Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Here are my picks in the lithium arena:
AMEL.OB
- - - - -
SQM
- - - - -
JCI
- - - - -
VLNC
- - - - -
ABAT
- - - - -
AONE
- - - - -
HEV
- - - - -
PPO
Please send me any picks on Lithium production.
Good Morning All!
I have been buying up all stocks related to Lithium-Ion Battery production, seems like a great new market. Most of my buys have kept green since purchase. From what my DD have discovered is all new EV and Hybrid cars/trucks will now use these LI batteries. I am talking Ford to Mercedes, all are using these new batteries. Every laptop to Iphone is now using lithium batteries, the market is growing quickly.
My picks started in mining for lithium to building the batteries, search IHUB's board with the keyword "lithium" and you will see all these new/old companies.
Please forward any lithium questions, I have spent over a months researching these new batteries.
GLTA!
We support TSLA here:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=18442
We support HEV here:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=18442
We support AONE here:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=18442
More Pros Dipping Into Battery Stocks
The budding electric vehicle segment has seen growing investor attention with the anticipated release of various plug-ins from major automakers, as well as the Q2 IPO of electric sports car maker Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA - News). There are some lofty projections for plug-in proliferation over the next 20 years, and the development of battery technology will likely play an important role in the sector's ultimate success or failure. Warren Buffett put some Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A - News, BRK-B - News) capital to work in Hong Kong shares of Chinese battery and electric car player BYD Co (Pink Sheets: BYDDF - News) back in 2008, and recent second-quarter disclosures suggest that some other asset managers were entering the space as well.
At the end of the second quarter, more than half of the Energy Storage and Battery Technology Stocks Index's 19 components were in the top-15 U.S.-listed equity holdings of at least one 13F-filing asset manager.
Large-cap Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI - News) took the top spot in Pro popularity at the end of Q2 with 16 Pros holding the stock near the top of their portfolios. Meanwhile, Energizer Holdings (NYSE: ENR - News) had 10 Pro holders by the same criteria, and EnerSys (NYSE: ENS - News), Polypore International (NYSE: PPO - News), and A123 Systems (NASDAQ: AONE - News) were also among favorites.
Investors can track the Energy Storage and Battery Technology Stocks Index for performance trends and suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.
Fun and informative, tickerspy.com is a free investing website where you can track multiple stock portfolios and compare against 250 proprietary Indexes tracking themes from dividends to ETFs to green energy to precious metals. Best of all, tickerspy.com lets you spy on the portfolios of nearly 3,000 Wall Street institutions and hedge funds and see graphs of their performance. Try tickerspy.com today and find out how you stack up against investing legends like Warren Buffett!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/More-Pros-Dipping-Into-indie-3822792649.html?x=0&.v=1
One is Polypore (PPO), a North Carolina-based company that makes sophisticated filters and separators for use in lithium-ion batteries. According to analyst Craig Irwin at Wedbush Morgan, Polypore supplies the separators for the iPad’s li-ion battery (Polypore hasn’t confirmed this). Irwin’s revelation last week gave shares of PPO about a 10% boost. Cabot Green Investor subscribers bought Polypore in June, making the Apple connection a welcome bonus to what we already saw as a compelling investment.
That’s because lithium-ion batteries are the next generation of batteries that will eventually all but eliminate the lead-acid battery we use in most applications today. Li-ion batteries can be more fully charged more often than lead-acid batteries, lose their charge more slowly when not in use and are generally much lighter for the power they can store than comparable lead acid batteries. In the iPad, li-ions offer over 10 hours of operation on one charge, by some accounts.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/221847-3-green-stocks-for-playing-the-ipad?source=yahoo
One is Polypore (PPO), a North Carolina-based company that makes sophisticated filters and separators for use in lithium-ion batteries. According to analyst Craig Irwin at Wedbush Morgan, Polypore supplies the separators for the iPad’s li-ion battery (Polypore hasn’t confirmed this). Irwin’s revelation last week gave shares of PPO about a 10% boost. Cabot Green Investor subscribers bought Polypore in June, making the Apple connection a welcome bonus to what we already saw as a compelling investment.
That’s because lithium-ion batteries are the next generation of batteries that will eventually all but eliminate the lead-acid battery we use in most applications today. Li-ion batteries can be more fully charged more often than lead-acid batteries, lose their charge more slowly when not in use and are generally much lighter for the power they can store than comparable lead acid batteries. In the iPad, li-ions offer over 10 hours of operation on one charge, by some accounts.
