'Extremely Dumb' Arson Attack Means Tesla’s German Plant Won’t Have Power For 10 More Days

Good morning! It’s Thursday, March 7, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.

1st Gear: Arsonists Shut Down German Tesla Plant For Weeks

Tesla’s Gigafactory in Germany isn’t expected to have power back until March 17 following a suspected arson attack that forced the plant outside Berlin to halt production.

Security officials cleared the site on March 5 after a far-left militant group called the “Volcano Group” set an electricity pylon on fire. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called the action “extremely dumb.” From Reuters:

“The plant is expected to be without electricity until the end of next week,” a spokesperson for the company told Reuters, confirming a report by Bild newspaper.

The U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer estimates the incident will cause losses in the high hundred of millions of euros, with 1,000 vehicles left unfinished on Tuesday alone.

E.DIS, a unit of grid operator E.ON, said it was working on a provisional fix at the damaged pylon that caused the outage, hoping to restore supplies to the site as soon as possible, without providing a timeline.

“The E.DIS grid experts are closely coordinating with the industrial and commercial units that have not yet been resupplied, in particular Tesla, as well as the authorities,” it said.

Tesla is now expected to deliver 421,000 vehicles in the first quarter. That’s down from the original estimate of 489,000 units.

This plant in Germany has apparently been a focus for climate protestors who are against a planned expansion of the site.

German industry called for better protection of critical infrastructure on Wednesday after the attack, saying that was crucial to maintaining the investment Germany is seeking to spur growth in Europe’s largest economy, which faces recession.

“Infrastructure is the lifeline of the German economy,” said Martin Wansleben, managing director of the DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce.

“Unfortunately, the protection of this infrastructure urgently needs to be adapted to the changed security situation. It is essential that investors continue to see Germany as a safe country,” he said, adding cybersecurity was also a concern.

RWE and E.ON which operate crucial German energy infrastructure, both said safety and security were priorities.

In 2019, Berlin authorities said the Volcano Group was a left-wing extremist organization that has targeted cable ducts on railway lines and in some cases radio masts, data lines or company vehicles.

2nd Gear: Stellantis Investing $6.1 Billion For Flex-Hybrids In Brazil

Steallantis is planning to invest $6.1 billion in Brazil to boost the production of hybrid models for domestic use and potential export to neighboring countries. The company said it will make investments between 2025 and 2030, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and South American head Emanuele Cappellano announced on March 6 in Brasilia.

Most of the funds will go toward flex-hybrids with the first launch set to take place in the second half of this year. From Bloomberg:

The Stellantis announcement follows similar plans unveiled by its competitors in the opening months of the year, after Lula’s administration in December published a new plan to accelerate its green energy transition. The government’s Green Mobility and Innovation program, dubbed “Mover,” includes fleet sustainability requirements and tax incentives for companies that invest in decarbonization and the production of new technologies. It seeks to promote the expansion of investments in energy efficiency, including minimum recycling requirements for vehicle manufacturing and lower taxes for those who pollute less.

US giant General Motors Co. announced plans to invest 7 billion reais in January, while Volkswagen AG of Germany said in early February that it would put 9 billion reais into Brazil between 2026 and 2028. South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. has since said it would invest 5.5 billion reais in the coming years, and Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday unveiled plans to pour 11 billion reais into its Brazilian operations by 2030.

Each of the companies say they are seeking to begin the electrification of their product lines in the Brazilian market, investing in flex-hybrid versions.

Brazil’s most popular models are flex-fuel vehicles that are capable of running completely on biofuels produced from sugar cane. That makes them (by most accounts) cleaner than pure gasoline vehicles.

Since their introduction 20 years ago, flex-fuel cars have become dominant in Brazil, making up a whopping 83.3% of all auto sales in 2023, according to the Brazilian Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, known as Anfavea. During that same period, electric cars comprised 0.4% of the market and hybrids 2.1%.

