Business

Chrysler shows off an EV concept and a future for the brand – CNN

Published

3 years ago

January 5, 2022

(CNN Business)Chrysler was once one of the biggest names in the American auto industry, famous for flashy cars with chrome, fins and style that belied their relatively affordable prices. Cars like the Chrysler New Yorker, the Imperial and the classic Chrysler 300 helped it become a solid competitor to brands like General Motors’ Buick which founder Walter P. Chrysler once ran.

Today, Chrysler is a shadow of its former self, offering just two models. One is a sedan that hasn’t been substantially updated in 16 years. The other is a minivan.

Chrysler’s new parent company, Stellantis, has now announced a plan to return Chrysler to its former glory, with the company hoping to bring it back to relevance with an all-electric lineup.

The Chrysler Airflow concept provides a preview of an electric crossover SUV available for sale by 2025, according to Chrysler. After that, Chrysler will become Stellantis’ first all-electric car brand in North America by 2028, said Chrysler chief executive Christine Feuell.

The Chrysler Airflow concept vehicle shows what a future electric crossover SUV from the Stellantis brand might look like.

In 2021, Chrysler sold 98,000 Pacifica vans and just over 16,600 of the 300 sedan. Tesla delivered over 240,000 vehicles in the third quarter alone.

Car buyers have largely shifted to SUVs, which Chrysler doesn’t offer. Most Chrysler dealers, however, also sell other Stellantis brands such as Jeep and Dodge, so Chrysler’s lack of offerings in the most popular market segment hasn’t been a major issue for dealers. With the brand lying largely fallow, the transition to electric vehicles gives Chrysler hope for a renewed purpose. By going fully electric while the other brands change over to EVs more gradually, Chrysler can help usher in Stellantis’s transition to full electrification, said Feuell.

“Chrysler is going to focus on on-road performance, connected experiences and delivering both extended high battery electric range and fast charging capabilities,” she said.

The Chrysler Airflow could compete against electric crossovers like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Tesla Model Y.

A production version of the Airflow may not be exactly like the concept, Feuell said, but its features offer clues as to what the future crossover SUV could offer. For instance, the concept vehicle has a camera for each of the vehicle’s four seats allowing all occupants to participate in video calls. Also, items appearing on any of the touchscreens can be shared with others by swiping.

The Airflow’s design also shows what future Chrysler models could look like, Feuell said.

“If you take a look at the products that we have in market, now, you could make the case that they don’t even really look related to each other, if you were to remove the badges,” she said of the Pacifica and the 300. “We’re definitely going to have a more harmonious design theme across all of our new products.”

A 1934 Chrysler Airflow.

The Airflow concept is named after a famous 1930s Chrysler model. The original Airflow, introduced in 1934, was one of the first American cars designed with aerodynamics as a major consideration. Orville Wright, of the famous airplane-inventing Wright brothers, was a consultant on the project, according to Chrysler marketing materials from that era. Chrysler constructed a wind tunnel, one of the first in the industry, to test its shape. The original Airflow also featured a number of other design and engineering advancements. It set speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats and one drove across America achieving the remarkable — at the time — fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon.

While aerodynamic testing and design is a part of virtually all new car development today, the Airflow’s novel appearance was apparently a turn-off to customers in Depression-era America. While the Airflow is now regarded as an important step in the history of automotive design and engineering, it was a sales flop and went out of production after only three years.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

Published

4 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

Published

4 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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Canada Goose reports Q2 revenue down from year ago, trims full-year guidance

Published

4 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.

The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.

Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.

It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GOOS)

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