Chinese electric vehicle startup Nio Inc - ADR (NYSE: NIO) reported strong deliveries for April, prompting an analyst at BofA Securities to turn bullish on the company.The Nio Analyst Ming Hsun Lee upgraded Nio ADRs from Neutral to Buy and increased the price target from $3.40 to $5. The Nio Thesis Nio's 181% year-over-year increase in April deliveries underlines the surging demand for premium EVs, Hsun Lee said in a Wednesday upgrade note. (See his track record here.)The analyst attributed Nio's strong showing to product quality enhancement from the launch of the new ES8 with longer cruise range; and the fast-expanding NIO Space likely boosting sales and improving brand image following a battery recall event in the third quarter of 2019.The Hefei government's investment in Nio China has also likely increased consumer confidence, he said. Nio is likely to get incremental support from the government by way of subsidies, tax credits and low-interest loans after the deal, significantly improving its cash flow, Hsun Lee said. The new EV subsidy scheme favors Nio, as it is the major EV maker with battery-swap technology in China, the analyst said. The subsidy leaves out new energy vehicles, or NEVs,, with manufacturer suggested retail prices of over 300,000 yuan ($42,225), except for those NEVs with battery-swap technology, he said. BofA raised its 2020 and 2021 volume sales estimate by 7% and 6%, respectively, and lowered its 2020 and 2021 loss estimates.NIO Price Action Nio ADRs were advancing 6.71% to $3.50 at the time of publication Wednesday.Related Links:Nio's History Of Capital Raises: A Look At The Chinese EV Manufacturer's Debt6 Reasons Why Morgan Stanley Says Tesla's Next Gigafactory Location Is TexasPhoto courtesy of Nio. Latest Ratings for NIO DateFirmActionFromTo Mar 2020JP MorganAssumesUnderweight Feb 2020BernsteinUpgradesUnderperformMarket Perform Dec 2019Piper JaffrayInitiates Coverage OnNeutral View More Analyst Ratings for NIO View the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga * What Nio's Nearly B Financing Deal Means For The Chinese EV Manufacturer * Tesla China Car Registrations Buck Industry Slump In March(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
With much of the automotive and motorsport world on hold, I had a chat with Frank Muehlon from ABB, car charging technology firm and Formula E title sponsor.
Water splitting with an internal quantum efficiency of almost unity is achieved using a modified semiconductor photocatalyst that selectively promotes the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions on separate crystal facets.
What could benefit NIO may not help its stockholders.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is yet again relying on debt to keep its operations going in China, with the electric vehicle manufacturer negotiating a loan facility, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC.About Tesla's Loan Tesla has entered into a working capital loan contract with the Chinese commercial lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd for an unsecured revolving facility of up to 4 billion yuan ($563,928,320).Tesla said it intends to use the loan proceeds for expenditures related to production at its Shanghai Gigafactory. This new facility will mature on the first anniversary of the first borrowing under the loan.The applicable interest rate will be equal to the market-quoted interest rate published by an authority designated by the People's Bank of China, minus 0.35% for yuan-denominated loans, or the sum of one-year LIBOR plus 0.8% for U.S. dollar-denominated loans.What It Means For Tesla It was only in December that Tesla secured a $1.6-billion loan from Chinese banks to repay a previous loan and also to expand its Shanghai Gigafactory.The negotiation of the loan facility comes at a time when Tesla manufacturing is shut down in both the China and the U.S. Last week, the EV maker said that it has halted production in its Shanghai Gigafactory according to plan, although reports suggested it could be due to shortage of components.Earlier Monday, the China Passenger Car Association said Tesla's domestically made Model 3 vehicle sales dipped 64% month-over-month to 3,635 vehicles in April.The broader EV market in China recovered by recording a 9.8% month-over-month increase.Homegrown EV start-up Nio Inc - ADR (NYSE: NIO) reported last week that it delivered 3,155 vehicles in April, up 105.8% from the previous month.Tesla shares were down 2.73% at $797.09 at the time of publication. Related Links:Nio Analyst Says Improving Sales Trajectory, Easing Liquidity Concerns Support Bullish StanceMike Khouw's Tesla Options Trade: All-Time High A Resistance LevelPhoto courtesy of Tesla. See more from Benzinga * 6 Reasons Why Morgan Stanley Says Tesla's Next Gigafactory Location Is Texas * Tesla Q1 Earnings Preview: Analysts Convinced Of Long-Term Potential Ahead Of The Print(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Shares of Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO are soaring after an analyst upgrade. China is extending a subsidy program. That’s also good for America’s EV pioneer Tesla.
