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Category: Automotive

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Auto and Car news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Bridgestone Pushes Mining Tire Plants to Full Capacity

    Bridgestone Pushes Mining Tire Plants to Full Capacity

    Bridgestone is operating its specialized factories for large mining and construction equipment tires at nearly full capacity in November 2026, prioritizing high-margin lines to capture demand generated by artificial intelligence infrastructure.

    Output at the Tokyo-headquartered manufacturer’s Kitakyushu plant centers on ultralarge units that stand more than twice the height of an average person, built for heavy haulage operations.

    Management is directing industrial bandwidth toward off-the-road equipment servicing suppliers of copper, a critical conductor for data centers. The allocation links factory scheduling directly to capital expenditure across global digital infrastructure, where data facilities and related power equipment continue to drive raw metal extraction.

    Kitakyushu Capacity and Heavy Mining Volumes

    Industrial machinery tires represent one of the highest-margin categories in the global rubber sector. Producing them requires specialized curing presses and custom tooling, which limits how quickly competing manufacturers can match capacity spikes.

    Bridgestone has centered this production run on vehicles that service open-pit mines, where trucks transport hundreds of tons of ore per cycle. The wear rate on these sites requires steady tire replacement schedules, giving suppliers with immediate factory availability an advantage in long-term fleet contracts.

    By prioritizing massive haulage tires over standard industrial lines, the company protects operating margins against persistent raw material inflation. The specialized compound and steel cord formulations used in Kitakyushu command pricing power that consumer vehicle lines lack.

    Equipment Makers Expand US Support

    Equipment builders linked to the same mining corridors are expanding field support at a matching pace. Komatsu is moving to triple the size of its maintenance hub in the United States to handle repair work for mining machinery deployed across North American copper pits.

    The machinery maker raised its profit outlook on construction and mining demand across the Americas, while its finance leadership confirmed plans to increase equipment shipments into the region.

    Japanese heavy equipment suppliers are consolidating sales operations across regional corridors to protect market share. Trading house Itochu reached an agreement to acquire the Taiwan sales unit of Hitachi Construction Machinery, tightening its control over distribution channels as industrial equipment demand rotates across Asian and trans-Pacific logistics routes.

    Rival Pressures Across Automotive Segments

    Bridgestone is managing this mining ramp-up while its core consumer tire business faces low-cost competition across Asia. Japanese competitors are redirecting capital to counter cost-efficient Chinese manufacturing platforms.

    Yokohama Rubber is setting up lower-cost production facilities targeting BYD and other Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. That strategy seeks volume at narrower margins, contrasting with Bridgestone’s capital allocation toward specialized, high-tonnage mining contracts.

    Bridgestone has simultaneously pursued alternative commercial formats in its home market. The company put its airless tire technology onto public roads in Japan following nearly two decades of technical trials, looking for durability gains in light urban transport while mining lines absorb heavy industrial investment.

    Capital Allocation and Fleet Exposure

    Focusing plant operations on copper extraction exposes Bridgestone to cyclical risks in metals demand. If data center buildouts slow or power grid procurement stalls, mining fleets quickly idle haul trucks and defer replacement orders.

    For now, lead times on heavy earthmover tires remain extended across North America. The immediate operating risk sits in factory flexibility, as running Kitakyushu near ceiling levels leaves little headroom if machinery failures interrupt production lines.

    Bridgestone’s operating balance sheet reflects the pivot toward high-specification industrial components. Maintaining nearly full utilization at Kitakyushu gives the manufacturer pricing use with global mining houses through the next contracting round.

  • BYD Unveils Yangwang Altior Sedan Priced at 2.08 Million Yuan

    BYD Unveils Yangwang Altior Sedan Priced at 2.08 Million Yuan

    BYD’s ultra-luxury marque Yangwang unveiled its flagship Altior executive sedan in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, opening pre-orders for a limited production run expected to cost 2,080,000 yuan.

    Securing an allocation for the initial four-seat “Shanhe Dingyun” edition requires a 300,000 yuan ($44,660) deposit from buyers in China, with total global deliveries capped at 399 units.

    A subsequent five-seat version will join the lineup later as BYD targets market share held by traditional benchmarks including the Maybach S-Class and Bentley Flying Spur.

    Cabin appointments and dimensions

    The vehicle measures 5,600 millimetres long, 2,030 millimetres wide, and 1,590 millimetres tall, with a wheelbase stretching to 3,500 millimetres. Coach doors open outward to nearly 90 degrees to clear passenger access, incorporating integrated umbrella compartments inside the door structures.

    Two individual rear seats sit divided by a central console, configured with integrated leg rests, champagne glass storage, and a dedicated rear command interface. Symmetrical woodwork, metal accents, diamond-quilted upholstery, and electric privacy sunshades finish the interior. The Shanhe Dingyun edition pairs brown rock and white jade cabin colours with Hetian jade air vent inlays, aramid fibre door panelling, gold speaker grilles, and cloud-patterned emblems.

    Powertrain and battery engineering

    BYD installed its second-generation Blade Battery in the chassis alongside high-output flash-charging systems designed to cut station dwell times. Chinese light-duty test cycle (CLTC) testing yields a driving range exceeding 1,000 kilometres on a single cycle.

    Yangwang has withheld whether the drivetrain relies solely on traction batteries or includes an internal combustion range extender. The exterior uses a two-tone paint treatment over enclosed aerodynamic wheels, floating centre caps, and a dot-matrix gemstone grille framed by Yangwang’s tripod-style front fascia.

    Competition in the top tier

    Choosing Abu Dhabi for the vehicle rollout confirms Yangwang’s intent to sell directly against the Bentley Flying Spur and the Maybach S-Class in high-net-worth hubs across Asia and the Gulf. Ultra-luxury margins provide substantial cash cover, yet buyers in the two-million-yuan segment historically demand generational brand heritage alongside mechanical performance.

