Tesla, chips and China: The auto storylines to watch in 2022
BNN Bloomberg
Sizing up Musk’s new plant and semiconductor supplies
The days after New Year’s are all about looking ahead — we’ll get to that — but I have to start 2022 by calling out an unrealized resolution for 2021.
Tesla’s German factory still isn’t up and running, even though Elon Musk predicted in October the facility near Berlin would churn out Model Ys before the year was over.
To be fair, this wasn’t entirely up to Musk. Local authorities have yet to give the project the final green light, delaying Tesla’s European expansion just as its local rivals step on the accelerator.
Stellantis yesterday announced deals to develop software with Amazon and sell its Ram ProMaster electric delivery vehicle to the online retailer. Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz on Monday unveiled a battery-powered prototype that can drive more than 620 miles per charge, while Volkswagen last month allocated some US$100 billion to EV and software development over the next half decade, the German giant’s biggest such budget yet.
Tesla has built a sizable lead in mass-producing and selling EVs, but 2022 may well be the year when traditional automakers try to catch up in earnest.
Here are some other storylines I’ll be watching this year:
