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Sales of fully electric car sales In Europe were up 37.3% in January, industry data showed on Tuesday, although the sharp rise was not enough to compensate for a drop in petrol and diesel vehicles, leaving overall sales down by 2.1%. Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed that all-electric brand Tesla saw a 45.2% drop in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Area, while sales at its Chinese competitor SAIC Motor, which owns the MG brand, were up 36.8%. Why it’s important The EU executive will present auto sector plans on March 5, following talks with automakers, unions, and interest groups. EU carmakers, which are struggling to compete with Chinese rivals and bracing for U.S. tariffs, are urging the Commission to grant relief from potential fines resulting from CO2 car emission targets that came into effect in January. Some automakers have increased the prices of petrol engine models to encourage EV adoption, but the industry fears that customers will simply buy fewer cars. Electric transport groups, instead, claim that any push to weaken the targets will disrupt investments in EV infrastructure and hamper the bloc’s competitiveness. By the numbers January sales in the EU, Britain and EFTA fell slightly below 1 million cars sold, the lowest volume since August. Registrations at Volkswagen and Renault grew by 5.3% and 5.4% respectively, while they fell by 16% at Stellantis. In the EU, January sales fell by 2.6%, even as the registrations of battery electric (BEV) and hybrid electric (HEV) cars grew by 34% and 18.4% respectively. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) sales were instead down by 8.5%. Electrified vehicleseither BEV, HEV or PHEVsold in the bloc accounted for 57.2% of passenger car registrations in January, up from 47.4% in the previous year. Among the largest EU markets, Spain sales increased by 5.3%, while in France, Italy, and Germany they dropped by 6.2%, 5.8%, and 2.8%. In Britain they were down 2.5%. Context While battling to bring down high costs in home markets and fighting competition from China, European carmakers are also preparing to face potential import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has raised tariffs on aluminium and steel and threatened a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as on all autos and semiconductors. Alessandro Parodi, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Toyota announced plans to restructure its board on Tuesday in what it described as an attempt to bring in more diverse views and give a larger roles to auditors.Among six appointments is Christopher Reynolds, now an executive in the automaker’s North American operations. As a lawyer, and son of a Ford worker, he brings experience in human resources and risk management, according to Toyota.The number of women on the 10-person board will grow from one to two with the appointments of Kumi Fujisawa, an independent outsider and entrepreneur, and Hiromi Osada, previously a Toyota auditor. George Olcott, previously an auditor, will also join the board.The number of outside members will rise from four to five.Takanori Azuma, a Toyota Human Resources official, said the new board includes auditors for the first time.The company’s internal controls have come under scrutiny since it admitted to cheating on certification tests for seven vehicle models last year.Azuma said the additions are designed to bring diverse views to its leadership as “weapons for survival” in a changing environment.“It would be a mistake to assume that what we think up internally will be what our customers and people around the world can empathize with,” he said.The maker of the Camry sedan and Lexus luxury models has been trying to transform itself into what it calls “a mobility company” as the auto industry undergoes drastic changes including the arrival of powerful relative newcomers like Tesla and BYD.Chairman Akio Toyoda, from the company’s founding family, and Chief Executive Koji Sato’s positions will remain unchanged.The company will seek approval for the new board at a general shareholders’ meeting later this year. Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
On Monday morning, anonymous hackers played a video on screens throughout the Department of Housing and Urban Development HQ in Washington, D.C. The AI-generated video jankily portrayed President Trump kissing Elon Musks feet, with an overlaid caption reading: Long live the real king. It reportedly played on a loop for five minutes before the baffled building staff eventually scrambled to each floor and turned off the TVs manually. As amusing as it may have been for some to see a high-tech protest depicting a low-status Trump, amusement is all this protest has to offer. Those looking for, or trying to manifest, cracks in the presidents relationship with the worlds richest man still have their work cut out for them. Despite Trumps historically mercurial affinities, and a distaste for being overshadowed, his alliance with Musk appears a lot sturdier than many predicted. The AI-generated video that played at HUD is hardly the first public attempt to drive a wedge between the president and the tech oligarch. Media figures such as Rachel Maddow, politicians including Senator Bernie Sanders, and random social media users have all been part of a sprawling concerted effort to turn Trump against President Musk. Rolling Stone even reported in December on conversations taking place within the Democratic National Committee about party leaders describing Trump as subservient to Musk, in order to activate Trumps ego. Its easy to see why they might have thought this strategy would succeed. During Trumps first term, he quickly soured on the people in his orbit. In 2017 alone, 34% of his top aides either resigned, were fired, or transitioned to different positions; a record amount of turnover for a president