    Convincing institutional fleets and chauffeured executives to abandon German and British badges remains an uphill commercial task. The limited run of 399 cars caps early inventory exposure, letting BYD test buyer price tolerance before ramping volume configurations.

    Sales scale and pipeline

    Hu Xiaoqing, general manager of Yangwang’s sales division, previewed the project under internal codename HU on October 21. The vehicle follows the brand’s earlier launches, including the U7 sedan and the four-seat U8L Dingcang Edition sport utility vehicle released in August.

    Scale across the marque remains narrow, with Yangwang delivering 3,546 vehicles through the first ten months of 2026. The production run now heads toward an unpriced five-seat Altior variant scheduled to enter commercial distribution once initial Shanhe Dingyun deliveries conclude.

  • Tada Enters Singapore Driverless Minibus Trial Starting in Early 2027

    Tada Enters Singapore Driverless Minibus Trial Starting in Early 2027

    Singapore ride-hailing company Tada Mobility has joined an autonomous minibus pilot scheduled to launch in early 2027 across the resort island of Sentosa. The initiative deploys driverless vehicles engineered by Chinese developer WeRide, matching moves by regional rival Grab into commercial autonomous services.

    An autonomous minibus destined for the Sentosa route was displayed during a media preview in the city-state on Oct. 29. Singaporean authorities continue to lean on self-contained tourism destinations to evaluate passenger safety, booking uptake and fleet management platforms before expanding trials into busier residential estates.

    The upcoming pilot brings autonomous public transport directly into Tada’s app ecosystem as leisure passengers navigate the island’s attractions. By introducing driverless shuttles to one of the country’s most frequented leisure corridors, the partnership tests whether holidaymakers will embrace automated mass transit for their daily transfers.

    Hardware and Route Rollout

    Vehicles built by China-based WeRide will operate on designated routes across the island resort, where tourist footfall provides dense, predictable transport demand. The platform previewed its autonomous minibus in Singapore on Oct. 29 ahead of route mapping and system certification.

    Tada plans to integrate booking options into its mobility ecosystem to study how leisure travellers interact with driverless public transport. Sentosa already acts as a test ground for private shuttle lines, monorail links and cable cars, giving operators a closed network to run trials without mixing directly into dense urban city traffic.

    The Race Against Regional Competitors

    Grab has pursued its own autonomous vehicle partnerships across Southeast Asia, testing self-driving technology alongside transport research institutes and automotive suppliers. By adding WeRide hardware, Tada avoids the heavy capital expenditure of building proprietary self-driving stacks, relying instead on proven Chinese vehicle platforms.

    For operators, the risk sits in fleet unit economics and battery charging logistics in tropical weather conditions. Driverless shuttles eliminate driver commissions, which form the primary cost line in private-hire operations, but they substitute labour costs with upfront vehicle financing, sensor maintenance and remote tele-operation safety staff.

    Regulatory Steps Across Singapore

    Singapore has tested autonomous buses and road-sweepers over the past decade under regulatory sandbox frameworks. Authorities require physical safety drivers or certified remote monitoring systems during all public demonstration phases.

    WeRide secured Singapore road-testing permits after testing its robotaxi and mini-bus variants on Chinese city streets. The Sentosa pilot represents its most visible commercial show for consumer-facing transport in the city-state.

    Next Steps for the Pilot

    Project engineers are completing route surveys and sensor calibration across Sentosa’s arterial roads ahead of the launch window. The passenger trial will measure route turnaround times, booking frequency and operational uptime across early 2027.

  • Nio Warns Heavy EVs Cause 2.07 Times More Road Damage

    Nio Warns Heavy EVs Cause 2.07 Times More Road Damage

    Nio founder and chief executive William Li warned at the 2026 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen that increasing an electric vehicle’s weight by 20 per cent causes 2.07 times the damage to public roads.

    Speaking at an industry forum on Thursday, Li explained that road engineering’s fourth-power law means pavement damage rises exponentially relative to vehicle axle load, amplifying the infrastructure burden created by heavy electric cars.

    Some passenger models across China now install 120-kWh batteries weighing 700 to 800 kilograms, whereas Nio limits its battery packs to 400 to 500 kilograms to restrain curb mass, accepting smaller capacity and shorter driving range as a trade-off.

    The Cost of Cutting Kilograms

    Trimming excess bulk carries steep development costs once a vehicle approaches standard production boundaries. Engineering teams can cut curb weight from two tons down to 1.9 tons with standard adjustments, but shaving each subsequent kilogram costs roughly 1,000 yuan ($149).

    Nio enforces an internal weight verification system across all model lines. Product teams must secure direct sign-off from Li for every single kilogram added above targeted design limits.

    Battery weight trade-offs dictate commercial strategy across the sector. Premium competitors pack larger cells into passenger vehicles to eliminate consumer range anxiety, driving curb weight upward and externalising highway maintenance expenses onto municipalities.

    Expanding Curbs Across China Fleets

    Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show average new passenger car curb weight climbed to 1,704 kilograms in 2024, up from 1,312 kilograms in 2012. Electric and plug-in hybrid passenger models averaged 1,939.3 kilograms during the first four months of 2026.

    National authorities are intervening with statutory caps. A mandatory vehicle energy consumption standard introduced on January 1, 2026 limits power consumption based on curb weight, imposing strict limits on models exceeding 2,710 kilograms.

    Under those rules, a two-ton vehicle cannot exceed 15.1 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres. That requirement tightens previous recommended targets by 11 per cent, forcing carmakers to improve motor efficiency rather than simply enlarging battery packs.

