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AUTOMOTIVE
Joint Venture Seeks to Replace Traditional Wire Harnesses
BMW, Lear, and Bosch have backed California startup, CelLink, with $250M for a new method of connecting battery cells and transferring power and data across a vehicle's sensors, modules, and control units. Referred to as a"flex harness", it can combine the functions of several traditional wiring harnesses at once, significantly reducing weight, mass, and cost while enabling more automated and modular vehicle assembly.
Who is that Startup? CelLink, which was founded in 2011, has been increasing production for years and has now raised about $315M for a 25-line factory in Georgetown, Texas that will open later this year. CEO Kevin Coakley said their products are already in hundreds of thousands of EVs, and they have their sights on increasing production and widening applications to agriculture, military, and aerospace in the future.
Telling it like it is - Cheaper, lighter, more efficient? Check. As reliable? Let's find out.
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AUTOMOTIVE
Iconic DeLorean Will Return as an EV
Early plans to bring the DeLorean DMC 12, iconic for its key role in the "Back to the Future" series, back as a fully electric vehicle have surfaced after nearly 30 years of silence. The original designer and producer of the vehicle, DeLorean Motor Company no longer exists, but Stephen Wynne acquired the rights to the name in 1995 and launched his own company called... DeLorean Motor Company.
Shut up and take my money! Not many details are known yet, but Wynne has played with the idea of a small batch relaunch since 1997, and with the proliferation of all-electric vehicles and a recent video hint on Twitter, people believe the time has finally arrived.
Telling it like it is - Where we’re going, we don’t need gas…
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AUTOMOTIVE
LMP Considers Sale of Company
LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. is planning to terminate its seven pending auto dealer acquisitions and begin the process of exploring the sale of the company. The decision comes due to the inability to secure finance commitments and close within the agreed upon time frames. Each termination will be carried out in accordance with the terms of the respective agreements, says LMP CEO Samer Tawfik.
Deals to be canceled:
- An 85 percent stake in Central Avenue Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram in Yonkers, N.Y.
- Tom Peacock Cadillac and Tom Peacock Nissan in Houston
- Kia of East Hartford in Connecticut
- Zappone Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram in Clifton Park, N.Y.
- Chantz Scott Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Greeneville, Tenn.
- Yonkers Kia in New York
- An 85 percent stake in 10 new-vehicle dealerships in Florida, a used-car center and a fleet operations outlet from the Alan Jay Automotive Network
Shares of LMP were valued over $20 a year ago, but are worth just $5.59 today. Stock had been part of the company's strategy to pay off the acquisitions, but without growth they cannot secure investments and without investments they cannot sustain growth at this time.
Telling it like it is - Gotta spend money to make money, but ya gotta have money to spend money.
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CLUBHOUSE
JOIN TODAY’S CONVERSATION
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MARKETS
Tensions Lower, Stocks Climb
Russian troops were pulled back from the Ukrainian border leading to lowered concerns about an impending conflict as well as good things for the market.
The Indexes:
- S&P 500 rose 69.40 points (1.6%) to 4471.07 which caught up after 3 days of losses.
- Dow Jones Rose 422.67 points (1.2%) to 34988.84
- Russell 2000 up 55.68 points (2.76%) to 14139.77
- and tech-heavy Nasdaq added 348.84 points (2.5%) to 14139.76
Additional movement in the market includes international oil benchmark Brent Crude, lowering prices 3.3% to $93.28 a barrel, natural gas in the EU dropping by 3.4%, and the US 10-Year treasury note raising 2.044% to its highest value since June 2019.
Telling it like it is - In case anybody needed a reason to not want a war.
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Well, Coinbase may not be handing out game tokens, but they will do you one better with $5 of Bitcoin to get you started on your Crypto journey. Signing up is as easy as holding your hand out for your mom to drop game tokens in your hand. Watch markets move, take the next step in Crypto investing, and stay in the know headed into all those one-up NADA Show side convos with your fresh new Coinbase app.
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CULTURE
Nike Delivery Delays Pinch Sneakerhead Shops
Nike and other sneaker companies have delayed deliveries of key shoe designs as the industry faces supply, production, and shipping complications due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Nike reports factory closures in Vietnam have constricted the company's production capacity.
But some retailers like Sneakersnstuff co-founder Erik Fagerlind see the delay to their store coming as the cost of Nike prioritizing their own store/direct sales, as they are faced with keeping their own business open. Nike is confident the supply chain issue will stabilize and their delivery schedule with it.
Telling it like it is - Geez, you really think Nike would do that? Prioritize their own brand during supply shortages?
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MARKETS
Airbnb Bounces Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Airbnb had planned on being the official accommodation sponsor for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but a ban on spectators amid the Covid pandemic saw the company and hosts across Japan receive nothing for their efforts. But revenue records for last year show Airbnb was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the mending travel industry with projections showing more growth as we enter the post-pandemic world.
The Bounce. Both number of nights and total check-ins are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels as of the end of the fiscal quarter on March 31sr. Expected Q1 revenue of $1.48 billion exceeds early projections by around $200 million, and nearly $600 million up from the same quarter last year. With people already booking for summer travel, this seems to indicate an optimism that may permeate other industries as communities find a new normal in our world.
Telling it like it is - Vacations are a healthy indicator that people believe their jobs will be there when they get back. That is the kind of confidence that can breathe new life into any industry, why not ours?
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