Companies roundup: NS&I's new bond and Tesla

A new three-year ‘British Savings Bond’ has gone on sale today via National Savings & Investments (NS&I), after chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced them in the Spring Budget.

The bonds pay 4.15 per cent and savers can invest between £500 and £1mn, with the choice to have the interest reinvested or paid into their bank accounts. The rate is below the best three-year bonds available on the market, which currently pay around 4.65 per cent.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the bonds “may well be doomed to mid-table mediocrity”. She added that savers do not appear particularly keen on long-term fixed-rate savings accounts with easy-access and shorter-term options offering higher rates.

As with all NS&I products, the money invested is backed by the Treasury, so savers do not need to worry about the £85,000 limit of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) like with regular bank deposits. However, unlike Premium Bonds, the interest earned is subject to tax. VC

Read more: The case for (and against) owning Premium Bonds

Tesla misses first quarter delivery expectations  

Tesla (US:TSLA) delivered fewer cars in the first quarter of this year than it has since 2022, bringing its growth to an abrupt halt.

In the three months to March, the company delivered just 386,810 cars, down 9 per cent year-on-year and 20 per cent quarter-on-quarter. In the announcement, Tesla blamed shipping diversions in the Red Sea and an arson attack at the factory in Berlin for the decline in volumes.

If these supply chain problems are the main issues, then they can be corrected. The bigger concern is if there is a drop in the popularity of EVs. RBC Capital believes the market has become temporarily saturated in the US, with wealthier early adopters having already made purchases but with mainstream buyers yet to embrace electric vehicles. 

However, it doesn’t see it as a terminal issue for the industry. “Longer term, we expect battery electric vehicle variants across SUVs/pickups in the US and entry level in Western Europe, should help reignite demand,” explained analyst Tom Narayan. Tesla’s share price is down a third this year. AS

Read more: Meet the new electric vehicle top dog

AB Dynamics goes shopping in Chelsea

AB Dynamics (ABDP) is expanding its footprint in the US by buying Venshure Test Services for up to $30mn (£23.6mn). VTS provides dynanometer-based tests to US car makers and is particularly focused on the EV market, AB Dynamics said. 

Its products test outputs such as mileage accumulation as well as the performance of EV powertrains and batteries from a base in Chelsea, Michigan, close to the country’s car making capital, Detroit.

AB Dynamics said the purchase broadens the scope of testing services it can offer in the US, complementing its existing track testing services arm in California. It also offers the chance to "replicate testing services capabilities across both locations", it added.

It is paying an initial $15mn upfront for VTS, with the remainder based on performance targets hit over the next two years. VTS made a cash profit of $1.5mn on revenue of $3.5mn last year and had net assets of around $5mn at the end of March. AB Dynamics' shares rose by 3 per cent. MF