SHANGHAI, China, May 14, 2020 -- NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) (“NIO” or the “Company”), a pioneer in China’s premium smart electric vehicle market, today announced that it filed its.
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Water splitting with an internal quantum efficiency of almost unity is achieved using a modified semiconductor photocatalyst that selectively promotes the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions on separate crystal facets.
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Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman joins Jen Rogers and Andy Serwer to discuss the possibility of a bailout for the auto industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Song et al . (Reports, 14 February 2020, p. 777) ignore the reported efficient Ni/MgO solid-solution catalysts and overstate the novelty and importance of the Mo-doped Ni/MgO catalysts for the dry reforming of methane. We show that the Ni/MgO solid-solution c…
SHANGHAI, China, May 19, 2020 -- NIO Inc. (“NIO” or the “Company”) (NYSE: NIO), a pioneer in China’s premium smart electric vehicle market, today announced that it will report.
Chinese EV maker Nio Inc - ADR (NYSE: NIO) reported strong deliveries for April. The resurgence reflected a return of normalcy in China, which emerged from a protracted lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.The Shanghai-based company, which recently announced a $1 billion state funding and the shifting of its headquarters to the Hefei province, said it delivered 3,155 vehicles in April, up a strong 105.8% from the previous month, when it delivered 1,533 vehicles.On a year-over-year basis, the growth was an even better 180.7%.The break-up of the April numbers being 2,907 ES6s and 248 ES8s.Nio said it commenced deliveries of the all-new ES8s with more than 140 improvements on April 19."In April, we achieved record-high monthly ES6 deliveries since June 2019, and deliveries of the all-new ES8 had also been well on track," said co-CEO William Li.The company attributed its strong April results to the recovering production and delivery capabilities as well as strong order growth, facilitated by increasing recognition of its products, services and particularly battery swapping technologies by its existing and potential users."Additionally, with the positive order and delivery momentum, we remain committed to further improving our gross margin and operational efficiency," said co-CFO Steven Feng.In pre-market trading, Nio ADRs were up 4.8% to $3.44.Related Links:Nio's History Of Capital Raises: A Look At The Chinese EV Manufacturer's Debt6 Reasons Why Morgan Stanley Says Tesla's Next Gigafactory Location Is TexasSee more from Benzinga * Tesla China Car Registrations Buck Industry Slump In March(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a complex symptomatology, and core symptoms as well as functional impairment often persist into adulthood. Recent investigations estimate the worldwide prevalence of ...
