BERLIN, March 17 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) plans to invest in mines to bring down the cost of battery cells, meet half of its own demand and sell to third-party customers, the carmaker’s board member in charge of technology said.
Europe’s biggest carmaker wants its battery unit PowerCo to become a global battery supplier, not just produce for Volkswagen’s own needs, Thomas Schmall told Reuters in an interview.
PowerCo will start by delivering cells to Ford (F.N) for the 1.2 million vehicles the U.S. carmaker is building in Europe on Volkswagen’s electric MEB platform, he said.
Long-term, Volkswagen plans to build enough cells to meet half its global battery needs, with most production capacity located in Europe and North America, according to Schmall.
“The bottleneck for raw materials is mining capacity – that’s why we need to invest in mines directly,” he said.
The carmaker was partnering on supply deals with mining companies in Canada, where it will build its first North American battery plant.
Schmall declined to comment on further locations under consideration or where or when Volkswagen might invest directly in mines, saying the company would not disclose that information until the market was more settled.
“In future, there will be a select number of battery standards. Through our large volume and third-party sales business, we want to be one of those standards,” he said.
AMBITIOUS ROADMAP
Making or sourcing batteries at a reasonable cost is a key challenge for carmakers like Volkswagen, Tesla (TSLA.O) and Stellantis (STLAM.MI) as they seek to make electric vehicles (EVs) affordable.
Only Tesla has pledged more investment into battery production than Volkswagen, according to a Reuters analysis – though even the U.S. EV maker is struggling to ramp up production and is recruiting Asian suppliers to help.
Few carmakers have disclosed direct stakes in mines, but many have struck deals with producers to source materials like lithium, nickel and cobalt and pass them onto their battery suppliers.
PowerCo, set up last year, is targeting 20 billion euros ($21.22 billion) in annual sales by 2030.
It’s an ambitious roadmap for a unit not yet producing at scale. Production will start in 2025 at PowerCo’s plant in Salzgitter, Germany, 2026 in Valencia, Spain and 2027 in Ontario, Canada.
Still, Schmall is confident the carmaker can expand quickly – and must do so if it wants to build an affordable EV, in which 40% of the costs come from the battery.
Volkswagen released on Thursday the details of a 25,000-euro EV it aims to sell in Europe from 2025.
China’s BYD, which also produces batteries, is far ahead of Volkswagen in the affordable EV race and outsold the German carmaker for the second time in four months in China in February.
REDUCING COSTS
In Volkswagen’s 180-billion-euro five year spending plan, up to 15 billion is earmarked for its three announced battery plants and some raw material sourcing.
The carmaker has so far nailed down raw material supply until 2026 – by which time the German and Spanish plants will be in operation – and will decide in the next few months how to meet its demand from then on, Schmall said in the interview.
It has also ordered some $14 billion in batteries from Northvolt’s Swedish plant.
“Bringing down battery costs further is a challenge,” Schmall said. “We’re using all the instruments with PowerCo.”
Asian producers like CATL, LG Chem and Samsung SDI dominate global cell production, with almost half of planned battery cell capacity in Europe by Asian players.
Half the staff at Volkswagen’s PowerCo are industry veterans from Asia, Schmall said, enabling the battery unit to enter the industry at the top of the learning curve.
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Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Susan Fenton
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DUNTON, England, March 6 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co’s (F.N) push to use reams of data generated by its vans and trucks – from engines to oil filters or brake pads – to attract more customers in the European and U.S. commercial vehicle market plays out on a 9-metre-long (30 ft) screen at its UK headquarters in Dunton east of London.
During a recent visit by Reuters, that screen showed real-time data from 114,000 vans in Britain so far covered by Ford’s FORDLiive monthly subscription service.
Ford employees were focused on the 98.3% of the vans that were in service – and of those, roughly 8% in need of repairs fairly soon or urgently – but concentrated even more so on the 1.7% vehicles out of action.
The U.S. automaker tracks 4,000 data points via modems it has installed in all commercial vehicles since 2019 – and can warn paying customers of engine problems and basics such as brake pad wear, low oil or diesel additives that are cheap to maintain proactively but expensive to fix if not addressed.
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The automaker has connected all of its UK dealers to its system, so it can arrange repairs and have parts ready for vans before they arrive at a dealership.
