News: Passenger Cars, Minivans, and SUVs

2022-06-25

Korean EVs Hyundai and Kia Doing Well in UK

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The European EV market is expanding, and in the UK, Korean-made EVs are gaining popularity as vehicles that are more affordable than Tesla’s and that offer superior performance.

Last year in the UK, the Tesla Model 3 ranked second in sales of all passenger cars by model, marking the “first year of EVs” in earnest. However, the popular Tesla cars are not inexpensive, costing about three times as much as similarly sized gasoline-powered cars. On the other hand, Hyundai and Kia cars are priced at 60-70% of Tesla’s Model Y and have been a hit with environmentally conscious 30–40-year-olds who had been putting off purchasing EVs because they wanted to replace their cars with EVs but thought Tesla were too expensive.

A major reason for the high support for Korean-made EVs is their price competitiveness. In terms of corporate car leasing prices, Tesla’s Model Y costs 40 pounds per day (for a three-year lease), while Kia’s low-priced e-NIRO EV costs less than 20 pounds per day, about half the price. While the price may be reasonable due to the large difference in vehicle quality, the figures are enough to shatter the preconceived notion that EVs are expensive.

UK EV Market Share by Brand
(Feb-April 2022)

  • Tesla, 25.2%
  • Hyundai & Kia, 14.6%
  • VW Group, 13.6%
  • Stellantis, 12.9%
  • BMW Group, 8.9%
  • Mercedes, 6.7%
  • Renault-Nissan, 4.4%
  • Others, 13.4%

The reason why Europeans have no resistance to “Korean-made EVs” has to do with historical backgrounds other than vehicle prices and tax benefits. Korean-made cars are highly regarded in Europe, and Korean cars have an extremely high share of the compact car segment in Europe. This is due to the fact that Korean automakers have aggressively expanded their factories into former Eastern European countries, where wages are low but skill levels are high; Hyundai and Kia established production bases in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, respectively, soon after both countries joined the European Union.

Source: Economist

PSR Analysis: As mentioned above, many potential buyers believe EVs are more expensive than conventional engine models. Hyundai and Kia are successfully implementing mass-market EV strategies in Europe, where EVs are most prevalent, in order to overcome the sales slump caused by this image. IF the Korean carmakers can overcome this mis-perception of pricing, it will make a big difference in acceptance in this important EV market.     PSR

Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia for Power Systems Research

Buffett-backed BYD Will Supply Batteries To Tesla

CHINA REPORT

Jack Hao
Jack Hao

BEIJING— Chinese electric vehicle (EV) and battery maker BYD is going to become Tesla’s battery supplier for the first time, a senior executive at the company backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway said recently.

“Tesla is a very successful company. BYD has great respect for Tesla and raises our hat to it,” said BYD’s executive vice president Lian Yubo in an interview with the state-owned news channel China Global Television Network (CGTN), when he was asked his thoughts of China-made vehicles in comparison with Tesla.  “(Tesla CEO) Musk and us are good friends now as we are preparing to supply batteries to it very soon. We learned a lot from Tesla,” Lian added, noting the U.S. rival’s positioning itself as a high-end EV brand.

Lian’s remark suggests BYD is set to be the second China-based battery supplier of Tesla next to CATL, the world’s largest EV battery company. LG Energy Solution, the South Korean battery maker second to CATL, and Tesla’s long-time partner Panasonic currently are another two battery makers in Tesla’s supplier list.

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2022-06-23

We’ll Be at the Battery Show in Stuttgart

The Battery Show Europe and the Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo Europe is scheduled to be held June 28-30 at the Messe Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany.  More than 6,000 attendees are expected to tour the show and visit the more than 540 exhibiting suppliers.

Power Systems Research (PSR) will have a team of analysts at the show collecting data and  developing insights on alternative power sources. The team includes

  • Emiliano Marzoli, PSR manager of European Operations
  • Dalibor Sablic, PSR senior business development manager-Europe
  • Guy Youngs,  PSR Forecast and Technology Adoption Lead

The show is one of the largest in Europe and features manufacturers, suppliers, engineers, thought leaders and decision-makers and is focused on the latest developments in the advanced battery and automotive industries.

For registration details and more information about the show, visit the show website at https://www.thebatteryshow.eu/en/Home.html To meet with a member of the PSR team, contact Emiliano Marzoli at info@powersys.com or call the PSR Brussels office at  +32.2.643.2828.   PSR 

2022-05-23

Hyundai Sells More Than 800 EVs at Indonesia Auto Show

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT

Hyundai Motor Indonesia (HMID) said it has signed contracts for more than 800 units of the Ioniq 5 EV announced at the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) Hybrid 2022 in Jakarta.

The company announced that it has started mass production of the Ioniq 5 and that it will begin shipping to dealers in April. The Creta SUV was the second most sold model after the Ioniq 5, with approximately 600 units sold, bringing the total number of vehicles sold to over 1,500, including EVs and gasoline-powered vehicles.

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Plant-Based Bio-fuel May Not Replace Fossil Fuels

EUROPE REPORT
Christopher Bamforth
Christopher Bamforth

Over the last decade we have worked to reduce fossil fuel consumption in Europe without cutting back the use of our cars, trucks, and motorbikes. It was thought that by mixing diesel and fuel with crop-based bio-fuel it would reduce fossil fuel usage.

