Renault Worries About China's Metal Export Curb While Worksport Makes A Strategic Leap At Its U.S. Base

Europe and the U.S. have kicked into high EV gear but a "Chinese cloud" is looming over the EV sector. Last Saturday, Renault RNLSY Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard expressed his concerns to Reuters regarding Europe’s over-reliance on China, emphasizing the need for building a costly supply chain. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Worksport Ltd WKSP has just announced it has made significant progress at its 220,000 square feet U.S. facility, continuing its way towards delivering its revolutionary Solis solar-powered tonneau cover and COR remote power storage system. Meanwhile, EV king Tesla Inc TSLA told the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the United States could go all-electric by the end of the decade, but it would settle for 69% of new car sales.

Toyota And Stellantis Believe The EPA Is Overly Optimistic

Toyota Motor TM finds the EPA has underestimated key EV challenges, such as scarcity of raw materials out of which batteries are made, as well as the fact that that the U.S. is not either the mining or refining home to these minerals. There’s also the issue of the high cost of making EVs along with a developing infrastructure that is, at its current state, unable to support a wide EV adoption.

Stellantis STLA also believes that EPA’s expection of EV market growth is too optimistic while assuming a ‘perfect’ transition and underestimating challenges such as lagging manufacturing capacity and the support for EV drivers.

Tesla Is Still Running The Show Although GM Promises To Catch Up

While US is still lagging behind other major markets in the contribution of EVs in total car sales, it’s certainly picking up pace going from 3% in 2021 to 5% in 2022, while expecting 8 to 10% this year. Without exaggeration, this was achieved mainly by Tesla who makes the most of EVs in the U.S. However, General Motors GM CEO Mary Barra is confident the automaker would catch up to and surpass Tesla to become the top EV seller in the US, but after producing just over 39,000 all-electric vehicles last year compared to Tesla’s 1.4 million, GM seems to be aiming too high. But GM is going for the “EVs for everyone” strategy and not by going through the struggle of replicating of the company’s internal combustion engine portfolio. Rather, GM is going strategic with its EV approach by offering both affordable and luxury models, along with pickups and SUVs and therefore, covering every EV front. After adopting Tesla charging technology, or more precisely NACS chargers, GM provided its EV drivers with enhanced durability and reliability at across 25,000 stations across the U.S. instead of the current 13,000, making good on its promise.

The US is in great need for intense EV programs, and with the initiatives of the Biden administration, they are finally underway, coinciding with a wider consumer mindset shift in favor of an all-electric transportation future.

Renault’s Concern Due To China’s Recent Decision To Restrict Exports Of Metals

Asia has undoubtedly a superpower when it comes to essential raw materials that are used to build EV batteries. Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard expressed his concern as China decided at the beginning of July to restrict export metals, more precisely, gallium and germanium, that are used in both EVs and semiconductors. However, empowered by its alliance with Nissan Motor Co Ltd NSANY, as well as Mitsubishi Motors Corporation MMTOF, and supported by its electrification expertise, Renault Group upgraded its full year 2023 outlook as it continues aiming for carbon neutrality by the end of the decade. But the bigger picture does seem scary as the China-U.S. technology war continues to escalate, possibly resulting in massive disruptions across global supply chains and therefore, hampering EV progress.

Worksport Transitions From Preparation Phase To Scaling Of Production

With production expected to start in the upcoming weeks, Worksport announced this week it has made significant progress in its operational developments as its skilled and diligently selected staff undergoes the final phase of training with validation processes kicking off with its new U.S. tonneau manufacturing line. Over the following few weeks, a pivotal moment of Worksport’s growth journey is on the horizon as its cutting-edge hard folding tonneau covers go into production. Its U.S. state of art facility is a testament of Worksport’s commitment to U.S. home-grown innovation, product quality and excellence. Worksport's innovative portfolio holds big promises for both automotive and the EV industry, with Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF being among the first to equip its Santa Cruz pickup with its customized Solis solar-powered tonneau cover. In other words, Worksport is setting the stage for a strategic leap in its business operations, marching on towards boosting revenue growth and increasing shareholder value along the way.

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