Beijing is doubling down on its commitment to electric vehicles and considering the size and potential of the Chinese economy. That's worth taking note. And one of the best ways to bet on the Chinese EV market is with Nio (NYSE:NIO) and NIO stock.Source: Carrie Fereday / Shutterstock.com Shanghai-based Nio, which is often called China's answer to Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), manufactures smart, electric, and autonomous vehicles.Like Tesla, it positions itself as a futuristic automotive company with a heavy emphasis on lifestyle. Nio even has a fashion line which it says is inspired by its Nio EP9 vehicle.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsCarrying the analogy further, Nio founder William Ben Li is even called the "Elon Musk of China," although there's no indication that Nio's founder is following Musk's more eccentric ways. * 20 Stocks to Buy If You're Still Betting on America to Thrive While there's no guarantee that designer clothes will help Nio vault past rivals like Tesla, Ford (NYSE:F) or the Warren Buffett-backed BYD Company, NIO is making inroads that cannot be ignored. China Represents a Huge OpportunityIf you are looking for a growth story, there are few opportunities as compelling as the Chinese EV market.China is one of the largest and fastest-growing emerging markets in the world. People made a big deal about China's GDP falling below 7% in 2018 and 2019, but keep in mind that any other country would love growth that robust.By comparison, GDP growth in the U.S. was 2.9% in 2018 and was 2.3% in 2019. Not surprisingly, experts expect China's economy to overtake the U.S. sometime this decade.And China is embracing electric vehicles like no other country. While the global automotive market continues to shrink, sales of electronic vehicles are on the rise.True, the Chinese EV market took a hit in 2019 when Beijing reduced subsidies, helping send NIO stock down by 37%. But now China seems to be all-in on supporting the industry once again as it seeks to reduce dependence on foreign oil.Beijing has stated its goal of increasing the share of electric vehicles from 5% to 25%. To do that, it extended new EV subsidies and tax breaks until the 2022 fiscal year. Meanwhile, anyone who buys an internal combustion vehicle in China will pay a 10% tax.And China also put 2.7 billion yuan into battery charging infrastructure, which should make the decision to buy an electric vehicle a lot more appealing.Before the pandemic, Nio's two vehicles, the ES6 and the ES8, were selling well and there was a surge of demand in China for electric vehicles. That trend should return as China comes out of the pandemic. NIO Stock at a GlanceWhile it has a market capitalization of more than $3 billion, Nio stock can be had for cheap. Currently priced at less than $4 per share, NIO is a long way from it's all-time high of $10 set last year.Year-to-date, Nio is down about 14% as the novel coronavirus pandemic weighed on the stock's shares.But the worst seems to be over. Li, in a call with reporters, said the pandemic will affect first-quarter numbers but the company is seeing a rebound in the second quarter. NIO won't adjust its annual forecast, he said.On May 6, the company reported that it delivered 3,155 vehicles in April, an increase of 105% from March and an 180% increase year-over-year.Nio also seems to have solved its cash crunch. The company started 2020 with a cash balance of only $161.7 million, but it is getting an infusion of 7 billion yuan ($1 billion) from investors as part of a plan to establish the company's China headquarters in Hefei. The Bottom Line on NIO StockIt's impossible to size up NIO without considering the competitors. Tesla's gigafactory in Shanghai makes 3,000 vehicles per week, just a year after the company broke ground.Ford China launched its first China EV last year and has plans to introduce 10 new models over the next three years.And then there's Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, NYSE:BRK.B), which owns 25% BYD, a Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles, solar panels, and rechargeable batteries. BYD and Toyota (NYSE:TM) announced plans to launch a joint venture this month for the EV business in China.But NIO has a home field advantage that you can't ignore. Instead of being supported by U.S. and Japanese companies, Nio is headquartered in Shanghai and is a Chinese company. And China always exercises extremely tight control over its markets, which makes it hard for international companies to compete.For instance, China is expressing support for sales of vehicles with swappable batteries. Nio has pursued the technology, and even offers a free battery-swap service.Nio is a solid bet for investors wanting to get in on the ground floor of the electric vehicle market in a country that is expected to overtake the U.S. soon.NIO stock gets a "B" rating in my Portfolio Grader right now.Louis Navellier had an unconventional start, as a grad student who accidentally built a market-beating stock system -- with returns rivaling even Warren Buffett. In his latest feat, Louis discovered the "Master Key" to profiting from the biggest tech revolution of this (or any) generation. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters. More From InvestorPlace * Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * America's Richest ZIP Code Holds Shocking Secret * 1 Under-the-Radar 5G Stock to Buy Now * The 1 Stock All Retirees Must Own The post Nio Is a Solid Bet for the Chinese Electric Vehicle Space appeared first on InvestorPlace.
NIO stock received a second upgrade heading into its first-quarter earnings call Thursday.
