L OCTOBER 30
combustion projects.
Ford’s share price has been flat for the year as the number 2 US automaker ushered out former CEO Mark Fields. Still, it had $28 billion in cash and marketable securities as of September 30.
Automakers also are becoming more confident they can make money on electric cars as battery costs come down.
Volkswagen AG’s Audi brand is gearing up a fleet of electric models that the company expects will account for 25 per cent of sales by 2025. In the United States, Audi plans to launch an electric SUV “in the sweet spot of the market” in 2019, Scott Keogh, head of Audi’s US operations, said.
Sales of Audi’s current lineup of SUVs “pay for what we want to do, which is lead the future,” Keogh said.
Renault SA Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn expressed confidence earlier this month that electric cars will become “a significant contributor to our performance.”
Tesla, by comparison to its legacy rivals, is market value rich, and cash poor. It had $3 billion in cash on hand at the end of the second quarter, and some analysts predict the automaker will have to raise more to cover the expected cash drain from the slow launch of the Model 3, which is lower priced than other Teslas and aimed at the market for $35,000 to $45,000 cars.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has outlined ambitious plans to expand its network of factories and service facilities, including potentially an assembly plant in China and up to three more electric battery Gigafactories. He told investors in July the company could sell more shares to fund that expansion.
“I’m sure there will be some funding rounds that happen in the future,” he said.