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☆ Buffett-backed BYD and more: Analysts name top 'climate stocks,' giving one 100% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Energy storage and the future of transport are two of the "most attractive" climate themes to invest in right now, according to HSBC analysts. "While long-term valuations are still below average, consensus expect earnings to grow c40% higher than global climate stocks over the next 12M," said the bank's analysts in a Feb. 20 note. Stocks with the most upside HSBC named buy-rated stocks under both of these themes which have among the highest upside to the bank's price targets. In energy storage, electric vehicle battery maker CATL (55% upside), lithium producer SQM (40% upside) and lithium producer Livent (38% upside) made the list. "The global energy storage market continues to grow, despite higher energy storage costs in 2022.

☆ Bumper merger savings help Stellantis profit top forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Giulio Piovaccari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It will also pay a dividend of 4.2 billion euros on 2022 results, or 1.34 euros per share. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at 10.95 billion euros for July-December, topping analysts' consensus estimate in a Reuters poll of 9.63 billion euros. It reiterated the same margin target for 2023, as well as one for positive cash flows. Increased industrial costs had an overall impact on the group's results last year of over 9 billion euros. "Challenges continue in securing capacity for (vehicle) outbound transportation: initially it was from plants to compounds and from compounds to dealers.

☆ Jeep, Dodge maker Stellantis posts record annual profit, announces $4.47 billion shareholder payout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An engine undergoes assembly at the Stellantis Dundee Engine Complex on August 18, 2022 in Dundee, Michigan. Carmaker Stellantis on Wednesday announced record full-year results, reporting a 26% rise in net profit to 16.8 billion euros ($17.9 billion) and a 41% annual jump in global battery and electric vehicle sales. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the results also demonstrated the effectiveness of the company's electrification strategy in Europe, with 288,000 battery and electric vehicle (BEV) sales in 2022 and 23 BEVs now on the market. This figure is expected to double to 47 models by the end of 2024, and Stellantis is targeting global BEV sales of 5 million by 2030. "We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials, and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024," Tavares said.

☆ These are the best car brands of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Consumer Reports released a list of top car brands Thursday. Consumer Reports released its list of the top car brands for 2023 on Thursday. Taking the bottom five spots are Mitsubishi, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Jeep, and Land Rover, with Land Rover at the very bottom. Consumer Reports ranked brands first by determining a road-test score using braking, handling, comfort, convenience, and fuel economy evaluations. The other domestic brands fell in the bottom-third of the rankings.

☆ Why you won't see many car ads during Sunday's Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The average cost of a 30-second commercial during last year's Super Bowl was $6.5 million, up more than $2 million over 2016 rates. Automakers — historically among the largest Super Bowl advertisers — are mostly bypassing this Sunday's NFL championship game to preserve cash or spend ad dollars elsewhere. And EV startup Polestar, whose ad was a success in the 2022 Super Bowl, said it will also not advertise this year. Ferrell also appeared in GM's Super Bowl ad promoting EVs two years ago. Stellantis has not released its ads, while GM, Kia and WeatherTech released their commercials earlier this week.

☆ Mexico in talks with top carmakers to make electric vehicles, foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Stefanie Eschenbacher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MEXICO CITY, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Mexico is gearing up to build several manufacturing hubs for electric vehicles across the country, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told Reuters, and is in talks with some of the world's top carmakers. Ebrard said in an interview late on Thursday that Mexico was keen to capitalize on the global shift to electric vehicles. "What they are more concerned about is having a guaranteed supply of clean energy, having water, having the personnel they need, facilitate electric power transmission lines," he said. Harald Gottsche, head of the BMW plant in the state of San Luis Potosi, which will produce fully electric cars, said Mexico also needs to push the consumer shift to electric vehicles. In addition to electric vehicles, Ebrard said he was also keen to attract more semiconductor and battery businesses - and build out transport infrastructure in the port of Coatzacoalcos, in the Gulf of Mexico.

