Magna is the world’s 3rd-major automobile supplier, having created nearly $40 billion of income in 2019 from goods this sort of as transmissions, car or truck cameras, mirrors and seating, according to the Automotive Information listing of the prime 100 world components suppliers.
Austrian achievements
Its agreement production subsidiary, Magna Steyr, builds high quality motor vehicles at a factory in Graz, Austria, together with the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the electric Jaguar I-Tempo, the BMW Z4 sportscar and its system sibling, the Toyota Supra.
Normally, automakers select to outsource creation of area of interest products, rather than retool or establish a new generation line, for the reason that the revenue volumes are somewhat compact.
In 2019, Magna developed pretty much 160,000 vehicles — a lot more than a lot of automakers produce — and created $6.7 billion of profits from these activities.
Collectively with joint enterprise husband or wife Beijing Automotive Team (BAIC) it a short while ago included yet another facility in China, which is able of generating 180,000 cars yearly. A North American plant may well be up coming.
Magna’s customer record previously extends very well beyond the traditional automakers. Henrik Fisker’s Ocean electric SUV will be built by Magna.
A producing and car engineering partnership with Magna is vital to Fisker’s asset-light-weight approach. Fisker usually compares this to the Apple-Foxconn romance and hopes that this will stay clear of the creation nightmares that troubled Tesla.
Magna Steyr is reportedly in talks about making autos for Canoo, a SPAC-backed car get started-up, whilst in China it has started manufacturing the Arcfox for BAIC’s electric powered car offshoot.
Other initiatives consist of encouraging Alphabet’s Waymo subsidiary combine self-driving know-how into vehicles and performing with Sony to develop the futuristic Vision S prototype vehicle.
“It’s not a top secret that pretty much every single non-OEM intrigued in acknowledging its personal finish motor vehicles is making contact with us,” Frank Klein, Magna Steyr’s manager, advised traders final year.
Neutral company
You can see why new entrants may perhaps select to do the job with a neutral social gathering like Magna relatively than partnering and sharing plans with an present automaker that may well be a opportunity rival.
As effectively as offering manufacturing ability, Magna states it can take care of the overall car or truck development method. The company was hired to turn substances billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Grenadier SUV into actuality.
The vehicles Magna builds in its factories commonly consist of far more of its have factors and systems than is the circumstance for cars it does not make. It can also take a financial desire in the businesses with which it performs. If it does what it claims, Magna could conclusion up possessing 6 p.c of Fisker. Very last year, it invested $100 million in Waymo.
These are welcome sweeteners for the reason that contract manufacturing’s economics are difficult. The auto-developing subsidiary made a 2 per cent running return on revenue very last year — substantially decreased than the typical in other components of Magna’s organization.
And there are challenges in adding production ability for commence-ups who may perhaps are unsuccessful or come to a decision to in-resource the operate themselves.
If Apple were being to come to be a Magna shopper it would drive the similar difficult deal as it does with Foxconn, whose operating margins have shrunk to about 2 p.c. Apple’s is 24 per cent.
Continue to, Magna’s shares glimpse significantly less dauntingly overvalued than numerous businesses with a person foot in the electric powered-vehicle upcoming. Even soon after its blistering the latest run, the stock is priced at fewer than 12 moments forward earnings. The Canadian company has its attractions even devoid of a Tim Cook order.