Kia Corp. has outlined its mid- to long-term strategy and financial targets at its 2026 CEO Investor Day in Seoul, South Korea, highlighting progress on its five-year “Total Transformation” journey since its 2021 brand relaunch and setting the stage for its next phase of growth. Kia is targeting global sales of 4.13 million units by 2030, aiming for a 4.5% market share, up from its 2026 target of 3.35 million units and 3.8% share. Central to this growth strategy is a customer-first approa...

In 2025, Hyundai Mobis won new business orders worth $9.17 billion from global automakers, excluding Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor and Kia, surpassing its own target by 23%. This achievement was driven by substantial new orders for electrification components, an expanded supply of high-value-added electronic components, and proactive market entry into emerging economies such as mainland China and India. These results are notable given the revisions many global automakers hav...

Rivian plans to launch its Gen 3 Autonomy Platform in late 2026 on the R2 model, featuring a shift to in-house silicon designed for vision-centric physical AI. This platform will be powered by the first-generation Rivian Autonomy Processor (RAP1), a custom 5-nanometer (nm) processor integrating processing and memory into a multichip module. The Autonomy Compute Module 3 (ACM3) will utilize RAP1 and boasts notable specifications, including 1600 sparse INT8 tera operations per second (TOPS) utiliz...

Japanese automaker Nissan has commenced production of its third-generation LEAF electric vehicles at its Sunderland-based manufacturing plant in the UK, bringing its EV36Zero plan to life, the company announced Dec. 16. Nissan first launched its ambitious EV36Zero plan in July 2021. The plan committed an investment of £1 billion in Sunderland to establish the company’s flagship EV manufacturing hub based on sustainability guidelines. The EV36Zero plan included setting up a highly auto...

On Nov. 20, Valeo presented its new strategic plan, Elevate 2028, at its Capital Market Day event in Paris. The plan builds on the success of the French supplier’s previous strategic plan, “Move Up,” and outlines its financial growth trajectory for the next three years. Under the new strategic plan, Valeo aims to steadily improve profits, generate higher cash and return to sales growth, leveraging its established technology leadership in the automotive sector. “Since 2022, our Move Up...

On June 23, Zaofu Intelligent Technology was officially registered in Shanghai, as reported by 36Kr on June 24. The new company is a joint venture established by Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), Ant Group and HelloRide through their investment branches. With a registered capital of 1.288 billion yuan (about $180.3 million), Zaofu will focus on the research, development, safety applications and commercialization of Level 4 autonomous driving technology. The name Zaofu is inspired by a l...

Nippon Steel Corp. and United States Steel Corp. have finalized a significant partnership, concluding an 18-month process marked by political scrutiny and national security considerations. Under the terms of the $14.9 billion agreement, Nippon Steel has acquired all outstanding shares of U.S. Steel at $55 per share, while U.S. Steel will retain its iconic name and headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The steel produced will continue to be “mined, melted and made” in the US, pr...

At its CEO Investor Day in Seoul, South Korea, on April 9, Kia Corp. revealed its updated Plan S strategy, setting ambitious goals for the mid-to-long term, including achieving global sales of 4.19 million units by 2030, with 2.33 million of these being hybrid and electric vehicles. Kia's strategy emphasized diversification with the introduction of new models such as purpose-built vehicle (PBVs) and pickup trucks. Ho Sung Song, Kia's CEO, emphasized the company's transformation since 2021 toward...

Hyundai Motor Group has introduced its new mobility software brand Pleos at the Pleos 25 developer conference in Seoul, South Korea, marking a pivotal shift toward becoming a mobility technology company. Pleos aims to enhance the in-vehicle app ecosystem and mobility experiences by integrating software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with Hyundai's next-generation infotainment system. Chang Song, president of Hyundai Motor and Kia's Advanced Vehicle Platform Division, highlighted Pleos' role in ach...

Chinese auto brands are actively incorporating AI into their vehicles, specifically through collaborations with the AI startup DeepSeek, to enhance smart driving capabilities. Baojun, a brand under the SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile joint venture involving General Motors (GM) and SAIC Motor, has announced the completion of integrating DeepSeek's R1 large language model into its Lingyu Smart Cockpit, which is now featured in the Xiangjing series. Future models such as the Yunhai and Yueye Plus...

As reported in a press release on Feb. 4, Waabi has formed a strategic partnership with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks, combining Waabi's generative AI technology with Volvo's expertise in automation and safety. The collaboration aims to make the freight transportation industry safer, more efficient and sustainable. Waabi, led by Founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun, plans to integrate its AI technology directly into original equipment manufacturer vehicl...

