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☆ Analysis: Battle for China's electric SUV market heats up at home and abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The trend will spread abroad with growing exports of China-made electric SUVs. The market for SUVs has boomed in China over the past decade and now represents almost 40% of all cars sold, with 400 SUV models of all fuel types. Legacy automakers Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE) and Toyota (7203.T) are counting on new electric SUVs to bolster China sales. Tesla and Renault (RENA.PA) have already been exporting their China-made electric SUVs to Europe on a large scale. Chinese automakers have their own plans to grow electric SUV sales to Europe.

☆ Tesla hikes price of high-end Model S and Model X in China by roughly $2,750
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla raised the price of its more expensive Model S and Model X cars in China, its website showed Friday, following other hikes to its other vehicles a few days prior. The Model S now costs 808,900 yuan versus 789,900 yuan prior. The Model X now costs 898,900 yuan versus 879,900 yuan before. Tesla appears to be maintaining a higher price of its Model S and Model X in China to play in the premium segment of China's electric car market. However in China, there are not major competitors to Tesla in the price category the Model S and Model X are in.

☆ This new electric car could charge in the time it takes to fill a gas tank thanks to battery-swapping tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US electric-vehicle startup Fisker is bringing battery-swapping technology to its first model. Electric-vehicle startup Fisker has an ingenious solution to ease that pain. The company says battery swapping will offer the same fill-up times as gasoline at a lower cost per mile. And the company has big plans to expand its footprint to Europe and provide battery swapping for regular consumers, last-mile delivery, and car-sharing. Tesla at one point experimented with battery-swapping tech, but abandoned the project.

☆ Fisker partners with Ample for electric SUVs with swappable batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle maker Fisker Inc (FSR.N) said on Tuesday it would start delivering its sports utility vehicle Ocean with swappable batteries made by Ample by the start of next year. The partnership with the battery startup will help Fisker increase scale and adoption of its EVs in the United States and Europe, the electric car maker said, adding that Ample will share revenue related to the battery swapping mechanism. Battery-swapping, replacing a depleted battery with a freshly charged one, is fast emerging as an alternative to charging EVs at utility stations. Fisker added that the initial customer for Ample-powered EVs will be fleet operators who are looking to "transition to electric mobility without economic or operational compromises." Ample aims to make its batteries and swapping process more widely available to different brands of carmakers.

☆ Lightning Round: Too many EV competitors is bad news for NIO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLightning Round: Too many EV competitors is bad news for NIO"Mad Money" host Jim Cramer weighs in on stocks, including NIO, BHP Group, Edwards Lifesciences, Palantir, M&T Bank, Zim, and Bunge.

☆ Mobileye shares plunge after self-driving tech company cuts guidance amid Tesla's EV price war
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mobileye signage during the company's IPO at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. Shares of Mobileye, Intel 's self-driving subsidiary, were trading sharply lower on Thursday after the company cut its full-year forecast, citing weakness in China's electric vehicle market. In January, the company guided to revenue between $2.192 billion and $2.282 billion and an operating loss between $110 million and $160 million. China's EV market has been roiled by Tesla 's recent aggressive price cuts and a reduction in government incentives for EV buyers. Mobileye counts Chinese EV makers Nio and Zeekr, a unit of Chinese automaker Geely, among its customers.

☆ China's EV players are starting to compete on driver assist tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Huawei's co-developed Aito electric car brand is now selling an updated version of the M5 model that comes with new driver-assist tech. Around the Shanghai auto show that kicked off last week, electric car startups and Chinese tech companies alike made several announcements about their driver-assist tech. But McKinsey estimates assisted and fully autonomous driving systems in passenger cars could generate $300 billion to $400 billion in global revenue by 2035. Those maps, used by autonomous driving companies such as Alphabet 's Waymo, give a car a detailed picture of city streets. Xpeng, considered one of the most advanced technologically, saw deliveries plunge in the first quarter ahead of a more widespread rollout of its assisted driving tech.

☆ Climate change activists protest at Berlin Formula E race
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, April 23 (Reuters) - Climate change activists delayed the start of an all-electric Formula E race at Berlin's Tempelhof airport circuit on Sunday after they climbed fences and sat in front of cars lined up on the starting grid. Letzte Generation (Last Generation) posted video on Twitter of white T-shirted supporters scaling the wire fence before being carried away by security. A Formula E spokesperson said the protest was "unrelated to the event". read moreBritain's Grand National horse race was delayed by animal rights protesters, with 118 people arrested read more . Twenty five people were also arrested at Saturday's Scottish Grand National.

☆ Volkswagen takes on China's EV market with a higher-end car and $1 billion investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Volkswagen's ID.7 is set for release in Europe and China in the fall of 2023, and in North America in 2024. CNBC | Evelyn ChengBEIJING — German automaker Volkswagen is investing about $1 billion in China for electric car development, and releasing a vehicle targeted at a higher end of the market. German investment in China grew by nearly 61% in the first quarter from a year ago, China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday. Overall, foreign investment in China grew by 4.9% year-on-year in the first three months of the year to 408.45 billion yuan ($59.33 billion). Vehicles for China will be produced locally, while those for Europe and North America will be produced in Germany, Volkswagen said.

