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Showing results for tags 'Production Plans'.
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Back in the summer, Volvo opened its first plant in South Carolina where it would be producing the all-new S60 sedan. The original plan was to export half of the S60s built to other markets. But the current trade dispute between the U.S. and China has caused Volvo to change their plans. Anders Gustafsson, president of Volvo Cars USA said at a meeting of the Automotive Press Association in Detroit that the automaker is changing the focus of the South Carolina factory to build S60s for the U.S. market. A small number of S60s will still be exported to Europe. “We’ll go at this change not with a smile, but we know what we need to do. We have a global manufacturing structure that helps us maneuver in these tough waters,” said Gustafsson. Back in July, Volvo announced that it would be sourcing XC60s destined for the U.S. from Europe. Previously, XC60s heading to the U.S. were coming from China. The move is expected to take place in January. Right now, Volvo is absorbing the 27.5 percent tariff on Chinese auto imports on the XC60. But Gustafsson said that is taking a big toll on their profits. “We are absorbing the tariffs, and that really is what you saw in our financial results. But we can, under no circumstances, absorb tariffs in the long run. It’s huge,” he said. The tariffs could also affect future plans for the South Carolina plant. Volvo is planning to have production of the next-generation XC90 take place in the U.S. beginning in 2022. This would increase the number of workers from 1,200 to 3,900. Volvo will export some XC90s to Europe, but also considering exporting some China at a loss. "We might need to make the XC90 in another country too, if tariffs keep up," said Gustafsson. Source: Bloomberg (Subscription Required), Motor Trend View full article -
Volvo Scraps Production Plans In An Effort To Dodge Tariffs
William Maley posted an article in Volvo
Back in the summer, Volvo opened its first plant in South Carolina where it would be producing the all-new S60 sedan. The original plan was to export half of the S60s built to other markets. But the current trade dispute between the U.S. and China has caused Volvo to change their plans. Anders Gustafsson, president of Volvo Cars USA said at a meeting of the Automotive Press Association in Detroit that the automaker is changing the focus of the South Carolina factory to build S60s for the U.S. market. A small number of S60s will still be exported to Europe. “We’ll go at this change not with a smile, but we know what we need to do. We have a global manufacturing structure that helps us maneuver in these tough waters,” said Gustafsson. Back in July, Volvo announced that it would be sourcing XC60s destined for the U.S. from Europe. Previously, XC60s heading to the U.S. were coming from China. The move is expected to take place in January. Right now, Volvo is absorbing the 27.5 percent tariff on Chinese auto imports on the XC60. But Gustafsson said that is taking a big toll on their profits. “We are absorbing the tariffs, and that really is what you saw in our financial results. But we can, under no circumstances, absorb tariffs in the long run. It’s huge,” he said. The tariffs could also affect future plans for the South Carolina plant. Volvo is planning to have production of the next-generation XC90 take place in the U.S. beginning in 2022. This would increase the number of workers from 1,200 to 3,900. Volvo will export some XC90s to Europe, but also considering exporting some China at a loss. "We might need to make the XC90 in another country too, if tariffs keep up," said Gustafsson. Source: Bloomberg (Subscription Required), Motor Trend -
Ever since Hyundai revealed the Santa Cruz concept back at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, there have been questions whether or not it would make it to production. The last we heard anything about the truck was last August where the home office finally gave the green light to go forward with the project. No time frame was given at the time. Speaking to Motor Trend, Hyundai Motor America's chief operating officer Brian Smith said Santa Cruz will likely arrive in 2020 or so. Smith also revealed that the model would be using the Tuscon's platform. “We love it, we talk about it a lot,” said Smith. It is unclear whether Hyundai is planning to change up the Santa Cruz's design or not. Getting the Santa Cruz from concept to this point has been long and arduous. Then-CEO Dave Zuchowski pushed hard for this model to go into production after it got enough positive feedback. In 2016, Hyundai reportedly gave the ok for the project to go forward and Zuchowski said an official announcement was coming. The plan was to have the Santa Fe launched in 2018 as a 2019 model. But things fell apart only a year later as Zuchowski was shown the door due to falling sales. The champion for the Santa Cruz was lost and the model was up in the air. Now, it seems things are back on track. Source: Motor Trend View full article
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Ever since Hyundai revealed the Santa Cruz concept back at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, there have been questions whether or not it would make it to production. The last we heard anything about the truck was last August where the home office finally gave the green light to go forward with the project. No time frame was given at the time. Speaking to Motor Trend, Hyundai Motor America's chief operating officer Brian Smith said Santa Cruz will likely arrive in 2020 or so. Smith also revealed that the model would be using the Tuscon's platform. “We love it, we talk about it a lot,” said Smith. It is unclear whether Hyundai is planning to change up the Santa Cruz's design or not. Getting the Santa Cruz from concept to this point has been long and arduous. Then-CEO Dave Zuchowski pushed hard for this model to go into production after it got enough positive feedback. In 2016, Hyundai reportedly gave the ok for the project to go forward and Zuchowski said an official announcement was coming. The plan was to have the Santa Fe launched in 2018 as a 2019 model. But things fell apart only a year later as Zuchowski was shown the door due to falling sales. The champion for the Santa Cruz was lost and the model was up in the air. Now, it seems things are back on track. Source: Motor Trend -
