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Dyson to Build its First Car Manufacturing Plant in Singapore
Dyson announced on October 23rd that it has been granted permission to build its first automotive factory in Singapore, which will start construction in December this year and is expected to be completed by 2020, when it will be used for the production of electric vehicles.
In 2015, Dyson’s acquisition of US-based Sakti3 was considered the first step towards the production of cars. Sakti3 is a leading company in the development of solid-state batteries, being one of the three giants in the solid-state battery industry. In 2017, Dyson admitted to having been researching and developing electric cars for three years, promising to invest £2 billion in the development of electric vehicles. Recently, the company has registered a new trademark “Digital Motor” for its electric motors used in cars.
Crossover car manufacturing is not uncommon, but there are few successful cases. Dyson has accumulated considerable experience in electric motors, battery technology and fluid mechanics in its many years of experience in household appliances. The company’s acquisition of Sakia3 also brings many advanced technologies. If Dyson can really mass-produce solid-state batteries installed in cars, significantly improving the energy density of batteries, it will undoubtedly become a black horse in the new energy vehicle field. Tesla, which is also obsessed with technology, may have found a rival this time.
Faraday Future vs. Evergrande
After nearly a month of arbitration, there was finally a preliminary result on the power struggle between Faraday Future and Evergrande on October 25th.On October 25th, the arbitrator rejected Smart King’s (FF company entity) application to completely revoke the financing consent of Ying (Evergrande’s subsidiary) and earlier dismissed Smart King’s new application for the removal of Season Smart’s asset pledge right. In order to support the business development of Smart King and protect the common interests of shareholders, the arbitrator agreed that Smart King can conduct financing with strict conditions, where the valuation of new stocks financed shall not be less than the post-investment valuation of Ying, and Ying shall have the pre-emptive right to purchase new shares; and the amount of external financing shall not exceed USD 500 million before the final arbitration.
Subsequently, FF issued a statement, claiming that they had achieved a “comprehensive victory” in the emergency arbitration. FF further stated that the product development of FF91 had been completed and the goal of pre-production vehicle was achieved ahead of schedule on August 28th. Hanford factory had also completed the planning work of mass production, which was only one step away from the final delivery of production version. FF also expressed that they are seeking cooperation with global investors who share the same vision and values, and that FF has the ability to deliver a subversive and transformative new species FF91 to the global market and reserved customers in 2019.
It is worth noting that this arbitration is only for emergency arbitration, not final arbitration. Insiders say that the final arbitration result may not be announced until several months or even half a year later. Before FF obtains new investment, the layoff and salary reduction to maintain the operation of the company still remain effective. FF stated that the salary of most remaining employees would be reduced by 20%, and some senior executives would voluntarily accept higher salary reductions. However, according to The Verge, some employees were dismissed without severance pay and were subject to the 20% reduction standard in the last pay cycle. Therefore, although emergency arbitration allows FF to carry out a certain level of financing, FF’s financial situation is still tight at present. Whether FF can deliver FF91 to the global market in 2019 as promised remains to be seen.
WM Motor Responds to the Collective Rights Protection of Prospective Car Owners
On September 28th, WM Motor held an EX5 product launch delivery ceremony, where its founder promised to deliver 10,000 vehicles in 2018 and 100,000 vehicles in 2019. However, recent reports indicate that WM Motor did not deliver the cars transported from the ceremony to customers. In addition, WM Motor did not inform pre-order customers about the national and local subsidy regression in 2019, causing losses to customers who had paid the deposit and needed to receive the car in 2019. Therefore, WM Motor’s prospective car owners filed for collective rights protection, calling for refund or compensation for losses.On the early morning of October 27, Lü Bin, the co-founder and vice president of strategic planning of WM Motor, released a statement on his personal Weibo account regarding recent user concerns about WM Motor.
The statement indicated that:
(1) For users who placed orders for out-of-town car purchases before October 3, 2018, considering the insufficient communication between both parties in the early stage, WM Motor has proposed two solutions:
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Users can choose a refund, and the cash benefits promised on the e-commerce platform will be refunded synchronously;
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If the user chooses to continue the car purchase, the user needs to pay the car payment at the price excluding the national subsidy first. After the eligibility for the local subsidy is audited by the relevant local department, WM Motor will return the local subsidy amount stipulated by the local policy and provide a certain amount of additional benefits. If the user fails to pass the relevant local department’s subsidy application eligibility audit, WM Motor will provide a replacement benefit of the same brand worth 50,000 yuan. This benefit is valid for 3 years, and cannot be transferred. (Specific details will be notified separately)
(2) For users who are told that their cars will be delivered in 2018, if the delivery is postponed due to WM Motor’s reasons:
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If the delivery is postponed to a later date in 2018, but it does not affect the customer’s enjoyment of the subsidy policy for the current year, WM Motor will compensate in points. (Specific details will be notified separately);
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If the delivery is postponed to next year, which leads to the customer’s inability to enjoy the subsidy policy in 2018, WM Motor promises to follow the 2018 subsidy policy for the customers.