The real growth market for li-ion batteries is in automobiles, especially as electric cars like the Nissan (NSANY.PK) Leaf and hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt roll out. Last fall, another brokerage, AT Kearney, estimated the market for li-ion batteries in automobiles was just $32 million in 2009, but will skyrocket 700-fold to $22 billion by 2015 and then $74 billion by next decade.
Polypore is a leading supplier of separators for lead-acid automobile batteries already, making the shift into the more sophisticated, higher margin li-ion business a natural transition. It also makes filters and separators for the food and beverage industry, membranes needed in the pharmaceutical industry and filters to remove waste products from blood. Lead acid batteries remain a growth area too, thanks to Asian industrial demand. Polypore easily beat Wall Street expectations in its latest quarter, reported two weeks ago, posting sales of $150.1 million and earnings per share of 33 cents. For the full year, we see sales rising as much as 20% to over $600 million, while posting $1.22 or more in per-share profit.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/221847-3-green-stocks-for-playing-the-ipad?source=yahoo
My Picks:
AMEL.OB
SQM
JCI
VLNC
ABAT
AONE
HEV
PPO
List of Full Production EV's & Hybrid Cars/Trucks
using Lithium-Ion Batteries.
Chevy - Volt, Tahoe.
Tesla - Roadster, S-Series.
Toyota - Prius, Rav4, Camry, Highlander.
Nissan - Leaf, Altima.
Smart Car - Fortwo.
WheeGo - Whip LiFe
Ford - Fusion, Escape.
Honda - Civic.
Hyundai - Sonata.
Peugot - ion.
Mitsubishi - MiEV
Arcimoto - Pulse.
Commuter Cars Corp. - Tango.
ELBIL Norge - Buddy.
Reva - G-Wiz, NXR.
Nice Car Company - Ze-0
Think - A306
Venturi - Fetish, Volage.
GMC - Yukon.
Lexus - RX400h, GS 450h.
Mercury - Mariner, Milan.
Kewet - Buddy.
Lumeneo - Smera.
Zytek - SmartEV.
Renault - ZE.
Subaru - R1E.
UEV - Spyder.
Phoenix Motor Cars - SUT, SUV.
Miles Auto Group - ZX-40.
Zenn - Zenn.
Gem - e2.
Mullen - L1X-75.
BYD - e6.
Cleanova - II
Micro-Vett - Doblo', YDea.
Universal EV Corp. - Electrum Spyder.
EFFEDI Automotive - Maranello4.
EuAuto Tech LTD - MyCar.
AIXAM-Mega Group - Mega City.
Myers Motors - NmG.
Sunmotor Group - Coup DX.
Commuter Cars Corp. Tang T100, T200, T600.
Tonino Lamborghini - Town Life Helectra.
ZAP - Xebra, Obvio, 828E, 012E.
Mercedes Benz - BlueZERO, SLC.
Audi - e-tron, Q7, A4, A8, Q5.
Ferrari - 599 GTB
Welcome to the Future!
List of Full Production EV's & Hybrid Cars/Trucks
using Lithium-Ion Batteries.
Chevy - Volt, Tahoe.
Tesla - Roadster, S-Series.
Toyota - Prius, Rav4, Camry, Highlander.
Nissan - Leaf, Altima.
Smart Car - Fortwo.
WheeGo - Whip LiFe
Ford - Fusion, Escape.
Honda - Civic.
Hyundai - Sonata.
Peugot - ion.
Mitsubishi - MiEV
Arcimoto - Pulse.
Commuter Cars Corp. - Tango.
ELBIL Norge - Buddy.
Reva - G-Wiz, NXR.
Nice Car Company - Ze-0
Think - A306
Venturi - Fetish, Volage.
GMC - Yukon.
Lexus - RX400h, GS 450h.
Mercury - Mariner, Milan.
Kewet - Buddy.
Lumeneo - Smera.
Zytek - SmartEV.
Renault - ZE.
Subaru - R1E.
UEV - Spyder.
Phoenix Motor Cars - SUT, SUV.
Miles Auto Group - ZX-40.
Zenn - Zenn.
Gem - e2.
Mullen - L1X-75.
BYD - e6.
Cleanova - II
Micro-Vett - Doblo', YDea.
Universal EV Corp. - Electrum Spyder.
EFFEDI Automotive - Maranello4.
EuAuto Tech LTD - MyCar.
