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| EV revolution puts the squeeze on Japan’s small suppliers |
Fuji Oozx Inc. is one of hundreds of automotive-parts suppliers in Japan whose very existence is being threatened by the world’s shift toward electric vehicles.
For almost 70 years, the company has been making intake valves, essential components of any gasoline car. They control the flow of gasoline in and out of an engine’s cylinder. Typically made of copper, they’re light and highly heat resistant and use a decades-old technology not needed in any EV.
“We have to start looking for a new business,” President Satoshi Tsujimoto said from his office adjacent to Fuji Oozx’s factory in Shizuoka prefecture, an elongated region that traces the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Fuji Oozx supplies automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co.
Valves for boat engines are one option, but the company’s board is also looking further afield, such as branching into medical devices. “We have no choice but to fight for survival. We’ll have to find an answer in the next decade.”
Tsujimoto’s predicament is one that other suppliers of traditional auto parts around the world are confronting as the industry accelerates its pivot from the combustion engine. They either make the shift, too, or find new avenues of business. The situation is particularly acute in Japan, where the government has pledged to go carbon neutral by 2050. A key part of that will be transitioning to cleaner cars, which currently make up only about 1 percent of vehicles, compared with 30 percent in parts of China, the global EV trailblazer.
– Bloomberg
What you need to know
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Lucid plans first vehicle deliveries Saturday Lucid Motors will deliver the first production versions of the Air Dream Edition sedan at an event for first-edition reservation holders this weekend in California. After years of ups and downs as a struggling electric vehicle startup, Lucid will hand over the electronic keys of an undisclosed number of $169,000 Dream Editions in two variants: Range with 520 miles on tap or Performance with 1,111 hp. Lucid said in a statement Wednesday that reservation holders had been invited to a day of activities on Saturday that include a driving event hosted by the company’s leadership team, followed by the delivery event at its Newark, Calif., headquarters near Tesla Inc.’s Fremont assembly plant.
Roundup
Argonne National Lab is floating an idea for lower-cost recovery of cobalt, copper, nickel and other costly metals from spent batteries.
GM plans to distribute up to 10 chargers to each of its dealerships in the U.S. and Canada starting early next year.
Tesla rolled back the latest version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software, less than a day after its release, after users complained of false collision warnings and other issues.
11 GOP governors from auto states oppose EV tax credit legislation.
Carmakers in Europe face raw-material bottleneck for EV batteries.
Lyft records more than 4,000 sexual assault cases in long-overdue safety report.
Brain food
A survey of U.S. and international car buyers found the percentage of people who are “very likely” to make their next car purchase a battery-electric vehicle has more than doubled since 2019, but concerns about EV prices and lack of charging infrastructure still hinder wider investment.
Last mile
It might be the first time a self-driving vehicle has driven itself backward for an entire lap. Perhaps even the first time anyone has bothered to try.