The stars of this year’s Munich Auto Show were the EV king Tesla Inc TSLA and its China rival BYD Company Limited BYDDY who even dethroned the legendary Volkswagen VWAGY as the country’s best-selling EV brand. The world's largest EV makers are slowly becoming direct competitors outside China as well as BYD came to IAA Mobility with a strong EV lineup of six vehicles. Meanwhile, in the U.S., an innovative tonneau cover manufacturer, Worksport Ltd WKSPWKSPW just reported that it has found a top-tier solar panel provider who will help it bring its highly anticipated SOLIS solar-powered tonneau cover to life, possibly extending the range of future electric pickups and empowering even their conventional counterparts with portable solar power.
Worksport Continues Its Journey Of Blending Excellence With Sustainable Solutions
Worksport chose its SOLIS partner for being renowned for its state-of-the-art solar panels and technology, adhering to the company’s rigorous environmental and structural standards that promise exemplary quality. These panels are designed to withstand wind, water, direct impact and extreme weather conditions, and their resilience has been proven. With corrosion-resistant structures, long lifespan of marine-engineered photovoltaic module, they are also UV-resistant while offering superior flexibility and extended durability.
Fueled by encouraging revenue figures as it launched hard-folding tonneau cover production at the company’s U.S. facility, Worksport continues to enhance production line efficiency, as it plans to add more assembly lines. Worksport CEO Steven Rossi highlighted that the making of the SOLIS solar-powered cover is not just about bringing a groundbreaking product to life, but about making an important step towards a greener future of transportation. With rigorous testing underway to ensure the cover’s unparalleled quality and performance, investors can expect further updates. By bringing the SOLIS solar-powered tonneau cover and the portable battery system COR to the market, Worksport is in for a strong position in the sustainable automotive solution space. Hyundai’s North American design, technology, and engineering division already expressed its interest to Worksport in gaining a customized version of this proprietary technology and pickup enhancement.
Tesla Lowered Prices Once Again While Debuting A Revamped Model 3
Tesla made a rare appearance at this year’s Munich Automotive Show, as it usually reveals new information about its vehicles during its own events. But even an updated version of its best-selling Model 3 that comes with a bigger range outshined legacy automakers.
Tesla launched a revamped version of Model 3 in China on September 1st. It also slashed prices of Model S and Model X both in China and in the U.S. Perhaps the biggest change will be the lowered production costs that would empower Tesla to boost its margins, giving it more space to revive sales with further price cuts.
Meanwhile, Tesla continues to make a few Cybertrucks a day at its U.S. facility in Austin, but it is still unknown when mass production is scheduled to kick off. Although it teased with a next-generation EV without showing any visuals, even if it brings out a cheaper EV, Tesla it will be facing intensified competition, especially from BYD that holds a technological EV edge over the most powerful German automakers as it is making more efficient batteries and at lower prices.
BYD Came To IAA Mobility Show With An Impressive Lineup
BYD made its strategic priority of capturing the European market more than clear during the show in Munich as it presented as many as six models: the Seal, Song Plus EV, Atto 3, Dolphin, Han and Denza D9. Also, it made the Seal from the Ocean range officially available in Europe, a model that is seen as one of the strongest rival to Tesla Model 3.
Interestingly, BYD is now a frenemy of Tesla as it now supplies batteries to the EV king as it continues to grow its ever-growing lineup while Tesla has only four models with the Model Y making a bulk of its sales.
BYD continues to ramp up its EV and battery production, with more plants in China coming on line during the remaining half of the year and its EV facility in Thailand beginning production next year. Besides Vietnam and Brazil, it is supposedly also looking into Europe to build its EVs in Germany, France or Spain as of 2025. In late August, BYD reported booming Q2 profit and record August sales as it confidendly goes for its 2023 sales target of 3 million vehicles. As it continues its global expansion, BYD made it clear that it is heading for the European EV crown.
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