An analyst upgrade ahead of earnings is giving shares a boost.
Chinese electric automaker NIO (NYSE: NIO) reported yesterday that it delivered 3,155 vehicles in April, more than double its sales in April of last year, as it resumed full production with the coronavirus pandemic receding in China.
Sales appear strong ahead of earnings.
Ford recently announced it expected a $2 billion loss in the first quarter. Now it expects even worse for the second. All that and more in The Morning Shift for April 29, 2020.Read more...
Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO caught an analyst upgrade just before the company is set to report earnings Thursday.
NIO (NYSE: NIO), a leader in China's premium electric vehicle market and a company many refer to as China's Tesla, is bouncing higher Wednesday after yet another analyst upgraded the stock. Now we believe that the rise of Tesla's Model 3, while clearly squeezing out small Chinese EV players, could lead to an emerging structural wave of B (i.e. J.P. Morgan bumped NIO's price target from $2 to $3.50.
What happened Shares of Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO (NYSE: NIO) were trading higher amid a broad-based rally on Wednesday afternoon, after a JPMorgan analyst upgraded the stock ahead of Thursday's earnings report.
Challenged by the arrival of Tesla in China last year, domestic electric vehicle (EV) start-ups were struggling even before the economic shock wrought by the coronavirus, but now for some it has become a battle for survival. New energy vehicle (NEVs) sales fell for a tenth straight month in April, plummeting 43% from a year earlier in a market that has now got 50-or-so established start-ups competing with domestic giants like Geely, state-owned FAW Group , and foreign marques like Tesla Inc and Volkswagen AG. "The difficulties that EV start-ups have encountered, such as the auto sales decline, harsh fundraising environment and subsidies reduction, all started last year," said Brian Gu, president of Alibaba-backed Xpeng Motors.
Hu and Ruckenstein state that our findings were overclaimed and not new, despite our presentation of evidence for the Nanocatalysts on Single Crystal Edges (NOSCE) mechanism. Their arguments do not take into account fundamental differences between our Ni-Mo/M…
What happened Shares of Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO (NYSE: NIO) were up on Tuesday, on signs of strong demand for its vehicles ahead of its earnings report later this week. As of 1:30 p.m. EDT, NIO's American depositary shares were trading up about 13.
Nio Inc. reported Thursday a narrower-than-expected loss and revenue that fell less than forecast, but the China-based electric vehicle maker's stock pulled back 2.2% in premarket trading after soaring 27.5% over the previous two sessions. The net loss narrowed to RMB1.72 billion ($243.3 million), or RMB1.66 a share, from RMB2.65 billion, or RMB2.56 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, the adjusted loss per share was RMB1.60, beating the FactSet loss consensus of RMB1.73. Total revenue fell 15.9% to RMB1.37 billion ($193.8 million), but was above the FactSet consensus of RMB1.29 billion. Vehicle sales declined 18.2% to RMB1,26 billion ($177.3 million), while vehicle margin was negative 7.2%. Compared with the sequential fourth quarter, vehicle total revenue dropped 51.8% and vehicle sales declined 53.2% as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Vehicles delivered fell to 3,838 from 3,989. For the second quarter, Nio expects to deliver between 9,500 and 10,000 vehicles. Revenue is expected to be between RMB3.37 billion ($475.7 million) and RMB3.53 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of RMB2.71 billion. The stock has gained 1.0% over the past three months, while U.S. rival Tesla Inc. shares have run up 22.8% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 2.8%.
Chinese electric vehicle startup Nio has secured a $1 billion investment from several state-owned companies in Hefei in return for agreeing to establish headquarters in the city’s economic development hotspot and giving up a stake in one of its business units…
The structure of the deal raises some big questions.
Quarterly Total Revenues reached RMB1,372.0 million (US$193.8 million)iQuarterly Deliveries of the ES8 and the ES6 were 3,838 vehicles SHANGHAI, China, May 28, 2020 -- NIO.
