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Welcome to Wednesday as we dive into Ford's CFO’s concerns over rising inventories, an EV charging joint venture's plans, and Starbucks' surprising venture into the film industry with the launch of Starbucks Studios. 

• Ford CFO John Lawler expressed concerns about rising inventory levels across the automotive industry, emphasizing the need for careful monitoring of supply and demand.
  • Lawler aims for dealers to carry 50 to 60 days' supply. He said excess supply could hurt pricing, though Ford hasn't yet been affected.
  • "It worries me that the stocks are building," Lawler said. "One of the pitfalls you can run into, if you're pushing product out there that isn't necessarily what the consumer wants, it's really tough to move. Within Ford we call those ones with pink polka dots; not specced right. It hasn't been a contagion on us yet, we're still seeing strength, primarily because much of our product is new."
  • Industry average days' supply reached 76 at the start of May.
  • Lawler is transitioning to vice chair next year, focusing on strategic initiatives.
  • Sherry House will replace him as CFO, bringing extensive experience from Lucid, Waymo, and General Motors.
    
    
• Ionna, an EV charging joint venture by seven U.S. automakers (BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis) has announced its headquarters will be in Durham, N.C., and is expanding its leadership team to support its ambitious goals including former leaders from EV Connect, Rivian, Lucid. 
  • Headquarters in Durham, N.C., with a central lab connecting to interoperability and customer experience centers.
  • Plans to install over 30,000 chargers by 2030 which is about 6000 per year. As a note, the most chargers that charging infrastructure leader Tesla has installed per year is 4000 to date
  • The network will support both NACS and CCS connectors.
  • Each station will include amenities such as restrooms, food service, and retail stores.
  • "The network in the U.S., if you compare it to other parts of the world, clearly needs work," Stamatti said. "It needs Ionna, and it needs more Ionnas."
• Starbucks has announced the launch of Starbucks Studios, marking its entry into the film industry as it follows a trend of brands venturing into production.
  •  Christy Cain, the vice president of brand and partnerships marketing at Starbuck emphasised in a statement that Starbucks Studios is focused on producing content that fosters human connection and joy
  • Starbucks is partnering with Sugar23, founded by Academy Award-winning producer Michael Sugar who said: “Storytelling is deeply ingrained in what Starbucks does, and Starbucks Studios is a natural extension of these efforts. Together, we will harness the power of storytelling to foster connections, inspire change, and build a stronger sense of community. We’re excited to work alongside the incre

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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