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Hyundai Q1 profit triples, as it adjusts production due to chip shortage

  SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Co posted a first-quarter profit that nearly tripled to its highest in four years as people bought its luxury cars, but warned it would have to adjust production again in May because of a chip shortage. Unlike its rivals, the South Korean automaker staved off production halts in the first quarter, thanks to a healthy chip inventory. But the shortage, exacerbated by factors including a fire at a chip factory in Japan and storms in Texas, is now catching up with Hyundai. Hyundai, which has lagged its rivals in the electric vehicle (EV) race, also said on Thursday that it was developing solid-state batteries and planned to mass produce EVs using solid state batteries in 2030. In February, Hyundai launched its Ioniq 5 electric midsize crossover, the first in a planned family of EVs that it hopes will propel it into the third rank of global EV makers by 2025. Hyundai Motor and Kia together aim to sell 1 million EVs in 2025. In the quarter ended March 31, Hyundai was unscathed as people at home and the United States snapped up its high-margin sports-utility vehicles and premium Genesis cars as the coronavirus pandemic dragged on, fueling car ownership. Net profit surged 187% to 1.3 trillion won ($1.16 billion) from 463 billion a year earlier, when business slumped as countries shut down to limit the spread of the coronavirus. This was in line with an average Refinitiv SmartEstimate. Revenue rose 8.2% to 27.4 trillion won. Hyundai is expected to report net profit of 1.4 trillion won for the April-June period, up 536% from the corresponding period a year earlier, Refinitiv SmartEstimate showed. Hyundai affiliate Kia Corp reported operating profit of 1.1 trillion won for January-March, up 142% on the year. Hyundai, which together with Kia is among the world's top 10 automakers by sales, has temporarily paused production three times since the beginning of this month and saved chips for its most popular models. "The condition of semiconductor parts is being a little more prolonged than we expected," said Seo Gang-hyun, an executive vice president at Hyundai. "As the semiconductor procurement condition is rapidly changing, it's difficult to predict production status after May.

Audi, Jag, Kia and Tesla top Strategic Vision 2014 Total Quality Index

A couple weeks ago, J.D. Power released its latest Initial Quality Study, which gave high marks to Porsche, Hyundai and General Motors, with the latter earning more individual IQS awards than any other manufacturer. Now, it's Strategic Vision's turn, and it's doling out its praise not to Porsche, but to Tesla, which wasn't even included in the JD Power IQS.
The Model S was named the best vehicle overall in total quality, while Porsche's corporate brother and endurance-racing rival, Audi, was named the best premium brand, alongside Jaguar. Strategic Vision cited the Q5 and the ancient Q7 for individual segment awards, as well as the A5, which was a mere point off the top of its segment. SV also handed out compliments for the Audi's interior work. The win for the German brand is a nice improvement over its IQS score, with which it landed above the industry average, but solidly mid-pack.
Jaguar was without a segment winner, although SV did say that the Indian-owned English brand had a number of vehicles very near the top of their segments. This is the second significant win for Jag in two weeks, after it finished second overall on the JD Power IQS a few weeks ago.

NHTSA, IIHS, and 20 automakers to make auto braking standard by 2022

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and virtually every automaker in the US domestic market have announced a pact to make automatic emergency braking standard by 2022. Here's the full rundown of companies involved: BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo (not to mention the brands that fall under each automaker's respective umbrella). Like we reported yesterday, AEB will be as ubiquitous in the future as traction and stability control are today. But the thing to note here is that this is not a governmental mandate. It's truly an agreement between automakers and the government, a fact that NHTSA claims will lead to widespread adoption three years sooner than a formal rule. That fact in itself should prevent up to 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries. The agreement will come into effect in two waves. For the majority of vehicles on the road – those with gross vehicle weights below 8,500 pounds – AEB will need to be standard equipment by September 1, 2022. Vehicles between 8,501 and 10,000 pounds will have an extra three years to offer AEB. "It's an exciting time for vehicle safety. By proactively making emergency braking systems standard equipment on their vehicles, these 20 automakers will help prevent thousands of crashes and save lives," said Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said in an official statement. "It's a win for safety and a win for consumers." Read on for the official press release from NHTSA. Related Video: U.S. DOT and IIHS announce historic commitment of 20 automakers to make automatic emergency braking standard on new vehicles McLEAN, Va. – The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced today a historic commitment by 20 automakers representing more than 99 percent of the U.S. auto market to make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on virtually all new cars no later than NHTSA's 2022 reporting year, which begins Sept 1, 2022. Automakers making the commitment are Audi, BMW, FCA US LLC, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla Motors Inc., Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo Car USA.