Scottish money manager Baillie Gifford has $245 billion, a positive attitude — and 112 years of experience with booms, panics and pandemics.
With new financing and surging sales, NIO might finally be on a roll.
Nio Inc - ADR (NYSE: NIO) shares are trading higher on Wednesday.JPMorgan upgraded the company's stock from Underweight to Neutral and raised its price target from $2 to $3.50.Nio Inc operates in China's premium electric vehicle market. The company designs, jointly manufactures and sells smart and connected premium electric vehicles, driving innovations in next-generation technologies in connectivity, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence. Its models include the EP9 supercar, ES8, ES6 and EC6.Shares of Chinese electric automaker Nio shares were up 6.28% at $4.06 at the time of publication. The stock has a 52-week high of $5.65 and a 52-week low of $1.19.Related Links:Nio Says Sales Pressured By Coronavirus, Stock Trades LowerNio Trades Higher On August Vehicle Delivery NumbersPhoto courtesy of Nio. See more from Benzinga * What To Know About NASA And SpaceX's Crew Dragon Launch * WTI Oil Trades Higher, But Demand For Brent Muted, Says Commodities Analyst * UK Clears Gilead's Remdesivir For Some Coronavirus Patients(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Research organisation Mercari R4D and students from the University of Tokyo have jointly developed an inflatable electric-scooter that riders can stash away inside their backpack. Read more
What happened Shares of Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO (NYSE: NIO) jumped on Wednesday after the company reported strong sales totals for April and said that its business is now fully up and running following the coronavirus outbreak.
(Bloomberg) -- At a factory near Germany’s border with the Czech Republic, Volkswagen AG’s ambitious strategy to become the global leader in electric vehicles is coming up against the reality of manufacturing during a pandemic.The Zwickau assembly lines, which produce the soon-to-be released ID.3 electric hatchback, are the centerpiece of a plan by the world’s biggest automaker to spend 33 billion euros ($36 billion) by 2024 developing and building EVs. At the site, where an East German automaker built the diminutive Trabant during the Cold War, VW eventually wants to churn out as many as 330,000 cars annually. That would make Zwickau one of Europe’s largest electric-car factories—and help the company overtake Tesla Inc. in selling next-generation vehicles.But Covid-19 is putting VW’s and other automakers’ electric ambitions at risk. The economic crisis triggered by the pandemic has pushed the auto industry, among others, to near-collapse, emptying showrooms and shutting factories. As job losses mount, big-ticket purchases are firmly out of reach—in the U.S., where Tesla is cutting prices, more than 36 million people have filed for unemployment since mid-March. Also, the plunge in oil prices is making gasoline-powered vehicles more attractive, and some cash-strapped governments are less able to offer subsidies to promote new technologies.Even before the crisis, automakers had to contend with an extended downturn in China, the world’s biggest auto market, where about half of all passenger EVs are sold. Total auto sales in China declined the past two years amid a slowing economy, escalating trade tensions, and stricter emission regulations. EV sales are forecast to fall to 932,000 this year, down 14% from 2019, according to BloombergNEF. The drop-off is expected to stretch into a third year as China's leaders have abandoned their traditional practice of setting an annual target for economic growth, citing uncertainties. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect just 1.8% GDP growth this year.The global market contraction raises the prospect of casualties. French finance minister Bruno Le Maire has warned that Renault SA, an early adopter of electric cars with models like the Zoe, could “disappear” without state aid. Even Toyota Motor Corp., a hybrid pioneer when it first introduced the Prius hatchback in 1997, is under pressure. The Japanese manufacturer expects profits to tumble to the lowest level in almost a decade.Automakers who for years have invested heavily in a shift to a high-tech future—including autonomous vehicles and other alternative energy-based forms of transportation such as hydrogen—now face a grim test. Do their pre-pandemic plans to build and sell electric cars at a profit have any chance of succeeding in a vastly changed economic climate? Even as Covid-19 has obliterated demand, for the car makers most committed to electric, there’s no turning back.