Acorn: Ben Graham’s Electric Car

Our play on passenger vehicle electrification. Probably not what you were expecting.

🎶Oh Lord, won’t you buy me…🎶

3rd March, 2023

Summary

• For someone that has never had any interest in cars, the 🐿️ surprisingly managed to find himself as an automotive executive for a few years. In an electric vehicle start-up. Those years are informing this view.

• Tesla or other EV-only start-ups? Leaving them to the Robinhood crowd.

• Copper? It’s a great related trade and we already have it on as a core position in the portfolio.

• We look at the EV battery supply chain.

  • Battery OEMs? The ‘big 3’ in China / North Asia are the obvious candidates. Market leader, CATL, is tough to buy (China listed) and not cheap.

  • Battery metals and related technologies? Liquid lithium plays, SQM and ALB probably the best bet but not for us for now. We also give a quick shout out to an existing EV battery tech position in the portfolio, NANO.

• So, what’s the Acorn? We are buying Mercedes Benz (‘MBG’). Yes, after a long-winded tour of battery chemistry, high technology and supply chains, buying the 97-ye…