taxis serving riders in London. As Bloomberg reports:
Uber declined to disclose the size of the investment, which it said was small enough that it wasn’t required to publicly report it. The funding is an extension of a $1.05 billion Series C round in May that was led by SoftBank Group Corp. with participation from Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. With Uber’s funding and support, Wayve intends to “accelerate its work” with global auto manufacturers to equip consumer vehicles with its assisted and automated driving technologies, the companies said a joint statement.
The firms also agreed to put self-driving vehicles powered by Wayve’s software on the Uber platform in multiple markets around the world, without detailing a launch timeline.
The announcement follows a string of recent autonomous vehicle-related partnerships from Uber, which fashions itself as what Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi has called an “indispensable partner for AV players of all sorts.”
Uber’s backing of Wayve is the latest in a long string of enormous investments in the self-driving space. In fact, the auto industry has so far plowed more than $50 billion into self-driving startups and research around the world that, so far, has only really delivered a few self-driving taxis in a handful of U.S. cities.
4th Gear: Tesla To Unveil Make-Believe Robotaxi In World Of Make-Believe
If you say “self-driving” five times, you have to talk about Tesla, so now we have to talk about Tesla. The electric vehicle maker has announced that its robotaxi unveiling event is definitely taking place this time and it’s found the perfect place to unveil a made up car: a Hollywood movie studio.
According to a report from Fortune, Elon Musk’s electric car company will host a launch event for its new robotaxi at Warner Bros. movie studio in October, so it’s time to set your calendars for disappointment. As Fortune reports:
Tesla Inc. aims to unveil its highly anticipated robotaxi at an event at Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s movie studio in the Los Angeles area, people familiar with the matter said.
The electric vehicle company is targeting a reveal of the purpose-built robotaxi on Oct. 10 at the Burbank, California, facility, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The 110-acre lot holds 29 sound stages and has hosted famous productions, from Batman movies to the television show Friends.
If the robotaxi is unveiled next month, it’s expected to hit the highway sometime next year, if Musk is to be believed. However, the Tesla boss doesn’t have a great history of hitting his delivery targets, with models like the Cybertruck and Tesla Semi facing long delays due to production issues at Tesla’s plants across America.