A top Indian government adviser said the nation should bring back a fuel variant with a lower blend of ethanol, the first sign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could reconsider the controversial policy.
Modi's government started rolling out so-called E20 ethanol-based fuel nationwide last year to curb pollution and reduce oil imports. The move has angered some Indian motorists and triggered complaints over reduced fuel efficiency and wear and tear on cars.
India's Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said on Monday that offering a lower-ethanol variant would calm public concerns.
Days earlier, Reuters colleagues Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra reported that executives from top automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra privately shared concerns about potential contamination of E20 fuel following extensive testing of fuel samples.
India's main auto lobby in late July submitted data to the government raising the concerns about E20, but days later withdrew its report, saying some figures needed more checks.
Surging fuel prices from the Iran war have propelled exports of China’s electric trucks.
China’s exports of electric-powered heavy trucks, or e-trucks, roughly doubled in the four months following the war launched on Iran on February 28 by the U.S. and Israel.
E-trucks were already gaining momentum inside China, driven by subsidies and improved charging availability. Now, as high fuel prices prompt truck drivers globally to curb their expenses, China is supplying other countries with the big, battery-powered rigs.
Some of the spike in demand has come from South and Southeast Asia, which is especially reliant on the Middle East for oil supplies and has seen a jump in diesel prices.
U.S. and Canadian trade negotiators are haggling over terms that could drop President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian vehicles to 15%, from 25%.
Chinese autonomous-vehicle developer Pony.ai says it is planning an overseas expansion of more than 4,000 robotaxis, including to four unnamed European cities.
The president of Canadian labor union Unifor said Jeep-maker Stellantis is considering a sale of its assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario. The automaker declined to comment.
Stellantis is recalling about 955,000 vehicles globally because a radio-software glitch could prevent rear-view cameras from working properly.
General Motors agreed to sell its 50% stake in an Indiana battery facility jointly owned with South Korea’s Samsung SDI, the latest automaker to pull back from the EV market.
EV sales continue strong run
Car buyers continue to gravitate toward electric cars, prodded by high fuel prices stemming from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Global sales of fully electric vehicles, along with plug-in hybrids, rose 9% in July from a year earlier, according to data from consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. It was the fifth straight month of increased EV sales.
But sales have been uneven across the world’s largest car markets. European buyers are flocking to EVs and plug-in hybrids, while green-car sales in the U.S. and China have been declining from year-earlier levels.
Large European markets drove gains, including an 81% jump in France, a 46% increase in Germany and a 43% gain in Britain. Benchmark attributed the increases to a return of tax subsidies for EV purchases in many markets.
The story is the opposite in the U.S., where the removal of a $7,500 tax credit last autumn has sapped demand. Sales in North America fell 27% in July from a year earlier. In China, where car sales overall are declining after years of growth, EV sales slipped 5%.
Detroit lobbies on proposed USMCA changes
At the same time, Detroit’s car companies are gearing up to lobby the administration to ease some proposed changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. At least two of the companies estimate the hit from the Trump team’s proposed changes — including a requirement for more U.S.-made parts on imported cars — could tack on $2 billion in extra costs annually.
Which brings us to today’s Auto File …
Ford shifts some Lincoln production to the U.S.
A pair of exclusive reports from Reuters underscores how much the Trump administration’s trade policies continue to reshape the factory networks of global automakers.
Ford said it would move production of some premium Lincoln models to the U.S. from China in coming years, including its Nautilus SUV. Imports of that model have been hit with 52.5% tariffs, prompting Ford to take steps to shift output to an undisclosed U.S. factory.
The move was notable for the message it sends to the Trump administration: we’re ready to build more cars on American soil.
CEO Jim Farley was so eager to make that point, he joined a Reuters interview with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to share the Lincoln-onshoring news. They told reporter Nora Eckert that automakers are falling in line behind the Trump administration’s push for more U.S. manufacturing.
XLY•
