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Business

GM shares surge after record earnings and new stake in lithium company

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New York
CNN
 — 

General Motors reported a much stronger than expected fourth-quarter profit, lifting full-year results to record levels for the second straight year.

The largest US automaker also said Tuesday it is buying a $650 million equity stake in Lithium Americas, which will give it access to the raw material needed to build batteries to power 1 million electric vehicles a year in the first phase of production.

For the quarter, GM earned adjusted earnings of $3 billion, or $2.12 a share, up from $1.35 a share a year earlier and far better than forecasts of $1.69 a share from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. That lifted full-year adjusted income to $11 billion, up from the $10.4 billion it earned in 2021, which had been its previous record.

The company said it expects strong earnings in 2023, though it expects it to slip a bit from the just posted levels, coming in at between $8.7 billion to $10.1 billion. But company CFO Paul Jacobson said its automotive business is expected to remain strong, with much of the decline likely to be at GM Financial. That’s due to the hit it will take from higher interest rates and the sinking value of used cars, as well as the higher interest rates resulting in an accounting hit to pension earnings.

“Actually that [guidance] is a strong statement about where we see things going, stronger than others” he told journalists on a call Tuesday.

Jacobson told journalists that GM does not expect to follow Tesla and Ford in cutting the prices for its electric vehicles.

“I don’t think there’s any surprise there’s increasing competition in the EV space,” he said. “Our customers are saying we’re priced well based on the demand that we’re seeing.”

The company’s investment in Lithium Americas is part of the company’s efforts to lock-up the supply of raw materials it will need to convert from traditional gasoline powered cars to electric vehicles. The Lithium Americas deal will not supply any lithium to the company until 2026, but Jacobson told media that “we’ve already achieved all the lithium we need through 2025.”

GM expects to build 70,000 EVs this year, a small fraction of its overall vehicle output. It sold 5.9 million vehicles in 2022, down about 6% from 2021 due to the shortage of parts needed to build all the vehicles for which there was demand.

“We continue to face some supply chain and logistics issues, but overall, things remain trending in the right direction,” said Jacobson.

But the company expects to be rapidly increasing its EV supply and offerings, with a new battery plant that opened last year, two more under construction and a fourth planned soon. GM has a target to build 400,000 EVs through the middle of 2024, and 1 million annually by 2025.

CEO Mary Barra predicted there will be more deals like the Lithium Americas one to be announced soon.

“We continue to pursue strategic supply agreements and partnerships to further secure our long-term needs,” she told investors.

GM said it will reduce its staff in 2023, part of its effort to cut $2 billion in costs over the next two years. But unlike a number of major companies that have announced layoffs in recent months, company officials stressed GM would not be shrinking through layoffs. Instead the reduction would be handled through attrition.

GM did not disclose how many jobs might be trimmed, with Jacobson saying the company would end this year “slightly lower” in headcount.

GM has 167,000 employees globally, with 124,000 in North America. That includes more than 42,000 members of the United Auto Workers union. Those workers will get profit sharing bonuses of an average of $12,750 for the year, up nearly 25% from the $10,250 they received a year earlier.

Shares of GM

(GM) soared more than 5% in pre-market trading on the results.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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Business

Mustang Mach-E: Ford drops the price of its Tesla competitor

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CNN
 — 

Ford is boosting production of its popular Mustang Mach-E electric SUV and dropping its sticker price weeks after Tesla dropped prices of its vehicles. The move represents a substantial roll-back of price hikes Ford announced last summer on the 2023 models – but buyers may still be paying somewhat more than before the increases.

The Mustang Mach-E, a midsize electric family SUV, was the first serious electric effort for the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker. Priced and aimed squarely at the Tesla Model Y, which has its own starting price of $53,490, the Mach-E is Ford’s bet to get new car buyers to dip their toes into the battery-powered future. it has since been joined in the electric Ford lineup by the workhorse Ford F-150 Lightning. But the company still considers the Mach-E a crucial step for the company’s electric-powered growth.

