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EV Canada Newsletter: Canada sales pitch to Japanese EV manufacturers, Electric UTV, is Tesla's quality dropping?

Weekly Recap Issue #24 - Tuesday, July 5th, 2022

Hey there! Thank you for checking out this weeks issue of the EV Canada Newsletter. I hope everyone had an amazing Canada Day weekend and were able to spend time with your loved ones!

Canada

Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will be making a sales trip to entice Japanese automakers to come to Canada.

Champagne says that Canada’s abilities in the automotive and mining sectors is working to bring more companies to Canada where they can establish manufacturing of EVs and the batteries that power them.

Earlier this year, EV manufacturers and battery companies announced more than $13 billion in new investments in the EV manufacturing industry in Canada, including batteries and associated components, buses and electric cars.

According to Global News, Champagne is in Japan this week to meet with the heads of several Japanese automakers that do not have a Canadian manufacturing presence, including Mitsubishi, Nissan and Subaru.

Champagne says the sales pitch is highlight that Canada has the skilled workforce, the raw materials and the stability they desire to help reduce supply chain issues.

While Champagne is also meeting with Honda and Toyota, both of which have retooling plants in Canada so they can make electric vehicles, the meetings with the others are different, he says.

“If you talk to people who have an established footprint in Canada it’s different, because they’ve already invested,” he said.

For the others, he says most have told him, “it’s really the three things that really drive investments: talent, ecosystem and resources. And when you put that together, Canada becomes kind of the supplier of choice.”

Imperial Oil Company invests $ 6.35 million in E3 Lithium to carry out a pilot project with the growing demand for electric vehicles.

Imperial Oil Ltd. has signed a contract to advance a lithium project as demand for electric vehicles is expected to grow. Under the agreement, Imperial will invest $ 6.35 million in Calgary-based E3 Lithium, which has developed a technology to extract lithium, a natural element that is a key component of batteries used in electric vehicles.

Imperial also agreed to provide technical and development support for E3’s Clearwater project. This includes drilling lithium evaluation wells and developing a pilot project on site before moving towards the commercial phase. "This is a business opportunity for us," Jason Iwanika, Imperial's director of business development, said in an interview.

"If you look at Canada's major growing mineral industry, there is encouraging support from the government and the market as a whole. Raising batteries for stationary and electric vehicles is an interesting market for us. ” says Jason Iwanika, Imperial's director of business development.

The Leduc oilfield, where E3's Clearwater project is based, has long been known as to be one of Canada's largest lithium resources, though there was little interest in developing a lithium industry in Alberta until the recent growth of electric vehicles and an exponential rise in demand for lithium ion batteries.

Under the agreement, E3 will continue to manage the Clearwater project, but will receive support from Imperial in areas such as water and reservoir management. The transaction also includes access to land in the area managed by Imperial.

E3 chief executive Chris Doornbos has indicated that drilling of the first of the three assessment wells, the first lithium wells drilled in Alberta, will begin immediately. The focus is also on the expansion of proprietary E3 technology, which pumps brine to a surface where lithium is removed and concentrated, and then returns the fluid underground as part of a closed system. Canada has identified lithium as the focal point of its $3.8 billion strategy for essential minerals. The goal is to increase the extraction and production of lithium in Canada, as well as cobalt, copper, titanium, zinc and other minerals used as components in electric vehicles and batteries. The aim is to create an internal supply chain for electric vehicles, revitalize the economy and prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

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EV Around the World 🌏

Texas-based Volcon launches 80 MPH ‘Stag’ electric UTV with 100+ miles of range.

Volcon is set to release their Stag electric UTV in summer 2023. The Stag is a fully electric UTV that has a peak power of 107kW (143hp) and peak torque of 265 lb-ft (Nm) with a top speed of 130km/h which is all powered by a 42 kWh battery pack.

