Zoox’s Post

Toyota Appoints Top Engineer to Fix Vehicle Certification Issues Auto giant turns to expertise in restructuring and retraining management in vehicle safety certification that has fallen short this year. http://spr.ly/6042lKv6g #Automotive #AutomotiveTechnology #IndustryNews

MARY KNOWS BEST No matter how hard writer Mike Colias tries to make it appear that Mary Barra is transforming General Motors, the brutal truth is that Mary Barra is slowly killing GM. Barra has been CEO for 10 years. Has she made changes that have benefited GM? Yes and no. Has Barra positioned GM for long-term profitable growth? No. Barra’s insistence on converting GM to an EV company is a failed strategy that has cost GM billions. Barra pledged to spend $35B on EVs between 2020 and 2025. Why? Because apparently, Mary knows best. The move into EVs has been negative for GM. Sales didn’t materialize and billions have been lost. To make matters worse, in 2016 Barra authorized the acquisition of Cruise, an autonomous vehicle company, for $1B. Barra stated that, “Cruise could generate $50B in revenue by 2030.” GM has invested $8B in Cruise and they have nothing to show for it. Zero. According to Barra, “We haven’t executed the way we have planned.” It took losing $8B to come to that conclusion? It’s clear to me that GMs Board of Directors have chosen not to pressure Mary to deliver results. No matter how outlandish the claim or how poorly Barra performs, Barra can do no wrong in the eyes of the board. A competent board of directors would have fired Barra over the disaster at Cruise. I’ve spoken with investors interested in acquiring Cruise. They value the company at no more than $250M to $500M. Note to Mary: Divest Cruise. Barra has been against hybrids as she believed her strategy for EVs was exactly what GM needed. Once again, Mary was wrong. Barra earlier this month said GM would consider adding hybrids, based on the market. This means that billions more will have to be invested. It also means GM is behind other car companies when it comes to hybrid technology. To put this in perspective, had GM made the decision to enter the passenger and cargo aviation industry, they could have acquired Delta Air Lines for less than $30B; American Airlines for $10B; or Southwest Airlines for $18B. What would have been the better choice for GM? Losing billions on EVs or diversifying and acquiring an airline? 10 years as CEO is long enough for Barra. Soon to be 63, Mary isn’t the right person to be leading GM. Barra thinks her strategy for the company is what’s best but the facts prove she’s wrong. That doesn’t matter to Barra who recently stated, "Our commitment to an all-EV future is as strong as ever, and we continue to plan to have annual EV capacity of 1 million units in North America as we exit 2025.” Converting GM to an EV company is a mistake. Gas powered vehicles generate 98% of sales for GM. EVs only generate 2% of sales. Selling hybrids, EVs and ICE vehicles is the best strategy for GM. GM must hire a competent and qualified CEO who is a strategic thinker and a leader. The sooner the better. Naming Dara Khosrowshahi CEO of GM while retaining the CEO role at Uber is an interesting idea. #retail #automotiveindustry #ev

Toyota Appoints Top Engineer to Fix Vehicle Certification Issues Auto giant turns to expertise in restructuring and retraining management in vehicle safety certification that has fallen short this year. http://spr.ly/6043lKv69 #Automotive #AutomotiveTechnology #IndustryNews

Throwback to May 9th, 1962, when Ford Motor Company embarked on a journey that would redefine automotive history. The birth of an icon - the 1964 1/2 Mustang. Innovation and quality have always been at the heart of our industry. #TBT #FordMustang #QualityDriven #IDSQuality #TrustInQuality #QualityLiaison #QualityControl #AutomotiveIndustry #Automotive #AutomotiveExcellence #Manufacturing #IDS #Integritydrivensolutions

