TheChek News Flow

Tesla’s imitators may not be paying enough attention to squeezing all the juice they can out of EV batteries

How fuel-efficient is the electric vehicle you’re thinking of buying?

The question isn’t as silly as it sounds. The electricity stored in the big lithium-ion batteries that drive EVs is fuel too. The amount needed to propel all that metal a given distance forward matters for the electricity bills you will end up paying, the miles you can travel between charges and the size of the battery you need to buy in the first place.

But the question might be important above all for investors. EVs that make efficient use of battery supplies should be more profitable to manufacture, all else being equal. And as cash flows from conventional cars come under pressure, the margins car companies make on EVs will start to determine who has the cash flows to keep up in an emerging technology race.

Fewer than one in 20 new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year was electric, including plug-in hybrids, but that will change. In a survey by consulting firm AlixPartners last October, 19% of U.S. consumers said they were “very likely” to buy an EV as their next vehicle, excluding hybrids—up from just 5% two years before. The numbers are higher globally: One-quarter of consumers intend to buy an EV next. There is no shortage of enthusiasm from manufacturers: Seven of the nine car ads in the recent Super Bowl were for plug-ins, compared with none as recently as 2018.

The options currently on offer typically run for roughly 2 to 4 miles for every kilowatt-hour of power their batteries hold—a measure that has something of the familiarity of miles a gallon. Some, including data provider Edmunds, prefer to say they need between roughly 25 and 50 kWh to go 100 miles, which is the same equation flipped. As tested by Edmunds, EVs by Hyundai and BMW’s Mini brand rank best by this measure of efficiency, while EV darling Rivian’s debut pickup truck is at the bottom.

Rivian’s position shouldn’t be a surprise. The weight and poor aerodynamics of pickups have always made them fuel-inefficient, which hasn’t stopped an increasing share of Americans buying them. With the electric versions now hitting the market, there is an extra factor: To achieve a decent range between charges despite that inefficiency, you need a lot of batteries, which are themselves heavy.

That leaves some doubting that electric pickup trucks make sense at all with today’s EV technology. Rivian recently increased its prices, drawing the ire of fans and a partial reversal last week by the company. “The correct solution for an affordable pickup today is the internal combustion engine,” says Peter Rawlinson, chief executive of rival EV startup Lucid Group, which works on luxury sedans and is unusually focused on questions of powertrain efficiency.

The weight dynamic applies in reverse to the most efficient cars, which tend to have small batteries. “It is a feedback loop: If you have an efficient vehicle you need fewer batteries, which in turn makes it more efficient,” said Arne Brethouwer, founder of European data provider EV Database.

Such comparisons highlight the limitations of efficiency metrics as a guide to consumer EV demand, particularly in the U.S. Rivian’s truck has had rave reviews and substantial preorders, while smaller, lighter EVs haven’t sold well.

General Motors has shifted its focus away from the relatively efficient but otherwise problem-ridden Bolt EV toward muscular vehicles with huge battery packs like the GMC Hummer and the coming electric Silverado. Its bet seems to be that electric powertrains won’t change the American preference for big, inefficient vehicles. This seems reasonable given that the cost of charging even electricity-guzzling EVs will almost always be lower than filling conventional counterparts with gas.

So why is Tesla TSLA -2.41% so focused on efficiency? The EV pioneer uses smaller battery packs than you might expect given the range of its vehicles, thanks to energy-saving innovations in functions such as climate control as well as the powertrain itself. Given the high cost of batteries, this may be one reason Tesla was able to make double-digit margins for most of last year, alongside other factors such as the vast scale of its factories and high U.S. vehicle prices.

Many EVs that go after Tesla’s market, such as Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, pile on extra batteries—and pounds—to keep up. The question around this approach is how the economics stack up. The difference between a gas-guzzler and its electric counterpart is that the manufacturer bears part of the cost of EV inefficiency upfront through battery purchases rather than leaving the consumer to shoulder it all at the pump.

Traditional car makers can subsidize their EV businesses for a while to get a foot in the door, but as sales take off they will need to bring down battery costs. The much-discussed playbook for doing this at GM, Ford and Volkswagen involves dedicated EV designs, scalable battery technologies and in-house cell production.

The question of stretching batteries as far as they will go is only starting to get attention. At this year’s CES tech show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a concept car optimized for efficiency: The “Vision EQXX” can run for more than 6 miles for every kWh of battery capacity.

