Connecting Some Dots

Plenty to read today. Last year EV sales were pretty impressive, but this year we keep hearing about how they are slowing down. Sometimes you slow down to take a curve and sometimes you slow down to come to a stop.

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EVs and Companies

In 2023, the adoption of electric vehicles soared, capturing 20% of the global new car sales market. The surge reflects a transformative shift towards sustainable transportation, significantly impacting oil demand and environmental health.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighted how clean energy advancements, including EVs, solar, wind, and nuclear power, have been instrumental in moderating the global emissions increase to just 1.1%, totaling 37.4B tonnes.

This moderation in emission growth, coupled with a notable reduction in advanced economies to a 50-year low, underscores the pivotal role of renewable energy sources and energy-efficient technologies in combating climate change. The resilience of these clean technologies, even amidst global challenges such as pandemics and geopolitical tensions, marks a crucial step forward in the global energy transition.

Capitalizing most of all from the rise, China's aggressive EV pricing poses a significant challenge to Western manufacturers, necessitating a strategic pivot to remain competitive in this rapidly changing market.

Amid this backdrop, several company-level developments underscore the diverse strategies within the EV market:

• Renault and Volkswagen are exploring a partnership to produce a budget-friendly BEV minicar in Europe, aimed at competing with low-cost Chinese EVs and Tesla, targeting a price under €20,000 by 2026.
• BYD has further intensified the price war by launching its new Atto 3 at 11.8% lower than its predecessor's price, underscoring the company's aggressive pricing and global market penetration strategy.
• Hyundai's U.S. EV sales surged by 40% in February 2024, led by the Ioniq 5 and 6 models, highlighting Hyundai's successful navigation of the competitive EV landscape.
• Karma Automotive unveiled the Gyesera, a luxury EV with a 250-mile range and priced between $175,000 and $225,000, catering to the high-end market segment.
• Fisker is grappling with financial challenges, including a 15% workforce reduction, as it seeks additional investment to sustain operations, reflecting the harsh realities some companies face in the evolving EV market.

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Volvo Got Stunts

Did you see this marketing stunt? Volvo Truck's President, Claes Nilsson, stood on one of the company's FMX. Sounds simple enough, right?

Oh also, it was suspended in the air by a crane using only its iron hook. The stunt demonstrated the hook's 32-ton capacity and should do well with the Spider-Man demographic.

Speaking of Trucks

Mack Trucks, a century-old company, marked its EV transition with a copper bulldog ornament on its first battery-electric garbage truck.

Now in North Carolina and under Volvo Group, it's seen a 200% order increase for its 35 LRe trucks.

U.S. electric truck deployments surged to 10,265 in 2023, up from 1,948 the previous year, signaling a slow but steady adoption in the industry.

Solar Trike Strikes Again

Aptera is raising money the old-fashioned way — by selling things. The company raised $33M from 16,000 investors who bought initial production slots totaling about 46K vehicles.

The company also received $21M in a California Energy Commission grant. The solar mobility company has raised over $100M in the last 2 years.

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Will the next front lines of mobility be in China or in the lab? We don't imagine the world will suddenly shift to solar-powered everything, but a few escaped Star Wars vehicles could very well join us in our morning commute someday soon. As long as it’s a sunny morning, we guess.