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Business news curated from the world of legacy automakers, electric vehicle startups, suppliers and everything in between and beyond.
What’s Inside: *Can GM really beat Tesla?* What to expect from Tesla’s annual shareholder meet* VW’s ID.4 is drawing new customers to the brand* Tesla rival Fisker shows off Ocean rocker frame*
October 7, 2021. Issue #26
1. Does General Motors Have Enough Charge To Beat Tesla?
It's getting busier on the electric highway as two back-to-back investor days keeps the industry charged all day.
General Motors Corp fired the first shots with an ambitious growth plan on the numero uno day of its two-day investor meet that began on Wednesday. Tesla Inc’s annual shareholder meet is scheduled to take place later today.
The legacy automaker is gunning for an all-electric future.
The company said it aims to more than double revenue to about $280 billion and expand margins to 12%-14% by 2030, as it switches a majority of its customer base to electric vehicles over the coming years to catch up with the current electric vehicle leader Tesla.
GM’s operating profit margin as of June 30, 2021 is 9.44%.
CEO Mary Barra did sound like she knows what GM is doing notwithstanding the recent black eye event — the company is in the midst of a huge Chevy Bolt recall.
"GM has changed the world before and we're doing it again," Barra said, adding that the company has multiple long-term growth ammunition in its kitty.
The Detroit, Michigan-based GM outlined plans to transition to an all-electric portfolio by 2035. By 2030 it aims to have more than half of its factories in China and North America to be capable of EV production.
Barra had in June said it will boost spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025, a 30% jump over its previous forecast under a new plan that includes launching 30 all-electric models globally by 2025.
It had then said 40% of the company’s U.S. entries will be battery electric vehicles by the end of 2025.
Numerous partnerships, strategic investments, and greenfield manufacturing plants are all part of GM’s all-electric future as it strives to unload the legacy image.
GM and Ford also have the advantage of US President Joe Biden's $174 billion spending plan to boost EVs and charging, including billions in new EV rebates.
GM managed to sell 2.55 million vehicles in the U.S. last year when the demand was roiled due to the pandemic. Of that number EVs accounted for a measly 0.007% of the total volume.
The U.S. automaker has a long way to go but it believes it is at an “inflection point” and will achieve the 2030 targets by growing its electric and autonomous vehicles, software and services with high margins and entering and commercializing new businesses.
Closing note. GM market cap = $78 billion. Tesla market cap = $774.4 billion.
2. Tesla Shares Up About Ahead Of Annual Shareholders Meet
Tesla Inc’s annual shareholder meeting scheduled to be held at the Gigafactory Texas in Austin later today. The event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM ET.
The event comes in quick succession after Tesla’s recent blockbuster third quarter deliveries.
Investors will focus on the electric vehicle maker’s plan for the coming year, estimates for the ongoing semiconductor shortages and comments on its Giga Austin and Giga Berlin factories, demand in China, raw materials for batteries and more.
Tesla's Giga Austin factory Texas is expected to be completed this year while the Giga Berlin is expected to commence production soon. Tesla’s Cybertruck will be built at Giga Austin.
3. Volkswagen Says Half Of Its 144,000 ID.3 Orders This Year Are From New Customers
Volkswagen Ag’s compact electric car ID.3 is on a roll in Europe. The company on Wednesday revealed the YTD order number for the ID.3 in Europe and said about 50% of those are from new buyers who have never tried out the brand before.
The German automaker said about 70,000 new customers ordered the ID.4 from of a total of 144,000 orders in the first nine months of this year.
When compared with other models the average of new buyers is usually around 36%, Volkswagen said.
The automaker is running three shifts in Zwickau and Dresden to meet the demand. The company also plans to launch ID.4 in China later this year where it already sells locally made ID.4s and ID.6s.
By 2029, Volkswagen Group plans to build around 20 million e-vehicles based on the MEB platform. The world’s second-largest automaker aims to sell up to 100,000 ID. series electric vehicles in China this year.
4. Pre-production Tesla Rival Fisker Shows Off Ocean SUV Frame
Fisker Inc CEO Henrik Fisker on Wednesday shared images of the stamped steel body sides of its Ocean SUV which is scheduled to go into production at a European facility in late 2022 and will debut in the LA Auto show next month.
The Ocean SUV is expected to go on sale at a starting price of $37,499.
The California-based company is being seen as a Tesla Inc rival though it is yet to begin rolling out cars from an assembly line. The Tesla Model X and Model Y midsize SUVs retail for $74,690 and $45,690 after U.S. tax credits.
Fisker is also developing a more affordable, sub-$30,000 electric vehicle that it plans to launch by the end of 2023 with the help of Apple Inc and Taiwan-based supplier Foxconn.
All images sourced from company site or their social media accounts.
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