Yahoo Finance EV Roundup: STLA Unveils RAM 1500 REV, GM Begins Zevo 600 Deliveries & More
The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is speeding up, with companies leaving no stone unturned to establish a strong foothold in this domain. Legacy automakers are stepping up e-mobility investment and rolling out new models to cement their foothold in the electrification race. Last week, Italian-American carmaker Stellantis STLA unveiled 2025 RAM 1500 REV. RAM trucks are a significant contributor to Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 strategy that aims to achieve a solid electric-vehicle sales mix in Europe, the United States and Brazil by the end of the decade. U.S. auto biggie General Motors GM commenced the deliveries of the first mass-produced units of its electric van, BrightDrop Zevo 600. EV king Tesla TSLA hit headlines as it slashed prices across its vehicle lineup yet again. Finally, Rivian RIVN disclosed its first-quarter 2023 production and deliveries.
Last Week’s Top Stories
Stellantis introduced its all-electric 2025 Ram 1500 REV. Ram 1500 REV is the first battery-electric light-duty pickup truck from Ram Truck. The truck will be available in two choices, including a standard 168 kilowatt-hour battery pack with a targeted range of up to 350 miles and an optional 229 kilowatt-hour large battery pack with a targeted range of up to 500 miles. To provide customers with fast and convenient charging solutions, both options can add up to 110 miles of range in around 10 minutes with 800-volt DC fast charging up to 350 kW.
The truck offers a bi-directional charging solution, through which it can charge another Stellantis battery electric vehicle (BEV) or send power back to the grid. Ram 1500 REV can also send power to the home during a storm or provide power at the camp or job site. It comes with a towing capacity of up to 14,000 lbs. and a maximum payload capacity of up to 2,700 lbs. The battery-electric truck is built on the STLA Frame, designed specifically for full-size electric vehicles featuring a body-on-frame design to incorporate the battery pack. The newly incorporated one-touch power-operated frunk offers 15 cu.-ft. of storage.
Ram 1500 REV is available in five trims, including Tradesman, Laramie, Big Horn/Lone Star, Limited and an all-new Tungsten. Premium materials like carbon fiber, metal and leather elements have been used in the truck’s interior to add more layers of luxury. The advanced Uconnect 5 system with a new 14.5-inch touchscreen, head-up display, a segment-first 10.25-inch passenger screen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, digital rearview mirror and a Klipsch Reference Premiere audio system are some of the technologically advanced features available in the truck.
General Motors announced that it has started delivering the first 500 units of its electric van, the BrightDrop Zevo 600, built at the new production plant in Ontario, Canada, which opened just three months ago. Amid the soaring popularity of its van, the BrightDrop 2023 model is already out of stock. Building on the solid momentum, GM’s BrightDrop will be providing 4,000 delivery vans to Ryder’s rental fleet through 2025. The company has begun accepting bookings for the 2024 model, the deliveries of which will commence in the second half of this year. BrightDrop envisions $1 billion in revenues by 2023-end and hopes to reach an annual production capacity of 50,000 EVs at its CAMI Assembly by 2025.
The U.S. legacy automaker also released U.S. and China first-quarter sales data. For the first time, General Motors sold more than 20,000 EVs in the United States during the first quarter of 2023. The company is on track to build 50,000 EVs in North America through the first half of 2023 and 100,000 in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, General Motors is also revving up the rollout of EVs across all brands in China. The company is on track to launch more than 20 new and refreshed models in China this year, of which 33% are set to be new energy vehicles. It plans to roll out four new Ultium-based EV models across Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick brands in China this year. Buick’s first Ultium model – the Electra E5 – will be launched on Apr 13.
GM currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Tesla announced another round of price cuts for its entire U.S. lineup on Apr 6. The price cut ranges between 2% and 6%. Per InsideEVs, the base variants of Model X and Model S have gone through the most significant price cut of $5,000. This is the fifth time the EV king has slashed prices in the United States since January 2023.
Per Tesla’s website, Model Y’s base variant is priced at $49,990. Model Y Long Range will now cost $52,990, while Model Y Performance will now cost $56,990 after a massive price cut of $2,000 each. All new Model Y vehicles qualify for a federal tax credit for eligible buyers. According to the company’s website, Model 3 RWD will now cost $41,990, while Model 3 Performance will cost $52,990. Starting from Apr 18, based on the new IRS guidance, the tax credit on Model 3 RWD will reduce to $3,750. The base Model S will now cost $84,990, while Model X will cost $94,990.
Meanwhile, the company is also set to establish a Megapack factory in Shanghai. According to Bloomberg, the construction of the Megapack factory will start in the third quarter of this year, while the production of Megapack will begin in the second quarter of 2024. The factory would be capable of producing 10,000 Megapacks every year. The Megapack is a container-sized battery that can store enough energy to power an average of 3,600 homes for one hour. Currently, Tesla produces its Megapack energy storage units at its Nevada gigafactory.
Rivian announced its production and delivery data for the first quarter of 2023. The EV maker manufactured 9,395 vehicles at its Normal, IL facility. Deliveries during the quarter were 7,946 units. The numbers imply a massive increase from first-quarter 2022 levels, thanks to the production ramp. In the year-ago period, Rivian produced and delivered 2,553 and 1,227 vehicles, respectively. However, first-quarter 2023 production and deliveries declined sequentially. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company had built 10,020 vehicles and sold 8,054 units.
Rivian currently produces two consumer vehicles, the R1T and R1S, and also builds the EDV electric delivery van. The company also announced that it would release its first-quarter 2023 results on May 9. Encouragingly, RIVN notified that it remains on track to produce 50,000 vehicles in 2023. Notably, the company produced 24,337 vehicles in 2022, falling short of its output target of 25,000 units.
Price Performance
The following table shows the price movement of some of the major EV players over the last week and six-month period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What’s Next in the Space?
Stay tuned for announcements of upcoming EV models and any important updates from the red-hot industry. Also, investors will keenly await the quarterly results of Tesla, scheduled to be released on Apr 19.
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General Motors Company (GM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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Stellantis N.V. (STLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