It was my mistaken belief that I was a chorus of one in daring to question the leadership of GM CEO Mary Barra, so I’m delighted to have discovered veteran business strategist Brittain Ladd with whom I can sing a duet. I’ve reposted Ladd’s recent critical post on Barra, which shares my view that Barra’s Cruise debacle alone warrants that she be fired. Cruise is the supposedly autonomous taxi business GM acquired in 2016 for $1 billion and the company has since invested $8 billion more. Cruise isn’t fully autonomous because its vehicles require continuous human monitoring and intervention, a detail that until recently wasn’t widely known. Regardless, GM has sidelined Cruise’s business after California’s DMV yanked its license because of public safety concerns and accused the company of withholding critical data. The DMV’s decision came just hours after Barra was chastising analysts for undervaluing Cruise, which Barra crowed would generate $50 billion in annual revenues by 2030.   Ladd says he’s spoken with investors interested in acquiring Cruise, which they value at between $250M and $500M. That’s a far cry from the $30 billion Bloomberg reported Cruise could have fetched in 2022 in a prescient report declaring autonomous vehicles a pipe dream (link provided). Bloomberg also previously reported that the impetus to acquire Cruise was former GM president Dan Ammann, who lost out to Barra for the top job. In 2019, Ammann assumed command of Cruise, and Bloomberg reported that Barra fired him because he wanted to spin out Cruise into a separate company. Barra wanted to keep Cruise within the GM fold and integrate Cruise’s technology into the company’s other vehicles. Bloomberg also reported that Ammann favored a more cautious growth for Cruise. Instead, Cruise pursued a more aggressive expansion, riding roughshod over regulators, city officials, and San Francisco’s first responders, who warned Cruise’s technology posed a serious risk to public safety. It’s a wonder how Cruise, whose board Barra chairs, will attract any meaningful talent. In addition to firing Ammann, Barra recently forced out Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt, who she named as Ammann’s successor, along with another Cruise co-founder and nearly a dozen other top executives. Barra also laid off 25% of Cruise’s employees just days after doing a video call assuring employees she was committed to the business. Ladd favors Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi as Barra’s replacement, but my vote goes to Ammann. He already knows GM’s business and given that living well is the best revenge, I imagine he’d be especially motivated putting to shame a less capable executive who mistakenly fired him. https://lnkd.in/gYMDDCRB #gm #ceo

Automotive industry is getting its innovation groove back

An example of what can go wrong when decisions are made on the basis of poor information is evident in the purchase of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Volkswagen and BMW battled each other to purchase Rolls-Royce from Vickers PLC. And Volkswagen won the battle, paying $780 million for the luxury auto-making company. But after the purchase was finalized, the buyers made a shocking discovery. Volkswagen owned the company, but not the rights to the name Rolls-Royce, which is synonymous with luxury cars around the world. The license for the name, it turned out, belonged to another company: Rolls-Royce PLC, an aerospace company. Even worse, Rolls-Royce PLC had ties to BMW. Guess who received permission to use the name? BMW—not Volkswagen.

Interesting announcement with an interplay between a legacy and contemporary OEM. The immediate initiative apparently is focused on software only but who knows which types of future collaboration we will see ... My initial reaction is that this is a win for both Rivian and Volkswagen. "Rivian and Volkswagen Group Announce Plans for Joint Venture to Create Industry-Leading Vehicle Software Technology and for Strategic Investment by Volkswagen" https://lnkd.in/dTBBTXAF

Top 5 stories of the week: Cybertruck driver gets ‘middle finger'; executive exodus at Stellantis: A quick look at the top automotive stories of the week as determined by reader interest. #cars #auto #car

Ford vs. General Motors: A Deep Dive into America’s Automotive Giants In this article, you will learn about the rivalries between the two companies, Ford vs. General Motors, and find which one of them is better for you. Visit for more: https://lnkd.in/d_rPFM2s #FordVsGM #AutoRivalry #AmericanAutomakers #FordHistory #GMHistory #CarIndustry #AutomotiveGiants #FordVsGeneralMotors #AutoTech #MrBusinessMagazine