The cost problem might be muted in time by battery innovation. “Today’s batteries are going to be in the museum by the end of the decade,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. Still, companies that know how to squeeze all the juice they can from the latest battery technology seem likely to stand at an advantage.

In the EV age, fuel efficiency is cost efficiency too. Investors would be wise to pay attention to it, even if consumers don’t.

French footballing giant Paris Saint-Germain opened a new flagship store in New York last week, signalling its intention to become the sport’s first true fashion brand.

• PSG opened its 16th physical store this week in New York, with plans for more.
• Partnerships with Dior, Air Jordan and Stüssy helped elevate the PSG brand into the fashion sphere, tapping into the club’s relationship with Parisian style, hip-hop and youth culture.
• The company’s e-commerce sales have grown 300 percent since 2020, buoyed by expansion in Asia and North America.

Paris Saint-Germain may be the world’s coolest football club. Its jersey has graced the runway at Paris Fashion Week with Parisian brands Koché and Louis Gabriel Nouchi, while hip-hop legend J Cole wore a special edition PSG shirt in a viral music video.

But the club didn’t always have the cultural cachet it does today. Over the last 10 years, PSG has successfully built its brand to be more than just a sports team. By opening stores worldwide, collaborating with fashion labels like Dior and Stüssy, and expanding its e-commerce footprint by working with licensed sportswear retailer Fanatics, PSG is looking to position itself as a bona fide fashion brand.

Last week, it unveiled its latest flagship store on New York’s 5th Avenue, alongside labels like Louis Vuitton and Valentino. This is PSG’s 16th store. Other locations include the Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles, the Champs-Elysées in its hometown, and Tokyo’s Shibuya Parco luxury shopping mall.

Today, PSG has already surpassed $40 million in e-commerce sales of its jerseys, tracksuits and other activewear pieces, the majority of which are licensed through Nike. While most of its products are priced below $100, pieces in luxury collaborations are sold at higher prices, in drops that typically sell out within hours. The club aims to hit $60 million in e-commerce revenue by 2026, according to Zohar Ravid, senior vice president, global corporate development at Fanatics, which began working with PSG in 2020. Fanatics runs PSG’s global e-commerce and brick-and-mortar operations, controlling the production, distribution and marketing of the club’s branded apparel. Ravid believes the PSG retail business has ample opportunity to grow as it plans to open new stores in China and Europe.

Part of the strategy is simply selling merch — not a difficult task for a popular sports team. PSG, nonetheless, is trying to carve out a space for itself in fashion, too, joining a saturated landscape of sports, streetwear and lifestyle brands. Its competition is made up of far more established brands like Adidas and Supreme.

In 2010, PSG was a storied yet cash-strapped football team, hampered by corporate mismanagement and struggling in Ligue 1, France’s top division. But in the following year, Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, took a controlling stake in the business. Suddenly, the club had cash to invest in not only player transfers but marketing its brand too.

Today, PSG is among the top 10 richest football clubs worldwide. In 2021, the company’s revenue was $599 million, the bulk of which was generated by broadcast revenue, match day income and sponsorship. But e-commerce is a growing segment of PSG’s lucrative earnings. Since 2020, online sales have risen 300 percent.

The Qatar Sports Investments takeover came at a time when the world’s biggest football teams like Manchester United and Barcelona were also starting to think of themselves as brands, building out their product offerings, e-commerce and digital marketing strategies. Smaller Parisian club Red Star FC even hired a creative director in 2016. PSG, though, is by far the most ambitious among the other teams. And it has an advantage: With a die-hard fan base, the club already touted a long-standing connection to street style and youth culture in Paris, where PSG tracksuits and jerseys were commonly sighted.

“It’s a lifestyle brand that was born in the streets of Paris — long before the money arrived at PSG,” said Walter D’Aprile, founder and chief executive of NSS Magazine, a Milan-based digital publication and creative agency.

In building its brand, PSG’s most effective strategy so far has been collaborations with fashion labels. The club is the first major sports team to work with the likes of Dior and streetwear labels Stüssy and 3. Paradis, according to Jordan Wise, co-founder of GAFFER and False 9, a London-based agency dedicated to “bridging the gap” between fashion and football.

Its ongoing partnership with Nike’s Jordan brand, which launched in 2018, cemented PSG’s clout in North America, a market which football brands typically struggle to penetrate because of the dominance of the NBA and NFL.

“The Jordan co-sign has undoubtedly been instrumental to the rise of the club as a fashion player,” Wise said.

