Automotive and business brief

Snapshot

• Furukawa Electric H1: its automotive wiring segment grows sales 13% and operating profit 25%; group raises full-year profit guidance on data-centre demand
• China's suspension of its October 2025 rare-earth and battery-material controls legally expires tomorrow (10 Nov), with no extension notice published; Washington pressed Beijing on 6 Nov to deliver its rare-earth commitments
• UK expected to cut its 2030 zero-emission vehicle target from 80% to about 60% and extend flexibilities to 2034; decision due after a Downing Street meeting on Wednesday

Top Developments

1. Furukawa Electric H1: its automotive wiring segment grows sales 13% and operating profit 25%; group raises full-year profit guidance on data-centre demand

   Results for April–September, published 9 Nov under a new six-segment structure. Automotive Electrical Systems: sales ¥188.9bn (+13.1%), operating profit ¥12.9bn (+24.8%), a margin of about 6.8%, on 'continued firm demand'. Group: sales ¥737.7bn (+20.8%), operating profit ¥57.6bn (+201%), net profit ¥58.8bn (+357%, helped by sales of cross-shareholdings). Full-year guidance is raised: operating profit ¥136bn (from ¥123bn), net profit ¥118bn (from ¥105bn), sales ¥1.57tn (+¥40bn).…

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   Sources: Furukawa Electric results (tanshin, 9 Nov, JP, PDF) · Reuters via Newsweek Japan (9 Nov, JP)

2. China's suspension of its October 2025 rare-earth and battery-material controls legally expires tomorrow (10 Nov), with no extension notice published; Washington pressed Beijing on 6 Nov to deliver its rare-earth commitments

   MOFCOM/Customs Announcement No. 70 suspended six control measures only 'until 10 November 2026'. As of this weekend no numbered notice has moved that date, even though Beijing said in September that the wider US–China arrangement runs to 10 January 2027. On 6 Nov USTR Greer and Treasury Secretary Bessent told Vice Premier He Lifeng that China must fully implement its past commitments on rare earths and critical minerals.…

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   Sources: USTR readout (6 Nov) · US Treasury readout (6 Nov) · InvestorNews analysis (8 Nov) · HK Trade and Industry Dept circular on Announcement No. 70 (2025)

3. UK expected to cut its 2030 zero-emission vehicle target from 80% to about 60% and extend flexibilities to 2034; decision due after a Downing Street meeting on Wednesday

   The Guardian reports that Louise Haigh, the de facto deputy prime minister, will finalise the ZEV mandate review this week and will probably approve about 60% for 2030 (the options consulted on were 80%, 70%, 60% and 50%). The business secretary wanted 50%; energy ministers want 80% kept. The government says 'no decisions have been taken' and that the 2030 and 2035 phase-out dates stand. SMMT says battery EVs are 26.6% of sales so far this year, against a 2026 target of 33%.…

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   Sources: The Guardian (8 Nov) · Reuters via Euronext (8 Nov)

4. China's October car exports jump 68% to 932,000 while domestic sales fall 27% for a 12th straight monthly decline; the CPCA urges carmakers to build more abroad

   CPCA data out today: passenger-car exports +68.2% year on year to 932,000 (September: 923,000), and domestic sales −27.3% to 1.65m. CPCA secretary-general Cui Dongshu expects the Middle East to drive export growth next year but overall growth to slow. He urged Chinese carmakers to speed up overseas localisation, expanding manufacturing abroad while keeping core technology at home. Leapmotor, Xpeng and Xiaomi had record months; Huawei-alliance brands, Li Auto and Nio declined.

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   Sources: Reuters via StreetInsider (9 Nov) · China Daily (9 Nov)

5. Stellantis now requires Tier-1 suppliers to provide part-level 'Tier-N' supply-chain mapping, starting with semiconductors and other high-risk parts, via the Resilinc and Altana platforms

   An early-November letter from Stellantis purchasing (signed by Monica Genovese) calls Tier-N visibility a standard industry expectation. It asks suppliers to map sub-suppliers part by part through external platforms, with high-risk components and suppliers with large business exposure first. Stellantis has more than 1,900 direct suppliers and spent over €88bn on direct materials in 2025. Suppliers are reported to be worried about cost, confidentiality and legal exposure.…

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   Sources: Automotive News (5 Nov) · Francuskie.pl (7 Nov, PL)

6. Düsseldorf composites supplier Capricorn (about 500 staff; chassis parts for Porsche, components for Lamborghini and Bugatti) enters preliminary insolvency; operations continue while investors are sought

   On 4 Nov the Düsseldorf court ordered protective measures for Capricorn Holding GmbH and Capricorn Composite GmbH (case 504 IN 197/26) and appointed Dirk Andres (AndresPartner) as preliminary administrator. The group builds lightweight fibre-composite and engine parts for sports cars and motorsport. Its own €2.95m Capricorn 01 Zagato hypercar project may have strained finances, though no causal link is confirmed. The administrator is aiming for a quick investor process.