Toyota Motor Europe has signed an agreement with Hydrogen Refueling Solutions (HRS) and global energy company ENGIE to roll out the next generation hydrogen refueling systems, the Japanese carmaker’s European unit announced Jan. 28. The newly developed hydrogen refueling solution will be piloted in an EU-funded RHeaDHy project that focuses on accelerating infrastructure deployment, the company said. The EU-funded RHeaDHy project stands for refueling heavy duty with very high flow hydroge...

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) is extending its partnership with Google to deliver more advanced navigation and infotainment systems in its next-generation vehicles, sold by Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands. This partnership will integrate Google Maps Platform's Places API, providing drivers with detailed information on over 250 million global locations directly through their vehicle's systems. This integration aims to improve navigation accuracy with up-to-date information on business hours, ...

Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen (VW) has extended its joint venture agreement with SAIC Motor until 2040 in Greater China, securing the strategic partnership for a longer duration as it realigns its approach in the world’s largest electric vehicle market, VW announced Nov. 27. The original JV agreement between VW and SAIC was valid until 2030. The extension of this partnership with SAIC not only strengthens the 40-year collaboration between the two companies but is also aligned wi...

Novonix Ltd., a leading Australia-based battery materials company, has signed a binding offtake agreement with PowerCo SE, Volkswagen’s battery division, to supply the latter with a minimum of 32,000 metric tons of high-performance synthetic graphite material, Novonix announced Nov. 25. Novonix is slated to supply the synthetic graphite material to PowerCo over a five-year term, starting in 2027. The two companies had previously signed a non-exclusive Testing and Development Agreement in Ma...

E.ON and MAN Truck & Bus have agreed to cooperate in jointly setting up about 400 electric vehicle charging stations for public charging of electric trucks across 170 locations in Europe, the two companies said in a joint announcement on July 11. The companies plan to invest in building new EV charging stations, which will be built along the existing MAN service network and will also be able to charge commercial vehicles from other manufacturers. Of the 170 locations, about 125 sites are ...

Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (ARACT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd., one of India’s leading battery manufacturers, has signed a technical licensing agreement with GIB EnergyX Slovakia sro., a subsidiary of mainland China’s Gotion High-Tech Co Ltd., the two companies said in a joint announcement June 24. As part of the agreement GIB EnergyX will license Gotion’s world-class lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology for lithium-ion cel...

British luxury-car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Chery Automobile Co. are deepening their 12-year partnership to strengthen their equal joint venture company — called CJLR — product offerings in mainland China, JLR announced June 19. JLR and Chery have signed a letter of intent (LoI) to license the Freelander brand to CJLR for jointly developing a range of new electric vehicles to be built on Chery’s EV architecture. The two companies plan to establish a Freeland...

Stellantis N.V. and Leapmotor have received all the required regulatory approvals to establish their joint venture company, Leapmotor International B.V., Stellantis announced on May 14. The joint venture company, in which Stellantis will hold a stake of 51% and the remaining will be held by mainland China-based smart electric carmaker Leapmotor, will be headquartered in Amsterdam. Leapmotor International B.V. will be led by CEO Tianshu Xin, who is a former Stellantis China executive, Stellant...

Anson Resources Ltd. announced May 1 that it has completed negotiations with South Korea’s largest battery-maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) and has executed its first offtake term sheet for the supply of battery-grade lithium carbonate from its 100%-owned project within the Paradox Basin in Southern Utah, Utah. The move, which represents a significant development toward establishing a local supply chain for batteries in North America, will contribute toward the US reducing its...

Volkswagen, along with its software unit Cariad, is collaborating with Xpeng to unveil the China Electrical Architecture (CEA), a zonal electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture, it said in a press release dated April 17. The CEA is to standardize the digital architecture of its locally produced models in mainland China. The CEA will simplify the complexity of control units and reduce costs by 40% compared to the Modular Electric Architecture (MEB). The new architecture will be applied to four...

South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Co., along with its sister company Kia Corp., has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Exide Energy Solutions Ltd., a leading Indian battery company, to focus on the localization of electric vehicle batteries in India, Hyundai said in a statement on April 8. The MOU, which is in line with the carmaker’s EV expansion plans for the world’s third-largest automotive market, was signed at Hyundai Motor Group’s Namyang Research and Developme...

