Interesting Car/Truck Manufacturer News

[Weather Man]

With how Tesla treats their customers, especially used, I am amazed people buy their cars.

 

[CobraBob]

Care to elaborate? My brother has nothing but good things to say about how Tesla has treated him as a customer. He even had his Model 3 Performance replaced when he had early issues that they couldn't fix. He was without a car for a month, I think, but they came through with satisfying him.

 

[Corbic]

Toyota, Fiat Chrysler drop support for Trump effort to bar California emissions rules

End is near.

California authoritarianism for all.

 

[Weather Man]

Care to elaborate? My brother has nothing but good things to say about how Tesla has treated him as a customer. He even had his Model 3 Performance replaced when he had early issues that they couldn't fix. He was without a car for a month, I think, but they came through with satisfying him.

Tesla will turn features off, including supercharging as they see fit, including after the customer pays to turn it back on. They also demand to know why you are trying to fix car and may or may not sell you the part you need. Many youtube vids. Their view is that you don't really own the the car, **** them and the horse they rode in on.

 

[VegasMichael]

Ford Motor terminates electric vehicle plans with China's Zotye

 

[Weather Man]

Ford Motor terminates electric vehicle plans with China's Zotye

Musk is gonna find out the hard way how the Chinese play.

 

[kazman]

In 2019, more vehicles were built in China than _____.

A. Germany
B. Japan
C. United States
D. All the above
E. All the above combined












In 2019, more vehicles were built in China than _____.

A. Germany
B. Japan
C. United States
D. All the above
Answer: E. All the above combined. China=25.72 million, United States=10.88 million, Japan=9.68 million, Germany=4.66 million
(source: Car Production by Country 2021)

 

[kazman]

.

 

[Weather Man]

TrueCar partners with HyreCar to provide car-sharing marketplace

• TrueCar (NASDAQ:TRUE) and HyreCar (NASDAQ:HYRE) announces a new partnership and HyreCar Auto Buying Program's launch by TrueCar.
• The new partnership addresses drivers and owners' vehicle purchase need that work in the mobility and transportation industry.
• The partnership will leverage TrueCar's online vehicle research, trade-in, pricing, and innovative payment tools.
• TRUE +1.5%, HYRE +5% pre-market.

Auto chip stocks gain as GM warns of $2B shortage impact

• General Motors warns the global automotive chip shortage could cut 2021 earnings by up to $2 billion, which is bad news for automakers but better news for the chip suppliers who can increase prices on existing supplies.
• Auto chip suppliers gaining in pre-market trading include NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) +1.8%, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) +0.6%, ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON) +2.5%. STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) is currently slightly in the red but that situation could change after the open. Foundry giant TSMC (NYSE:TSM) is up 1.3%.
• The semiconductor shortage happened due to quick shifts in demand during the pandemic, which has created a complicated path to recovery.

 

[Weather Man]

Nio extends rally with speculation about U.S. entry in the mix

• Nio (NIO +0.3%) is higher for the second day in a row and traded as high as $64.59 earlier in the session.
• There appears to some buzz about a potential entry by the Chinese automaker into the U.S. market in what is seen as a potentially game-changing development down the road.
• Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu tracked down a job posting on LinkedIn that appears to show interest by Nio in the U.S. market.
  
• It is so early in the process that Deutsche Bank is not adjusting its models for U.S. sales (even for 2025), but it could alter the long-term thinking on Nio.
• Nio is right smack in the middle of what some analysts anticipate to be a green tidal wave in auto.

 

[Weather Man]

Toyota to launch three new electrified vehicles for the U.S. market

• Toyota Motor North America (TM +5.5%) plans to launch three new electrified models – two BEVs and a PHEV in the U.S. market this year.
• Toyota has over 40% share of the total alternative fuel vehicle market, which includes a 75% share of the fuel cell market and a 64% share of hybrids and plug-ins.
• By 2025, its goal is to have 25% of new vehicle sales be electrified models and expects to increase it to nearly 70% by 2030.
• By 2025, Toyota and Lexus models will have an electrified option globally.
• "We believe the fastest way to lower greenhouse gases in the transportation sector is to offer drivers lower carbon choices that meet their needs," said Gill Pratt, chief scientist of Toyota Motor Corporation and CEO of Toyota Research Institute. "At every price point and with multiple powertrains, we can put more people in cleaner automobiles across North America to have the greatest near-term impact on total carbon emissions."
• The company recently agreed to purchase power from a future Clearway Energy Group wind farm to reduce its overall carbon footprint from electricity used from the power grid.

 

[Weather Man]

MicroVision shares skyrocket after long range lidar update

• MicroVision (NASDAQ:MVIS) has received the necessary components and equipment to meet its April milestone of completing A-Samples or functional prototypes of its long-range lidar sensors.
• The company has also started outdoor testing of key performance features for its development platform.
• “We expect MicroVision’s Long Range Lidar Sensor, (LRL Sensor) which has been in development for over two years, to meet or exceed requirements established by OEMs for autonomous safety and autonomous driving features,” says CEO Sumit Sharma.
• MVIS shares are up 39% after hours to $19.45.

