Wednesday Sector Laggards: Auto Dealerships, Vehicle Manufacturers

Palm Beach, FL 6/27/12 (StreetBeat) -- In trading on Wednesday, auto dealerships shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 2.4%. Helping drag down the group were shares of O’reilly Automotive (Nasdaq:ORLY), off about 18.4% and shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) down about 4.1% on the day.

Also lagging the market Wednesday are vehicle manufacturers shares, down on the day by about 1.3% as a group, led down by Kandi Technolgies (Nasdaq:KNDI), trading lower by about 6.2% and Tata Motors Limited (NYSE:TTM), trading lower by about 2.6%.

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A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE) to Supply Batteries for Tata Commercial Vehicles

Austin, TX 3/1/12 (StreetBeat) -- A123 Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: AONE), a maker of batteries for electric vehicles, said it will supply packs for Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM)’s commercial vehicles.

Tata, India’s largest automaker, will use the lithium-ion battery packs on hybrid diesel-electric city transit buses in the second half of the year, Waltham, Massachusetts-based A123 said in an e-mailed statement. Terms were not disclosed.

“The addition of Tata Motors to our growing portfolio of blue-chip customers reinforces our position as the leading provider of lithium-ion battery technology for the truck and bus segment,” Jason Forcier, vice president of A123’s automotive group, said in the statement.

A123 supplies batteries for automakers including Fisker Automotive Inc., General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Daimler AG. Fisker, A123’s largest customer, said Feb. 6 it stopped working on its Wilmington, Delaware, plant after the U.S. Energy Department blocked access to a federal loan, citing unmet milestones.

Fisker said Feb. 28 it hired Tom LaSorda, a past president of the predecessor of Chrysler Group LLC, as chief executive officer. Fisker also said it may look for private investors to revive the Delaware factory, where it planned to begin making its second model, the Nina sedan, by next year.

A123 Systems fell 5.8 percent to $1.80 to at the close in New York yesterday. The shares rose 12 percent this year through yesterday, after falling 83 percent in 2011.

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