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☆ Turned off Tesla by Elon Musk? Here are 4 great electric alternatives to its sedans and SUVs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Instead of a Model S, consider:The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS 580. Tim Levin/InsiderTesla's Model S sedan has historically been the electric car against which all new EVs are measured. Instead of a Model X, consider:The Rivian R1S. Rivian SUVs are backordered into oblivion as the company ramps up production, but they are available lightly used. Tim Levin/InsiderThere's a swarm of small electric SUVs on offer from Ford, Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo, and more.

☆ U.S. business equipment borrowings rise 9% in November - report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. companies borrowed 9% more to finance their equipment investments in November from a year earlier, industry body Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Tuesday. "Labor markets are stable, inflation woes appear to be abating, consumers are spending, and businesses continue to expand and grow: a recipe for stable growth by providers of equipment financing," Petta added. ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly $1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 77.7%, slightly above the October level. The Washington-based body's leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. ELFA's non-profit affiliate, Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, said the confidence index in December stood at 45.9, compared with 43.7 in November.

☆ Redwood Materials joins electric vehicle, battery trek to South Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Redwood Materials is the latest company to set up shop in South Carolina's growing community of electric vehicle and battery manufacturers, the Carson City, Nevada-based firm said on Wednesday. Redwood said it will build a $3.5 billion battery materials campus in Ridgefield, about 30 miles (48.28 km) northwest of Charleston, that will recycle, refine and remanufacture cathode and anode materials such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and copper. The Ridgefield facility is expected to supply battery materials to Ford Motor (F.N) and SK On in Kentucky, Toyota Motor (7203.T) in North Carolina and Volvo and Envision AESC in South Carolina. Volvo is building a battery plant next to its assembly facility in Ridgeville and BMW is partnering with Envision AESC on a $700 million battery plant in Woodruff. A second North American “battery belt” is springing up in Canada, in Becancour, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River.

That compares with a valuation of about $9 billion in its maiden external fundraising last year. In doing so, it joins a growing list of Chinese automakers looking to launch or expand sales of EVs in the region. The automotive group led by founder Li Shufu now houses seven brands manufacturing electric vehicles, of which three are high-end brands. According to two of the sources, Zeekr also considered Hong Kong as its listing venue but picked New York in the hope of achieving a higher valuation. Zeekr was established by Geely, formally known as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (GEELY.UL), in April 2021 to tap into increasing Chinese demand for premium EVs.

☆ Faster acceleration is just a click — and a credit card payment — away in new electric cars as the likes of Mercedes jump on a trend set by Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Tim Levin | Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Both brands recently introduced software updates that boost a car's performance for a fee. Tesla pioneered using software updates to unlock special features in its cars. Luxury automaker Mercedes will soon offer an "Acceleration Increase" feature for its EQS and EQE electric sedans and their SUV counterparts. Tesla pioneered remote software updates in cars and offers extra performance to owners of its Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV who cough up a couple thousand dollars. Big-picture software playEfforts to monetize software-enabled features go beyond performance upgrades.

☆ Volvo Cars' sales growth accelerates to 12% in November
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

STOCKHOLM, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Sweden-based Volvo Car AB (VOLCARb.ST) said on Friday its sales grew 12% year-on-year in November to 59,154 cars. "Overall underlying demand for the company's cars continues to remain robust, especially for its Recharge range of pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars," it said in a statement. The sales growth accelerated compared with October when it was 7%. Volvo Cars, which is majority-owned by Chinese automotive company Geely Holding (0175.HK), said fully electric vehicles accounted for 20% of sales, up from 15% the previous month. Recharge models, including those not fully electric, accounted for 42%, up from 37%.

☆ Musk set to finally take wraps off Tesla truck - to tough crowd
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Musk had promised, for instance, that Tesla's mass-market electric sedan Model 3 would be priced at $35,000, a claim that bombed. But in October Musk said Tesla vehicles were not ready to take humans out of the loop. "Tesla team just completed a 500 mile drive with a Tesla Semi weighing in at 81,000 lbs!" For Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has expressed skepticism about all-electric trucks, Musk said: "(Gates) can drive it himself if he wants!". "I want to take diesel trucks off the road," he said, adding that federal incentives for trucks that run on hydrogen could be more substantial than those battery electric trucks.

☆ Tesla CEO Elon Musk kicks off first Semi truck deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla CEO Elon Musk kicks off deliveries of the company's heavy-duty truck, the Semi, at the Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. Tesla CEO Elon Musk kicked off deliveries of the company's first few production Semi trucks on Thursday, speaking on stage at the company's factory in Sparks, Nevada, with Dan Priestly, the company's senior manager for Semi truck engineering. He later thanked and the handed the mic to representatives from PepsiCo Frito Lay , which is Tesla's first customer to receive and use production Semi trucks. While the Tesla Semi was in development, other fully electric heavy-duty trucks launched into the market. The new fast-charging tech will eventually be installed at Tesla SuperCharging stations and used to power up Cybertrucks, the consumer pickup truck Tesla is planning, Musk revealed.