Ford, which leads the commercial vehicle market in both Europe and the United States, launched the system in 2021. Hans Schep, European head of Ford Pro, the company’s commercial vehicle business, said it is already close to hitting long-term targets of increasing vehicle “up time” by up to 60%.
Ford estimates that downtime, when a van is out of action, costs an average of 600 pounds ($724) daily per van.
“This has already been a major game-changer,” Schep said.
After a successful test run in Britain, Ford is also rolling out the FORDLiive service in mainland Europe and the United States. The automaker has focused more on its profitable Ford Pro business in Europe than lower-margin mass-market passenger cars.
Ford recently announced engineering job cuts in Europe, but is still hiring software experts for its data services.
Data is a huge battleground for commercial vehicle makers and competition will only intensify with electric models, which are essentially computers on wheels.
Using data to show where vans are, how they consume fuel, how drivers use or misuse them, whether they can skip an oil change, but above all avoiding downtime is becoming as important as the vehicles themselves.
There is also an ongoing fight pitting insurers, leasing companies and car repair shops against carmakers in the European Union over access to connected car data and the vast potential revenue it could generate.
“We plan to grow our leadership position,” said Ted Cannis, chief executive of Ford Pro. “We are going to have many, many more markets that we were not even previously in.”
EASING THE ELECTRIC JOURNEY
Electric vans provide far more data points for Ford and its rivals to work with – including tracking how much range they have left and providing easy, comprehensive charging solutions.
Ford’s Schep said providing that data is crucial for van fleets because according to the automaker’s research, 60% of its corporate customers “are really worried about the journey to electric.”
The UK operations of DHL Express, part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPWGn.DE), has 270 electric Ford E Transit vans with firm orders for 120 more, and is signing up for FORDLiive.
Fleet director Richard Crook said aside from monitoring those vans’ batteries, he wants to tap Ford’s predictive maintenance capabilities.
“We need to get ahead of things and plan maintenance schedules because the vehicle is actually telling you ‘I have a problem,'” Crook said.
Ford rival General Motors Co (GM.N) has also rolled out telematics services including “in-vehicle coaching,” where a voice nicknamed “Karen in the vehicle” coaches drivers against excessive braking, speeding or other bad habits.
Michelle Calloway, director of OnStar Business Solutions at GM, said “Karen” cut fuel use by 30% in 30 days in one customer’s fleet.
“Those are impactful savings scaled across a large fleet,” Calloway said.
Starting with 2024 models, GM will provide a range of OnStar data services free for fleet vehicles. Ed Peper, who heads GM’s fleet sales, said once customers try those services, they are likely to pay for more.
Italian truck, van and bus maker Iveco Group NV (IVG.MI) has around 150,000 connected vehicles using telematics services and has seen a 30% increase in uptime, plus a “single-digit percent” drop in warranty costs so far, said chief technology officer Marco Liccardo.
Liccardo estimates subscription services will generate 40% to 50% of commercial vehicle makers’ profits by 2030 and help franchise dealers survive the shift to electric with fewer parts to service.
“Data will be the oxygen to do that,” Liccardo said.
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Editing by Matthew Lewis
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TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Japan will extend tax breaks on low-emission cars and seek to shift its massive household savings into investment in the government’s annual tax code revision to be approved on Friday.
The government will also raise corporate, income and tobacco taxes to pay for a scheduled doubling of Japan’s defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027 – a response to an increasingly assertive China and North Korea’s missile launches.
Below are key changes under the revised tax code, according to a draft of the document obtained by Reuters. The revised code will take effect in the next fiscal year beginning in April 2023, upon approval by parliament.
AUTOMOBILE TAX
Japan will extend tax breaks on low-emission cars past the end of 2023, while increasing the required level of emissions reduction for eligible vehicles in several stages from 2024. The revision, to remain in place until April 2026, will cover half of all new automobiles.
The government will also exclude gasoline-powered cars beginning in 2025 from tax cuts that were granted to the automobile sector to help it overcome supply constraints.
‘NEW CAPITALISM’
Under his flagship “new capitalism” initiative aimed at redistributing income, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has sought to shift Japan’s 2,000 trillion yen ($14.52 trillion) in household assets away from savings and into investment.
As part of this initiative, the government will make permanent a programme that offers tax breaks for households’ stock investments. Specifically, it will triple the limit on investments eligible for tax breaks from 2024.
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
The capital gains tax rate is uniform across income brackets in Japan, unlike the income tax, which is progressive.
