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BYD company slumps as China EV war intensifies
While BYD Company (HK:1211) remains a global player in the electric vehicle market, a significant downturn in early 2026 has more to do with ‘The China’ factor than a material slowdown in demand for EVs globally. Having been embroiled in a brutal domestic price war, BYD - the world’s largest electric car maker - recently lost its top car moniker in China to rival Geely Automobile Holdings (HK:0175) early in 2026, with the latter experiencing triple-digit growth in 2025. A tapering off of recent stimulus policies – notably purchase tax exemptions – at a time when raw material costs are surging has seen a cooling off in consumer confidence. This is weighing on demand, with buyers waiting for new model releases and further clarity on government trade-in initiatives before committing to purchases. While China’s consumers aren’t abandoning EVs entirely, what they are doing is favouring Geely's more budget-conscious EVs (like the Geome Xingyuan/EX2) that are more competitively priced against or slightly cheaper than BYD’s offerings in China. As a result, BYD’s vehicle sales dropped 41% in February and 30% in January. However, much of BYD’s total sales downturn appears to be confined to China – down 65% in February – w
Motoring
Ford to recall millions of vehicles in North America
Ford has recalled more than 600,000 vehicles in Canada and around 4.3 million in the United States due to a software glitch that may cause trailer brakes not to function and exterior lights to fail. The recall will affect certain models of Ford’s most popular vehicles, including some 2021-2026 F150s, 2022-2026 Super Duty Trucks, 2024-2026 Rangers and 2022-2026 Mavericks. Ford said it would issue an over-the-air software update for all affected vehicles. Customers will also be able to use the mobile service or visit a Ford dealer to get the update. The update will be available for all vehicles by the end of May. When pulling a trailer, the software issue can cause the trailer to stop communicating with the vehicle, causing the trailer's stop lamps and turn signals not to light up. In some cases, the trailer's braking function might also be lost. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, trailer lights or brakes that do not function can reduce the driver’s ability to control the trailer, increasing the risk of a crash. Ford said a “Trailer Brake Module Fault” message will appear for drivers, and the turn signal indicator will flash rapidly if a vehicle does not experience the communication lo
Motoring
Stellantis swings to loss as it winds back EV plans
Automotive conglomerate Stellantis posted its first-ever annual loss last year as it scaled back its electric-vehicle plans. Revenue was down 2% to EU€153.51 billion. Its loss per share was €0.42, falling from earnings of €2.48 per share the prior year. “Our 2025 full year results reflect the cost of over-estimating the pace of the energy transition and of the need to reset our business around our customers’ freedom to choose from the full range of electric, hybrid and internal combustion technologies,” said CEO Antonio Filosa. “In the second half of the year we began to see initial, positive signs of progress with the early results of our drive to improve quality, strong execution of the launches of our new product wave and a return to top line growth. In 2026 our focus will be on continuing to close the execution gaps of the past, adding further momentum to our return to profitable growth.” The company said earlier this month that it would take €22.2 billion in charges from winding back its EV ambitions. Last year, it scrapped its goal to sell only fully electric cars in Europe by 2030. These charges also include plans to reduce its workforce in Europe. Shipments for all its brands, including Jeep, Peugeot, and
Motoring
Aston Martin plans to cut up to 20% of its workforce
British automaker Aston Martin said it will cut up to 20% of its workforce as it faces strain from tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump. This comes as the James Bond automaker’s net losses jumped 52% last year to £493.2 million (A$938.8 million). In its latest earnings report, Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark blamed the tariffs for its recent struggles. “An unprecedented backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties and macroeconomic pressures, including heightened tariffs in the U.S. and China, weighed on our performance and ability to execute our plans effectively,” he said. This comes as Trump imposed a 25% tariff on car imports last April, adding to the export costs of the handmade supercars in Aston Martin’s U.K. factory. The company also said it expects operating expenditure and capex savings of about £40 million from the cuts. The Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, employs around 3,000 people, meaning job losses would total around 600. Aston Martin also trimmed its five-year capital spending plan to £1.7 billion from £2 billion by delaying investment in electric vehicle technology. The majority of the job cuts will impact the UK, where the bulk of Aston Martin workers are
Motoring
Ford reports biggest earnings miss since 2021
