Mazda’s New Leader, Totaling EVs For Little Damage, Slurpees and Chargers Together At Last

The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

Happy Monday Troublemakers. Today we’re talking about Mazda’s newly appointed leader as well as the tricky insurance game when it comes to repairing EVs. We also talk about 7 Eleven’s plan to keep EV drivers moving across the country.

• Late last week, Mazda announced the appointment of a new President and CEO, ​​40-year company veteran Masahiro Moro to replace current President and CEO Akira Marumoto, who has held the seat since 2018
  • Moro is currently a director and senior managing executive officer and had previously been the head of Mazda’s North America operations
  • Moro cites recent growth in the US and hopes to continue by upgrading its 360 Dealerships and targeting 1,000 vehicles a year per store initially. "If that can be done, next would be to work to 1,200 units," he said.
  • Mazda also nominated Jeff Guyton, 56, senior managing executive officer and its current North America head, as chief financial officer and assistant to the president pending the June approval of the shareholders and board.
• Insurers in Europe are being forced to write off almost new EVs with only slight damage to unrepairable battery packs according to a Reuters report.
  • While some automakers have made battery packs easier to repair, Tesla's Model Y, has a new structural battery pack that has been described by experts as having "zero repairability."
  • A replacement battery for a Tesla Model 3 can cost up to $20,000, for a vehicle that retails for about $43k
  • Peter Gruber, owner of Phoenix, Arizona, Gruber Motor Co has mostly focused on replacing batteries in older Tesla models says "An insurance company is not going to take that risk because they're facing a lawsuit later on if something happens with that vehicle and they did not total it," he said citing lack of data accessibility on Teslas
  • As a result, insurance premiums on EVs are higher than combustion vehicles. In Europe, as high as almost 30% more
• The company who brought us everyday concepts that were once unheard of such as; coffee in a to-go cup, self-serve fountain soda, and being open 24 hours is now planning on shaking up the EV Charging space. That company is 7 Eleven. Last week they announced their 7Charge network of EV chargers that will be rolling out across the US and Canada
  • In a release, the company is looking to build “one of the largest and most compatible” networks and are also releasing a companion app to help them do so
  • Network will be owned and operated by the company and powered by 100% green energy
  • There are already active chargers in several states including Florida, Texas, Colorado, and California

Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
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