As part of efforts to narrow income disparities, the government will apply higher capital gains tax rates for households with annual income above 3 billion yen.
START-UPS
Kishida’s administration has stressed the need to nurture more start-ups that could give a boost to Japan’s anaemic economic growth.
The government will expand preferential tax breaks for retail investors when they buy and sell stocks in start-up firms.
Profits from the sale of start-up shares will be exempt from income tax if they are reinvested in other venture businesses.
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WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Many automakers and the South Korean government are urging the Biden administration to tap a commercial electric vehicle tax credit to boost consumer EV access, a plan that could help ease concerns over a climate bill approved in Congress.
The $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in August ended $7,500 consumer tax credits for electric vehicles assembled outside North America, sparking anger from South Korea, the European Union, Japan and others.
Some automakers say a lesser noticed IRA provision for “commercial clean vehicles” could be used to boost EV manufacturers and address foreign concerns.
Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O), Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and Kia Corp (000270.KS) among others want the administration to let consumer vehicle leasing qualify for the commercial EV tax credit that could reduce monthly lease payments.
The South Korean government in comments made public Tuesday urged Treasury “interpret ‘commercial clean vehicles’ broadly” to include rental cars, leased vehicles and vehicles purchased for use in Uber (UBER.N) or Lyft (LYFT.O) rideshare fleets.
South Korea also asked Treasury not to impose any budget restrictions on commercial vehicle tax credits through 2025.
Hyundai and Kia want Treasury to allow people leasing EVs to be able to qualify for up to a $4,000 tax credit for used EVs if they buy vehicles when leases expire.
The IRA consumer EV tax credit imposes significant battery minerals and component sourcing restrictions, sets income and price caps for qualifying vehicles and seeks to phaseout Chinese battery minerals or components.
The commercial credit does not have the same sourcing or pricing restrictions but has an “incremental cost” eligibility test that might prove complex. Some automakers want Treasury to make it easier to ensure most commercial light-duty vehicles qualify for $7,500 tax credits.
President Joe Biden said last week “there are tweaks that we can make that can fundamentally make it easier for European countries to participate.”
Some automakers oppose using the commercial credit for consumer sales.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said “the lack of criteria to qualify for (commercial credits) could undermine the IRA’s goals to expand domestic production of EV batteries and maintain America’s energy independence.”
Tesla (TSLA.O)said commercial credits “should apply exclusively for commercial end-users” and the consumer tax credit “should apply exclusively for individual end-users.”
General Motors (GM.N) Chief Executive Mary Barra told Reuters on the sidelines of an event Monday that addressing foreign concerns about the credit is “more complicated than just one thing to solve it” and added “sticking to the intent of the bill” drafted by Congress “is important.”
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lincoln Feast.
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Nov 8 (Reuters) – Electric-truck maker Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) said on Tuesday it will partner with charging company ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT.N) to speed up the deployment of the required infrastructure for commercial EVs.
Many fleet operators are inclined to use more electric vehicles as they aim to reduce carbon emissions and meet sustainability targets, however, the lack of proper infrastructure has been a deterrent.
Nikola said with access to ChargePoint’s products it will be able to reduce the time required to build infrastructure projects that will help its customers manage charging of their vehicles, plan schedules and streamline delivery routes.
The companies, however, declined to provide the financial details of the partnership.
The announcement of the deal comes a week after Nikola said that scaling up charging infrastructure for fleets was a hurdle, exacerbated by end-customers’ reluctance to spend capital for the development.
Nikola expects such challenges to continue and limit uptake of its Tre battery electric semi truck.
It said the company would miss its target of delivering at least 300 vehicles this year and declined to issue fresh forecasts, citing macroeconomic uncertainty clouding visibility of its future.
Phoenix, Arizona-based Nikola has placed orders for ChargePoint’s fast charging solution, E-Skids, and deliveries are expected to begin as early as this month.
(This story has been refiled to remove extraneous text from headline)
Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
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DETROIT, Oct 11 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) is expanding beyond car making, with plans to offer energy storage and management services to residential and commercial customers through its new GM Energy unit in a move that puts it in even greater competition with Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).
GM Energy will bundle the existing Ultium Charge 360 public charging service with two new units, Ultium Home and Ultium Commercial, that will offer stationary storage batteries, as well as solar panels and hydrogen fuel cells, the company said on Tuesday.
