Donald Trump wins a second presidential term, and BMW’s CEO Oliver Zipse came out with some quick remarks – amid what is likely panic among European automakers – that BMW will be fine because of its “very, very large footprint in the US.” Meanwhile, BMW’s profit margins hit a four-year low.
European automakers are now assessing the Trump victory and what that may mean for their businesses, as shares plummet today due to fears over escalating trade disputes. It’s no secret Trump’s stance on electric vehicles – despite bringing Elon Musk into the fold – and foreign goods, and his second term will likely see an unraveling of Biden’s investments in green energy, a rolling back on EV mandates and other policies aimed at cutting CO2 emissions alongside stricter tariffs on foreign-made vehicles, and a total abandonment of US involvement in the Paris Climate Accords. Of course, the news this morning hit hard for some automakers in Europe, adding to a mountain of problems amid low sales in key markets, both at home in Europe and in China.
But Zipse says BMW can likely breathe a sigh of relief since the company has even “more of an advantage” despite what will be higher tariffs due to having a huge footprint in the US, Reuters reported.
The remarks came this morning central Europe time after Trump proclaimed he had taken the win, with Zipse presenting BMW’s third-quarter results. “In this respect, we shouldn’t be too nervous about what might happen,” Zipse said.
BMW has the group’s largest factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in addition to 30 locations around the country in 12 states, the report said.
BMW’s third-quarter profit fell 61% to 1.7 billion euros ($1.82 billion) due to lagging sales in China, the US, and Europe, Reuters reported. Bloomberg also reported that “BMW AG’s main measure of profitability fell to the lowest in more than four years in the third quarter,” the fallout from the massive recall of 1.5 million vehicles due to a faulty braking system supplied by Contential and weak demand in the Chinese market. Still, despite these hardships, BMW has said that it increased its sales of fully electric vehicles by +19,1% in the first nine months of this year, with a total of 294,054 BEVs delivered. BMW added that sales of BEVs rose by +22.6% to 266,151 vehicles, with the Mini brand seeing its fully-electric vehicle sales grow by +54.3% in the third quarter.
We’ll likely hear some response from other automakers on Trump’s win soon. “We’re expecting that it will be difficult for car makers and exporters this morning,” Nicolas Forest, chief investment officer at Candriam, told Reuters. “Trump could implement tariffs through executive orders, so for German carmakers or French luxury groups, everything Europe exports, it’s a risk.”
The election news is extremely fresh, but Trump has suggested a 10% or more tariffs on goods imported into the US, while giving him the option to set higher tariffs on certain countries that have put tariffs on US imports. He has suggested imposing as high as 200% tariffs on some imported cars, and wants to keep cars from Mexico out of the country. China’s BYD, for one, has paused its plan to build a factory in Mexico, which would be a key production site for access into the US, until after the election. BMW plans to start building its next-gen BEVs dubbed the “Neue Klasse” in Mexico in 2027.
Trump of course has China in his crosshairs and plans to phase out Chinese imports during his second term, while also prohibiting Chinese companies from owning US real estate and infrastructure in the energy and tech sectors.
Photo: BMW
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Arevon Energy has kicked off operations at Vikings Solar-plus-Storage – one of the US’s first utility-scale solar peaker plants.
The $529 million project in Imperial County, California, near Holtville, features 157 megawatts of solar power paired with 150 megawatts/600 megawatt hours of battery storage.
Vikings Solar-plus-Storage is designed to take cheap daytime solar power and store it for use during more expensive peak demand times, like late afternoons and evenings. The battery storage system can quickly respond to changes in demand, helping tackle critical grid needs.
Vikings leverages provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that support affordable clean energy, strengthen grid resilience, boost US manufacturing, and create good jobs.
The Vikings project has already brought significant benefits to the local area. It employed over 170 people during construction, many local workers, and boosted nearby businesses like restaurants, hotels, and stores. On top of that, Vikings will pay out more than $17 million to local governments over its lifespan.
“Vikings’ advanced design sets the standard for safe and reliable solar-plus-storage configurations,” said Arevon CEO Kevin Smith. “The project incorporates solar panels, trackers, and batteries that showcase the growing strength of US renewable energy manufacturing.”
The project includes Tesla Megapack battery systems made in California, First Solar’s thin-film solar panels, and smart solar trackers from Nextracker. San Diego-based SOLV Energy handled the engineering, procurement, and construction work.
San Diego Community Power (SDCP) will buy the energy from the Vikings project under a long-term deal, helping power nearly 1 million customer accounts. SDCP and Arevon have also signed an agreement for the 200 MW Avocet Energy Storage Project in Carson, California, which will start construction in early 2025.
Vikings is named after the Holtville High School mascot, and Arevon is giving back to the local community by funding scholarships for deserving Holtville High students.
Arevon is a major renewable energy developer across the US and a key player in California, with nearly 2,500 MW in operation and more than 1,250 MW under construction.
