Anjani Trivedi

Going electric without CATL won’t be easy — and neither will competing with it.

Small manufacturers are most at risk of getting squeezed by tighter credit conditions and stubborn inflation.

CATL’s strong hold comes from more than just size. Its batteries are in Teslas, Mercedes and many other electric vehicles.

Equipment companies had become immune to the ups and downs of the demand cycle. Not any more.

Equipment companies had become immune to the ups and downs of the demand cycle. Not anymore. A primary concern in ramping up output is whether Chinese companies end up making their own chip making equipment

Despite billions of dollars of capital spending on new facilities to fix the semiconductor shortage, there is now a glut. However, some chip machinery maker stocks are trading at high valuations due to the backlog of orders that will tide firms through troughs. The cycle is getting trickier to predict due to new variables, including export restrictions on Beijing, significant Chinese investments in chip production, rising tech costs and geopolitical tensions. Chip-machine makers could do with a deeper reassessment, as companies are not cancelling plans outright, hoping that cyclicality will play out.

Beijing’s regulation has put its autonomous-vehicle industry way ahead of competitors. Entry-level offerings won’t cut it any more.

The South Korean carmaker has made significant strides on corporate governance. It now needs to stay the course.

Hyundai has announced it will spend up to $5bn on making electric-car batteries in Georgia, close to its electric vehicle plant, as well as investing $474.5m in self-driving unit, 42dot. Its operating profit rose 86% from a year ago, with record margins. The company has also made changes to its corporate governance, paying out at least 25% of consolidated net income to shareholders four times a year and cancelling 1% of existing treasury stock. This follows activist investor Elliott Management Corporation calling for a streamlining of Hyundai's corporate holding structure and a return of more cash to shareholders five years ago.

It is proving a tricky balancing act. In 2025 they will come under increasing pressure to choose one or the other