    Shifting Tax Systems and Swapping Networks

    Chasing long-range credentials with oversize batteries exposes manufacturers to regulatory headwinds. Regulators in Beijing are reviewing tax reforms that levy vehicle duties directly against curb weight, an adjustment that will raise retail ownership costs on heavyweight luxury electric sports utility vehicles.

    Automakers relying on fixed, high-capacity battery packs face margin pressure if weight-based taxation penalises heavy vehicles. Swappable battery platforms skirt part of that penalty by letting drivers run lighter packs for everyday commuting while taking on larger packs only for highway travel.

    Nio and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group established a comprehensive partnership on September 28 covering charging networks and battery swapping architecture. Li shared the forum stage with Geely chairman Eric Li to coordinate lifespan management and replenishment standards across shared fleets.

    National Guidance on Vehicle Bulk

    Li previously warned in a July 2025 livestream that the industry was blindly expanding battery capacity, noting that heavier cars cause greater damage to roads and that many countries levy taxes based on vehicle weight. In May this year, he told Yicai in an interview that “if China’s more than 300 million vehicles all become heavy vehicles, the roads will be crushed,” calling for national-level restrictions on vehicle weight and warning that without national guidance, the industry would descend into disorderly competition.

  • Revolt Motors Wins Order for 1,100 Electric Motorcycles from Bihar Police

    Revolt Motors Wins Order for 1,100 Electric Motorcycles from Bihar Police

    Revolt Motors won a contract to supply 1,100 electric motorcycles to the police department of Bihar for patrol operations across the eastern Indian state.

    The agreement specifies delivery to the state capital of Patna by January 2027, though Revolt Motors plans to hand over the entire batch by the end of this month.

    Contract Terms and Bike Specifications

    Bihar Police selected the BlazeX, a commuter model priced at 134,990 rupees (€1,268) ex-showroom, sitting near the top of the manufacturer’s six-bike catalogue. The broader retail lineup spans from 99,999 rupees (€940) to 144,950 rupees (€1,362), before statutory registration charges and vehicle insurance.

    The BlazeX runs on an IP67-rated mid-mounted motor supplied by domestic auto component maker Sona Comstar, generating 4.1 kW of power and 37.4 Nm of torque. That powertrain pulls energy from an IP67-rated 3.24 kWh battery pack containing CATL NMC cells. The motorcycle clocks zero to 40 km/h in 5.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of 150 km/h.

    A full charge from zero takes 4 hours and 45 minutes from a standard wall outlet. Where dedicated charging infrastructure is absent on patrol beats, officers can unclip the battery pack and recharge it indoors, drawing on a certified Indian Driving Cycle range of 150 kilometres per cycle.

    Fleet Demand Tests Commercial Viability

    Institutional contracts give electric two-wheeler makers a predictable volume buffer against erratic retail showroom footfall. While consumer buyers often delay electric motorbike purchases over charging friction and upfront price differentials, public agency contracts lock in recurring revenue and bulk parts supply.

    The operational risk sits squarely on duty cycle endurance. Police patrol work strains drivetrains through continuous idling, stop-start urban runs, and rough road surfaces far beyond typical civilian commuter patterns, testing both the Sona Comstar mid-drive motor and CATL cell chemistry under sustained heat.

    Institutional Strategy for RattanIndia Unit

    Revolt Motors entered commercial sales in August 2019 and has put more than 60,000 electric motorcycles on Indian roads to date. Parent company RattanIndia Enterprises now relies on public fleet deployments to establish operational reliability records that private retail marketing cannot replicate.

    “Securing an order for 1,100 electric bikes from Bihar Police is a significant step for Revolt. Institutional mobility presents a different set of requirements from individual ownership, and engagements of this scale give us an opportunity to take our products into real-world operating environments. We see institutional adoption as an important avenue for expanding the role of electric bikes in India.”

    Execution turns on whether Revolt Motors clears the 1,100-unit distribution to Patna depot facilities before the end of this month, well ahead of the official January 2027 contract cutoff.

  • Nio Schedules Guangzhou Tech Day Following 15.23% Delivery Drop

    Nio Schedules Guangzhou Tech Day Following 15.23% Delivery Drop

    Nio will hold its Nio IN 2026 innovation and technology day in Guangzhou on November 25, unveiling AI-driven vehicle cockpits and assisted driving products after vehicle deliveries fell 15.23 percent in October.

    Monthly volume dropped to 34,246 units, ending 31 straight months of year-on-year expansion and raising the stakes for hardware and software shows ahead of the city’s automotive exhibition.

    The announcement from Nio Inc on Wednesday revives the standalone tech event after it skipped 2025. Founder and chief executive William Li aims to highlight the company’s shift into an AI-native organization alongside updates to smart driving systems.

    Expanding Proprietary Silicon Beyond Vehicles

    Hardware commercialization has become a central piece of the carmaker’s corporate posture. Its chip design subsidiary, GeniTech Co Ltd, was spun off in June 2025 and has pushed its proprietary semiconductors into applications beyond passenger cars.

    The unit’s premium NX9031X processor runs across the entire vehicle portfolio of both the core Nio marque and the lower-priced Onvo brand. Filings from July showed cumulative shipments of that processor exceeded 300,000 units.

    At the World AI Conference, GeniTech showed three distinct chips: the NX9031X, NX9031U, and NX9031C. Those designs cover assisted driving, embodied intelligence, and agent inference, signaling an effort to build a commercial client roster outside its own assembly plants.

    The Software Pitch Ahead of Guangzhou Auto Show

    Positioning the presentation two days before the Guangzhou Auto Show opens on November 27 gives the manufacturer a head start against domestic rivals. Auto Home reported the brand plans to unveil a special edition of its third-generation ES8 sport utility vehicle during the trade exhibition.