Late last year, Darren Palmer, Ford’s vice president of electric vehicle programs, told CNN Business that the Mach-E was completely sold out and the automaker was holding off on launching it in more global markets in order to catch up with US demand.

“We could sell it out at least two or three times over,” he said a the time.

The price cuts Ford announced Monday were biggest on the most expensive versions of the SUV, just as the increases had been biggest on those models. The base sticker of the Mustang Mach-E GT Extended Range, a high-performance version of the SUV, dropped to about $64,000 from $69,900 before, a decrease of $5,900. But that model had been about $62,000 before price increases last August.

When it announced those price bumps, Ford also said it was putting more standard features into the vehicles, including advanced driver assistance features.

The price of the least expensive Mach-E, the rear-wheel-drive standard range model, was cut $900, going from about $46,900 down to $46,000. The price of the extended range battery pack option, by itself, dropped from $8,600 down $7,000.

Tesla announced price cuts of as much as 20% on its electric vehicles earlier this month, after raising prices in 2022.

When Ford announced the price increases last summer, citing supply chain issues, the automakers indicated it would continue monitoring market conditions throughout the upcoming model year.

Ford announced last summer that it was increasing production of the Mach-E as it added capacity for more battery production. The automaker also announced in late August that it was reopening order banks for the Mach-E which had been closed as the company worked to meet existing orders.

Customers who complete the transaction for their Mach-E after today’s announcement will pay the new lower price, Ford said. Ford will reach out directly to Mach-E customers with a sale date after January 1, 2023 who already have their vehicles, the automaker said.

At least some versions of both models are currently eligible for federal electric vehicle tax credits, according to the Internal Revenue Service, but both are treated as cars, not SUVs, under the tax rules, unless equipped with a third row of seats.

That means that tax credits are available for the two-row only Mach-E and two-row Model Y only if the sticker price is below $55,000. For versions of the Model Y with a third row of seats, a $4,000 option, buyers may get tax credits with a sticker price up to $80,000. For the Mustang Mach-E, a third row of seats isn’t offered.

The final amount of the tax credit may depend on when the vehicle is actually delivered to the customer and, also, whether the customers themselves meet annual income requirements.

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Sports

UGA football car crash deaths: Injured passengers identified in a car crash that killed player and staffer following championship celebration

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CNN
 — 

On the heels of the University of Georgia’s national championship victory, police are investigating a fatal single-vehicle car crash early Sunday that killed football player Devin Willock and staff member Chandler LeCroy just hours after the Bulldogs’ triumphant celebration with fans, authorities said.

Shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday, LeCroy, 24, was driving with Willock, 20, and two other passengers near the UGA campus in Athens when the vehicle went off the road, barreling into two power poles and several trees, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in a news release.

Willock died on the scene and LeCroy died after being taken to a hospital, police said. LeCroy was a football recruiting analyst for UGA, according to her LinkedIn.

Two passengers affiliated with the football team were also injured in the crash. Georgia offensive lineman Warren McClendon, 21, received minor injuries, and Victoria Bowles, 26, had serious injuries, according to police.

McClendon started at right tackle for Georgia this season and declared for the NFL draft earlier Saturday. His father, Warren McClendon Sr., told the Athens Banner-Herald he needed stitches on his forehead but is “doing well.”

The crash came hours after Sanford Stadium and the surrounding streets were brimming with ecstatic fans who had come to celebrate the Bulldogs’ second straight national championship. But by the next morning, they had joined the team in mourning the sudden loss of Willock and LeCroy.

Fan Daniel Dewitt attended Saturday’s victory parade and told CNN Willock was “upbeat and happy” as the team passed throngs of supporters draped in red and black.

“It’s just heartbreaking coming off a celebratory week. And the parade yesterday, getting to see this player and then come to find out he lost his life early this morning, the entire Bulldog nation is at a loss,” Dewitt said.

Photos of the crash site taken by nearby residents show a wooden power pole snapped in half and the car’s frame crumpled against an apartment building.

