General Motors is cutting over 1,000 salaried software and service employees, despite the automaker’s increasing focus on opportunities to expand revenues through the use of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. The company said the move will help it “prioritize investments.”
A once well-respected marque, the fate of Chrysler is increasingly in doubt. Last month, Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis — the Euro-American automaker formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA — warned that some of its 14 brands could be abandoned if they don’t start delivering better sales and earnings. Chrysler is widely believed to be one of the most vulnerable divisions. But that’s really nothing new.
It was billed as an “interview” with presidential candidate Donald Trump but billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk used the Monday night event on social media service X to promote the benefits of EVs – those from Tesla, in particular. It’s no easy sell, at least to the former president’s followers.
In this week’s episode of the podcast, we discuss Trump switching his view on EVs, the debut of several new vehicles, and we also go for a spin in the 2025 Ford Explorer We also make a detour to This Week in Automotive History to explore the past.
The growth of the EV market has clearly slowed this year, General Motors President Mark Reuss said during a media confab, but sales are still on the rise and GM continues planning to gain ground, even as it delays some product launches. A critical step will be driving down prices, even as profitability improves, said Reuss, who oversees GM’s product development efforts.
EV maker Rivian beat its second quarter earnings estimates, but more importantly predicted it would be in the black for the first time ever in the final quarter of 2024. A series of cost cutting measures and changes to the way the company sells vehicles combined to make the second quarter a good one. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Donald Trump has pulled a U-turn and now says he is now “totally” in favor of EVs. The Republican nominee for president said he had “no choice” but to rethink his position after previously bashing battery-electric vehicles now that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become one of Trump’s biggest financial backers in an increasingly tough campaign.
EV maker Lucid Motors offered up good news during its second quarter earnings call as it secured as much as $1.5 billion in new cash just in time to begin production of its second vehicle, the Gravity SUV. The company also managed to beat analysts’ estimates for the quarter. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is burnishing reputation as a cost-cutter with another round of buyout offers for salaried executives. He’s also warning there could be a round of layoffs if the buyouts don’t achieve the reduction goals. Find out more at Headlight.News.
As it looks to potentially consolidate a list of 14 automotive brands, Stellantis could sell off its most exclusive, Maserati, due to weak sales, a senior official warned. That’s on top of several other brands which, Headlight.News reported last week, may be shuttered entirely.
Could Stellantis abandon one or more of its 14 automotive brands? In light of the automaker’s weak second-quarter earnings, that is a distinct possibility, warned CEO Carlos Tavares. But which of those marques are the most endangered? Headlight.News takes a closer look and a few seem ripe for the chopping block.
It will be up to a California court to determine the outcome of a long-running suit pitting two EV manufacturers, Tesla and Rivian. The bigger of the two has accused its rival of stealing trade secrets and a judge has ruled the case will have to go to trial after Rivian filed to get it dismissed earlier this week.