Honda confirms that it has a new CEO

Honda has a new CEO, Kia starting with Carnival and Renault. All this and more in The Morning Shift for 19 February 2021.

1st gear: Honda confirms that it has a new CEO

It was only this week Wednesday when sources told Reuters that Honda’s head of research and development would become its CEO, a news that Honda denied. Except now that Honda’s R & D chief has become its new CEO, the company confirmed with a press conference and all.

This is apparently an attempt to keep up with the Teslas.

Of Reuters:

Japan’s second-largest carmaker, Honda Motor Co., said on Friday its CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, would retire on April 1 and be replaced by Toshihiro Mibe, head of research and development.

Mibe, 59, who worked with Hachigo to implement structural reforms, has been president of the R&D unit since 2019, following the development of engine development and the propulsion business after joining the company in 1987. has.

“We will consider using external insight or potential alliances among other actions to make decisions without hesitation,” Mibe said at a news conference in which he called on Honda’s “big transformation with great speed” .

His appointment, first reported by Reuters this week, comes as Honda races to catch up with all the electric cars and is confronted by competitors of new entrants and technology giants such as Tesla, Apple and Amazon.

“He’s looking to the future, a direction Honda should take,” Hachigo said at the conference, attributing to Mibe’s expertise in environmental technology and energy and his attention to change as reasons for the choice.

Honda is in a strange middle ground in which things are going well in many ways, but I could see that in five years ‘time the transformation to electric cars will really take off and it’s like,’ Come buy the Honda Insight. ”

2nd gear: the Kia carnival is coming!

The artist formerly known as the Kia Sedona is not a minibus, you fool. It’s a “Multipurpose vehicle,” a term that has existed for some time, but that always makes me wave. Are all vehicles multi-purpose?

Anyway, Kia started the ramp.

Of Motor News:

The Carnival launches on February 23 and is the first vehicle in the US to feature Kia’s new logo and badge.

Kia said the Carnival MPV will push the boundaries of design and innovation to become a versatile and unexpected companion. ‘

Based on a preview image released by Kia, it offers three rows of seats, seating for seven or eight passengers and a “daring and boxy” style that looks like the latest utility vehicles like the Telluride, Sorento and Seltos.

The changes are designed to remain viable in a market that is moving away from traditional minibuses and embracing crossovers and SUVs. While the minibus segment continues to shrink, it remains an important entry point for some brands for buyers, especially families, who want more functionality (think of multiple cup holders and storage drums), more flexible seating and easier getting in and out of a vehicle.

An “Unexpected Companion” is probably my favorite description of a new minibus forever.

3rd gear: Renault has a record loss

For most car manufacturers, this will be bad news. Iindeed, it is for Renault as well. It’s just that Renault is the kind of business – partly owned by France itself – that I want to feel like keep thick and thin and always be with us.

All this means is we should probably not worry too much that Renault is predicting a lot of bad things for 2021.

Of the Financial Times:

Renault suffered a record loss of € 8 billion in 2020 and warned of a difficult year ahead due to sluggish demand and a global shortage of microchips that have teased the industry.

The carmaker and its alliance partner, Nissan, which contributes to the French group’s revenue, were hit hard in the first half of last year when the pandemic hit demand across Europe.

The net loss was worse than the € 7.8 billion forwards, but performance has improved since July, with Renault describing 2020 as a “year of contrasts”.

The operating margin was 3.5 percent in the second half of the year and Renault generated positive non-operating cash flow in the car, although the company still suffered a net loss of € 660 million.

It was indeed a year of contrasts. Still can not believe the Twingo is dead.

4th gear: Daimler is not fascinated by its electric car brand in China

China is moving pretty fast in the direction of cars, but somehow Daimler’s EV brand, Denza, is not so hot. Bloomberg say that Daimler now places the trademark ‘on notice’.

Ola Kallenius, CEO of Daimler AG, said the success of the latest Denza crossover will see the future prospects of the Chinese electric car brand partnered with partner BYD Co. Ltd. determined, after years of flawed sales.

“The cash investment is behind us” for the model, Kallenius told reporters on Thursday. “Now we watch Denza develop and then we make decisions.”

The low demand for Denza’s motor vehicles has raised concerns because the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz cars is working to increase yields. BYD declined to comment.

Daimler and BYD established the brand a decade ago to capitalize on the growth in the Chinese market for new energy vehicles. While sales have started to stand strong, there is a challenge in terms of profitability in the price-sensitive volume segments.

5th gear: Uber stays bad

The heading to this Reuters story is so simple that it’s almost shocking. “Uber drivers entitled to workers’ rights are definitely the UK’s leading court in line with the business model.” As in, Uber’s entire business model is leveraging its workers.

A group of Uber executives are entitled to workers’ rights such as the minimum wage, the Supreme Court in Britain on Friday ruled in a knuckle for the ride service that has consequences for millions of others in the gig economy.

In a case led by two former Uber executives, a London labor court ruled in 2016 that they had rights that included paid holidays and rest breaks.

Uber executives are currently considered a standalone business, which means that by law they offer only minimal protection, a status that the Silicon Valley-based business is trying to maintain a long-running legal battle.

“The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Uber’s appeal,” Judge George Leggatt said Friday.

[…]

It could take several more months before the details of Friday’s ruling are worked out at a further hearing for employers to practically sort through the amounts that managers owe, according to lawyers.

Law firm Leigh Day says eligible drivers can be compensated an average of £ 12,000 (£ 16,780). It represents more than 2000 potential plaintiffs.

Uber is simply not defensible.

Back: John Paul Jr.

It’s the late racer’s birthday. He had a strange life.