From CNN via Yahoo Finance, September 28:
In 1913, Henry Ford’s moving assembly line transformed carmaking. Ford’s groundbreaking innovation drastically reduced the time it took to assemble a car, enabling mass production and slashing vehicle prices.
More than a century later, carmaking is undergoing a similarly seismic shift. Only this time, Ford Motor Company (F) is scrambling to catch up, rather than leading the charge.
Electric vehicles represent a fundamental shift in the technologies and manufacturing processes that have turned Ford and rivals such as Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen into the biggest car companies on the planet.
Established automakers have been racing to adapt at an enormous financial cost, but are still miles behind Tesla (TSLA) and a crop of new Chinese competitors, including BYD and Xpeng (XPEV).
The world needs affordable EVs more than ever as electric cars will play a big role in hcelping countries cut planet-heating pollution. But can automakers in Europe and the United States — where governments are already planning to ban or limit the sale of new gas and diesel cars — deliver them?
“Ultimately, some of these car companies that have been the cornerstone of how we’ve thought about cars for the last 100 years will be a fraction of their size in future,” said Gene Munster, a managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management.
The EV gap between legacy carmakers and newer rivals is vast. In 2022, Tesla delivered 1.31 million battery EVs. BYD tripled sales from the previous year to reach more than 900,000 (a figure that climbs to almost 1.86 million when plug-in hybrid vehicles are included).
By comparison, the Volkswagen Group, including Audi and Porsche, sold 572,100 battery electric vehicles, while Stellantis (STLA), which makes Chrysler and Jeep, came in at 288,000. Toyota, Ford and General Motors (GM) are even further behind.
New entrants have the jump on technology and the rising Chinese brands boast lower production costs, allowing them to charge lower prices — a huge advantage given that affordability is a major barrier to widespread EV adoption, according to a 2021 survey of EV companies by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Falling behindIn the EV race reshaping the global auto industry, China is speeding ahead. Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States — the dominant players for decades — are lagging behind....
....MUCH MORE, they go deep.
Earlier today:
"The United Auto Workers are winning the battle, but have they already lost the war?"
"Stellantis warns of car market collapse if EVs don't get cheaper"
All is proceeding according to plan. You will own nothing and be happy."Stellantis unveils low-priced electric vehicles to rival Tesla" (STLA; TSLA)
In other words: "Hop on the bus, Gus," "Make a new plan, Stan...."(apologies to Paul Simon)
Stellantis by the way seems to be firing on all cylinders, errrr...cathodes and anodes.
(gonna need a new idiom)