“We all have a historic task to accomplish,” Thomas Ulbrich, who runs Volkswagen’s EV business, said when assembly lines restarted on April 23, “to protect the health of our employees—and at the same time get business back on track responsibly.”Volkswagen Pushes AheadGlobal EV sales will shrink this year, falling 18% to about 1.7 million units, according to BloombergNEF, although they’re likely to return to growth over the next four years, topping 6.9 million by 2024. “The general trend toward electric vehicles is set to continue, but the economic conditions of the next two to three years will be tough,” said Marcus Berret, managing director at consultancy Roland Berger.Volkswagen’s Zwickau facility became the first auto plant in Germany to resume production after a nationwide lockdown started in March. Before restarting, the company crafted a detailed list of about 100 safety measures for employees, requiring them to, among other things, wear masks and protective gear if they can’t adhere to social-distancing rules.The cautious approach has reduced capacity—50 cars per day initially rolled off the Zwickau assembly line, roughly a third of what the plant manufactured before the coronavirus crisis. (VW said Wednesday that daily output had risen to 150 vehicles, with a plan to reach 225 next month.) Persistent software problems also have plagued development of the ID.3, one of 70 new electric models VW group is looking to bring to market in the coming years. Still, Ulbrich and VW CEO Herbert Diess over the past three months have reaffirmed Volkswagen’s commitment to electrification. “My new working week starts together with Thomas Ulbrich at the wheel of a Volkswagen ID.3 - our most important project to meet the European CO2-targets in 2020 and 2021,” Diess wrote in a post on LinkedIn in April. “We are fighting hard to keep our timeline for the launches to come.”Diess has described the ID.3 as “an electric car for the people that will move electric mobility from niche to mainstream.” Pre-Covid, the company had anticipated that 2020 would be the year it would prove its massive investments and years of planning for electric and hybrid models would start to pay off.A more pressing worry that could hamper VW’s ability to scale up production is its existing inventory of unsold vehicles. The cars need to move to make room for new releases, but sales are down as consumers are tightening their spending. One response has been to offer improved financing in Germany, including optional rate protection should buyers lose their jobs. VW also has adopted new sales strategies first used by its Chinese operations, such as delivering disinfected cars to customer homes for test drives, and expanding online commerce.Other German automakers are similarly pushing ahead with EV plans. Daimler AG is sticking to a plan to flank an electric SUV with a battery-powered van and a compact later this year. BMW AG plans to introduce the SUV-size iNEXT in 2021 as well as the i4, a sedan seeking to challenge Tesla’s best-selling Model 3.A potential obstacle for all these companies—apart from still patchy charging infrastructure in many markets—is the availability of batteries. Supply bottlenecks appear inevitable given that the number of electric car projects across the industry outstrip global battery production capacity. And boosting cell manufacturing is a complicated task.China's (Weakened) EV Dominance For VW and others, the first big test of EVs’ appeal in a Covid-19 world will come in China. Diess has referred to China as “the engine of success for Volkswagen AG.” VW group deliveries returned to growth year-on-year last month in China, while all other major markets declined.Not long ago, China appeared to be leading the world toward an electric future. As part of President Xi Jinping’s goal to make the country an industrial superpower by 2025, the government implemented policies that would boost sales of EVs and help domestic automakers become globally competitive, not just in electric passenger cars but buses, too.With the outbreak seemingly under control in much of the country, China is seeing some buyers return to the showrooms, but demand for passenger cars is likely to fall for the third year in a row, putting startups like NIO Inc. at risk and hurting more-established players like Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co., which suffered from a 40% year-on-year vehicle sales decline in the first four months of 2020.The Chinese auto market may shrink as much as 25% this year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, which before the pandemic had been expecting a 2% decline. EV sales fell by more than one-third in the second half of 2019.NIO, the Shanghai-based startup that raised about $1 billion from a New York Stock Exchange initial public offering in 2018 but lost more than 11 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) last year, was thrown a much-needed lifeline when a group of investors, including a local government in China’s Anhui Province, offered 7 billion yuan last month.Other Chinese manufacturers are counting on support from the government, too, including tax breaks and an extension to 2022 of subsidies, originally scheduled to end this year, to make EVs more affordable.For now, the government will also look to help makers of internal combustion engine vehicles, at least during the worst of the crisis, said Jing Yang, director of corporate research in Shanghai with Fitch Ratings. But, she said, “over the medium-to-long term, the focus will still be on the EV side.”America is Tesla CountryCompanies can’t count on that same level of support from President Donald Trump in the U.S., where consumers who love their SUVs and pickup trucks have largely steered clear of electric vehicles other than Tesla’s.The U.S. lags China and Europe in promoting the production and sale of EVs, and that gap may widen now that Americans can buy gas for less than $2 a gallon.“When you’re digging out of this crisis, you’re not going to try to do that with unprofitable and low-volume products, which are EVs,” said Kevin Tynan, a senior analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.Weeks after announcing plans to launch EVs for each of its brands, General Motors Co. delayed the unveiling of the Cadillac Lyriq EV originally planned for April. Then on April 29, the company said it would put off the scheduled May introduction of a new Hummer EV. The models are part of CEO Mary Barra’s strategy to spend $20 billion on electrification and autonomous driving by 2025, to try to close the gap with Tesla.In another move aimed at winning over Tesla buyers, Ford Motor Co. unveiled its electric Mustang Mach-E last November at a splashy event ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show. The highly anticipated model had been scheduled to debut this year. Ford has not officially postponed the release, but the company has said all launches will be delayed by about two months, potentially pushing the Mach-E into 2021.Elon Musk, whose cars dominate the U.S. electric market, cut prices by thousands of dollars overnight. The Model 3 is now $2,000 cheaper, starting at $37,990. The Model S and Model X each dropped $5,000.Musk engaged in a high-profile fight with California officials this month over Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, which had been closed by shutdown orders Musk slammed as “fascist.” In a May 11 tweet, he said the company was reopening the plant in defiance of county policy. On May 16, Tesla told employees it had received official approval.During most of the shutdown in California, the company managed to keep producing some cars thanks to better relations with local officials regulating its other factory, in Shanghai. That plant closed as the virus spread from Wuhan in late January, but the local government helped it reopen a few weeks later in early February.First Zwickau, Then the WorldThe ID.3’s new electric underpinning, dubbed MEB, is key to VW’s strategy to sell battery-powered cars on a global scale at prices that will be competitive with similar combustion-engine vehicles. Automakers typically rely on such platforms to achieve economies of scale and, ultimately, profits. MEB will be applied to purely electric vehicles across all of the company’s mass-market brands, including Skoda and Seat.VW said it spent $7 billion developing MEB after Ford last year agreed to use the technology for one of its European models. Separately, the group’s Audi and Porsche brands are built on a dedicated EV platform for luxury cars that the company says will be vital in narrowing the gap with Tesla.VW plans to escalate its electric-car push by adding two factories, near Shanghai and Shenzhen, that it says could eventually roll out 600,000 cars annually, more cars than Tesla delivered globally last year.While China is the initial goal, making a dent in Europe and the U.S. is the long-term one. Like China, Europe had been tightening emissions regulations significantly before the pandemic. New rules to reduce fleet emissions will gradually start to take effect this year, effectively forcing most manufacturers to sell plug-in hybrids and purely electric cars to avoid steep fines.Because of the mandates, Europe’s commitment to electrification isn’t going away, said Aakash Arora, a managing director with Boston Consulting Group. “In the long term, we don’t see any relaxation in regulation,” he said.For VW, this crisis wouldn’t be the first time it started a new chapter in difficult times. Diess saw an opportunity coming off the manufacturer’s years-long diesel emissions scandal that cost the company more than $33 billion to win approval for the industry’s most aggressive push into EVs. When VW unveiled the ID.3, officials compared its historic role to the iconic Beetle and the Golf, not knowing that this might hold in unintended ways: The Beetle arose from the ashes of World War II, and the Golf was greeted by the oil-price shock in the 1970s.“We have a clear commitment to become CO2 neutral by 2050,” VW strategy chief Michael Jost said, “and there is no alternative to our electric-car strategy to achieve this.”(Updates with Tesla price cut starting in the third paragraph. An earlier version corrected the spelling of Berret in the ninth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