in his first year. By the end of that term, among the most influential positions within his administration, the rate of turnover reportedly reached 92%. Beyond past precedent, there were other reasons to believe the relationship would quickly combust. Both men clearly enjoy being the main character of the internet; perhaps the world stage wouldnt be big enough to contain both egos. On top of that, their apparently tight bond got off to a rocky start. After his political pivot to the right, Musk initially threw his weight behind Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022, since Trump would be too old by the end of a second term. Trump, for his part, called Musk a bullshit artist around the same time. Any differences between the two, however, now seem confined to the past. During a joint appearance on Fox Newss Hannity last week, Sean Hannity asked Musk and Trump about the push to break up their partnership. In response, Trump confirmed hes aware of those efforts, saying: Elon called me. He said, You know theyre trying to drive us apart. I said, Absolutely. You know, they said, We have breaking news: Donald Trump has ceded control of the presidency to Elon Musk. President Musk will be attending a Cabinet meeting tonight at 8 oclock. And I sayits just so obvious. Theyre so bad at it. Perhaps it was a calculated move to present a unified front in the face of so much wishful thinking for a falling out. But there are plenty of reasons beyond the Hannity interview to suggest that a divorce wont be coming any time soon. Trump and Musk’s shared vision Trump and Musk appear to be on the same page about how the U.S. should be governed, for one thing. As Musks Department of Government Efficiency decimates headcount in federal offices around the country, he is on the brink of achieving what Trump set out to do in his first term. Soon after taking office in 2017, Trump signed an executive order placing a hiring freeze across the executive branch. It lasted 79 days, during which then-head of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney developed a long-term plan for workforce reduction. Trump would go on to spend the rest of his term fuming about the rogue bureaucrats of the so-called Deep State who thwarted some of his plans. Now, Musk is as animated about taking a chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy as he was about doing so upon taking over Twitter. The pair similarly see eye-to-eye on the classic conservative hobbyhorse of deregulation. While Musk has long lamented all the irksome government rules standing in the way of his business plans, Trump bragged in his 2021 farewell address that he had slashed more job-killing regulations than any administration ha[s] ever done before. On top of everything else, Musk and Trump seem equally credulous when it comes to fringe conspiracy theories. Even Musks own AI chatbot Grok admits the X head honcho spreads the most misinformation on that platformalthough it recently blocked some criticism of Musk and Trumpand farfetched concepts like Fort Knoxs supposed missing gold now tend to quickly spread from a Musk tweet to a Trump press conference. Considering both have also professed intense animosity toward legacy media and wokeness, one imagines the two would find plenty to talk about over deskside Diet Cokes in the Oval Office. The money factor Although Tesla stock has dropped 37% from its high in December amid backlash, Musk and his various companies stand to profit immensely from his new government adjacency. DOGE has already made cuts at agencies that oversee some of Musk’s products, for instance, among other potential conflicts of interest. But Trump may stand to benefit even more. Beyond the $277 million Musk contributed to his campaign efforts, what Trump has gained from this symbiotic relationship is a new cudgel against non-compliant members of his party. Back in December, Musk warned Republicans in the House and Senate that he would fund primary challengers against anyone who stood in the way of Trumps agenda. That threat lingered in the air throughout the confirmation hearings for Trumps cabinet, during which any objections to even the most controversial pickslike Robert Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbardeventually vanished. Musks role in keeping party members in line is not something Trump would lightly sacrifice. Another headline sponge During his first term, Trumps wild-card unpredictability, social media proclivity, and authoritarian-like bearing brought him constant negative press coverage. With a jubilant Elon Musk testing the limits of his newfound power, though, Trump now has a spare lightning rod for bad headlines. Trumps critics and adversaries among the Democrats, opinion columnists, and random social media users now have a second Trumpian figurewith his own unique modus operandito focus their attention on, siphoning ire that might otherwise go solely to Trump. Still, that ire is very much real. Polls in recent weeks have shown Musks popularity plummeting, and Trumps slipping as well. Angry town halls seem to be making some Republicans nervous about how to defend Musk and DOGEs actions to their constituents, while conflicting advice about handling Musks recent ultimatum for federal workersthat they submit five bullets about what they accomplished the previous week or forfeit their jobssuggests fracturing support for DOGE within the administration. But the situation would likely have to deteriorate dramatically further before bringing about a divorceif for no other reason than spite. While the same vanity that allowed Kamala Harris to easily bait Trump into ranting about crowd sizes during their debate last fall does not seem as susceptible to the President Musk taunts, it just might help prolong the president in denying his detractors an outcome they so clearly desire.
Category:
E-Commerce
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