Volkswagen said on Tuesday that it would spend $193 billion on software, battery factories and other investments as it aimed to make every fifth vehicle it sold electric by 2025. The automaker, the world’s second biggest after Toyota, will also focus on expanding its presence in North America, where it has struggled for years, and becoming more competitive in China, one of its most important markets, said Oliver Blume, Volkswagen’s chief executive. Mr. Blume laid out a 10-point plan for helping Volkswagen pivot to electric vehicles, a path it began…
Tag: Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
Biden and E.U. Leader to Discuss Ukraine and Trade Spat
WASHINGTON — President Biden is scheduled to meet on Friday afternoon with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and the two leaders are expected to coordinate on support for Ukraine and open negotiations over U.S. clean energy subsidies that have prompted anger among some European nations. The discussion, scheduled for 2 p.m. at the White House, will range from a potential trade deal to concerns over China’s support for Moscow, and will be a test of the trans-Atlantic allies’ ability to hold together a unified front…
Tesla Offers a New ‘Master Plan’ but Few Big Revelations
Tesla said on Wednesday that it would build a factory in Mexico to manufacture an electric vehicle that would be significantly more affordable than any of the cars it sold now. But the company disappointed investors who were expecting it to make big announcements about new products and strategies. Shareholders and analysts had expected Tesla to reveal information that would clarify how the company would retain its crown as the world’s dominant maker of electric vehicles in the face of energetic competition from established carmakers and relatively younger Chinese manufacturers.…
China’s Leading Electric Carmaker Has Arrived in Germany
Germans take huge pride in their automotive industry, and have never been eager to abandon their Audis, BMWs or Mercedes-Benzes for foreign makes. But with a goal to change that, a Chinese automaker that sells the most electric cars in the world has begun offering three of its models in Germany. BYD, founded in 1995 under the name “Build Your Dreams,” has become a behemoth in China, the world’s largest auto market, by focusing on electric vehicles. Last year it sold a total of 1.86 million battery-powered cars, including plug-in…
Ford Will Build a U.S. Battery Factory With Technology From China
Ford Motor said on Monday that it planned to build a $3.5 billion electric-vehicle battery factory in Michigan using technology licensed from a Chinese company that has become one of the most important players in the auto industry. The plant, to be built in Marshall, a rural town about 100 miles west of Detroit, will be the latest in a growing list of new battery and electric-car factories that companies have announced in recent months. Ford expects to employ about 2,500 people at the plant and begin production in 2026.…
Tesla’s Profit Jumped 12% in Fourth Quarter
Tesla said Wednesday that profit in the fourth quarter of 2022 rose 12 percent from the previous quarter, above Wall Street expectations, capping a tumultuous year that included intensifying competition, supply chain disruptions and concerns about the behavior of its chief executive, Elon Musk. Net profit for the quarter was $3.7 billion, up from $3.3 billion in the third quarter, Tesla said. For the full year, Tesla’s profit more than doubled to $12.6 billion from $5.5 billion in 2021. Sales for the year, including revenue from solar panels and other…
Tesla Sales in China Slump as Competition Intensifies
Tesla sales in China, the world’s largest car market, rose in 2022 but slumped in December as domestic manufacturers gained ground, according to data published Thursday. The company sold around 56,000 cars in China last month, a decline of more than 20 percent from a year earlier, and nearly 45 percent from the previous month. For the full year, Tesla’s Chinese sales rose 50 percent, according to data published by the China Passenger Car Association. China accounts for roughly 40 percent of Tesla’s sales. Concern about the carmaker’s performance there…
Tesla Car Sales Rose 18% in Last Quarter
Tesla said Monday that it delivered 405,000 electric cars during the last three months of the year, an 18 percent increase from the previous quarter that fell short of analyst estimates and may reinforce investor fears that the electric car company is losing momentum. Wall Street analysts had predicted that Tesla would sell around 420,000 vehicles from October through December, up from 343,000 vehicles in the third quarter. The company sold a total of 1.3 million cars in 2022, a 40 percent increase from the year before. That was short…
Tesla Had a Bad Year. Some Investors Are Blaming Elon Musk.
In a down year for stocks, the 70 percent drop in Tesla’s share price stands out for the scale of wealth vaporized and the unorthodox behavior of its chief executive, Elon Musk. The collapse of Tesla’s stock price destroyed about $680 billion in market value. And Mr. Musk, once hailed as a genius who remade the car industry, appears increasingly distracted by his acquisition of Twitter and is using the social network to vent his frustrations. He insulted one of his critics this week by describing him as having “tiny…
Tesla Cuts Prices in China in Sign of Slowing Demand
Tesla on Monday cut prices for its cars in China, a sign of intensifying competition in the world’s largest car market that provoked a slump in the company’s shares. Tesla’s Chinese website was offering the Model 3 sedan on Monday for a starting price of 265,900 renminbi, or $36,600, including government subsidies, a 5 percent reduction. The Model Y sport utility vehicle was advertised at 288,900 renminbi, a 9 percent cut. Tesla shares fell more than 6 percent before recovering a little as the price cuts reinforced fears among investors…