Silicon Valley's Loss, Detroit's Gain (1/30/23)

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In this week's issue: 🚨  Making News: Detroit talent hunt, Tesla MY jumps to #4, Lucid shares soar      🇪🇺   Europe Electrified: Ford in talks with BYD, CATL German plant, Lightyear stops the Zero🧧  China Report: Exports boom, NIO expands for new brands, Xpeng's new President

🚨 Making News 🚨

Automakers look to take advantage of tech talent amidst Silicon Valley job cuts. Silicon Valley's loss might be Detroit's gain. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and others have laid off or have plans to reduce about 70,000 employees this year due to economic uncertainty and slower growth. Automakers are looking to snatch up the talent as they continue the pivot to EVs and autonomous driving. 

Lucid shares soar on speculation of takeover. Shares of Lucid ended up 43% on Friday, pairing gains after doubling on speculation that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund might be planning to buy out the EV maker. It currently owns 65% of Lucid.  fund might be planning to buy the shares of the EV maker it doesn't already own.

Tesla Q4 net income up 54% but slower growth expected this year. Tesla reported revenue of $24.3 billion in the fourth quarter, above analyst estimates, but put delivery growth at 37% for 2023 compared with a previous forecast of 50%. Tesla put its global sales target at around 1.8 million this year vs. 1.31 million last year.

Other news:

• Tesla Model Y jumps to number four in best-selling car list

• Alfa Romeo plans large electric vehicle for U.S. expansion by 2027

• Wallbox cuts 15% of workforce to better align with 2023 full-year guidance

• Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda to step down, be succeeded by Chief Branding Officer

• Polestar 2 gets a facelift, goes both faster and farther for 2024

• Tesla Cybertruck mass production won't start until 2024

• Canoo announces exclusive distribution partnership with Saudi Arabia’s GCC Olayan

• Nikola unveils new HYLA brand for its Integrated Hydrogen Solution

• Musk says a Chinese automaker will likely be closest competitor to Tesla

• Ford drops EV sales cap, lowers training costs for some dealers

• BMW expects to triple EV volume in 2023

• GM to switch from pouch to round battery cells

• EV battery giant LG Energy Solution upbeat on North America market outlook

• Tesla announces $3.6b Semi, 4680 battery factories in Nevada

• Ford saves 10-15% on LFP battery packs over lithium-ion

• Shift to mined vs. synthetic graphite raises shortage risk for EVs

• Ideanomics completes acquisition of VIA Motors

• Audi hints at luxury 4×4 EV to compete with Mercedes Benz and Land Rover

• Nissan considering small EV pickup for the U.S.

🇪🇺 Europe Electrified 🇪🇺

Lightyear halts production of its €250,000 flagship Lightyear 0. Production of the solar-powered EV began just three months ago. The startup is now restructuring to focus on building a more affordable model, the Lightyear 2 for around €40,000.

Ford in talks to sell German plant to BYD. The WSJ exclusively reported that executives from Ford will travel to China this week to discuss the potential sale of a plant in Saarlouis, where vehicle production is slated to end in 2025.Ford currently produces its Focus compact model at the plant.

CATL's German plant to produce 30 million batteries per year. CATL kicked off the production of lithium-ion battery cells at its €1.8 billion plant in December. According to CATL Europe President Matthias Zentgraf, the company aims to produce enough cells annually to service about 350,000 EVs with 40 kWh batteries. CATL previously has previously had to ship batteries by sea from China. 

Britishvolt collapse prompts calls for shake-up of UK subsidy policies. Ministers had offered a £100mn grant towards a prospective £3.8bn gigafactory in Blyth. As bidders circle the remains of the company, industry and politicians have called for a shake-up of UK policies on attracting overseas investment. They argue that Britain struggles to compete with generous subsidy packages offered in the US and the EU.

Other news:

• Just under half a million new cars manufactured in China shipped to Western Europe 

• Ford to cut 3,200 jobs in Europe, move some work to U.S.

• Renault and Nissan near deal on alliance shake-up

• Xpeng to open delivery centers in four European countries

• Volkswagen keeping IPO option open for charging, energy business

🧧 China Report 🧧 

China exported over 3 million vehicles In 2022, up 54.4% YoY. The 3.11 million vehicle figure made China the second-largest exporter. The exports included 679,000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 120%.

NIO to build plant for sub-brand models at NeoPark, to start production in 2024. The Hefei Economic Development Zone and NIO signed a cooperation agreement for NeoPark Phase II. The project will be used for NIO's new mid- to high-end brands and is scheduled to kick of production in 2024.

XPeng appoints ex-Great Wall Motor executive Wang Fengying as president. Ms. Wang spent 30 years at Great Wall. She will report to Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng, and will be responsible for product planning, portfolio management and sales operations.

Geely aims to double NEV sales in 2023. That would have the Hangzhou-based automaker selling more than 600,000 NEV units in 2023. It targets selling 1.65 million vehicles total in the full year. Sales of vehicles under the Geometry, Lynk & Co, ZEEKR, and Livan NEV brands came in at 328,727 last year, up 300% from the year prior.

Other news:

• NIO surpasses 60,000 daily battery swaps in China

• Guangzhou Shipyard International confirms two orders 7k-capacity ships from BYD

• XPeng aims to deliver 200,000 vehicles in 2023, per report

• Zeekr's new 003 to launch in 2023, first images revealed