No 3 and no 9 The proposed deal between Stellantis and Leapmotor has received a green light from China’s National Development and Reform Commission ahead of regulatory approval in other markets. In October, Stellantis said it will invest $1.6 billion to acquire roughly 20% of the Chinese electric vehicle start-up, forming a joint venture to…
Extrem dumm Tesla halted production at its German manufacturing plant after a suspected arson attack by opponents of a major expansion of the facility, located about one hour’s drive southeast of Berlin. Local police said a far left activist group known as Vulkangruppe set fire to a high voltage pylon about 3–6 miles from the…
It’s complicated A week after BYD docked its first vehicle carrier in Europe and unleashed a price war at home, the world’s number one electric car manufacturer by volume stated publicly that it’s not out to conquer the US market. Stella Li, executive vice president of BYD and CEO of BYD Americas, told Yahoo Finance…
16 makes with double digit deployment Calendar 2023 was a record-breaking year for the global electric vehicle industry. In 2023, 689.2 GWh was added to the electric car parc, an expansion of just under 200 GWh or 40% compared to 2022. Some 37% of all power-hours deployed over the past decade were rolled onto…
Melting ICE BYD this week unleashed a price war in its home market with the launch of updated Qin Plus DM-I and Destroyer 05 plug-in hybrid sedans. The new prices? At 79,800 yuan or just over $11,000, the updated models are priced 20% lower than previous versions of the popular cars and, according to…
Prices as listed There’s been a steady flow of stories in mainstream and business press over the last couple of months about a reversal in fortunes for the electric car industry in the US and elsewhere. Decisions by Volkswagen, Ford and others to roll back spending on new battery plants, curb production of…
10k BEVs a month After criticism from institutional shareholders about its electrification progress, Toyota in June last year announced a complete overhaul of its EV strategy, including plans for solid state lithium-ion batteries, which it says will help it leapfrog competitors. On Tuesday, Toyota predicted operating profits of $33 billion for its fiscal year ending…
Powering ahead of contemporaries Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL) said this week preliminary net income for 2023 could come in as high as $6.3 billion – a whopping 48% year-on-year increase and above many analysts’ already rosy expectations. CATL is listed on the Shenzen Stock Exchange where it has a $94 billion market value, and…
Breakeven in 2025 Renault said Monday it will not pursue an initial public offering of its European electric car subsidiary dubbed Ampere. Ampere’s IPO was expected in the spring of 2024, but the French carmaker said current market conditions are not ideal and would not serve the best interests of the group, its shareholders or…
Specter of declining ICE sales BMW Group’s Chief Financial Officer, Walter Mertl, is less than a year into his new job, but is already making huge pronouncements about the future of the German luxury and sports carmaker. This week Mertl told reporters that 2023 was a tipping point for internal combustion engines at BMW…