Ballard, Chart team up for heavy-duty mobility onboard hydrogen solutions

• Ballard Power (NASDAQ:BLDP) says it signed a non-binding MoU with Chart Industries (NASDAQ:GTLS) for the joint development of a fuel cell engine with onboard liquid hydrogen storage and vaporization for the transportation industry, focusing on heavy-duty applications including buses, trucks, rail and marine vessels.
• Ballard says it will provide proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology expertise; PEM fuel cell stacks, modules and systems; fuel cell mobility experience; and fuel cell testing facilities in Canada and Denmark.
• Chart says it will provide lLiquid hydrogen expertise from liquefaction plant to storage, fueling and onboard tanks; extensive truck LNG tank experience; an existing liquid hydrogen onboard vehicle tank prototype design; and an LH2 test lab in Minnesota.
• Ballard shares sank 13% in today's trade after upsizing its bought-deal offering, raising $550M.

 

[CobraBob]

Tesla will turn features off, including supercharging as they see fit, including after the customer pays to turn it back on. They also demand to know why you are trying to fix car and may or may not sell you the part you need. Many youtube vids. Their view is that you don't really own the the car, **** them and the horse they rode in on.

They must be doing SOMETHING right because I'm seeing a ton of them in my town and area.

 

[Weather Man]

They must be doing SOMETHING right because I'm seeing a ton of them in my town and area.

They haven't hit the screwed people over threshold.

 

[blk02edge]

The world needs less Chyna...

 

[01yellercobra]

They must be doing SOMETHING right because I'm seeing a ton of them in my town and area.

And those people probably voted for Biden. Soooooo......

 

[Weather Man]

GM to invest $100M in plants to keep up with demand for pickups

• General Motors (GM -2.9%) says it will invest $100M in two U.S. manufacturing plants to boost production of 10-speed automatic transmissions found in two of its popular pickups.
• The automaker is investing $93M in a plant in Romulus, Michigan to increase machining capability and $7M in a Bedford, Indiana plant for increased die casting metal capabilities.
• The investments are aimed at boosting production of transmissions for Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierra pickups amid increased demand.
• Trending topic in auto today: The electric vehicle revolution needs battery cell capacity to keep up.

 

[Weather Man]

Navistar to build electric trucks at new Texas plant

• Navistar International (NYSE:NAV) says it acquired a new property in San Antonio, which includes existing buildings that will house support functions for its under-construction plant in the area.
• The company's total investment in the region will exceed $275M.
• The new plant is being built to produce Class 6-8 vehicle, including electric trucks.
• The expansion in Texas is part of Navistar 4.0, the company's enterprise-wide growth strategy.

 

[Weather Man]

Fisker soars after being named a top electric vehicle stock at Morgan Stanley

• Morgan Stanley initiates research coverage on Fisker (NYSE:FSR) with an Overweight rating and price target of $27.
• The firm calls Fisker its EV sleeper pick.
• Analyst Adam Jonas: "FSR is a play on an all new, asset-light, design-centered EV business model that improves time to market and break-even points. In a very crowded EV startup field, we think FSR stands out as one of the more de-risked and strategically underpinned business models."
• Jonas and team think investors underestimate that FSR's path to commercialization is significantly aided by Magna, which is said to have a mastery of bringing high quality vehicles to market on time, with high quality and good economics.
• Valuation is seen attractive at 6.2X estimated 2025 EV/EBITDA and 0.6X estimated 2025 EV/sales.
• Shares of Fisker are up 15.28% premarket to $17.81.

Lordstown Motors falls 6% after Morgan Stanley warns on execution risk

• Morgan Stanley starts off coverage on Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ:RIDE) with an Underweight rating.
• Analyst Adam Jonas: "RIDE benefits from a nearly free plant (acquired from GM) and a highly experienced management team with a plan to enter the commercial pickup market. However, the company faces a flood of new competition in EV pickups from startups and legacy OEMs with far greater scale and distribution advantages."
• Jonas thinks the company's radical new hub motor technology is a good concept, but notes that it has never been commercialized at scale in the light vehicle market. An after following a series of channel checks on the propulsion tech, the firm believes investors would be exposed to significantly elevated execution risk.
• MS assigns a price target of $18 to RIDE.
• Shares of Lordstown are down 5.56% premarket to $29.00 vs. the trading range of $9.50 to $31.80.

Tesla ordered by German regulator to recall 12K cars

• German auto regulator KBA says Tesla must recall around 12.3K Model X vehicles worldwide due to car body mouldings problems that create a risk that the moulding could fall off the vehicles.
• KBA said the recall affects cars built in 2015 and 2016.
• Tesla aims to produce the Model Y and 4680 battery cells at the Gigafactory Berlin.
• Shares of Tesla are down 0.66% premarket to $806.27.

 

[Weather Man]

Eyes on Ford: Ford (NYSE:F) is expected to make an announcement during the week on building electric vehicles at a Fiesta plant in Cologne, Germany. In the U.S., Ford is cutting some shifts for a few weeks due to a worldwide chip shortage situation that is also impacting other automakers. Long-time Ford investors are starting to see things rev back up a bit off the electrification push. Analysts have also become incrementally more positive. Shares of Ford are up 31% YTD.