In addition, Lü Bin stated that there is still some time required to formulate specific details.
For new forces in automotive manufacturing, the most difficult thing is how to achieve mass production and fast delivery. The production capacity limitations and lack of systematic dealer networks make it difficult for new forces in automotive manufacturing to hand over the cars to customers, regardless of whether it is a self-owned store model or a partnering model, it is difficult to achieve relatively substantial quantities in a short period of time. How to balance production, sales, and customer reputation is the problem that every new automotive force will face.
Tesla launches Navigate on Autopilot in North America
Elon Musk tweeted that the beta version of the Navigate on Autopilot feature will be officially launched in North America on October 28.Tesla said, “Our most advanced Autopilot feature, Navigate on Autopilot, is a very capable navigation feature. Under the supervision of the driver, it can guide the car to enter and exit highway ramps, including lane changes, passing through interchanges, and exiting from highway exits. It can find the most efficient route to the destination more conveniently and guide you to reach the destination.”
However, currently, the driver still needs to supervise the car’s driving and needs to turn on the turn signal to confirm when changing lanes. Musk expects that when the function has reached one million miles of usage in the fleet, automatic lane change without human intervention will be gradually activated.
Tesla has always been at the forefront of ADAS systems. With the iteration from V8 to V9, Tesla has successfully used data from all eight cameras. At the same time, Tesla is also continuously collecting and analyzing data, laying the foundation for further advanced driving assistance and even autonomous driving.
China FAW and 16 banks have signed a strategic cooperation agreement, aiming to promote new energy.
According to official reports from FAW Group, from October 21 to October 24, China FAW and sixteen banks including the China Development Bank held a signing ceremony for strategic cooperation. Zeng Xiangxin, a member of the Party Committee of China FAW and Chief Accountant of the Group, signed a cooperation agreement on behalf of both parties with the main leaders of the sixteen banks respectively. The banks provided a total of CNY 1.015 trillion (USD 149.4 billion) of credit to China FAW, providing solid financial support for the future development of China FAW’s various businesses.
It is understood that this strategic cooperation agreement was signed with China FAW, besides the China Development Bank, there are also the China Construction Bank, the Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, the China Postal Savings Bank, China Merchants Bank, the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the China Minsheng Bank, the China Everbright Bank, CITIC Bank, the Industrial Bank, Ping An Bank, the Guangfa Bank, and the Geelyn Bank, a total of sixteen banks. In the future, China FAW will cooperate extensively with various banks in financing, cash management, international finance, new energy, intelligent network connection, and other new formats, as well as the support of Red Flag brand.
The First Automobile Group, as the firstborn of the nation, has never lacked policy and financial support. However, its products have always been somewhat disappointing. In recent years, the First Automobile Group has continued to make efforts in areas such as the Hongqi brand, new energy, and intelligent interconnection, supplemented by strong financial support. The prospects for the First Automobile Group are still bright, but the key is whether the money can be used effectively to improve technological capabilities and research and development abilities.
Apple hopes to “connect” self-driving cars to improve efficiency
According to the latest news from Apple Insider, Apple has released a new patent called “Peloton” this week.
This latest technology is inspired by bicycles. A racing bicycle can produce smaller wind resistance for another racing bicycle behind it, which can help the rider save energy. Apple intends to apply this idea to cars. In this patent, Apple outlines a system through which interconnected cars can self-organize, with longer-distance cars driving forward so that shorter-distance cars can occupy a space behind them and save energy.
In addition, the patent describes a system that allows cars to share energy. Essentially, the two cars physically connect to each other with a scalable plug, which will transfer the power from the battery pack of one car to the battery pack of the other car, just like aerial refueling for fighter jets.
This scenario is like a group of self-driving cars driving on a highway, each interconnected through the energy-sharing system described above. A larger EV truck is in front of the convoy, which can create a low-pressure zone and provide a slipstream for the car behind it, while also providing a large amount of power from its large battery pack. When the cars exit at a specific exit or a new car joins the convoy, the convoy will self-organize and adjust, while passengers can rest easy.
As one of the most influential technology companies in the world, Apple has been secretly hoarding talents in the automotive industry since 2014. They have spent a lot of money to search for talents in the automotive and technology fields, and even gave them ridiculous disguised identities like “Mac hardware engineer” and “iPad operations director”. Apple has also built research and development centers in many parts of the world, conducted extensive autonomous driving tests, and registered hundreds of patents. Apple is doing its homework quietly and waiting for the day when Cook can surprise everyone at a press conference.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.