U.S. District Judge Richard Leon approved a $185m settlement between Daimler, the Department of Justice (DOJ,) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Feds had alleged that Daimler violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by drowning foreign government officials in money and gifts until they relented and ordered Daimler products. According to Reuters, Daimler’s German and Russian units each agreed to plead guilty to two minor counts of violating U.S. anti-bribery laws. Its China subsidiary will be subject to the two-year deferred prosecution agreement as well. That said, the bad boys from Sindelfingen may go forth and sin no more. Except for one niggling detail … Read More >
Way back when the Chevy Volt was taking center stage in GM’s case for bailout (as in give us one, or you won’t get the Volt), the Obama Administration’s task force on autos was not amused. “While the Volt holds promise, it is currently projected to be much more expensive than its gasoline-fueled peers and will likely need substantial reductions in manufacturing cost in order to become commercially viable,” was just one of the knocks the pols gave the then-mule-stage Volt. And even though the Nissan Leaf has since proven that the Volt is also “much more expensive than its pure-electric peers” the White House’s official car guys have changed their tune.
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana has until 4pm today to meet the demands of Redflex Traffic Systems, the company that until January operated red light cameras and speed cameras for the local government. The Australian firm is absolutely furious that parish officials have withheld payment while the program faced lawsuits from citizens and corruption probes from federal investigators. Redflex insisted that the “millions of dollars” owed must be deposited in the Redflex accounts before the close of business today.
Japan appears to get extremely serious about all-electric cars. What stands in the way of their success? Apart from the price (we’ll get to that later:) It’s the infrastructure, stupid. Fabricating, fuelling, and fixing an ICE-powered car is supported by an infrastructure that had more than 100 years to grow. Keeping a plug-in running needs an infrastructure to guarantee mobility away from the charger at home. Japan’s Environment Ministry teams up with Nissan, Sumitomo, and other companies to build the infrastructure for electric vehicles, reports The Nikkei [sub]. Read More >
The AP [via canadianbusiness.com] reports that two separate bills to make the Corvette Kentucky’s official state car appear to be dead in the state’s legislature. State Rep. C.B. Embry Jr., R-Morgantown, suggests that the failure of these bills would be perceived as a snub by GM, who builds Corvettes in Bowling Green. Not so, say GM reps.
With or without a bill, the Corvette is an iconic American sports car, and we’re proud to build it in Kentucky. It shouldn’t be perceived as a snub, and we don’t take it as that.
But GM’s downplaying of the news hides the possible cause for what otherwise would be a win-win political proposition.
Ohio.com reports that GM will miss a March 31 deadline for filing its first GAAP-compliant financial results since emerging from bankruptcy. According to an SEC 10k filing:
General Motors Company (the “Company”) is unable to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 (the “2009 Form 10-K”) by March 31, 2010, as the Company is still finalizing its fresh-start adjustments required by generally accepted accounting principles relating to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed from General Motors Corporation (“Old GM”) in connection with Old GM’s sale of assets under Section 363 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “363 Sale”) prior to such date. Due to the size of the Company, the global application of fresh-start reporting and the associated determination of the fair value of its assets and liabilities is a significant undertaking, which requires extra time
GM says it will be able to file within a 15 day extension period, which means there’s not too much longer to wait before we have our first “real” measure of GM’s post-bankruptcy performance. And because GM’s last results were accompanied by warnings that Q4 2009 results could be worse than November’s non-GAAP numbers (not to mention recent soft-pedaling by CFO Chris Liddell), there’s reason to believe that they won’t be particularly pretty. Either way, GM can only delay their release for so long. As 60 percent stakeholders in the artist formerly known as the world’s largest automaker, taxpayers have the right know just how their “investment” is panning out. I guess we’ll be seeing GM in line at the post office just before the midnight on the 15th.
A few weeks ago, we reported that the commerce bureau and consumer protection committee of China’s Zhejiang Province’s called on Toyota to compensate drivers for costs stemming from its recall of the RAV4. The bureau wanted that Toyota supplies loaner cars while the RAV4 is in the shop (Toyota says the reflash takes 30 minutes.) The Chinese also suggested that Toyota compensates drivers for gasoline and other expenses involved in bringing cars back to dealerships. At the time, Toyota had a polite “no thanks,” for the request. Now, Toyota changed their minds. They will pay. Read More >
With a mere $9b awarded so far, the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan program is a long way from fulfilling its $25b promise to fund a turnaround in America’s green auto sector. So far, Ford has received $5.9b for a wide range of retooling projects (not a bailout, per Ford PR), Nissan has received $1.6b for Leaf production in Smyrna, TN, while startups Tesla and Fisker have received $465m and $529m respectively. According to the Detroit News, the rest of the 100-odd applicants for the $25b pool are stuck waiting, and with about $42b in total pending requests, not everyone is going to get a rose from the Feds. Predictably, the whining has begun.
Last week, we shared with you an ingenious method of the U.S. Department of Justice to contribute to the deficit-afflicted holdings of the U.S. Treasury. The method involves shaking down foreign companies who grease the wheels to get deals in even more foreign lands. Or who even think about greasing the wheels. Caught between European laws and U.S. laws, these companies pay and promise to sin no more. Read More >
Remember how the California Air Resources Board was contemplating banning black cars because air conditioning uses so much C02 (or not)? Well, the madness is over, as The Detroit News reports that California’s proposed “Cool Car” rules are dead. What killed them (besides common sense and the laws of diminishing returns)? Law enforcement, for one, which warned that Read More >
In June 2009, Fiat was handed 20 percent of a washed and rinsed Chrysler for no cash, and despite protests, the deal was rammed through. The UAW was given 55 percent, the U.S. and Canadian governments controlled 8 and 2 percent, respectively. Often overlooked, or forgotten, the deal came with an option for Fiat to raise its stake to 35 and eventually as high as 51 percent if it meets some rather vague financial and developmental goals, hashed out with the U.S. government.
Sergio Marchionne thinks the goals are met. He plans to increase Fiat’s holdings in Chrysler to 35 percent within two years, says Reuters. Read More >
Reuters says GM is making a big deal out of sending a $1b check to the U.S. Treasury next Wednesday, “attempting to settle the loan with the government ahead of schedule.”
Opels head shop steward Klaus Franz is mightily mad at Opel’s CEO Nick Reilly. Reilly told the London Times that the Ampera, Opel’s counterpart to the Volt, may be built in the Ellesmere Port plant in the UK:“The chances are quite good that the Ampera will come to Ellesmere Port as it is close in production terms to the Astra and will share many components,” Reilly said. In the meantime, Berlin cues Roberta Flack’s “Killing me softly” as a prelude for Opel’s funeral. Read More >
Money-wise, the United States is in a bit of a tough spot. Must create revenue wherever it can. From red light cameras to shaking down foreign companies. On Tuesday, Germany’s Daimler AG was charged with violating U.S. bribery laws “by showering foreign officials with millions of dollars and gifts of luxury cars to win business deals,” as Reuters has it. After asking “how much will it take for this to go away?” Daimler plans to pay $185m to settle charges by the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission. Read More >
Germany’s Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle poured cold water on hopes for a quick decision on state aid for GM’s ailing Opel. GM expects $2.5b in state aid to come from European countries, most of it from Germany. But Germany, represented by Reiner Brüderle, is dragging its heels. Read More >
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