The Splicer

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Daily brief

Automotive and business brief

AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

Snapshot

  • Copper: Escondida supervisors strike from today after mediation fails; Centinela strike enters its second week
  • CO₂ rules: Renault would propose cutting 300,000 European units in a year without 2030 flexibility; VW says the mass-market model is under ‘enormous pressure’; Brussels says the Franco-German deal is ‘hours or days’ away
  • ‘Made in Europe’ scope: Turkey says its car industry supports 250,000 EU jobs, Ford’s Turkish e-Transit is more than half EU parts by value, and Chinese makers build local supply bases anyway

Top Developments

  1. Copper: Escondida supervisors strike from today after mediation fails; Centinela strike enters its second week

    The supervisors’ and staff union at BHP’s Escondida (about 1,020 members), the world’s largest copper mine, said late on 13 Oct that government mediation had ended without a contract and that its legal strike starts with the first shift on Wednesday 14 Oct (Chile morning, early afternoon CEST); at the time of writing the start is not yet confirmed.…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Reuters via Mining.com.au (14 Oct) · La Tercera (14 Oct) · Diario Minero (13 Oct) · SMM on Centinela (13 Oct) · Reuters metals report via Mining.com.au (14 Oct)

  2. CO₂ rules: Renault would propose cutting 300,000 European units in a year without 2030 flexibility; VW says the mass-market model is under ‘enormous pressure’; Brussels says the Franco-German deal is ‘hours or days’ away

    Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the industry agrees on “90 per cent of the issues” and called for a quick deal on CO₂ rules. EU industry commissioner Stéphane Séjourné said the Franco-German deal (stronger Industrial Accelerator Act protections in exchange for looser combustion-engine rules) should be finalised “in the next few hours or in the next few days”, and that he is open to more flexibility as long as decarbonisation targets are not abandoned. No joint text had been published by this morning.

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Reuters via Boursorama (13 Oct) · Bloomberg (13 Oct) · Reuters on Blume via Devdiscourse (13 Oct) · Euronews on Filosa (13 Oct) · POLITICO Europe (13 Oct)

  3. ‘Made in Europe’ scope: Turkey says its car industry supports 250,000 EU jobs, Ford’s Turkish e-Transit is more than half EU parts by value, and Chinese makers build local supply bases anyway

    Reuters reports that the current draft of the Industrial Accelerator Act leaves out Turkey, the UK and Morocco. Filosa said Stellantis will share European plant capacity with Leapmotor and Dongfeng rather than close plants, and that Europe needs more battery gigafactories to meet Made-in-Europe requirements. BYD’s Stella Li gave no new date for the suspended Manisa (Turkey) plant on 13 Oct, saying only that work on investing in new countries continues.

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Reuters via Investing.com (13 Oct) · Euronews (13 Oct) · Otobülten on BYD Türkiye (13 Oct)

  4. Spain: China clears Geely’s 34% of Ford España without conditions, and Leapmotor’s B10 officially enters production in Zaragoza

    China’s market regulator SAMR approved Geely’s purchase of 34% of Ford España unconditionally (Reuters, 12 Oct; Europa Press saw the filing on 13 Oct). Ford keeps 66% but both will have joint control of the Valencia (Almussafes) JV, which starts operating in the first half of 2027.…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Reuters via Euronext (12 Oct) · Europa Press (13 Oct) · Ford Authority (13 Oct) · Leapmotor / Stellantis PR (12 Oct) · CnEVPost (13 Oct)

  5. Peer harness plant: Aptiv Leskovac (Serbia) sees 150+ voluntary exits; union says no new projects are in sight and early 2027 will be hard

    After a meeting with management, the plant’s independent union said on 12 Oct that management pointed to falling customer demand and lower sales of the brands the plant supplies. No new projects are announced for the short term, and early 2027 is expected to stay difficult, although management is looking for new work and has described 2027 as stable overall.…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Rešetka (12 Oct) · Regionalne Vesti (13 Oct) · JuGmedia (4 Sep, background) · Investing.com on Versigent Q2 (4 Aug, background)

