EuroWire May 2020

Transatlantic cable

Despite the ongoing 737 Max issue, at least one Boeing supplier remains con dent British company Senior, a supplier of 737 Max parts to both Boeing and to other manufacturers involved in the programme, expects to restart production of the jet parts before the middle of the year. The announcement by Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun followed the company’s report of higher than expected pro ts in 2019, and a consequent 10 per cent rise in its share price. Chief executive David Squires told reporters, “We are con dent we can cope with either a ramp-up or even a further delay,” referring to production of 737 Max parts. The company announced late in 2019 that it would be looking to restructure the business to ensure a return to growth by 2021. Mr Squires admitted that most of those restructuring activities have been in operations most exposed to the Max programme. He added, “It is clear that our performance in 2020 will continue to be a ected by the 737 Max situation, and the company is taking all necessary action to mitigate the impact.” German operator Lufthansa is supporting Boeing’s proposed $4.2bn takeover of Embraer’s commercial aircraft activities. In March, Lufthansa group chief executive Carsten Spohr told an aviation conference, “We would rather have two healthy competitors.” The deal, which is subject to an EU competition probe, would see Boeing take 80 per cent of Embraer’s commercial division. For its part, the EU is concerned that the integration of Brazilian Embraer into Boeing, coupled with Bombardier’s recent decision to sell its CSeries programme to Airbus, would leave too little choice in the market. Several airlines have backed the Boeing-Embraer deal, believing Embraer would not be a viable competitor against a combination of Europe’s Airbus and Bombardier’s CSeries (A220) aircraft programme. Mr Spohr said Lufthansa, the launch customer for the CSeries, had supported the programme’s takeover by Airbus, and was now ready to back the Boeing-Embraer deal. While Boeing looks to take on Embraer’s activities

Instead of its existing 555 internal combustion powertrain combinations, GM aims to move to just 19 di erent electric vehicle (EV) propulsion systems, and the company’s new Ultium battery technology is a further step on its way to cutting EV costs. Ms Barra said the current cost of around $140 per kilowatt hour can be reduced to below $100 per kilowatt hour, and that could make battery packs cost up to 45 per cent less. Using NMCA (nickel-manganese-cobalt-aluminium) chemistry, Ultium EV batteries will provide an estimated driving range of over 400 miles on a single charge. The batteries use less cobalt and nickel than current designs, and are packaged in long, thin cells said to hold 20 times more energy than conventional cylindrical cells. GM is aiming for sales in the USA and China to reach one million electric vehicles per year by 2025. The doubts of investors and analysts over GM’s electric vehicle plans have been made manifest in recent months. By early March, Tesla’s market value had risen to $137bn, compared with GM’s $44bn. While GM is the larger manufacturer by volume, by far, generating more cash and pro t, Tesla is the rm leader in the electric vehicle market. In 2019, Tesla sold 367,500 electric vehicles worldwide, including 223,000 in the USA. GM sold 16,400 Chevrolet Bolt EVs to American buyers and, with joint venture partner SAIC Motor, sold 60,000 Baojun E-series vehicles in China. GM has promised 20 new electric vehicle models by 2023. The rst, the GMC Hummer pickup, will be launched in late 2021, followed by the Cadillac Lyriq crossover utility vehicle in 2022. GM president Mark Reuss said the company was moving to buy battery materials directly, while it works on new technologies that will cut or eliminate cobalt use. It has previously announced a partnership with the Korean battery maker LG Chem, to build a $2.3bn battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Ford Motor Co’s electric vehicle strategy will be emphasising electric vans for delivery businesses. Ford will roll out an all-electric version of its Transit van for North America in 2022, mirroring the timetable for launching a similar model for the European market. Regulators in Europe, and in some US cities, are increasing pressure on businesses to replace their existing delivery vans with electric models to reduce city centre pollution. In the United States, Amazon has ordered 100,000 electric vans from Rivian, with delivery beginning in 2021. “The most critical bet we will be making over the next several years will be our commercial vehicles,” said Ford chief operating o cer Jim Farley, adding, “Half of the vehicles doing work in the US are Ford Motor Co vehicles.” The Transit and an electric version of the F-150 pickup are two of the three vehicles Ford announced as part of its $11.5bn investment in EVs, aimed for the market segments that Ford dominates in the USA and Europe. Ford said the electric Transit will be built in America and will cost more than the gasoline-powered version, which currently starts from $34,500. Gill Watson Features Editor Ford plans to deliver on carbon- free deliveries

Automotive

General Motors has Tesla’s market in its sights

Mary Barra, General Motors’ chief executive, revealed that the company plans to invest $20bn over the next ve years, speci cally into electric and automated vehicles. Ms Barra was speaking to reporters and investors as part of a presentation to explain how GM plans to progress away from diesel and petrol to electric power. Simplifying batteries and vehicle architectures will be critical to GM achieving pro tability. Ms Barra said, “We’ll grow” as the company o ers more electric vehicles, and added that by cutting the number of powertrain combinations, and moving to modular electric vehicle components, battery packs and motors, “GM can be pro table and maintain its pro t margins.”

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May 2020