Tag Archives: Electrified Vehicles

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Unifor President Jerry Dias secured a new deal with $1.2 billion in new investment.

Members of Unifor ratified a new three-year labor contract with Fiat Chrysler that includes a $1.2 billion investment that expected to lead to 2,000 additional jobs FCA Windsor Assembly plant as well as new work for the company assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, and a casting plant Etobicoke, Ontario.

The contract covers more than 9,000 Unifor members employed by FCA in Canada.

“This agreement solidifies and builds on FCA’s footprint, with a game-changing investment of up to $1.2 billion for a state-of-the-art platform to build both plug–in hybrid vehicles and battery-electric vehicles, along with a $40 million investment to bring multiple derivatives of the Dodge Charger and Challenger to the Brampton plant where production of the Chrysler 300 is being extended,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.

(FCA, Unifor reach agreement on new deal, averting strike.)

“The commitments we have secured in these negotiations will stabilize FCA’s operations in Canada and position us as a global leader in the transition to zero emission vehicle production.”

FCA’s Windsor (Ontario) Assembly Plant is going to get a new electric vehicle to build.

Fiat Chrysler forecasts the return of the third shift in Windsor by 2024, adding as many as 2,000 jobs along with $14 million investment at the Etobicoke Casting Plant, and a 22% increase in the hourly workforce where the work force had dwindled to 100 from 500 in the past four years.

“Workers who have feared plant closures and job losses in recent years can now look forward to a bright future with good jobs for years to come,” said Dias.

FCA, in a separate statement, confirmed the basic content of the contract and said they expected both the Ontario provincial government and Canada federal government to help finance the renovation in Windsor, which will turn the plant into a hub of EV production, matching those at new EV plant under development by General Motors and Ford on the other side of the Detroit River in the U.S.

(Unifor vows to fight FCA plan to cut third shift in Windsor.)

“FCA has maintained a strong footprint in Canada for nearly a century. Over the last decade, we have invested over $4 billion in our Canadian manufacturing facilities, more than any other OEM in the country and it is our intention to maintain this leadership,” said Mark Stewart, chief operating officer, FCA North America.

The company plans to invest $40 million in its Brampton, Ontario.

“This agreement bolsters our global competitiveness and positions us for future growth with new product investment and new jobs, while also demonstrating our commitment to our employees, their families and the communities we represent,” he added.

Stewart said working in collaboration with Unifor, as well as both the federal and provincial governments, FCA has committed to install a new multi-energy vehicle architecture, including plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicle capability, and at least one new model on that architecture at its Windsor Assembly Plant.

(Unifor members ratify new Ford labor pact.)

The additional investments Brampton Assembly, which will produce three new variants of the popular Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger muscle cars, in addition to continuing production of the Chrysler 300, while Etobicoke Casting Plant will receive two new products FCA’s transport operation also will receive $14.3 million in equipment upgrades, FCA said.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk got his massive payday, and is now the third wealthiest man in the world.

The day after Tesla completed its 5-for-1 stock split, the EV maker revealed it plans to sell as much as $5 billion of the newly divided shares to help offset future debt needs.

The California-based EV maker saw its stock take off this year like a SpaceX rocket, passing $2,000 a share just before the split. Not only did the stunning rise in prices make it the world’s most valuable automaker, it made CEO Elon Musk the third-richest man in the world.

Selling stock isn’t uncommon after a split as companies often look to raise money for a variety of reasons, and Tesla has several that $5 billion could handily address. The company had $8.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of June.

(Tesla CEO Musk hints of big battery breakthrough.)

This is going to be a familiar site for Tesla officials as the company is building two new Gigafactories: one near Berlin, Germany and one near Austin, Texas.

Tesla’s got several irons in the fire right — expensive irons, if you will. The company is in the midst of building a Gigafactory in Berlin, Germany and recently announced it would start construction on its second U.S. Gigafactory on a large site just outside of Austin, Texas.

Additionally, Musk appears to be trying to accelerate the development and production of the Cybertruck as well as the Semi truck as competitors like Nikola, Daimler, Lordstown, General Motors, Rivian, Ford and others are closing the gap in their move to produce electric trucks of all sizes.

According to the company’s official filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it plans to use proceeds from the offering to strengthen its balance sheet and for general corporate purposes. Tesla’s shares were down 4.76% today to $475.05 in late-day trading.

(EV sales slumped during first half, even Tesla losing ground despite launch of Model Y.)

Craig Irwin, a Roth Capital Partners analyst who has the equivalent of a ‘hold’ rating on the stock, on Tuesday said the capital raise did not come as a surprise.

Tesla’s Cybertruck is slated to begin production next year: another big expense for the EV maker.

“They will need cash for all the facilities they are building, and new growth initiatives,” Irwin told Reuters.

Other analysts were uncertain if Tesla would actually sell $5 billion in stock, perhaps being comfortable with less. David Whiston, an analyst at Morningstar Research, said he wasn’t certain how much the company would raise, suggesting to Reuters that the automaker doesn’t “need the money right now.”

“I can understand them taking advantage of the stock’s incredible run, but they don’t need the money right now,” Whiston said.