    Consumer tech integration remains the primary battleground for Chinese EV manufacturers fighting brutal discounting across domestic showrooms. Software functions such as natural language voice controls and vision-based highway navigation often sway showroom buyers faster than marginal battery capacity gains.

    For automotive investors, the risk lies in heavy capital spending that outpaces consumer monetization. Developing bespoke silicon and large foundation models requires continuous cash outlays that squeeze operating margins when monthly sales hit turbulence.

    Corporate Structure Realigned for Artificial Intelligence

    The corporate push gained formal structure in January when William Li, founder, chairman, and chief executive of Nio, formed an internal AGI committee. That body oversees software adoption across research, assembly lines, supply chains, and driver-assistance platforms.

    Talent acquisition followed in May with the rollout of the Nio AGI Superstar Program. The global recruitment drive targeted university researchers specializing in physical-world foundation models, end-to-end driving models, the SkyOS vehicle operating system, and the NOMI in-vehicle voice assistant.

    Speaking at an earnings media briefing in September, Li stated that Nio is essentially not just an automaker, but also an AI and energy company. He argued that public markets have yet to fully value its technology stack, computing assets, and battery-swapping infrastructure.

    A Line of Development Dating to Shanghai

    The previous edition of the developer day ran in Shanghai on July 27, 2024. That event yielded the tape-out of the five-nanometer Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving processor, the debut of SkyOS, the second-generation Nio Phone, and the Nio World Model for vehicle guidance.

    Year-to-date delivery figures maintain positive momentum despite the sudden October contraction. The automaker delivered 334,547 cars during the first ten months of the year, an increase of 38.46 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.

    Guangzhou Auto Show opens its media preview on November 27.

  • Xpeng Beats OpenAI on Perception Benchmarks with 4-Billion-Parameter GroundingPI

    Xpeng Beats OpenAI on Perception Benchmarks with 4-Billion-Parameter GroundingPI

    Electric vehicle maker Xpeng has launched an embodied perception foundation model named GroundingPI, reporting an overall benchmark score that surpassed OpenAI’s frontier model GPT-6 Astra across 34 public perception tests.

    Built on a parameter scale of about 4 billion, the perception-first architecture ranked first in comprehensive evaluations and demonstrated higher data processing efficiency in robot simulation tasks. Xpeng developed the model in partnership with research teams from Peking University and the University of Hong Kong, aiming to significantly reduce the cost of manually collecting robot demonstration data.

    In a direct comparison across 11 capability categories, GroundingPI recorded a score of 73.68, edging out the 71.54 achieved by GPT-6 Astra, which OpenAI released in September this year. The code and model weights have been open-sourced.

    Benchmark Scores and Technical Design

    Existing general-purpose large models are primarily designed for digital scenarios and face an adaptation gap when applied directly to physical scenarios such as autonomous driving and robotics, Xpeng said. GroundingPI proposes that the primary prerequisite for embodied intelligence is accurately perceiving spatial positions.

    Therefore, the model does not use robot data with joint action labels during the training phase, relying entirely on pure perception data without action labels to cover 11 capability categories including general detection, text recognition, and robot spatial localization.

    Embodied intelligence is typically divided into a fast system (System 1) responsible for high-speed perception and action execution, and a slow system (System 2) responsible for task understanding and planning. GroundingPI aims to provide a perception-native foundation for the fast system, rather than replacing the general large model capabilities of the slow system, Xpeng said.

    Halving Data Collection in Warehouse Trials

    The research is currently at the scientific prototype stage, but its simulation results have provided validation for 2 core challenges in scaled deployment. The first is significantly reducing the cost of manually collecting robot demonstration data.

    A system using GroundingPI as its visual foundation can exceed the execution success rate of comparison models using 75% of the demonstration data while using only 50% of the data, because it directly takes on the task of locating objects in traditional Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models.

    The second is bringing stronger scenario generalization. In high-density simulation scenarios such as bulk material sorting and bin counting, the system maintains stable performance when dealing with changes in materials, object categories, and backgrounds, providing support for reuse across different workstations.

    Centralising Machine Intelligence

    GroundingPI represents an important advancement for the Chinese EV maker in building its physical AI system. Xpeng has continuously increased its bets on physical AI in recent years, hoping to drive its smart driving systems, humanoid robots, and robotaxi businesses.

    Earlier this year, Xpeng merged its autonomous driving center and smart cockpit center into a general intelligence center led by AI expert Liu Xianming , pooling resources to provide unified AI middle-platform foundation support for its automotive and robotics businesses.

    An Xpeng Iron humanoid robot was previously put on display at the April 2026 Beijing Auto Show.

  • South Korea Refers 80 Tesla Drivers to Prosecutors over Software Bypasses

    South Korea Refers 80 Tesla Drivers to Prosecutors over Software Bypasses

    South Korean police referred 80 Tesla owners to prosecutors for using unauthorized devices to activate the company’s Full Self-Driving software on vehicles barred from running the system. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed the action after confiscating 21 plug-in devices designed to crack regional software locks.

    Suspects face statutory penalties of up to two years in prison or fines of up to 20 million won, roughly 12,000 euros, under the Motor Vehicle Management Act. The statute treats unauthorized electronic alterations that affect safe vehicle operation as criminal infractions rather than contractual disputes.

    How Drivers Bypassed Regional Controls

    Investigators found owners tapped directly into the controller area network bus, the internal wiring system that shuttles electronic commands between automotive modules. These imported and homemade modules bypassed factory restrictions that keep the driver-assist feature turned off on uncertified cars.

    Drivers sourced specialized hardware from Europe and China, while at least one technician in the information technology sector built a custom bridge using open-source code and public schematics. Members of online driver groups then traded step-by-step instructions on running the software and clearing electronic logs to evade automated detection during routine service visits.

