Welcome to the Nov. 15 today's edition of the Automotive News Daily 5.
There are more signs the electric vehicle market is losing steam in showrooms and favor in the halls of Washington, with an outlook that remains cloudy at best.
Registrations for new EVs edged up 1.3 percent in September, outpacing a slim gain for the overall light-vehicle market, but coming in well below the growth in registrations in the first nine months, even with fatter discounts.
"These numbers don't point to substantial EV growth in the next five, 10 years unless things change," S&P Global Mobility analyst Tom Libby said.
In another possible setback, a panel advising a transition team for President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is exploring doing away with the $7,500 tax credit for EVs. You'll recall automakers far and wide, especially in Detroit, have lobbied for such incentives to help ease the transition to EVs away from internal combustion engine vehicles. Most Americans surveyed don't want to pay more for an EV, and The credit helps give dealers and automakers a way to help consumers overcome EV sticker shock.
The pink slips keep coming across the industry as automakers and suppliers brace for more uncertainty. General Motors is the latest company to downsize, with plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs, mostly in North America, to remain lean and flexible.
And Nissan Motor Co., which is readying 9,000 job cuts worldwide amid falling profits, faces more financial headwinds in the next two years.
The automaker and its group affiliates have about $1.6 billion of debt due next year, a slight decrease from 2024, but around $5.6 billion coming due in 2026, Bloomberg reports, putting pressure on the company to generate cash.
Come Jan. 1, Hyundai Motor Co. will have a new CEO, and he will become the first foreigner to lead the South Korean automaker, now the No. 4 seller in the U.S. behind GM, Toyota Motor North America and Ford Motor Co.
Jose Muñoz joined Hyundai in 2019 as global COO, with oversight of the carmaker's North American and South American operations. Before that he spent 15 years with Nissan Motor Co., where he was chairman of the Japanese company's China unit.
Muñoz will succeed Jaehoon Chang, who becomes vice chairman of Hyundai's automotive division. In his expanded role, Muñoz will steer Hyundai through a slowdown in the switch to EVs while confronting competition from a new wave of Chinese rivals.
That is our report for Friday. Have a great weekend.
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— David Phillips, news editor
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