Electric

China Tech Giants Bet $19 Billion on Global Electric Car Frenzy

By Michael J. Moody 4 days ago

China is shaping up to be the first real test of Big Tech’s ambitions in the world of carmaking, with giants from Huawei Technologies Co. to Baidu Inc. plowing almost $19 billion into electric and self-driving vehicle ventures widely seen as the future of transport.

While Apple Inc. has long had plans for its own car and Alphabet Inc. has Waymo, its autonomous driving unit, the size — and speed — of the move by China’s tech titans puts them at the vanguard of that broader push. The lure is an industry that’s becoming increasingly high tech as it pivots away from the combustion engine, with sensors and operating systems making cars more like computers, and the prospect of autonomy re-envisioning how people use will them.

As the world’s biggest market for new-energy cars, China is a key battlefield. Established automakers like Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. are already

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Vietnam’s answer to Tesla has U.S. in its electric sights By Reuters

By Michael J. Moody 2 weeks ago

© Reuters. A labourer works in VinFast’s factory in Hai Phong City

By James Pearson and Phuong Nguyen

HAIPHONG, Vietnam (Reuters) – Move over Tesla, how about a VinFast?

That’s the proposition being offered by the automobile arm of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, Vingroup. It’s betting big on the U.S. market with its VinFast line of cars and hoping that electric SUVs and a battery leasing model will be enough to woo consumers away from homegrown market leaders like Tesla and General Motors Co (NYSE:).

A recent arrival on the automotive scene and the No. 5 car brand in Vietnam, VinFast is not short on ambition, with its sights set on a U.S. listing and a valuation of as much as $60 billion, according to two sources familiar with its plans.

(GRAPHIC: VinFast fifth in terms of Vietnam sales in 2020 – https://graphics.reuters.com/VIETNAM-VINFAST/rlgvdzyjgvo/chart.png)

It will launch in North America and Europe

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Odds are stacked against Foxconn in electric car market

By Michael J. Moody 3 weeks ago

SINGAPORE — When Apple seized leadership of the consumer device industry with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, it created the conditions for a host of Asian tech names to grow in its wake. From assemblers such as Foxconn to apps such as Didi Chuxing, Asian companies rapidly grew to become significant players in the global tech industry.

Fourteen years later, some of these same Asian names are coming in behind another big U.S. tech name, Tesla. They hope electric vehicles will do for them now what smartphones did a decade or more ago.

Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker still building a brand outside its home market, is the latest, saying in March that it would set up a wholly owned unit to build “smart electric vehicles” and invest $10 billion in the next 10 years. Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun will lead the unit.

Early this year,

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Mercedes-Benz reveals its first electric car: meet the Mercedes-Benz EQS

By Michael J. Moody 4 weeks ago

Mercedes-Benz is giving up the growl.

The German luxury automotive brand on Thursday debuted its first-ever electric sedan, the Mercedes-Benz EQS.

The company is describing the EQS as a sibling of the recently redesigned high-end S-class, which is typically considered the brand’s most luxurious ride. But the slightly shorter vehicle, which Mercedes has been teasing in advertisements, has its own electric architecture.

The EQS is expected to compete directly with electric cars like the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan. It will debut as a 2022 model and while a starting price hasn’t been announced, car-research site Edmunds recently estimated $110,000.

Missing the trademark engine roar associated with high-performance gas-powered models, the EQS will nonetheless deliver significant power, albeit with a quiet electric motor.

The first versions sold in the U.S. will be the EQS 450+ with 329 horsepower and the EQS 580 4MATIC with 516 horsepower, both

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