BYD eyes lithium giant takeover as it expands its EV battery business
China’s leader EV maker, BYD, has held “active” discussions with lithium producer Sigma Lithium as it looks to expand its battery business.
After topping Tesla in EV sales in the final three months of 2023, BYD is not slowing down. The Chinese EV maker is now eyeing expanding its EV battery business.
BYD’s Brazil head, Alexandre Baldry, said discussions were held over a possible supply agreement, joint venture, or acquisition of Sigma Lithium, according to the Financial Times.
Sigma began shipping lithium from its Grota do Cirilo mine and processing plant in Brazil last year. The company went from commissioning the crushing unit in December 2022 to sustaining production levels last month.
BYD, which began as a battery maker, has built its brand on affordable EVs like the Dolphin and Yuan Plus, both starting under $20,000 in China.
A big part of BYD’s success is due to its past. BYD is now the largest global supplier of rechargeable batteries. The company even sells EV batteries like its BYD Blade battery to other automakers, including Tesla, Toyota, Ford, and Kia.
BYD is “more like an engineering company,” North American CEO Stella Li explained, with most components built in-house. For example, BYD makes every part of its Dolphin EV except the tires and windows.
BYD eyes Sigma Lithium supply deal
BYD’s affordable EVs are largely due to its control over its supply chain. A major lithium deal could help secure BYD’s position as the top EV maker globally.
Sigma posted a $19 million (CAD 25M) net loss in the first nine months of production. Its first year of production. Revenue reached nearly $97 million (CAD 129.9M).
With top battery producers like Panasonic cutting its profit outlook last year, Sigma Lithium (SGML) stock has slid over 35% in the past six months.
According to FT, Sigma’s board is reviewing an action plan that could involve selling the business or listing its Brazilian unit on the Nasdaq (or Singapore) stock exchange.
Brazilian media Exame reported Volkswagen and CATL are both also eyeing Sigma’s assets. According to the report, China’s CATL is offering more than VW.
According to a Bloomberg report last year, Tesla was also considering buying Sigma. It was “one of multiple mining locations” Tesla was exploring.
Sigma plans to triple its annual production capacity with 22,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium shipped every month in 2024. That would be about 270,000 tonnes this year.
BYD continues expanding into new markets with the launch of its luxury brand, Yangwang, last year. BYD’s Yangway unveiled its new +1,000 horsepower U7 electric sedan, starting at around $140,000 (1 million RMB).
The EV leader is also preparing to ship its own EVs to Europe on its first transport ship. The BYD Explorer No. 1 is the first Chinese-made ship designed to carry domestic EVs overseas.
BYD’s ship arrived at Yantai Port last week before heading to Shenzen, where BYD will load vehicles. The next stop is Europe. BYD’s Explorer No. 1 can carry 7,000 EVs.
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Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has posted another interesting facet into the design of the American automaker’s upcoming R2 BEVs. As you’ll see below, the Rivian R2’s body harness has been significantly reduced in size, weight, and connections to enable lower assembly costs and an overall more environmentally friendly build.
If you’re not following RJ Scaringe on social media, you’re missing out. While some CEOs shy away from social media (aside from the guy who bought Twitter to create his own toxic echo chamber), Rivian’s founder has used such platforms to share interesting company progress.
In the past month, much of Scaringe’s content has pertained to the design and development of Rivian’s upcoming R2 model, and we have been all about it. In the past two weeks, RJ has shared a peek at the company’s new Maximus drive unit and photos of the R2 validation builds on a pilot line at the automaker’s facility in Normal, Illinois.
Last week, Scaringe took to Instagram and X once again to share a better look at the inner workings of the Maximus drive unit. The unit was designed to be more compact and efficiently built to help reduce the cost-per-unit production for the Rivian R2 assembly process.
Today, RJ posted more evidence of how much more optimized components of the R2 design will be.
The body harness design of the R2 is significantly simpler
RJ posted the comparison image above to Instagram this afternoon, detailing just how much more streamlined the R2’s body harness design will be compared to the Gen 2 R1 BEVs. The Rivian CEO elaborated with the following caption:
The R2 harness improves massively over the R1 Gen 2 harness. Building on the backbone of our network architecture and zonal ECUs, we focused on ease of install in the plant and overall simplification through integrated design — less wires, less clips and far fewer splices!
Simplified indeed, this reimagined body harness cuts serious weight and connectors. The front section of the body harness, in particular, truly encapsulates just how streamlined the R2’s design components are becoming. A body harness pic may not be the most exciting news to the general public, but as a BEV enthusiast on the Rivian beat, it’s amazing to see, and we hope RJ will continue to post updates like this going forward.
