Rare earth magnet shortage can lead to shut down of EV manufacturing plants

The electric vehicle manufacturing industry in India is teetering on the edge, as crucial rare earth magnet inventories are set to run dry by July 31, reported Hindu Business Line. This can lead to the shutdown of manufacturing plants, as some manufacturers only have a few days’ worth of inventory left. Furthermore, delays in the disbursement of subsidies under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and the Prime Minister Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme has exacerbated the problem.

Electric scooter maker Ather joins up with DPIIT to scale up EV manufacturing

In a bid to boost the EV manufacturing industry, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bengaluru-based electric scooter company Ather Energy. This is another step towards the DPIIT-backed Build in Bharat initiative. Ather will help the DPIIT to increase awareness about EV manufacturing, organise visits to EV plants, and help in skilling programmes, and participate in innovation events like Startup Mahakumbh.

Tesla Signs Battery Deal with LGES to Reduce Reliance on China 

Tesla signed a $4.3 billion battery deal with LG Energy Solution (LGES) to reduce the reliance on China because of US tariffs, reported Reuters. The lithium ion battery will be supplied from LGES’s factory in Michigan, US. LGES said the contract would last from August 2027 to July 2030 and an option to extend the deal period up to 7 years and to increase supply volumes.

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja earlier in April said that US tariffs had an “outsized impact” on its energy business. The company is also looking for additional supply chains from non-China based suppliers. 

BYD Pushes Back EV Production in Hungary to 2026, Shift Focus to Turkey Citing Labour Advantages

BYD will delay EV mass production in its new Hungary plant to 2026 as it plans to run a new plant in Turkey where labour costs are cheaper, reported Reuters. It will run the Hungarian Plant at below capacity for the first two years.

This news comes as a setback for the European Union, which had been hoping that its lower tariffs on EVs made in China would bring in Chinese investments and well paid manufacturing jobs. 

Samsung’s Deal with Tesla May Bolster Its US Contract Business

Samsung’s $16.5billion deal to source chips with Tesla may help South Korean tech giant to turn around its unprofitable contract business but this deal will hardly help the carmaker sell more EVs or rollout robotaxis faster, reported Reuters. 

CEO Elon Musk said that Samsung’s new chip factory in Texas will make Tesla’s next generation AI6 chips. Samsung’s shares on 28 June closed at 6.8% on hopes that this deal will help them in the race to produce artificial intelligence chips, where it is behind rivals like TSMC.

Google to Invest $6 Billion in Andhra Pradesh’s Data Centre and Power Infrastructure

Google will invest $6 Billion in Andhra Pradesh’s 1-gigawatt data centre and power infrastructure. This is Alphabet’s first such investment in India, Reuters reported. The data centre will be built in Vishakhapatnam, this investment also includes $2 billion in renewable energy capacity that will be used to power the facility. 

The data centre will be the largest in Asia both in capacity and investment size and is a part of the multi-billion dollar expansion of data centres across the regions including Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.

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