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Porsche to cut 9,000 jobs as EV challenges mount
Porsche will eliminate around 9,000 jobs by 2035 as the luxury carmaker restructures amid weakening demand in China, slowing electric vehicle adoption and rising competition from Chinese manufacturers. The German automaker reached an agreement with labour representatives on Monday to remove 5,000 additional positions through measures including natural attrition and voluntary exit programmes, avoiding compulsory redundancies. The latest cuts follow a first package of 3,900 job reductions agreed in February 2025 and a further 500 positions announced this year linked to the closure of subsidiaries. Porsche employed around 42,600 people at the end of 2024, meaning the planned reductions represent more than one-fifth of its workforce. New CEO Michael Leiters, who took over at the start of the year, has been tasked with restructuring the company after a sharp downturn in its previously profitable Chinese market and difficulties with its electric vehicle strategy. Other German automakers, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, are also cutting costs as they navigate the transition to electric vehicles, increased competition from Chinese brands and the impact of higher tariffs. Under the agreement, Porsche will keep its produc
Motoring
Tesla misses earnings as margins weaken
Tesla reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), missing Wall Street profit forecasts despite posting stronger-than-expected revenue, as higher spending on artificial intelligence and manufacturing expansion weighed on profitability. The electric vehicle maker reported adjusted earnings per share of US$0.33, below expectations of $0.53, while revenue rose 26% year-on-year to $28.24 billion, ahead of the $26.42 billion consensus estimate. Shares fell about 4% in extended trading after the results. The earnings release comes amid a difficult year for Tesla's stock, which has fallen 17% in 2026 despite a broader rally in technology shares. Earlier this month, the company reported a 25% increase in second-quarter vehicle deliveries, ending two consecutive years of annual delivery declines. Net income slipped 5% to $1.11 billion, or $0.32 per share, from $1.17 billion, or $0.33 per share, a year earlier. Tesla's automotive business generated $20.52 billion in revenue, up 23% from a year earlier. Revenue from its energy generation and storage division increased 13% to $3.14 billion, while services and other revenue climbed 50% to $4.58 billion. Despite the stronger revenue
Motoring
GM gains 4.9% after earnings beat; lifts outlook
General Motors lifted several of its key 2026 financial forecasts on Tuesday after reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, with robust North American operations continuing to underpin the automaker's performance. The company attributed its improved outlook to stable vehicle transaction prices, lower warranty costs and narrowing losses in its electric vehicle business as it completes a multibillion-dollar pullback from EV investments. GM shares rose 4.9% to close at US$79.52. For the second quarter, the Detroit-based automaker reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.57, comfortably ahead of expectations for $3.19. Revenue came in at $48.03 billion, exceeding forecasts of $47.01 billion. Following the results, GM increased its full-year adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) forecast to between $14 billion and $16 billion, up from its previous guidance of $13.5 billion to $15.5 billion. The company also lifted its adjusted earnings per share outlook to between $12 and $14, compared with its previous forecast of $11.50 to $13.50. Adjusted automotive free cash flow guidance was raised to between $9.5 billion and $11.5 billion, up from the prior range of $9 billion to $11 billio
Motoring
Volkswagen warns of more job cuts amid rising costs
Volkswagen (VW) is reportedly considering eliminating another 50,000 jobs as the German car maker fights against rising costs, intensifying Chinese competition and pressure to overhaul its manufacturing network. VW Chief Executive Oliver Blume told employees in an internal memo that the company was assessing further workforce reductions after already agreeing to cut 50,000 positions, according to media reports. This effectively confirms for the first time that the company is looking to reduce up to 100,000 positions, Reuters reported in this article. Blume said Volkswagen had identified a cost disadvantage of about 20% compared with comparable companies, with personnel expenses representing about half of its overhead costs. “Since half of our overhead costs result from personnel costs, a theoretical calculation – assuming no change in labour costs – would result in the elimination of approximately 50,000 positions worldwide,” Blume said in the memo. “We are currently assessing across all brands, companies and regions how many adjustments are actually necessary and feasible.” Blume described the latest restructuring effort as the most significant transformation in Volkswagen’s history, involving a broad review of
Motoring
Tesla registrations on the uptick in Europe again
Europe saw an uptick of newly registered Tesla's in the month of May. In France, a particularly boost was seen with a 655% increase year over year on a proxy for sales. Denmark was a 131% increase, Sweden was 71% and Norway saw a 29% jump as well. This is a bounce back for the carmaker, which lost close to half of its European market share in 2025, mostly due to growing competition from Chinese EV brands. "The Model Y, in particular, is capturing significant demand ⁠in the SUV segment, offering a good balance between price and range, at a time when price elasticity remains high," said TP ICAP Midcap analyst Julien Thomas was quoted as saying in this Reuters article.

