Running discussion on SP, page-54203

Pretty much spells out what all us long termers have been here for.

As Frank would say 'Writing is on the Wall'

Automakers step up pace on electric vehicle battery plants

Global automakers are stepping up the pace when it comes to building factories to prepare for what many believe will be a fast-moving transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles

Global automakers and tech companies are stepping up the pace when it comes to building factories and prepare for what many believe will be a fast-moving transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

On Monday, Toyota, Stellantis, Foxconn, Ford and Volvo all made announcements about electric vehicle component or assembly plants, or plans to raise capital to fund the transition.

The moves come on top of previous plans from Ford and General Motors to build five U.S. battery factories in anticipation of the shift to electric power.

The moves are ahead of demand at the moment, but forecasters predict that the share of electric vehicles will rise dramatically as more battery-electric models are rolled out as governments increase requirements for zero-emissions vehicles to fight climate change.

At present, only about 4.8% of the roughly 80 million new vehicles sold globally run solely on electricity, according to LMC Automotive.

But the consulting firm Alix Partners predicts that will rise to 11% in 2025 and 24% in 2030. If plug-in gas-electric hybrids, which can travel short distances solely on electricity, are included, that figure rises to 28% in 10 years.

Simultaneously, Alix Partners predicts that global sales of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles will fall from the current 89% to around 39% by 2030. Gas-electric hybrids, which run on gasoline and electricity at the same time, rise from 7% currently to 33% in 2030.

“All of us are trying to get a fix on how customers will accept electric vehicles,” Chris Reynolds, chief administrative officer for Toyota in North America, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We don’t know for sure, but we have to be ready.”

Toyota said it plans to build a new $1.29 billion factory in the U.S. to manufacture batteries for hybrid and fully electric vehicles. The location wasn't announced, but the company said it eventually will employ 1,750 people and start making batteries in 2025, gradually expanding through 2031.

The plant is part of $3.4 billion that Toyota plans to spend in the U.S. on automotive batteries during the next decade. It didn't detail where the remaining $2.1 billion would be spent, but part of that likely will go for another battery factory.

Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, and LG Energy Solution said Monday that they plan to build a battery manufacturing facility to help the automaker get 40% of its U.S. sales from vehicles that run at least partly on electricity by 2030. They didn't say where the plant would be.

Also Monday, the Taiwanese company that makes smartphones for Apple and others, Foxconn Technology Group, said it would produce electric cars and buses for auto brands in China, North America, Europe and other markets.

Volvo Cars on Monday unveiled more details of its initial public offering that will fund its ambitious plan to transform into an all-electric vehicle company by 2030.

The Swedish auto brand, owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, said the IPO would value the company at 163-200 billion kronor ($18.8-$23 billion) when shares start trading Oct. 28.

And Ford Motor Co. announced that it will turn a transmission factory in northwest England into a plant that will make electric power units for cars and trucks sold throughout Europe.

Jeff Schuster, president of global vehicle forecasting for LMC Automotive, said that's because it's “in vogue” for automakers to make such announcements, which are well-received by investors. But he said the plants will be necessary, especially in the U.S., where battery manufacturing capacity was lagging Europe and China.

“Behind the scenes this has been building as we look at moving to electric vehicle technology globally," he said.

“This is the foundation. You need the batteries before you can get there.”

The moves come just after Ford and General Motors recently announced large investments in U.S. battery factories. GM plans to build battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee, while Ford has plans for plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Toyota will form a new company to run its new U.S. battery plant with Toyota Tsusho, a subsidiary that now makes an array of parts for the automaker. The company also will help Toyota expand its U.S. supply chain, as well as increase its knowledge of lithium-ion auto batteries, Toyota said Monday.

The new plant would likely be near one of the company's U.S. assembly plants in Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama or Texas.

Toyota plans to sell 2 million zero emission hydrogen and battery electric vehicles worldwide per year by 2030. In the U.S., Toyota plans to sell 1.5 million to 1.8 million vehicles by 2030 in the U.S. that are at least partially electrified.

Reynolds said no one can predict exactly how fast the shift to battery power will happen, but he said a transition to gas-electric hybrids happened faster than Toyota anticipated when it introduced the Prius in the late 1990s.

He sees hybrid and plug-in hybrids as a bridge between full internal combustion engines and battery-electric vehicles.

Now in the U.S., Toyota offers hydrogen vehicles, hybrids and plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Toyota says vehicles that operate at least partially on electricity now account for about a quarter of its U.S. sales, and it plans for that to rise to nearly 70% by 2030.

The company says it will have 15 battery electric vehicles for sale globally by 2025.

https://abcnews.go.com/


Tesla surprised by pace of “structural shift” to EVs, prepares for Model Y ramp

According to Daniel Ives, technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, the impressive results are a reflection of automobile customers’ growing preference for electric vehicles.

“These delivery numbers, combined with this ‘impressive earnings beat,’ speaks to an EV demand trajectory that looks quite robust for Tesla heading into fourth quarter and 2022,” he wrote in a note to clients (via CNN).

https://thedriven.io/2021/10/21/tes...tural-shift-to-evs-prepares-for-model-y-ramp/


Tesla achieves annual run rate of 1 million electric cars – incredible milestone

Tesla has confirmed that it has achieved an annual run rate of 1 million electric cars per year at the end of last quarter.

During Tesla’s Q3 earnings call, Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn confirmed the news:

“We were also able to achieve an annualized production run rate of over 1 million cars towards the end of the quarter. The increase in production rate has been primarily been driven by further ramping of Model Y at Gigafactory Shanghai. Additionally, we have made great progress in increasing production volume of Model S and have recently started production and ramp of Model X.”

It means that Tesla achieved a weekly global production rate of 19,000 to 20,000 vehicles toward the end of the quarter.

CEO Elon Musk had recently confirmed that Gigafactory Shanghai has now surpassed Fremont factory in production rate.

Electrek‘s take

This is truly an incredible achievement by Tesla and a good look for Q4 if the supply chain issues don’t become worse.

And to be clear, I am mainly talking about the production ramp being impressive here.

I always knew that Tesla could sell however many cars that they can produce, but to go from an annual production rate of 20,000 cars in 2013 to 1 million cars in 2021 is absolutely wild and should be celebrated.

https://electrek.co/2021/10/20/tesla-achieves-annual-run-rate-1-million-electric-cars/