This first week of December has given us a view of what will undoubtedly be significant focus areas early next year, including vehicle emissions, emerging EV technology, and COVID-19 vaccine developments. We will continue to monitor these areas and others in these weekly emails.

We would love to hear from you and welcome your questions. If you're interested in sharing your thoughts with us on hot topics, or if you would like to ask us a research question, please reach out to Katie Ramsburgh.

Last week we took a break from hot topics to observe the Thanksgiving holiday, but you are welcome to review my hot topics email from the prior week here.

Hot Topics of 11/30/2020 - 12/4/2020:

Vehicle Emissions

• GM withdraws support for Trump's lawsuit against California over emissions
• Ford urges other automakers to back California framework on vehicle emissions
• Biden Win Is Pressuring Carmakers to Unite on Tailpipe Emissions
• Automakers pledge to work with Biden to reduce emissions
• GM emissions reversal part of path forward
• Emissions Clampdown Sends Rhodium Prices on Explosive Rally

My thoughts:

This vehicle emissions news is all good for the environment and automotive companies. OEMs have been forging ahead on the electrification push from a global perspective, and it’s good for the U.S. to be onboard in this arena. One of the key points now is for a 50 state unified standard that allows each automaker to be much more efficient in terms of vehicle specifications, development, and manufacturing. President-elect Biden is making his goals known in terms of climate and the environment, but these may be slowed or hindered by a split congress. Automotives need to work together as never before and strive for the 50 state standard and, further, the right incentives and framework for electric vehicles.

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

• Ford aims to offer COVID-19 vaccines to employees, orders ultra-cold freezers
• GM preps to unveil plan to workers around COVID-19 vaccine distribution

My thoughts:

COVID-19 vaccine distribution is the highlight of the week for all citizens of the world. Finally, good news despite the COVID-19 surge we are now experiencing. The sooner we can get these distributed to citizens, the better for our health, workforce, economy, families, and most importantly, children. Companies have a role in their employee’s health, and we’ve had incentives in health plans for some time, which have resulted in better behavior and more attention to health. As a result, supporting their employees’ needs to obtain a vaccine is good news.

Industry Partnerships and Stocks

• BlackBerry spikes record 65% after finalizing deal with Amazon for automotive data software
• Nikola shares fall after GM scraps Badger deal and drops equity stake
• S&P Global to buy IHS Markit in deal valued at $44 billion
• Musk says EVs will double electric demand; Tesla would consider merger
• Tesla rallies as investors welcome all-at-once S&P 500 debut

My thoughts:

We will continue to see more and more partnerships and more IPO’s in various mechanisms. Economies of scale matter and never more than when development dollars and resources are stretched. Even post-COVID-19, we will see more of these as companies think about scale and how to merge to provide the products needed by the customer to the market faster. The customer’s expectation for new models and new features keeps growing, and their patience to see these is getting shorter – the lifecycle of products will continue to shorten. Companies need to be prepared and have the processes in place to make this happen.  In many cases, this means partnering with those that allow this rapidity.

EV Charging and Range

• Cars on Hyundai's Electric Platform Can Charge 80% in 18 Minutes
• Hyundai Unveils EV Platform, Will Have 23 Global Electric Vehicles by 2025
• This new feature is about to make electric cars way easier to use
• Bigger batteries vs. weight reduction: Neither way of boosting EV range is cheap, report shows
• Volkswagen ID4 EV's Range Far Exceeds 200 Miles in EPA Testing

My thoughts:

Wow – tons of news this week on EV’s. Japan announced today that no pure internal combustion engine vehicles can be sold after 2035.  More countries and potentially more states will jump on this bandwagon. But, beware….this is the WHAT.  Behind this, WHAT is a lot of HOW with many tentacles that aren’t so easy to solve. We really must take a holistic look at what this means and make the right decisions to avoid unintended consequences. 

Best Regards,

Carla Bailo
President and CEO
Center for Automotive Research

Upcoming Webinar at CAR

Auto Industry X Series: Process

Friday, December 11, 2020  |  10 AM - 11:00 AM EST

CAR will be releasing a report on Industry X highlighting the remarkable change underway in January 2021. CAR is hosting a series of webinars to share our findings and define future guideposts.

Change is hard. Disruptive change is harder. Successful digital transformation requires more than a good strategy and adequate funding. It takes focus on process. Change Agents and Change Managers often drive successful Industry X implementations. This webinar will identify key characteristics for successful Industry X implantation.