Autos

Geely’s $5 bln carve-out slows down to speed

13 May 2024

The automaker's electric-vehicle unit Zeekr rose 35% after pricing its IPO at less than half its 2023 valuation. That suggests group Chair Li Shufu has learned from his overpriced deals to take Lotus and Polestar public and found a way to coax investors wary of China risk.

EU’s China car tariffs face a very high bar

6 May 2024

Brussels would need levies as high as 50% on Chinese imports to slow sales by BYD and rivals, double recent precedents. It'd prompt a sharp response. President Xi Jinping can use his visit this week to remind Europe’s carmakers how much they stand to lose in such a scenario.

Musk’s China jaunt keeps underwhelming status quo

30 Apr 2024

Hope that Tesla can push self-driving in the country added $82 bln to its value. China’s cheap manufacturing, ample battery supply, and potential direct sales requires the EV-maker’s boss to maintain copacetic relations. But even the best outcome cannot justify excitement.

China auto show puts smart at centre of car wars

30 Apr 2024

BYD, Geely and peers touted everything from self-driving software to massage chairs at lower prices than in the past. They are extending a lead over global rivals, with help from tech juggernauts such as Huawei. But global carmakers including Tesla can follow that roadmap, too.

Detroit’s revenue engines finally start to fire

25 Apr 2024

Ford and GM haven’t grown US electric sales since 2022, despite investing billions of dollars. But under the hood, GM’s new models are gaining momentum, and Ford is focusing on its cash-generating trucks and vans. It helps that they are accelerating in different directions.

Beijing powers up into car wars battleground

24 Apr 2024

The city’s auto show returns, with some 700 exhibitors, for the first time since the pandemic. Foreign brands from Volkswagen to Toyota have to show how they can defend themselves as China’s BYD and new threats like Xiaomi chase market share at home and abroad.

Tesla thumbs a ride on uncertain low-cost future

23 Apr 2024

Elon Musk’s automaker is accelerating a plan to make cheaper electric car models. Yet its recent performance disappointed, and rivals like GM are resurgent. Tesla wants investors to believe the future will be better than the present, and as good as the past. It’s a stretch.

Germany engineers sharper China-EU autos debate

17 Apr 2024

Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed Janet Yellen in using his visit to the People's Republic to warn against industrial overcapacity. But he also has reservations about Brussels’ potential EV protectionism. That suggests the bloc may yet take a more nuanced look at BYD and peers.

Airbus obsessives have a shaky grasp of history

9 Apr 2024

The $140 bln pan-European group is flying high as rival Boeing stutters. Now carmakers and others are wondering if similar collaboration could help them face down overseas competitors. But Airbus’s idiosyncrasies and convoluted road to success make copycat plans pie-in-the-sky.

India’s tech engine is primed for an AI boost

9 Apr 2024

Companies like BMW are deepening ties to the country’s IT services sector, which boasts low costs and a steady supply of engineers. As global businesses adopt artificial intelligence, Tata and peers look well placed to capture a larger share of the $4 trln tech services trade.

Elon Musk bets big on Tesla, not cars

5 Apr 2024

A move to ditch its cheap car, which Reuters reported, to focus on self-driving dashes shorter-term growth hopes at the $525 bln automaker. But boss Musk has scale with data which can help AI. With a tenuous EV crown, reinventing transportation is very Tesla and very risky.

Capital Calls: Green vehicles

3 Apr 2024

Concise views on global finance: French shipping and logistics heavyweight CMA CGM has acquired a 10% stake in Flexis, a joint venture set up by Volvo and Renault to develop electric vans in Europe.

Tesla exacerbates valuation range anxiety

2 Apr 2024

The Model 3 maker overtook China’s BYD again, but deliveries tumbled for the first time since 2020 despite being flattered by a temporary lack of cheaper options and US rivals selling dead tech. A sluggish EV market and boss Elon Musk’s bombast justify an even bigger discount.

BYD is unscathed in China’s electric-car wars

27 Mar 2024

The world’s largest EV maker founded and led by Wang Chuanfu is winning market share and accelerating its profit margins. That suggests the $86 bln company can keep cutting prices and investing overseas despite reporting its slowest quarterly profit growth in two years.

China’s automakers try turning Japanese

20 Mar 2024

Efforts to block Chinese auto exports are inspiring BYD and rivals to set up factories overseas. Their journey is reminiscent of Toyota and Nissan’s drive into the US and Europe. But Washington and Beijing’s fraught ties and new tech portend a different ending to this road trip.

Cars are moving into the fast lane for Tata

15 Mar 2024

Autos were once group Chair Natarajan Chandrasekaran’s top headache. Now he’s splitting $43 bln Tata Motors into commercial and passenger vehicles. That's doable because luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover no longer burns cash. The rejig paves the way for more dealmaking too.

China’s Xiaomi embarks on Apple’s road not taken

13 Mar 2024

The $48 bln handset-maker said it will deliver its first electric car just weeks after the iPhone-maker scrapped its decade-long effort. CEO Lei Jun faces overcapacity and slowing growth at home. Still, deep pockets and a software edge will help Xiaomi navigate brutal price wars.

Nickel rout is energy-transition warning for West

8 Mar 2024

Prices of the battery metal have halved in a year, leaving many mines unprofitable or mothballed. Indonesia’s China-backed industry now dominates. Piecemeal aid and a green premium push are unlikely to alter that. Absent smart planning, copper and lithium are vulnerable, too.

China’s new tastes will spit out more than Apple

6 Mar 2024

The iPhone maker is losing share in the People’s Republic to domestic champion Huawei. American companies in the giant market face both weakening demand and a move to homegrown brands. Chinese consumers’ shifting attitudes suggest the woes will worsen.

Geely’s $7 bln Lotus deal breaks speed limit

28 Feb 2024

The Chinese automaker has listed the storied brand in the US via a SPAC at a racy valuation. That's hard to justify with electric-car sales growth slowing. A plan to take advantage of lower-cost manufacturing in Wuhan has also aged poorly as concerns mount over Chinese exports.