Greetings from London!
I have just returned from a couple of weeks soaking up some Mediterranean sunshine in southern England, which in the current drought felt more like Tuscany.
My young son has recently discovered what I do for a living and spent much of the holiday announcing the brand names of all the cars we saw.
That included a not insignificant number of Chinese brand cars – BYD, Omoda, Changan, Jaecoo, Leapmotor, a couple of Xpengs and even a Geely.
This was a far cry from the game of “Name That Brand” that I have engaged in with colleagues on visits to China – where sooner or later we all get stumped by a brand we do not recognize.
But it is a sign of the change that is taking place on roads from England to South Africa and many countries in between as Chinese brands rush to expand globally.
Which brings us to today’s Auto File…
Blume takes another swing
Honda, Toyota dented by Trump’s Canada tariffs
Merz under pressure over China
VW cuts go back to board
Earlier this summer, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume tried and failed to persuade the carmaker’s supervisory board to accept his proposal to slash jobs and shutter factories in Germany, its home market.
Blume will take a second bite at that apple later this week. But this time he faces two opposing proposals submitted by labour and state government stakeholders. The contents of those proposals are not clear, but presumably they would not entail tens of thousands of job cuts and factory closures.
The state premier of Lower Saxony, which is VW’s second-largest shareholder, says there is pressure on all sides to cut a deal.
A nuclear option left to VW’s management if they fail to muster enough support at this week’s board meeting is to call an emergency shareholder meeting.
Though this path runs the risk of a lengthy legal dispute between shareholders, it would allow VW to put its plan to investors who would be more amenable to making cuts to better compete against rapidly expanding Chinese rivals.
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Honda, Toyota’s tariff pain
The auto industry was taken by surprise by the trade war between the U.S. and Canada, as it had assumed a deal was coming.
But now, instead of 25% tariffs, automakers face 50% U.S. tariffs on all cars and trucks imported from Canada.
This is guaranteed to hurt an industry where cross-border supply chains and factories have evolved without issue until U.S. President Donald Trump’s second stint in office.
Automakers and suppliers will have to adjust to that pain, but as Reuters colleagues Daniel Leussink and Maki Shiraki report, it will be hardest for Toyota and Honda to adjust.
You can read all about it here.
The two Japanese automakers account for more than three-quarters of all cars made in Canada. Analysts say they could be forced to shutter some production lines if the tariffs go into effect on January 1 as proposed.
Canadian-built cars accounted for almost a quarter of Honda's U.S. sales and 17% of Toyota's last year, the most among major automakers, according to Barclays analysts. As a result, the two face the biggest potential hit from Trump's plan.
Pressure on Merz over China
Just two years ago, Germany voted against the EU’s proposed tariffs on Chinese-made EVs largely because its carmakers feared retaliation in China where they sold around a third of their new cars.
What a difference two years make.
Volkswagen has taken a pounding in China over the last six years as local brands like BYD have taken share. It has been joined more recently by BMW and Mercedes, which now face local premium Chinese brands keen on pinching their customers.
But their problems have not stopped there, as China’s automakers are growing rapidly in Europe, the home turf of those very same German automakers.
Now German automakers alongside other titans of German industry are pressing Chancellor Friedrich Merz to take a tougher line with Beijing, with companies calling for stronger action to address what they describe as unfair competition from Chinese rivals.
If an EU vote comes up on tariffs for Chinese-made plug-in hybrids, it will be interesting to see which way Germany votes this time around.
China touts auto safety
For years, China has gone along with whatever safety issues have been championed in Europe or the U.S. market.
But with a huge recall last month pushing automakers to fix door safety issues, China is now spearheading new auto safety standards for some of the world's most advanced cars.
Shortly after that major recall, Chinese regulators ordered automakers to file proactive recall plans for any defects uncovered in self-audits, as part of a year-long campaign to improve vehicle quality and safety in the world's largest auto market.
While Chinese automakers have rolled out features like fast-charging batteries and advanced self-driving software with breathtaking speed, analysts say they have often prioritised user experience and aesthetics over other considerations.
Now Chinese regulators appear to be moving the industry in a new direction, increasing oversight and introducing rules requiring automakers to track the condition and repair history of all EVs sold.
Setting the tone on auto safety matters, as it moves the industry’s center of gravity closer to Beijing.
Fast Laps
VinFast has suspended plans to manufacture three EVs in India and ordered suppliers to halt work on the projects while it reassesses costs, according to two sources and a company memo reviewed by Reuters — year after the Vietnamese automaker entered a crucial growth market.
General Motors plans to assemble a heavy-duty pickup at an Ontario plant as part of a tentative deal with a key union that would pump C$1.1 billion ($791.3 million) into Canada's auto sector as it reels from U.S. tariffs, according to a union bargaining report.
Chinese EV maker BYD posted its first rise in quarterly profit in more than a year, helped by a surge in exports that offset weak domestic sales.
Toyota said its global vehicle sales and production fell in July, weighed by declines in China, the United States and the Middle East, which offset a stronger performance in Japan.
Hyundai will launch or refresh more than 100 vehicles globally by 2030 and expand its U.S. hybrid lineup, as the South Korean automaker seeks to lift its operating profit margin above 9%.
Chinese automakers launched a raft of electric, hybrid and pickup truck models at South Africa's biggest auto show, betting on growing demand for electrified vehicles and seeking to challenge established rivals in the country's highly competitive pickup market.
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