Electric Vehicles

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.

Autos take driver’s seat in China’s new economy

19 Sep 2024

Beijing wants carmakers to reserve overseas factories for final assembly of vehicles. It will slow tech transfers like those that helped the People's Republic get ahead in the industry. Slowing GDP growth is making China protective of companies as they expand overseas.

China wins only token victory in EU car wars

13 Sep 2024

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez wants Europe to drop duties on Chinese EVs, suggesting the Middle Kingdom’s plan to turn member states is working. But blocking the levy will be legally tricky, and Brussels’ credibility is at stake. Beijing faces a long road to upend the union’s plans.

Norwegian dreams fuel China’s electric-car bulls

10 Sep 2024

Nio boss William Li says the country could soon resemble Norway, where pure battery-powered models accounted for 94% of sales last month. Though the People’s Republic does share some similarities, a price war and a fad for hybrids mean not all roads lead to Oslo.

China’s global battery ram will be hard to stop

6 Sep 2024

The US and EU have erected tariffs to limit imports of electric vehicles. The People’s Republic has an even bigger lead in batteries. New tech gives rivals a chance to muscle in, but Chinese cellmakers’ head start means resisting giants like $115 bln CATL will come at a cost.

VW row flags Germany’s creaking corporate model

5 Sep 2024

The $55 bln carmaker is battling unions as it tries to deepen a $11 bln cost-cutting programme. A complex shareholder base makes agreement harder. Such feuds are becoming more common as German consensus-driven governance faces a weak economy, trade wars and climate change.

India convincingly overcomes its IPO demons

14 Aug 2024

Cautious pricing is paying off. E-bike maker Ola surged on its debut and e-commerce platform Brainbees jumped 46%. The success by the unprofitable SoftBank-backed firms clears the way for big deals that will help the country retain Asia's IPO crown as other venues falter.