AIXAM-Mega Group - Mega City.
Myers Motors - NmG.
Sunmotor Group - Coup DX.
Commuter Cars Corp. Tang T100, T200, T600.
Tonino Lamborghini - Town Life Helectra.
ZAP - Xebra, Obvio, 828E, 012E.
Mercedes Benz - BlueZERO, SLC.
Audi - e-tron, Q7, A4, A8, Q5.
Ferrari - 599 GTB
Chile Gets A Charge From Lithium
Posted by Ron Rowland
With the boom in global demand for alternative-fueled vehicles, now may be a good time to break out your Periodic Table of Elements from science class. It’s time to learn something about lithium.
Represented by the symbol “Li,” lithium is the lightest and least dense of the solid elements. Lithium production has been growing for decades thanks to its use in small batteries. Powering a car with electricity takes more than a few AAA cells, but it can be done. The idea is increasingly popular as oil prices remain historically high.
This is good news for Chile. This slender South American country is the largest lithium producer in the world. It is also good news for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile ADR, often referred to by its English translation of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile (SQM). The firm is a top holding in the first lithium-specific ETF. Obviously, the boom in lithium demand could be a boon for SQM. Driven by demand for hybrid and electric cars, lithium demand is expected to swell to 250,000 tons annually up from current levels of 100,000 tons.
Wall Street is taking note of the bullish trend. Several analysts think SQM could make its way to $70, well above the $36 area where the stock currently trades. UBS (UBS) analysts put a $73 price target on SQM earlier this year.
Special Offer: Ron Rowland’s All Star Fund Trader offers market-beating model portfolios of the best ETFs and no-load funds for investors. Click here for his latest buys and sells.
SQM plans to invest $350 million to bolster its lithium production. This may lead some investors to look at SQM as a company focused solely on lithium, but that’s not the case. SQM also offers investors significant exposure to increased global food demand. The company is one of Latin America’s top fertilizer producers, competing with the likes of Agrium (AGU) and Potash (POT). The fertilizer exposure highlights the diversity of SQM’s business model. Investors are buying much more than lithium when they purchase SQM shares.
That said, it looks like lithium demand is driving SQM, at least in the short term. Last week, the company said it is talking with several Japanese automakers about their lithium needs. SQM is in what Fox Business News called “deep” discussions with Nissan. A sales agreement with Nissan to supply the Japanese auto giant with 10,000 tons of lithium per year could boost SQM’s top line by $55 million per year.
Valuations reflect that as SQM trades at 23.5 times forward earnings, but that really isn’t too rich as far as true growth stocks are concerned. SQM has undergone a strong run-up in July and may be vulnerable to a short-term pullback, although it should find support at $34. To capitalize on rising lithium demand while still remaining diversified with fertilizer, go with lithium producer SQM.
http://blogs.forbes.com/investor/2010/07/29/chile-gets-a-charge-from-lithium/
More stocks: AMEL.OB, SQM, JCI, VLNC, ABAT, AONE, HEV, PPO
Chile Gets A Charge From Lithium
Posted by Ron Rowland
With the boom in global demand for alternative-fueled vehicles, now may be a good time to break out your Periodic Table of Elements from science class. It’s time to learn something about lithium.
Represented by the symbol “Li,” lithium is the lightest and least dense of the solid elements. Lithium production has been growing for decades thanks to its use in small batteries. Powering a car with electricity takes more than a few AAA cells, but it can be done. The idea is increasingly popular as oil prices remain historically high.
This is good news for Chile. This slender South American country is the largest lithium producer in the world. It is also good news for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile ADR, often referred to by its English translation of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile (SQM). The firm is a top holding in the first lithium-specific ETF. Obviously, the boom in lithium demand could be a boon for SQM. Driven by demand for hybrid and electric cars, lithium demand is expected to swell to 250,000 tons annually up from current levels of 100,000 tons.
Wall Street is taking note of the bullish trend. Several analysts think SQM could make its way to $70, well above the $36 area where the stock currently trades. UBS (UBS) analysts put a $73 price target on SQM earlier this year.
Special Offer: Ron Rowland’s All Star Fund Trader offers market-beating model portfolios of the best ETFs and no-load funds for investors. Click here for his latest buys and sells.
