The Ministry of Commerce and eight other departments issued the "Opinions on Further Stimulating the Vitality of Lower-Tier Markets and Activating County-Level Consumption," proposing to expand the supply of high-quality and reasonably priced goods. Enterprises are encouraged to actively introduce high-quality products into county markets, launch new products simultaneously in eligible counties, and promote the "same quality and same enjoyment" of identical products in both urban and rural areas. Enterprises are guided to develop high-quality products that meet the consumption characteristics of counties, and support trade and circulation enterprises in building flexible supply chains through "own brands + production based on demand." Strong support is given to the promotion of new energy vehicles, green intelligent products, green building materials, and other items to rural areas, as well as expanding the coverage of rural charging facilities.

Recently, Changshu Automotive Trim Group and KraussMaffei officially held a strategic cooperation signing ceremony.Both parties announced the establishment of a long-term strategic partnership. This collaboration aims to deeply integrate the core strengths of both parties in technology research and development, industrial resources, process equipment, and other areas.Jointly promote the innovative upgrading and high-quality development of the automotive industry.

Marelli China has recently launched an integrated surface technology for outer lenses that eliminates the need for hard coating.This technology shifts the formation of the surface protection function from the traditional post-coating process to the injection molding stage, providing more possibilities for the design and functional development of automotive lamp outer lenses.In the existing manufacturing process, polycarbonate outer lenses require multiple hard coating procedures after injection molding, including cleaning, spraying, leveling, flash drying, curing, and cooling, to achieve protective properties such as scratch resistance, weather resistance, UV resistance, and chemical resistance.

On July 29, Qualcomm Technologies and BMW Group jointly announced that they had entered into a long-term cooperation agreement. Under the agreement, Qualcomm will provide computing chips for BMW Group’s next-generation digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance systems/autonomous driving systems over the next decade.

Spanish automotive industry media outlet *La Tribuna de Automoción* recently reported that Volkswagen and its partner Gotion High-Tech are engaged in in-depth discussions over the possibility of the Chinese battery maker taking a stake in Volkswagen’s battery plant in Valencia, Spain. Citing industry sources, the report said that Gotion High-Tech Chairman Li Zhen has led senior company executives on a visit to inspect the plant’s operations and related matters.

Luxury carOn July 29, a spokesperson for automaker BMW said the company had reached a voluntary redundancy agreement with employee representatives and plans to cut thousands of jobs in Germany by the end of 2027. According to people familiar with the matter, BMW’s current plan is to reduce its workforce by about 8,000 employees in total, with most of the cuts coming from Germany. The layoffs would amount to about 5% of the company’s total workforce and would mainly target employees in R&D, planning, and other functional departments, while frontline factory workers would not be affected. The plan has not yet been formally announced.

Sunwoda Power plans to carry out a C+ round capital increase and equity expansion, introducing Sungrow Power Supply and Tianqi Lithium as strategic investors, who will jointly invest RMB 805 million to subscribe for 2.93% of the shares. This partnership will strengthen the company’s energy storage cell business capabilities and ensure a long-term, stable supply of lithium raw materials.

According to the State Administration for Market Regulation, Zhaoqing Xiaopeng New Energy Investment Co., Ltd. has filed a recall plan with the State Administration for Market Regulation in accordance with relevant requirements. Starting from August 28, 2026, a total of 33,473 XPeng X9 vehicles manufactured between August 8, 2023 and August 11, 2025 will be recalled. For some vehicles within the scope of this recall, due to fluctuations in manufacturing processes, the airtightness of the front air spring may deteriorate. After prolonged use in high-temperature and high-humidity environments, the front air spring may slowly leak air, thereby triggering the illumination of a warning light and a text alert. In extreme cases, this may affect vehicle handling and pose a safety hazard. The company will replace the improved front air spring strut assembly free of charge for vehicles within the recall scope to eliminate the safety hazard.

SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung recently said that the current shortage of memory chips affecting the PC, automotive, and consumer electronics markets is highly likely to continue beyond 2030. In his first interview since the South Korean company completed a record-setting U.S. listing on Friday, Kwak said customers have been signing long-term contracts because they believe the shortage will last longer. SK Hynix, along with Samsung and Micron, has become one of the main beneficiaries of the AI boom. Massive purchases by data center operators have boosted demand for conventional memory chips while also significantly increasing the popularity of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) designed for AI systems. This buying frenzy has further squeezed the supply of general-purpose memory chips, leading to shortages in sectors such as PCs, smartphones, and automobiles. Kwak noted in the interview that SK Hynix’s analysis shows the shortage may continue into the next decade, and feedback from customers confirms the industry’s widespread expectation of a long-term undersupply of memory chips.

Mitsubishi Motors recently announced that it will begin mass production of humanoid robots at its factory in Japan. The humanoid robots, jointly developed with its invested startup Highlands, are expected to go into production around 2027 and will first be used in its own factories, with plans to consider external sales in the future. The company will build new production equipment in the idle space of its engine production plant in Kyoto, with a planned monthly output of 1,000 units.

