Welcome to Electric Vehicle [EV] Newsletter for March 2022. March reported very strong global EV sales for February 2022, although February is usually a slow month. Sales in China, led by BYD, stand out again.
In terms of EV market news, we are seeing more and more action from Western governments to support the industry and supply chain. We only saw this last week when President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to revitalize the electric vehicle supply chain, especially at the mining level.
In the EV company news, we still see BYD and Tesla in the lead, but now ICE is trying to catch up. The smaller EV entry still evokes mixed feelings, with some doing well and some not so much.
Global EV sales in February 2022 were 541,000 units, up 99% from February 2021, with a market share of 9.3% in February 2022 and about 9.5% year-to-date.
Note: 70% of EV sales since the beginning of the year are 100% EVs and the rest are hybrids.
Electric vehicle sales in China in February 2022 were 291,000 units, up 176% from February 2021. China’s EV market share was 20% in February and 17% YtD.
Electric vehicle sales in Europe in February 2022 were 160,000 units, up 38% year-on-year, with a market share of 20% and 19% year-to-date. In February 2022, the share of Germany reached 25%, France – 20% and the Netherlands – 28%.
Note. Thanks to José Pontes and the CleanTechnica sales team for compiling data on all EV sales mentioned above and the chart below.
The chart below is consistent with my research that EV sales will indeed rise after 2022. It now appears that EV sales have already skyrocketed in 2021, with sales of around 6.5 million units and a market share of 9%.
With the debut of the Tesla Model Y, UK EV market share has broken a new record. Last month, the UK EV market share reached a new record of 17% when Tesla launched the popular Model Y.
On March 7, Seeking Alpha reported: “Kathy Wood doubles oil prices to peak as electric vehicles ‘wipe out’ demand.”
Inventories of electric vehicles have risen as the oil war intensifies. On Tuesday, news of the Biden administration’s plan to ban Russian oil pushed much of the electric vehicle industry to a higher speed.
Biden restored California’s ability to enforce stricter vehicle pollution restrictions. The Biden administration is restoring California’s right to set its own greenhouse gas emission regulations for cars, pickup trucks and SUVs… 17 states and the District of Columbia have adopted stricter California standards… The Biden administration’s decision will also help California move towards its goal is to 2035 to phase out all new gasoline-powered cars and trucks.
Tesla orders in parts of the US are reported to be up 100%. We’re forecasting a big jump in EV sales as gas prices rise, and it looks like it’s already underway.
Note: Electrek also reported on March 10, 2022: “Tesla (TSLA) orders in the US are skyrocketing as gas prices force people to switch to electric vehicles.”
On March 11, BNN Bloomberg reported, “Senators urge Biden to call for battering material protection bill.”
How a Handful of Metals Shape the Future of the Electric Vehicle Industry… Companies are betting hundreds of billions of dollars on electric vehicles and trucks. It takes a lot of batteries to make them. This means that they need to extract huge amounts of minerals from the earth, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. These minerals are not particularly rare, but production needs to be scaled up at an unprecedented rate to meet the ambitions of the automotive industry… Beijing controls about three-quarters of the market for minerals important to batteries… for some mining operations, demand for the product could increase tenfold in a few years…
Consumer interest in electric vehicles is at an all-time high. CarSales search data shows that more and more people are considering an electric car as their next vehicle. Consumer interest in EVs hit an all-time high as fuel prices continue to rise, with searches for EVs on CarSales peaking at nearly 20% on March 13th.
Germany joins EU ICE ban… Politico reports that Germany has reluctantly and belatedly signed an ICE ban until 2035 and will drop plans to lobby for key exemptions from the EU’s carbon emissions target.
A two-minute battery change is driving India’s transition to electric scooters… Replacing a completely dead battery costs just 50 rupees (67 cents), about half the cost of a liter (1/4 gallon) of gasoline.
On March 22, Electrek reported, “With rising U.S. gas prices, it’s now three to six times cheaper to drive an electric car.”
Mining.com reported on March 25: “As lithium prices rise, Morgan Stanley sees a drop in demand for electric vehicles.”
Biden is using the Defense Production Act to increase electric vehicle battery production… The Biden administration went on record Thursday that it will use the Defense Production Act to increase domestic production of key battery materials needed for electric vehicles and shift to renewable energy. Transition. The decision adds lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese to the list of covered projects that could help mining businesses secure $750 million in the Act’s Title III fund.
BYD currently ranks first in the world with a market share of 15.8%. BYD ranks first in China with a market share of around 27.1% YTD.
BYD invests in lithium battery developer Chengxin Lithium-Pandaily. It is expected that after the placement, more than 5% of the shares of the company will be owned by Shenzhen-based automaker BYD. The two sides will jointly develop and purchase lithium resources, and BYD will increase the purchase of lithium products to ensure stable supply and price advantages.
“BYD and Shell have entered into a charging partnership. The partnership, which will initially be launched in China and Europe, will help expand charging options for BYD’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) customers.
