Tesla is using more than $13 million worth of stock to buy trucks and trailers that will transport its electric vehicles to customers, the latest effort by the automaker to improve its logistics and delivery services. Instead of using cash, Tesla issued $13.8 million in stock, a new securities filing posted Monday shows. Tesla used… Continue reading Tesla issues $13.8M in stock to buy trailers in bid to improve electric vehicle deliveries
Tag: Electric vehicles
Faurecia And Michelin To Create A Global Leader In Hydrogen Mobility
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Michelin, world leader in tyres and sustainable mobility, and Faurecia, technology leader in the automotive industry, announced today the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding to create a joint venture bringing together all of Michelin’s fuel cell related activities – including its subsidiary Symbio – with those of… Continue reading Faurecia And Michelin To Create A Global Leader In Hydrogen Mobility
Carvana CEO says he wouldn’t bet against Tesla selling cars online
Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia: Building trust in the brand could be Tesla's key to selling cars online
1:51 PM ET Thu, 7 March 2019 | 04:26
The head of a rising online used car business said Tesla's decision to take all sales onto the internet may be a much better bet than some skeptics think.
“I think every business has its challenges, but they've done a pretty good job overall, I wouldn't be betting against them,” Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia, said Thursday on CNBC's Squawk Alley. “I think when you buy a new car, questions are different, but the return policy is enormously powerful like it is on the used side. A customer knows they can return it.”
Tesla shares were up more than 1 percent Thursday.
Tesla's shift to online sales has garnered mixed reviews from some investors, with some saying the move could substantially reduce costs by eliminating stores, but also worrying that Tesla is losing a valuable sales strategy.
“The move to direct sales is bold, though we are comforted that 70%+ of Tesla buyers in 2018 did *not* test drive prior to purchase,” Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote in a research note shortly after Tesla's announcement a week ago. “That said,” he added, “we do believe that salespeople have been important in up-selling Tesla customers, as well as selling Tesla solar products.”
The move will result in the closure of most of Tesla's stores and layoffs. At least one employee said they are still in the dark over Tesla's plans.
The electric car maker has long been waging battles in a number of states to allow Tesla vehicle sales. Several states have laws banning the direct sales of vehicles by automakers. The laws are vestiges of an earlier era, when dealers wanted to be protected from automakers competing directly with them.
Garcia said he is not worried too much about direct competition from Tesla, since Carvana focuses on used cars. But he said the company can bring more customers to online car sales overall.
“Tesla has an incredible megaphone,” he said.
Moody’s downgrades auto industry outlook from stable to negative on falling demand
Barcroft Media | Getty Images
Weakening demand for cars and trucks has pushed credit rating company Moody's to cut its outlook for the auto industry from stable to negative.
Slowing economic growth, a better-than-expected end to 2018 and a host of potential political pitfalls are all expected to dampen global auto sales in 2019, Moody's said in a research note Monday.
The company cut its 2019 growth forecast for worldwide light vehicle sales by more than half, saying they won't totally recover from a slowdown in the latter part of 2018.
Moody's expects global auto sales to grow by 0.5 percent this year, down from its previous forecast of 1.2 percent, “which had assumed a stronger finish in 2018.” For 2020, Moody's forecast growth of 0.8 percent.
Auto sales are likely to continue falling in the first half of 2019, before regaining lost ground in the last two quarters of the year, Moody's said. It's forecasting a slowdown in global economic growth as well, with stronger growth in developing markets such as China. U.S. sales are expected to drop by nearly 3 percent in 2019 and 0.6 percent in 2020, largely due to a drying up of a financing environment that had buoyed sales for so long.
Of course, the threat of U.S. import tariffs and the United Kingdom's potential exit from the European Union are also risks.
The industry is also faced with declining sales at a time when many companies are racing to invest in new transportation tech, including self-driving cars, connected cars, and advanced safety features.
Auto manufacturers also face ever more stringent emissions guidelines, which are forcing investments in hybrid and electric vehicles, and other options for passengers and freight.