SQM plans to invest $350 million to bolster its lithium production. This may lead some investors to look at SQM as a company focused solely on lithium, but that’s not the case. SQM also offers investors significant exposure to increased global food demand. The company is one of Latin America’s top fertilizer producers, competing with the likes of Agrium (AGU) and Potash (POT). The fertilizer exposure highlights the diversity of SQM’s business model. Investors are buying much more than lithium when they purchase SQM shares.
That said, it looks like lithium demand is driving SQM, at least in the short term. Last week, the company said it is talking with several Japanese automakers about their lithium needs. SQM is in what Fox Business News called “deep” discussions with Nissan. A sales agreement with Nissan to supply the Japanese auto giant with 10,000 tons of lithium per year could boost SQM’s top line by $55 million per year.
Valuations reflect that as SQM trades at 23.5 times forward earnings, but that really isn’t too rich as far as true growth stocks are concerned. SQM has undergone a strong run-up in July and may be vulnerable to a short-term pullback, although it should find support at $34. To capitalize on rising lithium demand while still remaining diversified with fertilizer, go with lithium producer SQM.
http://blogs.forbes.com/investor/2010/07/29/chile-gets-a-charge-from-lithium/
More stocks: AMEL.OB, SQM, JCI, VLNC, ABAT, AONE, HEV, PPO
Chile Gets A Charge From Lithium
Posted by Ron Rowland
With the boom in global demand for alternative-fueled vehicles, now may be a good time to break out your Periodic Table of Elements from science class. It’s time to learn something about lithium.
Represented by the symbol “Li,” lithium is the lightest and least dense of the solid elements. Lithium production has been growing for decades thanks to its use in small batteries. Powering a car with electricity takes more than a few AAA cells, but it can be done. The idea is increasingly popular as oil prices remain historically high.
This is good news for Chile. This slender South American country is the largest lithium producer in the world. It is also good news for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile ADR, often referred to by its English translation of Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile (SQM). The firm is a top holding in the first lithium-specific ETF. Obviously, the boom in lithium demand could be a boon for SQM. Driven by demand for hybrid and electric cars, lithium demand is expected to swell to 250,000 tons annually up from current levels of 100,000 tons.
Wall Street is taking note of the bullish trend. Several analysts think SQM could make its way to $70, well above the $36 area where the stock currently trades. UBS (UBS) analysts put a $73 price target on SQM earlier this year.
Special Offer: Ron Rowland’s All Star Fund Trader offers market-beating model portfolios of the best ETFs and no-load funds for investors. Click here for his latest buys and sells.
SQM plans to invest $350 million to bolster its lithium production. This may lead some investors to look at SQM as a company focused solely on lithium, but that’s not the case. SQM also offers investors significant exposure to increased global food demand. The company is one of Latin America’s top fertilizer producers, competing with the likes of Agrium (AGU) and Potash (POT). The fertilizer exposure highlights the diversity of SQM’s business model. Investors are buying much more than lithium when they purchase SQM shares.
That said, it looks like lithium demand is driving SQM, at least in the short term. Last week, the company said it is talking with several Japanese automakers about their lithium needs. SQM is in what Fox Business News called “deep” discussions with Nissan. A sales agreement with Nissan to supply the Japanese auto giant with 10,000 tons of lithium per year could boost SQM’s top line by $55 million per year.
Valuations reflect that as SQM trades at 23.5 times forward earnings, but that really isn’t too rich as far as true growth stocks are concerned. SQM has undergone a strong run-up in July and may be vulnerable to a short-term pullback, although it should find support at $34. To capitalize on rising lithium demand while still remaining diversified with fertilizer, go with lithium producer SQM.
http://blogs.forbes.com/investor/2010/07/29/chile-gets-a-charge-from-lithium/
More stocks: AMEL.OB, SQM, JCI, VLNC, ABAT, AONE, HEV, PPO
AMEL.OB
SQM
JCI
VLNC
ABAT
AONE
HEV
PPO
Sold all my biofuel stocks and loaded with these Gems!
AMEL.OB
SQM
JCI
VLNC
ABAT
AONE
HEV
PPO
Sold all my biofuel stocks and loaded with these Gems!
Welcome to my new board, after investing in biofuels for years I decided to turn all my resources into Lithium-Ion research. The reason for my change in my investment strategy is the White House and the Auto Manufacturers, all are producing EV cars/trucks with Lithium-Ion Batteries. Here is my current list:
AMEL.OB
SQM
JCI
VLNC
ABAT
AONE
HEV
PPO
Sold all my biofuel stocks and loaded with these Gems!
