The Charged

CATL signed strategic cooperation agreements with Xi'an Taijin New Energy, Shenzhen Huike New Materials and other partners covering copper-foil equipment procurement, capacity development, pricing, joint R&D and renewable-power use. CATL said it and two partners will jointly develop 400,000 tonnes of new copper-foil capacity over the next three years. The partners will use a cost-plus model with agreed reasonable profits, long-term supply volumes and processing fees, while CATL will provide financial support through prepayments and improved payment terms. CATL and Taijin will also establish unified standards and centralised procurement for equipment used in new and expanded projects. This is significant because copper foil is a critical current-collector material for lithium-ion battery anodes, and CATL is moving from conventional procurement toward direct coordination of upstream capacity and supplier economics.

VinFast suspended plans to manufacture the VF 3, VF 6 and VF 7 locally in India and instructed suppliers to stop related work while it reassesses costs and its product strategy. The VF 6 and VF 7 can continue to be imported as kits and assembled in India, while VinFast shifts attention toward products tailored specifically for the Indian market and greater local sourcing. The move comes against VinFast's previously announced plan to invest up to US$2 billion in an Indian manufacturing hub. Reuters reported that VinFast has sold around 10,000 vehicles in India, including sales to affiliate Green SM. Suppliers were also asked to document project investments for possible reimbursement. The decision shows the difficulty of moving from assembly to deeper localisation before sufficient market scale has been established.

LG Energy Solution signed a binding offtake agreement with Smackover Lithium, the Standard Lithium–Equinor partnership, for 8,000 tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate annually for 10 years, representing 80,000 tonnes in total. The lithium will come from the South West Arkansas project and will use direct lithium extraction (DLE) and purification. LGES says the material meets non-Prohibited Foreign Entity requirements and will support its U.S. battery manufacturing footprint, which includes seven production facilities. The deal provides LGES with a more vertically localised U.S. supply chain while giving the Arkansas lithium project a large long-term customer.

BYD sold 440,293 NEVs in August, up 17.84% YoY and 5.03% from July, its highest monthly total of 2026 so far. Passenger NEV sales reached 433,384 units. Passenger BEV sales hit a record 256,230, up 28.38% YoY, while PHEV sales were 177,154. BEVs therefore represented 59.1% of passenger NEV sales. The most important shift was overseas: international sales reached a record 189,466 units, up 134.45% YoY, representing 43.03% of total NEV sales. Chinese domestic sales were 250,827, still 14.34% lower YoY. BYD's growth engine is consequently becoming increasingly international.

Honda is targeting more than ¥1.5 trillion, or over US$9 billion, in cost reductions by 2030 as it restructures its automotive operations amid intensifying competition from Chinese EV manufacturers. Internal documents reviewed by Reuters showed Honda seeking reductions of as much as 30% in selected component categories, including pressed and forged parts, electrical components and software-defined-vehicle components. Honda is also encouraging greater sourcing from Chinese suppliers. The programme comes as the company deals with EV-related financial losses that Reuters reported could exceed US$12 billion and recalibrates its strategy toward hybrids. The development shows Chinese cost structures influencing procurement strategies well beyond Chinese OEMs themselves.

Ola Electric's board approved plans to raise up to ₹1,500 crore through shares and other permitted securities, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. The proposed capital raise follows a ₹780 crore QIP completed in June. Ola's FY2026 revenue fell 50% to ₹2,253 crore, while consolidated net loss narrowed 19.5% to ₹1,833 crore. Vehicle deliveries dropped from 307,846 to 173,794 units. In August, Ola registered 13,849 electric two-wheelers, giving it 7.7% market share, down from 17.7% a year earlier. COO Hyun Shik Park, who had responsibility for cell-manufacturing operations and the company's gigafactory, also resigned. The fundraising is strategically important because Ola is financing a capital-intensive vehicle, cell-manufacturing and energy-storage strategy while losing EV two-wheeler share.

Hyundai Mobis began series production at its new Nováky, Slovakia plant, its first European manufacturing facility for integrated PE electric-drive systems combining the motor, inverter and reduction gear. The plant has maximum annual production capacity of approximately 280,000 systems. Hyundai Mobis invested approximately KRW250 billion (€158 million) in the facility. The site includes production for stators, inverters and related components and deepens the Hyundai group's European EV supply chain. The investment illustrates how EV localisation is moving beyond final vehicle assembly into motors, inverters and other high-value propulsion components.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey launched a US$45 million programme with CALSTART to accelerate zero-emission drayage trucks, terminal tractors and associated charging infrastructure. Up to US$39 million will support point-of-sale vouchers for vehicles and charging equipment. A further US$5 million Green Drayage Accelerator will support as many as five electric-truck charging hubs within ten miles of marine terminals. The initiative combines vehicle and charging support rather than subsidising trucks in isolation, addressing one of the principal barriers to heavy-duty fleet electrification.

The UK's August new-car market reached 94,236 registrations, up 13.7% YoY. Battery-electric registrations increased 27.7% to 28,063 vehicles, taking BEV market share to 29.8%, compared with 26.5% a year earlier. PHEV registrations increased 39.8% to 13,707 units and a 14.5% share. Year-to-date BEV registrations reached 355,746 vehicles, up 28.6%, representing roughly 25.6% of the market. The numbers demonstrate substantial electrification progress but remain important in the context of manufacturers' zero-emission-vehicle compliance requirements.

Polestar reported approximately 30,423 H1 retail sales, while first-half revenue was approximately US$1.36 billion. Operating losses remained substantial at roughly US$629 million, although they improved compared with the previous year, while cash stood at approximately US$888 million at the end of June. Polestar lowered its 2026 volume-growth expectation to low-to-mid-single-digit growth, versus its earlier expectation of low-double-digit growth. The numbers illustrate the scale and financing challenge confronting EV-only manufacturers as regulatory barriers, competition and restructuring affect international expansion.