In August 2023, Stellantis presented four prototypes of its Bio-Hybrid technology, which was developed by its South American team and combines flex thermal energy and electrification. Three are hybrids, while the fourth is a 100% electric option that will also be produced in the region in the future. The new investment plan foresees 40 launches, in addition to eight new powertrains and electrification applications, from 2025 to 2030. They will include modifications to existing models and completely new options.

In 2023, Stellantis’ total sales in South America passed 878,000 vehicles, which works out to a 23.5 percent market share. The numbers are even stronger when you look at Brazil by itself. There, it sold more than 686,000 vehicles, which accounted for 31.4 percent of the market share.

Damn, Stellantis. I didn’t know you had those types of numbers in you.

3rd Gear: Boeing Is Bumming The NTSB Out

Federal accident investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board are apparently frustrated by Boeing’s slow response in their probe into the midair door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9. From the Wall Street Journal:

The airplane maker hadn’t provided the names of 25 employees the NTSB believes may have information about work on a door plug that later flew off a plane during a Jan. 5 flight, Jennifer Homendy, the safety board’s chair, told U.S. lawmakers at a Wednesday hearing.

Boeing also hasn’t provided investigators with documents about factory work related to the door plug’s removal and reinstallation in mid-September, she said, adding that certain documents might not exist.

“We don’t have the records,” Homendy said during testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee. “It’s absurd that two months later we don’t have that.”

Despite this, Boeing says it has cooperated fully with investigators, and it has shared available information with the NTSB. It also says it sent additional names to the safety board after Homendy’s comments, something the NTSB confirmed.

The safety board recently asked for the names of the 25 employees on a team that generally works on door plugs, according to the NTSB official. That request was made after Boeing hadn’t turned over names of specific crew who worked on the particular Alaska jet, which the official said the NTSB requested shortly after the accident. Boeing also hasn’t provided information about the date and shift on which the plug door was installed, the NTSB official said.

The safety board has said four critical bolts were apparently missing when the 737 MAX 9 left Boeing’s Renton, Wash., factory.

Homendy said that the NTSB also is missing relevant information from Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing’s troubled supplier that initially installed the door plug. Spirit said it is coordinating with the NTSB to address the chair’s comments on the matter.

NTSB investigators have been reviewing emails, text messages and photos as part of their probe, she said. The Renton plant has security cameras, but footage is automatically erased after 30 days, she said.

Homendy said Boeing has told the NTSB that it hasn’t been able to find relevant documents in some cases. She said the safety board has been told Boeing has a process for removing, opening and reinstalling door plugs, but that the company hasn’t yet provided the written procedures.

“Without that information that raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management, safety management systems within Boeing,” Homendy said.

The NTSB is reportedly concerned about Boeing’s safety culture and wants to look into further issues at the company. She said that if investigators can’t get the information they need from the Alaska accident, the safety board may take legal action.

4th Gear: Mercedes Says Midsize Luxury Vans Are Coming To The U.S.

Rich Van Life-enjoyers rejoice! Mercedes-Benz is apparently getting ready to bring a line of all-electric midsize luxury vans to the U.S. From Automotive News:

The lineup will be built on an electric platform called Van.EA, for Van Electric Architecture, starting in 2026. The modular and scalable architecture can accommodate midsize to large and private or commercial vehicles.

Last spring, Mercedes said it would introduce a Van.EA-based midsize passenger van and several factory-upfitted midsize and large camper vans.

[…]

The new products will fill a U.S. luxury market void that the rear-wheel-drive Metris van failed to do. Mercedes discontinued sales of the Metris last year.

At a dealer meeting in 2023, Mercedes teased the new lineup, revealing a cargo van concept named Sustaineer with range-extending solar panels on the roof. According to retailers at the meeting, it would have a 275-mile range.

[…]

“You don’t have to wait too long,” Mercedes-Benz Vans chief Mathias Geisen said last year. The plant is “crucial for us because the U.S. is one of our core growth markets.”

After Germany, the U.S. is the second-largest market for Sprinter vans.

Europe may account for 60 percent of Mercedes-Benz van sales worldwide, but U.S. demand is accelerating as more people with lots of money realize they want to go camping while staying indoors.

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