    Trade Rules Split the Tesla Fleet

    The regulatory fracture runs along factory origins. South Korea permits Full Self-Driving only on American-built Model S and Model X units, as well as the Cybertruck, because those vehicles enter the country under vehicle safety exemptions negotiated in the bilateral free trade agreement with the United States.

    Chinese-built Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers do not benefit from those trade terms. They require distinct domestic safety certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport before advanced autonomous features can operate legally on public roads.

    Liability Shifts to the Driver Seat

    For automotive brands and fleet operators selling software-defined vehicles across Asia, the Seoul case draws a clear legal boundary. Ownership of onboard sensors, computer processors and code does not confer legal permission to run automated driving features if a transport ministry has not certified the software version for that exact model line.

    Automakers face technical liabilities when customers alter safety logic. Unsanctioned activations risk sensor blind spots, misread road markers and erratic control outputs, which could draw punitive recalls onto manufacturers if tampered vehicles crash. Tesla began remotely cutting off software access for modified vehicles and warned owners that tampering voids factory warranties, which exposes drivers to direct civil claims in accidents.

    Investigation Followed Transport Ministry Inquiry

    The criminal inquiry began in April following a formal enforcement request from the transport ministry. Police traffic investigators collaborated with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority to inspect seized hardware and map changes made to the functional logic of the vehicle platform.

    We are working closely with related agencies, including asking the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and [the] Korea Transportation Safety Authority for advice on technical matters such as changes to FSD’s functional structure. We will continue to actively investigate illegal acts that threaten road safety.

    Public prosecutors in Seoul must now determine how many of the 80 referred drivers will face formal indictments in district court. That decision will set the legal precedent for how Asian transport authorities treat unauthorized consumer modifications on connected electric vehicles.

  • BMW Reports 11% Drop in Pretax Profit as Restructuring Hits Margins

    BMW Reports 11% Drop in Pretax Profit as Restructuring Hits Margins

    BMW reported an 11% drop in third-quarter pretax earnings to €2.1 billion ($2.4 billion), warning that restructuring costs will depress its core automotive operating margin to between minus 0.5% and 0.5% this year.

    Chief executive Milan Nedeljkovic announced plans to speed up structural cuts, including 8,000 layoffs in Germany, after issuing the group’s second profit warning in less than five months late on Tuesday.

    Quarterly revenue slid 6% to €30.4 billion as sales in China fell 22% across the first nine months of the year, pressuring core automotive margins down to 3.4% from 5.2% a year earlier.

    Margin Pressure Across Asian Showrooms

    German premium brands face an unprecedented squeeze in China, where aggressive price cuts by domestic electric vehicle manufacturers have eaten away foreign market share. BMW’s operating performance reflects that erosion directly. Excluding the one-off restructuring charges, management expects an underlying margin above 2%, down sharply from its historic operational corridor.

    Rival Mercedes-Benz likewise booked lower earnings for the third quarter. Porsche managed a small rebound after previous model overhaul charges, though it continues to scale down exposure to mainland buyers. Foreign vehicle importers can no longer rely on Chinese dealership networks to generate outsized cash flow to bankroll global operations.

    Factory Reorganisation and Export Reorientation

    Chief executive Milan Nedeljkovic is reorganising the group’s manufacturing footprint to protect returns. BMW plans to localise component supply chains and technical development inside China, turning its mainland assembly lines into an export hub targeting wider Asia-Pacific territories.

    Current developments in our industry call for decisiveness and swift implementation. We will therefore specifically intensify and accelerate structural measures.

    The revised regional framework also introduces tailored product lines elsewhere. The carmaker plans an expanded range of large luxury sport-utility vehicles for US buyers and an entry-level platform designed specifically for Europe.

    The Neue Klasse Rollout

    This revision marks the second profit warning BMW delivered within five months. Operating margins in the core vehicle division had held at 5.2% during the third quarter of last year before aggressive domestic discounts in China wiped out dealer pricing power across Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

    The company now relies on its new architecture to stop the slide. Deliveries of the Neue Klasse platform begin in China this month with the retail launch of the electric iX3, setting up a critical test for Nedeljkovic’s long-term margin target of 8% to 10%.

  • BYD Launches C12 DUO Electric Coach in UK with 547-Kilometre Range

    BYD Launches C12 DUO Electric Coach in UK with 547-Kilometre Range

    BYD unveiled its C12 DUO battery-electric coach at the Euro Bus Expo in Birmingham, entering the British long-distance passenger transport sector with a claimed range of up to 547 kilometres (340 miles). The 12.3-metre vehicle seats up to 57 passengers and runs on the Chinese manufacturer’s lithium-iron-phosphate Blade battery technology.

    Frank Thorpe, Managing Director of BYD UK Commercial Vehicles, announced that the high-decker was developed specifically for the UK market. It targets tour operators, school transport, and scheduled services between cities, towns, airports, and event venues. BYD offers the model with two battery options, a 429 kWh pack and a 495 kWh pack, capable of charging at up to 215 kW.

    This week’s world premiere follows earlier announcements outlining the Chinese automotive giant’s entry into the UK coach segment. The expansion builds on BYD’s established presence in Britain, where the company has delivered or secured orders for more than 3,000 electric buses across single-deck and double-decker categories.

    Chassis Integration and Operating Specs

    Power comes from two wheel-hub motors generating 150 kW each, matching the drivetrain layout of BYD’s existing urban and intercity bus lines. Integrating the battery cells directly into the vehicle frame increases torsional rigidity while reducing the vehicle’s weight.

