*Meanwhile, In other News fwiw, I see where,
Tesla Stock Gains on ‘Cyber Rodeo’ Day
It’s a big day for
Tesla. The company is christening its Austin factory Thursday, while
Tesla devotees celebrate in the streets.
Its Gigafactory, with the ability to produce 500,000 vehicles a year, should help Tesla produce more cars as it continues to grow.
There is also a ‘
Tesla-Con. happening in the streets of Austin, a sign of just how devoted Tesla owners can be.
www.marketwatch.com
EV sales in Australia just had their best month ever and most of them were Teslas
Electric vehicles have had their best month ever in Australia,
accounting for 2.5% of the market in March.
That might not seem a lot when you consider British drivers bought more electric cars
(39,315 to be exact) in March alone than in the whole of 2019, but we have seen a doubling of sales in the last year in Australia.
In the first quarter of 2021, EV sales totalled around 3,250 units and this year that number is more than double – at 6,752.
And the winning EV player in the country is (you guessed it) Tesla, which sold 4,417 Model 3 sedans in the quarter, accounting for two thirds of the total.
But when you break that down further Tesla sold
3,097 cars in March, still half the amount of Toyota Hilux’s sold — proving we still have a way to go before we fully accept EVs.
That, or we need some Beasty 4wD EVs to choose from.
VW’s big electric vehicle plans to outsell Tesla in Australia
Within years, we could be seeing more Volkswagen ID.4s, Cupra Borns and Skoda Enyaqs on the road than Tesla electric cars, if a prediction made by Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) managing director Paul Sansom proves true.
Sansom, newly appointed to the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia board, says he thinks the group will outsell even Tesla – currently the EV leader locally with a tight 70% hold on the market.
“Already Australia’s primary importers of European passenger vehicles, VGA will become the most significant source of electric vehicles in this country,” Sansom said.
The German marque has been reticent to introduce electric models to the local market in previous years, largely because of a lack of local policy, particularly the absence of vehicle emissions standards.
With little to no support for electric vehicles in Australia at a national policy level, and no desire from government to introduce better vehicle standards, Volkswagen has instead prioritised EVs for markets such as Europe where policy levers are stricter.
But as Sansom notes, the global EV transition is a key part of an “irrevocable mega trend” that will have a lasting impact on the planet as a whole.
With EV sales tripling each year in Australia, if this trend holds Tesla sales could burgeon to 50,000 a year easily by the end of 2023, meaning Volkswagen will have some serious catching up to do.
Even now, the Tesla Model 3 has reached #14 in sales volume in March, and #4 best-selling passenger car after the MG MG3, Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla.
In 2021, Volkswagen’s market share fell just shy of 4%, making it the 8th most bought brand.
All Volkswagen group brands combined – Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Porsche as well as Lamborghini and Bentley – accounted for around 6.7% putting the group as a whole at #5 with around 70,000 cars sold.
GM and Honda team up to make “affordable” EVs to help more people go electric
General Motors has partnered with Japanese automaker Honda to co-develop a series of affordable EVs in a move the two companies hope will “put people all over the world into EVs faster than either company could achieve on its own.”
General Motors and Honda announced on Tuesday an expansion of their partnership which will see them co-develop a new affordable EVs based on a new architecture using GM’s Ultium battery technology.
These will first include a compact crossover, which they hope will enable global production of millions of EVs starting in 2027.
“This is a key step to deliver on our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in our global products and operations by 2040 and eliminate tailpipe emissions from light duty vehicles in the U.S. by 2035.
By working together, we’ll put people all over the world into EVs faster than either company could achieve on its own.”
Shinji Aoyama, Honda senior managing executive officer said the partnship will be a “win-win” for customers: “This new series of affordable EVs will build on this relationship by leveraging our strength in the development and production of high quality, compact class vehicles.”
Toshihiro Mibe, Honda president and CEO added that, “Honda is committed to reaching our goal of carbon neutrality on a global basis by 2050, which requires driving down the cost of electric vehicles to make EV ownership possible for the greatest number of customers.”
How the need for EV battery metals is creating a new gold rush
U.S. electric vehicle (EV) sales are expected to double in 2022, which means more batteries are needed.
Take a look at how America's automakers are trying to avoid disruption in their battery supply chain and what that means for investors.
U.S. electric vehicle (EV) sales are expected to double in 2022, which means more batteries are needed. Take a look at how America's automakers are trying to avoid disruption in their battery supply chain and what that means for investors.
www.marketwatch.com
Calls for Australia to boost electric vehicle infrastructure
www.abc.net.au/7.30/calls-for-australia-to-boost-electric-vehicle/13830280
Food for thought on the Road to Mining Manono when that ML officially gets the Go
GLTA_AVZH's
Cheers
Frank