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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon delivers a speech during the Global Markets Conference, ahead of the Choose France summit, in Paris, on May 15, 2025.
Michel Euler | Afp | Getty Images
JPMorgan Chase is finally allowing clients to buy bitcoin. But CEO Jamie Dimon is still a skeptic.
“We are going to allow you to buy it,” Dimon said at the bank’s annual investor day on Monday. “We’re not going to custody it. We’re going to put it in statements for clients.”
The decision marks a notable step for the largest U.S. bank, particularly due to Dimon’s history of criticizing the digital currency and the crypto market broadly, and is the latest sign of bitcoin’s entry into mainstream investing. Since August, Morgan Stanley has allowed its financial advisors to pitch some spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds to qualifying clients.
Dimon made it clear that his personal view of bitcoin remains unchanged, highlighting issues like money laundering and the lack of clarity surrounding ownership, along with “the sex trafficking, the terrorism.”
“I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke,” Dimon said. “I defend your right to buy bitcoin.”
A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to elaborate on the bank’s specific plans for bitcoin access. Until now, the company has limited its crypto exposure primarily to futures-based products, not direct ownership of bitcoin.
When crypto valuations were soaring in 2021, Dimon dismissed bitcoin as “worthless.” He told lawmakers during a Senate hearing in late 2023 that he’s “always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etc.,” and that, “The only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers … money laundering, tax avoidance.” He said at the hearing that, “If I was the government, I’d close it down.”
At the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Dimon said, “Bitcoin does nothing. I call it the pet rock.” He added that, “This is the last time I’m talking about the with CNBC, so help me God.”
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick told CNBC at this year’s event in Davos that the investment bank is exploring ways to deepen its involvement in cryptocurrency markets, navigating the regulatory landscape under the pro-crypto administration of President Donald Trump.
Since President Trump took office in January, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have rescinded their anti-crypto guidance. While banks can now custody crypto, thanks to the repeal of an accounting rule called SAB 121, they still face restrictions on working directly with crypto firms without explicit approval from the Federal Reserve.
Genesis is preparing to introduce its new flagship EV, the GV90. The brand’s largest, most luxurious electric SUV already looks stunning. The Genesis GV90 was spotted with less camo ahead of its debut, giving us a sneak peek of the “ultra-luxe” EV.
Genesis GV90 EV sheds camo during testing
We got our first look at the flagship Genesis model last March with the Neolun concept, a preview of its first full-size electric SUV.
Inspired by Korea’s iconic moon-shaped porcelain jars, the Neolun Concept is “the epitome of timeless design and sophisticated craftsmanship,” according to the luxury brand’s creative officer, Luc Donckerwolke. Genesis calls it “the ultra-luxe vision of luxury SUVs.”
The GV90 is not just a stunning-looking vehicle. It will also serve as a tech beacon for Genesis with Hyundai Motor’s most advanced software and tech, including a massive 24.6″ infotainment.
This is all great, but the feature that caught the most attention was GV90’s coach doors. Ahead of its debut, we’ve seen the GV90 out in the wild for testing a few times, including with coach doors.
Genesis claims B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles, hinting they will be offered on the production model. However, the feature is expected to only be offered on higher-priced trims.
Most recently, the Genesis GV90 EV was caught by the folks at SH Proshots testing at the Nürburgring with notably less camo. The new images (via TheKoreanCarBlog) give us our best look at the flagship electric SUV, and it already looks like a stunner.
A few design elements, like the two-line LED headlamps, are shown, while you can see a good outline of the vehicle’s profile.
Like the concept, the GV90 appears to retain its minimalistic design shown in the Neolun concept. With an extended wheelbase, you can clearly see the size difference compared to its other EVs, like the GV60 or Electrified GV70.
The full-size electric SUV is expected to be the first Hyundai Motor model to ride on the new eM platform, which is set to replace the current E-GMP underpinning current Kia, Hyundai, and Genesis EVs.
Although production was slated to begin later this year at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant in South Korea, a recent report from The Korea Economic Daily claims Hyundai’s new development plan now calls for it to begin in June 2026.
Prices and final specs will be revealed closer to launch, but the GV90 is expected to start at around 100 million won ($80,000) in Korea. More premium trims could cost over 200 million won ($160,000).
Source: TheKoreanCarBlog, SH Proshots
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