Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Monday, April 7.
One of the most brilliant automotive analyst presentations each year is the Bank of America "Car Wars" forecast. John Murphy, a senior auto analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, will have his hands full this year. And so do all the people in the auto industry tasked with planning product cycles.
The auto industry seems hopelessly placed in the epicenter of President Donald Trump's tariff crusade, which has upended global markets and created political and economic chaos. Just today, stock markets broke into a volatile about-face in trading based on one unfounded social media report that Trump was considering a 90-day delay on new tariffs. The White House quickly dismissed the report as "fake news."
Then you toss Tesla CEO Elon Musk into the political fray with a growing rift playing out with Trump's top tariff adviser, Peter Navarro. As long as Musk has the president's ear, the auto industry remains relevant in all discussions.
But that's the world in which automakers must live. How can you plan to produce a motor vehicle in the customary three-year cycle when you don't know what could obliterate those plans tomorrow?
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Even during relatively stable times, such as 10 months ago, the "Car Wars" report predicted unprecedented volatility because of powertrain dilemmas over EVs and gasoline engines.
"The powertrain conundrum is causing problems that we have never seen before," Murphy said in a June 18 presentation in suburban Detroit. Delays and cancelations of new models were projected to increase.
This all puts an enormous strain on the leadership skills of General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley and Stellantis CEO TBA. No word yet on when Stellantis Chairman John Elkann will name that TBA.
Speaking of leadership challenges, Honda Motor Co. has plenty as its No. 2 executive, Shinji Aoyama, abruptly resigned early today amid an allegation of inappropriate conduct at an after-work social gathering. As our Hans Greimel reported from Tokyo, Honda said a criminal complaint had been filed with police regarding the alleged inappropriate conduct. But out of concern for the privacy of the alleged victim, the company said it declined to disclose additional details.
Aoyama, 61, was a veteran of the company's automobile operations, a driving force in top management's push toward electric vehicles and the right-hand man to CEO Toshihiro Mibe, Greimel reported.
There was some positive financial news for automotive innovation today. FM Capital raised $240 million for its fourth venture capital fund, money that will be used to seed retail and other automotive industry technology startups, Mark Hollmer reported. Plans call for investing in early to mid-stage companies targeting retail technology as well as autonomous and connected vehicles.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
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