The China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance Forum has released signals that the domestic power battery installed capacity is expected to reach 888.7 GWh by 2026. The industry is bidding farewell to the era of comprehensive growth and entering a period of structural optimization and transformation. The demand growth rate for new energy passenger vehicle batteries has slowed to 10.8%, while the demand for commercial vehicle batteries has surged by 34.7%, becoming the core driving force. Capacity utilization rates are polarizing, with lagging capacities accelerating exit, and demand for high energy density batteries warming up. Leading enterprises are focusing on breakthroughs in new materials such as silicon-based anodes and solid-state electrolytes, as well as overseas capacity deployment.

On July 2, GAC Toyota’s 10 millionth mass-produced vehicle officially rolled off the production line at its Nansha plant in Guangzhou. The model was the all-electric sedan bZ7.GAC Toyota has become another domestic automaker with a cumulative total. Joint venture automaker surpasses 10 million vehicles. The Bozhi 7 is the second mass-produced model under GAC Toyota’s pure electric exclusive brand Bozhi. It is positioned as a mid-size pure electric sedan, with an official price range of 154,800 to 214,800 yuan. It offers multiple battery range options, including 600 km and 700 km versions, as well as LiDAR intelligent driving features.

On June 29, the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance and the Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance jointly released the Initiative on Standardizing Supplier Payment Terms for Power and Energy Storage Battery Enterprises, aiming to encourage industry companies to implement the Regulations on Ensuring Payments to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and promote win-win cooperation across the industrial chain.On the same day, several companies including CATL, FinDreams Battery, Ganfeng Lithium Battery, and EVE Energy stated through official channels that they actively responded to the initiative.We are committed to working hand in hand with our partners to build an industry ecosystem characterized by integrity, compliance, coexistence, and mutual success.

Recently, it was reported that automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz Group will suspend year-end bonuses for about 90,000 employees in Germany and plans to extend working hours without additional compensation.The report cited internal documents stating, "Mercedes-Benz will be forced to deny the payment of the annual extra bonus originally scheduled for July to approximately 90,000 employees in Germany. In times of economic hardship, employers may choose to postpone or cancel this payment." It is estimated that the amount saved by this move could exceed ten million euros.In addition, management also plans to discuss extending working hours without paying compensatory remuneration. Mercedes employees currently work 35 hours per week.

Recently, the European Parliament has officially approved new EU circular economy rules that cover the entire lifecycle of vehicles, from design to end-of-life treatment. According to the new regulations, all new cars must be designed for the easy disassembly of as many components as possible. The plastics used in each new type of vehicle must contain at least 15% recycled plastic within six years and reach 25% within ten years. Of this recycled plastic, at least 20% must come from end-of-life vehicles or old parts (known as "closed-loop").

On June 21, iron phosphate and lithium iron phosphate, key raw materials for new energy and energy storage batteries, have seen prices rise continuously since the beginning of this year, with market demand remaining exceptionally strong. Reporters learned that a bag of lithium iron phosphate weighing about 400 kilograms now costs more than 25,000 yuan, compared with only 10,000 yuan a year ago. Despite the price having more than doubled, demand remains robust. According to a company executive, strong exports of new energy vehicles and energy storage products have continued to drive up demand for lithium iron phosphate, becoming an important factor behind this round of price increases. In addition to demand from downstream markets, rising prices of upstream raw materials are another key factor pushing up the price of lithium iron phosphate in this round.

Recently, it was reported that Hyundai Motor Group will acquire a 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics held by SoftBank, turning the latter into a wholly-owned subsidiary. The acquisition price is set at 500 billion won (approximately 325 million USD).

德国汽车制造商大众汽车集团近日表示，受地缘政治紧张、行业竞争加剧等因素影响，公司正加速推进业务重组。据悉，今年年底前，大众将在德国本土削减1.9万个岗位，到2030年削减约5万个岗位。大众汽车集团首席执行官布卢默在公司年度股东大会上表示，公司业务重组改革方案落地至今已超过一年半，核心举措包括削减管理运营成本、优化生产工厂布局、精简组织架构、加快技术研发进度等，旨在提升长期竞争力。 

On June 17, the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released data on the "May Automotive Industry Trends," showing that South Korea's automobile export value in May was 5.83 billion USD, down 5.9% year-on-year. Export volume was 230,072 vehicles, a decrease of 6.6% year-on-year. Domestic sales (127,315 vehicles) and production (329,559 vehicles) decreased by 10.3% and 8.2% year-on-year, respectively. Despite this, the production and sales of new energy vehicles continued to show strong growth momentum. The export value of new energy vehicles in May was 2.4 billion USD, an increase of 9.9% year-on-year, accounting for more than 40% of total automobile exports. Export volume was 83,145 vehicles, up 11.2% year-on-year. Domestic sales were 77,179 vehicles, an increase of 5.5% year-on-year.

On June 16, Celanese announced.AISIN Industrial Co., Ltd.’s consolidated subsidiary, AISIN Industries Kentucky, LLC, has used polyoxymethylene (POM) material made by Celanese from captured carbon dioxide.Used for producing fuel pump modules for a North American automotive manufacturer.