Nissan’s falling out with Honda was just as unexpected as talks of its potential merger. Yet, somehow, it felt inevitable—neither brand seemed interested in a true 50/50 partnership. Soon, rumors arose that the deal was to avoid a hostile takeover from Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn. Ironically, Nissan may now tap a Foxconn executive to replace its CEO.
Welcome back to Critical Materials, your daily roundup for all things electric and tech in the automotive space. Aside from Nissan’s news, Volkswagen ID. Every1 will be the first VW to use Rivian’s software, and GM faces another lawsuit over the OnStar data debacle. Let’s jump in.
30%: Nissan Expected To Tap Foxconn Exec To Replace CEO
Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida is in hot water. After a failed merger with Honda and only hubris to blame, the Japanese automaker’s board is out for blood and Uchida is first in line to answer for a half-decade of decline in the post-Ghosn era.
It turns out that the board might already have Uchida’s replacement in mind. Enter: Jun Seki, a former Nissan executive turned EV strategist for Foxconn. Yes, that very same Foxconn that is gunning for a reportedly hostile takeover of Nissan. According to a recent report from Automotive News, Nissan’s board is looking to tap Seki after Uchida steps down as CEO as anticipated.
Here’s the scoop from Automotive News:
The automaker is considering Jun Seki to orchestrate a financial turnaround and possibly get a derailed merger with Honda Motor Co. back on track, a person familiar with the plan told Automotive News. Seki was among a trio of leaders who took over Nissan in the wake of the 2018 arrest of then-Chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Seki is chief electric vehicle strategy officer at Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the Taiwan manufacturer of iPhones also known as Foxconn. Hon Hai is interested in partnering with Nissan to diversify from contract manufacturing to building a consumer brand and retail business.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida is expected to step down, having failed to execute on multiple business turnaround plans. Some blame Uchida’s slow pace at making reforms for the breakdown of merger talks with Honda.
“Nissan is realizing that drastic action is needed as is a strong leader to drive it,” said the person, who asked not to be identified because the CEO search discussions are private.
Seki is no stranger to Nissan. He spent more than 30 years rising through the ranks of the brand before abruptly quitting following Uchida’s appointment to CEO. Seki denied that the move was due to being passed over for CEO at the time. He left Nissan to work for automotive parts supplier Nidec before moving to Foxconn.
As his title might imply, Seki is responsible for helping to guide Foxconn in the direction of becoming an EV manufacturer. The brand has been desperately trying to break into the EV game for years, building out prototype EV platforms and even making deals with Fisker (RIP) and Stellantis. Foxconn is obsessed with becoming the “Android system of the EV industry” and it will seemingly do whatever it can do to get there—including swallowing up Nissan in a desperate time.
Bringing in Seki could mean that Nissan is getting serious about a tie-up with Foxconn, possibly even as part of a new alliance that includes Honda. Honda told Automotive News that it has not been contacted regarding an alliance between the trio, but also wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to it if the structure was favorable.
The bigger question is whether or not Seki even wants the job. When he left Nissan in 2019 at the age of 58, he told Reuters that he believed moving to Nidec was his “last chance to lead a company” and that he actually took a financial hit by leaving Nissan.
60%: Volkswagen’s ID. Every1 Will Be The First VW To Use Rivian’s Software
Photo by: Volkswagen
Volkswagen and Rivian are tied up in a mutually beneficial $5.8 billion software deal. Rumors have been swirling about just which car from the German automaker will be the first to flex this partnership, and it sure looks like we know the answer now.
Sources familiar with the plan confirmed to TechCrunch on Wednesday the newly-announced Volkswagen ID. Every1 will be the first car in its lineup to sport the new Rivian-sourced Zonal Architecture when it launches in 2027.
From TechCrunch:
VW didn’t name Rivian in its reveal Wednesday, although there were numerous nods to next-generation software. Kai Grünitz, member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management responsible for technical development, noted it would be the first model in the entire VW Group to use a “fundamentally new, particularly powerful software architecture.”
“This means the future entry-level Volkswagen can be equipped with new functions throughout its entire life cycle,” he said. “Even after purchase of a new car, the small Volkswagen can still be individually adapted to customer needs.”
Sources who didn’t want to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to TechCrunch that Rivian’s software will be in the ID EVERY1 EV.
This move marks a major shift for VW. The platform was previously expected in its high-end Audi and Porsche models before rolling it out to the rest of the lineup. Instead, the ID. Every1 is jumping in line and ditching its own glitch-prone software in favor of Rivian’s tech stack.
Let’s be honest here: VW’s in-house software game has been a hot mess. The brand’s CARIAD division has proven to be problematic, which is part of the reason that Volkswagen was willing to drop billions of dollars into a partnership with a baby-faced Rivian.
Clearly, the brand has a lot of faith in the partnership if it’s willing to forego limited use in low-volume luxury cars for a mass-market, sub-$25,000 commuter. That, or VW knows it has to fix its software image because the early ID-cars haven’t exactly been trouble-free. An improved software experience could truly be a big selling point for the brand.
90%: GM Is In Yet Another Legal Battle Over Selling Driver Data To Insurance Companies
In 2024, General Motors was one of the automakers slammed for selling drivers’ data to insurance companies through connected car features. Now, almost a year to the day, the automaker faces yet another lawsuit over allegedly deceptive practices that claim to have violated the privacy of owners who purchased OnStar-equipped cars. This time it’s from Arkansas, as reported by AutoBlog.
The state’s Attorney General, Tim Griffin, has filed suit accusing GM of secretly collecting driver data from OnStar-equipped vehicles and selling it to companies who, in turn, brokered the data to insurance providers—all without the explicit and intended consent of the vehicle owner.
The secret sauce is GM’s “Smart Driver” program which takes note of everything from acceleration and braking to speed and cornering habits. The lawsuit claims that GM failed to clearly disclose the true intention of this data; namely that insurers would ultimately be able to access it. Some drivers claim they were automatically enrolled without knowing what they were signing up for, and opting out wasn’t straightforward.
And if your insurance company happened to get a hold of your driver data and you weren’t the most, ahem, law-abiding driver, then your rates might have gone up.
The idea that someone’s car could not just be spying on them, but actively snitching to insurance companies might seem like some dystopian concept, but it’s very real. So real, in fact, that it sparked outrage all the way up to the U.S. Senate—which called for companies like GM to be investigated by the Federal Trade Commission over its role in the data privacy nightmare.
Arkansas isn’t the only state taking action on GM for this kerfuffle. Texas’s AG, Ken Paxton, also filed a lawsuit against GM last year on behalf of the 1.5 million Texas residents affected by the alleged illegal sale of their driver data. The brand also has 27 separate class-action lawsuits filed against it, all tracing back to the sale of this data.
100%: Where’s America’s Hot Hatch, EV Makers?
Photo by: Volkswagen
I’ll say it: the VW ID. Every1 is cool. Granted, I have a thing for hatchbacks—it’s the reason I owned a Ford Focus ST for years and will be the reason I drool over the Rivian R3X. Unfortunately, the Every1 is one of those “from Europe for Europe” deals.
That being said, we’ve at least got the new Chevrolet Bolt and eventually Rivian R3 on the way. But that’s not enough. I’m tired of SUV-sized EVs at every turn. I want something small, zippy, and with 300 miles of range. A big ask, I know.
Is anyone in the same boat as me, wanting some sort of sweet battery-powered hot hatch to hit America’s streets? Tell me all about your dream EV, whatever it may be, down in the comments.
