Yahoo Autos The Williams Formula 1 Team Might Be Up for Sale
Welcome to The Grid, R&T's quick roundup of the auto industry and motorsports news you should know this morning.
Williams Formula 1 Team May Be up For Sale
Williams is one of the all-time great Formula 1 teams, but you wouldn't know that by looking at its past five years. The last two seasons were especially bad for the team, and things likely won't get better until F1's sweeping rule changes come into effect in 2022. But the coronavirus crisis and subsequent halt of F1 racing may force Williams to take decisive action. Autosport reports that Williams is now considering a partial or full sale of the F1 team, after announcing a £13 million loss in 2019. Williams F1 has also terminated its title sponsorship with ROKiT.
"Whilst no decisions have been made regarding the optimal outcome yet, to facilitate discussions with interested parties, the Company announces the commencement of a 'formal sale process,'" Williams said in a statement. No one has approached the team yet, but that could soon change. Quite a turn of events for a team that, at times, has dominated F1.
GM To Increase Pickup Production
The coronavirus has reduced U.S. new-car demand significantly, but pickups, perhaps unsurprisingly, are a different story. Bloomberg (via Automotive News) reports that GM is about to increase pickup production after reopening its truck plants earlier this month. The three factories building the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra restarted on May 18th with just one daily shift due to supply chain issues. Now, those are resolved, and dealers need pickups, so GM is planning on adding second shifts.
Nothing will get in the way of America's love of pickup trucks, and it's good news for GM, because the Silverado and Sierra are among the most profitable vehicles the company makes.
Renault's Alpine Could Go All-Electric
Renault needs to cut costs, and that might mean one of the best sports cars not sold in America is in trouble. The Alpine A110 isn't a huge seller, and the Dieppe France factory where it's built is one of the smallest in Renault's portfolio. But the French automaker seems reticent to kill the recently revived brand. Autocar reports that Renault is considering making Alpine an all-electric performance brand, not unlike what Volvo did with Polestar.
"Clearly, Alpine is a beautiful brand and we do have to look very, very seriously at the future of this brand to see how it can bring added value to the group," Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard told Autocar. Senard also said that the brand needs to figure out how the Dieppe factory can add more value to the company. A decision will be made on Alpine's future sometime this summer.
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