(Tesla announced 5-for-1 stock split; shares rise again.)

Tesla in February had announced plans to raise $2 billion in a stock offering. The company’s market capitalization is around $465 billion. The move pushed Musk’s personal net worth past $100 billion.

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•

GM’s Chief Sustainability Officer Dane Parker outline the company’s plans for not just transforming vehicles, but also the facilities where they’re designed and built.

The auto industry is undergoing the most “significant transition” it has seen in a century, and General Motors doesn’t intend to be left behind, the automaker’s chief sustainability officer said during a media briefing ahead of the release of GM’s annual sustainability report today.

If anything, the company is accelerating plans to switch entirely to battery-electric vehicles, even as it continues to develop hydrogen fuel-cell technology. GM also is working to switch to zero-emissions sources to power its plants, said CSO Dane Parker.

“We’re very confident that … in a five- to 10-year timeframe, we’ll see a very different transportation industry,” Parker told reporters.

(GM reveals flexible EV platform, new “Ultium” batteries.)

The Chevrolet Bolt EV will be one of about 20 GM battery-cars on the market by 2023, the automaker says.

GM was one of the first carmakers to push seriously into electrification, its Chevrolet Volt becoming the first mass-market plug-in hybrid a decade ago. It is now focusing on pure battery-electric vehicles and Parker confirmed it will have “at least 20 by 2023,” about half of them having been previewed last March at one of two GM battery-car events in suburban Detroit.

That includes two versions of the all-electric GMC Hummer, a pickup and an SUV, coming next year, as well as an extended-length iteration of GM’s current long-range hatchback, the Chevy Bolt.

All told, the carmaker has now committed to “allocate more than $20 billion of capital and engineering resources to its electric and autonomous vehicle programs between 2020 and 2025,” according to a summary of GM’s 10th annual sustainability report.

As vehicle development work continues, the Detroit carmaker is also pushing ahead on construction of a new battery plant in Ohio that is part of its partnership with Korea’s LG Chem. The new Ultium batteries set to be produced there will have a higher energy density – meaning more power in a smaller pack – and lower cost, GM President Mark Reuss predicting the company could reach parity on the cost of an electric vehicle compared to a gas model by mid-decade.

GM just eliminated the Sonic so its Orion (MI) plant that now builds just the Bolt will get a second electric vehicle.

The Ultium batteries have other advantages, said Parker, noting they will use significant less cobalt than current lithium-ion cells. They will also be easier to replace than current batteries and will eventually be easier to recycle. One of the key goals outlined in the GM report is to either recycle or find post-life uses for Ultium batteries. There are numerous possibilities, Parker noted. That could include being used in grid backup systems that could help prevent blackouts and power surges.

“The vision we have for an all-electric future will result in the longer-term elimination of internal combustion engines,” said Parker, though he declined to lay out a specific timetable. One reason is that this could vary by market. Different countries, he added, “will have different timelines for us to get there.”

(GM transforming Poletown plant in primary EV production site.)

Europe, for example, is pushing aggressively to replace gas and diesel power, backing that with incentives and investments in a charging infrastructure. China is moving rapidly in that direction as well. But, at least under the Trump administration, the U.S. is moving more cautiously.

GM teased the GMC Hummer during the Super Bowl and has since confirmed there will be both pickup and SUV versions.

GM isn’t just looking at battery power. The automaker was an early proponent of hydrogen fuel-cell technology and two years ago launched a joint venture with Honda. The Japanese automaker, said Parker, is focusing on automotive applications for fuel cells. GM, on the other hand, is emphasizing stationary applications, such as back-up power for cellphone towers.

“When we look at what is the faster way to deployment (of zero-emissions vehicles), it’s battery electric,” Parker explained, noting that the big challenge for hydrogen is the lack of a refueling infrastructure. That’s one reason that automakers currently marketing fuel cell vehicles, such as the Honda Clarion, are largely limited to parts of California, where most U.S. hydrogen stations are located.

Parker did not rule out the possibility that GM could eventually use some of the fuel-cell stacks it plans to build at a new plant in Michigan for transportation applications. But “we do not plan to produce” those vehicles. Instead, he explained, “we are certainly ready to explore options to partner” with another company that might want to produce hydrogen trucks using GM stacks.

General Motors’ Arlington, Texas plant is using 100% wind-generated power.

Parker hinted the automaker will have news to make about its hydrogen program “in the coming months.”

GM has aggressively expanded its approach to clean technologies since Mary Barra became CEO in January 2014. That is not limited to its vehicles. The automaker also wants to switch from conventional to sustainable power sources for its factories. The goal was to get to 100% renewable sources by 2050, said Parker, but that recently was pushed ahead to 2050 worldwide. And the pace is going even more quickly in the U.S.

The big truck plant in Arlington, Texas is already using 100% wind-generated power and GM recently signed up with the TVA to deliver 100 megawatts of solar energy by 2023. That same year, it expects about 800 mW of clean electricity for its Michigan plants, with a goal of 60% renewable power for all operations in the U.S.

(GM increases uses of renewable energy.)

Noting the increased availability of green power, even as prices fall, Parker said “that gives us great confidence in (reaching) that number.”

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}