PSG match jerseys and training gear now carry the iconic Jordan “Jumpman” logo, while the partnership has produced PSG-themed adaptations of the signature Air Jordan 1, 4 and 6 sneakers. The PSG x Jordan 4 sneakers are currently listed on StockX for $429.

“Each Jordan drop we do sells out within the first day,” Ravid said.

Collaborations with Dior and brand tie-ups at Paris Fashion Week allowed PSG to align its brand with luxury fashion. The Dior formalwear partnership earned the club valuable product placement across the luxury brand’s social accounts.

Meanwhile, collaborations with classic streetwear names like Stüssy, in February, and Bape, in 2018, has allowed PSG to display its connection with street fashion, retaining the gritty, urban feel of the club’s appeal. The PSG and Bape capsule’s puffer jackets sell for more than $2,000 on some resale platforms and the jackets’ price on StockX has increased by 713 percent since 2018. Such collaborations, while a small percentage of PSG’s overall products, drive hype and elevate the rest of the club’s more affordable offering.

PSG’s player recruitment strategy is also aligned with its ambitions in fashion. The club boasts an elite stable of social media-savvy footballing talent who count as brands in their own right. The stars of its men’s team — Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappé — have a combined 548 million followers on Instagram alone, and act as ready-made models and tastemakers for the marketing of club apparel and collaborations. Mbappé's recent post showing off the latest PSG x Jordan collection fetched over five million likes on Instagram.

Players are also comfortable navigating the fashion world — earlier this month, Neymar, Mbappé and their Italian teammate Marco Verratti were in the front row for Olivier Rousteing’s Balmain show at Paris Fashion Week.

“PSG was first-to-market in building fashion out of a major football brand,” Wise said. “It will now always have this authenticity as the originator of this movement.”

(New York Times) -- Last June, a meeting of the Dutchess County Legislaturein New York’s Hudson Valley quickly turned heated over how to spend some of the county’s $57 million in federal pandemic relief aid.

For more than two hours, residents and Democratic lawmakers implored the Republican majority to address longstanding problems that the pandemic had exacerbated. They cited opioid abuse, poverty and food insecurity. Some pointed to decrepit sewer systems and inadequate high-speed internet. Democrats offered up amendments directing funds to addiction recovery and mental health services.

In the end, the Legislature rebuffed their appeals. It voted 15 to 10 to devote $12.5 million to renovate a minor-league baseball stadium that’s home to the Hudson Valley Renegades, a Yankees affiliate.

“Who created this plan? Some legislators?” asked Carole Pickering, a resident of Hyde Park. “These funds were intended to rescue our citizens to the extent possible, not to upgrade a baseball field.”

“I think we should be a little bit ashamed,” Brennan Kearney, a Democrat in the Legislature, told her fellow lawmakers.

Cities and counties across the United States have found themselves in the surprisingly uncomfortable position of deciding how best to spend a windfall of federal relief funds intended to help keep them afloat amid deadly waves of Covid-19 infections.

The pandemic, which is showing signs of waning as it enters its third year, prompted the largest infusion of federal money into the U.S. economy since the New Deal. President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump got Congress to approve roughly $5 trillion to help support families, shop owners, unemployed workers, schools and businesses.

A large portion of the aid went to state, local and tribal governments, many of which had projected revenue losses of as much as 20 percent at the pandemic’s onset. The largest chunk came from Mr. Biden’s $1.9 trillion recovery bill, the American Rescue Plan, which earmarked $350 billion. That money is just beginning to flow to communities, which have until 2026 to spend it.

“We’ve sent you a whole hell of a lot of money,” Mr. Biden said during a meeting with the nation’s governors in January.

In many cases, the money has become an unusually public and contentious marker of what matters most to a place — and who gets to make those decisions. The debates are sometimes partisan, but not always divided by ideology. They pit colleagues against each other, neighbors against neighbors, people who want infrastructure improvements against those who want to help people experiencing homelessness.

“It’s both breathtaking in its magnitude but it still requires some hard and strategic choices,” said Brad Whitehead, who is a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings Metro, a metropolitan policy project, and advises cities on how to use their funds. “One of the difficulties for elected leaders is everyone has a claim and a thought for how these dollars should be used.”

Local governments were given broad discretion over how to use the money. In addition to addressing immediate health needs, they were allowed to make up for pandemic-related revenue losses from empty transit systems, tourist attractions and other areas that suffered financially.