☆ U.S. business equipment borrowings grew 6% in October- ELFA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. companies borrowed 6% more in October to finance equipment investments compared with a year earlier, industry body Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Monday. The companies signed up for $11.3 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, compared with $10.7 billion a year earlier, according to ELFA. ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly $1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 77%, marginally down from 77.3% in September. The Washington-based body's leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, ELFA's non-profit affiliate, said its confidence index in November stood at 43.7%, down from 45% in October.

☆ Some Companies Band Together to Support Nascent Low-Carbon Products
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Global companies are combining their purchasing power to help commercialize low-carbon technologies as part of their efforts to meet net-zero commitments. One of the biggest corporate spending plans announced at the United Nations climate conference, known as COP27, was the First Movers Coalition. Its 65 member companies promise to collectively purchase $12 billion of nascent low-carbon products and services by 2030 to help suppliers develop their offerings and scale up. Once commitments are made, companies and suppliers meet regularly to share progress and work together. “Microsoft did not join [the First Movers Coalition] in Glasgow last year.

☆ Macron hosts European CEOs to counter US move temptation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

European leaders have been alarmed by massive anti-inflation measures passed by Joe Biden's administration, which make tax breaks conditional on U.S-manufactured content and which EU industries say make investment in Europe less competitive. Macron, who has called on the European Union to launch its own 'European Buy Act' to subsidise European production, has encountered resistance from the more anti-protectionist members of the bloc. It was unclear what Macron would tell the executives to convince them not to move to the U.S. But France has unveiled a number of measures over the weekend to cushion the impact of high energy bills for French companies. Reporting by Michel Rose Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] People look at a Polestar car during the Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. The Swedish carmaker, founded by China's Geely (0175.HK) and Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST), posted an operating loss of $196.4 million, down from $292.9 million a year ago, while revenue rose to $435.4 million from $212.9 million. Polestar, which listed on the Nasdaq exchange in June via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), said rising costs for raw materials used to make its batteries had not yet fully hit because of set contracts. "The full extent of that will then... partly offset the raw material costs," he said, adding that the carmaker expected to raise prices further. But Chief Executive Thomas Ingenlath said Polestar was on track to deliver 50,000 cars in 2022.

☆ Swedish EV maker Polestar reports lower operating loss, confirms full-year guidance
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( John Rosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Swedish electric-vehicle maker Polestar said Friday that its third-quarter operating loss narrowed from a year ago as revenue more than doubled, and it confirmed that it still expects to deliver 50,000 vehicles in 2022. (Because Polestar's share price has fallen since it went public, it will have to pay out less than it had previously expected, hence the credit.) "I would like to reiterate: Polestar is a real car company," CEO Thomas Ingenlath said during the earnings call. CFO Johan Malmqvist said that Polestar's lower operating loss was helped by its efforts to reduce costs, specifically short-term reductions in advertising and marketing spending. On the other hand, foreign exchange headwinds exacerbated the loss, and those are expected to continue into next year.

☆ New car prices are finally coming down. But not by much
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —New car prices are finally coming down. Over the past few months, though, prices have fallen to only about $230 over MSRP, on average, according to Edmunds. Land Rover models, on average, still sell for $4,500 over sticker price while Kia models sell for about $1,600 over sticker price. For the past 17 months, though, according to Cox Automotive, vehicle inventory shortages have enabled car dealers to push prices above MSRP. Used car prices are also starting to come down a bit, something that could prod new car shoppers back into the market, said Drury.

☆ Facebook employees react to being laid off
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After the company let go thousands of employees on Wednesday, some took to social media to discuss being fired and search for new jobs. Meta employees are taking to social media to discuss layoffs. After the company laid off more than 11,000 workers, some are turning to LinkedIn or Twitter to share their accounts of the layoffs and search for new jobs. Regulatory filings show Musk sold 19.5 million of the company's shares following his $44 billion Twitter buyout. Microsoft's former VP of HR shares three questions job candidates can use to nail an interview.

The carmaker is calling the seven-seat SUV its new flagship vehicle, starting at under $80,000. The company said production of the car is expected to begin in the U.S. next year, with production in China to follow. The car also marks the introduction of Luminar Technologies' lidar system as standard equipment in a commercially built vehicle. Many in the automotive industry believe lidar is the next-generation of safety technology and a step closer to more highly-automated or autonomous vehicles. All EX90s will come standard with a lidar sensor and related software from Florida-based Luminar.

☆ See Volvo's new, high-tech electric SUV that can tell if you're drunk, power your house, and go 300 miles without charging
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Volvo is all about safety, so it included a huge array of cameras and sensors to help the EX90 "see" the world around it and react. Lots of computing power ties everything together. The Volvo EX90.

Renault's joint venture with Geely will employ 19,000 people at 17 powertrain factories and three research and development hubs, the companies said, adding they expect to reach a final agreement and launch the new company in 2023. Renault and Geely will each hold 50%, the companies said in a statement that did not detail other financial terms. Nissan has said it is considering an investment in the Ampere electric venture. Renault and Geely said they expect their new joint venture would supply internal combustion engines and hybrid powertrains to both Nissan and the junior partner in Renault's existing alliance, Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T). Renault and Geely have an existing joint venture in South Korea.

