Welcome to the Dec. 3 edition of the Daily 5.
Toyota is keeping it in the family: Bob Young, the dean of auto manufacturer purchasing heads in the U.S. (his actual title is group vice president, purchasing supplier development), will officially retire March 28 after a 30-year career with the automaker. He will be succeeded, starting Dec. 1, by Ryan Grimm, 48, who has been with Toyota since 1998, most recently as vice president of parts and materials procurement under Young. Both men sat for an exclusive interview with Automotive News on Nov. 25 at Toyota's technical center outside Ann Arbor, Mich., while nearby construction crews were busy building the foundation for Toyota's $50 million battery research facility.
Speaking of Toyota, the company snapped a two-month losing streak with U.S. sales rising 4.8 percent in November, helped by strong sales of hybrids. The automaker said volume rose 4 percent at the Toyota brand, ending five straight monthly declines, and 9.3 percent at Lexus. The Toyota division's top sellers had a mixed month: the RAV4, down 3.9 percent; the Camry, up 25 percent; the Corolla, down 4.1 percent; and the Tacoma, up 29 percent. The company's sales of electrified vehicles, dominated by gasoline-electric hybrids, jumped 49 percent to just shy of 100,000. Toyota sales have been hampered by stop-sales on two new key models: The Toyota Grand Highlander and the Lexus TX. Both are three-row crossovers.
A Delaware judge rejected Tesla CEO Elon Musk's massive pay package for a second time even though in June shareholders voted in favor of the stock options worth about $100 billion at the company's Dec. 3 closing share price.
General Motors has decided it doesn't need four U.S. battery plants to meet demand for electric vehicles anymore and will sell its stake in one facility to joint-venture partner LG Energy Solution. The Ultium Cells plant under construction near Lansing, Mich., will become wholly owned by LG and supply an automaker other than GM.
And finally, in case you missed it, be sure to check out Jaguar's wild Type 00 concept car. As our Richard Truett explains, for a car that will never be built, the concept has a lot riding on its broad, sculpted shoulders. Find out why here.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day!
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— Wes Raynal, assistant web editor