However, over the last 30 years the emission of CO2 has increased, raising questions about the effectiveness of this measure. After extended analysis from the Environmental Action Germany (DUH), it has been concluded that this may not be a solution to the problem of reducing carbon emissions.

Consider that the production and consumption of immense areas of land across the globe dedicated to the cultivation of these fuels actually have a huge environmental cost. For example, to satisfy Germany’s appetite for these natural bio-fuels, 1.3 million hectares of land have been converted to its production. This equates to 9.2 million tons of CO2 saved each year. However, if we were to dedicate this land to natural restoration projects with a portion dedicated to solar energy production, we would be able to save 27.5 million tons of CO2 each year.

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2022-04-23

Maruti Suzuki To Build EV-Battery Plant

INDIA REPORT 
Aditya Kondejkar

The development work has already been started on a project codenamed YY8 planned for 2024-2025.

Source: Economic Times.    Read The Article

Major auto players in India like Tata Motors, MG Motors and Hyundai have already announced their investment plans in the electric vehicles sector, there wasn’t any formal announcement from Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest automaker. But now, the penny has dropped.

Suzuki Motor, parent of Maruti Suzuki, says it has signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat State government, and plans to invest Rs 10,440 crore in there to build an EV and battery factory. The MoU was signed at the India-Japan Economic Forum held in New Delhi.

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Korea To Increase EV Battery Material Production

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Korean materials giants are rushing to increase production of battery materials for EVs. Lotte Chemical plans to invest 160 billion yen to build plants for electrolytes and other materials in Korea and the U.S. LG Chem and POSCO have also announced plans to increase production. The three major Korean battery manufacturers, including LG, have active investment plans, but they are lagging their Chinese counterparts in the upstream area of battery materials. Materials companies are also increasing their supply capacity to compete with the Chinese.

Lotte Chemical, a major petrochemical company, will build a new plant for organic solvents for electrolytes in its own plant. The company will build a new factory with a total investment of 602 billion won, aiming for production by the end of 2023. The company is also considering building a plant related to electrolyte and cathode materials in Louisiana, U.S. It has begun coordination with local governments and other related parties in anticipation of starting production in 2025. The investment is expected to be in the order of 100 billion yen.

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Thai Incentive Program to Promote EVs, Starting in 2022

SOUTHEAST ASIA: THAILAND REPORT

The Thai government plans to introduce an incentive program to promote EVs starting in 2022. The program will focus on providing subsidies to lower sales prices and reducing excise and import taxes. Automakers taking advantage of the program will be required to produce EVs locally from 2024 onward.

According to local media, the subsidy is 70,000 to 150,000 baht per vehicle, depending on the model and battery capacity. The excise tax on purchases will be reduced from the current 8% to 2%. Import duties will be reduced by 20-40% depending on battery capacity and sales price. The current maximum tariff rate is 80%, but the trade agreement will impose no tariff on Chinese-made products and 20% on Japanese-made products. Japanese-made products are also expected to be tariff-free if they meet the conditions. The current sales prices of imported cars vary from about 1 million baht for EVs from China’s SAIC Motor Group and Great Wall Motor to about 1.5 million baht for Nissan Motor’s LEAF at campaign prices.

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2022-03-21

Russia Shuts Down Half of Auto Plants

RUSSIA REPORT
Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

March 10, 2022–The volume of working auto production facilities in Russia has dropped by 45% since the invasion of Ukraine. On March 3, work continued in Russia on 55% of the facilities for assembling LCVs and passenger cars, comparing to 2021. Last year, domestic operations produced 83% of sales in Russia.

Work continues at AutoVAZ (in Tolyatti and Izhevsk), Stellantis and Mitsubishi alliance (PSMA Rus plant), Autotor (Kia and Hyundai assembly), Nissan, Haval, GAZ, UAZ, Mazda Sollers and Isuzu. The total number of vehicles produced by these enterprises has reached 766,000, which is 55% of the sales produced by the Russian automotive industry last year. The total annual production capacity of Russian automotive industry is about 2.7 million vehicles.

After implementation of Western sanctions and the volatility of currency exchange, automakers started raising prices and stopped production and shipping cars. Companies such as Volkswagen, BMW, Renault, Mercedes, Hyundai, Toyota, Sollers Ford have announced the temporary closing of factories. Closed import to Russia Audi, Porshe, GM, Jaguar Land Rover, Lexus, Volvo, Honda, Mazda and others.

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2022-03-20

Electric VW E-Delivery Has New Chargers and Reach Into Colombia

BRAZIL REPORT
Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

VWCO will increase the offer of homologated chargers and now it can be charged in more than 10 different wall boxes. In addition to the new chargers, VW is starting the sale effort in Colombia in agreement with Porsche Colombia, with versions of 11 and 14 tons.

Source: Automotive Business    Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Colombia is a market with high acceptance for EV and alternative propulsion and sales of this vehicle should grow fast. Total cost of ownership is still an issue for this product in Brazil, but many companies are investing in these products to associate the green and environmental appeal to its brands.   PSR

Fabio Ferraresi is Director Business Development South America, for Power Systems Research