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Global Sales of Electric Vehicle to Rise by 35% in 2022: Report

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The global sales and shipments of Electric Vehicles (EV) are expected to rise by 35 percent in 2022, a US-based research agency and consultancy, Gartner has said.

This comes as a result of the United Nations’ COP26 zero-emission vehicle transition council’s resolution that vehicle manufacturers will commit to selling only non-carbon-emission vehicles by 2040, while governments are to introduce regulations and incentives to help the industry’s growth.

The research director at Gartner, Joseph Davenport noted that nearly 6.4 million EV cars are expected to be sold this year, 1.6 million more than 2021, as the automotive sector prepares for decarbonisation in transportation, increasing EV production activities.

According to him, cars will account for 95 percent of the total EV sales in 2022, while the remaining percent will be split between buses, vans and heavy lorries.

With the restrictive emissions and fuel efficiency regulations, the manufacturers have had no choice but to focus on vehicles that are more environmentally friendly.

German-based vehicle manufacturers such as Volkswagen – whose 12 brands include Audi, Porsche and Skoda – has revealed that it is investing €35 billion ($39bn) into the global shift to EVs. It expressed ambitions to become the world’s largest electric car maker by 2025.

Luxury car brand, Bentley, made the disclosure that it is pumping major investments towards becoming a fully carbon-zero company. Bentley also stated that its first EV will be ready by 2025.

Another German-owned car maker, Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, last July, had said its brand would be all-electric by the end of the decade, where market conditions allow.

The same goes for luxury Italian marque Lamborghini which also announced in January this year, that it is devising its first fully electric model. The company’s chief executive Stephan Winkelmann also said it plans to introduce the model by the end of the 2020s.

Swedish carmaker Volvo also noted that it would be fully electric by 2030. Jaguar Land Rover made same commitment, saying its luxury brand Jaguar will go all-electric by 2025 as it aims to become a net-zero carbon business by 2039, a year before the COP26 council deadline for cat manufacturers.

The United States’ largest car producer, General Motors, in January last year had also unveiled plans to eliminate petrol and diesel light-duty cars, including SUVs, by 2035.

Electric vehicle maker, Tesla, which is the world’s forerunner in EV production and sales, has projected that its vehicle deliveries would comfortably grow by more than 50% year-over-year in 2022. According to analysts at ARK Invest, Tesla could produce about 5 to10 million vehicles a year by 2025.

China’s directive to manufacturers that EVs make up 40 percent of all sales by 2030, will allow the country account for a 46 percent global EV shipments in 2022. According to Gartner, China is expected to ship about 2.9 million EVs this year, followed by Western Europe (1.9 million) and North America (855,300).

To speed up the transition to EVs, manufacturers will have to address several factors such as lowering the price of EVs, recycling batteries and offering more choice to consumers.

“A major issue that must be addressed is lack of fast-charging availability for home and public charging,” Gartner noted.

“Utility providers will need to increase their investments in smart grid infrastructure to cope with the growing consumption of electricity,” he added.

As the number of EV production rises, Gartner forecasted that the number of global public EV chargers will rise to 2.1 million units in 2022, up from 1.6 million units in 2021.

Despite a global push for the growth of ECs in the automotive industry, the global semiconductor shortage and supply chain disruptions will affect the industry’s efforts to decarbonise, analysts say.

“The continuing shortage of chips will impact the production of EVs in 2022 … while shipments of vans and lorries are currently small, those shipments will grow rapidly as commercial owners see the financial and environmental benefit of electrifying their fleets,” Mr Davenport said.

Already, top EV maker, Tesla had said it is facing supply issues that could affect its business.

“Our own factories have been running below capacity for several quarters as supply chain became the main limiting factor, which is likely to continue through 2022,” the California-based company said.

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EU Raises Tariff on Chinese Electric Vehicles by 35%

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In an effort to slow down Chinese infiltration of the European market with more affordable options, the European Union has hiked tariffs on electric vehicles from China by 35% to 45% from the usual 10%.

According to people familiar with the situation, ten member states voted in support of the new tariff while Germany and four others voted against it. The remaining 12 states reportedly abstained.

