Automaker Trends | OEM TrendFord Motor: The company has reached an agreement with Geely Automobile Holdings to establish a joint venture in Valencia, Spain. By sharing capacity, the partners will produce multi-energy vehicles for both the Ford and Geely brands in Europe. The move is designed to bolster Ford’s product offensive and accelerate Geely’s localization strategy across the continent, while also driving economic growth in the Valencia region.Kuai Technology: The 2026 China Auto Forum took place in Jiading, Shanghai, from July 21 to 23, where Wang Qian, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Nissan Motor Sales Co., Ltd., delivered a speech. He revealed that the combined market share of joint ventures and foreign brands slumped to just 24.5% in June, arguing that the core crisis for these players isn't shrinking share, but a fundamental overhaul of competitive logic. The old joint venture formula—foreign partners providing technology, Chinese partners offering channels, and swapping cost advantages for scale—has been completely dismantled by China’s new-energy market. Wang emphasized that this isn't a zero-sum game, urging the industry to roll out new products and leverage deep-rooted strengths in systems, quality control, and supply chains to shatter outdated stereotypes and expand the overall market.Gasgoo: Tesla released its second-quarter 2026 financial results on July 23. Driven by global deliveries exceeding 480,000 units, the automaker notched its best-ever performance for the period—a 25% annual increase. Total revenue climbed 26% to $28.2 billion, pushing trailing 12-month revenue past the $100 billion threshold for the first time.CLS: On July 23, Renault Group reported global sales of 1,165,133 units for the first half of 2026, a dip of 0.4% year-on-year. In Europe, the group sold 821,092 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, down 1.3%. The Renault brand held firm in second place with 528,849 units, up 2.6%. Meanwhile, Dacia sales slipped 8.7% to 284,021 units, and Alpine surged 67.6% to 8,222 units. Electrified vehicles made up 52.0% of the group's European sales in the first half—an 8.2-point jump—with battery-electric models accounting for 18.8%.Jiemian News: Hyundai Motor released its second-quarter earnings on July 23. The company posted an operating profit of 2.85 trillion won, missing the market consensus of 3.11 trillion won. Net profit also came in below expectations at 2.52 trillion won, compared to a forecast of 2.74 trillion won. Revenue, however, was a bright spot at 49.22 trillion won, edging out the projected 49.09 trillion won.CLS: Elon Musk revealed on July 23 that Micron Technology recently allocated a "significant volume" of memory chips to Tesla, helping the automaker secure supply of an increasingly scarce resource. Speaking on Tesla’s quarterly earnings call Wednesday, Musk noted that while supply remains tight and prices high, Micron has offered very reasonable terms.Kuai Technology: A Porsche spokesperson confirmed on July 23 that the supervisory board has approved a fresh round of restructuring measures. The automaker had previously outlined plans to cut 3,900 positions over the coming years—roughly 1,900 by 2029, with the remaining 2,000 trimmed through natural attrition. Sources indicate management now aims to slash an additional 5,000 roles, potentially bringing total cuts to 9,000, though other reports suggest a target of 5,000 to 6,000 reductions by 2035. Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group’s broader cost-cutting initiative impacts several Porsche models: the electric Taycan will end its lifecycle without a direct successor, and the combustion-engine Cayenne Coupé is also nearing the end of its run.Components Suppliers | Supply Chain NewsJiemian News: TotalEnergies reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on July 23. Revenue hit $57.10 billion, while adjusted net profit surged 68% year-on-year to $6.03 billion. Buoyed by higher oil prices and new projects, average hydrocarbon production reached 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Adjusted earnings per share came to $2.68, and adjusted EBITDA stood at $13.18 billion, generating operating cash flow of $10.86 billion. Looking ahead, TotalEnergies forecasts average liquefied natural gas (LNG) selling prices above $11.5 per million British thermal units in the third quarter, while keeping its full-year 2026 net investment target steady at $15 billion.Gasgoo: TIER IV, a developer of open-source autonomous driving software, has officially listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under the ticker 593A. Founded in December 2015 by Shinpei Kato, an associate professor at Nagoya University, the company is Japan’s first publicly traded firm focused primarily on autonomous driving technology.Gasgoo: Spanish automotive supplier Grupo Antolin-Irausa has secured judicial protection for its U.S. assets. The move marks the latest step in the company's efforts to gain cross-border recognition for restructuring proceedings initiated in Spain last month. A judge approved Antolin’s request to block creditors from filing new lawsuits for several weeks, shielding its U.S. holdings. In court filings, Antolin’s counsel argued for the pause, noting that Spanish courts are in summer recess until September or October, delaying approval of the restructuring plan.Industrial Focus | Industrial EconomyCLS: Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) on July 23 showed passenger car registrations in the EU, UK, and EFTA climbed 13.1% year-on-year in June, bringing year-to-date growth to 6.1%. Tesla’s market share in the region rose to 3.7% in June, while BYD captured 2.7%. Electric vehicle registrations accounted for 67.8% of new car registrations across the EU, UK, and EFTA during the month.Xinhua: At a State Council briefing on July 23, the director of the Ministry of Commerce’s consumption promotion department announced that the retail penetration rate of new-energy vehicles in China hit 62.8% in June. That means more than six out of every 10 new cars sold were NEVs.Jiemian News: Hong Kong stocks closed higher on July 23, with the Hang Seng Index up 1.28% and the Hang Seng Tech Index gaining 0.65%. The non-ferrous metals sector rallied: Ganfeng Lithium surged more than 9%, Tianqi Lithium climbed nearly 7%, Aluminum Corp of China rose over 6%, and China Hongqiao gained more than 3%. Heavyweight tech stocks also advanced, with Meituan up over 4%, Baidu up more than 2%, and Tencent and Alibaba both rising over 1%. Chip stocks mostly declined, with Hua Hong Semiconductor and Iluvatar CoreX dropping more than 7%, while SMIC fell nearly 3%.CLS: According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on July 23, sales of Chinese-brand passenger cars hit 1.812 million units in June 2026—a 6.2% year-on-year increase and a 7.3% rise from May. These brands captured 75.5% of the passenger car market, boosting their share by 8.2 percentage points compared to the previous year. For the first half of 2026, Chinese-brand sales totaled 9.138 million units, a slight dip of 1.4% year-on-year, yet they managed to expand their market share to 71.8%—a 3.3-point gain.