    Luggage capacity measures up to four cubic metres, which is slightly less than in conventional coaches of this size. However, the C12 DUO preserves a full 57-passenger seating capacity without compromise. BYD backs the integrated traction battery with a 15-year warranty.

    The platform measures 12.3 metres in length, 2.55 metres in width, and 3.54 metres in height, sitting on a 6.15-metre wheelbase. Build Your Dreams aims to prove that long-distance electric passenger transport is achievable without compromising range, passenger comfort, or operational efficiency.

    Commercial Fleet Expansion Outside China

    Thorpe noted that the success of the company’s battery-electric double-decker and single-decker transit buses in the UK motivated the move into coaches. Across the country, BYD currently offers single-deck buses in lengths of 9.9 m, 10.4 m, 10.8 m, and 11.8 m.

    The manufacturer also supplies the BD11 double-decker in 10.6-metre or 10.9-metre lengths, featuring a maximum battery capacity of 532 kWh.

    “The transition to zero-emission commercial transport is no longer a distant goal, it is an operational reality,” said Frank Thorpe, Managing Director, BYD UK Commercial Vehicles. “With the debut of the C12 DUO, we are demonstrating that sustainable, long-range electric travel is feasible across every transport segment, from dense city centres to intercity corridors across Europe.”

  • BYD Readies Next-Gen Han Sedan as Sales Drop 67.39%

    BYD Readies Next-Gen Han Sedan as Sales Drop 67.39%

    BYD will debut a new model widely expected to be its next-generation Han sedan at the Guangzhou Auto Show later this month, aiming to revive a lineup whose sales fell 67.39 percent year-on-year across the first 10 months of the year.

    Cumulative sales of the Han reached 50,890 vehicles between January and October, according to data compiled by CnEVPost, down sharply as competition mounts in China’s executive sedan segment.

    Lu Tian, general manager of BYD’s Dynasty sales division, announced on Weibo on November 2 that the automaker will present “a model highly requested by customers” at the trade event, which opens to media on November 27.

    Bigger chassis and multiple powertrains

    The revised sedan appeared in the ministry’s 412th vehicle filing batch on October 16. It measures 5,156 mm long and 1,969 mm wide, riding on a 3,030 mm wheelbase across all five-seat configurations.

    Those proportions add 161 mm in total length and 110 mm between the axles compared with the Han EV flash charging edition released in April. The platform expands interior legroom to counter lengthening executive saloons rolled out by domestic competitors over the past twelve months.

    Government filings outline three battery-electric variants alongside one plug-in hybrid model. Rear-wheel-drive pure electric options deliver motor outputs of either 245 kW (329 hp) or 300 kW. An all-wheel-drive electric variant pairs a 200 kW front motor with a 320 kW rear unit for 520 kW total output, while the hybrid package couples a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine to a 200 kW electric motor.

    Defending the executive market tier

    The overhaul reflects the squeeze facing mainstream executive sedans across China as price competition pushes premium specifications downward. While monthly Han sales rebounded to 6,566 units in October, rising 159.63 percent from September, that total represented a 52.11 percent decline year-on-year.

    Suppliers and fleet buyers face a segmented showroom floor. BYD carved out a higher market band on October 13 when it introduced the Da Han sedan at 235,900 yuan ($35,110), featuring a 5,256 mm length and a 3,130 mm wheelbase. The regular Han must defend volume where buyer migration toward sport utility vehicles and newer smart-cockpit saloons has eroded sedan residuals.

    Contrasting performance across Dynasty lines

    The sedan’s contraction contrasts with the broader performance of the Dynasty distribution channel. The division delivered 203,040 vehicles in October, climbing 13.6 percent year-on-year and 14.4 percent month-on-month to beat 200,000 units in a single month for the first time this year.

    Earlier releases paved the way for that volume. Dealership networks are already receiving floor units of the third-generation Tang, a five-seat SUV that debuted at the Chengdu Auto Show in August and reaches retail showrooms this quarter alongside the larger Da Tang flagship.

  • Geely Launches Xingyao 6 EF Methanol Hybrid Sedan at 76,800 Yuan

    Geely Launches Xingyao 6 EF Methanol Hybrid Sedan at 76,800 Yuan

    Geely Auto launched the Galaxy Xingyao 6 EF in Shenyang on Tuesday, pricing the dual-fuel methanol plug-in hybrid sedan from a promotional 76,800 yuan ($11,440).

    The car can run on methanol, gasoline or electric power, accepting any ratio of both liquid fuels inside a single tank.

    Official list pricing ranges between 86,800 yuan and 106,800 yuan across three trim levels, with limited-period launch pricing capped at 96,800 yuan. Geely sells the base model with a CLTC pure electric range of 130 kilometres, while the two higher grades offer 230 kilometres. When fueled entirely by methanol alongside a full battery charge, total cruising range reaches roughly 1,250 kilometres. Switching entirely to gasoline pushes combined range to 1,880 kilometres. Liquid refueling takes approximately three minutes.

    Powertrain and Cold-Weather Hardware

    Under the bonnet sits a 1.5-litre dedicated methanol engine coupled with an electric motor and a lithium iron phosphate battery pack. Geely claims the unit hits 48.15 percent thermal efficiency, which it rates as the highest figure achieved on any production methanol combustion engine. Fuel management relies on a real-time concentration sensor, allowing the onboard computer to re-map fuel injection and ignition cycles dynamically based on the exact blend inside the tank. Fuel system operates at 350-bar injection pressure alongside high-energy ignition packs engineered to permit cold engine starts down to minus 40 degrees Celsius.

    The vehicle sits on Geely’s GEA architecture, measuring 4,806 mm long, 1,886 mm wide and 1,490 mm tall on a 2,756 mm wheelbase. Interior equipment includes a 14.6-inch central display, a 10.25-inch instrument cluster, 609 litres of boot space and software powered by Flyme Auto 2.

