Tesla Fires Supercharger Team, Stellantis Cuts Costs, Q1 Results - MOBILITY BRIEF_ ??????? - May 6th

??This week's must-read news

• Elon Musk’ laid off the entire Tesla Supercharger team in a surprising move aiming at pressuring its management to act more quickly to reduce both the costs and the headcount, as reported by The Information . But it’s also a true gift to Tesla’s competitors, being delivered the best team in the world in a domain instrumental to Tesla’s success. DRIVECO ’s CEO, Ion Leahu-Aluas , smartly did not miss the opportunity to send them a message:

• With local government focused on workers employments in each its homegrounds, Stellantis has found a way to cut into its spendings under the radar by essentially sourcing its engineers in low-cost countries like India, Brazil and Morocco, paying them a quarter of what a US, Italian or French engineer is currently costing them. But the move isn’t all smooth, as Bloomberg already reports issues in some projects that required French and Italian engineers to be sent to India as an emergency taskforce as well as brewing political tensions.
• New bunch of Q1 results this week including Stellantis , Mercedes-Benz AG , Volkswagen and Aston Martin who all released disappointing figures in line with those from Tesla and Ford last week: -12% net revenue & -10% shipments for Stellantis, -4% net revenue & -2% shipments for Volkswagen, -4% revenue for Mercedes-Benz and -10% revenue & -26% shipments for Aston Martin. All remain hopeful though and maintain their outlook, pointing out the renewal of their ranges in the coming months should reignite their results by the end of the year.

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?? This Week In The Mobility World

???Appointments (& resignations)

• 沃尔沃汽车 ’ COO, Javier Varela , announced this week he was quitting the company after 2 years of service as he will be joining the ranks of Rivian for the same role next August. He will be replaced by 3 new board members promoted from within the company.

???Micromobility News

• The French bicycle market experienced a slight downturn in 2023, with a 5.5% drop in turnover and a 14% decrease in sales volume. This trend can be partly explained by the end of the post-Covid euphoria that had driven the market to record levels in 2020 and 2021. The organization anticipates that the electric bicycle will become the main driver of market growth, with over 3 million models sold in France by 2030.
• Reebok 's e-bikes will be available this summer through Dyaco Europe GmbH , arriving in stores by July via J&P Italia. Dyaco is also launching its own e-bike brand, Cikada, with two models (City & Touring) starting at ￡1,999 this May. This partnership marks Dyaco's major entry into the e-bike market with both established and new brands.

???Factories/Manufacturing Updates

• Les Echos reports that Bolloré Group, through Blue Solutions , is assessing the establishment of a new 24GWh gigafactory in Eastern France through a €2Bn investment that would bring 1500 jobs.

???Tech Updates

• Hyundai Motor Company (?????) put an end to the questions surrounding Motional ’s future following Aptiv partial exit, as the Korean carmaker stepped up to buy out some Aptiv shares that would give it a majority stake in the start-up with 85% of the shares.
• Tesla , who now calls its L2+ ADAS “supervised FSD” reflecting a more cautious approach, now has the blessing of Chinese authorities to launch its system in the country.
• Ola K?llenius confirmed to The Verge it would not give any room to Apple in Mercedes-Benz’ future dashboards, saying it would not help providing an holistic user experience to its customers. A statement coming the same week as Bloomberg releasing interesting new details on why GM declined CarPlay in its vehicles, that we shared earlier this week.
• A zoom from The Verge on the chaotic debuts of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL).

?? EV Updates

• Reuters also reports that Tesla is apparently abandoning going even further in terms of gigacasting for its next-gen vehicles (including the expected low-cost vehicle next year), due to cost savings.
• A prototype of the upcoming Polestar 5 sedan charged from 10% to 80% battery life in just 10 minutes! This technology, called Extreme Fast Charging (XFC), uses silicon instead of traditional graphite, allowing for faster charging without needing special cooling systems. While the production Polestar 5 likely won't have this tech yet, it shows a future where electric car charging is as quick as filling up a gas tank.
• Leading global mobility company astara expands its portfolio by becoming the exclusive Spanish importer for Foton Motor , China's number one commercial vehicle brand.
• While Xi Jinping visits France to discuss tariffs amongst other topics, a new analysis by Rhodium Group suggests the EU may need to impose tariffs as high as 55% on Chinese electric vehicles to effectively curb imports and protect its domestic EV industry.

???New Car Reveals

• Renault unveils the Symbioz, a compact family car a.k.a. "voiture à vivre" packed with technology (OpenR Link), spaciousness, and eco-friendly credentials, honoring their legacy while offering the perfect blend of practicality, versatility, and modern features for today's families on the go.

???Investment/Financial/Legal Updates

• Swedish industrial manufacturing and mobility start-up STILFOLD raised half a million euros from European fund EIT to launch its MetaFold Academy in Sweden, Greece, Italy and Hungary “to foster sustainable industrial practices” amongst automotive, aerospace and energy engineers.
• American carsharing start-up Getaround expanded its debt facility to $50M to “fund [its] operations and growth investments Into 2025”.
• According to TechCrunch, EV startup Fisker is laying off more employees in a bid to preserve cash and stave off bankruptcy. This comes just one week after the company warned investors about the need for cuts.

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