Foley Automotive Update

Analysis by Julie Dautermann, Competitive Intelligence Analyst

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Key Developments

• Foley & Lardner released its 2024 End-to-End Manufacturing Manual, in which authors from diverse practices and perspectives provide a comprehensive “end-to-end” analysis of the manufacturing industry’s legal landscape.
• Foley & Lardner senior counsel Samuel Goldstick offered insight on the growing scrutiny on connected vehicle technology in the Automotive Dive article, “The auto industry’s cybersecurity challenges are mounting, experts say.”
• Automotive News provided a series of reports on how artificial intelligence is being tested and deployed by suppliers, automakers, battery producers and dealerships, as well as the potential impact of AI technologies in areas that include connected vehicles, cybersecurity and autonomous driving.
• U.S. new light-vehicle sales are projected to reach a SAAR of 16.1 million units in October 2024 for an increase of 2.1% from October 2023, according to a joint forecast from J.D. Power and GlobalData.
• Global automakers’ declining market share in China is presenting challenges and opportunities for U.S.-based suppliers that hope to maintain and strengthen their positions in the world’s largest auto market, according to a report in Crain’s Detroit.
• During a campaign rally that emphasized voter concerns about domestic manufacturing jobs, former president Donald Trump pledged to provide tax breaks for consumers that purchase vehicles made in the U.S. While the UAW endorsed Kamala Harris for president, the Trump campaign has resonated with a number of union members in key swing states that include Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
• Bloomberg Government provided an overview of Harris’ and Trump’s EV proposals, the issue’s role in the 2024 election, and prospects for policy overhauls in Congress following the election. The analysis indicates EV tax credits and tailpipe emissions rules are the most vulnerable to revision or repeal if Republicans win the election. 
• BloombergNEF estimates global sales of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will reach 16.7 million units in 2024, up from 13.9 million in 2023.
• GM reported third-quarter net income of $3 billion on total revenue of $48.8 billion, reflecting a decline of 0.3% and an increase of 10.5%, respectively. The automaker raised full-year 2024 adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $14 billion to $15 billion, from a previous estimate of $13 billion to $15 billion.
• Ford’s third-quarter net income fell 25% year-over-year to $900 million, primarily due to a $1.2 billion EV-related profit loss, and total revenue rose 5% to $46 billion. The automaker lowered full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $10 billion, from a previous projection of up to $12 billion.
• Tesla reported third-quarter 2024 net income of $2.2 billion on total revenue of $25.18 billion, representing year-over-year increases of 17% and 8%, respectively.

OEMs/Suppliers  

• Stellantis is expanding its plant in Saltillo, Mexico to support production of the Ram 1500 pickup truck. The automaker indefinitely laid off approximately 1,100 workers from its Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan after production of the Ram 1500 Classic pickup ended earlier this month.
• GM plans to work with its supply base to enhance capabilities in virtual design, development and validation.
• Qualcomm and Google announced a multiyear partnership to develop in-vehicle generative AI capabilities.
• Stellantis will close a 4,000-acre vehicle testing site in Arizona by the end of this year, as part of a broader initiative to reduce spending. Separately, GM will close a 272-acre cold-weather vehicle testing center in Ontario.
• Volkswagen could close three of its ten plants in Germany in pursuit of “comprehensive measures to restore competitiveness,” amid underperforming vehicle sales and increased competition from Chinese automakers.
• Daimler Truck and Volvo will form a joint venture to develop software for heavy-duty vehicles.

Electric Vehicles and Low Emissions Technology

• BYD’s battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle sales rose from just under 180,000 units in 2020 to 1.86 million in 2022 and 3.02 million in 2023, and the automaker is now exporting to over 90 markets, according to a profile in Bloomberg. BYD launched its first vehicle in 2005 and stopped producing full combustion engine cars in 2022.
• China’s EV exports to the European Union rose 61% year-over-year in September, ahead of the bloc’s expected implementation of finalized import tariffs for Chinese-made EVs. China indicated it may raise tariffs on certain imported internal combustion engine vehicles in response to the EU’s tariffs.
• LG Energy Solution announced two new contracts to supply EV batteries for Ford’s commercial vans in the U.K. and EU markets. In addition, batteries for the Ford Mustang Mach-E will be produced at LG Energy Solution’s Michigan facility in 2025, instead of a site in Poland.
• China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) debuted a new hybrid vehicle battery that is expected to provide up to 248 miles of pure electric range.  
• The U.S. Department of Energy announced a conditional commitment for a loan of up to $670.6 million to Aspen Aerogels Inc. to construct a new factory in Georgia that will produce aerogel blankets to improve EV battery safety.
• GM will increase a planned second-tranche investment from $330 million to $625 million to support development of the Thacker Pass lithium mining project in Nevada.
• The Bureau of Land Management issued final permit approval for Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron mining project in Nevada. The project could have the capacity to supply batteries for more than 370,000 EVs annually.
• EV chip maker Wolfspeed received $1.5 billion in combined backing from private investors and the federal Chips and Science Act to support planned spending for its new facilities in North Carolina and New York.
• The newly announced “GM Energy PowerBank” stationary energy storage unit will help EV customers to store and transfer energy from the grid.
• EV maker Lucid Motors expects to raise up to $1.67 billion through a combined public offering and private placement of roughly 637 million shares.
• GM Ventures invested $10 million in materials science company Forge Nano. The investment will include a strategic partnership to develop atomic layer deposition technology for the automaker’s EV batteries. 
• Silicon Valley-based startup Lyten plans to invest over $1 billon to establish a lithium sulfur battery gigafactory in Nevada. Lyten’s investors include Stellantis, FedEx and Honeywell.
• GM will delay production of electric motors at its St. Catharines Propulsion Plant in Ontario to 2027 instead of late 2025.
• Hyundai issued a recall of over 1,500 Nexo fuel cell passenger cars in the U.S. and Canada due to a faulty component that may cause hydrogen gas leaks.

Automated, Autonomous or Connected Vehicles Technologies

• Waymo closed a $5.6 billion Series C funding round that included a previously disclosed $5 billion multi-year commitment from parent company Alphabet. Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek,  Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price participated in the funding round.
• On October 17, Chinese autonomous-driver technology provider Pony AI Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
• British automated driving startup Wayve opened an office in Sunnyvale, CA to support a vehicle testing program in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Market Trends and Regulatory

• The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS on Oct. 24, 2024, released Final Regulations regarding the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit of the Internal Revenue Code. A provision in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Section 45X provides a production tax credit for domestic manufacturing of components for solar and wind energy, inverters, battery components and critical minerals.
• New-vehicle registrations in the European Union fell 6.1% year-over-year in September, and registrations for the first nine months of 2024 were 0.6% higher than the same period last year.
• S&P Global Market Intelligence data indicates the value of global private equity and venture capital transactions in the micromobility sector is expected to decline for a second consecutive year in 2024, due to investors’ focus on company profitability. Micromobility is defined as lightweight vehicles used for short distances, such as bicycles, scooters, motorized cycles and mopeds.
• A study by AAA found that 2024 models with automatic emergency braking systems prevented about twice the number of forward collisions compared to 2017-2018 models, but often failed to stop crashes at speeds over 35 mph.