Tag Archives: A123 Systems

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Another Green-Car Startup Hits the Wall

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By John Rosevear, The Motley Fool

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Another green-car dream appears to be biting the dust. Fisker Automotive said this week that it will lay off 75% of its workforce, as the maker of the hybrid Karma luxury sedan appears to be running out of cash.

In recent months, Fisker had been seeking a major automaker to partner with in an effort to fund continued operations. But after talks with a Chinese automaker collapsed in March, it became clear that Fisker was running short of options.

A promising debut, followed by a streak of challenges
Fisker, based in Anaheim, Calif., drew global headlines when it launched the Karma, one of the first “plug-in” hybrids, way back in 2008. The sedan drew raves for its sharp styling, created by company founder Henrik Fisker, who had previously worked as a designer for BMW and Aston Martin.

The Karma also helped launch the idea of a luxury “green” car segment, a market that several global automakers — as well as another California green-car start-up, Tesla Motors — have since entered.

But that was arguably the high point in the company’s history. Years of delays in getting the car certified for U.S. sale — a complex and expensive process that has undone many prior auto start-ups — meant that Fisker didn’t actually start delivering Karmas to customers until late 2011.

Production cars lead to even more troubles for Fisker
But even then, things didn’t go well. A Texas house fire in early 2012 was blamed on a malfunctioning Karma, which fueled concerns about electric-car batteries that had arisen after a crash-tested Chevrolet Volt had caught fire the year before.

The fact that the Volt was eventually declared safe didn’t help Fisker much, especially after 16 more Karmas caught fire in New Jersey after being submerged in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Nor did the collapse of Fisker’s battery supplier, A123 Systems — a collapse that had a lot to do with Fisker’s struggles — and its subsequent acquisition by a Chinese firm do much to help matters.

By then, it was too late. Fisker had run through much of its capital, including $193 million in loans from the U.S. government. No more loans were likely, as the feds had halted further financing in 2011 after Fisker had failed to meet a series of milestones.

Its only hope was to seek a partner, but after talks with China’s Dongfeng Motor Group collapsed last month, hopes faded.

The upshot: Tesla notwithstanding, sarting a car business is really, really hard
Fisker’s experience points to just how hard it is to launch a new automaker from scratch. While Tesla Motors is on the verge of a profitable quarter, thanks to near-flawless execution on an audacious business plan, Tesla is really the exception that proves the rule.

The last automaker to be started from scratch and become an enduring presence on the global stage before Tesla was tiny supercar maker Lamborghini, way back in …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Nissan Turns Over a New Leaf

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By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool

Ford Atlas Concept Early Design Sketches

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It’s safe to call me something of a bear when it comes to electric vehicles. Though I find Tesla‘s luxury EVs sleek and awesome, I’m not ready to go so far with the automaker itself and am less than impressed with its quarterly profit reported the other day (at least till I see some hard-and-fast numbers).

And I’m still not willing to think General Motor‘s Chevy Volt is anything more than a taxpayer-financed, money-losing boondoggle at the moment as U.S. sales of the hybrid EV plunged 35% in March to 1,478 vehicles. And it should be noted that General Electric bought 160 of them — or 11% — for its fleet purchases. Consumer demand, therefore, is even less than what’s been depicted. Heck, even Tesla’s sold more EVs in the U.S. over the first three months of 2013 than GM has sold Volts and that was after juicing the financing with $3,000 in rebates.

While Toyota sold more than 22,000 Priuses in March, that’s 20% fewer than it sold last year.

Yet consumers are only willing to shell out $4 or $5 a gallon for gas for so long before they start looking at alternatives. And more so than Model Ss or Volts, it seems the EV they want is a Nissan Leaf, which recorded its best month ever for sales in March, moving 2,236 vehicles. Indeed, last month was the Japanese car maker’s best month ever across its Nissan and Infinity lines, with sales rising to 137,726 units, a 1% increase over 2012.

It remains difficult, nevertheless, to estimate real consumer demand for the cars since Nissan’s sales have been all over the place. Until last month, it hadn’t sold more than 1,500 cars in a month since Nov. 2012.

Along with all my other bearishness on the sector, I’m not sure the technology is completely ready for prime time. While the battery fires GM experienced has died from the headlines and the battery woes of the Tesla are no longer front and center, the implosion of A123 Systems and numerous other battery makers suggests there’s still room for technological improvement.

Yet after a sluggish start to the New Year, it could be that Nissan has turned over a new leaf and will give GM, Tesla, and even Toyota a run for their money in 2013.

