Automotive and business brief

Snapshot

• EU sets the Chinese hybrid quota at 350,000 cars a year from as early as 1 December; Chinese brands’ EU-built cars are exempt
• Chinese brands line up European plants: BYD shortlists France and Spain, Changan targets 180,000 units by 2028, XPeng wants a second line
• VW Group Q3 deliveries fall 14.3%, but its European electric deliveries rise 20% and Škoda grows 30%

Top Developments

1. EU sets the Chinese hybrid quota at 350,000 cars a year from as early as 1 December; Chinese brands’ EU-built cars are exempt

   A Commission official said on 12 Oct that imports of Chinese hybrids and plug-in hybrids will be capped at 350,000 a year, possibly from 1 December. Brussels is using the WTO safeguard instrument, which needs no subsidy investigation and can be applied quickly. According to a document seen by Bloomberg, the quota runs four years and can rise 6% a year from the second year.…

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   Sources: The Guardian (12 Oct) · Automotive World (12 Oct) · electrive (updated 12 Oct)

2. Chinese brands line up European plants: BYD shortlists France and Spain, Changan targets 180,000 units by 2028, XPeng wants a second line

   At the Paris show on 12 Oct BYD executive vice-president Stella Li said France is on the shortlist for a plant and that BYD will try to open a second and a third plant in Europe; Világgazdaság, citing her Bloomberg TV interview, reports France and Spain as the candidates, Szeged in its final preparation phase with mass production planned for Q4, and BYD’s European workforce passing 10,000 soon and 40,000 by 2030.…

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   Sources: Euronews on BYD (12 Oct) · Reuters on Changan via Devdiscourse (12 Oct) · Reuters show report via Devdiscourse (12 Oct) · Világgazdaság (13 Oct) · EVXL, citing Reuters, on XPeng (13 Oct)

3. VW Group Q3 deliveries fall 14.3%, but its European electric deliveries rise 20% and Škoda grows 30%

   VW Group delivered about 1,885,300 vehicles in Q3, down 14.3% and its steepest quarterly drop in four years (Reuters); January–September deliveries were 6.01m (−9%). In nine months Western Europe was +1%, Central and Eastern Europe +5% and South America +4%, against North America −4% and China −30%. Electric deliveries in Europe reached 209,100 in Q3 (+19.6%), while US electric deliveries fell 86%.…

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   Sources: electrive (12 Oct) · Volkswagen Group press release (12 Oct)

4. Stellantis will build at least two €15,000 e-cars in Pomigliano from 2028 on a platform co-developed with Leapmotor

   Chief technology officer Ned Curic said on 12 Oct that the e-car programme has started, with Stellantis and Leapmotor engineers working side by side at Mirafiori in Turin on a European city-car platform. At least two e-car models, priced at about €15,000 and due in 2028, will be built at Pomigliano in southern Italy; they include the Citroën 2CV shown in Paris. Curic said Stellantis is learning from Leapmotor how to develop a car in about two years.

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   Sources: Reuters via Euronext (12 Oct) · ANSA (12 Oct)

5. Stellantis signs a definitive deal to build Jeeps on Tata platforms in India for more than 50 markets

   On 12 Oct Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, its EV unit TPEM and Stellantis India signed a definitive agreement that extends their partnership to vehicle technology and product development. Tata keeps ownership of its architectures and gives Stellantis access to them; Stellantis’ Indian engineering teams adapt them for more than 50 markets. The cars will be built by FIAPL, the companies’ 50:50 joint venture in Ranjangaon near Pune.…

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   Sources: The Economic Times (12 Oct) · Autocar India (12 Oct)

6. Schaeffler is 79% through its 4,700 German job cuts a year early and adds 1,768 early-retirement contracts

   Schaeffler said on 12 Oct that by 30 Sep it had cut 3,715 of the 4,700 jobs announced in November 2024. Contracts for the remaining 985 are signed, so the target will be reached at the end of 2028 instead of 2029. The €290m of savings planned for 2029 should be beaten by more than 20%, and the cuts cost less than expected, so it released about €84m of unused restructuring provisions.…

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   Sources: Schaeffler release via EQS (12 Oct) · Handelsblatt (12 Oct)

7. China in September (CAAM): vehicle exports pass 1 million while domestic passenger-car sales fall 27%

   CAAM data released on 12 Oct show September vehicle sales of 2.956m (−8.4% year on year) and production of 2.99m (−8.7%). Exports reached 1.053m (+61.4%) and 8.205m in January–September (+65.8%). In passenger cars, domestic sales fell 27.4% to 1.668m while exports rose 64.2% to 919,000. NEV exports were 571,000 (+160%), including 219,000 plug-in hybrids (+220%). Domestic sales of conventional passenger cars fell 47.3%. NEVs were 61.6% of all sales.

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   Sources: CnEVPost on CAAM data (12 Oct) · SMM on CAAM data (12 Oct)

8. Renault: EVs reach about 60% of brand sales in France; Douai moves to three shifts and French EV output could rise at least 50%

   Renault brand CEO Fabrice Cambolive said on 11 Oct that electric cars made up about 60% of Renault-brand sales in France over the weekend, after 53.5% in September (France overall: 42%), driven by high fuel prices. Renault added half a shift at Douai in early October, where it builds the R5, Mégane and Nissan Micra; the plant now runs three shifts. At the show Cambolive said Renault could raise EV production in France by at least 50% over the next 12 months (Reuters). Renault Group publishes Q3 sales on 29 Oct.

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   Sources: Reuters via Euronext (12 Oct) · Reuters show report via Devdiscourse (12 Oct)

9. Audi’s wiring-system chief: future harnesses will be smaller zonal modules designed for automated assembly

   In an interview published on 8 Oct, Dr Ole Mende, Audi’s head of on-board and energy network development, said geometric zonal architectures (front-left, front-right, cockpit and rear zones with zone controllers and a data and power backbone) allow smaller, standardised harness modules with fewer variants. He does not expect the complete customer-specific harness to be automated. Audi’s Next2OEM research project with ten partners showed automated production and assembly of a centre-console harness module.…

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   Sources: Automotive Manufacturing Solutions (8 Oct)

10. Hyundai readies the new Tucson in Nošovice and the Bayon (with a hybrid) in Izmit; about 80% of its European sales are built in Europe

    Hyundai said in Paris on 12 Oct that its Czech plant in Nošovice (more than 5m vehicles built, over €2bn invested) is preparing to build the all-new Tucson, offered as a 245 PS hybrid, a plug-in hybrid with a 17.1 kWh battery, and a 48V mild hybrid. Hyundai Motor Türkiye in Izmit will start the all-new Bayon later this year, with hybrid versions enabled by a new on-site battery-system assembly plant; Izmit started building the electric IONIQ 3 in August after a €250m conversion.…

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    Sources: Hyundai Motor Europe press release (12 Oct)

11. ‘Made in Europe’: Ford wants final assembly in the UK and Türkiye to count; Macron says a Franco-German deal is ‘imminent’

    Ford of Europe president Jim Baumbick said on 12 Oct that the Industrial Accelerator Act must also recognise final assembly in neighbouring countries such as Türkiye and the UK, and that ‘Made in Europe’ should be measured ‘by where value is created, not where the last bolt is torqued’, with safeguards against circumvention. ACEA asked earlier this month for more time before the local-content conditions for EV subsidies apply.…

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    Sources: Ford Authority (12 Oct) · Reuters show report via Devdiscourse (12 Oct)

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