Nissan Wants to Sell Its Stake in Batterymaker AESC; Tesla Released 2016 Q2 Financial Results; Straddling Electric Bus Took Road Demonstration in China
Nissan Wants to Sell Its Stake in Batterymaker AESC
According to Reuters, Sources indicated that Nissan was talking to companies including Panasonic regarding the possible transaction of its 51% stake in the batterymaker.
The Nissan/NEC joint venture supplies batteries to Nissan LEAF. It was reported that Nissan was switching to use batteries from LG Chem. Nissan’s alliance Renault uses LG Chem as well.
The scale of EV sales has not met expectation, which keeps battery cost high. Purchasing batteries from other suppliers would be lower cost.
Nissan commented that the talk of AESC transaction “is speculation, and is not based on any announcement by us”.
Tesla Released 2016 Q2 Financial Results
The results were released on Wednesday. 18,345 cars were produced in Q2, a 43% increase from the same period of last year. The company is targeting 50,000 deliveries for the second half of the year.
Non-GAAP Q2 revenue was $1.6 billion, a 31% increase from the same period of last year. Non-GAAP loss was $150 million, or $1.06 per share, versus $0.59 loss per share expected by analysts.
Tesla expects a 30% increase in 2016 non-GAAP operating expenses and 2016 capital expenditures of about $2.25 billion, largely related to Model 3 production plan.
Straddling Electric Bus Took Road Demonstration in China
According to NY Times, the prototype bus drove on the street of Qinhugngdao in China on Aug 2. It is 72-ft long and 26-ft wide, and has open space as high as 16-ft at the bottom to allow vehicles to pass. The bus is made by Transit Elevated Bus.
A full bus in the future would be capable of carrying as many as 1,200 people on board. It is powered by electricity – either through intermittent charging at the stops or through power lines. The technology is intended to address traffic congestion and save energy.