All posts by Francis Mitterrand

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Americans want EVs under $50,000

Are ICE cars losing the battle with electric cars or do they still have a chance to survive? According to a survey in the United States, almost 3/4 of Americans said that they plan to buy an all-electric car in the future, and several factors will be decisive: performance, range and lower price.

Currently, the price of electric cars is on the rise, and the demands and expectations of customers are increasing. According to BCG, only 12 percent of customers are satisfied with their electric cars, and it is estimated that this will increase to 30 percent when the next-gen EVs arrive. Buyers want a vehicle that costs under $50k, has a range of 350 miles (563 km) and can be charged in 20 minutes, and there are few cars that can currently meet these requirements. One of them is the Hyundai Ioniq 6 SE RWD Long Range.

New production methods accompanied by new innovations are predicted to bring prices down in the coming years, which will make the production of EVs cheaper than the production of ICE cars. This is based on the gigacasting process, in which, with the help of a huge press, large parts of the body are cast in one piece, instead of using dozens of welds and fasteners. Tesla was the first to use this method of producing components, and the fact that thanks to this method the Tesla Model Y was produced in 10 hours, instead of the 30 hours required for the production of the VW ID.3, shows how much of a difference it makes.

However, this method will increase the cost of car maintenance and repair. By 2027, the average cost of repairing an EV’s body and battery after a car accident is predicted to be 30 percent more expensive. This could mean the end of every damaged car, as it will be more profitable for owners to buy a new one than to repair a damaged vehicle.

Most manufacturers will have no problem meeting customer demands when it comes to range, but charging the battery in 25 minutes is more realistic than the expected 20 minutes. On the other hand, the price will be the biggest problem. Production costs do not depend only on the manufacturer but on global problems that are currently affecting all industries.

Source: BCG

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Shell plans to replace oil stations with electric charging stations

The increase in the number of electric cars on the road necessarily requires an increase in the number of charging stations, which opens new business opportunities for oil companies to become interested in this field of investment. One of them is the British company Shell, which intends to increase the number of its electric charging stations.

The British company announced the “Energy Transition Strategy 2024” plan, which includes investment in the construction of charging stations. However, this requires a large amount of money, and the first move Shell intends to make is to sell 1,000 of its current oil stations over the next two years.

In 2023, Shell Recharge EV had 27,000 electric chargers in various locations around the world, and last year that number was increased to 54,000 chargers. Now, the company intends to increase the number of chargers to more than 300,000 worldwide by the end of the decade.

“There are about 40 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road in the world today, and by 2030 there are expected to be 275 million. The availability of chargers will be critical for the growth of electric vehicles,” the company said.

Although Shell’s chargers are not compatible with the Tesla Supercharger or Electrify America networks, the British company has over 3,000 chargers in 31 US states, and more than 3,400 additional chargers are in development. Also, Shell Recharge EV last year opened its largest electric vehicle charging station (258 chargers) at the airport in Shenzhen, China. It was a good business decision considering that data shows that more than 3,300 electric vehicles use this station every day.

Shell believes that the demand for oil will decrease over time and that gasoline will not be primary in the future. “We believe that oil demand growth will slow down in the second half of this decade, and a more intense decline could occur in the next decade due to increased efficiency and growth in sales of electric vehicles,” the company said.

Source: Bloomberg

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Leapmotor T03 will be produced in Poland

Chinese car manufacturers are trying in every way to avoid problems with importing electric cars to the European market, and one of the ways is production on European soil. After BYD and Chery decided to produce their cars on European soil, another Chinese company will do the same. Leapmotor has announced that it will assemble its small electric car, the T03, in Poland.

In October 2023, Stellantis formed a joint venture with Leapmotor, where the world’s largest conglomerate will have a 51 percent stake with the rights to export, sell and manufacture Leapmotor electric vehicles outside of China. Stellantis’ factory in Poland will be the place where the T03 will be produced, and production will start in Q2 of this year.

The car will be manufactured using SKD assembly, which is the simplest way to assemble the car. It should be noted that the Fiat 500 and Jeep Avenger are produced in the same factory. Currently, T03 can be bought in France, and the plan is to expand to other European markets.

In 2023, Stellantis bought 20% of Leapmotor for €1.5 billion. It was a good financial injection for the Chinese company, which will improve its sales results in the domestic market, but also expand its business outside of China. Shares of Leapmotor have risen about 22 percent in Hong Kong in 2023, making the company’s market value exceed $5.4 billion. On that occasion, the company’s founder Zhu Jiangming said: “Today it is a great milestone in Leapmotor’s history, and I am thrilled to witness this moment together with Mr. Tavares and his team. We believe in win-win partnerships formed by strong players in the fast-evolving environment. Working with Stellantis, we will continue to be innovative and creative in technology and business synergies and will bring Leapmotor EV cars to the global market.”

Source: Reuters, Photo: CNEV

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Leapmotor T03 will be produced in Poland