“We’re getting into the entire ecosystem of energy management,” GM executive Travis Hester said in an interview.
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“Our competition in this space on the (automaker) side is really only Tesla, which is a strong energy management company,” added Hester, who heads EV Growth Operations. “There are a lot of analogies you can draw with Tesla.”
Tesla’s seven-year-old energy generation and storage business, which includes solar panels and stationary batteries, lost $129 million last year on revenues of $2.8 billion.
Hester said GM sees a total addressable market of $120 billion to $150 billion in energy storage and management. He declined to provide a revenue projection for GM Energy.
The Ultium Home service will offer stationary wall boxes, similar to Tesla’s Powerwall units, with sales and installation scheduled to start in late 2023, timed to the launch of the first Chevrolet Silverado EV trucks aimed at private customers.
As Ford Motor Co (F.N) does with its F-150 Lightning, the Silverado EV will have bi-directional capability, which means it will be able to feed electricity back into the home during a power outage.
GM’s commercial service will offer similar capability to businesses, through larger stationary storage units as well as microgrids connected to hydrogen fuel cells developed by the automaker. Businesses in turn will be able to sell energy back to utilities during peak power consumption periods.
GM will team with SunPower Corp (SPWR.O) to provide customers with solar panels to enhance energy generation.
“This is a new space for us,” Hester said. “We have core competencies in vehicles and batteries, in cell chemistry and scale manufacturing. Put that together with our expertise in fuel cells, our dealer network, what we’ve been doing with OnStar and connectivity, and it seems like an obvious step for us.”
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Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit
Editing by Marguerita Choy
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BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (9866.HK) will only lease its cars when it launches in four European markets this year, its CEO told Reuters on Friday, betting that flexibility will be a key selling point as drivers switch to the new technology.
Users will be able to lease a car with a 75 gigawatt hour battery for 1,199-1,295 euros ($1,171-$1,264) a month depending on the length of the subscription, which can be as short as a month.
The plan is the latest unconventional move by the company, which already allows customers to rent rather than buy the battery – the most expensive part of an electric vehicle (EV).
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Rather than charging their cars at home, Nio owners can also drive them to a battery swapping station to have a new powerpack installed in minutes to save time.
Now, as it prepares to launch in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, Nio plans to operate its businesses there on a corporate leasing and subscription model, offering all three models available in China – the ET7, ET5 and EL7, with the latter renamed in Europe from its Chinese name of ES7 because of a branding dispute with Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) Audi.
“We will not be selling cars,” CEO William Li said in an interview at the company’s new ‘Nio House’ showroom in central Berlin, the first of nine new members club-style venues to open for Nio fans in Europe this year.
“Flexibility is the new premium.”
Nio has sold just under 250,000 vehicles in China and Norway since starting production in 2018. Prices range from around 50,000-70,000 euros ($49,000-$69,000), depending on the car’s range and whether customers buy or rent the battery.
It has so far operated on a make-to-order basis, creating bespoke products for customers and keeping inventory low.
Nio will stick to direct sales in existing markets in part due to less attractive taxation on subscription models in Norway and restrictions around licence plates in China, Li said.
BATTERY SWAP
Nio is facing competition in China from a growing number of EV startups from Xpeng (9868.HK) to Hozon and Leapmotor as well as larger manufacturers like China’s BYD (002594.SZ) and Tesla (TSLA.O).
In Europe, it will be chasing after Tesla and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) for the top spot on EV sales.
The plan is to install at least 120 battery swapping stations in Europe by the end of next year, Li said, adding it was not so much a matter of the financial investment but of the time and bureaucracy required to get it done.
The company opened its first plant to manufacture swapping stations in Hungary last month, and would consider producing batteries in the region once it reaches battery sales in Europe equivalent to around 10 gigawatt hours, Li said.
“The advantage of our business separating the car from the battery is that we may reach economies of scale for the batteries faster than the cars,” Li said. “When we reach 10 gigawatt hours, we will consider localising production.”
In China, where that target has already been met, a team of around 700 people is working on in-house battery production, enabling the company to take control of its battery supply.
In the meantime, Nio is seeking further partners beyond its current supplier, CATL, Li said, adding it aimed to have new partnerships secured next year.
“In the long-run we believe any top company in the automotive industry will soon have in-house battery production,” Li said.
Nio’s revenue grew 22% in the second quarter from a year ago while its net loss more than quadrupled to the equivalent of $410 million.
