Blog doce magia

About two decades ago when BYD’s soft-spoken chairman Wang Chuanfu first said the Chinese automaker aimed to become the world’s largest automaker there was laughter from assembled media, a Reuters colleague who was in the room recalls.

Back then, BYD was a minnow in the auto industry.

But a lot has changed as BYD’s sales grew more from around 400,000 new cars in 2020 to 4.6 million last year – making it the world’s No. 6 automaker by sales in 2025.

Wang told investors at BYD’s annual shareholder meeting that it aims to become world No. 1 within five years.

BYD has struggled recently in its home market, which it says is partly down to ramping up production of its super-fast charging cars.

It is also pursuing a global expansion plan that saw its exports from China grow 65% in the first five months of 2026, with Brazil, Britain and Australia its largest markets.

To get to No. 1 will be harder than getting to No. 6. Toyota held the top spot last year with global sales of 11.3 million vehicles. That will require BYD to almost triple its sales in five years. 

Yet after what BYD achieved in just five years, few in the industry will be laughing at that goal now.

The UAW's Shawn Fain is running for reelection -   REUTERS/Nora Eckert.

United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain is seeking re-election as the head of the 400,000-member union, but as Reuters colleagues Kalea Hall and Nora Eckert report, his mixed record could make winning a second four-year term a bit of a tough sell.

You can read all about it here.

In his early days as UAW president, Fain seemed unstoppable.

He led a six-week simultaneous strike against the Detroit Three automakers in 2023, notching up historic 25% wage increases for UAW workers and unionized Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant, a victory in the U.S. South that had eluded the union for decades.

But despite spending $40 million to organize more plants in the South, the unionization push came to naught after losing a vote at Mercedes-Benz’s Alabama plant.

Rivals are seeking to turn the race into a referendum on Fain's leadership.

A federal watchdog, appointed in 2021 to oversee union management after a corruption scandal, has accused Fain of retaliating against other UAW leaders and of a lack of transparency. Fain responded by saying every board has its challenges. “Everything we've done, we've done by putting this membership first," he said, adding that the UAW has “adopted almost every reform suggested by the monitor”.

High gas prices have hit U.S. RV sales - REUTERS/Carlo Allegri. 

Spring is usually prime selling season for U.S. recreational vehicles, but thanks to high gas prices driven by the Iran war, this year is turning into a dud.

As Reuters colleague Timothy Aeppel reports, RV registrations by consumers fell 22% in March and nearly 17% in April. You can read all about it here.

The RV industry has struggled in recent years, with sales crashing after COVID-19, leaving the industry with a huge inventory overhang that has taken years to work down.

As one industry consultant told Reuters, the Iran conflict and high gas prices have "killed whatever speed there was" in the market.

Ford and other automakers are rushing to get U.S. government approval to keep on importing models from China ahead of a ban on its software in connected vehicles.

As Reuters colleague Nora Eckert reports, Ford has asked the U.S. Commerce Department for authorization to keep importing its China-built Lincoln Nautilus SUV.

You can read all about it here.

Ford is among a group of automakers navigating a complex and opaque licensing process, which is exposing the extent to which the U.S. auto industry has intertwined its supply chains with China.

The rules include a ban on most ⁠Chinese-developed and -maintained software and cover companies with significant Chinese ownership. Lawmakers have proposed making the rules even tougher.

Software prohibitions take effect for model year 2027 and separate restrictions on hardware kick in for model year 2030. Ford said it will likely start importing 2027 model year Nautilus vehicles in January, so has several months to secure an authorization.

Volkswagen will shrink its workforce in Germany by 19,000 people by the end ⁠of the year, CEO Oliver Blume is set to tell investors at its June 18 AGM.

Renault's EV order book is up by 50% in some markets, such as France and Germany, since the Iran war started, the carmaker's CEO Francois Provost told Reuters.

China’s BYD is looking to take over an existing factory in southern Europe for its second assembly plant on the continent, with Spain among the countries ‌on its shortlist, a top executive said.

General Motors may scrap plans to use a lower-cost, iron-based battery chemistry that many automakers are using to cut EV costs, its head of battery technology said.

Aluminum supplier Novelis has restarted production at its Oswego, New York facility, ‌a plant key to Ford's  F-150 pickup truck line, months after two fires halted operations.

Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault, which account for ‌about 60% of Europe's car output, are urging the EU to adopt a simple "Made in Europe" rule and stronger incentives to boost local production.

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