Tesla sold 86,166 China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in August, including exports, representing 3.6% YoY growth but a 7.9% decline from July. The YoY increase was considerably slower than July's 38% growth. Tesla's share of China's BEV market fell to 6.6% in Q2 2026, versus more than 15% in 2020. Exports accounted for more than half of Shanghai production during Q2, also a first. The figures indicate that Shanghai is becoming increasingly important as an export base even as Tesla faces much stronger domestic Chinese competition.

India recorded 30,325 electric passenger-vehicle registrations in August, up 50% YoY, although registrations fell about 12% from July. EV penetration reached approximately 7.4% of passenger-vehicle registrations. Tata Motors remained the leader with approximately 43% share, while Mahindra held roughly 21%, JSW MG around 15%, VinFast around 7% and Maruti Suzuki around 5%. FY27 registrations through August reached approximately 153,000 vehicles, up 85% YoY. The data indicate that Indian passenger-EV adoption is expanding rapidly while the competitive landscape is becoming substantially more diversified.

India's electric two-wheeler market recorded 180,569 registrations in August, up 65% YoY, with electric models accounting for approximately 10.5% of overall two-wheeler registrations. FY27 electric two-wheeler registrations through August reached 903,420 units, compared with 529,941 in the corresponding previous-year period—growth of roughly 70%. Crossing double-digit penetration is strategically important because two-wheelers represent India's largest vehicle segment and provide the highest-volume opportunity for battery, charging, swapping and component suppliers.

India's Ministry of Heavy Industries is considering a stronger automobile-industry role in developing and maintaining highway charging infrastructure after identifying serious reliability problems. MHI Secretary Kamran Rizvi said almost half of mapped EV charging stations were non-functional. The ministry has identified 60 priority highway corridors and shared them with SIAM, with an OEM-led approach under discussion in which automakers could assume responsibility for particular corridors. The ambition is to achieve substantially more complete coverage of major highways over approximately two to three years. The development shifts India's charging debate from installed charger counts toward uptime, corridor coverage and accountability.

SUN Mobility launched 35 battery-swapping stations in Kenya, comprising 27 sites in Nairobi and eight in Mombasa, supporting electric two- and three-wheelers from more than ten manufacturers. Through its partnership with Vivo Energy, SUN Mobility plans to establish more than 2,500 swapping stations across Africa over five years, with potential capacity to support more than 160,000 EVs. Vivo Energy operates more than 4,200 service stations across 29 African markets. Using existing fuel-retail sites gives battery swapping a potentially faster and less capital-intensive path to geographic scale.

Xe Nhanh Viet Nam agreed to deploy 3,000 VinFast electric vehicles by 2027 through the Green SM mobility platform in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding markets. The planned fleet covers multiple VinFast vehicles including the Minio Green, EC Van, Limo Green, VF 5 and Herio Green. The operator is also investing in V-Green charging infrastructure. The arrangement demonstrates how VinFast is using fleet channels to create captive vehicle demand while simultaneously improving utilisation of affiliated charging infrastructure.

Minnesota announced a US$41.2 million third round of NEVI-supported EV-charging grants, the state's largest round so far. The programme focuses particularly on expanding fast-charging infrastructure across Greater Minnesota and addressing geographic gaps in charging availability. Applications remain open through 2 November, with conditional awards expected around December 2026–January 2027. The programme demonstrates continued U.S. capital deployment into intercity charging corridors and expands the commercial opportunity beyond major metropolitan markets.

Austrian utility EVN agreed to acquire 100% of BayWa Mobility Charging through EVN Energieservices. The acquired business has approximately 170 high-power charging points across 30 sites, with charging capacity of up to 400 kW. Its development pipeline targets expansion to 54 sites and 306 HPC points by 2027. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition provides EVN with an operating German charging network and pipeline rather than requiring a greenfield market entry, while illustrating continuing consolidation in European charging infrastructure.

Vulcan Energy advanced its Ludwig lithium and geothermal project in Germany's Upper Rhine Valley through a pre-feasibility study. The project is targeting approximately 21,100 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent annually around the Ludwigshafen area and would complement Vulcan's more advanced Lionheart project. The concept combines lithium extraction from geothermal brines with geothermal-energy production. Ludwig remains pre-FID, so the capacity is not yet committed production, but the PFS represents a material development milestone for another potential European source of domestically produced battery lithium.

Stellantis' circular-economy division SUSTAINera expanded its global remanufactured-parts offering for electric and hybrid vehicles, including wider coverage for high-voltage EV batteries, as well as eDCT transmissions and electric air-conditioning compressors. Stellantis says most of its BEV and PHEV models are now covered by an aftersales offer for remanufactured high-voltage batteries. According to the company, remanufactured components can save up to 80% of raw materials and avoid up to 40% of CO₂ emissions compared with new parts while being restored to OEM specifications and carrying the same warranty as genuine Mopar components. The development is relevant to EV lifecycle economics, residual values, repairability and battery circularity.

China's battery consumption-tax changes took effect from 1 September 2026, introducing a 2% consumption tax on lithium-ion batteries, with the rate scheduled to increase to 4% in September 2027. Sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries and fuel cells retain preferential exemptions through 2028. Because the underlying policy was announced before the reporting window, the qualifying development for this edition is its 1 September implementation, not the original policy announcement. Commercially, the tax incrementally changes the relative economics of mature lithium-ion technology while maintaining policy support for emerging battery chemistries.