Listen to “AD #3319 – Chinese Battery Companies Coming to U.S.; Mercedes Makes One-Off for will.i.am; Nikola Passes Major Milestone” on Spreaker.
Follow us on social media:
Runtime: 9:49
0:07 Chinese Battery Companies Coming to the U.S.
0:47 Why Chinese Companies Are Investing in the U.S.
1:42 Geely Gets Into Smartphones
3:34 Ferrari Builds One-Off Exotic for Customer
4:37 Mercedes Builds One-Off for will.i.am
5:29 You Tell Us About Your EV Charging Experience
7:14 Nikola Passes Major Milestone
7:54 Jeep Co-Brands with Igloo
8:24 Hyundai Builds R&D Lab in Montana
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone, Intrepid Control Systems, MEDC and Schaeffler.
This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
CHINESE BATTERY COMPANIES COMING TO THE U.S.
Chinese battery companies are coming to the United States. Reuters reports that CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker, is looking at manufacturing sites in Kentucky and South Carolina. Production would probably start in 2026 and provide batteries to BMW and Ford. Even before this story broke, CATL was already on the way to triple its battery production by 2025.
And a Chinese company called SEMCORP is investing nearly over $900 million to build a manufacturing facility in Ohio. It makes coated, paper membranes to keep battery cells separated.
WHY CHINESE COMPANIES INVEST IN THE U.S.
So why are Chinese battery suppliers investing in the American market? Here’s our Autoline insight. Even though the Chinese market for EVs is growing far faster than it is in the U.S., Chinese battery makers want to take advantage of growth in other markets, too. Also, investing in the U.S. is a hedge against any geopolitical tensions, or trade sanctions between the U.S. and China. But it’s also a hedge against any kind of political problems that could arise within China itself. Several years ago we asked a Chinese CEO of a supplier company why he was investing in the U.S. when the Chinese car market was growing so much faster. He told Autoline that while it was true China was growing faster, the U.S. was a safer place to invest. You never know what’s going to happen in China, he said.
GEELY GETS INTO SMARTPHONES
Geely is one of the most interesting automakers in China, maybe the most interesting. Its chairman Li Shufu started out as a poor farmer, but has built an amazing automotive empire. Geeley’s portfolio of brands includes Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, Lotus, Proton and the London EV Company which makes taxi cabs. Plus, it owns several more car brands in China. On top of that, it bought a nearly 10% stake in Mercedes. It’s partnered with Chinese tech giant Baidu to develop electric vehicles. And it’s also developing vertical takeoff and landing aircraft or VTOLs with Volocopter. Now Geely is jumping into the smartphone business, and is in the final stages of acquiring Chinese smartphone company Meizu. And that has got to be one the most interesting collection of companies in the entire automotive industry.
FERRARI BUILDS ONE-OFF EXOTIC FOR CUSTOMER
Ferrari pulled the wraps off its latest one-off creation for a customer, a vehicle called the SP48 Unica. It’s two-seater based on the same platform as the F8 Tributo and powered by the same twin-turbo V8. The interior is also the same as the F8, but it uses unique materials and combinations. However, that’s about where the similarities end. The entire body has been reworked and features an all-new front fascia, side view, intake shape and placement and new rear that’s got a digital vibe with a couple of thin light bars, instead of two round lights on each side. It doesn’t look easy to back up either with what looks like a complete cover over the rear-mounted engine. Ferrari doesn’t say what a one-off vehicle like the SP48 Unica costs, but we’ve got to imagine a good chunk of it is for the privilege alone of being able to own a one-off Ferrari.
MERCEDES BUILDS ONE-OFF FOR WILL.I.AM
Speaking of one-off cars, Mercedes-AMG teamed up with musician will.i.am to create this vehicle, called WILL.I.AMG. It’s a two-door, with rear-hinging doors no less, that is actually based on the 4-door version of AMG GT Coupe. Will.i.am said it was always a dream of his to own a Mercedes and you may see some design influence from the G-Class and SLS Gullwing. So, are you wondering, what the heck is up with the bear face logo? Well, it’s the same logo that will be used on a line of clothes and accessories, called Bear Witness, that drops today. A portion of sales goes to will.i.am’s Angel Foundation, which provides access to STEAM education for students in disadvantaged communities.
YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EV CHARGING EXPERIENCE
Yesterday we said we had heard mixed reviews about Electrify America charging stations, so we asked you what your experience has been. For people like Carter Harvey, selmateacher7 – Daniel Berry, DB, Scott, and R P it’s been a pretty good charging experience. But for others like The Biker Bug, Paul D, Kent Purdy, Mr Square Art and Victor Cenac it was hit or miss, from slow, not enough or inoperable chargers to just not knowing if the EA plug will work for their car. This is a tiny sample size but it mirrors the improvements we keep hearing need to happen with the charging infrastructure. First, the industry needs to keep building chargers to support all the EVs they plan to build. And it needs to do a better job of making stations easy to locate and of advertising the charging rate. On the other hand, customers need to do a better job educating themselves on the capabilities or lack thereof of their EVs.
NIKOLA PASSES MAJOR MILESTONE
Despite all the criticism that’s been heaped on it, Nikola keeps making progress. Yesterday it announced that it has all the supplies that it needs to hit its delivery target of 300 to 500 trucks this year. That’s the Tre BEV semi. It started building the trucks in March and delivered the first 11 to customers in April. Nikola says it expects to earn between $15 to $18 million in revenue in the second quarter, which is better than the $11.5 million analysts were predicting. Wall Street reacted very favorably to the news. Even though the Dow fell by 1,000 points yesterday, Nikola was up more than 6%.
JEEP CO-BRANDS WITH IGLOO
Jeep is one the masters when it comes to branding and placing its logo on a wide variety of products. Now it’s teaming up with Igloo to make Jeep-branded coolers. In addition to wearing the Jeep logo, the cooler has a bunch of Jeep themed stickers slapped all over it. The cooler comes in two colors, can hold up to nine 12-ounce cans of bee… I mean soda, costs $45 and is available to order now at Igloo’s website.
HYUNDAI BUILDS R&D LAB IN MONTANA
Hyundai never ceases to amaze us. Now it’s building a new R&D lab in Bozeman, Montana. Big Sky country. Known for its hiking, biking and skiing. But apparently it’s also emerging as a tech hub. That’s why Hyundai chose it as the location to develop what it calls UMVs, or ultimate mobility vehicles. And that includes this wild machine that looks like it’s designed to run around on Mars, not just some off-road trail. Even so, Hyundai says the mountains and off-road trails around Bozeman will be perfect for testing these kinds of vehicles.
But that’s the end of today’s show. Thanks for joining us and I hope you have a great weekend.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Seamus and Sean McElroy cover the latest news in the automotive industry for Autoline Daily.