Running down the highway

Near-faultless execution has led Tesla Motors to the brink of success, but the road ahead remains a hard one. Despite progress, a looming question remains: Will Tesla be able to fend off its big-name competitors? The Motley Fool answers this question and more in our most in-depth Tesla research available for smart investors like you. Thousands have already claimed their own premium ticker coverage, and you can gain instant access to your own by clicking here now.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Automobiles

Report: Bankrupt A123 changes name to B456 PDQ

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By Jonathon Ramsey

Battery packs made by A123 Systems (now B456 Systems)

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Ok, so we made the “PDQ” part up, but battery maker A123 Systems, Inc. has changed its name to B456 Systems, Inc. – and no, this is not an early April Fool’s Day joke. As part of A123’s bankruptcy proceedings dating to last October, it was required to change its name in order to be purchased by Chinese company Wanxiang. According to the Detroit Free Press, as part of a March 22, 2013 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, A123 declared that its new name is B456. We’re not sure if anyone at A123 realized the irony – B456 is also the model number for a fire extinguisher made by Amerex that happens to be good for “energized electrical equipment.”

Wanxiang completed its purchase of A123 B456 earlier this year. The company formerly known as A123 had received hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, tax credits and grants from the federal government and the states of Michigan and Massachusetts. Part of the funds from the Wanxiang purchase repaid the $2.8 million it received from Massachusetts, but it looks like the other monies will go unrepaid. The Chinese company has said it will keep the Michigan plants open, but Michigan is trying to keep Wanxiang from collecting the rest of its unused incentives.

Bankrupt A123 changes name to B456 PDQ originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Science & Technology

Bill Gates Was Right: Green Energy Wasn't Ready for Prime Time

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By Rich Smith

MIcrosoft chairman Bill Gates. (Elaine Thompson, AP)

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Elaine Thompson, AP

It’s been nearly two years since Bill Gates came out with his famous dismissal of “green energy” in general, and solar power in particular, as “cute” but too inefficient, too expensive, and too small in scale to actually make a dent in global warming. And once again, it appears the founder and chairman of Microsoft (MSFT) was ahead of the curve.

In an article in this month’s edition of The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.Money magazine, the newspaper outlined a swelling backlash against solar, wind, and biofuels — among investors at least: “Burdened by global overcapacity, slowing demand and the resurgence of fossil fuel production, clean-tech investments have fallen heavily out of favor” on Wall Street, lamented the Journal.

Wind and Sun and Batteries, Oh Well!

And no wonder. While energy experts predict that wind power contributions to global energy production will continue rising, and may account for more than 30 percent of global energy production by the year 2050, the pace of growth in other green energy sectors is already showing some slack.

Take solar power systems installations, for example. After growing nearly six-fold from 2007 to 2012, growth in the solar power market is expected to slow in the coming years, and to barely double in size from 2011 through 2016.

Other green-energy niches are encountering headwinds as well. While electric cars saw sales spike 26 percent last year as Tesla (TSLA) and Nissan, and even Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) brought e-cars to market, sales are expected to grow only 6 percent this year. After rapidly burning through their supply of early adopters — and as the vehicles’ limited driving range and high sticker prices, plus the lack of charging infrastructure along major transportation routes becomes more clear — automakers are hitting a wall as they seek further growth.

The Fallout

Meanwhile, a surge in investment in shale gas and oil is helping ignite a boom among traditional energy companies, expanding supply, driving down prices, and making green energy look all the more expensive in comparison.

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Result: One pioneer of green energy investing, Sun Microsystems co-founder and green energy investor Vinod Khosla, has seen the value of his green-energy investments fall by half.

And that’s the good news.

The bad news is that many ventures in the industry have done much, much worse. Solar panel maker Solyndra was only the highest profile of these failures. More recently, we’ve also seen bankruptcy filings of battery makers A123 Systems and EnerDel parent Ener1. The death of automotive start-up Th!nk Global. The slow fade of Pacific Ethanol and its peers.

What Does It Mean to You?

The good news among all this doom and gloom, of course, is that as the hot air rushes out of the overinflated green energy balloon, what remains …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Automobiles

Chinese Investors Bidding For Fisker

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By Kurt Ernst

Fisker Karma sedan - image: Fisker

Fisker Karma sedan – image: Fisker

It’s always darkest, the old cliche tells us, just before dawn. By Fisker’s clock, then, we suppose it’s just about sun-up; after surviving a disastrous 2012, Fisker has good news on the horizon. Its battery supplier, A123 Systems, has a new owner in the form of Chinese auto parts giant Wanxiang, which means that Fisker will soon be able to resume production of its Karma sedan.