It delivered just under 32,000 vehicles in September, up 29.3% year on year. Supply chain troubles in China due to COVID-19 lockdowns in August eased faster than expected, Li said.
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Oct 6 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is starting Semi electric commercial truck production and PepsiCo Inc will get the first deliveries on Dec. 1, the electric vehicle maker’s chief Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday.
When Musk unveiled the prototype of the futuristic, battery-powered Semi in 2017, he said the Class 8 truck would go into production by 2019.
However, the timeline has been pushed multiple times due to part shortages and Musk said the production would be delayed to next year. In August, he announced the planned production of the truck.
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In another tweet, Musk reiterated that the vehicle has a range of 500 miles (805 km). It was not immediately clear how many Semi trucks the electric vehicle maker plans to produce.
The truck is expected to cost $180,000, although it would qualify for a tax break of up to $40,000 under a U.S. subsidy program approved by the Senate.
Back in 2017, PepsiCo reserved 100 of Tesla’s semi electric trucks as it sought to reduce fuel costs and fleet emissions.
In an interview with CNBC last year, PepsiCo’s top boss Ramon Laguarta had said transportation accounted for 10% of the company’s gas emissions.
The maker of Mountain Dew soda and Doritos chips had previously said it aims to use the trucks to ship snack foods and beverages between manufacturing and distribution centers as well as to retailers.
PepsiCo did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
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Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and David Sheperdson; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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NUNEATON, England, Aug 9 (Reuters) – A handful of commercial electric vehicle (EV) startups are burning through cash fast, racing to bring vans or trucks to market before the funds run out or customers choose to buy from legacy automakers like Ford Motor Co or General Motors Co (GM.N).
Boosted by investor hunger to create the next Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), a clutch of commercial EV makers on both sides of the Atlantic have gone public via reverse mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), raising hundreds of millions of dollars as they sought to emulate Elon Musk’s success. These include Arrival Inc , Canoo Inc (GOEV.O), Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE.O), Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc (ELMS) and REE Automotive Holding Inc (REE.O).
But investors have soured on EV startups and their ability to compete with legacy carmakers, sending their shares to a fraction of their peak prices. This has raised the pressure to produce working vehicles fast if they want to raise fresh funds in an industry where launching a single vehicle can cost $1 billion.
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“It’s vitally important at this stage to get vehicles into customers’ hands,” said Daniel Barel, chief executive of Israeli electric chassis maker REE Automotive, which has run vehicle tests with customers near Detroit and will unveil a UK prototype van this week. “Only then can they make a real decision to buy.”
REE’s chassis use “corners” or standalone in-wheel electric motors, with brakes and steering housed in all or some of the wheels of an EV that do not need axles or powertrains, freeing up more space inside a van.
To get to market faster, REE has tapped legacy suppliers like American Axle for electric motors and Italy’s Brembo (BRBI.MI) for brakes. Companies like EAVX and Morgan Olson, units of commercial vehicle body maker JB Poindexter & Co, will provide standardized bodies for REE’s U.S. trucks.
“We want to keep true to what we’re about and let others bring their expertise in for the rest,” said vice president for engineering Peter Dow at REE’s engineering centre in Nuneaton, England.
The clock is ticking.
REE’s shares are almost 90% below their July 2021 debut. The company had $239 million in cash at the end of March and expects to invest up to $120 million in 2022 to scale up for production in 2023.
“We’re on track, we’re on budget, we’ve got everything we need to take it to the market,” CEO Barel said while demonstrating a test vehicle near Detroit, adding that REE has enough cash to last beyond the end of 2023.
Others have already struggled, however.
ELMS filed for bankruptcy liquidation in June, citing insufficient funding, while Lordstown had to sell assets to Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn (2317.TW). read more
In May, Canoo disclosed “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern, but recently received a boost when Walmart Inc (WMT.N) ordered 4,500 vehicles. read more
Obtaining more cash could be tough.
“The market right now is not an ideal market to raise capital,” said Dakota Semler, CEO of Los Angeles-based Xos Inc (XOS.O), which already has 200 electric trucks operating on U.S. roads for customers including Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) delivery contractors.
Xos had $132.7 million in cash at the end of March and can raise $125 million more via a share purchase deal with a unit of U.S. investment firm Yorkville Advisors.
‘TOUGH AT THE MOMENT’
Legacy automakers are turning up the heat.