“That car dented like a tin can,” Cecily Pangburn, a resident of the apartment complex told CNN. She described hearing a loud bang when the crash happened, followed by her power going out.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing, police said. Investigators have asked anyone with information to contact authorities.

The two UGA team members were remembered by several university leaders as vibrant and valued presences in the football program.

“Devin was an outstanding young man in every way. He was always smiling, was a great teammate and a joy to coach,” head football coach Kirby Smart said in a statement Sunday.

“Chandler was a valuable member of our football staff and brought an incredible attitude and energy every single day,” the coach said.

Support for the Bulldogs also flooded in from across the college football community on Sunday, including from head coaches Brian Kelly of Louisiana State University and Hugh Freeze of Auburn University.

“These two special people meant the world to our football program and athletic department,” UGA athletics director Josh Brooks said in a statement. “We are working with our medical staff and mental health and performance team to ensure our staff and student-athletes have all the support they need during this extremely difficult time.”

Willock, a redshirt sophomore from New Milford, New Jersey, joined the team as a freshman in 2020, according to UGA’s football roster. He played on the offensive line in all 15 of the team’s games this year.

The player spent Saturday with fans, soaking in the joy of last week’s championship win. One fan in particular got some quality time with Willock in the hours before his death.

Willock met starstruck 7-year-old Camdyn Gonzales after the young fan spotted Willock as he was leaving the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Athens on Saturday.

The player gave Camdyn a fist bump and let the boy try on his enormous 2021 championship ring.

“He was humble and very appreciative that we knew who he was and wanted to talk to him,” Camdyn’s grandfather, Sam Kramer, said, adding that Willock seemed “so full of life and just happy.”

Dewitt, the fan who saw Willock in Saturday’s parade, told CNN he has a 2021 UGA championship tattoo and plans to get a matching one for this season’s victory. This time, he said, it will feature Willock’s number, 77.



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Technology

A $3,300 self-driving stroller is at this year’s CES. Are parents ready?

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New York
CNN
 — 

Hang onto your baby bonnets: Self-driving technology is coming to strollers.

Canadian-based baby gear startup Gluxkind was showing off its Ella AI Powered Smart Stroller at this year’s CES, the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas that offers some of the most cutting edge – and out-there – new technologies.

The smart stroller offers much of the same tech seen in autonomous cars and delivery robots, including a dual-motor system for uphill walks and automatic downhill brake assist. Like a Tesla with “Autopilot,” the Gluxkind’s stroller’s onboard technolgy has sensors that detect objects around it – but it’s meant to serve as an “extra pairs of eyes and an extra set of hands,” according to the company’s website – not a replacement for a caregiver.

The Ella stroller is able to drive itself for hands-free strolling – but only when a child is not inside. It uses cameras to monitor surroundings and navigate the sidewalks.

For parents who are probably and understandably nervous about putting their baby in a stroller with a mind of its own, Gluxkind provided a YouTube video with some use cases. A parent walking a stroller down hill rushes to save a child’s dropped toy that is rolling away. The stroller brakes on its own.

In another demo, a child is tired of sitting in the stroller and wants to be carried. The Ella strolls itself while the parent carries the child.

Still self-driving technology isn’t totally proven and certainly not ready for prime time. Although companies that have implemented the technology in cars say they add an element of safety when used properly and the driver is paying attention, putting children in the care of AI may not be for everyone.

Gluxkind, founded in 2020, also put additional stroller-specific features into the Ella including “Automatic Rock-My-Baby” and a built-in white noise machine to soothe sleeping toddlers. The entire system is outfitted with a car seat, infant bassinet and toddler seat.

“The development has been driven by our own experience as new parents.,” Anne Hunger, Gluxkind CPO and co-founder, wrote in a November press release. “We’ve put a lot of hard work into this product and are excited to get it into more customers’ hands in 2023.”

For $3,300, parents can join the pre-order list for the 30-pound Ella, one of the consumer tech products named as an Innovation Awards Honoree at the 2023 CES show. Deliveries of the stroller are expected to begin in April 2023, according to the company website.

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