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   Sources: WirtschaftsWoche (DE) · Merkur (7 Nov, DE) · insoticker case file (DE)

7. Audi's Georgia plant is less certain than it looked: VW prepares an inquiry into how Audi's leaders handled the Trump appearance, and the site contract lets Audi walk away until mid-2027

   According to Handelsblatt (company sources), VW is preparing an inquiry into possible rule breaches around Audi's US plans. One question is whether Audi CEO Gernot Döllner and Audi supervisory-board chair Manfred Döss properly informed the responsible boards before their joint appearance with President Trump about two weeks ago. Regional development documents show Audi leases the site until mid-2027 and may cancel at its own discretion if soil, environmental or infrastructure checks disappoint.…

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   Sources: Handelsblatt: VW inquiry (DE) · Handelsblatt: exit option (DE) · Dow Jones press review via finanznachrichten (9 Nov, DE)

8. IFC lends Marquardt up to €52m to expand its three plants near Tunis, adding more than 400 jobs in higher-value automotive mechatronics

   The World Bank's IFC financing supports Marquardt's investment programme and working capital across three facilities making switches and mechatronic components (in Tunisia since 1991; women are about 65% of the local workforce). It also funds rooftop solar and energy-efficiency measures. IFC says Tunisia's auto-components sector has about 300 companies, about 90,000 direct jobs and exports of about TND 10bn in 2025, over 5% of GDP.

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   Sources: IFC press release (3 Nov)

9. BMW confirms it will add LFP batteries to selected Neue Klasse models, chosen by vehicle and purpose rather than as a range-wide switch; the China-only iX3 30L already uses LFP

   The China entry iX3 30L carries a 77 kWh LFP pack. BMW did not name future LFP models or timing outside China. This comes a few days after Stellantis said many European nameplates will move to LFP from 2027.

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   Sources: BMWBlog (7 Nov) · EV News Desk (8 Nov)

10. Tesla will end Cybertruck production in Texas around mid-2027 to free capacity for the Cybercab robotaxi, adding an extra shift first to clear the order backlog

    Elon Musk said on 6 Nov that Cybertruck output at Giga Texas will wind down. On Saturday he added that the backlog is 'far more than Tesla can make before dismantling the line for Cybercab expansion around June/July next year' and that an extra shift will be added. US Cybertruck sales fell to about 20,000 last year from nearly 39,000 in 2024 (Kelley Blue Book), far below early talk of 250,000 a year.

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    Sources: Reuters via NY Post (8 Nov) · Handelsblatt (DE)

11. Stellantis keeps its Windsor (Canada) minivan plant idle for another week, citing demand and tariffs, as Trump threatens to raise Canada's auto tariff to 50% and extend it to parts from 1 January

    Windsor Assembly (about 6,000 union workers; Chrysler minivans and Dodge Charger) has no production scheduled for the week of 9 Nov. Local outlets call it the fourth week in a row; the Globe and Mail counts six idle weeks since mid-September. Stellantis cites 'evolving market conditions, including consumer demand and the impact of tariffs'. Stellantis also has a preliminary deal to sell its idle Brampton plant to armoured-vehicle maker Roshel, which Unifor opposes.…

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    Sources: The Globe and Mail (5 Nov) · Windsor News Desk (8 Nov)

12. Bosch will run semiconductors as a separate business unit from January 2028, targeting about €5bn of chip revenue by 2030 from cars plus robotics, industrial automation and AI data centres

    The unit stays inside Bosch Mobility but is split from Mobility Electronics, which keeps ECUs. Bosch plans to open its fabs further to outside customers (foundry business). It has invested about €3bn in Dresden and Reutlingen and is spending about $2bn converting Roseville, California, to silicon-carbide (SiC) chips. Handelsblatt describes the move as a carve-out of the chip division.

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    Sources: Bosch press release (3 Nov, DE) · Handelsblatt (DE)

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