No. of Recommendations: 1
In the back of my mind, I suspect automaker's stampede into EVs was motivated, primarily, by the sort of ATP and GP that Tesla used to report. The folks who had been in the business for over a century saw the numbers an upstart was posting, and figured EVs were easy money.
oops.
So, having spent Billions building factories to produce EV batteries for EVs they will never build, now what? Ape another Tesla product!
Automakers like Ford and GM are jumping into a whole new business where Tesla is a serious player
Ford said in December it would convert a Kentucky battery factory it had recently built with partner SK On to make batteries for energy storage. It also plans to devote some factory space to make cells for residential storage at a factory in Marshall, Michigan.
Ford is still using the Marshall plant to make batteries for an upcoming midsize electric truck. It has spent about $10 billion on both the Kentucky and Michigan factories and is spending another $2 billion to grow the energy business, according to the company.
Ford’s crosstown rival General Motors founded GM Energy several years ago, then released a Tesla-like residential solar product called the PowerBank in October 2024. Last year, it said it would partner with Redwood Materials to used both old and new EV batteries for energy storage.
GM Energy said in October that sales had quintupled since January, with 30% month over month revenue growth. Apart from the PowerBank batteries, the division also sells charging adapters and tech for using the vehicle itself as a backup battery for a home. cnbc.com - Ford GM tesla energy storageAs the article points out, right now, storage products are showing fat margins and rapid growth. But, when everyone jumps in, will growth and margin evaporate, like they did with EVs?
Steve