☆ Ford must rethink its brand for China as EVs boom, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DETROIT, April 20 (Reuters) - Facing a booming and hyper-competitive market for electric vehicles (EVs) in China, Ford Motor Co (F.N) needs to reshape its brand for the world's largest car market, Chief Executive Jim Farley said. "We're going to have to rethink what the Ford brand means in a place like China," Farley told reporters on Thursday evening in Detroit, speaking on the sidelines of a charity event. Even state-owned automakers in China had created new brands for EVs, he said. "That's why they're going big on Europe. "They're totally vertically integrated, completely, all the way to batteries.

☆ Chinese electric car makers suffer as Elon Musk doubles down on Tesla price war
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Shares in Tesla’s Chinese rivals fell on Thursday, after CEO Elon Musk signaled that the company will continue cutting prices to boost demand for electric cars in an increasingly competitive market. XPeng plunged 8% in Hong Kong, while Nio (NIO) sank 5.6%. BYD (BYDDF), the world’s largest seller of plug-in hybrid EVs and battery EVs, also dropped 1% in Hong Kong. A number of car manufacturers in China followed suit by cutting prices or offering discounts, including Xpeng, Leapmotor, BYD and Huawei’s EV unit. According to the most recent statistics from the CPCA, Tesla’s sales of its China-made vehicles surged 35% in March to more than 88,000 units.

☆ Tesla Shares Drop After Earnings, Hitting Global Auto Stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Katy Barnato | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tesla shares are falling in animated premarket trading, weighing on Nasdaq-100 futures, after the electric-vehicle maker posted a sharp fall in profit . Tesla shares stood about 7.4% lower. Rival EV makers Rivian and Lucid both lost over 2%. European-listed auto companies such as Renault and Stellantis traded sharply down. American depositary receipts for Chinese EV makers including XPeng, NIO, Li Auto and BYD were 2% or more lower.

[1/3] BMW's concept model i Vision Dee is unveiled during an event at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China April 18, 2023. While the battery-electric vehicle market share of German automakers in China is rising, it is still miniscule. The EV sales of all four German brands added up to only a quarter of BYD's in 2022. "The Chinese market is no longer as stable for German carmakers as it was," Thomas Luk, partner at management consultancy Kearney, said on the sidelines of the Shanghai show. Many are also adopting direct sales, an approach German automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have also said in recent months they are moving towards.

☆ As EV costs tumble in China, an export wave builds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] People use their phones in front of the BYD Seagull that is displayed at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China April 19, 2023. Patrick Koller, chief executive of French auto supplier Faurecia (EPED.PA), said the entry-level EV market in Europe was an open lane for Chinese automakers. Koller said he had met with the CEO or chairman of more than two dozen Chinese automakers in Shanghai. Renault’s (RENA.PA) Dacia ships the Spring EV, an entry-level hatchback like the BYD Seagull, to Europe and ranked as the second-largest EV exporter from China last year after Tesla. BYD has not announced export plans for the Seagull, which is priced below what is now the best selling EV in China, the BYD Dolphin, which is priced from 116,800 yuan ($17,000) in China.

☆ China's CATL unveils condensed matter battery to power civil aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, April 19 (Reuters) - Chinese battery giant CATL (300750.SZ) on Wednesday unveiled a condensed matter battery that it said could supply enough energy to power electric passenger aircraft for civil aviation use. CATL will also be able to start mass production of the condensed matter battery for electric vehicle uses later this year, Wu added. Condensed matter technology is being embraced by battery makers competing to develop new materials to improve energy density of the current generation of lithium-ion batteries, which is under 300 Wh/kg. Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio (9866.HK) is planning to power its ET7 cars with a semi-solid state battery with 360 Wh/kg energy density developed by Beijing Welion New Energy Technology. Reporting by Zhang Yan, Albee Zhang and Brenda Goh Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: China’s Xpeng takes cues from Tesla for its new EV platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] He Xiaopeng, the co-founder, chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors attends a news conference ahead of the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 16, 2023. "It's obvious the design of the (G6) came from the Model Y," industry analyst Sandy Munro told Reuters. Xpeng's simplified vehicle platform design - in effect, a three-piece frame that is both flexible and scalable - saves on parts, tooling, development and assembly time, and appears to have been lifted from Tesla, according to Munro. Such a platform has the potential to give Tesla, Xpeng and other automakers considering this approach a new weapon to help restore margins hit by recent price wars in China and other markets. Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit, Editing by Ben Klayman and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nio says it won't join the 'price war' and slash prices like Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

watch nowSHANGHAI — Chinese electric car company Nio will keep its prices high rather than cut them, CEO William Li told CNBC in an interview. "For us, we will certainly not join the price war," Li said, claiming Nio's products and services are worth the price. Tesla , Elon Musk's car company, this year slashed prices in the U.S. and China. New energy vehicles — which includes hybrid and pure electric — saw penetration of passenger car sales reach 34% in March, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Within that market, Nio said it delivered 31,041 vehicles in the first quarter, up by 20.5% year-on-year.

☆ China's Zeekr launches electric SUV, targets Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Zoey ZhangCHENGDU, China, April 12 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr on Wednesday launched a compact, all-electric sport utility vehicle, as it targeted a premium market in China that has been dominated by German automakers. The Geely-owned [RIC:RIC:GEELY.UL] brand said it also planned to offer the SUV-styled Zeekr X and its Zeekr 001 EV sedan in Western Europe without saying when that would be. The company will start delivering the Zeekr X in China from June with a target of delivering 40,000 this year, An said. After Europe, Zeekr will target Asian markets outside China, An said without providing details. It sold 15,234 of its two existing models - the 001 sedan and the 009 multi-purpose vehicle - in the first quarter, accounting for just 2% of China's battery electric vehicle sales.

☆ Goldman Sachs just turned bearish on BMW and others — and Tesla could be to blame
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Goldman Sachs has warned that European automakers are at risk of losing market share to Tesla and Chinese firms. The Wall Street investment bank said the transition toward battery electric vehicles in Europe could spark swings in some share prices. Europe's incumbent mass-market brands accounted for 72% of sales last year, Goldman Sachs analysts said. Chinese electric car maker Nio announced plans to open a manufacturing plant in Hungary last year. The change in regulation allowing for e-Fuel — a synthetic drop-in replacement for gasoline — also has the potential to de-risk companies and brands, according to Goldman Sachs.

☆ Lighting Round: NIO, Burford, Verizon, Encore Wire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLighting Round: NIO, Burford, Verizon, Encore WireCNBC's Jim Cramer, host of "Mad Money" breaks down stocks like NIO, Burford, Verizon and Encore Wire.

☆ China Renaissance suspends trading, delays results after founder Bao Fan goes missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Bao Fan, 52, started the boutique investment bank in 2005 and has been unreachable since the middle of February, according to the company. Shares in China Renaissance have plunged since Bao went missing, at one point dropping as much as 50%. China Renaissance said in late February that it had learned Bao was “cooperating in an investigation” being carried out by certain authorities in the country. Chinese media have reported Bao might be assisting in an investigation related to a former executive at China Renaissance. In a filing on Sunday, China Renaissance said auditors couldn’t complete their work or sign off on their report because of Bao’s absence.

☆ Chinese EV brand Li Auto sees first-quarter deliveries surge by 66%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese electric car startup Li Auto saw deliveries surge by nearly 66% in the first quarter from a year ago. BEIJING — Chinese electric car brand Li Auto delivered more cars in March than Xpeng did in the first quarter, according to company releases. Li Auto delivered 20,823 vehicles in March — for a total of 52,584 deliveries in the first three months of the year. Xpeng delivered 7,002 vehicles in March, above the monthly average for the first quarter. The company delivered 10,378 vehicles in March.

☆ China's Nio opens trial for high-speed EV battery swapping stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, March 28 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio Inc (9866.HK) began trial operation on Tuesday of faster, more efficient battery swapping stations in China in its push to make battery swapping a viable alternative to rival EV makers' rapid-charging technology. Tesla's (TSLA.O) rapid-charging Supercharger allows EV users to top up vehicles to a range of 200 miles in 15 minutes. Rival Tesla has dismissed battery swapping as "riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use". Nio, which has set a target of 2,300 battery swapping stations globally by year-end, had 1,323 in operation as of March 23, Shen said. It aims for 900 of the latest power swap stations to be operating this year, he added.

Hong Kong/Beijing CNN —Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba (BABA) and once one of China’s most prominent entrepreneurs, has made a rare public appearance in the country. Ma visited the city of Hangzhou and was seen meeting with students and teachers at the Alibaba-funded Yungu School. That intervention by regulators followed a speech from Ma in which he criticized China’s banks and financial regulators. In a statement to CNN about the trip, the Jack Ma Foundation said the Alibaba founder “travels very often in China and overseas.”“Mr. He paid a visit to Hangzhou Yungu School today and had a chat with teachers there on education,” a spokesperson said.

☆ From Tesla to under-the-radar battery stocks: Wall Street has a playbook for the EV boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The bank's "Battery Electric Vehicles Basket" comprises several stocks across the EV supply chain, including automakers Rivian , Lucid and Li Auto . This may be the opportune moment for Chinese EV brands to knock on the doors of Europe." Among the Chinese EV makers, BYD, Nio and Xpeng are "the ones to watch," according to Bernstein. "We expect Chinese EV players to find better success targeting the compact, mass market EV segment that has so far been under-penetrated in Europe," the bank said. Tesla and under-the-radar plays Tesla is one of Deutsche Bank 's top picks in the EV space.

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