Tesla – Page 2653 – I wish I had more to offer

Hyundai backs Aurora to develop driverless systems for Kia and Hyundai models

A Hyundai NEXO fuel cell vehicle with Aurora self-driving systems.AuroraHyundai Motor Group is investing in Aurora, a developer of self-driving technology for autos, with a plan to bring the systems to Hyundai and Kia models.
The companies have been working for the past year to develop and integrate the “Aurora Driver” into Hyundai's NEXO fuel cell vehicles as well as on other projects.
It's an extension of an existing partnership and furthers the work that large auto manufacturers are doing with developers of driverless technology. General Motors acquired Cruise in 2016, and Ford took a stake in Argo.ai the following year. Aurora still aims to provide autonomous systems to many different players.
On Monday, Aurora announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler to develop self-driving vehicles for corporate clients. It also works with Chinese electric vehicle maker Byton.
Aurora CEO Chris UrmsonAuroraIn a statement, Aurora co-founder and chief product officer Sterling Anderson — previously the director of Autopilot programs at Tesla — said the company's aim with its partners is to “deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.” After reportedly failing to acquire Aurora last summer, Volkswagen concluded a partnership with the company on Tuesday.
Aurora employs lidar, or light ranging and detection sensors, as part of its autonomous systems. That's different than Tesla, which uses cameras and radar primarily to power its “full self-driving” and Autopilot features.
Led by CEO Chris Urmson, former technical lead of Google's self-driving efforts, Aurora has raised at least $700 million in funding. Other investors include Amazon, Greylock, Sequoia, Shell Energy's venture group and T. Rowe Price. The size of Hyundai's investment wasn't disclosed.
WATCH: The best way to get self-driving vehicles on the road
VIDEO3:2903:29The best way to get self-driving vehicles on the road.

Tesla granted tariff exemption on Japanese aluminum for battery cells

Sponsored Links ASSOCIATED PRESS Tesla has won an exemption from paying the 10 percent tariffs placed on imported aluminum from Japan. It filed a request with the Commerce Department in April for a tariff exclusion on 10 million kilograms of the metal per year from Nippon Light Metal Co for battery cells made in the… Continue reading Tesla granted tariff exemption on Japanese aluminum for battery cells

Peter Altmaier’s electromobility plans: With three battery consortia to the electric car world champion

DPA Battery of a smart electric car: Three consortiums will in future produce lithium-ion cells in Germany Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier has last for his industrial strategy a lot of criticism plug in have to. With a central project in the course of this strategy the CDU man obviously advances: So Altmaier wants… Continue reading Peter Altmaier’s electromobility plans: With three battery consortia to the electric car world champion

Goldman Sachs cuts Tesla price target: ‘Downward path for shares will resume’

Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc.Yuriko Nakao | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesGoldman Sachs slashed its price target on Tesla on Thursday and said it was expecting shares to continue to decline over concerns about demand.
“Sustainable demand [is] the key question as shares [are] likely continue to de-rate,” the bank said in a note. Goldman lowered the price target to $158 from $200, which would represent a 30% drop from Tesla's current levels based on Wednesday's close of $226.43.
“We believe that is the largest question for investors to underwrite at this point — what are sustainable demand levels for the Model S, Model X, and Model 3 — and how does that change with the introduction of Model Y production,” Goldman Sachs analyst David Tamberrino said. “We believe a downward path for shares will resume as it becomes more clear that sustainable demand for the company's current products are below expectations.”
Tesla shares are down more than 3% on Thursday. The stock is down 30% this year as the company continues to be mired in a myriad of controversies. Analysts and investors also continue to mull whether the company will need to raise more capital.
Watch: Analysts are divided on Tesla — one investor makes the bull caseVIDEO6:3906:39Analysts are divided on Tesla. Watch one investor make the bull caseSquawk Box

Electric Jaguar XJ, hybrid airplanes, more driving, fewer Chinese EV makers: Today’s Car News

Americans driving more miles could cancel out emissions progress. Airbus looks to build hybrid airplanes. China puts restrictions on who can build electric cars in the world's largest EV market. And Jaguar plans to launch its new flagship XJ sedan as an electric. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

Jaguar Land Rover plans to introduce its next-generation Jaguar XJ flagship sedan first as an all-electric model, with gas engines following later. The company also plans a new electric Range Rover along with plug-in hybrids.

