There is a steady stream of recent electric vehicle sector or related stock news from the likes of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Kandi Technologies Group Inc (NASDAQ: KNDI), HydroPhi Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: HPTG) and Green Automotive Co (OTCMKTS: GACR) that you might want to be paying attention to:
Tesla Vs. Car Dealers. In an effort to protect traditional car dealers and the sales tax revenue they generate, New Jersey is banning Tesla stores selling Tesla cars directly to consumers (Arizona and Texas also ban the direct sale of vehicles from manufacturers to consumers) plus the company is battling a bill in Ohio that would also force it to go through franchise dealers in that state. Various media outlets like WIRED (New Jersey Bans Tesla to Ensure Buying a Car Will Always Suck), the Wall Street Journal (Tesla to Stop Selling Electric Cars in New Jersey and Tesla Beware: What Happened to the Last Guy Who Annoyed Car Dealers) and Yahoo! Finance (New Jersey's Tesla ban makes sense compared to these silly laws) all have had good articles covering the controversy. However, such bans are more or less a mote issue as customers who really want Teslas can easily circumvent rules by purchasing vehicles online and taking delivery in other locations. Moreover, the controversy has had little impact on Tesla shares which are flat this week and up 56% since the start of the year, up 518.1% over the past year and up 1,138.5% since July 2010.
Kandi Technologies Falls Steadily After Reaching an All Time High. One week ago, small cap Kandi Technologies Group, which makes specialized electric vehicles such as all-terrain vehicles and utility vehicles, hit an all time high in early morning trading only to close down 3.02% at the end of the day. Kandi Technologies Group's shares are now down 8.6% over the past five trading days, but they are still up 47.6% since the start of the year, up 352.3% over the past year and up 2,848.8% over the past five years.
Problems Faced by Chinese Electric Vehicle Buyers. The South China Morning Post has a lengthy article on the problems faced by those who buy electric vehicles from Tesla, Kandi Technologies Group and other electric vehicle makers. Most electric cars on sale in China are capable of sustaining a travel distance of between 80 and 300 kilometers, but there are only a small number of public charging stations designed for private car users – meaning their range is limited to around 100 kilometers or 63 miles from home. For that reason, less than one out of a thousand prospective owners in Beijing is opting for an electric car while Shanghai, one of the many pilot cities promoting electric cars and home to 14 million permanent residents, has only 400 residents this year to apply for plates with electric car subsidies.
EU Bureaucrats Want to Add a Fake "Vrom." An Irish newspaper has reported that the European Commission plans to make manufacturers install Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS) on all new vehicles amid concerns they pose a risk to vulnerable road users because the cars are effectively silent, especially at low speeds. The AVAS would add a fake "vroom" to make them safer for pedestrians, cyclists and the visually impaired.
HydroPhi Technologies Group Expands Bus Field Testing. Small cap HydroPhi Technologies Group, a leading developer of water-based hydrogen fuel production systems which utilizes ordinary water for the production of hydrogen that is then injected into carbon-based fuels such as diesel, unleaded gasoline and natural gas, has recently announced the expansion of transit bus field testing of the HydroPhi system to Guadalajara, Mexico. That city will represent the second large metropolitan area where the HydroPlant technology will be tested for public transportation and that city alone represents an addressable market of at least 2,500 transit buses. Back in January, HydroPhi Technologies Group had announced that Rutas Unidas Federación de Transportistas Independientes de México, the largest association of bus operators based in Mexico City, had reported consistent fuel savings in excess of 20% on buses equipped with the company's Hydroplant technology. Moreover, HydroPhi Technologies Group is in discussions with large fleet operators in selected markets in Latin America and Asia thanks to its product providing significant environmental benefits, fuel savings and high return-on-investment for fleet operators. HydroPhi Technologies Group's shares are up 14.3% since the start of the year.
Green Automotive Co. Makes an Acquisition. Small cap Green Automotive Company, a state-of-the-art niche vehicle design, engineering, manufacturing and sales company based in Riverside California, recently announced that it had signed a binding agreement to acquire privately owned Transhock Ltd., a well established re-manufacturer and distributor of vehicle parts and accessories based in the UK's West Midlands, the heart of the UK Automotive Industry. Transhock Ltd reported around $7 million+ in revenues revenues for the year ended March 31, 2013 (to UK GAAP), was both profitable and cashflow positive, has over 50 employees, operates to ISO 9001 standards and has a diversified customer base of over 2,500 clients from which repeat business represents 85-90% of sales. It should also be mentioned that the Green Automotive Company's Californian subsidiary Newport Coachworks had recently reported that it was one of the major exhibitors at the recent LCT Show, one of the largest shuttle and charter events, where the company presented its shuttle bus range on a 2500 sq. ft. exhibition space. More than 450 bus operators from the US, Canada, France and a number of other regions visited the company's stand plus GACR took in orders worth over $1.6 million, selling 9 Patriot models (a 19 to 23 seat shuttle bus), 3 Freedom 45 models (the company's biggest bus) and 2 up-market Limo model buses.
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