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Asia
China’s commerce ministry said on Monday (12 Oct) that the hybrid understanding reached in Beijing on 9 Oct allows exports to grow from the 2025 level. Citing Eurostat, it said EU hybrid imports from China rose to 302,000 in 2025 from 107,000 in 2024. Any measure must not target Chinese products, China’s quota would be no lower than that of any other source of EU imports, and China keeps its WTO rights, including dispute settlement and compensation. No volumes or timeline were given. Trade Commissioner Šefčovič’s ‘more than half’ cut is measured against an unpublished no-deal forecast for the next four years, so critics point out that actual sales could still rise. Brussels still has to approve the arrangement; EU leaders meet 15–16 Oct.
Source: CnEVPost on the MOFCOM statement (12 Oct) · Börsen-Zeitung (12 Oct)
Europe
On the eve of the Paris show, VW showed the Electric Urban Car Family together for the first time: CUPRA Raval and VW ID. Polo (built in Martorell) and Škoda Epiq and VW ID. Cross (built in Pamplona). All four use the front-wheel-drive MEB+ platform and share more than 80% of components and technologies. VW says the family has almost 150,000 orders before deliveries began. It is part of a €10bn Spain programme with PowerCo’s Sagunto cell plant and a €300m battery-assembly plant in Martorell. Börsen-Zeitung reports VW puts the development synergies at €600m. VW holds a Paris investor update today, the Q3 pre-close call on Tuesday 13 Oct and nine-month results on 29 Oct.
Companies Volkswagen, Škoda
Source: Volkswagen Newsroom (11 Oct) · Volkswagen Group, ‘For Europe’ (11 Oct) · Börsen-Zeitung (12 Oct)
Europe
At its ‘Night Before’ event on 11 Oct Stellantis showed six of nine Paris concepts and more than 60 vehicles. Europe COO Emanuele Cappellano said more than 50 products will launch by 2030, widening Stellantis’ market coverage in Europe by 25%. The Citroën 2 CV concept previews a fully electric, Europe-built car at about €15,000 due by 2028, the first of the EU’s planned ‘e-car’ category; the Peugeot RCZ Vision on STLA One uses steer-by-wire. Leapmotor brings its B03 and D19 to Europe for the first time. CEO Antonio Filosa told Le Parisien there will be no plant closures in France. Ouest-France reports the Dongfeng joint venture still plans to build a Voyah electric car at Rennes-La Janais from 2028, alongside the C5 Aircross. Stellantis shares fell to €3.81 this month, the lowest since 2021 (Reuters).
Companies Stellantis, Dongfeng, Leapmotor
Source: Stellantis press release (11 Oct) · Reuters via WJXQ (11 Oct) · Le Parisien interview (10 Oct) · Ouest-France on Rennes (5 Oct)
Europe
Macron makes his last Paris Motor Show visit as president today (stops at Stellantis, Renault and Valeo) after a Sunday Élysée dinner with about 60 carmakers, suppliers, battery and rare-earth firms; no Chinese executives were invited. France wants EU subsidies to favour cars made in the EU across the value chain, ‘from batteries to spare parts’, and wants no ‘screwdriver factories’ where only the last bolt is tightened in Europe. The Élysée denied Handelsblatt’s report that Paris would accept an 80% 2035 CO₂ target in exchange for stricter Made-in-Europe rules: ‘there is no agreement’, but talks continue. Renault CEO François Provost told Bloomberg the hybrid deal is a major milestone, that Chinese firms must invest heavily in the European value chain rather than assembly plants, and that Brussels must move fast on Made-in-Europe rules; he confirmed a €10bn French investment plan over five years, subject to political and social support.
Companies Stellantis, Renault, Valeo
Source: Euronews (11 Oct) · MilanoFinanza, citing Bloomberg (12 Oct)
Europe
Before the show, PFA president Luc Chatel said Europe’s car market has lost a quarter of its pre-Covid volume (about 3 million cars a year) and French vehicle production has fallen to 1.4 million, a million fewer than before the pandemic and a third of the level 25 years ago. France has lost about 50,000 auto jobs in five years and another 75,000 are at risk by 2035.
Source: L’argus (9 Oct) · Le Parisien interview (8 Oct)
Europe
XPeng said its flagship G9L SUV completed trial production at Magna’s Graz plant on 7 Oct, making it XPeng’s fourth Europe-built model after the G6, G9 and P7+. Production runs at Magna Steyr’s contract-manufacturing operation rather than an XPeng-owned plant. The G9L has its global premiere in Paris today; no date was given for European series production or deliveries, nor which powertrains (BEV or range extender) will be built locally.
Companies XPeng, Magna
Source: XPeng press release · CnEVPost (10 Oct)
Americas
LME copper rose 0.5% to $14,618/t on Monday morning (Singapore time) after gaining almost 2% last week (Bloomberg). On Sunday a landslide at Codelco’s El Teniente killed two contract workers; regulator SERNAGEOMIN suspended operations in the mine’s south-pit sector, and Codelco said heavy rain caused it (Reuters). At Escondida, BHP withdrew its 14×14 shift and multi-skilling proposals during mediation, but the supervisors’ union says more than 50 points are still open. Mediation runs to Tuesday 13 Oct; without a deal or an agreed extension of up to five working days, a strike can start on Wednesday 14 Oct. The Centinela strike started last week.
Companies Codelco, BHP
Source: Reuters via KSL (11 Oct) · Bloomberg via The Edge (12 Oct) · REDIMIN on Escondida (10 Oct)
Europe
An Allianz Trade study published before the show (8–9 Oct) finds European carmakers cut capital investment by 20% this year while other large European companies raised theirs by 10%. The big three German carmakers lost 10 percentage points of market share in Europe and 7 in China since 2021. Domestic value added per vehicle in Europe in H1 2026 was 30–45% below 2021/22, against less than 20% in China. Another 3-point share loss in both markets by 2030 would cost German OEMs about €3bn of value added, about 4 points of EBITDA margin. Allianz puts the cost of strict Made-in-Europe content rules at about €2,000 per vehicle (+5% on the retail price). Chinese brands make up 50% of Paris exhibitors, against 23% in 2024.
Source: Allianz Trade research (8 Oct) · Handelsblatt / dpa (9 Oct)
Europe
JLR unveiled the all-electric Jaguar Type 01 four-door GT on 7 Oct. It is the first car on the dedicated Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA), with an 850-volt electrical system, a 118 kWh usable battery and 350 kW charging. Production starts in 2027 in Solihull; electric drive units and battery packs come from Wolverhampton and body panels from Halewood. Orders open in early 2027 from £130,000. JLR says it has spent £11.5bn of its £15–18bn five-year programme, mostly in the UK, and has retrained nearly 9,000 Solihull staff for EV production; it keeps ICE, hybrid and electric options across its other brands.
Companies Jaguar Land Rover
Source: JLR Media (7 Oct)
Asia
China’s industry ministry MIIT, with three other agencies, published a draft notice on 10 Oct (comments until 10 Nov). It repeats the ban on fully concealed door handles (the mandatory standard applies from 1 Jan 2027) and would ban foldable and flexible displays. Lights, wipers and defrost/defog would need physical controls next to touch controls; soft-close doors would need anti-pinch protection and manual opening during a power failure. Carmakers would have to inspect key incoming hardware and software themselves (traction batteries, motors, electronic controls, cockpit systems) rather than rely on supplier reports, and run at least 30,000 km of reliability testing. New models must file extra data from 1 Jan 2027, and approved models by 1 Jul 2027.
Source: CnEVPost (10 Oct) · MIIT consultation notice (Chinese)