Weekly Newsletter Issue #6

Good morning and happy Monday. There's no shortage of news this week with new models, mines and milestones making waves across the EV industry. So let's dive right in.

In today's newsletter:⚡ Headline: The world needs a lot more mines🚘 Product Pipeline: New EVs from Chevy, Jeep, Volvo, Ford and more🚨 In Other News: Ford and its dealers, Tesla lithium, Biden in Detroit🇨🇳 The China Report: GM Durant Guild, Zeekr sells out, NIO fans flock🗓️ Last Week Today: EV news you might have missed

300+ New Mines Could Be Required to Meet Battery Demand by 2035

Research by Benchmark Minerals suggests that more than 300 new mines could be needed over the next decade to meet the demand for EVs and energy storage batteries.

Benchmark forecasts that at least 384 new mines for graphite, lithium, nickel and cobalt will be needed to meet demand by 2035. When taking into account recycling of raw materials, that number lands at around 335 mines. Demand for lithium ion batteries is set to grow six-fold by 2032.

🚘 Product Pipeline 🚘

There have been a bunch of new announcements, so this week we've brought back Product Pipeline to highlight EVs in the works:

General Motors ($GM) goes for broad appeal with $30k Chevy Equinox EV. The SUV is expected to be available in about a year and will have a range of up to 250 miles using GM’s Ultium battery. By Fall of 2023, Chevy plans to be selling the EV versions of the Equinox, Silverado and Blazer alongside the Bolt. GM plans to go full electric by 2035.

Jeep plans four EVs by 2025. The brand of Stellantis ($STLA) will start with the Jeep Recon, a “brother” to the Wrangler, and the luxury Grand Wagoneer S in 2024. The Jeep Avenger, a compact SUV, will hit Europe in 2025. Details for the fourth EV were not disclosed. Jeep aims for half of its U.S. sales and all of its European sales to be electric by 2030.

Volvo to reveal new, all-electric flagship SUV. The company announced plans to reveal an electric replacement for the XC90. Reports suggest it will take either the EXC90 or Embla name. On September 21, CEO Jim Rowan will present Vovlo's vision for the future of safety, with an introduction to new technologies including LiDAR powered by Volvo's computing and software architecture.

Ford ($F) unveils EV version of its best-selling European delivery van. The E-Transit Custom will hit the market next fall with a range of up to 380 kilometers. The diesel version is an important profit driver in Europe and was the best-selling vehicle in the UK in 2021, with more than 54,000 sold. Ford says it will feature a fast-charging setting to allow 38 kilometers of range in just five minutes.

BYD ($BYDDY) to launch three EV models in Europe in Q4. The Tang, Han and Atto 3 are expected to land in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Sweden later this year. This follows an expansion of a pilot rollout in Norway. All the models will be equipped with the BYD Blade Battery, which uses LFP chemistry, and will be on display at the Paris Motor Show in October.

FAW's Hongqi unveils three new energy concepts. The premium car brand of FAW Group, one of China's largest state-owned auto companies, showed three concept models: the Hongqi Sedan EV, Hongqi SUV EV and Hongqi E-LS. The EVs are said to have a range of over 1,000 kilometers and will support both charging and battery swapping.

🚨 In Other News 🚨

Ford ($F) CEO to press dealers to match Tesla's ($TSLA) lower selling costs. Ford CEO Jim Farley will be in Vegas this week at a meeting with North American dealers. One topic will be new agreements that govern how dealers will sell Ford's EVs. Farley has said Ford needs to cut $2,000 out of selling and distribution to be competitive with Tesla and others who sell direct to consumer.

Tesla ($TSLA) exploring a lithium refinery on the gulf coast. Tesla is considering a "first of its kind" battery-grade lithium hydroxide refining facility that could process raw ore into a state suitable for battery production. The company is seeking tax breaks and looking at sites in Texas and Louisiana. In July's Q4 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk called the lithium refining business a "license to print money".

Tesla ($TSLA) announces leadership change at Nevada Gigafactory. Former VP of Gigafactory Operations Chris Lister is no longer at the company. Tesla promoted Hrushi Sagar to oversee the battery plant outside of Reno. Sagar reports directly to CEO Elon Musk and will also oversee Tesla's Fremont vehicle assembly plant.

VinFast hands over first electric SUVs in Vietnam as U.S. delivery date nears. The first 100 all-electric VinFast SUVs were handed over to customers at a launch ceremony in Vietnam. Global CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said the first batch of 5,000 VF8s will be for North American customers. VinFast expects to start shipping the EVs overseas in November so that they can be delivered in December. VinFast has also planned a $4 billion production plant in North Carolina with a projected capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year.

Magna Steyr considering "climate-friendly" plant in the U.S. VP Kurt Bachmaier said that the contract manufacturer was "intensively looking" for a location in the U.S. and that California was ruled out as a potential site. The news comes following the Inflation Reduction Act which incentives U.S. EV production with tax credits. Magna Steyr will begin production of Fisker's ($FSR) Ocean EV in November at its plant in Graz, Austria. Last year, it was speculated that Magna Steyr could be the contract manufacturer for Apple's not-so-secret car project.

