Welcome to The Fly's latest edition of "Charged," where we look back at some recent analysts' notes, news and activity in the electric vehicle and clean energy space.
EV INVESTMENTS, BATTERY NEW CELL PLANTS: General Motors (GM) has announced it will increase its EV and AV investments from 2020 through 2025 to $35B, representing a 75% increase from its initial commitment announced prior to the pandemic. "We are investing aggressively in a comprehensive and highly-integrated plan to make sure that GM leads in all aspects of the transformation to a more sustainable future," said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra. "GM is targeting annual global EV sales of more than 1 million by 2025, and we are increasing our investment to scale faster because we see momentum building in the United States for electrification, along with customer demand for our product portfolio." This announcement builds on GM's initial commitment announced in March 2020 to invest $20B from 2020 through 2025, including capital, engineering expenses and other development costs, to accelerate its transition to EVs and AVs. In November 2020, the company increased its planned investment over the same period to $27B. These investments are enabled by GM's strong underlying business, including record EBIT-adjusted in the last three quarters. GM now expects to deliver better-than-expected results in the second quarter despite the industry-wide impact of the semiconductor shortage.
The company also announced two new Ultium battery cell plants in the U.S., in addition to the plants that are already under construction in Ohio and Tennessee. Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a LinkedIn post that, "We will add North American manufacturing capacity so we can expand and accelerate the rollout of EVs for retail and fleet customers. And we are announcing new commercial partnerships for our U.S.-made Ultium batteries and Hydrotec fuel cells, further demonstrating the revenue potential of these amazing technologies. We are making these investments so we can move faster and grow in ways that deliver value to our shareholders and our stakeholders. And while this reimagination of our business won't happen overnight, we are working towards it every day - as one company, driven by our growth strategy."
On Tuesday, Wabtec (WAB) and General Motors announced they will collaborate to develop and commercialize GM's Ultium battery technology and HYDROTEC hydrogen fuel cell systems for Wabtec locomotives.
EX-TESLA PRESIDENT SELLS $274M WORTH OF STOCK: Long-time Tesla (TSLA) executive and president Jerome Guillen, who left the company earlier in June, has sold an estimated $274 million worth of shares after exercising stock options since June 10, according to Reuters, citing a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
USPS NGDV CONTRACT: Workhorse Group (WKHS) announced to that it has filed a formal complaint with the United States Federal Court of Claims protesting the award of the United States Postal Service Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, USPS NGDV contract to a competing finalist. As previously disclosed, on February 23 the USPS issued a press release announcing that it had made an award under the NGDV contract, the details of which can be found here. After being informed of the USPS decision, the company requested, pursuant to the bid process rules, additional information from the USPS. On March 3 Workhorse met with USPS representatives to discuss the award and further specifics of the USPS selection process.
LORDSTOWN COMMENTS: In a conversation with the Automotive Press Association on Tuesday, Lordstown Motors (RIDE) executives said the company has adequate funds for production through 2022 and is actively raising money, according to Bloomberg. The company still plans to start limited production in late September and has "binding" orders, the executives added. They noted that orders have been re-confirmed in the last two weeks, and that the company's debut pickup truck will cost around $55,000, slightly higher than previously expected due to higher supply chain costs. The executives declined to comment on the SEC investigation.
In a regulatory filing, Lordstown has since clarified the recent executive remarks, saying that,"As previously disclosed in our Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 8, 2021, an important aspect of our sales and marketing strategy involves pursuing relationships with specialty upfitting and fleet management companies to incorporate the Endurance into their fleet management programs. Fleet management companies sometimes purchase vehicles and then lease them to their own customers. In other instances, fleet management companies facilitate purchasing or leasing of vehicles by their customers which are generally large fleets... These vehicle purchase agreements generally include a projected buyer order schedule over the 3 to 5 year life of the agreement, and may be terminated by either party at will on 30 days' notice. They do not commit the counterparties to purchase vehicles, but we believe that they provide us with a significant indicator of demand for the Endurance. To clarify recent remarks by company executives at the Automotive Press Association online media event on June 15, although these vehicle purchase agreements provide us with a significant indicator of demand for the Endurance, these agreements do not represent binding purchase orders or other firm purchase commitments. As previously disclosed in our Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 8, 2021, to date, we have engaged in limited marketing activities and we have no binding purchase orders or commitments from customers."
FORD BUYS ELECTRIPHI: Ford (F) announced it is acquiring Electriphi, a California-based provider of charging management and fleet monitoring software for electric vehicles. Electriphi's team and services will be integrated into Ford Pro - a new global business within Ford. The Electriphi acquisition is expected to close this month. Terms were not disclosed.
LINCOLN TO ELECTRIFY ENTIRE PORTFOLIO: Ford said Lincoln will debut its first global fully electric vehicle next year in "the first step toward electrifying its entire portfolio of vehicles by the end of the decade." The first fully electric Lincoln will join the plug-in hybrid Aviator and Corsair SUVs, as the brand shifts toward electrification. Ford added that, "The new electric vehicle will debut as the brand celebrates its 100th anniversary next year and accelerates growth in North America and China. By mid-decade, Lincoln expects half of its global volume will be zero-emissions vehicles and plans to electrify its portfolio of vehicles by 2030. This is part of the company's Ford+ plan and Ford Motor Company's planned investment of more than $30B in electrification by 2025."
