Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Friday, June 20.
Most new CEOs get a honeymoon period from their board, so it'll be interesting to see how new Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa chooses to use this coveted time after he takes the helm Monday.
Given the many issues facing Stellantis, Filosa faces a myriad of potential uses for his limited supply of leadership gold coins to spend on tough decisions.
One of them will be the company's ongoing review of its 14 brands — several of them teetering on the chopping block.
In the U.S., speculation revolves around the future of Dodge and Chrysler, but globally the troubled ultraluxury brand Maserati could be in the mix. Another report emerged today that Maserati could be sold.
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Of course, Stellantis denied the report, but a companywide review of the brands has already been underway for months. Maserati sales plunged by more than half last year (a drop of 4 percent in the U.S.) and plummeted 24 percent in the U.S. during the first quarter.
But who would buy a money-losing brand despite its global cachet? A Chinese buyer
perhaps? Filosa, Chairman John Elkann and the board would have to wrestle with that one.
In another European drama with U.S. intrigue, a report came out in the German press that Volkswagen Group's Audi brand is considering plans to build its own U.S. plant to placate President Donald Trump amid trade talks with the European Union.
We've been hearing this for years. VW has a newly unionized plant with the UAW in Chattanooga along with the Scout plant being built in South Carolina. And don't forget Audi already has one North American plant in Puebla, Mexico.
Back in the U.S., used-car giant CarMax posted some impressive results for its first fiscal quarter that ended May 31. The retailer said first-quarter net income surged 38 percent to $210 million. Unit sales gained 9 percent to 230,210 vehicles. Shares rose 6.6 percent to close the day at $68.57.
Finally, there appears little doubt Congress will kill the $7,500 EV tax credit. Now it appears to be a question of when, not if, according to Laurence Iliff's story.
That's it for now. Have a great weekend.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
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