BYD supplies blade batteries for NIO and Xiaomi. Xiaomi has also signed a cooperation agreement with Fudi Battery with NIO…
According to reports, BYD’s order book has reached 400,000 units. BYD conservatively expects to sell 1.5 million vehicles in 2022, or 2 million if supply chain conditions improve.
An official image of the BYD seal has been released. The Model 3 competitor starts at $35,000… The Seal has a pure electric range of 700 km and is powered by an 800V high voltage platform. estimated monthly sales of 5,000 units…Based on the design of the BYD “Ocean X” concept vehicle…The BYD seal has been confirmed to be called the BYD Atto 4 in Australia.
Tesla currently ranks second in the world with a global market share of 11.4%. Tesla ranks third in China with a market share of 6.4% year-to-date. Tesla ranks 9th in Europe after a weak January. Tesla remains the No. 1 seller of electric vehicles in the US.
On March 4, Teslaratti announced: “Tesla has officially received the final environmental permit to open the Berlin Gigafactory.”
On March 17, Tesla Ratti revealed, “Tesla’s Elon Musk hints he’s working on The Master Plan, Part 3.”
On March 20, The Driven reported: “Tesla will open Supercharging stations in the UK for other electric vehicles in a few weeks or months.”
On March 22, Electrek announced, “Tesla Megapack selected for new large-scale 300 MWh energy storage project to help Australia’s renewable energy.”
Elon Musk dances as he opens a new Tesla plant in Germany… Tesla believes the Berlin plant produces up to 500,000 vehicles a year… Tesla independent researcher Troy Teslike tweeted that the company hoped at the time that vehicle production will reach 1,000 units per week within six weeks of commercial production and 5,000 units per week by the end of 2022.
Tesla Giga Fest Final Approval at Gigafactory Texas, tickets most likely coming soon… Giga Fest will show Tesla fans and visitors the inside of its new factory that opened this year. Production of the Model Y crossover began earlier. Tesla plans to hold the event on April 7th.
Tesla is increasing its holdings as it plans a stock split… Shareholders will vote on the measure at the upcoming 2022 Annual Shareholders Meeting.
Tesla has signed a secret multi-year nickel supply deal with Vale… According to Bloomberg, in an undisclosed deal, the Brazilian mining company will supply the electric car maker with Canadian-made nickel…
Note. A Bloomberg report says, “People don’t realize how far Tesla has come in securing its raw material supply chains and taking a comprehensive approach to battery materials,” Talon Metals spokesman Todd Malan said.
Investors can read my June 2019 blog post, “Tesla – Positive and Negative Views,” in which I recommended the stock Buy. It is trading at $196.80 (equivalent to $39.36 after a 5:1 stock split). Or my recent Tesla article on investing in trends – “A quick look at Tesla and its fair valuation today and my PT for years to come.”
Wuling Automobile Joint Venture (SAIC 51%, GM 44%, Guangxi 5,9%), SAIC [SAIC] [CH:600104] (SAIC включает Roewe, MG, Baojun, Datong), Beijing Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (BAIC) (включая Arcfox) [HK:1958) (OTC:BCCMY)
SGMW (SAIC-GM-Wuling Motors) ranks third in the world with an 8.5% market share this year. SAIC (including SAIC's stake in the SAIC/GM/Wulin (SGMW) joint venture) ranks second in China with a 13.7% share.
SAIC-GM-Wuling's goal is to double sales of new energy vehicles. SAIC-GM-Wuling aims to achieve annual sales of 1 million new energy vehicles by 2023. To achieve this, the Chinese joint venture also wants to invest heavily in development and open its own battery factory in China... Thus, the new sales target of 1 million NEV in 2023 will more than double from 2021.
SAIC increased by 30.6% in February...Official data show sales of SAIC's own brands doubled in February...New energy vehicle sales continued to rise, with more than 45,000 year-on-year sales in February. an increase of 48.4% over the same period last year. SAIC continues to have an absolute dominant position in the domestic market for new energy vehicles. SAIC-GM-Wuling Hongguang MINI EV sales also maintained strong growth...
Volkswagen Group [Xetra:VOW] (OTCPK:VWAGY) (OTCPK:VLKAF)/Audi (OTCPK:AUDVF)/Lamborghini/Porsche (OTCPK:POAHF)/Skoda/Bentley
The Volkswagen Group currently ranks fourth among global electric vehicle manufacturers with a market share of 8.3% and first in Europe with a market share of 18.7%.
On March 3, Volkswagen announced: “Volkswagen is ending car production in Russia and suspending exports.”
Launch of the new Trinity plant: future milestones for the production site in Wolfsburg… The Supervisory Board approves the new production site in Wolfsburg-Warmenau, close to the main plant. About 2 billion euros will be invested in the production of the revolutionary electric model Trinity. Starting in 2026, Trinity will become carbon neutral and set new standards in autonomous driving, electrification and digital mobility…
On March 9, Volkswagen announced: “Bulli of the all-electric future: world premiere of the new ID. Buzz.”
Volkswagen and Ford expand collaboration on MEB electric platform…” Ford will build another electric model based on the MEB platform. MEB sales will double to 1.2 million over its lifetime.