☆ Car buyers frustrated with inventory shortages should head to a Ford or GM dealer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In January, dealers were sitting on 37 days' supply, with about 21 days for cars and 41 days for trucks, according to a Deutsche Bank note Thursday. The domestic automakers had higher days' supply than others, with Ford at 60 days, GM at 52 days, and Stellantis (the merger of Fiat Chrysler and the French PSA Group) at 68 days, per Deutsche Bank. Even with inventory improvements, car-buyers need to look out for high interest rates and loan payments. Kekyalyaynen / Shutterstock.comBeware high interest rates and loan paymentsJust because there are available vehicles, that doesn't mean demand for cars is waning. Some automakers' loan payments are much higher than others, pricing buyers out of the market.

☆ Stellantis, Vulcan Energy to develop renewable energy assets in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Automaker Stellantis (STLA.MI) has teamed up with lithium group Vulcan Energy Resources (VUL.AX) to develop geothermal energy projects in Germany to help decarbonise production of electric vehicles at Rüsselsheim, the two companies said on Tuesday. Stellantis' Rüsselsheim facility is where the world's third largest carmaker by sales produces its DS 4 and Opel Astra models. War in Ukraine has tightened Europe's energy supply, causing uncertainty for manufacturers already suffering from strained supply chains for raw materials and components such as semiconductors. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the partnership with Vulcan reinforced the group's commitment to greater use of cleanenergy. The carmaker, formed two years ago through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, already has a deal with Vulcan for lithium supply from the miner's project in the Upper Rhine Valley in Germany.

☆ The pandemic may have ended the auto industry's age-old battle for market share
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Automakers have spent decades battling each other for market share. Before COVID, automakers often treated market share as the key to their success. "Market share for market share's sake comes at a cost," Kristin Dziczek, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago policy advisor, said at the firm's annual auto insights symposium in Detroit. Dropping market share doesn't concern GM and FordHowever, the long-standing industry-leaders don't seem worried about growing market share for the likes of Hyundai and Tesla (at 10.6% and 3.8%, respectively, in 2022, per Kelley Blue Book) — and it might mean that the battle for market share is over. "There's going to be more of a focus on more of those high-profit-type vehicles," Stoddard said.

☆ The most and least reliable cars you can buy in 2023, according to Consumer Reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

The nonprofit outlet asked its members about 17 trouble spots — from fading paint to faulty transmissions — and ranked the five most and least reliable new cars. Jeep Wranglers are displayed at a Manhattan Fiat Chrysler dealership on July 23, 2018 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesRead more: Tesla, Mercedes, and Jeep cars give owners the most problems, Consumer Reports says. These are the most and least reliable brands.

☆ U.S. agency plans to propose new fuel economy standards in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) plans to propose new fuel economy standards for the 2027 model year and beyond in April which could dramatically reshape new cars on America's roads. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said it plans to introduce companion stringent vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards from 2027 through at least the 2030 model year by March. In March 2020, Trump's Republican administration rolled back then-President Barack Obama's standards to only 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026. In March, NHTSA reinstated a sharp increase in penalties for automakers whose vehicles do not meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements for model years 2019 and beyond. The company then known as Fiat Chrysler paid $152.3 million in total CAFE fines for 2016 and 2017 model years.

☆ Carmaker Stellantis seals batteries material deal with Element 25
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Carmaker Stellantis (STLA.MI) has signed a deal with Australian miner Element 25 (E25.AX) for the supply of manganese sulphite for batteries for its electric vehicles (EVs), the two companies said on Monday. Based on the five-year binding agreement announced on Monday, Element 25 will supply Stellantis with high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate to be used in battery packs. Element 25 will source the material from its Butcherbird project in Western Australia and plans to construct a processing facility in the United States. Stellantis, meanwhile, will make an equity investment in Element 25, the two companies added in a statement. "Our commitment to a carbon net-zero future includes creation of a smart supply chain to ensure we meet our customers' desire for EVs," Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said.

