Bosch Getting Electric Car Executive from Daimler; China Sold 6.67GWh EV Batteries in First Half of 2016; New Chinese EV Startup WM Motor Got $1 Billion in Initial Fundraising;
Bosch Getting Electric Car Executive from Daimler
According to Reuters, sources revealed that auto parts giant Bosch is hiring Harald Kroeger who is the head of electrics, electronics and E-drive at Daimler. Harald is behind Daimler’s electric motor and electronics development, as well as battery development.
Bosch is increasing its presence in electric self-driving field. Google’s autonomous car uses Bosch’s electric powertrain while Tesla uses Bosch’s driver assistance systems. Bosch expects 16.3 million plug-in EVs per year by 2025.
China Sold 6.67GWh EV Batteries in First Half of 2016
According to D1EV, battery makers in China reached sales of 6.67 GWh in the EV section in the first half of this year. The sales have gained a 145% increase from the same period of last year. In 2015, the total EV battery sales in China were 15.7 GWh.
This year, lithium iron phosphate is the dominating cathode material for EV batteries, accounting for 4.9 GWh, or 74%. It is followed by lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, with 1.53 GWh and 23% of total sales.
BYD, CATL and Guoxuan are the top suppliers – 3.72 GWh and 56% of total sales.
New Chinese EV Startup WM Motor Got $1 Billion in Initial Fundraising
According to Bloomberg, 1-year-old EV startup WM Motor in China raised $1 billion in the first round of fundraising. The company is founded by Freeman Shen, a former executive at Geely who is behind the Volvo acquisition.
It is pretty rare for startups to have $1 billion evaluations during initial fundraising. Companies which did are so-called unicorns. Tesla only raised $7.5 million in 2004.
The name WM comes from weltmeister in German, meaning global champion. WM’s plan is to launch the first car in 2018 and achieve 100 thousand cars per year in 3 years after. The company is targeting mass market.