Foley Automotive Update

Analysis by Julie Dautermann, Competitive Intelligence Analyst

This update helps automotive suppliers inform their legal and operational decisions to help address challenges and opportunities. Contact your Foley relationship partner, or Ann Marie Uetz, Vanessa L. Miller, or Nicholas J. Ellis, to follow up.

Key Developments

• U.S. new light-vehicle sales reached a SAAR of 15.3 million units in June, and second quarter 2024 sales fell by approximately 0.4% from April-June 2023, according to initial estimates from Wards Intelligence.
• Certain auto suppliers doing business in Mexico expressed concerns over the impact of wage inflation and labor availability in the nation, according to a report in Crain’s Detroit.
• A number of large auto suppliers are rethinking which parts to produce and where to manufacture them, due to challenges that include geopolitical uncertainty, an unpredictable transition to EVs, and years of reduced profits.  
• Consulting firm AlixPartners predicts Chinese automotive brands could collectively represent 33% of global vehicle shipments by 2030.
• Certain federal vehicle emissions standards may be vulnerable following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned the “Chevron deference,” which had directed federal courts to defer to the federal agency’s interpretation of a regulation when reviewing certain agency actions that could be ambiguous.  
• A number of Republican lawmakers may pursue a Congressional Review Act challenge to overturn Treasury Department final regulations on EV tax credits, according to a report in Bloomberg.
• GM will pay a $145.8 million penalty and take other steps after a federal investigation found nearly 6 million vehicles from model years 2012 through 2018 were responsible for higher carbon dioxide emissions than stated in the automaker’s initial compliance reports.
• U.S. EV penetration is projected to reach 8% of U.S. new-vehicle sales in 2024, 14% in 2027 and 29% in 2030, according to excerpts from Bank of America’s annual Car Wars report. 

OEMs/Suppliers  

• Second quarter 2024 U.S. new light-vehicle sales were up by 0.8% for Ford and 0.6% for GM, and down 21% for Stellantis.  U.S. new-vehicle sales in the first half of 2024 increased by 3.6% for Ford (1.04 million units) and fell by 16% for Stellantis (677,533 units) and 0.4% for GM (1.29 million units) when compared to the first half of 2023.
• To “align production with sales,” Stellantis will temporarily halt Gladiator production at its Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio for six weeks and lay off one shift of approximately 1,600 workers for four weeks at its Warren Truck Assembly Plant near Detroit.
• Foreign automakers’ share of the passenger-car market in China declined by approximately eight percentage points in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period one year ago, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. 
• German mobility company DEKRA plans to invest over $22 million to establish an automotive testing center in Plymouth, Michigan.
• At least five senior executives have departed Stellantis in recent months, according to a report in The Detroit News.

Electric Vehicles and Low Emissions Technology

• Tesla delivered 443,956 vehicles in the second quarter of 2024 and over 910,000 vehicles worldwide in the first half of 2024.
• China’s BYD sold approximately 426,000 battery electric vehicles in the second quarter of 2024 and over 726,000 BEVs in the first half of 2024.
• Ford sold 44,180 EVs in the first half of 2024, up 72% compared to the first half of 2023. GM reported 38,355 EV deliveries in the first half of 2024.
• The J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Initial Quality Study^SM (IQS) found “BEVs, as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), required more repairs than gas-powered vehicles in all repair categories.”
• Automotive News provided an overview of some of the largest EV battery plant investments in the U.S.
• First-quarter 2024 lithium-ion battery shipments rose 1.5% from a year ago but fell 15% from the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data published on July 5 by S&P Global Commodity Insights. Chinese companies represented over 80% of U.S. lithium-ion battery imports in the first quarter.
• Companies that include LG Energy Solution are working on dry-coating technology to help lower production costs for lithium-ion batteries.
• A South Korean EV battery producer said it was in “crisis” due to the impact of disappointing EV sales.
• The European Union on July 5 imposed provisional import tariffs on EVs made in China.
• BYD plans to invest up to $1 billion to establish an electric and hybrid vehicle plant in Turkey.
• The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will invest a combined $25 million to develop charging infrastructure for electric heavy-duty trucks.
• Stellantis invested an additional $55 million in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company Archer Aviation Inc., following milestones that included a successful test flight.  Archer plans to complete a manufacturing facility in Georgia later this year.

Automated, Autonomous or Connected Vehicles Technologies

• A number of U.S. farmers have increased the deployment of autonomous tractors and other technology to improve operational efficiency. 
• China will allow driverless taxis to test operations in certain parts of Shanghai with no safety supervisors present in the vehicles.

Market Trends and Regulatory

• In its second biannual report to Congress on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s effect on the automotive industry, the U.S. Trade Representative stated the complexity of the USMCA’s rules of origin (ROO) “continues to impose administrative burdens on suppliers, and evidence suggests that suppliers are not attempting to claim USMCA preference for a growing share of automotive parts trade.” 
• Ocean shipping price volatility could remain a potential risk in the near-term, and prices for certain routes have more than doubled in recent months due to factors that include possible labor strikes in certain regions, port congestion in Southeast Asia and ongoing ship diversions to avoid Houthi-led attacks in the Red Sea.