The Acceleration Of The EV Revolution Comes With Business Expansion

Although Tesla Inc TSLA helped create the EV industry, both in the U.S. and China, it is now facing intense competition on both fronts. Fighting for market share, Tesla started a price war at the beginning of the year. Although price wars tend to eliminate weaker players from the race, Tesla rivals responded on both continents. Ford Motor F lowered the price of its flagship electric pickup, F-150, and so did Tesla’s rivals in China, BYD Company Limited BYDDY, Nio Inc NIO and XPeng Inc XPEV. Moreover, BYD, Nio and XPeng all took another strategic step forward and embarked on new adventures. In addition, innovative companies such as Worksport Ltd WKSPWKSPW, an automotive parts manufacturer that specializes in making sustainable solutions for the transportation industry, could help all EV players uplevel their game.

Fueled By Revenue Growth, Worksport Announced Strategic Developments 

In August, Worksport reported its revenue grew YoY in the second quarter. Worksport began shipping its soft-folding tonneau covers in August, following a $720,000 purchase order that was revealed in July. It also began manufacturing its hard-folding tonneau covers fueled by $1,600,000 in purchase orders. Now, Worksport is all geared up to deliver the world’s first solar-powered tonneau cover Solis and portable battery system COR. These twin innovations promise not only to extend the range of electric pickups, possibly challenging Tesla whose Cybertruck is due to hit the road this year, but also to disrupt the mobile power markets, redefining camping and outdoor adventures. 

BYD posted its best-ever quarterly sales results, a skyrocketing first half profit and reminded the world it does more than just dominate the EV front in China.

Fueled by record deliveries, biggest Tesla rival in China, BYD posted a 204.68% rose in net profit during the first half of 2023 as it earned 10.95 billion yuan ($1.50 billion). During the period, revenue rose 72.72% YoY. Jiong Shao, Barclays’ China technology analyst, noted that what is even more impressive is that during these six months, BYD achieve the gross margin that Tesla has, which is 18%. 

As for the second quarter, BYD sold 700,244 EVs, which translates to a 98% YoY rise, affirming its EV crown in China and victory over Tesla. During the comparable quarter, Tesla delivered 466,140 EVs across the globe. On Tuesday, Vivek Vaidya, associate partner at Frost & Sullivan, on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia”  commented that BYD is simply targeting a mass market which Tesla is unable to reach with its offerings.

Besides being China’s best-selling EV brand, BYD does more than EVs as it started its business life with electronics. It revealed its BE electronics unit has bought the electronics manufacturing business in China owned by U.S.-based manufacturer Jabil Inc JBL for 15.8 billion yuan ($2.2 billion), aiming to expand its customer base, product portfolio and smartphone components business.

XPeng Got Didi’s Smart EV Development Business And The Support Of Volkswagen

Another Tesla rival, XPeng, revealed on Monday it has agreed to buy a smart EV development business from DiDi Global Inc DIDIY for $744 million. With this investment, XPeng aims to create a new mass market brand with the new EV planned for launch as early as next year. Upon the news, XPeng shares rose 13%. XPeng is also developing two EVs with Volkswagen AG VWAGY. Although these two vehicles will be under the Volkswagen brand, they will be driven with XPeng’s driver assist-software. Volkswagen and XPeng plan to launch these EVs in China in 2026. Volkswagen commited to invest $700 million in XPeng by getting a 4.99% stake in the company as it hopes to restore its fame in China with the help of XPeng’s know-how. But XPeng is getting a much needed support that all startups can use, especially as it was posting weak figures due to restructuring and is now hoping to turn things around. Interestingly, XPeng has some of the most advanced assisted driving technology in China, but its deliveries have greatly lagged its competitors such as BYD. With its two recent partnerships, XPeng is bound to improve its positioning.  

Nio Is Revamping Its Products And Launching A Phone

Although it posted a wider-than-expected second quarter loss on Tuesday, more than twice its 2022’s comparable quarter loss, Nio is hoping of a turnaround as it tries to boost its EV appeal with product revamping and a phone launch. It already reported that deliveries have recovered in July, showing that its revamped vehicles did the trick. It is expecting to deliver 55,000 and 57,000 vehicles in the undergoing quarter, which is already a good sign considering that it only delivered 23,520 vehicles in the second quarter it just reported. Moreover, Nio also revealed it will be launching its first self-developed phone in September, as it joins the trend of creating car systems that allow drivers to remotely open doors, turn on air-conditioning or start their cars using their smartphones. Nio openly stated it has no intention of competing with phone makers but rather enhance the appeal of its cars with the perks that improved software and connectivity can offer. Nio is also planning to launch its new EV mass market brand in the second half of 2024.  

All in all, as the EV revolution continues to accelerate, EV makers are expanding their horizons and businesses in attempt to boost their EV appeal. 

DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investing advice.