I'm not following any of the EV companies from an investment point of view. I am not investing in any automobile company because of or in spite of their involvement with EVs. I am, however, investing in copper and semiconductors. No lithium yet and probably never. Decades ago I bought shares in Daimler and have accumulated more shares on a regular basis and am thrilled that I held all this time. LOL. The investment has been a lousy investment in the big scheme of things, but not as bad as some of my energy holdings, so ... .it is what it is. But with Daimler spinning off Daimler Truck as its own company, I am thrilled. This is going to be fascinating to watch.
Daimler, globally, is the #1 truck manufacturer, I believe. Needs to be fact-checked and probably doesn't include pickup trucks. See later: #1 in heavy-truck manufacturing worldwide.
From my perspective it "owns" the diesel market -- globally, not necessarily American market.
But Daimler is all in: switching to renewable energy, but interestingly is 50-50, electricity and hydrogen.
So, now we will see.
From The WSJ, over the weekend: Mercedes-Benz faces a bumpier road than Freightliner. Daimler spun out its heavy-truck business from its better-known car manufacturer, giving investors the choice which to own.
Mercedes-Benz (DMLRY) cars promise a thrilling ride, but investors may be safer in a Freightliner rig.
The long-awaited two-way split of German automotive giant Daimler completed Friday. It leaves shareholders with two stocks to ponder: a would-be Tesla peer in Mercedes-Benz and a restructuring story in Daimler Truck.
For all the attractions of the former’s luxury brand, the latter has a less risky path forward.
Daimler Truck, whose newly listed shares rose 5% in morning trading Friday, is by some distance the world’s largest heavy-truck manufacturer, but it has always played second fiddle to the consumer-focused car business within the group. For years, that allowed the truck and bus business to get away with poor performance. In the third quarter its adjusted return on sales—a metric equivalent to operating margin—was 5.5%, half that of listed peer Volvo Group. The split, announced by Chief Executive Ola Källenius in February, shines a brighter light on that underperformance.
Me? A no-brainer. A perfect opportunity to continue divesting crude oil and accumulating Freightliner, now known as Daimler Truck Group, shares of which are starting to populate brokerage statements, with a "spaceholder" for the US ticker symbol. Currently DTG is being sold on the Frankfurt Exchange and my broker will not make those trades for me. Rumors are the new ticker symbol, when DTG shares become available in US exchanges, will be DTRUY. I don't know. We'll see.
And note the new trading symbol for Daimler-Benz, DMLRY?
Rivian R1T review: The WSJ car reviewer is a very, very trusted, credible reviewer. He was told by Rivian to "thrash the car" and provide an honest review. He did. He was not impressed with the pickup. But Dan Neil says it was a prototype that he drove and Rivian says much more is yet to be done. The weight and payload will "kill" the enthusiasm for everyone but urban cowboys. Phil LeBeau is an urban cowboy, so he likes the truck. Of course he "likes" all vehicle manufacturers; that's how he keeps his contacts talking to him. Link to article here.
Comments: timeline --
- 2021: most interesting observation for me -- how little really good analysis is being provided in the mainstream press discussing what the major manufacturers are going to roll out in 2022. VW? Toyota? Honda? Hyundai? GM? Ford?
- 2022: this next year -- competition is going to start getting tougher. "Everyone" is starting to roll out their EVs to take on Tesla. But lots of articles. It will be interesting to see if Tesla can grow in this environment.
- 2023: "everyone" will now have multiple EV models from which to choose. Demand will be greater than supply but EVs will still be very much a niche market: for the wealthy; as a third car; as a luxry car.
- 2024: more of the same
- 2025: this is where the rubber meets the road. Huge year for changes. Consolidation. Losers and winners will be decided. No sign, as of today, December 12, 2021, that there will be infrastructure to support the EV revolution. No sign whatsoever.
No comments:
Post a Comment