On April 29, Nio (NYSE:NIO) announced that it had secured $1 billion in funding to carry on building electric vehicles. Nio stock jumped 8% on the news. However, shares have been sideways ever since.Source: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com Is there something holding back investor enthusiasm for the funding arrangement? You better believe it. Here's the breakdown. 75% of What?Three companies are investing in Nio: Hefei City Construction and Investment Holding, CMG-SDIC Capital, and Anhui Provincial Emerging Industry Investment. They are collectively investing 7 billion yuan, or approximately $1 billion, into the company.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsThe trickier part of the arrangement is that the investment is going into a newly established company, Nio China.As part of the investment, Nio will transfer its Chinese assets (valued at approximately 17.77 billion yuan or $2.5 billion) into the new company as well as 4.26 billion yuan ($600 million) cash in exchange for 75.9% of the business. The three investors will hold the remaining 24.1% of Nio China. The deal is expected to close by the end of June.The $2.5 billion asset contribution is valued at 85% of Nio's average market value of the 30 trading days preceding April 21. What About Debt?Simple enough. But those numbers don't include debt.Nio had $1.16 billion in short- and long-term debt at the end of December. It also had current and long-term operating lease liabilities of $317 million, bringing total debt to $1.48 billion. Add in the $200 million in short-term convertible notes it raised in February and another $235 million in April and you get to a total debt of $1.92 billion.Based on a market capitalization of $3.62 billion and $574.8 million ($139.8 million on the balance sheet plus $435 million in cash for new debt), Nio has an enterprise value of approximately $5 billion.Nowhere in the company's press release about the $1 billion investment in Nio China does it say anything about the debt.Kudos to The Motley Fool's John Rosevear for pointing this out recently:"That all seems well and good, but NIO has yet to clarify why it's using this structure for the deal, what will happen to its assets outside of China, and what will happen to the roughly $1 billion in debt that it had as of the end of 2019 -- all very important questions from an American investor's perspective."Are we to assume that Nio's non-Chinese assets are worth approximately $543 million ($3.62 billion market cap times 15%) because the investment agreement valued Nio's asset transferred to Nio China at 85% of market value? What Does This Mean for NIO Stock?What are Nio shareholders getting for their 75.9% stake in Nio China? That's a good question.Based on 85% of the assets being transferred to Nio China and an enterprise value for the entire company of $5 billion, my back-of-the-napkin calculation would be $3.23 billion for its stake in Nio China (75.9% of $4.25 billion, which is 85% of $5 billion). Add in the estimated enterprise value of $750 million for 100% of the non-Chinese part of its business, and you get $4 billion.Add in the $1 billion investment and you're back to a $5 billion enterprise value.As far as I can tell, the deal was structured this way so that if Nio can make a go of it outside China, its existing investors will benefit from that success, while the new investors are merely hoping to make its business in China a success.Did the company pay too high a price for that billion dollars in funding?On April 29, in addition to announcing its $1 billion investment, it also notified investors that it would have to delay filing its 20-F to incorporate the details from this investment. Nio is expected to file its 20-F soon. We'll know more then.Nio needed the money. Both parties gave up something to get something. Often, those are the best kind of transactions.Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he's appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger, and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At the time of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * America's Richest ZIP Code Holds Shocking Secret * 1 Under-the-Radar 5G Stock to Buy Now * The 1 Stock All Retirees Must Own The post Nio Stock's Newest Backers Are Betting On Chinese Success appeared first on InvestorPlace.
NIO's April sales report was a good one.