    Targeting Fleet Operators and Northern Drivers

    Chinese electric vehicle makers continue to lose operational efficiency in northern winter conditions, where sub-zero temperatures sharply degrade lithium battery discharge rates and cabin heating drains range. Geely is bypassing that hurdle by pitching the Xingyao 6 EF directly at provincial markets where pure electric cars struggle between November and March. Fleet operators running taxi and ride-hailing networks in these provinces gain combustion-style refueling speed and winter heating reliability without paying full gasoline fuel bills.

    Competitors like BYD have dominated the sub-100,000-yuan plug-in hybrid segment through conventional gasoline DM-i platforms. Geely’s decision to bring an alternative liquid fuel down to passenger-car price points creates a different operational calculus for municipal fleet managers, though private consumer adoption outside resource-rich northern provinces will depend strictly on pump access.

    Two Decades of Methanol Investment

    Geely began research into methanol drivetrains in 2005, gradually developing supply chain links spanning synthesis, bulk distribution and retail dispensing. Before opening sales to retail buyers, Geely Holding Group chairman Eric Li deployed more than 6,000 units of the Xingyao 6 EF into commercial taxi services, ride-hailing fleets and government motor pools to log field hours.

    Distribution infrastructure remains the operational bottleneck. Geely Holding senior vice president Victor Yang confirmed the country has established over 1,400 methanol stations of varying types.

    Galaxy brand sales crossed 150,000 units in a single month for the first time in October, rising 20.32 percent to 153,385 deliveries and lifting ten-month volume past 1.03 million cars. RetailNews Asia will watch whether Geely can expand dedicated pump networks beyond its northern operating bastions as volume production scales.

  • Nexeon Secures £100 Million for Silicon Battery Expansion

    Nexeon Secures £100 Million for Silicon Battery Expansion

    British battery developer Nexeon has raised 100 million pounds in new funding, securing capital from the UK National Wealth Fund, Korea Development Bank and Honda Xcelerator Ventures to scale its silicon anode technology.

    The package includes 52.6 million pounds from Britain’s newly constituted National Wealth Fund, with the remaining capital supplied by the Japanese automaker and the state-backed South Korean lender.

    The investment will finance a UK pilot production plant and expand an advanced manufacturing unit for the Oxfordshire-based group. The group develops silicon-based anode materials for lithium-ion cells designed to lift energy density, shorten charging times and increase electric vehicle range.

    Financing East Asian Battery Production

    While the new state money finances pilot capacity in England, Nexeon already runs its primary industrial footprint out of Gunsan, South Korea. Honda backed the business in May 2026 through Honda Xcelerator Ventures to accelerate commercial production at that Gunsan plant, ensuring direct ties into East Asian vehicle manufacturing.

    Production at the Gunsan facility centers on silicon-carbon composite materials manufactured at commercial volume. Panasonic agreed in 2023 to purchase anode supplies from the Gunsan plant to feed lithium-ion battery cells manufactured at its massive cell assembly site in Kansas in the United States.

    Automakers Take Direct Component Stakes

    Securing Korea Development Bank as an equity backer alongside Honda gives Nexeon institutional protection inside the world’s most concentrated battery manufacturing hub. South Korean cell makers and Japanese auto groups face mounting pressure to break reliance on mainland Chinese graphite supply lines, which face export controls and domestic processing bottlenecks.

    Investing directly in upstream chemical developers cuts out middle-tier intermediaries for automotive groups. Honda avoids spot-market premiums on advanced cell chemistries by taking equity directly in materials suppliers, mirroring similar bets by regional peers looking to lock down raw-material allocations well before commercial rollouts.

    The British National Wealth Fund operates with a 27.8 billion pound mandate to channel private and state capital into clean energy and critical supply chains, aiming to mobilize 100 billion pounds in overall investment by 2031. Oliver Holbourn, chief executive officer of the fund, confirmed the vehicle is backing advanced battery technology to assemble domestic manufacturing networks alongside foreign partners.

    “This investment is a strong endorsement of Nexeon’s technology and our role in enabling the next generation of lithium-ion batteries.”

    Tracking Pilot Output and Commercial Volume

    Nexeon previously operated primarily as an intellectual property and testing outfit before breaking ground on its Korean production lines. The company must now prove its pilot equipment in the UK can mirror the yield rates of its full-scale Gunsan lines without inflating unit costs.

    Execution risk sits in the yield curves. Silicon tends to swell and contract during charge cycles, degrading cell lifespan unless manufacturing tolerances remain exceptionally tight during chemical compounding.

    Panasonic’s Kansas factory remains the primary operational benchmark for Nexeon, where volume deliveries of silicon-carbon material will reveal whether the Oxfordshire-engineered chemistry withstands real-world commercial scale.

  • Pakistan Orders 9 Tyre Manufacturers to Install Digital Monitoring by Nov 30

    Pakistan Orders 9 Tyre Manufacturers to Install Digital Monitoring by Nov 30

    Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue ordered registered tyre manufacturers on Friday to install electronic production monitoring systems by Nov 30, linking factory machinery directly to state revenue servers to track output in real time.

    The mandate aims to help bridge a national sales tax gap estimated at Rs3.7 trillion between current collections and actual revenue potential.

    Under Sales Tax General Order No. 32 of 2026, initial compliance targets nine companies: Ghandhara Tyre and Rubber Company Ltd, Service Long March Tyres Ltd, Service Tyres (Private) Ltd, Panther Tyres Ltd, Diamond Tyres Ltd, Service Industries Ltd, Ghauri Tyre and Tube (Pvt) Ltd, Crown Tyres Ltd, and United Rubber (Pvt) Ltd. Tyre makers must fit approved tracking hardware and software across every curing press, takeaway conveyor, and finishing line. The equipment counts cured tyres, screens out uncured units, and separates genuine production runs from maintenance, warm-ups, and dry runs. It records each product by diameter, width, tread design, and weight using certified stock keeping unit data.

