Over 28 million vehicles were recalled in the year 2017.  As high as that number seems, it was actually higher in 2016 at 52 million vehicles recalled.

The number of recalls  had to due to with a defect in Takata airbags and their inflators.  The airbags would shoot out metal with the airbag when deployed.  Automotive makers are now saying that blockchain tracking systems can help by solving some issues around recalls, fake products, and consumer safety.

Although the Blockchain can’t help with all aspects of the car industry, it will help to alleviate the damage when people do have problems with their cars.

Blockchain is helping to protect buyers from counterfeit parts as well as accidents from defective parts. Counterfeit parts are part of a $45 billion dollar problem across the globe.  Yet very few manufacturers have adequate end-to-end visibility of parts entering and leaving their supply chain. Most do not have visibility beyond their immediate vendor, making an ideal environment for the counterfeit market.

Airbags, filters, brake pads, and radiators are common counterfeit parts, and has major safety concerns for consumers.  Accidents are more prone to happening with fake parts installed on vehicles. Blockchain is able to eliminate most counterfeit parts out of the supply chain. When parts are registered on the blockchain, companies can easily trace their provenance, create record transactions, and track changes in custody. Hypothetically, if a shipment of brake pads isn’t registered or proven authentic on the blockchain, a manufacturer can know that the parts are unusable when receiving inventory. Thus, these parts won’t be installed into new cars.

Another way that Blockchain can help automotive companies is that it’s able to pinpoint which vehicles need to be recalled.  This alleviates the need for automakers to overcompensate to protect consumers. Recalls cost automakers around $22 billion in 2016, and this would help them to better save money. With a blockchain-based system, it’s easier to track and trace parts from their source, all the way down to individual vehicles.  If a faulty product is coming from one supplier’s factory, like Takata’s, that problem can be pinpointed in the supply chain.

As cars become more automated, control of the vehicle will begin to shift from the driver to automation. Auto-park features, blind spot monitoring and automatic braking are the beginning of this process. Because of this, the integrity of electronics and software inside the car is crucial.

If individuals are going to place their trust in the technology of their car, people have to know the sensors and computers in their vehicles are working correctly—every single time. Which is another reason why it’s highly important to eliminate faulty and fake products.

Ultimately, blockchain solutions will allow for automakers to find out where the failures are and quickly alert owners when there’s an issue. It works for both seller and consumer, and equally keeps users more safe on the road.

In recent news, German automakers say they are willing to abandon car tariffs between the European Union and the United State in exchange for President Trump dropping a 25 percent border tax threat on European automotive imports, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, was expected to meet with Trump’s administration on Wednesday, June 20^th to discuss the matter.  The Wall Street Journal reports that German automakers support the European Unions 10 percent tax on auto imports from the U.S. and a 2.5 percent duty on auto imports gong away if Trump stops the threat of imposing a 25 percent border tax on auto imports coming from Europe.

Grenell has reportedly met with executives from German automakers including Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen. The three companies have plants in the United States and employ thousands of U.S. workers.

The Europeans also want to get rid of a a 25 percent tax on imports of pickups, crossovers, SUVs and big vans, according to the report.

Daimler confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that they held a meeting with Grenell.  Volkswagen did not confirm, while BMW stated that they support “free trade with minimal or no barriers.”

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump stated that he supports the making of of U.S.-made vehicles and U.S. auto jobs.

The 25 percent U.S. tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent tariffs on imported aluminum recently went into effect, also impacting the EU, Mexico, and Canada.

The European Union has decided to begin charging import duties of 25 percent on a range of U.S. products on Friday, June 22^nd in response to the U.S. tariffs imposed on EU steel and aluminum. The decision confirms that this is a dispute that could potentially escalate into a trade war, more specifically if Trump carries out his threats to penalize European Automakers.

The commission formally adopted the law by putting in place the duties on 2.8 billion euros ($3.2 billion) worth of U.S. goods, including steel and aluminum products, farm produce such as sweetcorn and peanuts, bourbon, jeans and motor-bikes.

As self-driving cars become more of a mundane occurrence, concerns about how they will affect the job market by replacing bus, truck, and taxi drivers are growing at an exponential rate. Instead of focusing on the immediate downside, these concerns need to the put up next to the potential, long-term advantages such as cheaper transportation, increased safety and productivity, and clean air, according to a team of economists and transportation experts.  

The report released last Tuesday, found that the annual economic payback from automated vehicles will be $800 billion by 2050. This includes the impact from reduced vehicle accidents ($503B), traffic congestion ($71B), and giving drivers more time to spend on doing something rather than being stuck in traffic ($63B). Because automated vehicles are in such an early stage of development, it is difficult to calculate the exact value, but the benefits definitely surpass the costs.  

The report titled, “America’s Workforce and the Self-Driving Future,” advises the government to create an environment that will encourage companies to implement automated vehicles while at the same time, preparing the workforce for a smooth transition to jobs that call for new skills.  The study states, “due to the large-scale societal benefits from the deployment of AVs, policies to address labor force issues must carefully consider their potential impact in delaying the deployment and thus the benefits of AVs. Delaying the deployment of AVs would represent a significant and deliberate injury to public welfare.” To lessen the impact to the current job market of vehicle drivers, the government needs to ensure that “the interests of the people who may lose jobs are well protected through effective mitigation programs.” 

Regarding the employment concern, the reports states that by the early 2030s, employment rolls could decrease by –0.06 percent and would then increase to +0.13 percent by 2050. Automated vehicle benefits in just one year would outweigh the total job losses over those decades. According to the report, the positive impact on societal productivity and life quality would be so great that we would be able to afford the programs that would retrain displaced workers.  

Automated vehicles will replace jobs, but they will also create new jobs for those displaced workers to move in to. The automated vehicle industry will need people to develop and manage the technology as well as fill other industry roles that haven’t been established yet but will be once automated cars become much more common.  

Last month, car shoppers proved that because of the current strength of the job and housing market, that they are unbothered by increasing interest rates and high fuel prices. Buyers continued to purchase new vehicles at a steady climb.  Ford Motor Co. executives said that the sale of new vehicles in the U.S. rose by an estimated 2 percent in May. Last month’s sales greatly benefitted from Memorial Day sales. Stephanie Bringley, principal automotive analyst at HIS Markit says, “May appears set for a year-over-year gain in volume, which will be welcome with declines over the past three months.”  

In terms of individual automaker sales, Fiat Chrysler reported a 11% May sale increase to 214,294 vehicles. Their retail deliveries of 167,785 vehicles were the highest since July 2005. Ford also reported a total sales increase of 0.7 percent to 242,824. General Motors does not report monthly sales; however, industry analysts estimate that General Motors sales rose about 10 percent last month. Honda Motor Co reported a 3.1 percent increase in May sales, compared to last year’s May sales, to 153,069. 

Toyota Motor Corp, on the other hand, saw a sales dip of 1.3 percent and, Nissan Motor Co also saw a decrease in sales of 4.1 percent to 131,832 vehicles. Nissan’s Nissan brand reported a 3.8 percent decrease in sales and their Infiniti brand saw 7.1 percent decrease. Finally, Hyundai sales were up 10.1 percent to 66,056 vehicles and the Hyundai sister brand, Kia, was up 1.6% to 59,462 vehicles.  

All in all, U.S. auto sales have been fickle this year – low in February, high in March, low again in April. Industry experts credit this to consumers continuing to shift away from sedans into trucks and SUVs, which are general more expensive with a higher profit return. Ford had estimated that industry-wide retail car sales were down 10 percent, with SUV sales up 13 percent.