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Stellantis won't race to split electric vehicles from fossil fuel cars

MILAN - Stellantis is not considering splitting its electric vehicle (EV) business from its legacy combustion engine operation, its finance chief said on Thursday, as the carmaker presented above-expectation revenue data for the first quarter. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer told analysts he did not see huge benefits in the kind of separations pursued by rivals such as France's Renault and U.S. Ford. "We need to manage the company and the assets we have through this transition," he said. "There are benefits to having the cash flow being generated by the internal combustion business for the investments we need to make." Palmer said the group, formed by a merger last year of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, was not averse to considering adjusting its structure "but we aren't anticipating any big changes." Palmer's comments came after the world's fourth largest carmaker said its net revenue rose 12% to 41.5 billion euros ($44.1 billion) in the January-March period, as strong pricing and the type of vehicles sold helped offset the impact of the semiconductor shortage on volumes. That topped analyst expectations of 36.9 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. Milan-listed shares were up 0.5% by 1415 GMT, in line with Italy's blue-chip index. The impact of the chip crunch was evident in the decline in shipment figures which fell 12% in the quarter to 1.374 million vehicles. It was a similar story for Germany's BMW which posted higher revenues on Thursday and a decline in car sales. Riding the Recovery Stellantis, whose brands also include Citroen, Jeep and Maserati, confirmed its 2022 forecasts for a double-digit adjusted operating income margin, after 11.8% last year, and a positive cash-flow despite supply and inflationary headwinds. Morgan Stanley analysts said after the results that Stellantis had better management than many peers and benefited from its significant exposure to a stronger U.S. economy and a European recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. They also said it was less affected by a slowing Chinese economy. Palmer said it was important for the group to maintain double-digit margins and keep delivering positive cash flows. "A 12% increase in revenue with a 12% decrease in volumes indicates a very strong performance on price and mix, which augurs well for our margin performance," he said. He said semiconductor supply problems were expected to ease this year with continued improvements in 2023.

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

2023 Ram TRX priced at $81,150

The relentless rise of the MSRP on the Ram TRX has slowed. In January of this year, the super truck's base price had climbed to $74,085 after the $1,695 destination charge. Six weeks later, it jumped up $2,295 and the destination charge rose $100, taking matters to $76,880. Since then February, Ram pushed the mark up another $1,910 to $80,585 after destination. Mopar Insiders sourced the pricing sheet for the 2023 Ram TRX and reports next year's truck is only going to be $565 more dear, costing $81,150. MI didn't note any substantive changes to the pickup, which wouldn't be surprising in just its third year on the market. There are other price bumps among the options, however. Diamond Black Crystal will hold over as the only monotone available and cost the same $100 as now. But the 2022 TRX offers six two-tone hues that, according to this early list, will drop to five. Granite Crystal Metallic will go up from $200 to $450; Billet Silver Metallic increases from $200 to $250, and Hydro Blue Pearl climbs from $100 to $350. The other two, Flame Red Clear and Bright White Clear, will cost $250, same as now. On the 2022 rig, however, choosing those latter two-tone paint jobs automatically adds a little more than $10,000 in options with the TRX Level 2 Equipment Group. The Ignition Orange two-tone exterior isn't included on the list MI received, the end of the $9,200 Ignition Edition Package that also required the Level 2 group and so added nearly $20,000 to the price. The $100,080 Sandblast Edition is the special trim for next year. Big-ticket prices like the Equipment Groups and a la carte options such as the dual-pane sunroof, 19-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, and surround-view camera system don't appear to have budged. We think that's called "small favors." The reptile's heart hasn't changed either, that continuing to be the supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V8 with 702 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. We think that's called, "If it ain't broke." The 2023 TRX isn't on the Ram configurator as of writing, but dealers are ready to take orders. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.