International air travel is still more than two-thirds of what it was before the pandemic.

With international air travel still not what it used to be and the industry still struggling to cope, Hertz had a strong 2022; And VinFast’s North American expansion hit another bump. All that and more Morning shift For February 7, 2023

1st Gear: Airlines are still stuck in the good old days

Airports were in the summer and holidays, as Not enough staff All airlines were and are Bad when everything goes wrong, international travel still does not match pre-pandemic levels. Last year, the total traffic worldwide was only 68.5% of what it was in 2019. Reuters – Even as North American airlines enjoy a 130 percent jump in passengers by 2021, the blame, if you ask industry insiders, is on travel to and from China:

Airlines lost tens of billions of dollars in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and saw the first signs of relief in 2022 as travel began to rebound, particularly during the summer months.

The IATA chief said that recovery will continue with China’s recent reopening.

IATA Director General Willie Walsh said: “While some governments have reacted strongly to China’s reopening, this momentum is expected to continue in the new year.

China said it would resume overseas group tours organized by tour agencies and online travel companies from Monday.

European carriers saw their full-year traffic jump 132.2% compared to 2021, while North American airlines saw a 130.2% year-over-year increase, the data said.

The head of the International Air Transport Association said the “overreactions” were due to countries deciding to introduce mandatory pre-boarding tests after China completed its zero-covid policy in December. Nevertheless, some routes are expected to return by 2023, although full-scale travel may not return as quickly as airlines would like.

Air France-KLM announced earlier this month that it would start daily flights to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing from July, while British Airways said it would start flights between London and Shanghai from April 23.

For full international traffic to recover to 2019 levels, growth in flights from other regions may have to take a lot to offset delays in Chinese flights, some analysts said.

“I don’t think China’s recovery will return to Europe’s 2019 level until next year or the year after,” said James Halstead, managing partner at Aviation Strategy.

Short-haul flights will probably see a better recovery, but it is still temporary and depends on border controls in Asia.

It’s as if things don’t just go back to normal in a day, a year. Or three years after the whole world stopped.

2nd Gear: The rental car business is booming.

Last year was good for Hertz, which reported adjusted earnings of half a dollar per share, beating analysts’ estimates by four cents. The rental car company It ended the last quarter of 2022 with a net income of $116 million, far greater than the loss of $710 million in the same period in 2021. Reuters:

The company’s shares rose 3.8 percent in premarket trading.

The car rental industry, which is linked to airline traffic and hotel bookings, has benefited from the desire to travel and explore after the easing of coronavirus restrictions despite high inflation.

The price hikes and supply shortages faced by automobiles have made it even more unaffordable for car buyers in an uncertain economy.

However, companies such as Ford Motor Co and Tesla Inc slashed prices on some electric vehicle models last month in an effort to maintain market share and attract more buyers.

“We expect our investments in electrification and technology to deliver increased employment capacity and improved revenues,” Hertz CEO Stephen Shearer said in a statement.

As air travel and lodging slowly recovered, so did car rentals, allowing Hertz to escape. 2020 depression and penalties from All that false imprisonment.

3rd Gear: VinFast reduces operations

Vinfant has parted ways with 80 employees in North America, including the region’s chief financial officer. Bloomberg Monday reported:

Rodney Haynes, Vinfant’s US chief financial officer, is out in the business restructuring, according to people familiar with the situation. There were also layoffs in Canada, the people said, asking not to be identified because the case is not public.

Vinfant, part of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate and backed by the country’s tycoon, said late last month it was consolidating its US and Canadian strategic business and management operations into a unit called Vinfant North America at its Los Angeles headquarters. Van An Nguyen has been named CEO of the new entity as CEO of Vinfant US Manufacturing, the company said.

Vinfant US CEO Jiang Nguyen has been named vice president of Vinfant North America, the people said.

In response to questions from Bloomberg News, Vinfant said the restructuring is aimed at better serving customers in the region, and that it is working with local service providers to improve efficiencies. “This will also lead to the streamlining of our North American operations and there are certain divisions affected by this,” the EV maker said in an email.

Vinfant delayed US deliveries. VF8 electric SUV to the middle of this month after earlier delays from December to late January. These aren’t good signs, but the company is still eyeing a US initial public offering in the middle of the year.

4th Gear: Introducing Teledriving

Did you know that “drive by TV” is becoming a thing? I haven’t, but apparently a German startup called Vai has already deployed a prototype on the streets of Hamburg. The idea is that they are rental cars, only remotely driven routes from customer pick-up to customer pick-up, controlled by a human behind a computer and a fake steering wheel. I wish I was making this up. from Bloomberg:

Vai is pushing remote-control cars into the mid-level of fully autonomous “teledriving,” which involves people miles away from physical steering stations. Even after investors poured $100 billion into the technology, expectations for a large number of robocars to be released have waned.

The company said on Tuesday that it has started televised rides on pre-defined routes in Hamburg after the port city gave it permission. While Vai has been testing the technology for more than three years, it is required to have a safety driver in updated Kia electric vehicles.

“We will work with the authorities on the next steps to outsource this service,” CEO Thomas von der Ohe, who previously worked at self-driving startup Zox, told Bloomberg News. “We should be talking about months, not years.”

Further isolating drivers from the dangers of the road is probably the last thing society needs, but hey – At least they can’t shoot each other If one party is not physically present in the driver’s seat. I don’t know why we do this, but then again, I don’t know why we do many of the things we do.

5th gear: BYD says it doesn’t want a Ford plant.

Chinese EV maker Baidu has been linked with buying Ford’s recently opened Saarlouis plant, formerly the proud home of the Focus. Now the company supported by Warren Buffett has thought better BloombergThrough Automotive news:

“We don’t focus on certain companies’ facilities,” BYD executive vice president Stella Lee said in an interview at the company’s new North American headquarters in Pasadena, California. She said the auto industry is more interested in building its own factories than buying other companies’ factories.

“We are doing feasibility studies to see our future plans,” Lee said. “If we establish our institution in that region, what is the best solution there?”

“While there are no target countries to build facilities yet,” BYD said they want strong sales and distributor networks in Europe with service centers to ensure consumers trust the brand.

However BYD wants to do it, I’m sure it will. It’s been good lately.

Reversal: Let’s go!

In the year In 1959 – 64 years ago today – Daytona International Speedway officially opened its doors. 365 days of motor travel.