Welcome to today's edition of the Daily 5.
On a day when Stellantis and CEO Carlos Tavares are once again making news, we published this report from our partners at Reuters about a $1 billion electric vehicle battery plant planned for Reno, Nev.
And, yes, Stellantis is involved.
The startup company that plans to build the world's first factory for lithium sulfur batteries is called Lyten. It is backed by Stellantis and delivery giant FedEx Corp.
Lyten chose Reno because of its battery ecosystem and its dry climate, Celina Mikolajczak, Lyten's chief battery technology officer, told Hannah Lutz, Automotive News' deputy editor of technology and innovation, at The Battery Show in Detroit this month.
The workforce already knows how to make battery cells and local universities have "rallied around batteries," she told Lutz. "But one of the key drivers for me is I've got a system that uses lithium metal. You need to work with that in a dry environment."
In other news, Tavares warned that European Union tariffs on Chinese EVs will eventually cause plant closures in Europe. Why? Because Chinese automakers will avoid tariffs by building plants in Europe and, presumably, legacy automakers there won't be able to compete.
Tavares, who made several public appearances at the Paris auto show Monday, separately said Stellantis will not be reviewing its burgeoning list of brands for two or three more years — in effect punting such controversial decisions to his successor sometime in 2026.
Meanwhile, North Carolina stands to benefit from a huge microchip wafer plant planned by Wolfspeed, which supplies chips to General Motors and Mercedes-Benz. Wolfspeed said today the U.S. Commerce Department has granted preliminary approval of a $750 grant for the project.
This is good news for GM and the automotive supply chain. Whether it's good public policy to subsidize such a private sector project is a political question.
Finally, the Japan Mobility Show got underway in Tokyo today. Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other automakers are getting a firsthand look at mobility technologies and startups. Our Hans Greimel was there and filed compelling coverage of Japanese R&D and innovation.
Looking ahead, you can expect several more installments of our project on artificial intelligence uses in the auto industry.
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
