The auto industry has an addiction. It’s a “capital junkie” that’s been on a yearslong binge of unprecedented spending on all-electric and autonomous vehicles. And now, it’s waking up from the bender and entering rehab. [emphasis, links added]
Automakers from Detroit to Japan and Germany are attempting to lower costs and reduce expenses amid economic concerns, billions of dollars wasted on self-driving vehicles, and a prolonged, if not uncertain, return on investment in EVs amid slower-than-expected adoption.
Those issues come in addition to weakening consumer demand, higher commodity costs, and some Wall Street analysts sounding the alarm about global automotive sales and profits peaking, as China’s industry continues to expand.
General Motors and Ford Motor are cutting billions in fixed costs, including laying off thousands of workers, while other automakers such as Nissan Motor, Volkswagen Group, and Chrysler parent Stellantis are taking even more drastic measures to reduce headcounts and trim spending.
“Western [automakers] are increasingly focusing on capital efficiency, meaning likely lower spending, more collaboration, and restructured EV portfolios to prioritize profits,” Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a September investor note.
The automotive industry is a global web of companies producing tens of thousands of parts to assemble a new vehicle.
It requires significant capital investment every time an automaker launches a new product or updates current models, causing a spending ripple effect throughout the global supply chain.
But in recent years, automakers have put such investments in overdrive with self-driving and electric vehicles.
Companies invested tens of billions of dollars into the technologies, most with little to no short- to midterm returns on their investments.
Research and development costs, as well as capital spending for the top 25 automotive companies, have increased 33% from roughly $200 billion in 2015 to $266 billion in 2023, according to auto consulting firm AlixPartners.
Such costs for GM increased about 62% from 2015 to 2023, to $20.6 billion (excluding sold European operations), despite a 38% drop in global sales during that time.
That compares with other increases during that timeframe of 42% for Volkswagen; 37% for Toyota Motor; 27% for Fiat Chrysler’s successor Stellantis; and 18% for Ford.
EV startups Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group have burned through $16 billion and $8.8 billion, respectively, in free cash flow since 2022. Both companies are attempting to ramp up vehicle production and narrow their losses.
It’s not the first time the auto industry has blown through money to then attempt quickly to cut costs.
These kinds of periods happen in cyclical industries such as autos, but could the spending have potentially been avoided — or at least alleviated — this time around?
Read rest at CNBC
