Driving with Dunne

Vincent Pluvinage, Karl-Thomas Neumann, and James Frith, executives with deep expertise in batteries, discuss the challenges of matching China on affordable EVs. They explore the factors limiting EV demand in Western countries, the difference between batteries and energy storage, the obstacles faced by the auto industry in embracing electrification, the future of EV battery technology, and the challenges faced by North American graphite companies in the electric vehicle industry.

Ken Wilcox, former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, shares his hard-earned wisdom on navigating joint ventures in China. He recounts the stark contrast between theoretical expectations and harsh realities faced by Western executives. The conversation dives into cultural nuances, the importance of empathy, and the need for flexibility in negotiations. Wilcox discusses the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on businesses and the complexity of maintaining goals amid bureaucratic challenges. His insights are a prelude to his upcoming book, 'One Bed, Two Dreams'.

What is the truth about China' economy today? Read the headlines or social media and we could be forgiven for thinking that the People's Republic is falling apart. The 42 trillion property market seems to be in a death spiral. Youth unemployment is at record highs. Government debt keeps rocketing higher. And just this week, reports that foreign companies took $160 billion out of the country in the past 6 quarters. All of this makes for a riveting picture of a fragile China, a cracking and crumbling China. But is it accurate? Enter Leland Miller, CEO, The China Beige Book. Tracking China's economy since the 1990s, Leland knows China. And he knows that to really understand what is going on, you must compare and discount several streams of information at the same time. His take on where China stands to today and her economy will surprise many. China is never as good as it seems from afar. Nor is it as bad. I know you will enjoy this conversation with Leland Miller, CEO, China Beige Book.

When it comes to batteries for Evs, can we be done with the incremental, inch by inch improvements? Everyone in the battery business is looking for a breakthrough. Dramatically more range. Lower costs. Faster charging. And, of course, make them safer. Today we meet a potential game changer: AI. Artificial Intelligence has the ability to assess and make sense of mountains of data at very high speed. This, in turn, let's engineers develop the ideal battery chemistry for specific applications at light speed, or close to it. My guest today is Jason Koeller, Co-founder Chemix, an impressive Silicon Valley based startup. If the US government decides to assemble a Team USA for batteries and battery supply chains, Jason should be at the top of the roster. He is smart. He's original. And he is a man of action. He believes that the future is electric. And he is confident that AI can produce breakthroughs for batteries across the board - range, safety, energy density. Let's find out how and how soon on the Driving With Dunne podcast.

China is surpassing Japan in 2023 to become the world's leading exporter of cars. BYDs, Cherys and Zeekrs are finding their way to more than 100 markets worldwide. Top destinations include Russia, Mexico, Australia and Spain. Never before in the history of the car has the world witnessed such explosive growth in car exports from a single country. Not surprisingly, the blitz of Chinese cars on global roads has unsettled auto executives and policy leaders alike. How on earth will legacy automakers compete with China's overwhelming advantages in costs? How should Europe and the United States respond? Some early reactions have already surfaced. The Trump Administration put in place a 27.5% tariff on vehicles imported from China. And the president of the EU Commission just launched an anti-subsidy probe on Chinese automakers. What else can policymakers do? Wendy Cutler, our special guest today, walks us through the ups and downs of trade agreements with China since the PRC's accession to the WTO in 2001.

Tesla and BYD steal the headlines as they race for global leadership in battery electric vehicles. But on the near horizon there is another technology that delivers zero emissions: hydrogen fuel cells. General Motors has been developing fuel cell solutions for more than 20 years. They are doing important pilot testing of fuel cell applications for Class 8 trucks, with the US military on battlefield applications and in mobile charging units. My guest this week, Charlie Freese, is an expert on all vehicle propulsion systems and is currently focused on hydrogen. In our conversation, I ask Charlie what he drives to work every day, how soon he sees himself behind the wheel of a vehicle powered by fuel cells and where hydrogen fuel cells are a better solution than battery electric vehicles.

We begin Part II of this conversation with David Barboza in the days leading up to publication of arguably the most explosive and dangerous story out of China in 50 years. For the past 18 months, Barboza has been systematically collecting records and data and information about a massive amount of wealth accrued by the family of China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Nothing is easy, clear or straightforward. There are layers of ownership by companies and people some of whom are only remotely related to the family. But Barboza is now confident that he has an air-tight story. He is ready to publish. But, wait a minute, what about his bosses at the New York Times? Are they ready, too? Or are there still a few more twists and turns and somersaults before they are prepared to push the publish now button? And what happens after the story flies out into the world?

David Barboza won a Pulitzer prize for a blockbuster story he wrote while reporting in China for the New York Times. The story took years to research and write. Here is how things got started: Barboza had challenged himself with a daring and impossible goal. Would it be feasible, he wondered, to gather evidence that powerful leaders in China's Communist Party were amassing great wealth? He figured that if he were able to prove that a high-ranking family had assets of around $5 million dollars, it would be a massive coup. Never in a million years did he dream that his investigations would uncover that the Prime Minister's family had accrued more than 2 billion dollars in concealed wealth - company shares, cash, diamonds, gold and homes. In this week's Driving With Dunne episode, Mr Barboza brings us, step by step, into the events as they unfolded, as he experienced them. "The longer it takes you to publish the story," security experts at the New York Times told him, "the more dangerous things will get."

For most of his career, Tony Posawatz was a highly successful engineer working in GM's lucrative truck division. That meant big rigs powered by gasoline and diesel engines. Then one day in 2006 GM's top leadership appointed him to lead a breakthrough initiative. "Build us an electric car that will make people forget all about the Toyota Prius," they said. GM had taken a shot at an all-electric vehicle in the 1990s called the EV1. Tony and his team of top notch GM engineers knew that the way to beat the Prius was to go electric. But range anxiety was an issue. So, they got inventive and designed a propulsion system that featured both an electric battery and a gasoline engine. This set-up, in time, would become known as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or a PHEV. That product, which debuted 11 years ago, served as a bridge to a barrage of pure electrics like the Tesla Model 3, the Hyundai IONIQ, the Mustang Mach E, the Rivians and the Lucids now hitting the market today. How far along have we advanced on the path to electrics. And how much work still remains to be done before we reach electric nirvana?

Here is the powerful China formula for commercial dominance that everyone needs to know. Build up massive capacity. Achieve scale. Reduce costs. And then export like a bat out of hell all over the world. This is exactly how China overwhelmed the solar panel industry. Will cars be next? You bet. In fact, it is already happening. China today has the capacity to build 40 million cars and trucks a year. Domestic demand is about half of that. So, this year, China will export 5 million vehicles to more than 100 markets worldwide this year. And, that is not all. As China's domestic economy stalls, there is more pressure, more incentive to export than ever before. Mr Jorge Guajardo joins us again this week for Part II of our conversation about what to expect as Chinese companies push into global markets. They will be bringing stunningly low priced items from cars to used bulldozers to cement mixers. Are you ready for the barrage?