That money is often equivalent to a third or nearly half of a city’s annual budget. St. Louis, for instance, will receive $498 million, more than 40 percent of its 2021 budget of $1.1 billion. Cleveland, with a city budget of $1.8 billion, will get $511 million.

But the relief comes with strings: Governments are prohibited from using the funds to subsidize tax cuts or to make up for pension shortfalls. And because the aid is essentially a one-time installment, it wouldn’t necessarily help cover salaries for new teachers or other recurring costs.

Several states have sued the Biden administration over the tax cut restriction, claiming it violates state sovereignty. Some governments have refused to take the money over concerns that it would give the federal government power to control local decision-making.

In Saginaw, Mich., the mayor formed a 15-person advisory group to recommend ways to spend the city’s $52 million allotment. Harrisburg, Pa., which received $49 million, has held public events seeking input from residents. Massillon, Ohio, identified the biggest source of public complaints — flooding and sanitation issues — and proposed using its $16 million share to address those areas.

“We listened to the people, and we’re trying to make improvements for them,” said Kathy Catazaro-Perry, Massillon’s mayor. “Our city is old. We have a lot of areas that did not have storm drains, and so for us, this is going to be huge because we’re going to be able to rectify some of those older neighborhoods.”

But many have found their communities mired in clashes over who has the power to spend the money.

In New York’s Onondaga County, which includes Syracuse, legislators from both parties have been trying to claw back spending authority from the county executive, Ryan McMahon, a Republican.

When the first half of the county’s $89 million stimulus share arrived last spring, Mr. McMahon placed it into an account that he controlled and began committing funds to projects, including a $1 million restaurant voucher program, $5 million in incentives for filmmakers to produce in the area and $25 million for a multisport complex featuring 10 synthetic turf fields.

Lawmakers, who questioned why they were not being asked to vote on the spending, were told by the county attorney’s office that they had ceded that authority in December 2020 when they approved an emergency resolution that gave the county executive authority “to address budget issues specifically related to Covid-19 global pandemic.”

Legislators argued that they had never intended for that control to extend beyond the immediate pandemic response.

James Rowley, who was elected chair of the Onondaga County Legislature in January, hired a lawyer and spent $11,000 preparing a lawsuit to challenge Mr. McMahon.

“We have the power of the purse,” Mr. Rowley, a Republican, said in an interview. “I didn’t want to set a precedent that gave the county executive power to spend county money.”

Mr. McMahon did not respond to a request for comment. On Feb. 22, he sent a letter to the Legislature proposing that it regain control of the stimulus funds that had not yet been allocated.

“I recognize your concern,” he wrote, noting that “our cooperative actions should comport with county charter principles of separation of powers.”

The rush of money from the federal government is in part an attempt to avoid the mistakes of the last recession, when state and local governments cut spending and fired workers, prolonging America’s economic recovery. But analysts say it will take years to fully assess whether all the spending this time was successful. Critics argue that the overall $5 trillion effort has added to a ballooning federal deficit and helped propel rapid inflation. And many states report increasing revenue, and even surpluses, as the economy strengthens.

The money has led to ideological fights over the role of the federal government.

In January, dozens of residents crowded into a City Council meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where they demanded that the mayor and other officials turn down the city’s $8.6 million share of stimulus funds, saying it was a ruse by Washington to take control of the town.

Residents booed and called the Council members “fascists.” Several referred to the money as a Trojan horse, lamenting that taking it would allow the federal government to impose restrictions on Idaho, including establishing vaccine checkpoints. Amid cries of “Recall!” one woman shouted repeatedly that “you have given up our sovereignty.”

“Nobody wants this money,” Mark Salazar, a resident, said to applause. “I don’t want to be under the chains of the federal government. Nobody does.”

The council eventually voted 5 to 1 to accept the funds, saying they would go toward expanding a police station and other areas.

Dutchess County residents were similarly agitated, if less rowdy, at their June 14 meeting about the stadium. Guidance on using the funds issued by the Treasury Department specifically cited stadiums as “generally not reasonably proportional to addressing the negative economic impacts of the pandemic.”

So why, those in attendance asked, was this happening?

Marc Molinaro, the county executive, defended the spending, saying Dutchess County had identified $33 million in lost revenue as a result of the pandemic and that, according to the Biden administration’s guidance, stimulus funds could indeed go toward investing in things like the stadium.

“It’s basically any structure, facility, thing you own as a government, you can invest these dollars in with broad latitude,” Mr. Molinaro said.

