03 July 2018 | Model 3 Production Exceeds S And X Combined, Nissan Abandons $1bn Battery Sale and EV Myth Busting
Episode 169, Jul 02, 2018, 11:01 PM
Elon: "I Think We Just Became A Real Car Company" | Magna CEO Sees An EV Future | Ford Taps EV Expert To Be New Boss For Australia | Nissan Scraps Potential $1Bn Sale Of Battery Unit To China's GSR | Next-Gen VW Beetle Could Transform Into Four-Door EV | EV Myth Busting
Well good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are in the world, hello and welcome to the Monday 2nd July edition of EV News Daily. It’s Martyn Lee here with the news you need to know about electric cars and the move towards sustainable transport.
"I THINK WE JUST BECAME A REAL CAR COMPANY"
- The latest numbers for Quarter 2 have been confirmed from the investor relations portal at ir.tesla.com so let's dive into them, and have a think about what it means. Plus in a minute or two, I'll reveal the exact number of Model 3 reservation holders still on the list - and I'll tell you why I has to ask Ride The Lightning’s Ryan McCaffery first - but more on that in a mo. Stay with me.
- The first clarification I wanted to make today was just to counter all those articles today which said the 5k Model 3 achievement was simply a burst rate and couldn't be replicated. Whilst you might understand if this week staff took a day or two R&R, and maybe that went down to 4.5k, the hardware is there to hit that number. Maybe a supplier is late with something and that slows you down, but General Assembly is built. So that argument doesn't make sense.
- And it's fair to say that in the past Tesla has taken a one day rate of production and multiplied by 7 to get a theoretical week, but I don't think that point was made very clear by many websites today. So a reminder the 5k figure is how many Model 3's they made last week.
- Reuters have a couple of quotes: "“It was pretty hectic,” said one worker who described the atmosphere as “all hands on deck.” Another worker speaking after the 5,000th car was made described the factory as a “mass celebration". One worker told Reuters that, to meet the goal, employees from other departments were dispatched to parts of the Model 3 assembly line to keep it running constantly, and breaks were staggered “so the line didn’t stop moving.”
- On Twitter I asked Domenick at InsideEVs how many the final number was, because their monthly sales scorecard is the best out there in terms of accuracy. The answer is 5,031 Model 3's and 1,913 Model S and X vehicles. So Domenick that you for your reply.
- According to Tesla: "Q2 production totalled 53,339 vehicles, a 55% increase from Q1, making it the most productive quarter in Tesla history by far. For the first time, Model 3 production (28,578) exceeded combined Model S and X production (24,761), and we produced almost three times the amount of Model 3s than we did in Q1. Our Model 3 weekly production rate also more than doubled during the quarter, and we did so without compromising quality."
- "GA4, our new General Assembly line for Model 3, was responsible for roughly 20% of Model 3s produced last week, with quality from that line being as good as our regular GA3 line. We expect that GA3 alone can reach a production rate of 5,000 Model 3s per week soon, but GA4 helped to get us there faster and will also help to exceed that rate."
- "Tesla expects to increase production to 6,000 Model 3s per week by late next month. We also reaffirm our guidance for positive GAAP net income and cash flow in Q3 and Q4, despite negative pressures from a weaker USD and likely higher tariffs for vehicles imported into China as well as components procured from China."
- And now onto how many Model 3 reservations there are outstanding. I'm no Tesla expert, because this podcast covers all markets and all car makers, so when you want really in depth knowledge I'd always say your go-to shows are Ryan McCaffery's Ride The Lightning coming up on it's 3rd birthday, and Trevor from Model 3 Owners Club, and Rob from Tesla Daily for things like the financial side.
- So Tesla revealed the exact number of outstanding Model 3 reservation holders, and it's something I’ve only ever heard in vague numbers before. So I asked the expert and Ryan for whether Tesla have done this before? "Hey Martyn. Not quite the first time, but you're right that they've kept it close to the vest, mostly. I believe last quarter they had mentioned that they still had ~450k reservations. The reduction now is obviously because they've delivered a bunch of cars. Cheers!"
- "The remaining net Model 3 reservations count at the end of Q2 still stood at roughly 420,000 even though we have now delivered 28,386 Model 3 vehicles to date."
MAGNA CEO SEE EV FUTURE
- I'm a huge fan of the Jaguar I-PACE and it's being made by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. Don Walker is CEO of Magna International, the largest North American auto parts supplier, and has been talking to News Editor of Autonews.com Lindsay Chappell: "We've been working on electric vehicles for at least 10 years now. We proposed the electric Focus to Ford 10 years ago and worked with them to develop it. It wasn't a ground-up electric vehicle, but we took out the internal combustion engine componentry and made it a pure electric vehicle. We took the lead on bringing that vehicle to market. We also worked with Volvo about eight years ago to create an electric rear-axle drive. And we've also signed a contract to develop an electric vehicle for Volkswagen in China. We bring that project the motors, the software, the electronics, the controller, the gearbox. So we have many years of expertise.
FORD TAPS EV EXPERT TO BE NEW BOSS FOR AUSTRALIA, NZ
- "US auto giant Ford Motor Company has signalled the start of a new chapter for its business in Australia, with the appointment of a global electric vehicle executive, Kay Hart, to head up operations Down Under." according to Aussie website reneweconomy.com.au: "In what could only be good news for Australia’s flagging EV market, Ford announced on Monday that Hart – who was most recently the auto-maker’s global BEV (battery electric vehicle) manager, distribution & digital experience – had been named president and CEO, Ford Australia and New Zealand."
NISSAN SCRAPS POTENTIAL $1 BLN SALE OF BATTERY UNIT TO CHINA'S GSR
- "Nissan Motor has cancelled a potential $1 billion sale of its electric car battery unit to China's GSR Capital. Japan's second-biggest automaker said the Chinese investment firm lacked the funds to make the purchase. The deal could not be closed by the June 29 deadline, Nissan said, ending a process which had faced several delays since its announcement almost a year ago." according to Nasdaq.com: "In August, Nissan had announced its plan to sell Automotive Energy Supply Corp, which includes battery plants in the United States, England and Japan, for an undisclosed sum. A source told Reuters at the time that GSR had agreed to pay Nissan a total of $1 billion for the deal. A Nissan spokesman said that the company still intends to sell the subsidiary, but declined to comment on whether GSR could still be a prospective buyer."
NEXT-GEN VW BEETLE COULD TRANSFORM INTO FOUR-DOOR EV
- "A revolutionary new Volkswagen Beetle is under consideration and, if given the green light by VW chiefs, it will adopt a battery-powered electric powertrain." reports Rachel Burgess at Autocar.com
- "The British magazine claims Bischoff has already sketched a possible look for the four-door Beetle successor, but it will take the automaker between two and three years to make a final decision on its production. Before that, Volkswagen will remain focused on launching a series of mainstream electric vehicles." says Motor1.com
EV MYTH BUSTING
- According to Go Ultra Low, as many as 42% of Brits wouldn’t be sure if they could run a battery-powered car through a car wash.
- EVs are slower than petrol and diesel cars
- EVs are more expensive to own
- EVs aren’t readily available
- The infrastructure isn’t there
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