The Torquest - Your Daily Auto Fix

March 11, 2021. Newsletter, Issue No. 4

1. LG Chem unit to invest $4.5 billion in U.S. battery production biz: Reuters

LG Energy Solution, a subsidiary of South Korea’s electric vehicle battery maker LG Chem plans to invest more than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business through 2025 and add 4,000 jobs as it considers building at least two new U.S. plants, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The investment will result in an additional 70GWh of U.S. battery production capacity and comes at time when as automakers are racing to go electric and eco-friendly due to tightened regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are to blame for global warming.

The company declined to say where in the United States it is considering a new battery manufacturing plant.

LG is also in advanced talks with General Motors to build a more than $2 billion second joint venture cell manufacturing plant in Tennessee that could be announced later this month. 

The first LG-GM JV plant is nearing completion in Lordstown, Ohio. Both companies have confirmed they are in discussions for a new plant.

LG Chem has been in a battle with cross-town rival SK Innovation after it alleged that SK stole trade secrets.

2. China’s affordable EVs Tap Huge Market Tesla Can’t Reach: Bloomberg

Tesla Inc’s first mover advantage in the electric vehicle space is here to stay but can it last forever?

As traditional rivals world over keep pulling up their socks like never before, its only a matter of time Tesla’s first-principles approach will be challenged by a growing crowd of automakers crossing over to the other side. Already, no-frills models are bringing green transportation to the masses.

In China, local electric-vehicle maker Hozon Auto’s cross over is going out for $10,000. Compare that with Tesla’s Model 3, which starts at about $38,000 in China. 

Within a decade, annual sales of electric vehicles globally are expected to jump tenfold. Lower-cost models could spur EV use outside urban or high-income areas.

3. General Motors ties-up with lithium metal battery startup

General Motors Co on Thursday announced a partnership SolidEnergy Solutions, a lithium metal battery startup, to boost its battery development aimed at allowing for higher electric vehicle driving range in a smaller package.

The joint development will allow GM to cut weight from the vehicle, a key goal for automakers as they push to roll out electric vehicles. 

GM has said by mid-decade its Ultium battery packs are projected to cost 60% less than today’s packs with twice the energy density.

The companies plan to build a manufacturing line at SES to assemble a prototype battery by 2023, said GM, which invested an undisclosed amount in SES in 2015. 

Battery cells that use lithium metal in place of conventional graphite have the potential to store more energy, and thus provide more driving range in future electric vehicles (EVs), or similar range in a much smaller and lighter battery pack.

Last year, GM introduced Ultium as a key pillar in its push to cut battery costs and extend electric driving range. GM is building a $2.3 billion joint-venture Ultium battery plant in Ohio with LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Chem, and the companies expect to add a second factory, possibly in Tennessee.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-battery-idUSKBN2B32HB

4. Luminar strikes software deal to offer self-driving systems to automakers

Luminar Technologies Inc said on Thursday it had struck a deal with the self-driving software subsidiary of Volvo Cars to offer a combination hardware-software system to other automakers.

 Palo Alto, California-based Luminar makes a key self-driving sensor called lidar, which uses laser light to help cars gain a three-dimensional view of their surroundings. Volvo plans to use Luminar’s sensors in its vehicles with production starting next year.

Luminar said it had struck a deal with Zenseact, a newly-formed 550-person team of top ADAS and autonomous software experts, the self-driving software subsidiary of the Swedish automaker created in October after it dissolved a software joint venture with Veoneer Inc.

Zenseact makes a self-driving decision-making software system called OnePilot that, in combination with Luminar’s sensors, will power autonomous features for Volvo’s vehicles.

Under the deal struck on Thursday, Luminar will take Zenseact’s software and pair it with its own hardware and software to offer a self-driving system to other automakers, potentially including Volvo’s competitors

5. BMW says wind is at its back after pandemic dents 2020 profit

BMW said on Thursday that it was back on a profitable track in 2021 after recovering from shutdowns and a serious dent to sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of last year.

The premium German carmaker said it would have five fully-electric models available this year, as it races alongside the rest of the industry to roll out new zero-emission models in the face of tightening CO2 emissions targets in Europe and China.

 Plant shutdowns in the first half of 2020 to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus led many in the industry to expect a disastrous year, but a market rebound spurred by China helped the industry recover faster than expected.

6. The Car Business isn't easy, Toyota chief warns Apple: Bloomberg

Akio Toyoda says there's more to the business of selling cars than technology to make them

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda offered a warning to Apple Inc., which is plotting a foray into the auto industry: There's more to the business of selling cars than just having the technology to produce them.

The automotive industry welcomes new entrants, "but after making a vehicle, I'd like them to be prepared to deal with customers and various changes for some 40 years," Toyoda said at a news conference held Thursday by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, where he is the chairman.

Although it will probably take Apple at least half a decade to launch its planned autonomous, electric vehicle, the technology giant has been creating waves within the car industry recently as it approaches a wide range of automakers that are seen as potential contenders for a vehicle partnership.