As much as I love the Chevy Bolt, I wouldn’t want to own it right now, stuck in the middle of an argument between my car manufacturer and its battery supplier. All this and more The morning shift for August 23, 2021.
1st gear: things change after getting a massive Invoice
Bloomberg has a new report on how the optimistic relationship between GM and LG (which supplies GM with its batteries for the Bolt and also made them with the Volt batteries) has worsened amid an eruption of Bolt fires. GM is trying to get LG to pay for a solution, like Bloomberg explain:
Four years later, the long-distance relationship between GM and its battery partner, LG Energy solution, is being tested like never before. In question: who will collect a tab of about $ 1 billion.
GM last week recalled Bolt’s EVs for the third time in nine months because of the risk that their batteries could catch fire. The Detroit-based company will replace the modules of more than 73,000 additional vehicles and said it is trying to get LG to pay for the solution. LG, based about 6,600 kilometers away in Seoul, said the cost will be shared based on the results of a joint investigation into the root cause of the problem.
Things changed, perhaps not surprisingly, when GM achieved an audience success of $ 800 million in the withdrawal:
Earlier this month, GM charged a $ 800 million charge related to the withdrawal, which contributed to the lack of quarterly earnings forecasts and its shares. submerging the maximum in more than a year. Barra said the cells for the 2020 and later bolt model were built using improved manufacturing processes, so the recall did not affect newer vehicles.
Two weeks later, GM changed its tune. In a statement issued after the August 20 closure, the vehicle manufacturer said that in rare circumstances, batteries supplied for new screws may have two manufacturing defects (a torn anode tab and a folded separator) in the same cell that increases the risk of fire. The additional cost: $ 1 billion.
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Reuters used a little more a polite language, saying GM will pay the $ 1 billion but wants to “reimburse” LG. Good luck!
2nd March: LG has lost $ 6 billion in value for the affair
LG shares have fallen, as has Reuters reports:
SEOUL, August 23 (Reuters) – LG Chem Ltd. (051910.KS) shares closed up 11.1% on Monday after General Motors Co. (GM.N) said it would recall an additional 73,000 Chevrolet Bolt cars using the South Korean firm’s batteries, months after the similar withdrawal of Hyundai Motor Co. (005380.KS).
[…]
LG Chem, which is preparing an initial public offering (IPO) for the LG Energy Solution (LGES) battery, lost more than $ 6 billion in market value, the largest intraday percentage loss since March. of 2020.
“The market expected LGES to launch its IPO in September, but with GM’s extended withdrawal, it is likely that LGES’s IPO will be delayed one or two months, because the company should reflect the cost of the withdrawal before the completion of the IPO, “said Samsung Stock Analyst Cho Hyun-ryul.
3rd gear: here are some complaints about bolts
While we are here, we should read some very dramatic consumer complaints about the Bolt, cataloged by Automotive news:
Numerous Bolt owners have filed public complaints with NHTSA, expressing safety concerns and controlling GM’s poor communication.
A customer in Wakefield, Massachusetts, asked GM to repurchase the bolts unless he had a safe solution, and called the vehicle a “time bomb that could burn my house, with my family’s corpses.” .
Other customers living in multi-family homes with central or underground parking said they care about the safety of their neighbors.
GM has advised customers with removed screws to park them outside to protect their homes from a potential fire.
“Is it possible to burn the field or the forest of the local farmer where I am obliged to park it?” a client from Oregon City, Oregon, wrote to NHTSA. “I asked for a repurchase from Chevrolet and they refused. This is an absurd situation that endangers me, my passengers and other people around me.
Bloomberg also spoke with a Bolt owner who lived in the dry hills of the Bay Area, who was concerned that Bolt was starting a fire. The owner wanted GM to return the car.
4th gear: Mercedes does not have much of the V8
As we have seen throughout the shortage of chips, automotive companies always find a way to keep their most profitable cars running on assembly lines, usually vans. Below is how they are looking for Mercedes-Benz Automotive news reports:
The shortage of microchips is forcing Mercedes-Benz US dealers to start 2022 without many of their most profitable vehicles.
With the exception of the S580 and S580 Maybach sedans, there will be no 2022 models with a V-8 engine at the moment.
[…]
Distributors learned of the cancellation on August 13th. No V-8 availability removes the heart of Mercedes ’high-performance AMG line, 13 vehicles often favored by athletes, musicians and other artists. A total of 17 V-8 models are affected.
5th gear: Volvo Idling Again
Volvo’s plant in Gothenburg will be slowed down by the shortage of shavings just two weeks after a previous shutdown Reuters reports:
Volvo Cars, owned by China’s Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), will halt production at its Swedish plant in Torslanda, on the outskirts of Gothenburg, next week due to a shortage of semiconductor chips, it said Monday.
[…]
“Production is scheduled to resume on Sunday 5 September,” added the Swedish firm, which had a similar production shutdown at its Gothenburg plant just two weeks ago.
Reverse: The salad strike begins
The historic strike came after Teamsters drivers attacked and Teamsters tried to steal union representation from UFW farm workers. From Forum of agricultural workers:
Agricultural historians recall that boycotts, work stoppages, and marches, later dubbed the “Salad Bowl” strike, took place between August 23, 1970, and March 25, 1971.
The strike consisted of pickets, protests and repeated outings and involved nearly 10,000 agricultural workers, making it one of the largest labor actions in the country’s history to date.
At its crucial point, the concern faced the UFW, led by the charismatic agricultural worker turned activist Cesar Chávez, against the Teamsters in a contest to see which group would organize and represent the farmers in the Salines Valley and, in fact, through the vast agricultural panera this is California.
Three people were shot in the confrontation, the Watsonville office of the UFW was bombed and hundreds of people were injured or arrested. A delegation of religious leaders from across the country, including the recently retired Bishop of Los Angeles, Roger Mahoney, was sent to mediate between the Teamsters and the UFW.
Neutral – Do you like to drive?
Last week I did about 1,000 miles and at some point I had my doubts.