BMW inks deal with CATL for new cylindrical cells. CATL will supply BMW with the cells for all-electric models of BMW's Neue Klasse architecture starting in 2025. The cells will be produced at two plants in China and Europe, each with an annual capacity of up to 20GWh. standard 46mm diameter cylindrical cells. The agreement calls for CATL to utilize renewable energies and secondary materials for the production, and any cobalt and lithium will be sourced from certified mines.

President Biden to attend Detroit Auto Show. The President is expected at the show this week following the passage of his landmark legislation that includes EV tax credits. The Detroit Auto Show is being held for the first time since 2019. Biden follows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who touted his economic agenda at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan last week.

General Motors ($GM) and LG Energy begin steel construction for Lansing plant. The $2.6 billion battery plant will be the third manufacturing facility in the U.S. for Ultium Cells, the JV between the two companies. The plant will span 2.8 million square feet and support an annual capacity of 50GWh. The companies expect the project will create 1,700 high-tech jobs.

Snow Lake Lithium ($LTIM) plans carbon-neutral lithium mine. The company is developing a carbon-neutral mine in Manitoba, Canada that could produce 160,000 tons of 6% lithium spodumene a year. It estimates that is enough to supply 500,000 EVs each year.

🇨🇳 The China Report 🇨🇳

GM ($GM) to launch new channel targeting rich urban customers. The Durant Guild, named for GM's founder, will be a direct-to-consumer channel targeting the urban rich with luxury U.S. imports. GM China Head Julian Blissett said to think of vehicles such as the new all-electric Hummer, currently unavailable in China. The move comes as China sales of GM's Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet brands have dropped by a third over the last five years.

Zeekr sells out of capacity for this year. Geely's luxury brand said that it has completely sold out capacity and new orders will start shipping in 2023. Zeekr had set a 2022 delivery target of 70,000 units. The company also plans to launch its Zeekr 009 in the fourth quarter, and an earlier report by Bloomberg suggest Zeekr is exploring an IPO.

NIO ($NIO) showrooms packed as ahead of ET5 deliveries. Social media showed packed NIO Houses as the company prepares to start deliveries of the ET5 this month. The company also announced that it had built over 1,100 battery swap stations in China. Another report said that Xpeng's head of voice recognition had joined the company.

Xpeng ($XPEV) G9 to launch on September 21. The highly-anticipated flagship SUV will finally be launched after its unveiling in November last year. Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsiao and his team expect the price to be between RMB 350,000 ($52,000) - RMB 400,000. Xpeng said it had more than 22,800 pre-orders within 24 hours of the online launch back in August.

Chongqing's Liangjiang plans trillion-RMB auto industry. Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area ('new areas' or 'new districts' are given special economic development support) has set new goals for 2025, targeting an additional 2-3 internationally-recognized NEV domestic brands and more than 10 leading component manufacturers.

BYD ($BYDDY) signs deal for 150,000-capacity plant in Thailand. The plant is expected to start production in just two years and will produce EVs for export to ASEAN countries and Europe. The land purchase agreement was signed with Thai property developer WHA Industrial Development, a subsidiary of WHA Group. BYD has more than 30 industrial parks around the world.

CATL plans for mass production of Qilin batteries this year. If mass production begins by year-end as announced, that would put the company a year ahead of its original plans. The batteries will first be used in the Zeekr 009 and can support a range of up to 1,000 kilometers.

🗓️ Last Week Today 🗓️

• Mercedes and Rivian ($RIVN) announce van deal in Europe. A new assembly plant is in the works at an existing Mercedes facility in either central or eastern Europe. Production would start "in a few years". The two automakers said they also plan explore other possible synergies. Mercedes plans for all new van models to be electric by 2025.

• NIO ($NIO) lands in Detroit for tests with Mobileye. Testing began of the L4 Self-Driving solution in Detroit with a fleet of over 50 NIO ES8s, equipped with Mobileye Drive. Mobileye said it has been working closely with NHTSA on the program.

• Lucid ($LCID) loses leaders amid race to ramp. Six high-level manufacturing and logistics executives, including global manufacturing chief Peter Hochholdinger (who joined from Audi and Tesla), have left the company in the last few weeks. Lucid expects to make 6,000 - 7,000 units this year, far fewer than originally planned.

• Faraday Future ($FFIE) extends CEO contract as issues mount. Carsten Breitfeld’s contract was extended to at least March 2023. The company’s stock slipped below $1 after production was delayed to Q4 and the company said it needed more cash. Faraday is also dealing with employees challenging the board's executive chair.

• NIO ($NIO) earnings call suggests record months ahead. CEO William Li said that NIO is on track for record deliveries each month in the fourth quarter. It guided Q3 deliveries of 31,000 -33,000 and said it received over 200,000 pre-orders for the ET5.

• Tesla ($TSLA) China August production rebounds to a near-record. August production totaled 76,965 vehicles, per the China Passenger Car Association. 42,463 of those were meant for export. Wait times for all models in China were also cut by 6 weeks.

• Mullen ($MULN) acquires majority of Bollinger for ~$150 million. The acquisition of 60% of Bollinger keeps alive – for now – the Bollinger B1 and B2 EV trucks which had been put on hold. Combined, the companies target the Class 3-6 space. On Friday, the company received a delisting warning from Nasdaq after its share price has sat below $1 for more than 30 business days.