Business News

Tesla

Tesla has obtained approval from the European Union to commence production of the new Model Y, which utilizes BYD’s structural batteries, at its Gigafactory in Berlin. The new battery capacity is 55kWh, providing a range of 440km.

Tesla has announced a recall of 1.1046 million vehicles in China due to the absence of an option for drivers to choose an energy recovery braking strategy and insufficient reminders for prolonged deep pressing of the accelerator pedal, which may increase the likelihood of unintentional acceleration.

During the 2023 Tesla shareholders’ meeting, Musk mentioned the possibility of future advertising for Tesla. Furthermore, mass production of the Cybertruck electric pickup is scheduled for this year, and there are expectations for the next-generation Roadster to enter mass production by 2024.

Toyota

Gill Pratt, CEO of Toyota’s Institute of Chief Scientists, called for a slower transition to electric cars and emphasized the need to give hybrids more time.

Audi

Audi has released its Q1 2023 financial report, reporting a revenue of €16.883 billion, an increase of 18.2% year-on-year. The profit reached €1.816 billion, with a profit margin of 10.8%. Among them, the delivery of new energy vehicles reached 34,600 units, a year-on-year increase of 43%, and the market share for new energy vehicles rose to 8.2%.

Ford

Ford has reached a long-term agreement with Canada’s Nemaska Lithium, under which the latter will supply Ford with up to 13,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide annually for a duration of 11 years.

Panasonic

Panasonic plans to build at least two new factories in North America by 2030, aiming to address the insufficient production capacity of 4680 batteries.

Virta

Finnish electric vehicle charging company Virta has raised 85 million euros (approximately 93.8 million US dollars) in a funding round to expand into Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, within the next two years.

Regional News

UK

In April, the number of electric car registrations in the UK increased by 50% compared to the previous year, reaching 29,117 vehicles and resulting in a market share of 21.9%.

French

French President Macron announced that subsidy policies will be adjusted to only provide purchase subsidies for electric vehicles manufactured in Europe, with the aim of strengthening European battery and electric car production capacity.

Sweden

Sweden is aiming to become a country with roads and streets that are equipped with electric grids for charging the batteries of vehicles driving on them.