International Energy Agency Publishes Global EV Outlook 2016; Fortune and Tesla Disagree on the Materiality Topic; China Creates a National Innovation Center for EV Battery
International Energy Agency Publishes Global EV Outlook 2016
The report is available on International Energy Agency (IEA) website. It points out that 1 million electric cars were passed in 2015 (1.26 million to close the year). 1% of market share for EVs has been reached in 7 countries, including Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, France, China and the UK.
Moreover, the battery cost has decreased by a factor of four since 2008. Ranges of over 300 km are expected from EV makers, which are believed to be encouraging for EV development.
The Electric Vehicle Initiative has a goal (20 by 20) of reaching 20 million EVs globally by 2020. The Paris Declaration targets for 100 million EVs globally by 2030.
Fortune and Tesla Disagree on the Materiality Topic
On May 7, a fatal Model S crash happened while the car’s Autopilot was on. On May 16, Tesla told the government about the accident, according to Reuters. On May 18, Tesla started a new stock sell.
Fortune published an article saying that the accident “was a material event” and followed it up with another article titled “Tesla Said an Autopilot Crash Would Be ‘Material’ Before Elon Musk Said It Wasn’t”.
Tesla’s response to Fortune was later put online by Fortune. In the response, Tesla said “Fortune’s article, “Tesla Said an Autopilot Crash Would Be ‘Material’ Before Elon Musk Said It Wasn’t,” is fundamentally incorrect.”
China Creates a National Innovation Center for EV Battery
According to People.cn, a national innovation center for EV battery was established in Beijing. The center is the first of manufacturing innovation centers initiated by the “Made in China 2025” project.
The center will be operated in “company+partnership” mode, integrating resources from government, auto industry and academy. 3 billion yuan (or $448 million) will be used for R&D between now and 2020. The center plans to improve EV battery performance and catch up with Japan and Korea by 2020.