It’s been looking for an alliance within the auto industry, and it now appears that two Chinese firms are competing for majority ownership of the struggling electric automaker. One is Dongfeng Motor Group, which reportedly has plenty of cash but is saddled with a heavily-layered management structure and strong ties to the Chinese government. The second bidder is Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which purchased Volvo from Ford in 2010.

As Reuters explains, Geely is the favorite to win the Fisker bid, as it already has experience with investing in foreign automakers. It also has a more relaxed management structure, meaning that it can move more quickly in the bidding process.

While Fisker actively sought bids from companies around the globe, only Dongfeng and Geely emerged as serious bidders. The reasons why are complicated, but the short answer is that the Chinese government wants more electric cars, and investing in a foreign automaker using a range-extending electric car design is a way to get there.

Aside from more cash to fund operations, it’s not clear what this means for Fisker, which currently tasks production of its Karma sedan to Valmet in Finland. It’s possible that Karma production could be moved to China, which raises another question: will Fisker proceed with building its mass-market Atlantic sedan, and will it still open a production line in Delaware?

We suppose these questions will be answered in the coming months, but for the first time in a long time, Fisker has reason to be optimistic about its future.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Automotive Addicts

Automobiles

Fisker may get $350 million bid from China's Dongfeng

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By Danny King

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Fisker Automotive may receive a $350 million acquisition bid from China-based automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp., Bloomberg says, citing people familiar with the process.

Dongfeng would buy about 85 percent of the California-based maker of the $100,000 Karma extended-range plug-in, the wire service reports. Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher tells Bloomberg that Fisker’s received proposals from “multiple parties in different continents.”

Either way, a new majority owner would help Fisker pay back its loans to the US Energy Department. Fisker drew down a $529 million line by about $200 million before the US government froze the rest because Fisker didn’t meet certain production targets.

Fisker hasn’t produced vehicles for about seven months. The company couldn’t get new batteries because supplier A123 Systems filed for bankruptcy and is going through its own bidding process. Additionally, Fisker’s been renegotiating with Finland-based supplier Valmet, Ormisher told AutoblogGreen last month.

Fisker may get $350 million bid from China’s Dongfeng originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

Fisker hires consultant, may seek bids next month

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By Danny King

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Fisker Karma

Fisker Automotive has hired a consultant to oversee day-to-day operations in an effort to conserve cash, and may seek partner or acquisition bids next month, Bloomberg says.

Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher says the California-based maker of the Karma extended-range plug-in luxury vehicle has brought on Huron Consulting Group, says the report. The company is also looking forward to a bidding process that may start next month, the wire service says, citing folks it didn’t identify. The company has been short on cash largely because the US Energy Department last year froze about $300 million of the $529 million in loans earmarked for Fisker. Reports last month also surfaced that Fisker may owe the state of Delaware money if the company doesn’t make good on making its Fisker Atlantic there.

Fisker hasn’t produced any vehicles in more than six months because of a combination of factors ranging from negotiations with Swedish vendor Valmet to the bankruptcy of battery maker A123 Systems.

In related news, Wanxiang in China has received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US to buy most of the assets of A123 and has expressed interest in supporting Fisker, A123’s largest customer, in any way it can. Whether that includes an investment or strategic alliance remains unclear.

Fisker hires consultant, may seek bids next month originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

Fisker Karma production stoppage reaches 6 months, company claims "sufficient supply"

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By Sebastian Blanco

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fisker karma gijs spierings

One result of the litany of problems that Fisker Automotive suffered in 2012 – floods, fires and recalls – was a production stoppage of the plug-in hybrid Karma that has already lasted six months. Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher told AutoblogGreen that the delay was due to an attempt to renegotiate the Valmet production contract and A123 Systems‘s bankruptcy proceedings.

He said:

Valmet traditionally shuts down for Scandinavian summer break from mid July to mid August. When they returned, our new management team wanted to renegotiate the contract with them and during this period, A123 started to enter bankruptcy. We took the prudent decision to conserve our battery stock and we already have sufficient supply of Karmas through Q1 of this year. By that time we hope to have renegotiated our battery supply with A123’s new owners Wanxiang.

Despite that conservation of batteries, the truth is that Fisker isn’t getting new batteries from A123 right now. One interesting side effect of the Destino project, Bob Lutz told AutoblogGreen, is that Fisker could get some battery packs back when they are taken out of already-built Karmas and, one day, put them into new vehicles. In August, Henrik Fisker said that Fisker had build “about 1,900” Karmas. Apparently, that’s a comfortable enough margin, for now.

Fisker Karma production stoppage reaches 6 months, company claims “sufficient supply” originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog