Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday.
Is VW Still A Mobility Company?
Every company is a technology company. And every company that isn’t a technology company is a mobility company, which is like a technology company but ::waves hands:: cars. Volkswagen just joined Ford in bailing on self-driving company Argo to instead focus on a partnership with MobilEye. Now Volkswagen has announced it’s “selling” its in-house EV car-sharing business UMI Urban Mobility International GmbH to MILES Mobility to MILES mobility, another German-based company. From VW’s press release: Sure. As part of the deal MILES has ordered 10,000 electric cars from VW/Seat/Cupra/Audi. [Editor’s Note: A few years ago, Porsche invited me to Germany to show off the new headquarters of “Porsche Digital,” an entirely new subsidiary within the company dedicated to…digitalization — whatever the hell that is. You’d think, of all people, I’d know given that I got a tour of the headquarters and a thorough explanation of Porsche Digital’s mission, which — per the subsidiary’s website — is:
Toyota Cuts Forecasts, Blames Chips
That is why Porsche Digital was founded in 2016. We aim to find and scale new digital business models as well as optimizing existing products. Therefore, we develop digital products and services, create technologically advanced business solutions, and serve as a catalyst for the digital ecosystem. Toyota’s profits are down 25% in Q3 relative to 2021, which is worse than expectations, and they’re blaming the chips! Per Reuters via Yahoo!: “I don’t know when the chip shortage will be resolved.” Operating profit for the three months ended September fell to 562.7 billion yen ($3.79 billion), well short of an average estimate of 772.2 billion yen in a poll of 12 analysts by Refinitiv. Toyota sales reported a 749.9 billion yen profit a year earlier, and 578.6 billion yen in profit in the first quarter. That’s a rough answer when your job is buying things to make things. There is an argument to be made that much of what is driving inflation is not government spending or even supply chain disruptions, but corporate profits. It’s probably a mix of multiple factors, but it’ll be interesting to see if costs drop relative to inflation when the chip shortages and all the other disruptions melt away. I’m putting a marker down to track it, though. The starting MSRP for a Toyota Highlander is: $36,420. Let’s check in on that number from time-to-time.
Skoda Made Some Money, Though Slightly Less Than Last Year
There are a lot of morning shifts/dumps/roundups/wrapups, but there are none as committed to bringing you the important Skoda news as this one. And I’m gonna level with you. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. In spite of a truly wonderful suite of products from the Czech brand, it did take a little hit this quarter. The company is calling its returns “stable” with $850 million profit through the first three quarters of the year, which is off 4.9% from the same period in 2022. This is as deliveries fell 22.3% year-over-year due to chips, supplies, and the war in Ukraine. They’re profitable, though. They’re still making a profit. Let’s not lose sight of that. It’s tough times in Central Europe. Did I mention the war? Yet, somehow, these hard-working people are still making Superbs for you (though, honestly, not many of you) to enjoy. Look at that thing above; doesn’t it look great? One might even say it looks…[Editor’s Note: Sorry, joke was too bad. Had to remove it. -DT]. Most modern corporations have what’s called a “Performance Enhancement Plan” to get employees who are underperforming back on track. In some cases it exists to provide support to some people who, simply, need a little attention. In other cases it’s a way a corporation can create a paper trail to try and cut-off a wrongful termination suit. Rather than deal with all the tsuris, Ford is trying to shortcut the process by offering employees a PEP or just severance. As The Detroit News reports: I could see situations where this could be abused (the inherent threat that you could be fired anyway might force people into taking the money) but, for situations where the employment is a bad fit, it seems like a softer departure.
The Flush
Define: “Mobility.”
Photo credits: Volkswagen, Toyota, Apple, Skoda
Given what we know about VW’s scandals, criminal organization doesn’t seem too far off.
And kudos on the Severance reference – one of the best series ever. Can’t wait for season 2! I keep hoping my employer will offer waffle parties as an incentive, or at least the finger cuffs…
“Mobility”: In my mind, as a disabled veteran, this should have very little to do with cars and more to do with helping people who have mobility limitations get around more easily. Where’s my robotic sedan chair, or powered exo-skeleton so I can enjoy steep-mountain hiking again!?
Talk about your irrational exuberance. Driving is a complicated task and even the best computer Earth’s evolution has to offer, the human brain, still fucks it up on a regular basis. We are long way off from seeing a machine emulate such raw processing power no matter what one particular schmuck thinks.
Speaking as a geologist, I’ve never understood why car companies were so interested in this in the first place.
Obviously to see how they can squeeze yet more blood (profit) from stone (customers).
I’m going to take a stab at this: Look at that thing above; doesn’t it look great? One might even say it looks superb.
— Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon in Ford vs. Ferrari) paraphrased
Every product now has some blurb about having “_________ technology”, where the word before technology is some trademarked nonsense that of course no other product could be described as because you’ve trademarked the phrase.
I swear man, we need to get back to teaching critical thinking skills to our kids.
But, hey, the company avoided layoffs, since people quit “voluntarily.”
Several of the just retired people were brought back as consultants for larger salaries, because one of the stipulations was that they couldn’t rejoin the company workforce.
It was not a particularly healthy work environment.
As for defining mobility, in theory it should mean coming up with novel ways to make it easier for all people to get around (see other comments about improving accessibility). In practice it is coming up with new and more complex subscription models for the heated seats already in your car.