WLCDF
AMEL.OB
SQM
JCI
VLNC
ABAT
AONE
HEV
PPO
Sold all my biofuel stocks and loaded with these Gems!
I'm in fellows!
AMEL.OB
SQM
JCI
VLNC
ABAT
AONE
HEV
PPO
Sold all my biofuel stocks and loaded with these Gems!
I have added these stocks to my portfolio with TSLA:
AMEL.OB
SQM
JCI
VLNC
ABAT
AONE
HEV
PPO
Sold all my biofuel stocks and loaded with these Gems!
My reasoning is the source for all these new EV's hitting the streets, they will ALL being using Lithium-Ion Batteries.
Great video, should see a nice jump today.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says we’ll see a Tesla-powered Toyota on the road before the Model S, which he keeps saying will arrive in early 2012
Everyone wins in the Toyota-Tesla partnership, but not for the reasons most people think.
The Japanese giant and the Silicon Valley upstart stunned everyone with Thursday’s announcement that they’ll work together on electric vehicles and components. Toyota will buy $50 million worth of stock when Tesla Motors goes public, and it gets a closer look at proven EV tech. Tesla gets a shuttered Toyota factory in Northern California to build the Model S sedan and expert advice on how to engineer and build a mass-market car.
But the biggest thing this deal does for all involved is burnish their images. Toyota reaps a PR bonanza by resurrecting a factory is shuttered last month and investing in green tech. Tesla increases its credibility as it prepares to go public. Having the world’s largest automaker in your corner builds a lot of buzz and goes a long way toward assuring potential investors you’ll deliver on your promises.
The conventional wisdom says Toyota is shaken by the Nissan Leaf and, having bet the farm on hybrids, wants to develop an EV quickly. There’s some validity to that, but the best thing Toyota gets from this deal is great public relations. In addition to seemingly never-ending recalls, Toyota took a lot of heat for closing the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. factory in Fremont, California. Now it’s handing the place over to Tesla and getting credit from the likes of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for helping create green jobs.
“This almost makes them heroes because they found a solution for NUMMI,” says Mike Omotoso, an industry analyst with J.D. Power and Associates.
Both companies say they’ll work together to develop electric vehicles. No one’s offering specifics, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk says we’ll see a Tesla-powered Toyota on the road before the Model S, which he keeps saying will arrive in early 2012. That jibes with industry speculation that Toyota went to Tesla so it could quickly catch up with Nissan, GM and Mitsubishi.
But to suggest Tesla is Toyota’s salvation oversimplifies things. If Toyota decides to jump into the EV market, it has the skills to do so. It dominates the hybrid market, it is developing a plug-in Prius, and it has built electric concepts — most recently the FT-EV concept. It knows electrification.
“Toyota has over 10 years’ experience with hybrids and so it knows motors, controllers and batteries,” Omotoso says. “There’s definitely a lot of know-how in those areas.”
Toyota also has a joint venture with Panasonic to build batteries. Granted, it is using nickel–metal hydride, but the plug-in Prius will use lithium-ion. If Toyota wants to develop an EV quickly, it might put Tesla drivetrains in something like the FT-EV so it can get a program rolling — that’s exactly what Daimler did with the Smart EV. But it’s hard to see Toyota relying on Tesla over the long haul. We’re more likely to see parts making their way from Toyota to Tesla.
“The Model S is going to be ours. We’re building it from the ground up,” says Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes.
Yet it’s a safe bet the S will share components with Toyota or Lexus models. There’s no need for Tesla to source, say, its own brake components or HVAC system when it can raid the Toyota parts bin. Doing so will allow Tesla to tap Toyota’s supply chain, increasing its economies of scale and bringing down the cost of the S, which it says will cost $49,900 after the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
Reyes concedes “the Toyota deal opens up some possibilities” for sharing parts and cutting costs, but says it is too early to speculate on if or when that might happen.
Aaron Bragman, an industry analyst with IHS Global Insight, goes one step further and says the S probably will ride on a Toyota platform, meaning it will share engineering and major components with a current model like the Lexus IS. Omotoso isn’t so sure, noting that Tesla already has done a lot of engineering for the S, and using a Toyota platform might require going back to the drawing board. Of course, we’ve heard this song before — there was speculation last year that the S would use Mercedes parts, if not a platform, after Daimler bought a stake in Tesla.