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China’s EV giant BYD is aggressively expanding overseas. As it finalizes plans for yet another EV manufacturing plant, this time in Cambodia, BYD will set up shop next to newly opened Ford and Toyota facilities.
BYD’s impressive growth streak is not slowing down. In October, BYD sold over 500,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), its fifth straight record sales month and the first time it has crossed the half-million mark in a single month.
With China’s auto market becoming flooded with low-cost competitors, BYD is looking to key overseas markets to drive growth.
After opening its first plant in Thailand earlier this year, a booming EV region, BYD plans to open up shop in another major Southeast Asian market.
According to Khmer Times, BYD is nearing a deal to establish a new EV manufacturing plant in Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Wednesday that the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) is in the final stage of negotiations with BYD to build a new electric vehicle facility in the region.
“We may be aware that BYD is a giant Chinese company specialising in EV production, comparable to Tesla, the largest EV manufacturer in the United States,” Mr Hun Manet said at the event.
BYD closes in on deal for a new EV plant in Cambodia
BYD will follow Toyota, which opened an assembly plant in Cambodia in May, and Ford’s first assembly plant in the region, which opened in June 2022.
Cambodia’s prime minister stressed the importance of attracting new investments. With geopolitical tensions rising, many companies are looking to new locations.
Southeast Asia is expected to become a major electric vehicle hub. The Cambodian government unveiled plans earlier this year to raise automotive and electronics exports to over $2 billion while creating more than 22,000 new jobs.
BYD opening a new EV plant would be “excellent news” for Cambodia, Natharoun Ngo Son, Country Director of EnergyLab, told Khmer Times.
An EV manufacturing plant will “provide an excellent opportunity to reskill or upskill the Cambodian workforce” for new higher-paying jobs. EnergyLab is launching a new skills development program early next year to prepare the Cambodian workforce for the auto industry’s shift to EVs.
The news comes after BYD launched its first electric pickup, the Shark PHEV (BYD Shark 6), in Cambodia last month.
BYD is also planning to open EV plants in Mexico, Brazil, Pakistan, Hungary, and Turkey as it competes with Ford and Toyota in the global auto market.
Electrek’s Take
According to a recent Bloomberg report, BYD is quickly catching up to Ford in global deliveries. BYD outsold Ford in the third quarter by around 40,000 units.
While Ford is cutting more jobs in Europe as part of its restructuring, BYD has been on a major hiring spree as it ramps up production to meet the higher demand.
BYD is known for its low-cost EV models, like the Seagull, Dolphin, and Atto 3, but the Chinese auto giant is expanding into pickup trucks, midsize smart SUVs, and luxury EVs.
Ford is well aware of BYD’s rise in the global auto ranks. CEO Jim Farley has warned rivals in the past about losing significant revenue if they cannot keep up with China. Farley said he was shocked by the advanced tech he saw after a trip to China in early 2023.
Although Ford is shifting gears to focus on smaller, lower-cost EVs, it may be too little too late. Ford is developing what’s promised to be one of the most efficient EV platforms in California, but its first model based on it, a midsize electric pickup, isn’t due out until 2027.
Will BYD overtake Ford in the global auto ranks? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Researchers at Canada’s University of Waterloo have developed a new lithium-ion EV battery design that can charge from zero to 80% in just 15 minutes and has a longer lifespan.
The new design also allows batteries to handle up to 800 charging cycles, significantly increasing their lifespan.
Yverick Rangom, a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Chemical Engineering, said, “If we can make batteries smaller, charge faster, and last longer, we reduce the overall cost of the vehicle. That makes EVs a viable option for more people, including those who don’t have home charging stations or who live in apartments. It would also increase the value of second-hand EVs, making electric transportation more accessible.”
The secret sauce here is in the anode, which traditionally relies on graphite. The researchers designed a method to fuse graphite particles together to improve conductivity. This tweak enables lithium ions to move fast without causing typical degradation or safety hazards associated with fast charging.
What’s cool is that they didn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of materials; the team worked with the same lithium-ion components already used in EV batteries today.
“We’re just finding a better way to arrange the particles and providing new functions to the binders that hold them together such as state-of the-art electron, ion, and heat transfer properties,” explained Michael Pope, co-lead of the research and professor at Waterloo’s Ontario Battery and Electrochemistry Research Centre. “This approach ensures that the technology can be scalable and implemented using current production lines, offering a low-cost solution to battery manufacturers.”
The next step? The research team is optimizing the manufacturing process and putting prototypes to the test to gauge industry interest. The goal is to make sure this new battery design isn’t just effective – it has to be scalable and ready for widespread industry adoption.
“It’s crucial that it can be implemented within the existing infrastructure for both battery production and charging stations,” added Rangom, lead researcher for the Battery Workforce Challenge.
The University of Waterloo researchers’ findings are published in the journal Advanced Science.
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