Automotive and business brief

Snapshot

• Mercedes-Benz cuts its 2026 car margin target to 2–3% after a weak Q3, blaming China and higher material costs in Q4
• Stellantis Q3: revenue up 1% but a €453m net loss, a 0.7% operating margin and Europe the only region with a negative margin
• German metal pay talks: employers offer +1.3% from July 2028 and a 1% one-off in 2027; IG Metall rejects it and warning strikes are possible from 1 November

Top Developments

1. Mercedes-Benz cuts its 2026 car margin target to 2–3% after a weak Q3, blaming China and higher material costs in Q4

   In an ad hoc release on 27 Oct, Mercedes lowered the Cars adjusted return on sales for 2026 to 2–3% (from 3–5%) and now expects group EBIT around last year’s level, with free cash flow significantly lower. Q3 results on 28 Oct: revenue €30.7bn, group adjusted EBIT €1.78bn (−15%), net profit €1.52bn. Mercedes-Benz Cars made adjusted EBIT of €560m, a 2.5% return on sales (about half of last year); Vans held 9.4%. Car sales fell 8% to 407,232, with China weak while Europe rose 5% (Germany +13%) and the US +6%.…

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

   Sources: Mercedes-Benz Q3 2026 interim report · Mercedes-Benz ad hoc release (27 Oct) · Reuters via Euronext (27 Oct) · t-online (28 Oct, DE)

2. Stellantis Q3: revenue up 1% but a €453m net loss, a 0.7% operating margin and Europe the only region with a negative margin

   Stellantis reported on 28 Oct Q3 revenue of €37.6bn (+1%): Enlarged Europe +3%, North America −3%, Middle East & Africa −19%. Adjusted operating income was €256m (0.7% margin), with the Enlarged Europe margin down 340 basis points and negative. Net loss was €453m and industrial free cash flow −€4.0bn. Full-year guidance stays, with positive free cash flow targeted for 2027.…

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   Sources: Stellantis press release (28 Oct)

3. German metal pay talks: employers offer +1.3% from July 2028 and a 1% one-off in 2027; IG Metall rejects it and warning strikes are possible from 1 November

   In the second round on 27 Oct, employers in five regions made a joint offer: a 1% one-off payment in July 2027 that weaker companies can skip, a 1.3% rise in pay tables from 1 July 2028, and a 26-month term to the end of 2028. They want company-level opt-outs agreed with works councils, plus talks on sick leave and AI. IG Metall is asking for 5% over 12 months, calls the offer a real-terms pay cut and says warning strikes can start once the peace obligation ends on 1 November.

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

   Sources: tagesschau (27 Oct, DE) · Handelsblatt (27 Oct, DE) · Süddeutsche / dpa (27 Oct, DE) · IG Metall Niedersachsen/Sachsen-Anhalt (27 Oct, DE)

4. Japan pushes back on EU ‘Made in Europe’ EV rules; trade minister Akazawa raises it with Chancellor Merz in Tokyo today

   NHK reported on 28 Oct that EU member states are working towards a deal, possibly next month, under which only EVs and plug-in hybrids assembled in the EU, with a minimum share of EU component value, would qualify for subsidies and public procurement. Japan-built and other non-EU-built models would likely miss out: Toyota exports EVs from Japan and builds plug-in hybrids in Türkiye, Suzuki ships India-built EVs, and Nissan builds EVs in the UK.…

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   Sources: NHK World (28 Oct) · Reuters via Yahoo Japan (27 Oct, JP)

5. Great Wall Motor will build the Ora 5 in Bulgaria from Q1 2027, its first European production; Chery wants 70% of its export cars built abroad by 2030

   Reuters reported on 27 Oct that GWM will contract-manufacture the Ora 5 compact SUV with a local partner, Bulgarian Automotive Industry, at a plant near Lovech designed for up to 50,000 vehicles a year, from Q1 2027. GWM targets 300,000 units of European production by 2029 and plans industrial parks that include component suppliers; its EU anti-subsidy duty on China-built EVs is 20.7%.…

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

   Sources: Reuters via Yahoo Finance (27 Oct) · Reuters via Investing.com (27 Oct) · Automotive World on Chery (27 Oct)

6. Connector maker HARTING exits its combustion-engine solenoid business and moves some functions from Germany to Romania

   HARTING announced on 27 Oct that its Automotive division will stop the ICE solenoid business (last deliveries in June 2027, closure by the end of 2027) and focus on EV charging equipment. Some functions move from Germany to Romania, and about 47 jobs in Germany are affected. The CEO cites strong Asian competition and cost pressure.

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   Sources: HARTING press release (27 Oct, DE)

7. NXP Q3: automotive revenue passes $2bn for the first time (+13%); Q4 guided higher and channel inventory is still lean

   NXP reported on 27 Oct Q3 revenue of $3.79bn (+19% year on year). Automotive revenue was $2.07bn, up 13% year on year and 7% on the quarter. The Q4 revenue guidance midpoint is $3.85bn, channel inventory is at 11 weeks, and NXP announced a new $5bn buyback. On the call, management linked auto demand to growing electronics content in software-defined vehicles.

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   Sources: NXP investor release (27 Oct) · NXP Q3 call transcript, Motley Fool (27 Oct)

8. Nexperia’s Q3 revenue grows 9% on the quarter as it ramps back-end capacity in Malaysia and the Philippines, but its China units still operate outside its control

   Nexperia reported on 26 Oct Q3 revenue of $389m, up 9.3% from Q2, and cash of $446m. It says about 55 billion pieces a year of back-end capacity is now installed in Malaysia and the Philippines, with over 6,200 product types released and shipping, plus partnerships with Tata Electronics and Polar Semiconductor. The interim CEO says Nexperia China is still operating outside the group’s governance, and Nexperia expects revenue growth to strengthen further.

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   Sources: Nexperia press release (26 Oct) · Bits&Chips (Oct)

9. GM turns to hybrids: hybrid Traverse, Enclave and Acadia planned at Lansing, with a $500m US grant moved from EVs to hybrids

   Reuters reported on 27 Oct that GM plans hybrid versions of its three large crossovers at the Lansing Delta Township plant. GM confirmed the investment, and the US Department of Energy is redirecting a $500m grant from EV to hybrid production. GM’s US market share fell to 16.6% from 17.4%, adding pressure to fill the gap left by weaker EV demand.

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   Sources: Reuters via Investing.com (27 Oct)

10. Memory chips are becoming a car-cost problem: SK hynix expects shortages through 2030 and has sold over half of its 2027–28 output under long-term deals

    SK hynix reported record Q3 results on 28 Oct: revenue of 104.6 trillion won (+32% on the quarter) and an 80% operating margin, driven by AI data-centre memory. It expects demand to exceed supply through 2030 and has long-term agreements with 14 major customers covering more than half of its 2027–2028 capacity, mostly cloud providers.…

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    Sources: SK hynix newsroom (28 Oct) · CNBC (28 Oct) · Digitimes (27 Oct, paywalled)

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