There's More To The EV Story Than The Slowdown

The EV slowdown has been in the air since the year began. Even Tesla Inc TSLA warned of a sharp sales slowdown this year or more precisely, a notably lower growth.  Tesla even ended 2023 being overtaken by its Chinese rival BYD BYDDY during the last quarter. But when it comes to EVs, the slowdown is not the whole picture.

On the other hand, China’s EV market flourished during the first half of 2024.

In July, global EV sales surged 21% thanks to record growth in China, according to a report by Rho Motion, a research firm. With 1.35 million EVs sold across the globe, China recorded the greatest jump of 2024 as sales rose 31% YoY to 0.88 million EVs sold. During July, half of all cars sold in China were either EVs or plug in hybrids, which is an even bigger success considering that EVs still make a fraction of sales when it comes to traditional automakers like General Motors, Ford Motor and others. According to the report, North America also reported moderate growth of 7.1% The report also shows EV sales contracted by 7.8% in Europe during the same month.

Europe, the U.S. and Canada are undoubtedly behind China where the largest EV maker known as Tesla killer, BYD, reported a 13% increase in global BEV sales and a 44% rise in PHEV sales over the first seven months of the year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Europe are struggling.

Traditional automakers like General Motors GM and Ford Motor F have focused on containing hefty EV costs, scaling down their electric ambitions along the way. Ford continues to mount EV losses with the segment reporting a 37% revenue drop during the second quarter. What’s even more concerning is that EV losses almost canceled out Blue division’s $1.2 billion profit made from internal combustion engines, leaving Ford in quite a pickle. The biggest problem of Ford and other legacy automakers is that the business where they have the more than a century old know-how operates entirely differently from EVs. But, both Ford and GM remain confident that they will figure out their EV transition and pickups are undoubtedly helping them navigate through such a complex and challenging environment. 

Speaking of pickups, the U.S. based Worksport Ltd. WKSP known for making innovative hybrid and clean energy solutions for light trucks is bringing a disruptive innovation in September and the company’s latest financials show just how game-changing they promise to be.

Worksport continues its remarkable early growth story.

For the second quarter, Worksport reported an impressive 860% revenue increase with second quarter sales surpassing the entire 2023 year-end revenue of $1.5 million. With strong sales traction through its rapidly expanding channels, along with the introduction of innovative and higher-margin products on the horizon such as the solar-powered duo, SOLIS and COR, Worksport expects the strong momentum to continue. The Alpha release of the SOLIS tonneau cover and COR portable system is set to launch in September, to be followed by their market launch. 

During the second quarter, Worksport reported that revenue rose 275% from the first quarter to a new record of $1.92 million. The revenue surge is a direct result of the new Buffalo factory and the launch of dealer and e-commerce marketing initiatives and this is still the early stage of Worksport’s rise.

Gross profit margins improved 111% from the first quarter, reaching 15.4%. As Worksport continues to build baseline efficiency during the remainder of the year, these initiatives should further boost future margins. Worksport is on track to meet or exceed our previously issued revenue guidance of $6 to $8 million by year end, noting that this guidance does not account for potential revenues from the AL4 and off-grid power on the go revolutionary products SOLIS and COR, as it is based solely on AL3 and soft cover product offerings. For fiscal year 2025, Worksport expects its tonneau cover business alone, excluding clean-tech business whose launch is also on the horizon, to bring in revenue between $15 and $20 million.

The EV slowdown is not the whole story. 

Therefore, while the EV slowdown is unquestionable in Europe and in the U.S., the above stories show that there’s a lot of exciting dynamics happening behind the scenes and in China where the EV revolution is fully underway. 

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