Toyota’s Masahiro Inoue to be New President of Daihatsu; Current Chairman and President to Retire & Western Automakers to Focus on EV Cost Reduction in Competition with China & Waymo Recalls Software After Two Self-Driving Cars Hit Same Truck

Here you will find trending news topics in the automotive and mobility markets around the world.

We carefully select interesting news in the automotive industry, both domestic and international, and translate and summarize the contents for your reference. We hope you will find it useful in catching up with the latest news in the industry.

Toyota’s Masahiro Inoue to be the new president of Daihatsu; current chairman and president to step down

Feb 13, 2024

Toyota Motor Corporation announced on March 13 that Masahiro Inoue, general manager of Toyota’s Latin American headquarters, will become the new president of Daihatsu Motor, the subsidiary that committed certification fraud, effective March 1. Current President Soichiro Okudaira and Chairman Jun Matsubayashi will step down. In addition to Inoue, Masaki Kuwata, who has served as vice president of Toyota Motor Kyushu, will become vice president of Toyota Motor Corporation, and Keiko Yanagi, deputy general manager of the Customer First Promotion Division, will become a non-executive director.

Last December, Daihatsu was forced to suspend production at all of its plants in Japan after new irregularities were discovered in addition to the previously publicized irregularities in side collision tests. In addition to revamping its management structure, Toyota will also review Daihatsu’s business domain.

At a press conference held in Tokyo, Toyota President Tsuneji Sato recalled that “at the time of the revelation of the fraud problem, we thought that the very existence of Daihatsu as a company might not be recognized by society,” and that we considered the possibility of integrating Daihatsu into Toyota. However, he said, “We came to the conclusion that Daihatsu’s original role could be entrusted to us once again to protect what the company has protected over its more than 100-year history.

Toyota stated that Daihatsu’s business domain will be a company centered on mini-cars, and that it will consider reviewing the division of overseas business between Daihatsu and Toyota.

Source: Toyota’s Masahiro Inoue to be new president of Daihatsu; current chairman and president to step down

U.S. and European automakers focus on EV cost reduction in competition with China

Feb 16, 2024

U.S. and European automakers, facing competition from inexpensive Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), are stepping up cost-cutting efforts to keep EV prices on par with those of fossil fuel vehicles. This is what industry executives revealed on March 15.

Sterantis and Renault of France are attempting to develop more affordable EVs in the United States and Europe. General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor Company in the U.S. are exploring possible alliances that could help lower EV production costs.

Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, which produces inexpensive EVs, are accelerating their export offensive to Europe and other countries. U.S. manufacturers are concerned about the possibility of Chinese companies building factories in Mexico to export EVs to the U.S.

Renault CEO Luca Demeo all manufacturers are focusing on reducing the cost of EVs and explained that it is easier to lower the price for smaller cars. Ford CEO Jim Farley said that the company has set up a special team to design a low-cost EV that can compete with BYD. However, Western manufacturers need to first lower costs and then lower the price of EVs in order to secure the profits that investors are looking for.

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Sterantis, stated that the immediate increase in EV sales due to margin compression is a short-term perspective and that the margins between EVs and fossil fuel vehicles are converging as battery raw material costs are falling, and he hopes to accelerate this trend.

Source: U.S. and European automakers focus on EV cost reduction in competition with China

Waymo Recalls Software After Two Self-Driving Cars Hit Same Truck

Feb 14, 2024

Waymo, the self-driving car division of Google parent company Alphabet, announced a recall of its self-driving car software after two self-driving cars collided with the same truck at nearly the same time Waymo said the collision was the result of an incorrect prediction of the truck’s movement.

After this incident, Waymo updated its software and installed it in all vehicles and conducted a voluntary recall; Waymo stated on its blog, “This voluntary recall reflects that we take seriously our responsibility to deploy technology safely and communicate transparently. We are taking our responsibility to deploy technology safely and communicate transparently seriously,” the company stated.

Self-driving vehicles have been promoted by the tech industry as potentially safer than human drivers, but self-driving vehicles have been involved in accidents involving unusual circumstances, also known as “edge cases,” on numerous occasions.

In a similar matter, General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary, Cruise, also announced a software recall in the wake of a traffic accident. Cruise’s failure to disclose information after the accident triggered a nationwide suspension of vehicle testing, which was followed by the departure of executives, a software recall, and an undecided resumption of vehicle operations.

Source :Waymo recalls software after two self-driving cars hit the same truck