Sachin S. Lawande
Analyst · Wolfe Research.
Yes. Yes. Let me take that, Emmanuel. This is Sachin. So yes, so first of all, I would like to share with you how this first half has performed relative to last year with BAMS. So last year, both our customers in North America, GM and Stellantis were in ramp- up mode in their battery manufacturing and the supply chain for battery tends to be pretty long, especially when it's in the ramp-up phase. So the level of demand that we had from these customers last year didn't necessarily reflect their vehicle production last year. Now what we are seeing this year with the inventory being built up and completed, is that our demand and our production of BMS, therefore, is reflecting what the vehicles or what these two OEMs are building this year as vehicles. So one thing I would say is, although it's lower on account of the reason I just mentioned with the buildup of inventory last year, Q2, sequentially, was higher than Q1, and it's very much in line with what we see as the demand that's driven from the sell-through of the vehicles at our customers. And we will have to see to your point about the go-forward basis what happens. We will have to see how these OEMs respond to these credits being -- this incentive being taken away by end of September. You probably know that the manufacturer credits still apply the 4 to 5x, and that remains. And we do anticipate that carmakers will continue to improve affordability of their vehicles. And as those investments that they are making in driving better affordability with the demand that we continue to see, especially in younger demographic, I do believe that EVs will continue to be part of the mix of powertrains that our customers will offer. And ultimately, consumers will have a choice to pick the powertrain that best meets their lifestyle. So I think we may have a short-term uncertainty, but longer term, I think it will stabilize. If you look at other parts of the world, Europe, of course, China, even emerging markets, demand for EVs has grown -- has not gone with the other way, incentives tend to be short term. At some point, this momentum picks steam and you hit critical mass. I do believe we have achieved that even here, especially with infrastructure improving and the understanding of the lower operating cost of EVs starting to become a little more widespread, I think we will see ongoing demand for it. Can't really quantify at this stage exactly what that's going to be, but we'll be in a better position as we go forward to make a better estimate of that.