Whatever the case, the Model S will be built in the former NUMMI factory. The huge plant — a joint venture Toyota and GM launched in 1984 — produced 400,000 cars in 2006. Tesla’s talking about building no more than 20,000 Model S sedans to start (though Musk, as ambitious as ever, promises more models will be coming), so it will occupy a small corner of the factory for now.
“It’s an investment in the future,” Reyes says. “It’s got room for us to grow.”
Reyes says Tesla was drawn to the factory because it’s near Tesla headquarters in Palo Alto and it’s a “turnkey” operation. Toyota shut it down in April, and although the automaker took most of the equipment with it, the fact that it’s an automotive factory will minimize the time Tesla needs to spend prepping it.
“It has everything they’ll need to build cars,” Bragman says.
Another reason NUMMI works well for Tesla: VP of manufacturing Gilbert Passin came to Tesla last year from from Toyota where, among other things, he ran NUMMI.
No word on when Tesla plans to move into the factory, but it has no time to lose if it is to meet its goal of delivering the S by early 2012.
Read More http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/05/toyota-tesla-deal/#ixzz0uQ2PU8hb
Read More http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/05/toyota-tesla-deal/#ixzz0uQ2En5UT
Inside Tesla and Toyota’s deal to co-build the all-electric RAV4
Two months after announcing their informal intention to build an electric vehicle together, Tesla Motors and Toyota have made their relationship official, inking a deal to co-produce an all-electric edition of Toyota’s RAV4 SUV.
According to the companies, two prototypes already exist, and the car could be ready for mass production as soon as 2012 — tying Tesla’s all-electric sedan, the Model S, to market. The new RAV4 will be distributed and sold by Toyota, but Tesla will be providing the secret sauce: its electric powertrain, including the battery pack.
In addition to the tandem-produced car, the formal deal between the two companies includes the joint development of automotive components, manufacturing processes and engineering systems. Most of this will be played out at the 379-acre former-NUMMI automotive plant in Fremont, Calif., which Tesla bought for $42 million at the same time it announced its partnership with Toyota.
For a while, there was doubt that a Toyota-Tesla car was even on the horizon. Shortly after the agreement was announced in May, it became clear that there was no official deal between the two companies to jointly produce a vehicle. Toyota said it would pump $50 million into Tesla upon its IPO (acquiring a 3 percent stake), but that was it. Now, after Tesla’s lucrative public sale, the partnership is forging ahead.
The original RAV4 (pictured above) is an older Toyota model that launched in 2003 and saw lackluster sales. It is one of two electric prototypes Tesla says it will be co-developing with Toyota — the other will be based on Toyota’s Lexus RX, according to an inside source. The plan is to first develop a fleet of the cars within the next year for testing before taking them to market. That said, there’s no guarantee they will actually make it into showrooms, at least yet.
The same source says that Toyota may be working independently on an all-electric version of its Corolla, which isn’t as well suited to Tesla’s powertrain systems, particularly the weight of the battery packs involved.
[Update: Referring back to the official press release, a Tesla spokesperson said that the two companies' current plans are limited to the RAV4.]
The cars Toyota and Tesla are partnering on are expected to have a driving range of at least 150 miles on a single charge, and cost around $40,000 — competitive with Tesla’s forthcoming Model S, but not so competitive with the cheaper Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf, both of which are coming out later this year and slated to cost around $30,000 before rebates.
If both cars do become a reality, Tesla won’t have to worry about taking advantage of the Fremont factory’s capacity. Before the official deal to build cars together, analysts wondered whether the electric car maker would be able to afford the facility — capable of churning out 500,000 cars a year — especially with its plans to make only 20,000 Model S sedans there a year. Now this future is starting to look more certain.
The development seems to have had an impact on both companies’ stock prices. Tesla (TSLA) jumped 6.15 percent today to close at $21.91 a share, rising above its initial public offering price of $19, and coming almost level with its impressive $23.89 first-day close. The recent news clearly improved investor confidence.
Toyota’s (TM) share price eked up 0.66 percent to $71.22 today.
Also today, Tesla announced that it has expanded its Roadster’s footprint, delivering units to Japan, Hong Kong, Poland, Turkey and Canada. About 1,200 of the cars have been sold in 28 countries to date.
http://green.venturebeat.com/2010/07/19/tesla-toyota-rav4/
Tesla Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation Intend to Work Jointly on EV Development, TMC to Invest in Tesla
May 20, 2010 - Palo Alto, California, U.S.A. - Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) today announced that they intend to cooperate on the development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support.
