EVs shaping corporate strategy

Issue #94, July 8th, 2021

Electric vehicles continue to be a force to drive corporate strategy, given the focus they have been receiving and will continue to do so. Volkswagen is carving off the premium brand Bugatti business as a new business. Modularization and standardization will help companies, specifically to overcome the chip shortage and for charging stations, especially the fast charging Level 3 stations. Nissans collaborates with its partners for new part development to offset the risk inherent in innovation and encourage the suppliers. With the charging station issue yet unresolved at the scale required, Singapore is experimenting with vehicle-to-grid energy transfer. Here are some recent updates curated from media reports.

Bugati - the luxury car journey in the EV era

Volkswagen is shifting to EVs and as part of the plan is selling the Bugatti luxury hyper car business to create a new company. The auto industry’s pivot to electric vehicles transforms the elite world of super high-performance sports cars. Bugatti nearly disappeared after World War II, when founder Ettore Bugatti died and the company entered a period of decline. The company ceased operations in 1952. It was bought in 1987 by Italian businessman Romano Artioli, who restored the company as a maker of limited edition sports cars. But Bugatti quickly fell on hard times again, ceased production and was bought by VW in 1998. - WSJ

Tata Motors turn around with modularity

Tata Motors aims to become more agile with Alpha and Omega platforms. The idea is to keep the rolling chassis common to different cars. Modularity reduces development time and cost, as the company needs to manage fewer parts. Also, for every new model launched on the same platform, R&D costs amortised per vehicle drop exponentially. - Economic Times

EV part development and risk mitigation

Nissan Motor plans to compensate parts makers that join with it in developing EVs so as to share burdens and deepen collaborative relationships, according to Nikkei Asia. Under its new Alliance Strategic Partner framework, Nissan will increase the joint development efforts it undertakes with parts makers, working closely with them from the early stages of development to create specifications for new components. If a jointly developed part is not adopted, Nissan will defray a certain amount of the partners' costs.?

The chicken or egg charging problem

Electric-vehicle entrepreneurs are working on the industry’s biggest bottleneck: charging infrastructure. Companies are building more chargers, but it may not be enough to make EVs work for people who can’t plug in at home. Level 1 chargers used at home can take days to charge a car. Installation of Level 2 chargers at home costs money. Level 3 fast charging stations do not have interoperability. Car makers like Tesla have their own design. Companies are working on Level 3 dongles with DC for fast charging. - WSJ

Intelligent cars with subscription for features

The next time you buy a car and fret about whether or not to splurge on a new feature, fear not: chances are you’ll be able to download it later. Deciding which features you could afford and which you could live without may have been painful and time-consuming in the past. Those days are quickly fading as cars morph from vehicles to get around town to AI-enabled, smartphone-like connected devices packed with software. In the near future, cars won’t only be able to constantly update and adapt to situations months and years after the time of purchase, they will be able to use AI to anticipate the needs of drivers and passengers and tailor their offerings accordingly. Owners can pay a subscription for the features they use. - WSJ

Vehicle-to-grid technology

Vehicle-to-grid technology can be a "win-win" for both the electricity system and EV owners if proven viable, said SP Group, Singapore, adding that it would help to overcome intermittency from solar power while allowing vehicle owners to be paid for the use of their batteries when needed. Vehicle-to-grid technology allows energy transfer between EV batteries and the power grid, which is "more sophisticated" than unidirectional charging, said SP Group. When charged, lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles can act as small energy storage systems. These can help to balance the power grid. - Channel News Asia