DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Elon Musk's quest for an irresistible price could spell trouble for Tesla and its stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Its goal has been to coax consumers to make the leap to its brand with the lower prices. Finding an 'irresistible' price Tesla's price cuts are an effort to take advantage of that growing market. "We have written extensively on the drag EVs have on margins for legacy [original equipment manufacturers] and the impact of EV price deflation. She added that the price cuts are an effort for Tesla to retain market dominance and stave off competition from big competitors like Ford. Longer term, Tesla's price fluctuations could do more harm than good if they end up turning consumers off.

☆ Why Is Inflation So Stubborn? Cars Are Part of the Answer.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Lydia Depillis | Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The job market has remained strong, especially for in-person jobs in fields like hospitality and health care, so more people have workplaces to get to. And many people in between, who might switch cars every few years, are waiting for prices to fall. Wholesale car prices have begun to fall, and carmakers are offering more incentives. Prices have come down in recent months for electric cars — the fastest-growing segment of new car sales, though a small portion of the overall market. Adam Jonas, an auto industry analyst with Morgan Stanley, said that over the short to medium term, more inventory was the only answer.

☆ UK is committed to making electric vehicle batteries, Hunt says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - Britain will ensure that batteries needed to power electric vehicles (EVs) are produced domestically, finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday, a day after carmakers warned insufficient production could hurt investment in the country. "We are absolutely committed to making sure the UK is able to source onshore EV batteries that we need," Hunt said in a presentation to manufacturers on Thursday. Under the deal, 45% of the value of an EV sold in the EU must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. On Wednesday, Hunt urged the industry to "watch this space" on the issue of British battery production. Reporting by William Schomberg; writing by David Milliken; Editing by Alistair SmoutOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German carmakers call for post-Brexit rules to be postponed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, May 18 (Reuters) - Germany's powerful auto industry association is urging the European Union and Britain to postpone post-Brexit rules it says would hamper the transition to electric vehicles, potentially boosting the hand of UK-based carmakers calling for the same. Under the trade deal agreed when Britain left the EU, 45% of the value of an electric vehicle (EV) sold in the EU must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. Tariffs both on exports to Britain and imports from it would be "a significant competitive disadvantage for the European car industry in relation to its Asian competitors in the so important UK market", it said. "We hope to be able to come to a resolution with the EU on this," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday. Reporting by Christoph Steitz Writing by Sarah Marsh Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Buy this EV charging stock as demand and adoption grows, Stifel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Stifel thinks EVgo is poised to benefit from the continued growth and adoption of electric vehicles. The firm initiated the maker of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles with a buy rating and a price target of $9 per share. On top of that, Stifel thinks that the government mandates to move toward cleaner technologies such as electric vehicles will help the company grow, while more traditional carmakers continue to enter the EV space. Still, Stifel thinks EVGo will see strong annual revenue growth going forward. The firm projects revenue of $132 million, $241 million and $428 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.

☆ Stellantis: Brexit deal must change or UK car factories will close
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

British car factories will be forced to close with the loss of thousands of jobs if the government does not renegotiate its Brexit trade deal immediately, automaker Stellantis warned on Wednesday. “If the cost of EV manufacturing in the UK becomes uncompetitive and unsustainable, operations will close,” Stellantis said in a submission to a House of Commons committee examining the prospects for Britain’s electric vehicle industry. It’s 800,000 jobs in the UK, which is basically those jobs associated with the car industry,” said Palmer, who is also chairman of European battery manufacturer InoBat. Britain has drawn electric vehicle investment from Nissan (NSANF) and Ford (F), while other big players are still weighing up where to invest. Stellantis had announced a 100 million pound ($126 million) electric vehicle investment in its Ellesmere Port site in 2021.

☆ Italy and EU allies "have the numbers" to block Euro 7 emission rules, Salvini says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VERONA (Italy), May 16 (Reuters) - Italy's transport minister said on Tuesday that Italy and its allies in the European Union can block the Euro 7 regulation which tightens vehicle emission limits for pollutants including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide from 2025. The proposed Euro 7 regulation was "clearly wrong" and not even helpful from an environmental pint of view, said Italy's Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League coalition party in Italy's right-wing government. "Italy, with France, Czech Republic, Romania, Portugal, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary, has the numbers to block this leap in the dark," Salvini said during an automotive dealer conference in Verona. European carmakers have been fighting back against the proposed emission regulations they argue are too costly, rushed and unnecessary. The European Commission says are needed to cut harmful emissions and prevent a repeat of the Dieselgate scandal.

☆ Change Brexit deal or watch factories close, carmaker Stellantis warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kate Holton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

May 16 (Reuters) - British car factories will be forced to close with the loss of thousands of jobs if the government does not renegotiate its Brexit deal immediately, automaker Stellantis (STLAM.MI) warned on Wednesday. "Manufacturers will not continue to invest and (instead will) relocate manufacturing operations outside of UK, as seen with previously established UK manufacturers such as Ford and Mini." Under the trade deal agreed when Britain left the bloc, 45% of the value of an electric vehicle must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. "If you don't have a battery capability in the UK, then those car manufacturers will move to mainland Europe." Britain has drawn electric vehicle investment from Nissan and Ford, while other big players are still weighing up where to invest.

