- Why Penske Automotive Wants to Go Private - VW Demands Tariffs on Chinese PHEVs - Audi Sinks Even Further - Old Visteon Compared to Today - VW Engineers Made Killing on Insider Trading - Waymo To Uber: Get Lost - Toyota, Volvo, Daimler Team Up on FCEV Trucks

AD #4342 - Why Penske Automotive Wants to Go Private; VW Engineers Made Killing on Insider Trading; Waymo To Uber: Get Lost

Autoline Daily - Video

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Sean's out on vacation for most of this week, so I'm filling in. And you know, here's an interesting development in the world of automotive retail. Penske Automotive, which is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is going to go private.

72% of the company's stock is already owned by Roger Penske himself, his company, Penske Corporation and the Mitsui Bank. They're proposing to buy up the other 28% of shares and have the company delisted. You know, there's a lot of advantages to going private. You don't have to deal with SEC regulations, which means you save a lot on legal and accounting fees.

You can focus on long-term projects without worrying about how that might affect next quarter's earnings. Management has the freedom to pursue what it wants without a bunch of second-guessing from pesky analysts or shareholders. And you can hide financial data and business strategies from your competition. The only downside is that it cuts off your access to raising capital through selling your shares in the market.

But it seems to me that Roger Penske and the Mitsui Bank are not worried about getting access to capital. German auto executives know their domestic industry faces an existential threat from Chinese competitors. And they know they're running out of time to do anything about it.

Oliver Blume, the CEO of the Volkswagen Group, is demanding that the EU immediately put higher tariffs on imported Chinese plug-in hybrids. So far, those tariffs only apply to battery electrics. But Chinese automakers have captured over 28% of P-Health sales in Europe this year. And the top three selling P-Health sales were all Chinese. And they're only just getting started.

AD #4342 - Why Penske Automotive Wants to Go Private; VW Engineers Made Killing on Insider Trading; Waymo To Uber: Get Lost

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

AD #4342 - Why Penske Automotive Wants to Go Private; VW Engineers Made Killing on Insider Trading; Waymo To Uber: Get Lost

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.