Electric Vehicles

Self-driving is pricey route to car parts future

23 Jul 2021

Magna International is paying $3.8 bln for Sweden’s Veoneer, which makes systems that help cars steer themselves. It reduces the $25 bln Canadian group’s exposure to combustion engines. But CEO Swamy Kotagiri will have to put his foot down to keep financial returns on the road.

Capital Calls: Volvo, Moderna, Mediobanca

21 Jul 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Swedish automaker boosts its appeal ahead of a possible IPO by buying out its Chinese joint venture partner; joining the S&P 500 will cut both ways for the vaccine maker; another Italian tycoon ups his stake in the Italian investment bank.

Car-battery SPAC deal is joyride at electric price

13 Jul 2021

U.S. auto charge maker SES Holdings is going public via a merger with Robert Friedland’s blank-cheque vehicle at a $3.3 bln valuation. That’s chunky given a controlling founder and zero near-term sales. Investors must hope big backers like General Motors help swerve potholes.

Combustion shift helps electrify Volvo IPO

8 Jul 2021

The Swedish carmaker is steering its petrol engine unit into a joint venture with parent Geely before a stock market listing. Focusing on future electric car sales helps drive Chairman Li Shufu closer to a racy valuation. Still, ongoing gas guzzler sales dent green bona fides.

Capital Calls: It sure feels good to be a banker

1 Jul 2021

Concise views on global finance: Global deals in the first half of the year broke all records.

Capital Calls: Microsoft, U.S. bank footprint

25 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The $2 trillion software giant’s avoidance of antitrust scrutiny may be coming to an end; a new study challenges the received wisdom that American banks do better in faster-growing states.

Volkswagen’s Tesla race hits wrong gear in China

23 Jun 2021

Boss Herbert Diess wants the country to account for much of the $156 bln German automaker’s electric-car sales by 2025. But VW is falling way short of this year’s target, despite an overall market-leading position. That bodes ill for hopes of challenging Elon Musk’s dominance.

Battery deficit risks UK driving electric jalopy

22 Jun 2021

Britain needs more so-called gigafactories to supply power for green cars, ahead of import caps and a ban from 2030 on gas guzzlers. Current expansion plans may electrify just 20% of local output from BMW, Nissan and others. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces an uphill drive.

SPAC boom gets “come to Jesus” moment in Lordstown

14 Jun 2021

The electric-pickup-truck maker admitted some pre-orders were nebulous, saw its CEO and CFO step down and warned it may not remain a going concern. This implosion, less than a year after going public, makes it easy for critics and regulators to latch onto specific SPAC problems.

Tesla disrupted by traditional mechanics

4 Jun 2021

May orders nearly halved in China, The Information reports, after safety concerns. This week’s triple recall in the United States makes a deeper dent in its reputation. Car upstarts have quality crises like everyone else, but they do more damage on the bleeding technology edge.

Lambo bid tests Volkswagen’s electric bona fides

27 May 2021

CEO Herbert Diess wags on and on about Europe’s biggest carmaker challenging Tesla for the green automotive crown. Selling the sports car favoured by the crypto-sheikh set, which has attracted a bid worth $9 bln, would allow him to put his money where his gaffe-prone mouth is.

Bitcoin U-turn recharges Tesla governance concerns

13 May 2021

Elon Musk has stopped taking the cryptocurrency for car payments after just three months on climate concerns. But bitcoin mining is a well-known intense user of dirty energy. The flipflop suggests Tesla’s oversight of its founder remains as lax as in the bad old days.

Cobalt angst will turn carmakers into mine owners

10 May 2021

The chip shortage has taught auto groups harsh lessons in supply chain security. Cobalt’s importance to batteries is an existential risk for firms like Tesla and VW. Equity stakes in mines, rather than supply deals, would ease delivery headaches and hedge against price spikes.

Winner-takes-most electric car bet risks collision

7 May 2021

Tesla and Volkswagen shares have leapt as they steal a lead in the booming market for battery vehicles. Yet meeting supercharged expectations implies they will need to hold a market share of nearly 40% by 2025. Rivals’ zero-emission goals will make such dominance unlikely.

Capital Calls: Hella/Hueck, Evolution Gaming, 3M

27 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: A big block trade is good news for investors of German car parts maker Hella if it presages industry consolidation; Swedish gaming group enjoys a double whammy from locked-down punters and states jonesing for casino cash; 3M could use a pruning.

Tesla finally justifies its year-ago valuation

27 Apr 2021

Elon Musk’s carmaker posted record quarterly earnings despite selling few high-margin models. It’s boosting production and investment, growing revenue faster than costs, and has pots of cash. That supports last April’s $140 bln of market worth, not the near fivefold jump since.

India Insight: Electric cars charge up tycoons

12 Apr 2021

A drive on Mumbai’s pot-holed roads in Tata’s slick Nexon EV brings to life an opportunity that disruptors Tesla, Reliance and Uber rival Ola are all chasing. Incumbents are playing down the potential, but India is set for the fast lane of the battery-powered vehicle revolution.

Viewsroom: Asia’s E-car mania, U.S. infrastructure

8 Apr 2021

Huawei makes telecoms, Haier dishwashers, Xiaomi phones, Evergrande condos. Now, these Chinese companies all want to make battery-powered vehicles too. And while on the subject of building, U.S. President Joe Biden is going big. Maybe too big for the bean counters in the Senate.

Who wants to be an electric-car billionaire?

8 Apr 2021

In China, who doesn’t may be the better question. Dishwasher maker Haier, property developer Evergrande and smartphone maker Xiaomi are piling into the over-invested sector. They may disrupt the industry; they will certainly accelerate the coming bloodbath.

Xiaomi becomes ultimate electric-car test driver

31 Mar 2021

The smartphone maker is spending $10 bln to expand into smart vehicles. There are no shortcuts to success. But it has ample resources, manufacturing experience and a formidable founder, Lei Jun. If Xiaomi falters, it could prompt other tech industry EV wannabes to steer clear.