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Toyota is spending billions more on electrification


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Toyota is spending billions on battery production, Berkshire Hathaway has sold some shared by BYD, and internal conflict at Faraday Future threatens to topple an executive. All that and more in Morning shift for Wednesday, August 31, 2022.

First gear: Toyota is getting serious about this whole ‘EV’ thing

I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, but electric cars are the future. Even Dodge joined them, with bad sound Daytona SRT Banshee EV Charger I missed the concept of another word. But Toyota, the forerunner of the Prius, has lagged behind the competition a bit – something the company seems to have realized and seems to want to rectify. Are from Reuters:

Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday said it will invest up to 730 billion yen ($5.27 billion) in Japan and the United States to produce batteries for all-electric vehicles, a type of car that critics say Comments that they have been slow in receiving.

When the additional facilities come online between 2024 and 2026, Toyota’s battery production capacity in the two countries will increase by 40 gigawatt-hours, the company said, without giving current figures for comparison. compare.

“This investment is intended to enable Toyota to flexibly respond to the needs of a wide variety of customers in all countries and regions by offering as many powertrains and options as possible.” the company said in a statement.

Some green investors and environmental groups argue that the company should move faster to introduce all-electric (or “battery electric”) vehicles, rather than stick to internal combustion engine configurations. powertrain like hybrid.

We had a sneak peek about where that Toyota money is going in the United States, as well as courtesy of Reuters:

Toyota Motor Corp. will step up its investment plan in a new battery plant in the US from $1.29 billion to $3.8 billion, in part to meet rising consumer demand for electric vehicles. company said on Wednesday.

Battery maker Panasonic will partner at its Liberty, North Carolina plant, through its Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) joint venture with Toyota, according to Norm Bafunno, senior vice president of manufacturing and transmission system engineering. at Toyota Motor North America.

When Toyota announced its initial $1.29 billion investment last fall, North Carolina said the state would increase its reimbursement to Toyota by $315 million if the company’s investment reaches $3 billion.

A battery factory in the US is a very handy way to meet upcoming battery construction restrictions in the new EV tax credit. Looks like Toyota is planning ahead.

2nd gear: Warren Buffett And Berkshire Backpedal when paying bank BYD

Rumor has it that Warren Buffet, investor and technically my mother’s boss, maybe harvest from Chinese automaker BYD. Turns out, he sold a huge half of the company’s shares – but investors panicked anyway. Are from Automotive News:

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has slashed its stake in BYD Co., seven weeks after sparking speculation it could sell all of its multibillion-dollar stakes in the electric-car company China’s largest.

In a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Berkshire said it sold 1.33 million shares of BYD listed in Hong Kong for about HKD 370 million ($47 million), reducing its stake in the total number of shares. BYD’s issued H-shares from 20.49% to 19.92%.

BYD’s share price fell nearly 12% the next day.

A friend of mine once coined the concept of the Seagull Market Theory, in which the actions of investors could be precisely modeled using gulls pecking at a barrel of potatoes. fried left in a parking lot. Sometimes a car passes by, which isn’t a real threat to the gulls and doesn’t affect the chips, but the birds disperse anyway. Final, they always come back, at least until the chips run out.

3rd gear: Future Faraday workers want their boss gone

No one wants a bad boss. Faraday Future workers, however, insist they have stuck with one, in the form of recently appointed Executive Chairman Susan Swenson. Are from Reuters:

Some Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc employees have called on the electric vehicle startup’s board and shareholders to remove Executive Chairman Susan Swenson, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Representing a group of about 140 employees, it was alleged in the August 23 letter that Swenson orchestrated efforts to “push the company into bankruptcy and restructuring.”

Swenson did not respond to a request for comment, while Faraday Future declined to comment.

The group also asked the board to make public the findings from the ongoing investigation into multiple whistleblower letters involving four directors – Sue Swenson, Jordan Vogel, Scott Vogel and Brian Krolicki. The directors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It’s not clear what an “organized attempt” to bankrupt a company looks like or how it might happen. in favor of Swenson himself. REMOVEut who knows? Faraday Future has been in a strange place for a very long time.

4th gear: No one wants to go to Detroit

Detroit is known for its cold, bad roads, and apparently delicious fried chicken sandwiches. But for the major automakers, that last point doesn’t seem to balance the first two — or the cost of attending an auto show in a world that is constantly paying less and less attention to them. Are from Detroit News:

Excessive demand for vehicles, insufficient interest, cost and preferences for more exclusive driving opportunities are among the many reasons why major brands are skipping the North American International Auto Show this year. next month.

The Detroit Auto Dealers Association has moved the show, for the first time since January 2019, to a more climate-friendly time of year, September 14-25. The hope is to draw a lot of people. More action to program from consumers, media and automakers by outdoor activities and ride and drive. It seems that foreign automakers that have previously given up have been persuaded to return, or electric vehicle startups are also inclined to appear.

Detroit Three is the only major automaker listed as holding press conferences at the event. Others are planning to have some sort of presence, though they won’t necessarily be on the floor of Huntington Place or use the event for headlines. And some have attended the show last time like Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Hyundai Motor Co. will pass in 2022. Meanwhile, startups including Rivian Automotive Inc.

So many Legacy automakers don’t want to play, but startups also don’t care about the display. This certainly bodes well for the future of the Detroit show, especially as shows like Geneva continue to see cancellations year after year. Remember, not having a show in Detroit in the cold of January is supposed to help with a lot of this.

5th gear: Subaru bets on AI for EyeSight’s future

Modern Subarus are equipped with EyeSight, the company’s camera-based safety sensor. It has been on the market for a number of years and Subaru claims exemplary results for collision avoidance. But for the next phase, the company decided the software needed to get smarter. Are from Automotive News:

Subaru is developing new versions of its trademark EyeSight driver assistance system, which will leverage artificial intelligence to provide autonomous driving and autonomous parking.

All-wheel drive niche players plan to introduce new settings from 2025. The technology will build on Subaru’s stereo camera system and use artificial intelligence to improve capabilities. computer recognition in difficult-to-see situations, such as when road markings are covered in snow.

Subaru’s moves are part of the company’s long-term ambition to achieve zero road deaths by 2030 for those involved in collisions with the brand’s vehicles.

Do you remember those old Subaru advertisements, They lived campaign? I can do too Subaru’s endorsement safe ambition having those known to have in fact lived after the terrible accidents in Subarus.

Reversed: What makes a man neutral?



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