    Single Vendor System and Factory Rules

    The Federal Board of Revenue selected ISSM Labelling Solutions (Pvt) Ltd as the sole authorised provider to install and run the tracking platform across plants. The system streams production events directly into the central tax control room, automatically flagging unexpected stoppages, machinery breakdowns, interruptions, and any physical or software tampering.

    Manufacturers cannot transport finished tyres off factory grounds unless the output passes through the electronic inspection network. Companies must supply the underlying information technology infrastructure, reliable power, and network connectivity at their own cost, while also paying service fees to the authorised vendor.

    Initial Hit List for Industrial Compliance

    Regulators singled out nine major tyre producers for the initial rollout: Ghandhara Tyre and Rubber Company Ltd, Service Long March Tyres Ltd, Service Tyres (Private) Ltd, Panther Tyres Ltd, Diamond Tyres Ltd, Service Industries Ltd, Ghauri Tyre and Tube (Pvt) Ltd, Crown Tyres Ltd, and United Rubber (Pvt) Ltd. Tax officials noted the list is not final and will expand to every licensed producer in the country.

    For supply chain operators and vehicle assembly partners across South Asia, the measure removes unrecorded factory off-takes that frequently leak into local wholesale distribution. Tyre suppliers operating in Pakistan face immediate capital outlays for hardware integration, alongside tighter inventory audits that leave zero room for off-the-books stock.

    The policy tilts the operating balance toward fully documented parts suppliers while forcing mid-tier producers to absorb compliance costs. Distributors and replacement retailers buying from these plants will see tighter paper trails on all commercial invoices, shrinking informal discounting across aftermarket supply routes.

    Expanding Digital Tax Control

    The tyre sector is the latest consumer goods segment brought under automated plant surveillance. Tax authorities previously placed packaged tea, household electronics, paper and paperboard, edible oils, leather, textile spinning, tiles, packaged milk, fruit juices, bottled water, and carbonated beverages under similar digital recording orders.

    Inland Revenue chief commissioners are now appointing dedicated regional focal persons to inspect factory lines and monitor vendor installations alongside company managers. Regional field formations hold orders to add unlisted tyre factories to the registry and submit formal compliance reports to headquarters.

  • CATL Wins Exclusive Battery Deal for Blue Vector Skyla V30 Aircraft

    CATL Wins Exclusive Battery Deal for Blue Vector Skyla V30 Aircraft

    CATL has signed strategic and product agreements with Hangzhou-based Blue Vector Intelligent Technology to serve as the exclusive battery partner for its commercial passenger aircraft.

    Announced by the battery maker on Monday, the tie-up focuses on the Skyla V30, an all-electric tiltrotor model that has secured more than 100 pre-sales orders since its global debut in July.

    Under the agreement, CATL will develop custom aviation batteries for the six-seat aircraft. The companies did not disclose financial terms, battery specifications or a delivery schedule.

    Validating the Skyla V30 Platform

    Engineering work on the airframe is already moving beyond initial digital design. Blue Vector rolled out its first full-scale technology demonstrator, designated A/C01, on August 31 in Harbin in northeastern China.

    The demonstrator airframe has entered a testing sequence covering systems integration, ground trials and tilt-transition flights. Those trials will test the transition between vertical lift and horizontal forward flight, which forms the core technical challenge for tiltrotor electric craft designed for intercity transit.

    Commercial demand is building ahead of type certification. Blue Vector booked pre-sales commitments for 60 V30 aircraft at the Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou on September 24.

    Singapore-based aviation operator Moon Aero accounted for 30 of those aircraft, representing the platform’s first overseas pre-sales customer. That booking brought total advance orders past 100 units as the company conducts airworthiness validation with Chinese civil aviation regulators.

    Capital Structure and Production Targets

    Development work relies on fresh venture backing secured over the past two quarters. Blue Vector closed a funding round of more than 100 million yuan ($14.9 million) on June 30, led jointly by Shenzhen Capital Group and an unnamed industrial dollar fund.

    That transaction marked the company’s fifth capital injection in roughly six months. Across that period, the startup collected more than 400 million yuan to finance aircraft development, prototype construction and test flights.

    Securing an exclusive battery partnership before airworthiness certification freezes the aircraft’s internal layout. For aircraft manufacturers, battery weight, thermal management and energy density dictate maximum payload and cabin configuration. Swapping pack suppliers later in the certification pipeline resets regulatory approvals, locking airframe designers into their chosen cell platform.

    For CATL, the deal locks in a captive customer across passenger transit routes in eastern China and regional hubs like Singapore. Operating intercity routes between regional cities demands high cycle life and rapid charging turnaround times at terminal pads, creating recurring replacement demand for specialized aviation-grade cells.

    Building Out Electric Aviation Across China

    The Blue Vector contract expands CATL’s ongoing effort to position its battery systems across the electric vertical takeoff and landing sector. In August 2024, the battery maker agreed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Shanghai-based aircraft manufacturer Autoflight to co-develop aviation packs.

    That collaboration extended into terminal infrastructure late last year. In November 2025, Autoflight and CATL revealed a floating vertiport vessel that integrates passenger landing pads, battery storage and high-power charging systems onto a marine barge, providing water-based terminal access for coastal cities.

    Blue Vector must now clear tilt-transition flight trials in Harbin and advance formal airworthiness certification for the Skyla V30 before delivering the first production units to Moon Aero and domestic operators.