Tesla Price Cuts In China Spooks Investors, Lucid Skids To Record Low Amid Falling Q4 Production, XPeng's Flying Car And More: Biggest EV Stories Of The Week

Electric vehicle stocks fell across the board for a second straight week as risk aversion intensified on Wall Street after the December consumer price inflation report set off worries that the Federal Reserve could delay rate hikes. Market leader Tesla, Inc. TSLA declined in all but one session of the week.

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

Tesla’s Model 3 Refresh Launch In North America, China Price Cuts And More: About four-and-a-half months after Tesla launched its revamped Model 3 EV in China, the refreshed model made its way into North America this week. Two variants of the refreshed Model 3, namely the dual-motor long-range and rear-wheel drive, are now available for sale. The former has an estimated EPA range of 341 miles, up from the 333-mile-range for the comparable legacy model, and is priced at $38,990, while the RWD variant has a price tag of $45,990.

The Elon Musk-led company, meanwhile, spooked investors by downwardly adjusting prices in China even as investors began to discount stable prices in the new year. The company took down the prices of its Model 3 electric vehicles by 2% to 5% despite sales momentum picking up in the country. Future Fund's Gary Black said that analysts may decrease their estimate of Tesla's 2024 earnings by $1 billion or 25-30 cents per share in response.

In another negative headline, Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. HTZ made a U-turn by shifting its allegiance back to gas-powered vehicles. In a filing with the SEC, the company said it decided to sell about 20,000 EVs from its U.S. fleet, or about one-third of the global EV fleet and reinvest a portion of the proceeds to buy ICE vehicles. This is an about-face from its stance in 2021, when it agreed to add 100,000 Tesla Model 3s to its fleet. Tesla went on to add Model Y to the order earlier this year.

Also, Tesla reportedly said it was suspending production in the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg as the strife in the Red Sea resulted in considerably longer transportation times and created a gap in the supply chains. ”Due to a lack of components, we are therefore forced to suspend vehicle production,” the company reportedly said in a statement.

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Lucid Q4 Production, Deliveries Drop Y-o-Y: Struggling luxury EV maker Lucid Group, Inc. LCID said its full-quarter production and deliveries came in at 8,428 units and 6,001 units, respectively. The company previously guided to a full-year production of 8,000 to 8,500 units, trimmed down from the 10,000 units it had estimated earlier.

Fourth-quarter production and deliveries came in at 2,391 units and 1,734 units, respectively. This marks a decline from the year-ago figures of 3,493 units and 1,932 units, respectively.

XPeng Flaunts Flying Car: Chinese EV startup XPeng, Inc. XPEV AeroHT, which is planning an electric vertical takeoff and landing—  or eVTOL — flying car and a modular flying car, showed off the former at the Consumer Electronics Show 2024.

The company said it is opening pre-order reservations for its modular flying car in China in the fourth quarter.

Canoo Adds Manufacturing Assets At Throwaway Price: Lifestyle EV maker Canoo, Inc. GOEV said this week it acquired manufacturing assets of an EV manufacturer at an 80% discount of the estimated value. The assets included a cache of manufacturing assets, from robotics to controls processing equipment that will be used to build vehicle cabins.

”These newly purchased assets will be used in Oklahoma to drive Canoo's manufacturing strategy and create advanced manufacturing jobs in the state of Oklahoma,” the company said. Investors, though, weren’t impressed and sent its stock down by about 15% during the week.

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Honda Unveils ‘0’ Series Concept EVs: At the CES, Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. HMC debuted its ”0” series EV concept models, Saloon and Space-Hub. ”Models in the Honda 0 Series will feature a new design philosophy bringing together the environment, society, and users,” the company said. “This includes the use of sustainable materials and evoking emotion through design.”

The company hinted at a potential North American launch of these EVs in 2026.

The KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF KARS ended Friday’s session down 1.48% at $23.29, according to Benzinga Pro data. For the week, the ETF fell -4.10%.

Read Next: ‘Credits To The Tesla Team:’ Elon Musk Applauds His Workers As EV Giant Eclipses Legacy Automakers’ Sales Growth Over 8 Years

EV Stock Performances For Week

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