Mainland China’s largest battery-maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) is in talks with US legacy carmaker General Motors (GM) to build a battery plant in North America, leveraging the technology licensing route similar to its partnership with Ford Motor Co., according to a news report published by CnEVPost on March 29. The report cited mainland Chinese media outlet LatePost as the original source of the story. It said that CATL is in discussions with GM on a license roya...

BMW Group has partnered with engineering and digital services company Tata Technologies in India, it said in a press release dated April 2. Under the partnership agreement, the two companies will form a joint venture with the aim to establish a software and IT development hub in the cities of Pune, Bangalore and Chennai in India. While the hubs in Bangalore and Pune is expected to handle development and operations activities, the Chennai hub will focus on business IT solutions. The JV will le...

SAIC Motor, a leading automaker from mainland China with annual revenues of around $ 110 billion, and JSW Group, a $23 billion Indian conglomerate, have established their new strategic joint venture named JSW MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd, the two companies said in a joint announcement on March 20. With a focus on electric vehicles (EVs), the all-new joint venture aims to capitalize on the significant opportunities emerging in the fast-evolving Indian automotive sector, the two companies said in th...

Ferroglobe PLC, a world-leading producer of silicon metal and ferroalloys, and Coreshell, a US-based battery technology company, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly produce the first battery-ready metallurgical silicon for the development of low-cost, high-range electric vehicle batteries in compliance with the US Inflation Reduction Act, Ferroglobe said March 11. The strategic partnership between the two companies comes at a time when the US government is pushing corpo...

South Korean battery-maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) has signed an agreement with US technology company Qualcomm Technologies, with an initial plan to jointly develop advanced battery management system (BMS) diagnostic solutions for electric vehicles, LGES announced March 12. As part of this collaboration, the two companies intend to explore developing advanced solutions that can combine LGES’ battery diagnostic software with certain features and functionalities of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon D...

Israel-based extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology company StoreDot has signed an agreement with mainland China-based battery-maker EVE Energy, securing state-of-the-art manufacturing capacity from EVE and moving a step closer to the mass production of its innovative XFC battery cells, the company announced March 11. The agreement, which was signed by both the companies on March 11, gives StoreDot access to EVE’s extensive manufacturing footprint and the ability to mass-produce its...

Pony.ai, a global leader in autonomous mobility, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to advance the development of autonomous mobility in Luxembourg. The MoU aims to foster research, development and deployment of autonomous vehicles in the country through a collaborative partnership between Luxembourg and Pony.ai, as reported in a press release on March 7. Luxembourg presents an excellent opportunity for Pony.ai to further develop it...

In a multistakeholder collaborative approach, automaker General Motors (GM) has joined hands with top global supplier Magna and India’s top IT firm, Wipro Ltd., to develop a unique business-to-business sales platform for buying and selling automotive software. The all-new platform called SDVerse is likely to alter the automotive software sourcing and procurement process by providing a matchmaking platform for buyers and sellers of embedded automotive software. GM, Magna and Wipro collective...

Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen Group and China’s electric carmaker Xpeng Motors have signed a technical cooperation agreement for joint development of platforms and software, achieving another important milestone in their strategic partnership, the two companies said in a joint announcement on Feb. 29. Significance: The Volkswagen Group and Xpeng Motors had first announced their strategic partnership in July 2023. The strategic alliance with Xpeng Motors is part of Volkswagen’s la...

Canada-based supplier of anode active materials (AAM) for batteries, Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) and General Motors Holdings LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Co. (GM), have agreed to sign a supply agreement where NMG will supply the US automaker with 18,000 metric tons of AAM output per annum, NMG announced Feb. 15. To complement to the supply agreement, NMG and GM have entered into a subscription agreement where GM has committed to make an equity investment of US$1...

Wipro has expanded its collaboration with Intel Foundry to accelerate chip-design innovation, it said in a press release dated Feb. 21. Wipro will work with Intel Foundry to develop Intel’s most advanced process nodes, including the Intel18A process node. The collaboration aims to address the growing demand for AI chip manufacturing. Wipro’s design services strength and Intel Foundry's manufacturing prowess will enable clients across industries, such as automotive, industrial and telecomm...

Volkswagen Group and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) have signed their first supply agreement on components of Volkswagen's modular electric drive matrix (MEB) platform, the two companies said in a joint announcement on Feb. 16. The components sourced from VW will be used by M&M in its purpose-built electric platform named Inglo. Significance: Almost 18 months after M&M and the VW Group had signed a term sheet on the supply of MEB electric components intended for use in the for...