Electric Vehicles

How the world could unplug from China’s batteries

10 Dec 2024

International cell makers are struggling to compete with Chinese giants like CATL. But innovations like solid-state batteries could upend the industry in the not-too-distant future. In this week’s episode of The Big View podcast, QuantumScape CEO Siva Sivaram explains how.

Global carmakers redefine success in China

6 Dec 2024

GM is shrinking to mediocrity with a rejig and roughly $3 bln writedown on the value of its Chinese joint ventures. International brands once chased chunky sales in the People’s Republic, now they aim for profitability on a smaller scale - and to learn from local peers.

New Stellantis CEO’s first job is a US reset

2 Dec 2024

Carlos Tavares’ abrupt exit comes after the $34 bln carmaker hiked prices and lost market share. The ideal new CEO – able to steer a course around Trump, EU emissions rules and new tech – may not exist. Stellantis could settle for a US expert who can get car dealers back on side.

Nissan and Honda would drive better together

28 Nov 2024

An emergency overhaul won’t lift profitability much at Renault’s $9 bln alliance partner. And $40 bln Honda’s autos unit is subpar. Merging Japan’s second- and third-largest carmakers would give scope to cut costs, boost earnings and invest more efficiently in EVs and other tech.

Nvidia’s next move is to hit the road

22 Nov 2024

The $3.5 trln chipmaker gleans only 1% of sales from carmakers. Yet the unit grew 72% in the third quarter, a similar pace to rival Qualcomm. Stuffing silicon into cars could be a $140 bln market by 2028 and a crucial diversifier from relying on a few colossal data center buyers.

India takes EV goal on lengthy hybrid detour

20 Nov 2024

The Modi administration wants electric cars to be 30% of new sales by 2030. But it’s subsidising vehicles that run on both gasoline and battery, and isn’t building charging infrastructure fast enough. At this rate, the government may only get a quarter of the way to its target.

COP29 will highlight bifurcated energy transitions

12 Nov 2024

Donald Trump’s election victory casts a pall over the UN climate confab in Baku. It will also make raising $1 trln a year from rich states to decarbonise the developing world even harder. But his return will also hasten a shift East and South in the fight against global warming.

China-EU trade Plan B looks too fiddly

6 Nov 2024

The People's Republic is pushing for alternatives to the bloc's tariffs on imported Chinese electric cars. One idea is minimum pricing. But that mechanism is hard to implement and could also undermine the attraction of local manufacturing. That limits the room to manoeuvre.

BYD’s outpacing of Tesla has only just begun

31 Oct 2024

The electric-car maker still lags Elon Musk's marque on profitability. But his Chinese rival's record $28 bln revenue last quarter handily bested Tesla's. With heftier R&D spending, new factories and models coming, BYD's sales will be hard to catch up with.

Ford’s ride-the-brakes strategy is hard to steer

29 Oct 2024

The Detroit carmaker has trimmed electric vehicle plans that nonetheless lost $1.2 bln last quarter. Meanwhile, the airbag of gas-guzzler profit is deflating on quality and supply issues. Boss Jim Farley says it’s safer to forestall the future. He’s struggling to prove it.

Lean Renault offers hard lessons for ailing peers

24 Oct 2024

The $13 bln French group's sales beat expectations at a time when most European carmakers are cutting their guidance. Renault benefits from its limited China exposure, focus on cheap cars and past restructuring. That’s little solace for bigger rivals Volkswagen or Stellantis.

Tesla gives its faithful just enough good news

23 Oct 2024

Shares in Elon Musk’s $700 bln carmaker surged as operating profit rose 54%. That owes more to cost cuts than growth, but along with heady sales predictions, it overshadowed a disappointing robotaxi reveal. The rub is whether that’s enough to justify investors getting charged up.

China’s smart cars will drive fast, but not far

18 Oct 2024

A Hong Kong IPO that could value Horizon Robotics at $7 bln rides the rise of assisted and autonomous driving in the world’s largest auto market. But the asking price is rich, and drivers elsewhere are slower to adopt the tech, while security concerns also hinder overseas growth.

Tesla chooses a harder set of unanswered questions

11 Oct 2024

Boss Elon Musk revealed the self-driving Cybercab, reinforcing a turn from car-industry supremacy towards AI. As growth stalls, it offers a new excuse for Tesla’s $700 bln valuation, yet raises fresh technological and operational concerns. On those counts, the event was a dud.

China’s EU reply cuts odds of damaging tit-for-tat

8 Oct 2024

Days after Brussels voted for electric-vehicle tariffs, Beijing penalised European brandy. Pork, dairy and pricey cars may be next. Yet the moves are well-flagged. And more damaging retorts, like hitting luxury or $9 bln of aircraft-linked imports, seem unlikely for now.

EV tariffs are only the first step in EU-China war

4 Oct 2024

Despite internal squabbles, member states voted for levies on imported Chinese battery cars. That may help onshore production, but doesn’t tackle China’s clout in hybrid vehicles and batteries. New trade battles are likely: autos and their supply chains are in the firing line.

Hybrids snag precarious pole position at BYD

3 Oct 2024

The $122 bln automaker is on track to sell more models powered by both a battery and gasoline than pure electric vehicles this year. Accelerating exports help drive sales of hybrids. But competition, climate goals and protectionism all complicate an overseas push.

Autos’ car crash ups the likelihood of EU airbags

30 Sep 2024

Stellantis and Volkswagen delivered big profit warnings, amid falling demand for cars. Their woes may encourage policymakers to vote through tariffs on Chinese rivals and go easy on EU carbon fines. But falling output and strained consumers mean carmakers need self-help too.

China-EU trade spat’s next swipe may hit LVMH

23 Sep 2024

Beijing is weighing up retaliating against EU tariffs on electric cars. Targeting the French luxury giant and its rivals would cause minimal strategic pain and hit Paris rather than Berlin. Higher consumption taxes, rather than import duties, could also fit with domestic reforms.

Europe’s CO2 fines undermine carmakers’ progress

19 Sep 2024

An auto lobby group called on governments to ease 2025 carbon penalties. Modest relief would help. With EU electric-vehicle sales down 8% year-on-year, Europe’s plan to end combustion engines looks dicey. That’s more down to government inaction than big-spending carmakers.