Hyundai is spinning off Ioniq into a standalone EV brand. The automaker will launch a variety of vehicles under the Ioniq banner, including a midsize crossover in 2021 (Ioniq 5), a sports sedan in 2022 (Ioniq 6), and a large crossover (Ioniq 7) in early 2024.

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• Hyundai hopes to sell one million battery-electric vehicles in 2025, about 10% of the global market share for EVs.
• In 2015, Hyundai spun off its Genesis brand into its own luxury nameplate.
• Shares of Hyundai soared 20% following the news, reaching $37.82, as of press time.
• Trevor Milton, chairman of Nikola Corp., said he would like to cooperate with Hyundai, adding that he twice made proposals to the automaker but was rejected.
• Other traditional automakers, like GM, have been encouraged to spin off their EV brands into standalone brands.

Nikola Corp. has received an order for 2,500 electric garbage trucks from Republic Services. The vehicles will be capable of traveling 150 miles loaded on a single charge while carrying "1,200 garbage pails."

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• Production of the vehicles is slated to start in 2023 at Nikola’s future facility in Coolidge, Arizona. The company hopes to test the vehicles in early 2022.
• Republic Services is considering bumping up the order to 5,000 trucks. It said that although the EV vehicles cost more than the combustion engine versions, lower maintenance and usage costs may save the company money over time.
• Nikola chairman Trevor Milton said the trucks will cost under $500,000, which compares with around $300,000 for a traditional garbage truck.

Xpeng Motors has filed an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. The automaker will sell 429,846,136 Class B ordinary shares and an undisclosed number of Class A ordinary shares. It plans to raise $100m through the filing, although that figure may change.

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• According to the company’s IPO prospectus, Xpeng considers potential misconduct by its employees as a risk factor. In March 2019, Tesla sued Guangzhi Cao, a former Autopilot engineer, who reportedly stole source code for Xpeng.
• Other risk factors in Xpeng’s prospectus: R&D efforts may not yield expected results, the company admits it faces challenges as a new entrant in the EV space. The document also notes that demand for EVs may be cyclical.
• JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Credit Suisse are serving as underwriters in the IPO.
• The automaker raised $500m in a Series C+ round of funding that included investments from Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse, and Aspex, among others.

Drivers of the Ford Mustang Mach-E can choose to listen to engine noises inside the cabin. The automaker is adding the feature to give drivers the “Mustang experience,” as the iconic line of sports cars is known for their performance engines and quick acceleration times.

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• The engine sounds will give drivers the auditory experience of revving the engine as they push the accelerator.
• To produce the sounds, the EV will connect the vehicle’s torque and power to the car’s sound system. The sounds will not be heard outside the car.
• The Mustang Mach-E starts at $44,000 and is slated for release later this year.

Despite a pending merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, PSA Group still plans to enter the North American market around 2023. PSA plans to re-launch the Peugeot brand in the U.S, after having exited the market in 1991.

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• In 2018, PSA began to re-emerge in the U.S. with the rollout of the Free2Move car-sharing program in Washington, D.C. According to the company, the service has now has 10,000 users.
• PSA plans to embrace the traditional, franchise retail model, but will be a “digital first” operation, with a focus on generating profits for dealers.
• The Fiat Chrysler-PSA merger is expected to close in 2021. The combined entity will be called Stellantis.
• PSA Group CEO suggested in late July that automakers had to do more to cut the cost of EVs.

Livent CEO Paul Graves said EV makers will need to pay more for lithium to prevent future supply crunches of the mineral. Livent is a major lithium provider, which is used in the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power most EVs.

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• A lithium oversupply has pushed prices down by about 10%. Lithium producers have put expansion projects on hold as a result.
• Graves has previously said the company is looking to acquire lithium projects in Australia and Argentina.

Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra is looking for partners for its electric vehicle unit, Mahindra Electric. The company is looking for strategic or financial investors for the unit and could potentially seek a deal to collaborate and share resources with other automakers.

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• Mahindra & Mahindra is reportedly raising $100m for EV development.
• By 2030, India wants all vehicles on the country’s roads to be electric. It will be a huge challenge, considering there are over 250m vehicles in the country.
• Mahindra’s Pininfarina unit unveiled a $2m all-electric supercar in March.

YOUR TAKE: The Cadillac Lyriq

Last week, Cadillac unveiled its Tesla competitor, the Lyriq SUV. Here’s what some of you thought about the vehicle…

Greg B: On Lyric, not competitively priced for range.

Joe W: The front end of the Lyriq looks like a Toyota rip off. Both of them are hideously ugly.

Let me know what you think about the Lyriq by replying to this email and I'll include your comments in a future issue!

QUICK HITS 

• A prototype of Faraday Future's 2016 FF91 is up for auction. The startup has yet to make a production vehicle. 
• Ken Block will be racing in an all-electric Ford Fiesta. 
• Tesla paid about $100m for the land that its Texas Gigafactory will reside on. 
• According to Inside EVs, Tesla is limiting Supercharging at 120 kW in Europe. 
• Tesla is reportedly creating a home energy bundle that packages a Powerwall solar storage unit with a Tesla home charging station. 
• The fittest athletes in the world swear by CBD. See what they're using here. *

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