As we swiftly approach a brand new month, we’re taking a look back on a very eventful end to July within the automotive industry. It hasn’t been without its trials, of course, yet there has been a resurgence of positive news to choose from and, as always on a Friday, we have collated it all into one easy to reach place for you.
This week’s update covers the following topics:
· New appointments in the industry
· Ennis & Co’s latest news
· Recovery in automotive
· Hot news
· “Ones to Watch”: the latest automotive webinars
We hope you enjoy this week’s update and would love to hear your thoughts. Contact us at hello@ennisco.com for more information.
| New Appointments in Automotive |
Jaguar Land Rover  Thierry Bollore named as new JLR CEO Ex-Renault CEO Thierry Bolloré has been announced as the new CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, replacing Sir Ralf Speth. Read the full article here |
New owner for David Brown Automotive  UK Advanced Industrials Ltd takes majority stake in Speedback GT and Mini Remastered maker David Brown Automotive, the Silverstone-based maker of the highly individualistic Speedback GT and Mini Remastered models, is promising “a period of growth and exciting new model launches” following the arrival of a new majority shareholder, UK Advanced Industrials Ltd. Read the full article here |
Renault  Former head of Peugeot design Gilles Vidal joins Renault Designer credited with transforming Peugeot’s fortunes will report to Laurens van den Acker from November. Read the full article here |
| Recovery in Automotive Polestar 2 deliveries in Europe start ahead of schedule Polestar has started deliveries of the Polestar 2 earlier than planned. The first European customer vehicle has now been handed over at the company’s headquarters in Gothenburg, which is ahead of schedule and was not supposed to take place until August. Read the full article here |
| Top 10 sellers by market, 6 months: Toyota models tops in 8 countries Toyota models were the top-sellers in Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The Corolla and RAV4 each finished No. 1 in three markets. Read the full article here |
| BlackBerry finds another automotive partner in electric vehicle startup Canoo The California-based EV company is adding BlackBerry’s QNX operating system to its fleet of membership-based semi-autonomous vehicles. Read the full article here |
Ennis & Co’s Latest News  The Not Forgotten: Charity Challenge WW2 veteran ‘Bunny’ Ennis launches fundraiser with support of the Ennis & Co team for The Not Forgotten in celebration of its centenary year. The Not Forgotten combats the causes of isolation & loneliness for the injured and disabled Armed Forces community through social activities and challenges. This is a charity that has great significance for Ennis & Co Founder, Lynda Ennis, as it does a great deal for her 94-year-old father and military veteran, Bunny. Bunny would like to fundraise for The Not Forgotten and has decided to do an exercise bike challenge for seven days to raise money and awareness for the charity, particularly as it’s the centenary year. Additionally, he wants this to help those who are shielding from COVID-19 and also spread some much-needed positivity. Ennis & Co would be so grateful for any additional support from the wider community, either through donations or in raising further awareness of The Not Forgotten. To find out more or to donate please visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ennisco Find out more here |
Exec. Commercial Director Paul Shoesmith joins Ennis & Co as new Associate  Ennis & Co are delighted to announce that Paul Shoesmith, former Brand Director of Auto Trader and Publishing Director of Haymarket’s PistonHeads, has joined as a new Associate of the business, as of 30th July 2020. Paul has worked in the digital automotive marketplace for 21 years, having initially been headhunted as the first senior commercial hire at the then start up, Autotrader.co.uk. He then went on to become a key member of the senior management team at Auto Trader for 15 years before joining Haymarket Automotive, working on its market-leading What Car?, PistonHeads and Autocar brands. Career highlights include growing Auto Trader’s revenues as Sales Director from around £250,000 a year to approaching £200m, and client numbers from a few hundred to 11,000, he then continued to drive growth in the subsequent roles of Trade Product Director and Brand Director. On joining Ennis & Co as a new Associate, Paul said: “Lynda and the team have carved a real niche as specialists in their field and to be a part of what they’re trying to achieve within automotive is an exciting new venture for me. Automotive is, and always has been, a true passion of mine and I’m looking forward to helping provide solutions for organisations within the sector – particularly during this extremely transformative period.” Find out more here |
| Hot News Automakers Renault CEO: “I’m confident about alliance with Nissan” The new CEO of French carmaker Renault said on Thursday he was confident that his firm’s troubled alliance with Japanese partners Nissan and Mitsubishi would demonstrate that it was valuable for all sides. Read the full article here |
| Ford Posts Surprise $1.1B Profit On Argo AI Investment Gain Ford Motor Co. on Thursday reported second-quarter income of $1.1 billion despite a pandemic that idled its North American plants for roughly half the reporting period. Read the full article here |
| Europe Rising Stars Automotive News Europe salutes Agustin Lopez-Diaz Automotive News Europe honors the winners of the 2020 Rising Stars awards. The Rising Star for Quality is Agustin Lopez-Diaz, who is senior vice president total customer satisfaction and quality at Faurecia. Read the full article here |
| Suppliers Panasonic aims to boost energy density in Tesla batteries by 20% Panasonic Corp plans to boost the energy density of “2170” battery cells it supplies to Tesla Inc by 20% in five years and commercialise a cobalt-free version “in two to three years”, the head of its U.S. EV battery business said. Read the full article here |
| Italy’s Brembo raises stake in Pirelli to 4.99%, ends purchases Italian brake maker Brembo said on Wednesday it would not buy additional shares in tyremaker Pirelli after increasing its stake to almost 5%. Brembo, which makes brakes for automakers including Ferrari and Tesla, as well as several Formula One teams, said it now held a 4.99% stake in Pirelli, both directly and indirectly through its Nuova FourB parent company, and that it had completed the purchase process. Read the full article here |
| Ones to Watch Webinars Auto Trader: Wednesday, August 05, 2020 10:00 AM British Summer Time Duration: 1 hour Auto Trader Update: How John O’Hanlon is adapting his business and his outlook for the rest of 2020 Auto Trader will be joined by Waylands CEO, John O’Hanlon, for a live interview with Auto Trader’s Sales Director, Rebecca Clark. They’ll be seeking to find out what July’s performance was like and if he’s seen any changes in consumer behaviour. Find out more here |
| Autonomous Vehicles Online August 11 – 12, 2020 | Online Event The Infrastructure and Technologies Enabling AVs in the Public Domain COVID-19 has disrupted our supply chains and accelerating the need to deploy contactless Autonomous Vehicles. Learn how to advance safety and automation to meet new demands. Automotive IQ’s distinguished speaker faculty comprising of safety and design leaders comprises of safety, autonomous, and design leaders that will guide you through the ins and outs of the industry. They have technical sessions ranging from connectivity to simulation to panels to discuss industry roadmaps and advancing testing and prototyping. Find out more here |