☆ Say goodbye to the US car market as we know it: Cheap Chinese EVs are coming
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nora Naughton | Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

After years of eyeing the American market, Chinese brands are poised to arrive. After years of preparation, Chinese car companies are poised to upend the US electric-vehicle market. Chinese EV manufacturers can gain a foothold in the US by coming in at a budget price point, analysts said. "I've driven a number of the Chinese EV brands, and boy oh boy, the Europeans are in trouble." The sheer size of the US car market means new entrants will need to build locally to compete seriously in the long term, he said.

☆ The one crucial industry where China is crushing America in the Tech Cold War
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

As of now, CATL has 13 factories worldwide that supply batteries for Tesla, Toyota, and Daimler. And thanks to its ownership of its battery supply chain, it's able to make cars cheaply. Stevenson-Yang sees parts of China's battery supply chain as the next glut it will need to dump. But the potential of a battery supply glut tomorrow doesn't help carmakers meet their needs today. "But if we're looking at evolutionary improvements, China Battery Inc. will still dominate.

☆ Automakers and dealers are playing a game of chicken — and customers could be the winners
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Nora Naughton | Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Automakers and dealers have kept prices high and inventory low for years. Automakers and dealers are playing a game of chicken over how much a car should cost right now — and customers might come out the winners. Higher interest rates make everything more painfulMeanwhile, dealers are spending more to keep cars sitting. To make matters worse for dealers: Without discounts to ease rising interest rates, more customers are delaying their purchases and hoping to wait out the interest rates. If and when car companies start spending more on incentives, they are likely to target interest rates, Caldwell said.

Both plants will start production in 2026, employ thousands of people and supply batteries to European car makers. With Taiwan a focal point in tensions between Washington and Beijing, the company also wanted to secure a base overseas. Volkswagen was expected to announce a battery plant location in Europe late last year but said in March it is awaiting more clarity from Europe on subsidies before making a decision. The plant by Taiwan's ProLogium would be its first overseas car battery factory. A second plant could also be constructed in parallel elsewhere, a Northvolt spokesperson said, including in North America.

☆ Chinese competition, Xinjiang plant loom large for Volkswagen investors at AGM
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, May 10 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) investors will demand answers from the carmakers' executives at its annual general meeting on Wednesday on its competitiveness in China and its contested plant in Xinjiang, advance copies of their speeches showed. "Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean," said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka. Volkswagen's China chief visited the plant in Xinjiang, jointly owned with SAIC (600104.SS) earlier this year and said he saw no evidence of forced labour. Shareholders will also flag the rising competition from Chinese electric vehicle competitors in China, with BYD outselling the Volkswagen brand to be the bestselling passenger car brand earlier this year. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Jan Schwartz; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Car Dealerships Are Struggling to Get EVs on Their Lots
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But less than half of car dealerships had any EVs on their lots last year, according to the Sierra Club. Electric car adoption in the US is making headway, but still creeping up. Two-thirds of car dealerships in the US did not have a single new or used EV on their lots, according to a survey by the environmental nonprofit Sierra Club. Mercedes-Benz had the best EV availability among car brands, per Sierra Club — 90% of its dealerships reported having an EV available. But the shortage of EVs on dealership lots is also the result of a mix of supply chain constraints and automaker allocation of EVs to dealerships.

☆ Ferrari doesn't care about autonomous vehicles, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ferrari's CEO says the company doesn't care about self-driving technology. Benedetto Vigna told a car summit hosted by the FT the group had the tech in place to build EVs. Ferrari doesn't care about technology for an autonomous vehicle, its boss says, reinforcing the company's intention to never build self-driving cars. There is performance software, there is comfort software, there is infotainment software, and there is autonomous," Vigna said. He suggested the company's shunning of self-driving software helped the group mostly stick to that tradition.

☆ China poses greatest risk to Europe's carmakers - Allianz Trade study
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Allianz SE FollowTesla Inc FollowLONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) pose the greatest risk to Europe's carmakers and could cost them 7 billion euros ($7.7 billion) a year in lost profits by 2030 unless policymakers take action, according to an Allianz Trade report. Europe's carmakers face a dual threat from the prospect of falling sales of their own vehicles in China, where local EV makers have been growing market share, and from rising sales of imported Chinese EVs - made by Chinese or Western carmakers. A crowded market for all-electric SUVs in China is putting pressure on local carmakers to export more vehicles to Europe. "The stakes are high for Europe's automotive industry: four out of five cars sold in Europe are assembled locally," the report added. The report said the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) had made Europe a target for Chinese exports.