Tesla Reportedly Talking With CATL For China Battery Order
2 H BY STEVEN LOVEDAY Tesla must secure batteries for China market explosion. There’s little doubt Tesla is going to explode in China, but there’s a lot the company needs to put in place. For starters, finishing construction of its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. But also, assuring there are battery suppliers in the area that… Continue reading Tesla Reportedly Talking With CATL For China Battery Order
Pininfarina Battista: The most powerful road car ever (and it’s electric!)
“ The Pininfarina Battista is reportedly the most powerful road-legal car ever to be built, with a 0-100 km/h in under two seconds, and 0-300km/h in under 12. More importantly though, it is electric. Designed and built in Italy, the Pininfarina Battista was unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland, which got underway… Continue reading Pininfarina Battista: The most powerful road car ever (and it’s electric!)
Elon Musk does a U-turn on Tesla store closures
US group abandons plan that would have forced customers to pay for a car without a test drive Go to Source
Volvo may not sell its Tesla rival electric car in the US over tariffs
Wang Zhao | AFP | Getty Images
A man uses his mobile phone to take a picture of a Polestar 1 car at the Beijing auto show on April 26, 2018. –
Volvo Cars may not sell its high-performance Polestar electric vehicles in the U.S. if Washington slaps tariffs on imports from China, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The automaker recently revealed its Polestar 2, which executives said is priced competitively with Tesla's Model 3 sedan.
But Volvo is owned by Chinese auto company Geely, and the group has so far intended to make the cars at a factory in China. It expects to sell more than 50,000 Polestar vehicles.
A lot of those cars won't make it to the United States if tariffs on Chinese imports are too high, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath told the FT.
The Polestar 2 is one of several vehicles automakers are hoping will draw customers from Tesla.
Competition is expected to heat up around the 2021 model year, said CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson. Competitors are already on the market at a midrange price that's competitive with the Model 3 and higher prices where Tesla's more premium Model S and Model X vehicles sit.
The global automotive industry has found itself caught up in President Donald Trump's trade war with China, leading many automakers to re-evaluate where they build and sell their products.
Read the full story from the Financial Times.
Tesla issues $13.8 million in stock to buy trailers to take cars from factory floor to customers
Andrei Stanescu | Getty Images
Car transporter carries Tesla Model 3 vehicles along the highway.
Tesla issued $13.8 million in stock to pay for trucks and trailers to transport its electric vehicles from the factory floor to customers, according to a new securities filing.
Instead of cash, the electric car maker used 49,967 shares at a maximum price of $277.05 a share as of Feb. 12 to buy the trailers from Central Valley Auto Transport, a California company that specializes in car carriers, Tesla said Monday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Central Valley Auto Transport hung up the phone during two attempts by CNBC to get comment. An email to the CEO wasn't immediately returned outside of normal business hours. Tesla declined to comment on the filing.
Tesla finally launched its standard Model 3 starting at $35,000 — Here's what it means for investors
12:21 PM ET Fri, 1 March 2019 | 02:03
Tesla said in its fourth-quarter shareholder letter that it is “continuing to purchase our own car-hauling truck capacity for vehicle shipments.”
Getting its cars from the factory to customers has been a challenge for Tesla in the past. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in September that the company had moved on from its troubles producing the Model 3 midsize sedan to “delivery logistics hell,” but that the problem was “far more tractable.”
Tesla shares were about flat Monday morning. The company's market value is approximately $50 billion.
Electromobility: Lidl builds network with 400 charging stations
Free loading from electric cars will in future to hundreds of branches of the retailer Lidl to be possible. Near the motorway, even fast-charging vehicles with more than 50 kilowatts are planned. March 11, 2019, 4:03 pm, Friedhelm old man 400 Lidl stores are to receive charging stations. (Image: Lidl) Grocery retailer Lidl plans to… Continue reading Electromobility: Lidl builds network with 400 charging stations