Finance

Chinese EV company Zeekr says its battery can charge faster than Tesla

Published

10 months ago

August 13, 2024

EMBARGOED TO 1910 SG (1210 LONDON) ON TUES AUG 13 2024

The New York Stock Exchange welcomes Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Limited in celebration of its initial public offering on May 10, 2024.

BEIJING — Chinese electric car brand Zeekr announced new batteries on Tuesday, which it says boast the fastest charge in the world.

The offering aims to address consumers’ long-standing worries about battery driving range and ease of charging.

In just 10.5 minutes, Zeekr’s new batteries can go from a 10% to an 80% charge, using the automaker’s ultra-fast charging stations, the U.S.-listed company said. Zeekr said that the new battery could achieve the same charge performance even in negative 10 degree Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) weather in about 30 minutes.

Comparatively, Elon Musk’s Tesla says its supercharger allow the company’s vehicles to charge up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.

The company’s website says the Model 3 can recharge up to 175 miles in 15 minutes, or about 48% of the car’s stated 363 mile-range.

Chinese automaker Nio has also offered the alternative of a three-minute battery swap. The subscription service automatically changes out the battery of designated car models with a charged one at specific swap stations.

Tesla faces tough competition in China and slow EV adoption in the U.S., investment advisory firm says

Zeekr said that its 2025 007 sedan, which is set to begin deliveries next week, will be the first model to use the new batteries.

The company noted it has opened more than 500 ultra-fast charging stations in China and plans to double that tally by then end of this year. Zeekr aims to operate more than 10,000 ultra-fast charging stations in 2026.

The Geely-owned electric car company delivered a record number of vehicles in June, making its deliveries for the first half of the year the largest among U.S.-listed Chinese companies that only sell pure electric cars. Deliveries fell slightly in July.

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Swiss government proposes tough new capital rules in major blow to UBS

Published

2 days ago

June 6, 2025

Business Finance News

A sign in German that reads “part of the UBS group” in Basel on May 5, 2025.

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

The Swiss government on Friday proposed strict new capital rules that would require banking giant UBS to hold an additional $26 billion in core capital, following its 2023 takeover of stricken rival Credit Suisse.

The measures would also mean that UBS will need to fully capitalize its foreign units and carry out fewer share buybacks.

“The rise in the going-concern requirement needs to be met with up to USD 26 billion of CET1 capital, to allow the AT1 bond holdings to be reduced by around USD 8 billion,” the government said in a Friday statement, referring to UBS’ holding of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds.

The Swiss National Bank said it supported the measures from the government as they will “significantly strengthen” UBS’ resilience.

“As well as reducing the likelihood of a large systemically important bank such as UBS getting into financial distress, this measure also increases a bank’s room for manoeuvre to stabilise itself in a crisis through its own efforts. This makes it less likely that UBS has to be bailed out by the government in the event of a crisis,” SNB said in a Friday statement.

‘Too big to fail’

UBS has been battling the specter of tighter capital rules since acquiring the country’s second-largest bank at a cut-price following years of strategic errors, mismanagement and scandals at Credit Suisse.

The shock demise of the banking giant also brought Swiss financial regulator FINMA under fire for its perceived scarce supervision of the bank and the ultimate timing of its intervention.

Swiss regulators argue that UBS must have stronger capital requirements to safeguard the national economy and financial system, given the bank’s balance topped $1.7 trillion in 2023, roughly double the projected Swiss economic output of last year. UBS insists it is not “too big to fail” and that the additional capital requirements — set to drain its cash liquidity — will impact the bank’s competitiveness.

At the heart of the standoff are pressing concerns over UBS’ ability to buffer any prospective losses at its foreign units, where it has, until now, had the duty to back 60% of capital with capital at the parent bank.

Higher capital requirements can whittle down a bank’s balance sheet and credit supply by bolstering a lender’s funding costs and choking off their willingness to lend — as well as waning their appetite for risk. For shareholders, of note will be the potential impact on discretionary funds available for distribution, including dividends, share buybacks and bonus payments.

“While winding down Credit Suisse’s legacy businesses should free up capital and reduce costs for UBS, much of these gains could be absorbed by stricter regulatory demands,” Johann Scholtz, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said in a note preceding the FINMA announcement.

“Such measures may place UBS’s capital requirements well above those faced by rivals in the United States, putting pressure on returns and reducing prospects for narrowing its long-term valuation gap. Even its long-standing premium rating relative to the European banking sector has recently evaporated.”