EV Gravy Addiction - Going Global

VinFast, Amprius, Toyota, Tesla, Li-Cycle, Scout Motors, BYD, Ford Dealer Charging, Xiaomi, Spinmate

Mar 08, 2023

The Big 5 This Week

1. Not Kicking The Habit. Global EV sales jumped 50% to more than 10 million vehicles in 2022. No more need for subsidies, correct? Apparently not.

China started its $20 billion dollar cash-for-EVs program in 2010 and ended them this year. But now the world’s largest EV market has started to stall. PRC leaders may be forced into a policy workaround in the coming weeks. Link

Meanwhile, new EV sweeteners are being added by the US, Indonesia, Thailand and India. And demand for EVs in Europe is expected to be flat in 2023 due to less generous subsidies.

2. Volkswagen Into Carolina. VW’s Scout Motors will build a $2 billion factory in South Carolina to produce 200,000 all-electric vehicles a year. This follows a $3.5 billion plan by Redwood Materials to recycle batteries in Berkeley County, South Carolina. “We think it’s important to manufacture in America.” Link

3. BYD’s Vert Integration. BYD went from No. 13 in EV sales in 2018 to No. 1 last year. Vertical integration is key. Company officials told me last week that they make 70% of the components in their cars, including the batteries, the center stack screen and even the on-board karaoke microphone. BYD is already the EV sales leader in Israel, Thailand, Singapore and New Zealand. Solid primer on BYD via WSJ here. Video.

4. Vietnam Delivers in California. Vietnam’s national EV champion, VinFast, started delivering VF 8 crossovers to customers in California last week. Leasing the car just got a lot more affordable. “We’re early adopters, we like to try things out.” Link

5. NIO Losses - Small Potatoes. NIO lost $2 billion in 2022, more than twice the 2021 level. But CEO William Li says there are no plans to slow spending. NIO will deliver 5 new products in 2023. Link

Do not call the NIO ET5 a Tesla Model Y.

Listen Up

Toyota’s Innovator Dilemma Will Toyota’s new CEO Koji Sato move fast enough on EVs and software?

Toyota earns an A+ for its results today. It is the Toyota of tomorrow that people have doubts about. New technologies are changing the competitive arena fast. Toyota has been a laggard. “Underwhelming”, says John Voelcker, a highly respected expert on electric vehicles. “On range, the digital experience and acceleration, I can think of at least four other EVs that I would recommend to friends before the Toyota bZ4X all-electric SUV.”

Excerpts from my Op-Ed for Nikkei Asia. Full column here: Link

Clean Air Planes. Hydrogen-powered airplanes are no longer something that could happen in the distant future. Last week, Universal Hydrogen successfully completed a 15-minute test flight near Lake Moses, Washington. Link

Future EVs, Batteries, Charging

EVs

Xiaomi Launching In 2024. CEO Lei Jun says the powerhouse smart phone maker will begin mass production of electric cars in 2024. Xiaomi is Chinese for “little rice” (which is written 小米.）Link

Mach-E China Battles Uphill. Ford sold 39,458 Mach-Es in the US last year. But a mere 7,782 in China – the world’s largest EV market. Jim Farley wants to know why. Ford dropped the China Mach E sticker price by $5,700 this week. Link

Mach-E: Made in China But Not Loved in China

Batteries

Li-Cycle Gets $375 Million. Li-Cycle will secure a $375 million dollar loan from the US government when it builds a new battery materials recycling facility in New York. Link

Toronto-based Li-Cycle Gets US Money Too

Amprius Into Colorado. California-based cell developer Amprius will build a manufacturing facility in Colorado. There is also a $50 million grant from the US government to help accelerate the project. Link

Charging

Charging Setup: Hard & Expensive. Ford and Lincoln dealers reveal the complexities and costs of going all-in on EV charging. Every brand is encountering some version of this difficult reality. Link

New Ideas / Milestones

Spinmate Europe. The European Union is gathering leading manufacturers together to develop manufacturing techniques for solid state batteries. Italy’s automation specialist Comau is the latest major company to join. Link

Tesla Mexico - Twice Texas. Tesla’s plant in Mexico would produce up to 1 million electric cars a year, making it twice the size of Tesla’s already massive Texas facilities. Link

Your Weekly Modicum of Wisdom

The cheetah and the Model S Plaid both can go 0-60 in less than three seconds. Who else is on the list?