The Stag is designed to fit up to four people and additional cargo. However, the rear seats can also be folded down for extra storage space. The Stag features a payload of 1,550 lb (703 kg) and a max towing capacity of 2,000 lb (907 kg) in Tow Mode.

volcon stag utv

The Volcon Stag features an on-board 7.2 kW AC charger that allows a Level 2 recharge in approximately six hours.

Future owners can make a $100 reservation – that will hold their place in line ahead of the expected summer 2023 deliveries, but the final price of roughly $50,000 CAD may deter most enthusiasts.

Sales Updates:

Here are some sales updates for Q2 of 2022. I wasn’t able to find exact numbers or data provided by some manufacturers (I expect their numbers to be released in the coming days). I thought these figures were pretty interesting, especially Tesla. I didn’t quite realize how dominant they are compared to other EVs.

With that being said, quality issues (panel gap, paint etc) could be caused by Tesla’s rush to get as many vehicles out as possible.

I am thinking I may create a database for EV sales which could be filtered with quarterly sales releases. More on this in the coming weeks!

Hyundai Ioniq 5:The all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 noted a new monthly record in June of 2,853 sales (4.5% of the total). During the 2nd quarter, sales amounted to 7,448 (a new record), while the cumulative number at 13,845. It means that 25,000-30,000 units should be possible in 2022.

Kia EV6:Deliveries of the all-electric Kia EV6 in June 2022 has reached 2,567, which is 3.9% of the total Kia volume. Which is one of the best monthly results so far. During the second quarter of 2022, a total of 7,287 Kia EV6 were delivered. Year to date sales sits at 12,568 units.

Nissan Leaf:So far this year, Nissan LEAF sales amounted to 7,622 (down 1.4% compared to 2021).In Q2, 3,251 LEAFs were delivered, which is 32.3% less than a year ago.It is expected that the arrival of the Nissan Ariya will further decrease Leaf sales numbers.

BMW:Not much information on Q2 BEV sales for BMW, but since launch, 1,428 BMW iX and more than 1,100 BMW i4 Gran Coupe were sold. That's roughly 2,600 total in the first half of the year - a big increase over 851 BMW i3 a year ago.

Volvo:Nearly every third Volvo Car (32.3 per cent) sold during the first half of 2022 was a fully electric or plug-in hybrid (Recharge).

Exact Volvo 2022 total sales are not available, as numbers for June have not been released but based on previous months, we would expect year-to-date numbers to look approximately: BEV sales: 24,098 and PHEV sales: 75,880

Nio:NIO delivered 12,961 vehicles in June 2022, increasing by 60.3% year-over-year

  • NIO delivered 25,059 vehicles in the three months ended June 2022, increasing by 14.4% year-over-year

  • Cumulative deliveries of NIO vehicles reached 217,897 as of June 30, 2022

Xpeng:15,295 vehicles delivered in June 2022, a 133% increase year-over-year

  • 34,422 vehicles delivered in 2Q 2022, a 98% increase year-over-year

  • 68,983 total vehicles delivered in the first six months of 2022, a 124% increase year-over-year

Tesla (MIND BLOWING):For Q2, 254,695 global deliveries of the Model Y, Model 3, Model S and Model X combined.

Tesla lists Model 3/Y deliveries at 238,533. Meanwhile, the combined Model S and Model X deliveries hit just 16,162.

Ford:In June, Ford's has sold 4,353 BEVs. The number includes 1,837 Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickups and 1,957 Ford Mustang Mach-E and an estimate of 559 e-transits.

BEV sales in Q2:

  • Ford Mustang Mach-E: 10,941. 17,675 so far in 2022.

  • Ford E-Transit: 2,290 (released in Q2)

  • Ford F-150 Lightning: 2,296 (released in Q2)

Porsche:In 2022, Porsche has sold 4,449 Taycans which is nearing the 2021 total of 5,367 units.

Genesis: No sales numbers currently available.

Rivian: No sales numbers currently available.

Audi: No sales numbers currently available.

Lucid: No sales numbers currently available.

Polestar: No sales numbers currently available.

Is Tesla quality slipping?

QuickEV

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