☆ China's Hozon to produce EVs in Thailand for Southeast Asian market
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BANGKOK, May 6 (Reuters) - China's Hozon New Energy Automobile will make electric vehicles in Thailand for the Southeast Asian market, a Thai official said on Saturday, as it follows others in building facilities in the region's major auto production hub. Hozon signed an agreement with Thailand's Bangchan General Assembly this week to start production of its NETA V model, expected in 2024, Thai government spokesperson Tipanan Sirichana said in a statement. The EV maker launched its NETA V model in the Thai market last year and planned to start offering its NETA U and NETA S models in the near future, Tipanan said. (TSLA.O)Last month, a Thai official said China's Changan Auto (000625.SZ) would invest $285 million in a facility in Thailand. It has set a target that 30% of domestic auto production be EVs by 2030.

☆ Meet the urban investor combining real estate, venture capital, and private equity to spend $5.5 billion making cities more liveable
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Urban Partners will combine real estate, venture capital, private equity, and credit under one company. "We started thinking about what real estate investing can do beyond just a piece of investment," Claus Mathisen, CEO of Urban Partners, told Insider. "You start thinking about servicing customers – the stakeholders who actually use the real estate – and you design around them." Urban Partners is working with mayors to figure out what they need to make their cities more livable. Cobe ArchitectsInstead of focusing on financial return on investment, Urban Partners is also using environmental impact as a KPI.

☆ BMW cars segment sees earnings boost on higher pricing, EV sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A BMW SUV moves down the assembly line at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, South Carolina, U.S., October 19, 2022. Inflation and interest rates in key markets are high. The carmaker continues to expect slight growth in Europe, robust sales in the United States, and a stabilising economy in China. BMW's financing and leasing business suffered in line with that of other carmakers like Porsche under persistently high interest rates and price Increases, with the volume of new business dropping 14% and earnings down 6.2%. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Maria SheahanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How to trade Volkswagen and BMW quarterly earnings results based on history
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

German carmakers Volkswagen and BMW are set to announce their first-quarter earnings later today. Similarly, Volkswagen reported significantly increased deliveries for the same period despite weaker business in China, its most important single market. The stock also surpassed the benchmark by 5.4 percentage points a week since the results and 6.5 percentage points a month out under the same scenario. However, its fortunes reverse for the better, with shares outperforming the benchmark after a week since the results 67% of the time. The German company shares beat the DAX by 1, 3, and 8 percentage points over the day, week, and month since the results, respectively, on exceeding expectations.

☆ Infineon raises full-year guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, May 4 (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon (IFXGn.DE) raised its full-year guidance on Thursday, citing strong demand from the electromobility, renewable energy generation and energy infrastructure sectors. Infineon now sees full-year revenues of 16.2 billion euros ($17.96 billion)- plus or minus 300 million - compared with its previous forecast for 15.5 billion and with analyst consensus for 16.1 billion. The group, whose chips are used in cars and data centres, had in February already lifted its full-year forecast on strong demand from carmakers, which are restocking inventories following a global chip glut, leading to higher prices. Shares in Infineon rose 1% in early Frankfurt trade. ($1 = 0.9021 euros)Reporting by Maria Sheahan, editing by Kirsti KnolleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Automakers are pausing factory lines to help keep inventory low and prices high
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Throughout the height of COVID, carmakers got used to getting high prices. But some carmakers might limit their inventory to keep supply down and prices up. Since recovering from COVID-related plant shutdowns and an extended shortage of chips required for today's tech-laden cars, companies like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis have finally seen more cars head to dealer lots. But they got used to selling vehicles for high prices with minimal inventory on their lots. But shoppers shouldn't necessarily see some automaker's low inventory as a signal of high demand for a vehicle that they'd have to pay big dollars to compete on.

☆ 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.

☆ In race for efficient EVs, Mercedes taps F1 team to keep up with Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In this article MBG-FF Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTLewis Hamilton of Great Britain drives the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W13 on race day during the 2023 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on April 2, 2023 in Melbourne. But Mercedes' F1 collaboration to build more efficient EVs faster is unprecedented because it embeds that racing mindset and technological expertise directly in product development. After decades of leadership in combustion-engine technology, legacy carmakers like Mercedes have lagged Tesla in electric vehicles. Mercedes' F1 team can help it get back in the race, said Steven Merkt, head of transportation solutions at TE Connectivity , a major autos supplier. Last year, Mercedes unveiled its EQXX concept car, a super-efficient EV capable of a range of more than 1,200 km (745 miles), which was jointly developed with the German premium carmaker's F1 team in England.

☆ More and more Americans don't want electric cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Americans are getting more divided on electric vehicles. While EVs gain market share, more and more people say don't want one as their next car. Battery-powered cars seem like the next big thing, but a growing portion of Americans aren't ready to give up internal combustion. The percentage of Americans who say they're "very unlikely" to buy an electric vehicle as their next car is growing, according to JD Power, which keeps close tabs on consumer sentiment around EVs. "Top-line metrics on overall EV market share, availability and affordability have been on a long-term upward trend," the market research firm said.

Search resuls for: "Carmakers"

25 mentions found