FCA and Volkswagen post substantial losses
In the wake of what has been called the largest vehicle buyback program of all time and associated fines ringing in at $867 million, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has reported a $435million loss in the third quarter.
Also adding to the loss was the cost of vehicles damaged in a major explosion in the Chinese port of Tianjin in August. These losses come despite substantial improvements in sales performance in North America and Europe over last year.
FCA’s challenge seems almost minimal when compared to the financial cost of Volkswagen’s diesel scandal. The German automaker, which has just lost its spot as the largest automaker in the world to Toyota, has posted a third-quarter loss of a mind-melting $5.04 billion.
Don’t feel sorry for the company however, as global sales are up 8.5 per cent this year. VW is also reporting $3.93 billion in liquid assets.
Volkswagen Canada talks about diesels At a recent Volkswagen Canada press event in Vermont, the compa- ny gave journalists in attendance a Canadian-centred update on the diesel engine situation.
Thomas Tetzlaff, manager of public relations for Volkswagen Canada, stressed that any potential solutions or timelines being reported to this point have not been confirmed by Volkswagen.
However, that information is forthcoming and Tetzlaff says VW is committed to returning TDI engines to its product lineup once they’re made compliant.
“We want to get back into the TDI business because we firmly believe in it,” Tetzlaff said. “But it’s got to be right. We are not going to take the next step until we are 100-per-cent confident that it is the proper step in the proper direction in respect of our customers.”
Once those next steps are announced, Canada and the United States will act together, as both countries are dealing with the same products and are governed by the same regulations. Europe operates under different regulations, so any announcements pertaining to diesel engines there will not apply in North America.
There are three generations of engines affected here: Generation one includes Golfs, Jettas and Beetles from model years 2009 to 2014, generation two covers Passats from model years 2012 to 2014 and generation three includes every TDI made for the 2015 model year.
Tetzlaff explained that solutions will probably be implemented in phases. A resolution for cars in generation three is expected to involve the least work and is therefore likely to be addressed first, with generations two and one following, in that order.
In the meantime, he stressed the cars are safe to drive and added that a $2,000 credit on any VW product has been offered to current TDI owners who prefer to take more prompt action. A letter has been sent to affected TDI owners and a Q&A section added to vw.ca for those seeking further information.
Multimatic appoints Aussie to head up expansion Markham-based Multimatic Engineering is well known in the motorsport world as a leader in international endurance racing, but the core of the company’s business is developing and manufacturing parts for auto manufacturers.
As part of the company’s global expansion, Multimatic Engineering Australia has been formed, specifi- cally to serve the Australian and Asian markets.
To head up the new venture, Multimatic has hired Brad Dunstan, who was formerly an executive with Holden and that company’s performance division, Holden Special Vehicles.
He most recently worked with Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing.
The latter is key, given Multimatic’s increasingly prolific involvement with ultra-modern vehicle manufacturing, including the new Ford GT, which is being built in the GTA.
Dunstan joins a team that includes senior managers from other top Australian manufacturing companies, such as Ford.
Larry Holt, Multimatic’s vicepresident of engineering, says: “We have been very fortunate to attract such a ‘dream team’ of industry leaders from the Australian automotive business.
“Their breadth of experience in the design, engineering and manufacturing of complete vehicles is rarely found elsewhere in the world and having them together in our operations is a real coup.” Freelance writer Gary Grant is a regular contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. To reach him, email wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.