Zinger Key Points
- Tesla's quarter-end push of discounting followed by warning of price hike beginning on April 1was slammed as 'old trick' by a fund manager.
- Canoo says FTZ designation for its Oklahoma City facility will help improve unit profitability.
Electric-vehicle stocks underperformed the broader market this week, not really benefiting from a dovish Federal Reserve. Tesla, Inc. TSLA, though ending higher for the week, came under pressure in the back-end.
Here are the key events that happened in the EV space during the week:
Tesla Cuts China Production, Lawmaker Renews Call For SEC Probe And More: Shares of Tesla, which saw a modest recovery early in the week, reversed course as fears concerning a first-quarter deliveries miss intensified. A Bloomberg report said the Elon Musk-led company asked its factory workers at Giga Shanghai to reduce a typical 6.5-day workweek to a five-day schedule. This raised concerns about a demand slowdown in one of its key markets.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) this week renewed her call to the SEC to investigate Musk and the company's board of directors, citing, “possible misappropriation of Tesla resources and conflicts of interest arising from Mr. Musk's dual role at Tesla and X,” formerly Twitter. The allegations assume importance as a Delaware court earlier this year nullified Musk’s $55.8 billion compensation plan from 2018.
Tesla was slammed by fund managers for luring buyers by the threat of a price hike once the quarter ends. Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management said it was an “old trick,” while Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster said “it’s hard to read between the lines what a $1k end-of-month discount followed by a $1k price increase means for demand and margins.”
See Also: Best Electric Vehicle Stocks
Ford Looks To Capitalize On India’s New EV Policy: Two-and-a-half years after quitting the Indian market, Ford Motor Co. F is plotting a reentry, taking advantage of the country’s changed EV policy, Auto Car India reported.
Ford’s President of the International Markets Group, Kay Hart, reportedly visited the country to assess the next steps regarding restarting of operations at its facility in Southern India. Blue Oval is contemplating making EVs at Chennai, the capital city of the southernmost state of Tamil Nadu, meant for the Indian and overseas markets, with the EVs likely based on its new affordable platform, the report said.
Fisker’s Lifeline, Production Pause: Even as Fisker, Inc. FSR is negotiating with a large automaker to avoid a potential bankruptcy filing amid a cash crunch, the company announced this week a financing commitment from an existing investor providing up to $150 million of gross proceeds.
The financing is contingent on certain conditions, including the filing of the Form 10-K. The company also said it will pause production for six weeks starting the week of March 18, to align inventory levels and advance strategic and financing plans.
BYD Eyes Greek Market: Warren Buffett-back BYD Co. Ltd. BYDDY BYDDF has been quick with its international expansion. This week, the Chinese EV maker said it is entering the Greek passenger car market with the launch of its Yuan Plus crossover, known as Atto 3 in overseas markets, and the Seal sedan. The company also said it would introduce more models in the European country in the future.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
Canoo’s Facility Designated As FTZ: Lifestyle EV maker Canoo, Inc. GOEV announced that the U.S. Commerce Department has approved its Oklahoma City facility as a Foreign Trade Zone, which marked a significant milestone that will accelerate its “Made in America” electric vehicle manufacturing strategy, improve unit profitability and enable a faster path to breakeven.
The company said it now sources more than 90% of its parts from the U.S. and allied nations. Approximately 70% of parts come from North America, and the remaining from the rest of the world.
For international sales, the FTZ will significantly enhance profitability by lowering the vehicle cost by up to 5% on parts imported from the rest of the world. “This cost reduction will occur when these Made-in-America vehicles are exported to international markets, which we plan to announce in the near future,” the company said.
The KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF KARS ended Friday’s session down 2.01% at $22.44, according to Benzinga Pro data. For the week, the ETF fell 0.36%.
Read Next: Forget California, Tesla Goes National: Electric Domination Spreads Across 7 States In One Year
EV Stock Performances For Week:
| Performances (+/-) | |
| Tesla | +4.44% |
| Nio, Inc.NIO | -12.37% |
| XPeng, Inc. XPEV | -11.62% |
| Li Auto, Inc. LI | -19.25% |
| Fisker | -26.59% |
| Workhorse Group, Inc. WKHS | -21.13% |
| Hyzon Motors, Inc. HYZN | -9.09% |
| Canoo | +120.62% |
| Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN | -2.17% |
| Lucid Group, Inc. LCID | +2.59% |
| Faraday Future Intelligent Electric, Inc. FFIE | +35.77% |
| Nikola Corp. NKLA | +2.84% |
| VinFast Auto Ltd. VFS | -1.20% |
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