Autos

Li Auto’s blockbuster drive deserves a sequel

27 Feb 2024

The $38 bln Chinese carmaker is celebrating its first year of profitability as its focus on hybrid models pays off. Now 2024 promises a twist in the tale as Li starts selling pure electric vehicles. The company is sacrificing a unique selling point, but it's a calculated risk.

Rivian swerves dangerously into crowded slow lane

22 Feb 2024

The electric-truck maker’s market value fell by a quarter to $11 bln after warning that production would flatline at about 57,000 vehicles. It joins rivals rapidly rewriting growth-to-profitability manuals copied from Tesla. Grinding down costs instead will be a far tougher road.

Capital Calls: Oil M&A

22 Feb 2024

Concise views on global finance: The $11 billion Williston Basin combination of Chord Energy and Enerplus lacks the wow factor of Exxon’s and Chevron’s mega-mergers, but there are sufficient savings to suggest more deals will be on the way.

Capital Calls: Volkswagen in Xinjiang

15 Feb 2024

Concise views on global finance: The German carmaker is discussing its future in the troubled Chinese province with state-owned partner SAIC. A slowdown in the domestic auto market and the rise of exports could make the pair’s potential retreat from Xinjiang easier to bear.

Hyundai’s India IPO will crush Korean discount

9 Feb 2024

A Mumbai listing of its local unit at a $30 bln valuation would secure an earnings multiple many times its parent. Proceeds will fuel blistering growth and enable Hyundai to cut more deals. It rarely makes sense to float subsidiaries but this plan looks more than roadworthy.

Toyota hitches a ride with the zeitgeist

7 Feb 2024

The car company’s bet on a slower transition is playing well. Shares hit a record high as third-quarter earnings grew 86% and sales of hybrids rose nearly 50%. Even a slowdown in China didn’t dampen the mood as expectations for the world’s largest auto market are fast fading.

A pinch of salt could unsettle electric-car order

7 Feb 2024

Carmakers Stellantis and BYD are betting on sodium-based batteries. The cells’ bulk and need for more frequent charging mean they may struggle to drive lithium tech off the road. But affordability and the prospect of loosening China’s grip on the industry will spur adoption.

Ford gives cause to not chase Tesla

6 Feb 2024

The Detroit-based automaker beat expectations and announced a new dividend but keeps sounding a cautious note on expanding electric losses. Offering investors a look under the hood helps to justify trimming its ambitions.

India needs less Tesla, more Toyota

6 Feb 2024

Hybrids - like those made by the Japanese marque - are taxed as luxuries, at a far higher rate than pure electric vehicles. As global EV sales growth falters and companies around the world slam the brakes on investments, India has fresh reason to level the playing field.

Red Sea delays are no panacea for European EVs

5 Feb 2024

Suez Canal blockages mean Chinese electric vehicles take longer to get to Europe. But these don’t look bad enough to close the price gap with EU rivals. The most likely upshot is a slower rate of domestic EV adoption, rather than a change in the competitive pecking order.

Elon Musk charts largely painless Delaware exodus

2 Feb 2024

Tesla’s boss is angling to reincorporate in Texas after the First State’s corporate judiciary undid his $56 bln pay package. Such a move would invite yet another lawsuit, but have little effect on investors. It also might give other cultish CEOs ideas on the value of governance.

Italy is fighting a rearguard battle on Stellantis

2 Feb 2024

Rome may invest in the $73 bln carmaker. Matching France’s 6% stake would cost 4 bln euros, hurting the government’s privatisation effort, and may spook Italian business. Saving jobs at the former Fiat is a natural concern, but Italy is no longer the group’s centre of gravity.

Capital Calls: Ferrari closes gap with Hermes

1 Feb 2024

Concise views on global finance: The Italian carmaker’s valuation looks more like its luxury rival Hermes after its record results.

Elon Musk is his own worst enemy: part 420

31 Jan 2024

A Delaware court nixed the Tesla CEO’s $56 bln pay package, finding rampant dysfunction behind it. The sum may have been justifiable, but the carnival barking that underpins the company’s valuation complicates matters. If investors keep enabling Musk, bad governance will persist.

Battery minerals pressure causes cracks Down Under

31 Jan 2024

Miner IGO is freezing a nickel project key to a near-$1 bln acquisition just 18 months ago. It’s also having trouble selling lithium. Falling commodity prices and slowing EV growth are proving problematic for many, including BHP. But bad dealmaking has compounded IGO’s pain.

GM’s good news is that it’s still GM

30 Jan 2024

The automaker forecast resilient profit for 2024, easing fears that striking workers had struck a hard enough bargain to drag the bottom line. Slipping pricing power and EV risks cast clouds, but a steady gas-guzzler business now seems enviable.

Renault’s green IPO hitch is blessing in disguise

30 Jan 2024

The $11 bln French carmaker decided not to list electric-vehicle division Ampere, citing market headwinds. CEO de Meo had hoped to value it at up to 10 bln euros, but a public float never looked like a must-have. The move will allow him to focus on the unit’s ambitious targets.

Huawei revs up a new way to feed the beast

30 Jan 2024

China’s tech champion may sell half of its autos unit at a $35 bln valuation. It’d raise funds for more research into chips, AI, 6G and more. That’d be welcome after geopolitical tensions and US sanctions sapped sales. But its excursion into EVs could hit some potholes.

Tesla’s secret weapon: US automakers’ flaws

24 Jan 2024

The $650 bln electric-car maker’s fourth quarter continues to show the strain of stalling growth and falling prices as Chinese rivals rise. A long-sought cheap model is a ways off, but boss Elon Musk has one big fillip: old-guard rivals are still behind in his home market.

It will take more than Draghi to boost EU growth

22 Jan 2024

Europe can’t decide if it will be more competitive with open markets or heavily protected national champions, and it wants Mario Draghi to pick. Italy’s former PM is more likely to reflect than resolve tensions among members. But the bloc can’t up its game behind closed doors.