In a recent interview, Mr. Molinaro said that because the funds were one-time money, the county needed to be careful not to create expenses that could not be paid for once the federal funds ran out.

He added that investing in the stadium would produce an ongoing revenue stream for Dutchess County — money that he said would allow the government to pay for the types of programs that Democrats wanted.

The investment, he said, “allows us to create 25 years of revenue that we can invest in the expansion of mental health services, homelessness and substance abuse.”

That explanation has not mollified everyone.

“I was just devastated that we spent the money that way,” Ms. Kearney, the Democratic legislator, said in an interview. “It was such a betrayal of our community. So grossly inappropriate and grossly tone deaf to the needs of the people in Dutchess who have suffered.”

The man behind the namesake label takes us on a tour of his native city

Most of my days in Naples are spent in and out of our workshops in Casalnuovo, an area that has a long tradition of tailoring excellence. I was born in Naples and I’ve stayed here – I love this city and I love what I do. In that respect I’ve only ever worked a few days in my life.

Naples is beautiful all year round, but most of all when late spring turns to summer. The energy feels stronger, and the sunrises and sunsets over the sea are especially spectacular. The best place to view these is the hilltop of Posillipo, where you get the famous panorama across the bay to Mount Vesuvius. Up here you’ll also find my favourite spot for a leisurely lunch: Rosiello’s, where I’ve been eating alfresco on the terrace for over 30 years. The restaurant has an arrangement with the local fishermen, so the seafood is always extremely fresh. 

From the city’s heights, go down to the Sotterranea of Naples – the ancient belly of the city and a cool escape from the heat. One entrance is just off Via Tribunali, where you descend along underground corridors until you come to perfectly preserved aqueducts that once supplied the Roman city of Neapolis with fresh water. 

The other approach can be found amid the hustle and bustle of the winding streets around Centro Storico. Instead of a hotel, I recommend that visitors stay in a beautiful apartment in these old areas, especially in the Quartieri Spagnoli, as it’s where Naples really comes to life. Even everyday tasks like grocery shopping become entertaining. People are always sharing something: gossip, advice, a cup of coffee. Here in the Quartieri Spagnoli and in the nearby area of Chiaia is peppered with artisan boutiques full of beautifully handcrafted items, from antiques to silk to leather goods. The shopkeepers aren’t just selling their produce. You chat, you see the workshops and the quality of the workmanship. Most of these places aren’t well signposted, so it’s a case of making discoveries as you wander.

Look up from street level and you’ll see balconies and lines of washing hanging between the buildings. These are the colours that inspire my clothes collections. We based our AW22 line on the stuccoed houses and basilicas of the Sanità quarter, which is near the Capodimonte art gallery. Inside this 18th-century palazzo is a huge collection that includes paintings by Caravaggio, Titian and Artemisia Gentileschi – you could spend days there. 

For SS23 we are dedicating a collection to the Neapolitan singer Renato Carosone, who first sang the famous “Tu Vuo Fà L’Americano”. But the greatest music for me now is found at the San Carlo Opera House. I’ve come to a greater appreciation of opera through working on projects with the house, and the acoustics here are fantastic. The interior is exquisite, decorated at the height of baroque opulence. The royal box is connected to the Royal Palace by a secret passageway, so Bourbon kings could attend the theatre without having to venture outside. Did you know it was built 41 years before La Scala in Milan? It’s such a historic place.

Nightlife has been quite subdued in the past two years. Before, I’d go out in the vibrant Marechiaro area, many of whose bars are now finally reopening. Luckily, we’ve had our culture of pizza and coffee to see us through. The trouble is, once you have tasted these in Naples, you are ruined for anywhere else. Concettina ai Tre Santi is the place to go for the full range of pizza toppings, from the traditional to the imaginative. And for coffee go to Gran Caffè Cimmino and indulge in a rum babà, the Neapolitan brioche cake soaked in citrusy rum syrup.

On weekends, I take my boat across to Capri and just relax. I’m there so often that I’m officially an island resident. For a Capri-style seaside lunch, you’ve got to try the pizza all’acqua in Aurora Restaurant, and in the evenings Bar Tiberio is a must for an aperitif in the Piazzetta.

Wherever I travel, I take Naples with me. Some people may have a jaded view of the city that comes from TV programmes such as Gomorrah. But my response is always to tell people to come here, I’ll show them around, show them life in our fantastic city. You’ll notice that Neapolitan designers and tailors abroad always speak highly of each other’s work. Of course –we’re proud of where it is from.