☆ The Equity Talk: Volkswagen North America's CEO plans to roll out dozens of electric vehicle models and boost diversity at the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Volkswagen North America CEO Pablo Di Si wants the company to become the top EV seller in the US. Di Si also plans to raise the number of women in leadership roles at Volkswagen North America from around 16% to more than 20% by 2025. For Di Si, diversity and inclusion are personal. He immigrated to the US from Argentina when he was a teen, and he's also the first Hispanic chief of Volkswagen North America. The Volkswagen North America CEO told Insider he wants to increase the number of women in leadership positions as well as those working in factories.

☆ Car buying is never going back to normal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Supply-chain snarls revealed buyers are willing to wait for the car they want. Changing dynamics mean we're not going backThat doesn't mean everything's going back to normal. Execs at Ford and Stellantis (the Detroit-based parent company of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group) have expressed similar views in the past few months. Even if they could revert to pre-pandemic inventory and wipe away supply chain issues, car-buyers have adapted to pandemic-induced trends. "The customer orders a vehicle, and then we ship the vehicle to the customer," Farley said in a Q2 earnings call.

☆ Stellantis to build U.S. firm Archer's air taxi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Gilles Guillaume | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Car maker Stellantis (STLA.MI) will help build Archer Aviation's (ACHR.N) electric aircraft Midnight eVTOL and increase its stake in the U.S. company, the two firms said on Wednesday. Industrial firms and new startups are flocking to invest in air taxis, which can take off and land vertically to ferry travellers to airports or on short trips between cities, allowing them to beat traffic. It is designed for back-to-back short distance trips of around 20 miles, with a charging time of approximately 10 minutes in-between. "The goal is for Stellantis to mass produce Archer’s eVTOL aircraft as its exclusive contract manufacturer," the companies said in a joint statement. Stellantis will also increase its existing stake in Archer through stock purchases in the open market.

☆ Stellantis beefs up commitment to electric flying vehicle company Archer Aviation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Chrysler maker is doubling down on its commitment to help Archer Aviation produce its first batch of electric flying vehicles by 2025, announced Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and Archer CEO Adam Goldstein in an interview on CNBC's Tech Check. Fiat Chrysler, Stellantis' predecessor, initially partnered with Archer in 2021 to get the startup's flying vehicles off the ground, providing access to a streamlined supply chain, engineering and material resources. Wednesday's announcement deepens Stellantis' investment in the potentially trillion dollar electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, market. Archer expects that its electric flying cars will be available for commercial use by 2025, granted it receives proper certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. Stellantis, which was created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe, has already spent billions developing electric vehicles through brands like Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler.

☆ Jeep Maker Stellantis Downshifts Ambitions in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Ryan Felton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When he took over Jeep maker Stellantis NV nearly two years ago, Chief Executive Carlos Tavares made it among his top priorities to jump-start the auto maker’s China business. Now, he is scaling back those ambitions. Stellantis, which was formed through the merger of France’s PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in January 2021, had given priority to efforts to boost its relatively meager sales in China. Mr. Tavares said shortly after the merger that Stellantis would remain in the country long term and would devise a strategy to become successful in the world’s largest car market by vehicle sales.

☆ About 1.4 million Ram trucks recalled over malfunctioning tailgate parts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: 1 min

Stellantis is recalling about 1.4 million pickup trucks worldwide because the tailgates may not close completely and cargo could spill onto the road. The recall covers Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups from the 2019 to 2022 model years. The company, formerly Fiat Chrysler, says it found that striker plates on the pickups may not be lined up right to allow complete closure. Most of the recalled trucks are in North America. Pickups with “multi-function tailgates,” the Ram 1500 Classic, and trucks with sensors that alert drivers to unsecured tailgates are not affected by the recall, the company says.

The Detroit automaker's average estimated real-world fuel economy and its carbon emissions ranked the second-worst in the industry for the 2021 model-year, according to the EPA. Both automakers decreased their fuel economy and increased C02 emissions since the 2016 model-year, according to the EPA, as did Hyundai Motor , Mazda and Volkswagen . The 2021 average vehicle fuel economy was at an all-time high of 25.4 miles per gallon, unchanged from the year prior. Its average fuel economy, which is measures in terms of miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent, or mpge, was 123.9 miles. Just 4% of 2021 vehicles were electric, plug-in hybrids or fuel cell vehicles, though the EPA projects that figure will rise to 8% in 2022.