Ford Motors fell short of quarterly earnings estimates but still forecasts 2026 to be a rebound year for the automaker. Earnings per share was 32% lower than analysts' expectations of 19 cents per share, coming in at 13 cents per share. This was the company’s first quarterly miss since 2024 and its worst since a 42% difference when reporting its 2021 fourth-quarter earnings. The earnings miss was primarily driven by unexpected tariff costs of US$900 million related to credits for auto parts not taking effect as early as expected, according to the company. As of 15 December, Ford confirmed it has $7.7 billion in earnings before interest and taxes for the first quarter, but additional costs dropped that to $6.8 million. Fires at a Novelis aluminium supplier in New York last year also contributed to the lower than expected earnings. The supplier isn’t expected to be fully operational until the middle of this year, according to Ford CFO Sherry House. “We will see a billion-dollar benefit roughly in 2026; however, this year, due to the Novelis impact, we’re going to have tariffs increasing in order to secure aluminium that is roughly the same amount of that savings,” House told reporters. Despite the miss in ear

Motoring
China’s EV boom stalls as BYD logs weakest month
China’s electric car boom has hit a softer patch with January’s numbers suggesting the slowdown is no longer confined to the margins. BYD, the country’s dominant electric vehicle maker, reported its weakest monthly domestic performance in nearly two years. This notable downturn coincides with deeper concerns about demand, policy fatigue and a market crowded with rivals chasing the same buyers. The Shenzhen-based group sold 205,518 vehicles in January, including plug-in hybrids, of which only 83,249 were battery-electric passenger cars. That was the lowest monthly tally since February 2024, a period when Covid disruptions were still echoing through supply chains. Typically, January figures in China are always awkward to read, with the Lunar New Year following a farming calendar - rather than the Western one – which shifts each year and distorts production, sales and logistics. However, this time there was an extra headwind. From January 1, Beijing reinstated a 5% purchase tax on so-called new energy vehicles - aka cars powered by batteries or a mix of battery and petrol - after an exemption had been in place for more than a decade. While electric cars were one of the few clean growth stories within an econom
Motoring
Toyota shrugs off US levies with record 2025 sales
Toyota Motor Corporation (TSE: 7203) (NYSE: TM) delivered a quiet rebuke to the politics of trade by closing 2025 with global vehicle sales of just over 10.5 million, its strongest result in two years and enough to hold onto the title of the world’s biggest carmaker. Sales across Toyota and its Lexus luxury brand rose 3.7% from the year before, comfortably ahead of Volkswagen Group and Hyundai Motor Group. The standout market was the United States, where Toyota’s results read like a contradiction. American sales jumped 7.3% to 2.93 million vehicles, even after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imported cars. Those levies were initially set at 25% before being cut to 15% following negotiations with Japan. Despite tariffs, which are a tax charged on imported goods, Toyota managed to absorb the extra costs instead of pushing through broad price rises, betting that steady prices would keep buyers coming through showroom doors. That calculation appears to have paid off. Hybrids sat at the centre of the strategy with models like Prius and RAV4, which combine a petrol engine with an electric motor to reduce fuel use without requiring charging, continued to attract U.S. buyers wary of fully electric vehicl
Motoring
GM shares drive higher as Q4 earnings beats forecasts
General Motors (GM) shares rose almost 9% on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) despite the company announcing an 11.8% increase in losses for the fourth quarter of 2025 (Q4 FY25). The American car manufacturer said the net loss widened to US$3.31 billion (A$4.74 billion) in the three months ended 31 December from a $2.961 billion deficit in the previous corresponding period (pcp) a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) deteriorated to a loss of $2.51 from a loss of $1.92 in the pcp on revenue, which dipped 5.1% to $45.287 billion.Source: General MotorsThe share price jumped as adjusted EPS of $2.51, which was 30.4% higher than the pcp, was above analysts’ estimates of $2.20. GM shares (NYSE: GM) closed $6.96 (8.77%) higher at US$86.30, capitalising the company at $80.83 billion (A$115.8 billion), and they continued rising to $86.50 in after-hours trading. GM said Q4 net income was marred by more than $7.2 billion in charges due mainly to a realignment of electric vehicle (EV) capacity and investments to adjust to expected declines in consumer demand for EVs. For the full year, net income plunged 55.1% to $2.697 billion and diluted EPS dived 48.7% to $3.27 as revenue eased 1.3% to $185.019 billion. The company for
Motoring
GM to move Buick production back to the US
General Motors has confirmed that it will be moving production of the next-generation Buick back to the United States. The Envision version of the SUV is currently built in China, and has been since 2017, but the move back to the States comes amidst ongoing pressure from President Trump to increase domestic manufacturing and high tariffs that made things harder for the automaker to keep importing from overseas. The company's Kansas City Fairfax Assembly plant will serve as the location for vehicle manufacturing, starting in 2028. However, this next-gen version of the car will only be sold domestically, leaving the possibility of continued Chinese production of the vehicle for sales outside of the U.S. "This decision further strengthens GM’s domestic manufacturing footprint and supports U.S. jobs, building on $5.5 billion in new investments announced across our U.S. manufacturing sites in the last year,” GM said in an emailed statement.