Tesla On 6-Week Winning Streak, Volkswagen's Sub-$25K Car, Ford's Efficiency Drive, And More: Biggest EV Stories Of The Week

Electric vehicle stocks closed the week ended Feb. 17 mostly higher, led by Tesla, Inc. TSLA, as bargain hunting lifted beaten-down stocks. The space will likely witness some volatility in the coming week as the reporting of EV earnings begins.

Here are the key events that happened in the EV space during the week:

Mixed Tidings For Tesla: The upward momentum in Tesla stock accelerated, with shares rising for the sixth straight week. Optimism concerning March 1 Investor Day announcements, and hopes of sales reaccelerating following the underperformance in 2022 and the potential Cybertruck launch later this year have all worked in unison to lift the stock.

Tesla clarified this week that it eliminated 4% of the employees at its Autopilot labeling team in Buffalo, New York, following a routine performance review and not in response to a unionization drive. The clarification was in response to a union complaint with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board that the company laid off dozens of employees from its Buffalo plant a day after workers kick-started the unionization drive.

The EV giant was also hit with a negative headline over a recall of 362,758 vehicles equipped with its full-self driving beta systems due to the risk of the cars likely exceeding the speed limits of inner city roads and traveling through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner. The recalled vehicles included 2016-2023 Model S, X cars, 2017-2023 Model 3 cars and 2020-2023 Model Y SUVs equipped with FSD beta. Tesla said the issue would be fixed through an over-the-air software update.

One of the most successful investors and Warren Buffett's trusted lieutenants favors Chinese EV startup BYD Manufacturing Company Limited BYDDY BYDDF over Tesla. BYD is far ahead of Tesla in China, Charlie Munger said in an interview with CNBC this week.

Things could be looking up for Tesla in China, as the company reversed some of the price hikes it implemented in the country in late 2022 and early this year. Updated pricing on the Tesla China website showed that prices of the Model Y Long Range and Performance variants were hiked by 2,000 yuan ($291) each.

See also: Best Electric Vehicle Stocks

Volkswagen To Launch Sub-$25K Car In 2023: Tesla should beware, as German automaker Volkswagen AG VWAGY is set to launch its ID.2 EV using its MEB-Plus platform in 2023. The vehicle, which is rumored to be the electrified version of Volkswagen’s compact five-seater Golf, will be powered by a lithium-iron-phosphate battery. It is expected to have a starting price of 22,500 euros ($24,124).

Rivian Zooms On Positive Analyst Views: Shares of Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN got a shot in the arm this week after Barclays analyst Dan Levy named Rivian along with Tesla as the biggest beneficiaries of the EV boom. Rivian’s unique product positions it to gain a solid share in the North American EV market, he said. The analyst initiated the stock with an Overweight rating and a $28 price target.

Ford Pushes For Efficiency: After posting a loss for 2022, Ford Motor Company F is mending its way. The company said it plans to cut 11% of its workforce in Europe. Separately, CEO Jim Farley said at an auto conference that the company aims to reduce dealer inventories and move toward more transactions online in the longer term, Reuters reported. He also said Ford has locked down designs of its new EV trucks and SUVs and targets lowering battery costs to less than $70 per kilowatt-hour.

To boost the profitability of its second-gen EVs, the company plans to shift to large underbody castings to reduce parts count and simplify manufacturing, he added.

China To Probe CATL-Ford Partnership: After Ford announced a battery manufacturing partnership with China’s CATL, Bloomberg said China plans to probe the association for fear of CATL technology being shared with the U.S. automaker.

Read also: Charlie Munger's 'Favorite Stock Ever' Is This EV Maker: 'So Much Ahead Of Tesla In China

EV Stock Performances for The Week:

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