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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.
Source: dpa via Main-Post (30 Oct, DE) · Handelsblatt (30 Oct, DE) · IG Metall round overview (DE)
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
Source: Asia Business Daily (30 Oct) · MoneyToday (30 Oct) · Hyundai Motor Group newsroom (30 Oct, KR)
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
Source: Chosun Biz (30 Oct) · Yonhap (30 Oct) · Asia Business Daily (30 Oct)
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
Source: BorgWarner press release (29 Oct) · BorgWarner Q3 call transcript, Motley Fool (29 Oct) · Investing.com (29 Oct)
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
Source: Reuters via Investing.com (28 Oct) · Ford, What to know about Q3 (28 Oct) · Ford Q3 call transcript, Motley Fool
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.
Source: SMMT release (29 Oct) · Motor Trader (29 Oct)
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
Source: Nissan release (29 Oct) · Cartoq on the Re:Nissan plan (2 Oct, background)
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
Source: Aptiv newsroom (29 Oct)
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
Source: FORVIA press release via Yahoo Finance (29 Oct)
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.
Source: EBRD release (29 Oct)