Global Electric Vehicle Horse Race: Win, Place & Show
Battery Belt, Tesla, EV Prices, BritishVolt, Toyota, Hungary
The Big 5 This Week
1. Worldwide Demand for EVs. Consumers will buy an estimated 9.8 million battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles this year. But, watch out, China's dash to 6 million might be interrupted by severe droughts that are putting the clamps on production. Link
Global EV Forecast 2022
China: 6M
Europe: 2.5M
USA: 1.1M
RoW: 0.2M
Sources: CAAM, Matthias Schmidt, Bloomberg, Company Reports.
2. Sticker Prices. The average price of a new electric vehicle in America today is $66,000. In China, the majority of electric vehicles retail for under $30,000.
Best-Selling EV Models by Major Market
Jan-July 2022
China - Wuling Hongguang Mini EV @ $5,500
America - Tesla Model Y Long Range @ $65,990
Europe - Tesla Model Y Long Range @ $67,580
3. America's Giga Battery Belt. America is building a massive battery belt that stretches from South Carolina up through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Kansas, Texas and Nevada are other major (outside the belt) battery centers coming on stream. Some $40 billion in new investments are in the pipeline between now and 2026. Link
4. Hungary: China's New Home for Europe. CATL plans to supply BMW and Mercedes from a $7.6 billion battery plant in Hungary. Link NIO is building a battery swap and R&D center in Hungary. China's EVE Energy is moving into Hungary, too. Link
5. Toyota Powertrain Pragmatism. The world's largest and most profitable automaker is taking a market-by-market approach to its global powertrain strategy. In China, a joint venture with EV leader, BYD. In Indonesia, a $2.2 billion investment in EVs and batteries. In America, a blend of big trucks, hydrogen, hybrids and electrics. And in India, a big bet on mild-hybrids. Link
What I Am Driving (Soon): The Cadillac Lyriq. GM promises an opportunity to get behind the wheel of this all-electric mid-size SUV within the next few weeks. Apparently, there is a quite a queue. CNET calls the Lyriq a "whole new ballgame." Link
Recommend to Read: Xi Jinping's Radical Secrecy featured in The Atlantic by the highly respected Richard McGregor. My favorite portion is McGregor's back-and-forth with Chinese officials:
Chinese Officials: "You don't understand China!"
McGregor: "You don't want me to understand China!"
Future Cars & Markets
Electrics
NIO ET7 / Arriving Europe. NIO's "first smart electric flagship" EV, the ET7, will soon land in European markets including Norway, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Holland. With prices starting at $67,000, the ET7 aims to take share from the Audi A6 and the BMW 5 Series. Link
Fisker Ocean / Production Updates. Fisker could increase production of the Ocean beyond the originally-planned 50,000 units. The company is also looking to shift some production from Graz, Austria to the US in wake of the new tax credits rules under the Inflation Reduction Act. Link
Rivian Cancels Entry Level Trims / Deja Vu? Customers (including current order holders) are now invited to order the Adventure which starts at $73,000 or $6,000 higher than the Explore model. Rivian made a similar move in 2021 that enraged its customers. Let's see if this one goes more smoothly. Link
Fiat 500e Atop Leaderboard. Irresistable cuteness works. The Fiat 500e was Europe's best-selling EV in July. Link
Autonomous
Tesla FSD / $15,000 And Rising. How is Tesla's FSD package different from a meme stock? Chasing Bed Bath and Beyond can seriously dent the investor's bank account. Throwing money at an incomplete FSD package risks doing catastrophic damage to self and to others. Who would pay to accrue such risks? Apparently one in seven Tesla buyers. Link
Lyft / Vegas. Ride-hailing challenger Lyft teams up with Motional to deliver ride-hailing services in Las Vegas. Link
Batteries / Charging
VW & Mercedes / Canadian Power Play. Germany's leading automakers have struck a deal to secure supplies of key battery materials. "Canada has similar rich natural resources as Russia with the difference that it is a reliable democracy." Link
Ital+British+State Volt / Carlstrom's Big Vision. Lars Carlstrom is the CEO of Italvolt, co-founder of Britishvolt and CEO of Statevolt, a company that plans to build a battery plant in Imperial Valley, California. Carlstrom says Italvolt will secure operational permits for its first battery plant in 2023. Link
Earth to Electrify America, Hello? From an EA press release: "We take pride in the fact that EV drivers can feel a sense of confidence knowing that our growing network has them covered for all charging needs." Editor's fact check word fixes: Take shame / sense of anxiety / not covered. Link H/T John Voelcker
AMTE Power / Sodium-Ion Batteries. Three British companies are among the world's pioneers in developing and selling sodium-ion batteries. Link
New Numbers / New Deals
Manchin / Inflation Reduction Act. "You want to get your $7,500 incentive [I told them] then build this industry. Build it or else. " Link
Ford / 3,000 Job Cuts. "We absolutely have too many people in certain places. No doubt about it. And we have skills that don't work anymore." Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co CEO. Link
China Hellish Heatwave. An incredible 644 cities in China will experience heat above 98 degrees this week. Nation declares a national drought. Link
Tesla / Indonesia Update. "What we want is the electric car, not [just] the battery. For Tesla we want them to build electric cars in Indonesia.: Jokowi Widodo, President, Republic of Indonesia, August 18, 2022. Link
The ZoZo Go Newsletter: Future. Electrics. Global.
Listen to the Driving With Dunne podcast via Apple, Spotify, Amazon or wherever you take your podcasts.
Follow ZoZoGo on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
