Weekly Rankings
Weekly News
Audi e-tron Orders Exceed 20,000 with Production Capacity Problems
On February 14, Audi announced that the number of orders for the e-tron had exceeded 20,000 units but due to production capacity problems, delivery would be delayed for some time. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the e-tron was delayed by 4 weeks due to software issues.
Comment: Congratulations to Audi first for reaching a decent figure of 20,000 units. However, as an experienced car manufacturer, Audi’s first all-electric vehicle seems to have encountered production capacity problems. The same goes for the Mercedes-Benz EQC. Clearly, production capacity problems are not only faced by new car makers. In addition, e-tron will enter China via imports in 2019 and start domestic production in 2020.
CATL to Build the World’s Largest Battery Factory in Germany
According to foreign media reports, Matthias Zentgraf, president of CATL Europe, announced at an auto seminar held in Bochum, Germany that CATL will increase the planned production capacity of the Erfurt plant in Germany from 14 GWh in 2022 to 100 GWh in 2026. This will make it the largest electric vehicle battery production facility in the world.
Comment: In addition to CATL, battery giants from South Korea and Japan have also accelerated the pace of establishing production bases in Europe. With the progress of German car makers in electrification of vehicles, competition in the European market is bound to intensify!
WM Motor Releases Spring Upgrade Plan
On February 15, WM Motor announced an open letter to its users, announcing that from February 28, it will begin upgrading user vehicles for charging, energy storage management, and comfort. In plain language, through software optimization, it will address the issue of slow fast charging speeds in low-temperature environments and inaccurate display of battery capacity on the dashboard. Through the replacement of relevant new parts, it will optimize the driver’s left foot cooling and rear seat thermal sensation.
Quick review: Let’s give a thumbs up to WM Motor first. We also experienced the slow charging speed in low temperature and drivers feeling cold in their legs during our long term testing. We hope there will be improvements after this optimization. Besides, there is a group of users who are willing to discover and solve problems with you. It is lucky for WM as a new force in the car industry to have such users. We also hope WM can grow rapidly and iterate better products.
BYD design team adds two heavyweights
BYD announced its new design team on February 17th. JuanMa López and Michele Jauch Paganetti have joined BYD’s design team as chief exterior designer and chief interior designer respectively. JuanMa López, the former exterior design director of Ferrari, has worked for first-tier supercar brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini, and his masterpieces include Ferrari 812, Portofino and Lamborghini Avntador. Michele Jauch-Paganetti was the former head of the Mercedes-Benz design center. You may have heard of the interior design of the W222 Mercedes S in 2013. He participated in the luxurious and avant-garde design that still surpasses new 7 series and new A8.
Quick review: After Audi’s former chief designer joined BYD, the dynasty family language he designed has brought tremendous changes to the appearance of BYD, which is both beautiful and durable. Although the interior is not as stunning as the exterior, it has made a qualitative leap compared to the old models. Now with the addition of new interior designers, the future looks promising! I wonder if other independent brands feel the pressure.
Amazon leads investment of $700 million in Rivian
Recently, the U.S. electric pickup start-up company Rivian has received $700 million in financing led by Amazon. There were rumors earlier that GM was also interested in this investment, but the deal did not see the shadow of GM in the end.
### Quick Take: Amazon’s Two Bets on the Mobility Sector
On February 7th, Amazon led an investment in autonomous driving startup Aurora, and less than 10 days later, it led a funding round for electric pickup truck startup Rivian. What does Amazon’s double-down in the mobility sector represent? For startups in the automotive industry, funding is undoubtedly the most powerful support.
French President Plans to Invest €700 Million in Building EV Battery Plant
On February 13th, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will invest €700 million over the next five years to support European electric vehicle battery projects and reduce European automakers’ dependence on Asian battery manufacturers.
Quick Take: With the automotive industry increasingly dependent on batteries, Europe, without battery technology reserves, has no choice but to rely on Asian companies. This is not what European leaders want to see, but the starting gun was fired two years ago. Can the giants now slowly catching up seize the opportunity and take the lead? I think it’s difficult!
- Tesla Acquires Maxwell; Price Adjustments After Multiple Subsidy Cuts｜E-Weekly News* Tesla once again reduced its prices; CATL secured a large order from Honda | A summary of this week’s news in the EV industry
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.