Nissan to spend billions in coming years on electrification
Nissan Motor Company announced that it will be spending 2 trillion yen ($17.59 billion) over the next five years in an attempt to accelerate their vehicle electrification efforts. This move is in support of the company’s aim to catch up with rival automakers in the electric vehicle industry. This is the first time that Nissan has revealed a plan to achieve comprehensive electrification.
Japan’s third largest automaker unveiled its plans to introduce 23 new electrified vehicles by 2030, including 15 electric vehicles (EVs). The company has also released plans for batteries: it wants to reduce lithium-ion battery costs by 65% in 8 years, as well as introducing all solid-state batteries by 2029. There is lots of competition in the industry, as Toyota said it will be bringing out solid-state batteries by the mid-2020s.
Some analysts were not impressed with Nissan’s offering, noting that it was already behind rivals in the world of electrification. Despite this, the company are making a real push, as they will be spending twice as much as it did in the previous 10 years for a share of the EV market. According to Chief Executive Makoto Uchida, these commitments will make EVs affordable to more drivers, and the company will “advance efforts to democratize electrification”.
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Walmart CEO sees supply chain bottlenecks easing
Walmart Inc. Chief Executive Doug McMillon on Monday praised the Biden Administration’s efforts to ease supply chain bottlenecks ahead of the holiday season. He said that the decision to extend port hours was having a positive impact on the flow of goods, as the company had noticed a 51% improvement in its flow through Southern California ports.
President Biden has recently implemented measures to try and tackle the supply chain bottlenecks, including easing port congestions and extending trucker hours. This week, he held a meeting with the CEOs of various companies including Walmart Inc. and Samsung North America to discuss the supply chain problems and the solutions to overcome them.
In the White House meeting with President Biden, McMillion commented, saying “we are seeing progress. The port and transit delays are improving… we have seen an increase in throughput over the last four weeks of about 26% nationally in terms of getting containers through ports,” he said, joining the meeting virtually.
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Omicron variant threatens Christmas supply chains
The new omicron variant of Covid-19 is set to cause supply chain trouble for many industries. As we head into December, people are starting to buy their Christmas trees. According to James Bianco, the founder and president of his eponymously named research firm, getting a Christmas tree “might actually be harder to get in the coming weeks”, as the new variant adds to the congestion of supply lines.
The threat from the omicron variant is that it may prevent people from returning to work at a time when inflation in the United States is already at a high level, not to mention the other restrictions it may bring with it. Canada is also struggling with Christmas tree exports due to severe flooding and fires. It produces nearly 2 million trees per year, with many of them being shipped to the U.S.
Bianco also commented that there is a sharp rise in demand, but due to the supply problems, he cannot meet this: “We’ve already got record demand for durable consumption, record demand for retail products…yet we don’t have those products to meet them. They’re either stuck in the Los Angeles port, or we’re just not going back to work to make them. That might mean more inflation.”
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