Electric Vehicles

CATL earnings slip masks charged-up ambitions

18 Mar 2024

The world's largest battery maker suffered its first quarterly net income drop in two years as EV demand stuttered. US-China tensions are a problem, too. Yet its core business is solid. And boss Robin Zeng looks set to use CATL's heft to take advantage of smaller rivals' pain.

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.

Apple picks a better road to AI dominance

28 Feb 2024

The $2.8 trln tech giant has ditched a decade-long quest to build a car. Though huge, the auto market is cutthroat. Besides, making cars would have mostly been a new way to capture customers’ data and brainspace. The iPhone maker has more effective ways to achieve that goal.

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.

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: 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.

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.

Korea’s battery giants engineer volatile US gains

2 Feb 2024

LGES and Samsung SDI have announced more than $18 bln of investments to build factories Stateside. Thanks to generous tax credits from Washington, those bets could pay off. But slowing EV growth and policy risk – amplified by US elections this year – will be an unstable mix.

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.