Daily brief
Automotive & Business Brief — 30 October 2026
IG Metall has called German metal-industry warning strikes from 1 November after rejecting a 1% one-off plus 1.3% in 2028.
Executive Snapshot
- IG Metall has called German metal-industry warning strikes from 1 November after rejecting a 1% one-off plus 1.3% in 2028.
Top Developments
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German metal pay round: IG Metall formally calls warning strikes from midnight on Sunday 1 November, after rejecting the employers’ 1% one-off plus 1.3% in July 2028 offer
Europe
IG Metall’s executive board in Frankfurt has called its members out for warning strikes across the German metal and electrical industry (about 3.7m employees), with the first ‘midnight actions’ expected in the night to Sunday 1 November when the peace obligation ends. The union wants 5% for 12 months plus job and site guarantees; employers offered, for the first time in five regions at once, a 1% one-off payment in July 2027 and a 1.3% table increase from July 2028, running 26 months to end-2028, and also want more plant-level ‘differentiation’. The second regional rounds (27–30 Oct) ended without convergence. Handelsblatt notes that in the 2024 round about 290,000 employees in some 1,600 plants joined warning strikes over eleven days; a pilot district usually sets the deal that others copy.
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Kia Q3: operating profit up 24% to ₩1.82tn (5.8% margin) on lower US tariffs, Western European sales up 17% on affordable EVs, but raw materials cost ₩368bn and EV incentives ₩727bn
Europe
Kia reported on 30 Oct revenue of ₩31.6tn (+10.1%) and operating profit of ₩1.82tn (+24.3%); net income fell 9.6%. Wholesale volume rose 7.9% to 847,355. The US tariff cut from 25% to 15% added about ₩530bn year on year, volume ₩442bn and currency ₩529bn. Against that, raw-material prices cost about ₩368bn, the Middle East conflict ₩209bn, and incentives and price cuts to push EVs ₩727bn. Western European sales rose 16.9% to 145,000, with 63,000 EVs sold there in the quarter; Kia wants EVs to reach 33% of its Western European sales this year. Electrified vehicles were 36.2% of global sales.
Companies Kia
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Hyundai Mobis Q3: operating profit up 17% to ₩914bn; the modules and core-parts business stays in profit on European EV volume and a richer electronics mix, despite memory-chip cost pressure
Europe
Mobis reported on 30 Oct revenue of ₩15.72tn (+4.6%) and operating profit of ₩914.1bn (+17.2%); net profit fell 35.7% on lower currency and equity-method gains. The modules and core-parts division made ₩33.5bn of operating profit on ₩12.27tn revenue (+5.1%), its second profitable quarter in a row after a loss a year earlier, which Mobis attributes to higher EV sales in Europe and a mix shift to electronics, despite a fire in India and memory-semiconductor cost pressure. The aftermarket division earned ₩880.7bn. From November Mobis will build actuator prototypes for Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid at its Uiwang R&D centre, aiming at supply from 2028, and will double its robotics staff.
Companies Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis
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BorgWarner Q3: sales down 2.9% (organic −3.1%) but adjusted margin up to 10.9%; it narrows 2026 sales to $14.0–14.2bn on weaker production and wins its first aluminium-wire e-motor award with a Chinese OEM
Asia
BorgWarner reported on 29 Oct sales of $3.49bn, down on lower market production and weaker Battery Energy Systems sales, with an adjusted operating margin of 10.9% (+20bp) from cost control. It now expects its weighted light-vehicle market down 1–2% in 2026, narrowed sales guidance to $14.0–14.2bn (organic −2.5% to −4%) and raised adjusted EPS to $5.20–5.35 on buybacks and tax. Battery Energy Systems sales will fall by about $250m this year. New awards include its first aluminium-wire e-motor programme with a major Chinese OEM for hybrids (start 2026), three more e-motor awards in China, a high-voltage inverter for a global OEM’s next BEVs, and conquest turbocharger awards in Europe and South America from 2027.
Companies BorgWarner
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Ford Q3: adjusted EBIT up 3% to $2.7bn and guidance raised to $10.5–11bn, but the full-year commodity hit rises to about $2.5bn on copper, steel, chips and freight; Ford expects 2027 profit roughly flat
Global
Ford reported late on 28 Oct revenue of $49.5bn (−2%) and net income of $2bn. It raised its 2026 commodity-cost estimate to nearly $2.5bn from about $2bn, citing the Middle East conflict, higher copper and steel prices, fuel and chip prices. Ford expects 2027 core profit to be roughly in line with 2026 and pricing about 1% higher this year. On the call, management named Europe as the main pressure point, with Chinese competition and EV mandates, and is leaning on capital-light partnerships with Renault and Geely there.