As the EPA proposes to roll back increases in emissions standards, new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation shows that Americans are also driving more miles every year, limiting the effectiveness of any fuel-economy increases.

European aircraft-maker Airbus is developing a new hybrid version of one of its most popular airplanes, which could have a single jet engine and a couple of electric motors for takeoff boost.

China, the world's largest EV market, has too many electric carmakers, according to the government. New restrictions designed to weed out marginal electric carmakers will require companies that build electric cars in China to achieve critical mass and have significant financial assets.

Another electric-car startup isn't aiming directly at Tesla, though it could take away some of the company's Silicon Valley spotlight. Drako Motors is developing a 1,200-horsepower, 206-mph supercar called the Drako GTE.

Finally, in first drive of the new light-duty Chevy Silverado diesel pickup our partners at The Car Connection averaged 34 mpg, which is pretty impressive for a full-sized pickup meant for towing.

_______________________________________

Follow Green Car Reports on Facebook and Twitter

Electric Jaguar XJ flagship to compete with Tesla Model S

Jaguar Land Rover plans to launch its new flagship with a jolt. At a recent investor day, the company said its new flagship XJ sedan will launch first as an electric model, likely in 2020. Models with gas engines are expected to follow.

The automaker previously announced it will offer electric and plug-in hybrid versions of every model it sells by 2025. The new XJ is expected to be the first of those models based on a new modular architecture designed to accept both electric and gas platforms.

The electric XJ will likely have a 90.2 kilowatt-hour battery with a targeted range of 292 miles, according to Nick Miles, JLR's head of product engineering, as presented at the investor day. That range is likely on the somewhat optimistic new European WLTP driving cycle.

The new “Modular Longitudinal Architecture” is unrelated to the platform underpinning Jaguar's electric I-Pace, which is built at a Magna-Steyr contract manufacturing facility in Austria. The XJ and vehicles on its modular MLA platform will be built at Jaguar's home factory in Solihull, England.

2020 Land Rover Range Rover

The new platform will also underpin two new SUVs from Range Rover, a new flagship Range Rover in 2021 and a new Range Rover Sport a year later, according to a report in Automotive News Europe (subscription required.) Both Range Rovers will be offered with plug-in hybrid powertrains, and at least one of Range Rover's four models will include a fully electric option.

Both the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport currently include plug-in hybrid options, but they're based on an older platform, one not shared with Jaguar. The new plug-in hybrid models are expected to achieve a slightly longer electric range.

The MLA platform is expected to replace five platforms the company currently uses, but may not be the company's only electric architecture. Outgoing design head Ian Callum told Automotive News that the I-Pace platform is also likely to continue to underpin new, updated electric models.

Between Fiat and Renault, the fragrance of the wedding still floats in the air

His clan supports him. Fifteen days after the night withdrawal of its offer of merger between Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Renault Last week, John Elkann received the support of his family at the general meeting of Giovanni Agnelli BV, the annual grandmother of the family holding company. The Renault project is his idea, and “it… Continue reading Between Fiat and Renault, the fragrance of the wedding still floats in the air

Drivers may overestimate Tesla Autopilot because of its name, study suggests

Sponsored Links Tesla Tesla’s Autopilot system might have a catchy name, but it may send the wrong message to drivers, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. A survey the non-profit organization conducted revealed that a lot of people don’t fully comprehend newer cars’ actual level of automation, because their driver-assistance… Continue reading Drivers may overestimate Tesla Autopilot because of its name, study suggests

1,900 Michigan UAW workers strike at Saline plant for Ford, FCA, Tesla parts

Original Article

Tesla Falls To 3rd Behind Sunrun & Vivint Solar In US Home Solar

Invest
Electric Cars
Electric Car Benefits
Electric Car Sales
Solar Energy Rocks
RSS
Advertise
Privacy Policy

Clean Power

Published on June 20th, 2019 |

by Joshua S Hill

Tesla Falls To 3rd Behind Sunrun & Vivint Solar In US Home Solar

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook

June 20th, 2019 by Joshua S Hill

Cleantech darling Tesla has fallen to third place in the Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables ranking of US residential solar installers, with Sunrun securing its spot atop the pile and Vivint Solar reclaiming the number two spot for the first time in nearly two years.

