After announcing its electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary back in March this year, Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun during an investors’ meeting has confirmed that its EV production is well on track and that the mass production of Xiaomis’ first car will begin in the first half of 2024.
Xiaomi is planning to invest $10 billion in its EV arm in the next 10 years and has also acquired DeepMotion – a firm that works on self-driving technologies. The company has been hiring employees for its new EV business on a very rapid pace and is also considering to acquire Borgward for production of electric vehicles.
Zang Ziyuan, who is the director of Xiaomi’s international marketing department, also shared the latest development on his verified Weibo account. China’s EV market is already crowded and Xiaomi will face off against its rivals such as Nio, Xpeng, Tesla and many others in the Chinese market. Xiaomi has reported that its shares jumped by nearly 5.4% after the confirmation of the latest development.

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Japanese automakers expect vehicle production to be cut by at least 1.3 million units in fiscal year 2021 due to the global semiconductor chip shortage and the c0vid-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia. According to 8 major automakers in Japan, the cut is equivalent to 5% of automakers’ total annual production in fiscal year 2020 when they produced 23.35 million vehicles.
On 15th October, Toyota announced that it would cut global production in November by between 100,000 and 150,000 units. The automaker has announced several production cuts since August, lowering its full-year production plan from the initial 9.3 million units to around 9 million units.
Honda also lowered its forecast for global sales for the current fiscal year by 150,000 units to 4.85 million units. The company has announced a series of domestic production cuts since August, which may further lower its sales volume forecast. Although Honda has said it is trying to minimize the impact, but the situation will continue to be uncertain.
Suzuki also expects the impact of the semiconductor shortage to continue throughout the current fiscal year, and expects to reduce production by 350,000 units, the largest among the 8 Japanese automakers. Nissan will also reduce its global production for October and November by about 30% from the planned level. The company said it could not secure the parts needed to assemble finished vehicles due to a shortage of semiconductors and stalled production of auto parts in Southeast Asia. Nissan expects to cut production by 250,000 units in total during this fiscal year, however according to company executives, there was a strong possibility that production would fall further due to the pandemic situation in Southeast Asia.
Since the second half of last year, USA, Japan and China have seen rebounds in automobile demand, which had dipped following the outbreak of the C0VID-19 pandemic. If the production cuts continue, Japanese automakers might miss out on the bump in demand. The automobile sector is a key industry that accounts for about 20% of all domestic manufacturing shipments. From steel manufacturing to parts makers, a wide range of industries are involved in the production of vehicles, supporting Japan’s manufacturing sector. Analysts believe large-scale production cuts will have a negative impact on the performance and employment situation of such companies, potentially putting the brakes on the economy’s pandemic recovery.

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Shares of Tesla jumped as much as 8% to new all-time-highs on Monday after Hertz said it acquired 100,000 Model 3 vehicles from the company.
That means by the end of 2022, a Tesla Model 3 will be an option for car-renters at Hertz locations across the country and in select cities in Europe.
Hertz's purchase is reportedly worth $4.2 billion for Tesla, suggesting few discounts were offered to Hertz in the deal. Rental vehicle companies are usually able to secure a sizable discount from automakers when purchasing such a large fleet of new vehicles.
Those usual discounts were likely off the table for Hertz given that Tesla is struggling to keep up with demand for its vehicles due to production shortfalls hampered by supply chain disruptions and semiconductor shortages.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said Tesla getting an order of this magnitude "highlights the broader EV adoption underway in our opinion as part of this oncoming green tidal wave now hitting the US," according to a Monday note.
Hertz is now set to operate the world's largest EV rental fleet just months after it emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy. The rental company said it hired NFL quarterback Tom Brady to headline a campaign highlighting the rollout of its Tesla-powered electric fleet, which will represent 20% of its overall vehicle fleet.
"The new Hertz is going to lead the way as a mobility company, starting with the largest EV rental fleet in North America and a commitment to grow our EV fleet," Hertz interim CEO Mark Fields said.
The move from Hertz adds to the momentum building for Tesla stock in recent weeks. The stock benefited from record profits and revenue revealed in its third-quarter earnings report last week and is now within reach of a $1 trillion valuation. Tesla's market valuation stood at about $975 billion in Monday trades.

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source: Businessinsider