Companies Ford, Renault, Geely
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UK September output up 36% against a cyber-hit base, but SMMT warns that ‘Made in EU’ and the 2027 EV rules of origin could cost £1.4bn a year in tariffs both ways
Europe
SMMT reported on 29 Oct that UK vehicle production rose 36.3% to 74,031 in September and car output 38.6% to 70,831, against last year’s cyber-attack disruption at the country’s largest automotive employer; nine-month output is still down 3.0% at 564,537. Electrified models were 42.3% of cars built. The outlook is 731,000 light vehicles in 2026 (−2.3%) and 752,000 in 2027. SMMT names three threats: the EU’s ‘Made in EU’ proposals would in practice exclude UK-built vehicles; tighter Trade Cooperation Agreement rules of origin from 1 January 2027 could create a shared £1.4bn annual tariff bill on EV trade; and the UK ZEV mandate, which it wants substantially reformed. It calls the coming EU-UK summit a vital chance to fix the first two.
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Nissan September: global production down 17.8% to 222,615 and China output down 60%; first-half Mexico output down 24% while US output rises 29%
Americas
Nissan’s 29 Oct monthly release shows September global sales of 249,759 (−10.2%) and production of 222,615 (−17.8%). By plant region in September, China fell 60.5%, Mexico 26.3% and the UK 5.6%, while Japan rose 14.0% and the US 16.8%. For April–September, global output fell 13.6% to 1.24m, with Mexico down 24.1%, China down 49.3% and the UK down 6.1%, and the US up 29.0% as Nissan moves towards 80% US localisation by 2030. Under Re:Nissan the company is cutting plants from 17 to 10 by fiscal 2027 and platforms from 13 to seven.
Companies Nissan
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Aptiv will show high-voltage connectors, busbars and connectors designed for robot-assembled harnesses at electronica in Munich (10–13 Nov), marketing its connector business across industries
Europe
In a 29 Oct release from Schaffhausen, Aptiv said its Engineered Components unit will exhibit low-voltage, 48V and high-voltage connectors, inlets and busbars, high-speed data connectivity and modular connectors at electronica 2026. One demonstration is a robotic arm assembling harnesses with connectors designed for automated assembly. The pitch is explicitly cross-industry: vehicles, battery storage and data centres, industrial automation and robotics, satellites and aerospace.
Companies Aptiv
Sources
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FORVIA uses an AI platform from Raiqon to automate requirements engineering for HELLA and Faurecia Clarion Electronics, on projects with up to 15,000 requirements
Europe
FORVIA announced on 29 Oct a strategic partnership with Raiqon, a German AI firm focused on regulated engineering. Raiqon’s multi-agent platform runs inside FORVIA’s IT environment and its existing IBM DOORS tool, and automates requirement analysis, similarity detection, reuse of earlier assessments, inconsistency checks and missing-link creation. It is being tailored for FORVIA HELLA and Faurecia Clarion Electronics, where a single development project can involve up to 15,000 requirements.
Companies Forvia
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EBRD lends €15m to Selzer Automotive Bosnia to expand EV and hybrid component output and train at least 100 more workers
Global
The EBRD said on 29 Oct it is lending €15m to Selzer Automotive Bosnia, a maker of precision metal components and assemblies for transmissions, brakes and engines that supplies OEMs and Tier-1s. Most of the first tranche finances machinery for EV and hybrid parts, including e-motor rotor shafts and hybrid-transmission components. The project includes structured CNC and automation operator training with vocational schools and at least 100 new jobs, with a focus on women and young people.
Sources
Earnings Calendar
| Date | Company | Event | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| LearTier-1 | Lear Q3 | release before the US open, call 14:00 CET | |
| AptivTier-1 | Aptiv Q3 | ||
| LG Energy SolutionOther | LG Energy Solution Q3 call on | ||
| BMWOEM | BMW Q3 on | ||
| AumovioTier-1 | Aumovio Q3 on | ||
| Daimler TruckOEM | Daimler Truck Q3 on |