The two companies intend to form a team of specialists to further those efforts. TMC has agreed to purchase $50 million of Tesla’s common stock issued in a private placement to close immediately subsequent to the closing of Tesla’s currently planned initial public offering.
“I sensed the great potential of Tesla’s technology and was impressed by its dedication to monozukuri (Toyota’s approach to manufacturing),” said TMC President Akio Toyoda. “Through this partnership, by working together with a venture business such as Tesla, Toyota would like to learn from the challenging spirit, quick decision-making, and flexibility that Tesla has. Decades ago, Toyota was also born as a venture business. By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that ‘venture business spirit,’ and take on the challenges of the future.”
“Toyota is a company founded on innovation, quality, and commitment to sustainable mobility. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Toyota would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla,” said Tesla CEO and cofounder Elon Musk. “We look forward to learning and benefiting from Toyota’s legendary engineering, manufacturing, and production expertise.”
TMC has, since its foundation in 1937, operated under the philosophy of “contributing to the society through the manufacture of automobiles,” and made cars that satisfy its many customers around the world. TMC introduced the first-generation Prius hybrid vehicle in 1997, and produced approximately 2.5 million hybrids in the twelve years since. Late last year, TMC started lease of Prius Plug-in Hybrids, which can be charged using an external power source such as a household electric outlet. The company also plans to introduce EVs into the market by 2012.
Tesla’s goal is to produce increasingly affordable electric cars to mainstream buyers – relentlessly driving down the cost of EVs. Palo Alto, CA-based Tesla has delivered more than 1000 Roadsters to customers in North America, Europe and Asia. Tesla designs and manufactures EVs and EV powertrain components. It is currently the only automaker in the U.S. that builds and sells highway-capable EVs in serial production. The Tesla Roadster accelerates faster than most sports cars yet produces no emissions. Tesla service rangers make house calls to service Roadsters.
CONTACT:
Tesla Motors
+1 650 681-5452
(Khobi Brooklyn, kbrooklyn@teslamotors.com )
Toyota Motor Corporation
+81 3 3817-9161/9158
(Paul Nolasco, Mieko Iwasaki)
http://www.toyota.com/about/news/corporate/2010/05/20-4-Tesla.html
Why The Toyota - Tesla Deal Works
Toyota Motor Corp’s $50 million investment in electric sports car maker Tesla Motors is an investment in both electric car technology and much needed public relations.
In one stroke, the company has made its boldest move to date toward putting full electric vehicles on American roads in addition to giving a new lease on life to one of America's most celebrated auto plants. The investment, quite small for cash-rich Toyota, was made by President Toyoda after the company head dined at the home of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and drove the Tesla electric roadster.
Tesla is a maker of electric sports cars, but a niche one at that. The company has sold over 1,000 $109,000 roadsters worldwide so far, with plans to build a second, lower-priced car with the idea that it can eventually reach about 20,000 sales a year. Toyota’s investment in the company, which adds up to about a 2.5% stake, is a shot in the arm for financially struggling California, as well as giving Toyota a new story-line for the public to focus on after months of bad headlines surrounding product recalls and government investigations.
As part of the deal with Toyota, Tesla has purchased the New United Motor Manufacturing (NUMMI) factory in Fremont Ca., which Toyota recently closed, to build the lower-priced, $49,500, luxury electric car it hopes will give it sales volume and staying power. Toyota had already let go over 4500 workers who had been making Toyota Matrix cars and Tacoma pickup trucks, an unpopular move that preceded the automaker’s recall woes.
Toyota's Image Problem
Since last fall, Toyota has been embroiled in a public relations firestorm related to the recall of millions of vehicles for acceleration and braking problems. The company faced scrutiny by Federal regulators, paid a $16.4 million fine and perhaps for the first time in their history, sprouted the seeds of doubt in the minds of millions of American consumers who came to trust Toyota products more than the domestics.
If Tesla’s sales volume goals materialize, officials say the plant could eventually employ 1,000 workers, many of whom would be expected to be hired from the experienced pool of workers put out of work when the factory closed last month. That move alone is worth a good deal to Toyota in the state of California, although it's unlikely that the plant will recover all 4500 jobs in the near term.
The NUMMI plant has arguably been one of the most significant auto plants of the last 25 years because it was operated as a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota, starting in 1984. It was Toyota’s first foray into manufacturing in the U.S., at the time a controversial move for GM, which was facing up to the mounting competition from Japan. The factory, previously one of GM’s worst and most notorious factories for poor quality and labor relations, has been the subject of several case studies on the topics ranging from worker re-training to meshing U.S. and Asian cultures into one enterprise.
