Tesla Charging Dominance Grows, Lucid's Lucrative Aston Martin Deal, Lordstown Succumbs And More: Biggest EV Stories Of The Week

The broader market momentum lifted most electric vehicle stocks higher this week, although some company-specific developments weighed down on some stocks. Market leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA rebounded from the previous week, as traders began pricing in a solid second-quarter deliveries report.

Here are the key events that happened in the EV space during the week:

Tesla Charging Standard Adoption Swells, Cybertruck Updates And More: Swedish luxury automaker Volvo Cars, owned by Geely Automobile Holdings Limited GELYF, and its subsidiary Polestar Automotive Holding UK Plc PSNY, announced this week that they would adopt Tesla's proprietary North American Charging Standard. Volkswagen AG VWAGY is reportedly mulling an adoption of the NACS as well.

Electrify America, a U.S. electric vehicle DC fast charging station network, and the Society of Autonomous Engineers, a professional association, are also adopting the standard. Legacy automakers, as well as EV startups, have been making a beeline to Tesla’s NACS, and the partnerships have been seen as a win-win proposition.

In other news, Tesla is planning to pause production of its Model Y at its Giga Texas at the beginning of July for factory upgrades, Teslarati reported, citing an observer at the plant. Some staff members are reportedly being reassigned to production of the Cybertruck.

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest additionally sold Tesla shares worth about $28.2 million this week.

See also: Best Electric Vehicle Stocks

Lordstown Files For Chapter 11: After a longstanding clash with its manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Manufacturing Company Limited HNHPF, Lordstown Motors, Inc. RIDE said this week that it would file for bankruptcy protection. The company also unveiled plans to sell its Endurance pickup truck and related assets. Lordstown said the filing would help it take on Hon Hai, popularly known as Foxconn, alleging that the latter had gone back on many of its financial commitments.

Lucid Secures Deal With Aston Martin: After raising fresh capital, luxury EV maker Lucid Group, Inc. LCID has zeroed in on a lucrative revenue-earning opportunity. The Newark, California-based EV maker said it forged a long-term strategic partnership with the British luxury automaker under which the former would provide the latter powertrain and battery systems. The contract is worth more than $450 million.

Nikola Avoids Delisting: Struggling EV truck maker Nikola Corp. NKLA now has at least one headache sorted out. The company announced that it received a written notice from the Nasdaq that the company had regained compliance with the Nasdaq listing standard, which requires companies to maintain a minimum bid price of $1 per share.

The stock has been gaining ground since mid-June, amid the company’s efforts to raise its authorized share capital, which would allow Nikola to raise financing through common stock offering. Nikola also announced a more sharpened vision, as the company inches closer to the manufacturing of a fuel-cell energy truck.

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Toyota, Hyundai Face Setback In Europe: Legacy automakers Toyota Motor Corp. TM and Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF were targeted by the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority, which claimed that both companies had misled customers around charging speeds. The agency prohibited the companies from running any related ads.

Read Next: Tesla’s NACS Charging Revolution Explained: Who’s In And Who’s Out So Far

EV Stock Performances for The Week:

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