☆ Renault, Geely clinch deal for internal-combustion joint venture
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The joint venture will employ 19,000 people at 17 powertrain factories and three research and development hubs, the companies said, adding they expect to reach a final agreement and launch the new company in 2023. Renault and Geely will each hold 50%, the companies said in a statement that did not detail other financial terms. Renault and Geely said they expect their new joint venture would supply internal combustion engines and hybrid powertrains to Nissan and the junior partner in Renault's existing alliance, Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T). They said it would have the capacity to supply about 5 million engines and hybrid systems per year once operational. Renault and Geely Automobile also have an existing joint venture in South Korea.

REUTERS/Aly SongBEIJING/TOKYO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co's (7201.T) concerns about technology transfers have complicated its partner Renault's (RENA.PA) plans to sell a large stake in its gasoline-engine business to China's Geely (0175.HK), three people familiar with the talks said. Nissan's concerns about technology rights have also been one reason why it has yet to reach a preliminary agreement to invest in Ampere. Renault has a 43% stake in Nissan while the Japanese automaker has a 15% non-voting stake in Renault. People with knowledge of the talks have said the two sides have been discussing a reduction in Renault's stake in Nissan, potentially to 15%. Uchida also said Nissan wanted to see a “fair treatment” of its interests in any new partnership Renault strikes with Geely.

☆ From Teslas to BMWs, cars are piling up on land and at sea in German port of Bremerhaven
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Port of Bremerhaven, the main roll on/roll off port in Germany and one of the largest automobile hubs in the world, is experiencing gridlock. He said car imports into Bremerhaven from the U.S. and Mexico are operating on a timeline of months. Bremerhaven is Europe's fourth-largest containership port, with annual capacity over 5 million TEU [twenty-foot equivalent unit] containers. Another UK strike nearsAt the Port of Liverpool in the U.K., a fourth strike is set for November 14-21 if no deal with port management is reached. Braun told CNBC that since these strikes are well organized there is time in advance to plan and circumvent the port, diverting trade elsewhere.

☆ 2023 Volvo S60 Recharge: The Tailpipe Wags the Dog
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Dan Neil | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

HYBRID BY DEGREES For 2023, the Volvo S60 is available with one of two engine packages: the B5, a lightly hybridized version of the company’s turbocharged 2.0 liter four-cylinder (247 hp); or the Recharge T8 plug-in hybrid, entraining a 143-hp rear electric motor paired with a heavily breathed-upon version of the turbo 2.0-liter (312 hp). Net system output is 455 hp and 523 lb-ft.RONALD REAGAN famously said, “If you’re explaining, you’re losing.” I feel like I’m about to do some epic losing. Our guest is the 2023 Volvo S60 Recharge T8 Black Edition, a plug-in hybrid electric version of the company’s compact premium sedan, which is fresh from a mid-lifecycle face-lift. See, I’m already in the weeds. It’s a can of worms.

Its other major shareholder, PSD Investment, will provide the same amount through "direct and indirect financial and liquidity support," Polestar said. "We welcome the continued support from our major shareholders at a time when the capital markets are volatile and unpredictable," Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement. Volvo, like other major carmakers, has in recent years invested heavily in making its own electric vehicles and has also said it was committed to supporting Polestar. Volvo aims to sell only fully electric cars by 2030, while Polestar has a goal to launch three more cars by 2026. In February, Volvo formed a joint venture with battery manufacturer Northvolt to build a battery plant in Gothenburg which would produce battery cells specifically for electric Volvo and Polestar cars.

☆ Factbox: Companies count the cost of ditching Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

INDITEX (ITX.MC)Zara owner will book a provision of 216 million euros after agreeing to sell its Russia stores to UAE-based Daher Group. TRATON (8TRA.DE)Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) truck division Traton in September said disposing of some assets in Russia would cause a 550 million euro loss. CREDIT AGRICOLE (CAGR.PA)Credit Agricole provisioned more than 500 million euros related to its Russian exposure in Q1. LINDEThe world's largest industrial gases company's exit from Russia recorded impairments of $993 million from its Russia exit. SIEMENS (SIEGn.DE)The Munich-based engineering and tech firm said in May it would take a 600 million euro hit in Q2 for exiting Russia.

☆ Geely's Zeekr plans electric vehicle sales in Europe in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Zeekr 001 electric vehicle (EV) by Geely is seen displayed at the Zeekr booth during a media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, China April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoSHANGHAI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Zhejiang Geely Holding Group's (GEELY.UL) premium electric car business plans to sell the first electric vehicle produced under the Zeekr brand in Europe next year, Zeekr's CEO said. Zeekr joins a growing list of Chinese automakers looking to launch or expand sales of electric vehicles in Europe next year, including BYD (002594.SZ), Xpeng (9868.HK) and Great Wall Motors (601633.SS). An said Geely would market its 001 electric crossover in Europe next year. The base model Zeekr 001 sells for the equivalent of $41,000 in China compared with $40,000 for the Tesla (TSLA.O) Model Y after a recent price cut.

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