Last month, the former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned that Chinese state-sponsored competition was a threat to the European Union and could leave the region vulnerable to coercion.

The bloc had claimed that China unfairly subsidized its industry to have an edge over EU businesses, a claim Beijing denies and has threatened retaliatory action on European dairy, brandy, pork and automobile sectors.

However, given the size of trade between the bloc and China, €739 billion or $815 billion in last year, it’s believed the two parties will continue negotiations to find an alternative to the tariffs.

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OpenAI’s Valuation Soars to $157 Billion After $6.6 Billion Funding Round

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OpenAI, the company that owns Chatgpt, has raised $6.6 billion in a new funding round to boost the company’s valuation to $157 billion as it looks to strengthen its lead in generative AI technology.

Thrive Capital led the funding round with $1.3 billion, while Microsoft invested an additional $750 million, bringing its total investment in OpenAI to $13.75 billion.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Khosla Ventures, Fidelity Management & Research Co., and Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker whose powerful processors are driving the AI boom—were also among the investors.

Apart from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd, this deal ranks as one of the largest-ever private investments.

The ability of OpenAI to raise such a substantial amount despite heightened global risks demonstrates the industry’s confidence in the power of AI.

Other investors included Tiger Global Management, which contributed $350 million, and Altimeter Capital, which invested at least $250 million.

SoftBank Group Corp. and the new Abu Dhabi-based tech investment firm MGX also participated, with SoftBank’s investment totaling $500 million, according to one source who requested anonymity. Venture firm Coatue was another participant.

In a statement, the company said it plans to use the funds to advance AI research and expand its computing capacity. “AI is already personalizing learning, accelerating healthcare breakthroughs, and driving productivity,” said OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar. “And this is just the start.”

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Kazang Pay Launches Card Acquiring Service in Zambia

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Kazang, the prepaid value-added services (VAS) and card acquiring business within JSE-listed fintech Lesaka Technologies, has launched its Kazang Pay card acceptance solution for merchants in Zambia. Kazang Pay makes it affordable for merchants to accept card payments on the same Kazang terminal they use to sell prepaid products and services.

The Kazang Pay enabled terminal in Zambia accepts VISA debit and credit cards as well as mobile wallet payments. Payments are settled to the merchant’s Kazang wallet on the same day. It’s as easy as letting the customer tap or insert their bank card and enter their PIN on the secure scramble PIN pad.

Kazang operates around 12,000 VAS terminals in Zambia. The goal is to enable the majority to accept card payments over the next six months. Benefits to merchants include low transaction fees and no monthly terminal rental fee for those that meet a modest monthly transaction threshold as well as the opportunity to grow their business through card acceptance.

Kazang is Zambia’s largest VAS point-of-sale terminal provider, enabling mobile money payments, bank and mobile money cash in and out, bill payments, airtime, Zesco, and many other prepaid services on one platform. The addition of card acceptance makes the platform even more comprehensive for merchants and consumers alike.

The launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia follows the introduction of the solution in South Africa, where around 60,000 small and micro merchants use Kazang Pay to accept card payments.  In Zambia, there are around 3.8 million debit, credit and ATM cards in issue and 41,000 point of sale (POS) terminals in place. The value of POS transactions has grown to K 111.4 billion by 2022 from less than K 20 billion in 2018, according to the Bank of Zambia.

Says Leon de Wit, managing director at Kazang Zambia: “Zambia has made enormous strides in terms of financial inclusion, with card usage and penetration growing at a rapid pace. With Kazang Pay, merchants can now easily accept card payments on the same all-in-one terminal they already use for vending of VAS products.

“Card transactions help merchants to grow basket sizes and potentially attract more customers, and at the same time, reduce the risks and costs of handling cash. Moving towards digitalised payments will also enable merchants to track sales, manage cash flow,  and create a footprint that could make it easier for them to access loans.”

Ashley Naidoo, director of Kazang Pay in South Africa says: “Our Zambian merchants have eagerly embraced our card acquiring service as a valuable part of our one-stop solution. Following the launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia, we have seen higher VAS sales across our merchant base and much-improved merchant retention and with our card acquiring solution we now appeal to a broader merchant base.”

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