The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Honda, Stellantis, Rivian, Mercedes-Benz-Group and NIO

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 13, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Honda HMC, Stellantis STLA, Rivian Automotive RIVN, Mercedes-Benz-Group AG MBGAF and NIO Inc. NIO.

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

EV Roundup: Honda's Progress, NIO's Q2 Slide, Etc.

The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is speeding up, with traditional automakers leaving no stone unturned to establish a strong foothold in this domain. Last week, Japan-based auto bigwig Honda announced a couple of agreements, which will expedite its EV efforts. American-Italian carmaker Stellantis has also been focused on spurring its electrification plans in recent months. Riding on the success of the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, its best-selling plug-in hybrid vehicle in the United States and the recently introduced Grand Cherokee 4xe, Stellantis-owned Jeep is set to develop a comprehensive electrified product range. Meanwhile, Amazon-backed EV startup Rivian Automotive teamed up with Mercedes-Benz Group AG to jointly produce electric vans in Europe. China’s noted EV player NIO Inc. released second-quarter 2022 results.

Inside the Headlines

Honda announced that it has entered into a partnership with Hanwa to facilitate stable procurement of battery materials, especially nickel, cobalt and lithium, essential components for EV batteries. Hanwa’s strength in resource procurement is noteworthy, and a leverage of the same will be fruitful for Honda. But, instead of banking on only Hanwa for procurement, Honda has stated that it will continue to rely on various other suppliers to maintain a stable flow of resources.

In another development, Honda stated that its Chinese unit will set up a joint venture (JV) with Dongfeng Motor and Guangzhou Automobile to procure EV batteries. Honda’s Chinese division will also bolster its partnership with CATL to ensure a stable supply of batteries. Currently, Dongfeng Honda and Guangqi Honda get their batteries from CATL. The latest move will enable centralized battery supply through the upcoming JV, which will result in higher efficiency. Honda will have 50% stake in the JV, while Dongfeng and Guangzhou will hold 25% each.

Honda currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

NIO incurred a loss per American Depositary Share (ADS) of 25 cents in second-quarter 2022, wider than the year-ago loss of 7 cents amid higher operating expenses, despite improved deliveries. Revenues of $1,536.6 million were up 21.8% year over year on the back of robust deliveries. NIO delivered 25,059 vehicles in the second quarter, including 3,681 ES8s, 9,914 ES6s, 4,715 EC6s and 6,749 ET7s. The deliveries increased 14.4% from the year-ago quarter.

The cash and cash equivalents totaled $3,659.8 million as of Jun 30, 2022, increasing from $2,694 million as of Jun 30, 2021. The company exited the second quarter with long-term debt of $1,815.7 million. For the third quarter, NIO expects deliveries in the band of 31,000-33,000 vehicles, signaling a year-over-year uptick of 26.8-35%. Revenues are envisioned between $1,918 million and $2,030 million, indicating a year-over-year increase of 31-38.7%.

Stellantis-owned Jeep brand has announced a comprehensive plan for its next generation of fully electric 4xe vehicles. It will introduce four new all-electric SUVs in North America and Europe by the end of 2025.The announcement follows Stellantis Dodge’s recent unveiling of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT, a high-performance EV concept.Jeep also unveiled the first images of two electric SUVs—Jeep Recon and Wagoneer S.

Jeep Recon will be one of the first all-new electric SUVs to be launched in North America. Wagoneer S, the all-new fully electric Wagoneer. will bolster the brand’s premium SUV segment. It will have all-terrain management, advanced Jeep brand-focused technology and other impressive performance features. The new all-electric Jeep Avenger will be launched in Europe early next year after its debut at the Paris Motor Show in October this year. While STLA targets 50% of the Jeep brand sales in the United States to be all-electric by 2030, 100% of the brand sales in Europe are aimed to be fully electric in Europe by the decade's end.

Rivian announced a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz to develop large commercial electric vans to cater to the increasing demand for cleaner and sustainable commercial vehicles. Per the memorandum of understanding, the companies will jointly invest in the vehicles that will be sold under both the Mercedes-Benz and Rivian brands. The jointly formed new company intends to set up a factory in Central or Eastern Europe at an existing Mercedes-Benz site within a few years. The factory has a target to manufacture vehicles that are based on the electric vans both companies produce at present.

There will be two van models. One will be built on Mercedes’ Vans Electric Architecture (VAN.EA) platform and the other on Rivian’s second-generation electric van platform, the Rivian Light Van (RLV). Both companies are driven in their vision of electrifying the van market. Mercedes-Benz is a resource-rich company that has a long-standing reputation of more than two decades of building commercial vans. The partnership will greatly benefit a new startup like Rivian by providing leverage of Mercedes’ resilient supply chains.

Price Performance

The following table shows the price movement of some of the major EV players over the last week and six-month period.

What’s Next in the Space?

Stay tuned for announcements of the upcoming EV models and any important updates from the red-hot industry.

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Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NIO Inc. (NIO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Stellantis N.V. (STLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
MercedesBenz Group AG (MBGAF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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