FedEx Corp (FDX.N) has 150 BrightDrop electric trucks running deliveries around Los Angeles.
“It feels like you’re in the future now,” FedEx driver Nelson Granados, 28, told a Reuters reporter as he made deliveries during a ride-along in a BrightDrop EV.
FedEx has ordered 2,500 BrightDrop trucks, spurred by a combination of the 18-month-old company’s technology and GM’s manufacturing muscle, FedEx’s chief sustainability officer, Mitch Jackson, told Reuters
Potential new entrants have taken note.
British EV startup Bedeo makes electric powertrains for vans for world No. 4 automaker Stellantis NV (STLA.MI) and said earlier this year it was talking to investors about building its own vans. read more
Despite its track record – vehicles with Bedeo powertrains have clocked over 50 million km (31 million miles) – executives say investors are now wary of competing with the likes of Ford’s electric Transit van.
“A large-scale capital raise is tough at the moment,” said Andrew Whitehead, CEO of Bedeo unit Protean Electric.
Bedeo CEO Osman Boyner said the company will instead start converting existing diesel vans later this year using Protean’s in-wheel electric motors so they can run in electric mode in cities with low-emission zones and diesel on longer journeys.
Bedeo is also talking to legacy automakers about producing small, specialized production runs of 5,000 or so vans for them.
“Big automakers don’t want to do that in-house,” Boyner said. “Those numbers are too small for them, but they’re big numbers for companies like us.”
‘LESS FAVOURABLE TERMS’
EV startups are cutting back.
Rivian said earlier this year that its $16 billion in cash as of the end of March was enough to fund its second U.S. plant for $5 billion, targeted to open in 2025, but it announced in late July that it would cut its workforce by 6% to reduce costs. read more
Amazon has ordered 100,000 vans from Rivian, whose stock has fallen more than 80% from a peak hit shortly after its November 2021 initial public offering.
UK electric van and bus maker Arrival also plans to cut costs. read more
Arrival had $500 million in cash in mid-July, almost 45% down from roughly $905 million at the end of 2021. Its stock is almost 93% below its March 2021 debut.
Chief Financial Officer John Wozniak said in a statement that restructuring will fund Arrival’s operations until late 2023.
The startup has begun phased trials with United Parcel Service Inc , which has ordered up to 10,000 Arrival vans.
“We believe that we will continue to access funding from a number of different sources,” Wozniak said. “However, the terms may be less favourable and the amount and timing remains uncertain, which is why the company announced the measures it is taking to preserve cash.”
Startups that avoided going public via SPAC mergers are now waiting for the market to improve.
In February Stockholm-based Volta Trucks raised 230 million euros ($235 million) in funding to ramp up electric truck production. read more
Spokesman Duncan Forrester said Volta has prototype trucks in customers’ hands and is on track for series production in early 2023. It has an order book of more than 6,500 trucks valued at around 1.4 billion euros.
Later in 2023, Volta will look to raise funds, either through fresh fundraising or an initial public offering.
“From an investor perspective, that will be a different conversation because we’ll be able to demonstrate a track record of bringing vehicles to market,” Forrester said.
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Editing by Matthew Lewis
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SEOUL, June 29 (Reuters) – South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES) (373220.KS) plans to reevaluate its investment plan for a standalone Arizona battery factory due to the current U.S. economic environment, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The spokesperson’s comments on the previously announced $1.3 billion investment came after LGES said in a statement that, “Given the unprecedented economic conditions and investment circumstances in the U.S., LG Energy Solution is currently reviewing various investment options.”
The company, South Korea’s biggest player in the booming market for electric vehicles and batteries, said no decisions have been made in its statement, which didn’t mention the Arizona plan.
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LGES shares fell 2.6% in early trading, while the benchmark KOSPI (.KS11) index was down.
The statement comes just three months after LGES, which counts Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), General Motors Co (GM.N) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) among its customers, announced plans to build a battery factory in Arizona by 2024 to meet demand from startups and other North American customers. read more
LGES said in March the plant would be its first U.S. factory to make cylindrical cells, a type of battery that has been used in Tesla and Lucid vehicles. Construction was to begin in the second quarter of 2022, it said, with mass production to start in 2024.
In the United States, LGES is building three plants with GM in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan and plans to expand its existing factory in Michigan. read more
LGES has production sites in the United States, South Korea, China, Poland, Canada and Indonesia.
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