  6. Renault’s historic foundry, Fonderie de Bretagne (244 jobs), heads for liquidation after Renault declines to commit volumes

    No serious takeover bid was filed by the 12 Oct midnight deadline for the Caudan (Morbihan) foundry. One filing was judged not credible, and another bidder (an unnamed European industrial group) made its offer conditional on Renault committing to automotive order volumes, which Renault did not do. Provost told franceinfo: “The issue is that there are no longer any automotive industrial outlets.” The Lorient commercial court rules on Thursday 15 Oct, and liquidation is seen as practically inevitable.…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: franceinfo (13 Oct) · AFP via France 24 (13 Oct)

  7. Valeo cuts some development cycles by up to two-thirds and supplies the central computer and zonal controllers for Renault’s first software-defined van

    At its Paris press conference, CEO Christophe Périllat said some Chinese models now go from concept to production in under 24 months. Valeo has cut some development times by up to two-thirds: a new headlamp took seven months from design to start of production, and a China-developed Level 2 system took eight months and has won 10 contracts, eight already in production.…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Gasgoo (13 Oct) · Valeo PR (30 Sep, show preview)

  8. Nissan Sunderland: suppliers reportedly told to plan on about 160,000 units a year; one line from summer 2027, and Chery RFQs reaching UK suppliers

    An analysis published on 12 Oct by Automotive Manufacturing Solutions (Ian Henry) reports that Sunderland, built for 600,000 units a year, now runs well below 300,000. Nissan has reportedly told suppliers to assume about 160,000 a year in the medium term, as Leaf and Juke EV plans have been cut to about 40,000 each. All Nissan production moves to Line 2 after the 2027 summer shutdown.…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Automotive Manufacturing Solutions (12 Oct) · Nissan UK PR (3 Jun, MoU background)

  9. Audi lends engineers to defence firms (MBDA, Diehl, KNDS, Airbus) for up to 24 months

    Audi has started a voluntary scheme, supported by the Bavarian and federal economy ministries, that places Ingolstadt staff with defence companies in the region for up to 24 months. They stay Audi employees on their collectively agreed pay plus a supplement and have a guaranteed return. It targets engineers, quality engineers, project managers and technical-development and quality-assurance workshop staff.…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: BR24 (7 Oct) · SWR (7 Oct)

  10. Connector and cable-assembly maker ASSMANN WSW components (Lüdenscheid): insolvency proceedings opened

    The Nuremberg insolvency court opened proceedings on 1 Oct (case IE 1040/26) for inability to pay and over-indebtedness. The company filed on 2 July and had been under preliminary administration since 6 July, within a group court venue. Its registered business is the manufacture and sale of connectors, cable assemblies, heat sinks and passive components. Creditors must file claims by 5 Nov, and the creditors’ meeting is on 8 Dec; the creditors’ committee includes Euler Hermes and Lüdenscheid’s Heinrich Rump.…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Official §9 InsO notice via Übernahme-Radar (1 Oct) · come-on.de / Lüdenscheider Nachrichten (July background)

  11. Mercedes-Benz brings Marco Polo camper conversion in-house at Ludwigsfelde, its launch factory for the new van architecture

    Production of the new Marco Polo started at Ludwigsfelde on 12 Oct. For the first time in more than 40 years the camper is built entirely within Mercedes’ own network: the V-Class base vehicle comes from Vitoria (Spain), and Ludwigsfelde handles the full conversion (roof cut-out to furniture) in a new, digitally planned hall. Ludwigsfelde also builds open-body Sprinter and eSprinter versions and is the launch factory for the new Mercedes-Benz Van Architecture (VAN.EA).…

    AI-generated summary · not individually reviewed · check the linked sources

    Sources: Mercedes-Benz PR (12 Oct) · Automotive World (12 Oct)

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Market data: TradingView, Yahoo Finance (delayed). Not investment advice.