Despite posting $1.1 billion in revenues for the first quarter ($1.6 billion under non generally accepted accounting principles - GAAP), Tesla reported a net loss of $282 million for the quarter. Compared to the last quarter, Tesla made less in revenue, but the loss was slightly less. Tesla credits this to a careful watching of its spending. Tesla notes that its cash on hand - $1.4 billion - "does not include any meaningful cash flow from Model 3 reservations," but a fair chunk of that reservation money was used to repay back a $430 million credit line. This isn't the big news as it lines up with what analysts were expecting. It was Tesla's announcement of moving its timeline to produce 500,000 vehicles a year from 2020 to 2018. “Increasing production fivefold over the next two years will be challenging and will likely require some additional capital, but this is our goal and we will be working hard to achieve it,” Musk said in a letter to shareholders. This is most likely due to the strong demand for the Model 3 which at the time of this writing has 400,000 reservations. Tesla also reiterated plans to produce 80 to 90,000 vehicles for 2016. In the first quarter, Tesla built 15,510 vehicles - 12,851 Model S sedans and 2,659 Model X crossovers. The latter model has been having a number of issues from windshield suffering from 'double vision' distortion to the falcon doors not closing. When asked about the quality issues during the call with analysts, Musk said he has a sleeping bag near the production line that he uses “quite frequently.” We're assuming that he is watching the production line to see if there are any issues coming up. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Autoblog, Tesla -
Despite posting $1.1 billion in revenues for the first quarter ($1.6 billion under non generally accepted accounting principles - GAAP), Tesla reported a net loss of $282 million for the quarter. Compared to the last quarter, Tesla made less in revenue, but the loss was slightly less. Tesla credits this to a careful watching of its spending. Tesla notes that its cash on hand - $1.4 billion - "does not include any meaningful cash flow from Model 3 reservations," but a fair chunk of that reservation money was used to repay back a $430 million credit line. This isn't the big news as it lines up with what analysts were expecting. It was Tesla's announcement of moving its timeline to produce 500,000 vehicles a year from 2020 to 2018. “Increasing production fivefold over the next two years will be challenging and will likely require some additional capital, but this is our goal and we will be working hard to achieve it,” Musk said in a letter to shareholders. This is most likely due to the strong demand for the Model 3 which at the time of this writing has 400,000 reservations. Tesla also reiterated plans to produce 80 to 90,000 vehicles for 2016. In the first quarter, Tesla built 15,510 vehicles - 12,851 Model S sedans and 2,659 Model X crossovers. The latter model has been having a number of issues from windshield suffering from 'double vision' distortion to the falcon doors not closing. When asked about the quality issues during the call with analysts, Musk said he has a sleeping bag near the production line that he uses “quite frequently.” We're assuming that he is watching the production line to see if there are any issues coming up. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Autoblog, Tesla View full article
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Infiniti has quietly shelved plans to build the LE electric concept car. Introduced back at the 2012 New York Auto Show, the LE was Infiniti's version of the Nissan Leaf in a sleek four-door sedan. The big story about the LE was that it used inductive charging - a driver could drive the LE over a plate which would allow the vehicle to charge. Originally, the LE was expected to go into production in 2014, but it never came to fruition. "We have to be a little pragmatic," said Michael Bartsch, Infiniti's vice president for the Americas to USA Today. Bartsch explained that the company needs to focus on high-volume segments. Now that doesn't mean Infiniti has cancelled the LE project. The automaker could be waiting on improvements such as range from the battery. Source: USA Today View full article
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Infiniti has quietly shelved plans to build the LE electric concept car. Introduced back at the 2012 New York Auto Show, the LE was Infiniti's version of the Nissan Leaf in a sleek four-door sedan. The big story about the LE was that it used inductive charging - a driver could drive the LE over a plate which would allow the vehicle to charge. Originally, the LE was expected to go into production in 2014, but it never came to fruition. "We have to be a little pragmatic," said Michael Bartsch, Infiniti's vice president for the Americas to USA Today. Bartsch explained that the company needs to focus on high-volume segments. Now that doesn't mean Infiniti has cancelled the LE project. The automaker could be waiting on improvements such as range from the battery. Source: USA Today
