Lately it’s seemed that the relationship between Tesla and Panasonic might have hit a rocky patch. The two companies have been partners at Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory since the beginning, but more recently, they’ve been seeing other people. Last year, Tesla said Panasonic’s battery cell production was constraining Model 3 production. In February, the carmaker announced… Read more »
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China sales and impending Semi production send Tesla shares into the stratosphere
Tesla’s stock briefly cracked the thousand-dollar mark, setting a new all-time high and raising the company’s market valuation to over $180 billion, making it the world’s most valuable automaker, after Toyota. The main impetus for the stock surge seems to have been a stellar sales report from China. Tesla sold 11,095 Shanghai-made Model 3s in… Read more »
BYD and Toyota to work together on EVs (for China, of course)
BYD and Toyota have established a 50/50 joint venture to conduct R&D for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). The new company will be headquartered in Shenzhen City, is expected to have around 300 employees, and is to begin operations in May 2020. “With the engineers from BYD and Toyota working together under the same roof, we aim… Read more »
Majority of demand for nickel and cobalt coming from 5 battery suppliers
In 2019, over 59,000 tons of nickel and 14,400 tons of cobalt were deployed globally in passenger EV batteries, a one-year increase of 39% and 34%, respectively, according to data from Adamas Intelligence’s EV Battery Capacity and Battery Metals Tracker. Panasonic used 51% of the global market share of nickel (down from 56% in 2018),… Read more »
Tesla to use prismatic cells for Chinese Model 3, says new report
From the beginning, Tesla’s use of readily available cylindrical battery cells gave it an advantage over other EV-makers, which used proprietary prismatic or pouch cells. In 2015, JB Straubel explained why Tesla was sticking with cylindrical cells, even though others found it a controversial decision. Over the years, many writers have noted Tesla’s battery tech… Read more »
BMW revamps battery materials supply chain, signs supply contract for raw lithium
BMW Group has signed a €540-million contract with China’s Ganfeng Lithium for the supply of raw lithium from mines in Australia. The carmaker has restructured its supply chains for its upcoming fifth generation of battery cells. From 2020 on, it will directly source both lithium and cobalt. The raw materials will then pass on to… Read more »
Volkswagen acquires 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan
Volkswagen plans to acquire 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan, Reuters reports, accelerating the German giant’s foray into China’s growing EV market. At current prices, the 20% stake would be worth about $560 million. Volkswagen is currently the top foreign automaker in China, and has set a goal of selling 1.5 million new energy vehicles… Read more »
NCM cathodes making headway in EV market
In April 2019, 6.7 GWh of battery capacity was deployed globally in newly-sold passenger BEVs, PHEVs and hybrids – an increase of 69% year-over-year, according to Adamas Intelligence’s EV Battery Capacity and Battery Metals Tracker. Among the NCM cathode family, NCM 622 saw a surge in deployment (in GWh) year-over-year, up 247% in April 2019… Read more »
Is China opening up its EV battery market to foreign suppliers?
China has eliminated its list of “recommended battery suppliers,” according to the industry ministry. Foreign battery-makers hope this will open up the country’s market for EV batteries. When the list was first published in 2015, it included only Chinese firms, a policy designed to aid China’s domestic battery sector. Foreign battery-builders complained that the list… Read more »
Toyota accelerates its electrification plans, teases six new EVs
EV advocates have long been puzzled by the policies of Toyota. The company that initiated vehicle electrification in 1997 with the Prius, and that currently makes the second-best-selling plug-in vehicle in the US (the Prius Prime) has consistently dismissed the benefits of pure EVs, insisting that hybrids are superior, and diverting resources to fuel cell… Read more »