☆ Stellantis to indefinitely idle Jeep plant, lay off workers to cut costs for EVs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

DETROIT – Stellantis said Friday that it plans to indefinitely idle a Jeep plant in Illinois, starting early next year, to cut costs as it invests in electric vehicles. The transatlantic automaker, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, said the plant will cease production as of Feb. 28. The more than 1,200 workers at the facility, which produces Jeep Cherokee SUVs, will be placed on indefinite layoffs, the company said. In late-2018, ahead of the 2019 UAW negotiations with the Detroit automakers, General Motors announced plans to potentially close several facilities. Only one of the major assembly plants – Lordstown Assembly in Ohio – for the automaker actually ended up closing following the negotiations.

Some elements of the Jeep joint venture's failure are particular to Stellantis - and the former car groups that feature among its 14 brands. But data compiled for Reuters by consultancy LMC Automotive expose a problem shared by a number of other global carmakers: plummeting Chinese plant usage. Reuters GraphicsThe Jeep failure in China happened less than two years after Stellantis was formed by the merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler. "Chinese companies actually have an early mover advantage because they embraced electrification faster than the foreign companies were willing to," he added. While fully-electric cars make up an average of 5% of models foreign carmakers sell in China, they account for 30% of Chinese carmakers' models, according to LMC data.

☆ Stellantis to reorganise European dealer network from July 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Franco-Italian carmaker Stellantis (STLA.MI) said on Thursday it would reorganise its European dealers' network in July next year, starting from Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. As part of its efforts to cut costs and support investment for electrification, Stellantis last year said it would end all current sales and services contracts with European dealers for all of its 14 brands, from June 2023. Uwe Hochgeschurtz, Stellantis' chief operating officer for the 'Enlarged Europe' area, said the group aimed to promote a "sustainable" distribution model and all stakeholders would benefit. Stellantis said it ran a comparative economic simulation showing that, under the new planned distribution model, dealers would enjoy "at least equivalent profitability" and reduced exposure to risks. A spokesman for the company said Stellantis' light commercial vehicle brands would enter the new distribution structure from Jan. 1, 2024.

☆ Car companies want to make billions by charging monthly fees for features like heated seats, but buyers won't pay up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Car companies expect to make billions charging customers recurring fees for vehicle features. As vehicles become increasingly connected to the internet, car companies aim to rake in billions by having customers pay monthly or annual subscriptions to access certain features. But car companies still haven't figured out exactly what customers are willing to pay for, and what feels like a frustrating upcharge. An April study by Cox Automotive found that 75% of consumers are not willing to subscribe to most vehicle features. Hackers have helped car owners upgrade their vehicles for years, and subscription features could be their next target, Vice reported.

☆ EU Tax Ruling on Fiat-Chrysler Is Rejected by Court
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Daniel Michaels | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The European Commission ruled in 2015 that Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, had benefited from an illegal tax deal. BRUSSELS—The European Union’s top court overturned a tax ruling against Fiat Chrysler from 2015, handing the bloc’s regulators a fresh setback in a crack down on multinational companies’ efforts to financially shield their operations. The setback follows similar reversals in tax cases involving Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Starbucks Corp.

☆ Blow for EU crackdown on tax deals as Fiat wins appeal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] New Fiat Panda and Fiat 500 mild-hybrid cars are seen in piazza Maggiore, in Bologna, Italy, February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Flavio Lo ScalzoLUXEMBOURG, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler on Tuesday won its fight against an EU order to pay 30 million euros ($30 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg, dealing a major setback to EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's crackdown on sweetheart deals between EU countries and multinationals. In her 2015 decision, Vestager said Luxembourg had granted Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis (STLA.MI), an unfair tax advantage by endorsing artificial and complex methods that artificially lowered the company's taxes. Judges faulted the EU competition watchdog for its analysis of the reference system used to determine whether Luxembourg had given a selective advantage to Fiat. Vestager's high profile cases include her record 13-billion-euro tax order for Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon's (AMZN.O) Luxembourg deal.

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