The 3rd T20 match between England and New Zealand was held at Edgbaston and this venue was completely run off wind, hydro and solar power and will continue until the end of September. Interestingly, the 4 and 6 cards that the crowd members held up, were made of seed paper and when planted will grow into wildflowers. The lawnmowers and rollers, that were used to prepare the playing surface, had been switched to electric. Bear in mind, this is not a gimmick, as BASIS (a non-profit UK body) published a report that highlighted that cricket will be the hardest hit sport if climate change is not tackled. The Edgbaston team, championed by the ECB (and other county clubs), are proactively looking at methods to create sustainable venues.
Tesla continues its Price War, as it has slashed its Model S price by $3,500, resulting in a base price of $74,990. The company has also cut the Model X price by $8,500 resulting in a base price of $79,990. The motivation for slashing the Model X price stems from the fact, that it is now eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act tax credit. Bear in mind Tesla has cut the Model X price by $41,000 since the start of this year.
CATL has announced that it will be producing its (upcoming) fast-charging Shenxing batteries at its German and Hungarian plants, alongside in China. The Shenxing battery is a potential game-changer as it will be made with LFP with a range of 700 km. Although CATL has pencilled in to start production on this battery in China (end of Q4 23), no timelines have been given regarding Germany or Hungary.
The prestigious IAA Mobility show in Munich kicked off this week, which has been running since 1897. One of the major themes of the show, thus far, has been the strength and calibre of Chinese EV OEMs, such as BYD and XPeng. This show was once an exhibition of European (mostly German-focussed) dominance and innovation however this year, particularly, highlights how China’s decade-long EV strategies have paid off, as Chinese OEMs have their European counterparts nervous. The Renault CEO stated that European EV OEMs are a generation behind Chinese EV OEMs such as BYD and Xpeng. So far this year, Chinese EV OEMs have accounted for 8% of new EV sales in Europe (vs FY22: 6%, FY21: 4%). Bear in mind that Chinese EV OEMs, such as BYD and Xpeng, have only (relatively) recently stated they are now focussing their attention on expanding their market share in Europe in the coming months and years (FY24-FY25).
Swale Council has announced it has replaced 2 existing charging points with 2 new Pod Point fast chargers (22kW). These new chargers have been installed in the Bourne Place multi-storey car park. This is the council's ongoing effort to help ramp up EV adoption by improving the charging infrastructure. This is a great positive step however it highlights the challenges councils face, as the UK central government needs to increase budgets so councils can carry on and ramp up their efforts.
VW has announced it is on course to hit its target of installing 40,000 EV fast chargers by 2025, as the company has already installed half of them. Mr Schmall (a VW board member) announced this at the IAA Mobility show (in Munich), alongside unveiling the ID.GTI concept, which has been positively received.
Deals
GoCar, an Irish-based car & van sharing service, has announced it will be investing €10m into enhancing and expanding its product offerings and services. The company intends to increase the availability and choice of its vehicles for customers, by adding 280 new vehicles across 149 locations in Ireland. GoCar will use a portion of the investment on a new website and app, which is pencilled to launch in Q4 2023. The company intends to increase its GoElectric range in 2024 by seeking out strategic partners to help expand its portfolio.
The Chinese securities authority has given Zeekr, an EV OEM (owned by Geely) unicorn, permission to IPO and issue up to 926,074,300 common shares on the NYSE. Bear in mind the Chinese government had purposely stopped a lot of domestic companies IPO-ing in America, with only 6 IPO-ing between Q3 21 and Q2 22. The Chinese securities authority has announced new rules to help companies IPO overseas, especially around data security, as geo-political tensions between the 2 nations have been high in recent memory. We hope these new rules help companies actually IPO next year.
Pickoto, an Israel-based used car marketplace platform, has raised $500,000, with investors such as Pango participating. The capital will be deployed to further increase its (online) footprint and its back-end technology.