Motoring
Ferrari's Luce EV tumbles stock price on debut
The prancing horse Ferrari's long-awaited electric debut drew a sharp market rebuke on Tuesday, wiping more than 8% from the Italian marque's Milan-listed shares as critics questioned whether the car remains true to the brand's identity. Shares in the Italian luxury carmaker plunged more than 8% on Tuesday after investors and critics reacted coolly to the Luce, its first fully electric vehicle, with the market's central grievance being whether the car remains true to the brand's identity. The stock closed down 8.4%, with the New York listing shedding 5.3%. The Luce is a four-door grand tourer carrying a quad-motor all-wheel-drive system producing 1,050 horsepower, powered by a 122 kWh battery pack on an 800-volt architecture, with a claimed 0-60 mph time of 2.4 seconds and an EPA-rated range of approximately 280 miles. Starting price sits at €550,000 - roughly US$640,000 at current exchange rates - placing it alongside the most exclusive combustion models in the current range. Maranello unveiled the Luce at Rome's Vela di Calatrava sports complex on 25 May, with the company noting that its first-ever race victory came in Rome in 1947, when Franco Cortese won the Gran Premio di Roma in a Ferrari 125 S. Chairman Jo
Motoring
Auto industry prepares for imminent shortages
As wholesale motor oil prices rise rapidly, some industry experts warn of imminent shortages caused by the war in Iran. The issues are due to damage to key facilities in the Middle East and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. The risk is that some of the most popular kinds of motor oil will be in very short supply, forcing drivers to delay getting their oil changed or rely on suboptimal lubricants. Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association CEO, Holly Alfano, said she has no doubt in her mind that we’re looking at shortages. “It’s a big mess — and it’s not going to be resolved quickly. It could take a year or so before we see any real relief,” she told CNN. In a normal year, motor oil producers would increase prices for distributors by 70 to 80 cents a gallon. But already this year, Glenn said, some producers have lifted prices on distributors buying in bulk by $5 or more a gallon. Petroleum Trends International president and CEO Tom Glenn said he hasn’t seen price increases like this since 1979. “Three rounds of price increases over two and a half months is unheard of. And the magnitude is stunning,” he said. This has been driven by a combination of higher prices for crude oil, base oils, additives,
Motoring
Honda posts its first annual loss ever
Honda has posted an annual loss for the first time in its nearly 70-year history and has scrapped its long-term EV sales target. This comes after the automaker was hit by more than US$9 billion in costs to restructure its electric-vehicle business. It also marks its worst financial report since Honda was listed on the stock market in 1957, underscoring how risky an aggressive bet on EVs can be when slammed with weaker-than-expected demand. Following this, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said the company was scrapping its goal of having EVs account for a fifth of its new-car sales in 2030, as well as its target of a full shift to electric- or fuel-cell-vehicle sales by 2040. Mibe said Honda will also indefinitely suspend its Canada EV project, an $11 billion investment plan to produce EVs and batteries in what would have been the Japanese firm's largest-ever investment in the country. The total EV-related losses for the fiscal year ended March 2025 came in at 1.579 trillion yen (US$10 billion), leading to an operating profit loss of 414.3 billion yen. “Although the automobile business faced a harsh business environment — including higher tariff burdens and lower unit sales due to factors such as semiconductor supply shor
Motoring
Nissan to cut hundreds of jobs in Europe
Nissan is set to cut back its European workforce by 10%, as part of an ongoing restructuring. The job cuts will total around 900, across both warehouse and production roles and white-collar roles. Production will also be combined from two lines into one at the Sunderland, United Kingdom plant, following the 2020 closure of its main factories in Barcelona, which impacted around 3,000 jobs. The Japanese car maker announced the beginning of this restructuring plan last year, after considerable financial losses. "We have been taking decisive actions to ⁠enhance performance and create a leaner, more resilient business that adapts quickly to market changes," Nissan said in a statement.