Hey, Your Top Automobile News for February 09, 2021

Your Daily Automobile updates From Around The World [img]  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [img]( [The Automobile News]( [Tesla buys $1.5B in bitcoin, may accept the cryptocurrency as payment in the future]( Credits: www.techcrunch.com Today in an SEC filing, Tesla disclosed that it has acquired $1.5 billion in bitcoin, the popular cryptocurrency. Moreover, the company noted that it may also accept bitcoin in the future as a form of payment for its cars, though it did allow that there is some regulatory uncertainty around that effort. As the news broke, the price of bitcoin instantly rose by around 7% to more than $40,000 per coin. Tesla had previously telegraphed that it had an interest in the cryptocurrency, however to purchase such a large block of the coin is notable. In its filing, Tesla writes that earlier this year it “updated [its] investment policy to provide [it] with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on [its] cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity,” adding that it has the option of putting cash into “certain alternative reserve assets” that include “digital assets, gold bullion, gold exchange-traded funds and other assets as specified in the future.” Under that banner, the firm has “invested an aggregate $1.50 billion in bitcoin,” going on to say that the well-known electric car company “may acquire and hold digital assets from time to time or long-term.” That’s enough wiggle room for Tesla to do whatever it wants with its cash and the crypto markets. But the company wasn’t done, completing its news-drop by adding that the company “expect[s] to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for [its] products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which [it] may or may not liquidate upon receipt.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made waves in recent days by pumping a silly cryptocurrency joke called Dogecoin; this is something more material. Tesla is selecting bitcoin as the cryptocurrency of its choice, helping to further cement the blockchain as the world’s best known. And that it may accept bitcoin-denominated transactions in the future could help bitcoin retain both value and exchange volume, though we probably repeat ourselves. It’s worth noting that Musk himself has also personally sent bitcoin prices higher in the past using his social presence, including by changing his bio to just the single word, before its price faded back after he removed it earlier this month. [Read more]( The post [Tesla buys $1.5B in bitcoin, may accept the cryptocurrency as payment in the future]( appeared first on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( [Make in India 2021: Budget impact on Indian startups and the automobile sector]( Credits: www.yourstory.com Extension of tax holidays, exemption of capital gains, a higher FDI limit, and fund allocation for digital payments will give startups a boost. The vehicle scrappage policy would push up demand for the auto sector. On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the most anticipated fiscal Budget having six pillars of reform at its base — health and well-being, physical and financial capital, and infrastructure, inclusive development for an aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D, and minimum government and maximum governance. She said this period would be the dawn of a new era and laid out some attractive plans for Indian industries including the startup ecosystem and automobiles, paving the way for an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Budget gifts for startups The Budget has given many relaxations to the startup ecosystem; one such major relief is the extension of tax holidays for one more year till March 31, 2022. Given that startups were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, this is a most welcome announcement. In addition, to accelerate startup funding, the finance minister proposed to extend the capital gains exemption by one more year. Another big announcement is incentivizing one person companies (OPC). Till now only Indian residents could set up OPCs, but now non-resident Indians can also incorporate them The Budget proposal reduced the residency limit for Indian citizens from 182 days to 120 days to start an OPC. The minimum capital requirement of Rs 1 lakh for setting up an OPC has also been abolished, with the provision that the company can be made private or public at any given time. The finance minister has also increased the paid-up capital for small companies from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore. This will definitely boost the number of startups considering that NRIs are now allowed to set up OPCs, there is no longer a need to find a co-founder, and money can be raised easily. The FM also proposed to revisit the definition of small companies under the Companies Act, 2013 by hiking the threshold for capitalization from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore and the turnover threshold from Rs 2 crore to Rs 20 crore. It is said to help more than 200,000 small companies and more startups would be recognized as small companies, giving them enhanced liberty from a lot of compliance requirements. A fund allocation of Rs 1,500 crore has also been made for the digital payment industry, encouraging online payments and financial inclusion that will benefit many digital payment startups. A world-class fintech hub would start at GIFT City, Gujarat. Last but not the least, the foreign direct investment limit for the insurance sector has been proposed to be increased to 74 percent from 49 percent, giving a broad spectrum of opportunities to insuretech startups in the coming years. All these Budget proposals would transform the Indian startup ecosystem, inviting more funding from Indian and foreign investors and helping to achieve Make in India. How the automobile industry would benefit The Indian auto sector had been struggling due to goods and services tax (GST) introduction, insurance regulations, new safety norms, and emission norms since the past three years, and was dealt a blow due to the impact on factory production last year by COVID-19. As a result, this Budget was crucial for this sector, and it did favour the sector, though with some exceptions. The biggest hit of this Budget is the vehicle scrapping policy, according to which “private cars older than 20 years and declared unfit/polluting, will be scrapped and for commercial vehicles, the age is up to 15 years”. This move will benefit automakers by aiding a hike in their sales. As stated by Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations President Vinkesh Gulati, taking 1990 as the base year, around 37 lakh commercial vehicles and 52 lakh passenger vehicles are eligible for voluntary scrapping at present. Thus, implementation of this policy would lead to a demand surge in the auto sector. Giving preference to Make in India, the FM increased the customs duty on certain auto parts such as ignition wiring sets, safety glass, parts of signalling equipment to 15 percent from 7.5/10 percent. While this will increase the cost for auto manufacturers that assemble vehicles as completely knocked-down units, it would also encourage domestic production of auto parts. The reduced 7.5 percent custom duties on steel products will favor the auto sector, too. Alongside, the FM’s proposals for other sectors would also have a positive impact on the automobile industry. It includes a 100 percent tax exemption on income, dividends, and capital gains for foreign investment in the Indian infrastructure sector that will likely boost vehicle demand. Other initiatives that will help the auto industry in the coming years are the development of more economic corridors in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and West Bengal, for which Rs 3.3 lakh crore has been allotted, and the proposed launch of a scheme for Rs 18,000 crore to support the augmentation of public bus transport services. It will allow private companies to finance, acquire, operate, and maintain around 20,000 buses under the new public-private partnership models. Amid this good news, the government missed touching on important pointers like reducing GST on separate electric vehicle (EV) parts such as lithium-ion batteries and new schemes for boosting demand for EVs. GST on cars is still at 28 percent, weighing on the cost factor for manufacturers and customers. [Read more]( The post [Make in India 2021: Budget impact on Indian startups and the automobile sector]( appeared first on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( [‘Samsung could acquire automobile chip firm’]( Credits: www.koreatimes.co.kr Samsung Electronics’ possible move to acquire firms involved in the automotive semiconductor business seems to be rational given that cars will require a lot more chips and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to become more autonomous over the next decades, according to Jim Handy, a U.S.-based analyst working for Objective Analysis. There has been speculation that the Korean tech giant may try to acquire companies in the automotive semiconductor business, such as NXP, Texas Instruments, Renesas or Infineon. The chip industry analyst said acquiring one of them could be a comprehensible move as the importance of the automotive chip business has been increasingly highlighted because global carmakers are struggling with an unprecedented shortage of chips for cars, which has caused them to suspend production. The chip shortage issue stems from semiconductor companies prioritizing chips for IT devices and home appliances, which have been in strong demand since the COVID-19 outbreak. The analyst said Samsung may decide to acquire firms involved in the automotive chip business from the long-term perspective. “Right now the automotive semiconductor market is doing very well mostly because of a short-term shortage of foundry capacity. Samsung doesn’t usually invest with a short-term view, so let’s consider the long term,” Handy told The Korea Times during a recent email interview. “Over the next decade, automobiles will become autonomous (self-driving) and will require a lot of artificial intelligence (AI). Today most self-driving cars use graphics processing unit (GPU) chips from Nvidia for their AI. Although these chips were designed to process graphics, they perform AI calculations much faster and cheaper than standard Intel CPUs. They are also expensive,” he said. From that standpoint, companies specializing in AI technology will also be on the shopping list for Samsung. “There are very many small firms that are trying to develop AI chips that are less costly than Nvidia’s GPUs, as well as some research efforts in large firms like Intel and IBM. Samsung and SK hynix have also presented papers at technical conferences about AI chips that their research teams are investigating. None of these is an obvious target for an acquisition. Very few of the tiny AI-focused companies are publicly traded, so Samsung may acquire them without anyone learning about it until after the deal has been closed,” he said. Handy noted it is difficult to say Samsung’s attempt to acquire another company would be the wisest plan as the firm has traditionally focused on improving its internal competitiveness rather than taking the M&A route to leverage its business capability. “It’s really unusual for Samsung to acquire other companies. This appears to be something that conflicts with the company’s corporate culture. Samsung usually grows its business internally, without acquiring other firms,” the analyst said. Given Samsung’s corporate culture, which tries to focus on improving its internal competence, he added “it would be much more likely that Samsung would produce semiconductors that compete against these companies’ products and take the market away from them.” “From my perspective it would be surprising for Samsung to acquire a company like NXP or Infineon, or any other current leader in automotive semiconductors,” Handy said. “This is neither a good nor a bad thing. Samsung does extremely well without acquiring other companies, and other companies like Broadcom or Avago do extremely well by acquiring as many firms as they can,” he further noted. Samsung’s M&A bids recently surfaced as its chief financial officer revealed that the company will seek opportunities in an effort to find new growth engines. “For the last few years, we have been evaluating possible M&A opportunities very carefully and have made significant progress in terms of preparation,” Samsung Electronics CFO Choi Yoon-ho told investors during a conference call, Jan. 28. [Read more]( The post [‘Samsung could acquire automobile chip firm’]( appeared first on [TheAutomobileNews.com](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ You Might Like [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](        ------------------ Connect with TheAutomobileNews on Facebook and Twitter [fb](  [tw]( ------------------ You received this email because you operate or create content for a website/service and based on your website it seemed like this could be important information to you and your users. TheAutomobileNews daily newsletter is managed by Postbox Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd. 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