#automotive-industry

#automotive-industry

92 per cent of UK automotive employers report difficulty filling roles, making it the hardest-hit sector for recruitment in the country. The figure sits almost 20 percentage points above the national average, where 73 per cent of employers say they are unable to find suitable candidates.

TD Cowen's Itay Michaeli believes significant sales uptake for the R2 will far exceed what Wall Street is currently modeling, potentially unlocking profitability and sending shares higher. He forecasts full-scale U.S. demand for the model in the range of 212,000 to 335,000 units annually once production hits stride. That range sits well above consensus estimates and could drive meaningful upside to 2027 revenue and EBITDA forecasts.

Stellantis has just posted its 2025 financial results, and it's in the red for the first time since its formation in 2021. The company reported a net loss of $22.3 billion last year after it had to support $25.4 billion in unusual charges attributed to what now looks like a botched shift toward electric vehicles.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on car imports last April, adding export costs to the supercars hand-made in Aston Martin's UK factory. While a subsequent US-UK agreement in May provided some relief for British automakers, there has been fresh uncertainty after Trump introduced a 10% global tariff on exports to the US in response to the Supreme Court ruling against his expansive tariff policy.

Donald Trump is temporary. He'll be gone in three years,

Directors and above will be required to be on-site five days a week from February 16, according to an email sent by Stellantis CFO Joao Laranjo on Friday. It states that the decision will improve customer satisfaction, "strengthen our culture of innovation," and create more opportunities for mentorship and skill development. A set of guidelines entitled "Back Together We Win," sent with the email, describes the five-day-a-week RTO as an "enterprise-wide initiative" that will apply to all employees in all regions.

Completed packs will then go into test vehicles. Solid-state batteries, which are widely considered to be the holy grail in the energy storage game, are nearing reality with every passing day. Now, Geely, Volvo's parent company, is accelerating the development of its solid-state cells, with the first completed packs expected to be fitted into working vehicles this year, as reported by China's 21 Finance.

President Donald Trump will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to promote his efforts to boost U.S. manufacturing, trying to counter fears about a weakening job market and worries that still-rising prices are taking a toll on Americans' pocketbooks. The day trip will include a tour of a Ford factory in Dearborn that makes F-150 pickups, the bestselling domestic vehicle in the U.S.

Euisun Chung, the Executive Chairman at the Hyundai Motor Group, has sounded the alarm on what a difficult year 2026 could become for the car-making game. Not just for Hyundaialthough the South Korean automaker is likely at the top of his list of concernsbut for the entire global auto industry. Things have shifted. Free trade across to one of the brand's largest markets has become less about being free and more about being how well a country can negotiate tariffs for its various industries.

Under existing rules, all new cars sold in the EU from 2035 were required to be "zero emission".

Some economists credit carmaker Henry Ford for jump-starting the American middle class in the 20th century when, in January 1914, he hiked factory wages to $5, more than double the average wage for an eight-hour work day. More than 100 years later, facing the reality of many employees "barely getting by," Ford CEO Jim Farley said he took a page out of the founder's playbook.

The vital flow of chips from China to the car industry in Europe looks poised to resume as part of the deal struck last week between Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The Netherlands has signalled that its standoff with Beijing is close to a resolution amid signs China's ban on exports of the key car industry components is easing.

Mazda Motor Corp. rolled out a new, flatter version of its logo at the Japan Mobility Show 2025 in October that did away with the dimensional, beveled silver chrome effect the logomark used to have in favor of a solid black line. The new M mark is more angular, too, evoking a pair of wings that was first introduced in 1997. The company says it designed the flat new logo for improved visibility, especially in digital environments. That also makes it late to the party.

We didn't specifically say that we'll invest $10 billion over the next few years,