Image Credit: Sunrun

Wood Mackenzie published its latest US PV Leaderboard this week, and for the first time since the company started tracking US residential solar installers back in the first quarter of 2018, Tesla has fallen to third place.

Sunrun, which overtook Tesla as the United States’ leading residential solar installer in the second quarter of 2018*, remains atop the pile, installing 11% of all home solar capacity installed through the first quarter of 2019 — its highest share ever. (*Though, note that Sunrun announced in its 4th quarter and full year 2017 financial earnings that it had surpassed Tesla, earlier than Wood Mackenzie figured things out.)

Vivint Solar similarly increased its market share, taking a 7.6% share of the US residential solar pie in the first quarter, while Tesla (a header which includes Tesla’s long-term solar business and that of SolarCity, which the company acquired in November of 2016) saw its share of the US market fall to 6.3%. Together, the three companies accounted for a quarter of the 603 megawatts (MW) installed in the first quarter, a long cry away from the days when Tesla (then SolarCity) could account for more than a third of the entire US residential market on its own.

Leading US Residential Solar Installers

Chart courtesy Wood Mackenzie

“Tesla has essentially thrown in the towel on pursuing growth in the residential solar space because it has concluded that acquiring customers is simply too expensive,” wrote Wood Mackenzie Senior Solar Analyst Austin Perea in a report on Tesla’s store closures published earlier this year. “Rather, Tesla will rely on its brand power and low-cost referral methods to keep the solar business afloat until it stabilizes.”

“For Tesla, the installation bleeding lasted into 2018 when its national residential installation volume fell another 41% annually despite other national installers experiencing growth,” Perea continued. “Vivint and Sunrun’s direct businesses grew 7% and 37%, respectively. But even as other installers grew in 2018, Tesla’s standing continued to have a substantial impact on the national residential solar market.”

Image Credit: Tesla/SolarCity

Looking out at 2019, Wood Mackenzie predicts growth for the US residential solar market of only 3%, with Tesla serving as the major factor depressing numbers. “The growth outlook for 2019 — like 2017 and 2018 — continues to be hampered by Tesla’s decisions to cut back on its customer acquisitions channels,” explained Austin Perea, speaking this week. “They have effectively cut out every single form of active customer acquisition.

“We actually expect them to continue to see year-over-year declines relative to 2018 through 2019.”

Tesla has made several shifts in sales strategy over the past year which have relegated its residential solar program to the back burner, including ending its sales partnership with American home improvement supplies retailer Home Depot and moving to close down many of its own branded stores which sold solar alongside the company’s batteries and vehicles.

In a way, Tesla is simply carrying on its efforts to do business differently to the rest of the market. As the company expressed in its first-quarter letter to shareholders (PDF), “For residential solar and energy storage, traditional industry-wide sales techniques require customized systems, installations and purchasing processes. This results in a cumbersome buying experience and limits market potential.

“As we have done for the vehicle business, the key to accelerating mass adoption is to standardize the product offering, simplify the customer buying experience, and focus on the markets with the strongest economics. This results in cost efficiencies.”

Tesla is obviously looking to avoid customer acquisition costs — costs which make up the largest portion of solar installation costs, accounting for 21% of total costs in 2018 — and the company has begun to see its customer acquisition costs dropping, though that is only because they are no longer putting any money towards it in the first place. Conversely, companies like Sunrun and Vivint Solar are suffering customer acquisition costs of $0.90 per watt and $0.94 per watt, respectively.

“With current saturation levels, customer acquisition costs are not going to come down,” explained Perea. “Tesla understands where the cost stack is right now and they’re able to rely on other business units. … They’re diversified in a way that other models aren’t.”

In the end, only history will be able to decide whether Tesla or its competitors like Sunrun and Vivint Solar made the right business decisions for themselves, and for the residential solar market in the United States. As it stands, however, Tesla will only continue to see its market share decline unless it does something dramatic to reverse this unravelling trend.

About the Author

Joshua S Hill I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket!

I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

Intern OpportunitiesWe Need You! Internship Program Openings
Advertisement

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.

CleanTechnica Clothing & Cups