GM pulled out of the venture last year when it went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and killed off its Pontiac brand. NUMMI had also been making the Pontiac Vibe at the plant.
As workers are rehired at the plant for production, which is expected to begin in 2012, it is an open question as to whether the workers will be United Auto Workers union workers. Tesla is not bound by contracts to use union workers. The UAW workers that had been employed at NUMMI had, as part of the grand experiment of the GM-Toyota joint venture, agreed to much more flexible work rules than were found at other UAW plants.
“Our union’s hope is that this venture will give first hiring preference to former NUMMI employees who are already trained and highly skilled,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. But actual talks between union representatives and Tesla will be down the road.
A Hedge Against A Bigger Market?
The move by Toyota is interesting beyond the public relations value. Toyota already has more production in the U.S. than it can use now given industry sales running at around 11.5 million a year, down from the 16 million rate just a few years ago. The company has a money losing plant in San Antonio, Texas, and a plant it stopped production on in Mississippi. By investing in Tesla, say officials with knowledge of the deal, it gives Toyota an opportunity to re-use NUMMI capacity at a later date if it needs more manufacturing capability, especially for electric and hybrid vehicles. Most analysts expect the U.S. auto industry to rebound back to 15 million vehicles a year by 2015 or sooner, so having production at NUMMI to go back to as a Tesla partner could be advantageous.
“This is a very inexpensive move for Toyota that seems to have the potential to pay off in many ways down the road—politically, image wise and even from the standpoint of leaving options for future production open,” says Dennis Keene, a Los Angeles-based independent marketing consultant.
Tesla is receiving $465 million in loans from the U.S. government for investment in the new model and the plant. Additionally, Tesla is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) of stock to the public to raise capital, and the Toyota investment and co-venture will help the IPO. “This move by Toyota is probably worth a lot more than $50 million to Tesla in terms of the company’ credibility as it tries to sell its stock offering,” says auto industry analyst Stephanie Brinley of AutoPacific Group.
Will Toyota's Electric Strategy Change?
The move is curious, however, because Tesla’s recipe for achieving electric power has traditionally been via lithium-ion batteries, a technology that is similar to what is used for cell-phones and laptop computers. Toyota has not been a big proponent of this technology as a solution for electric vehicles.
Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda said Toyota is still curious about pursuing lithium-ion technology, and views Tesla as an ideal partner to sort out how effective the technology will be from the standpoint of cost and performance.
"I spent time at NUMMI and learned much about working in America there, so I feel a sense of attachment (to the plant)," Toyoda said. He also said in a statement that through the venture, Toyota hopes to learn from Tesla's "challenging spirit, quick decision-making and flexibility."
Toyota is not the only big-name investor in Tesla. German automaker Daimler--parent company of Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach—last year took a 10% stake in Tesla. The purpose of the investment was to co-develop electric technology for small cars, especially the smart, with Tesla.
Competition in the electric vehicle market will heat up over the coming years. Nissan is hitting the market this fall with the full EV Leaf car, and Chinese automaker BYD Auto is setting up an operation in California to launch full EVs using lithium ion by the end of the year. BMW AG’s MINI division has been testing full EVs in several markets. All that activity, which includes those auto makers working with local and state governments and utility companies for recharging infrastructure, is paving the way for other automakers, like Tesla, to piggy-back those efforts with more EVs.
The only question remaining amidst all this activity around electric vehicles is whether the pubic is going to want them when they finally show up in dealerships.
Chris,
I guarantee you if a Lexus was coming down your street at 20 MPH you will hear NO engine sounds, just tire sounds over the pavement.
One of the reasons I bought Tesla stock in National Security, made in America, does not run on foreign oil.
My two best stocks for 2010:
TSLA & SYNM.
Your worried about the no sound from electric cars? Please give us a break, most small 4cyl cars make little sounds. Children playing do not hear most cars anyways.
People living in the big city will love to "not hear" the auto sounds.
When you find a valid problem please let us know.
I think Tesla has something "other" auto manufacters don't have, the backing of Silicon Valley, both Google partners have invested in TSLA.
What about Tesla's deals with Chrysler and Mercedes? Are they moving forward with all three companies or just Toyota?
Well, I dropped another $35,000 on Tesla after hearing they new partnership with Toyota to build Rav4 and Lexus Rv's.