OEM Trends
Mercedes-Benz Group AG Chairman Ola Källenius stated on March 24 that the company operates in 150 markets worldwide, with the ultimate goal of achieving zero emissions. "Given the differences in customer bases, infrastructure, and energy policies across markets, it is certain that by the late 2020s, Mercedes-Benz will offer a pure electric model in every segment, alongside efficient electrified internal combustion engine models." Källenius said. Mercedes-Benz management also revealed that the company is co-developing next-generation battery technology with CATL.
Li Auto announced on March 24 that as of the first quarter of 2026, it has established over 4,000 supercharging stations and more than 22,000 supercharging piles nationwide, covering over 280 cities. Nearly 70% of these piles feature 5C or 4C high-speed charging capabilities.
Toyota Industries Corp announced on March 24 that the tender offer by the Toyota Group for Toyota Industries was successful. Toyota Industries will delist from the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the completion of the acquisition procedures.
Latest data shows that pre-orders for the new Shangjie Z7 and Z7T surpassed 25,000 units within 24 hours. The HarmonyMobility "Fashion Tech" coupe and shooting brake models—the Shangjie Z7 and Z7T—were officially unveiled at Huawei's spring product launch. The pre-sale price for the Shangjie Z7 starts at 229,800 yuan, while the Shangjie Z7T starts at 239,800 yuan.
William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, announced that China's first dedicated drone route for vehicle license plates completed its maiden flight at the NIO House in Hefei, enabling delivery within one hour.
Tesla's market share in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the European Free Trade Association region rose to 1.8% in February, leveling with BYD. Tesla held a 9.3% share of the pure electric vehicle market.
Supply Chain News
Jiangsu New Vision Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. successfully listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March 24 under the ticker symbol 2632.HK. The global offering for this IPO comprised 16.2265 million H-shares (representing approximately 13.15% of the enlarged share capital), priced at 44.20 Hong Kong dollars per share. The total raised amounted to about 717 million Hong Kong dollars, with net proceeds of approximately 650 million Hong Kong dollars.
A listing ceremony for the "CITIC Securities - WeNeng Battery-Holding Power Battery Green Asset-Backed Special Plan (Technology Innovation)" was successfully held at the Shanghai Stock Exchange on March 24. This marks the official listing of the world's first asset-backed security (ABS) for holding-type power batteries led by WeNeng, representing a critical step in the company's asset securitization process.
Construction recently began on the high-end automotive parts industrial park project in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. The project has been included in the list of Beijing E-Town's top ten benchmark projects for 2026. Located in Zhangziying Town, Yizhuang New City, adjacent to the Yizhuang Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the site covers an area of about 51,500 square meters with a planned gross floor area of approximately 32,000 square meters. Construction includes standardized and customized factories for high-end automotive components.
Aptiv recently officially signed an agreement to locate its automotive electronics smart factory project in the Jiaxing National High-Tech Zone, with a total planned investment of 5 billion yuan. Once operational, the project will inject strong momentum into the regional automotive parts industry. The first phase involves building a new smart factory in the Jiaxing High-Tech Zone, focusing on the R&D, production, and sales of smart cockpit products, advanced driver-assistance systems, and supporting sensors. Production is scheduled to officially commence in the third quarter of 2027, precisely targeting the core technology needs of intelligent vehicles.
Tuopu Group recently released its 2025 annual report. The report shows that Tuopu Group achieved revenue of 29.58 billion yuan in 2025, up 11.21% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.78 billion yuan, down 7.38%; and net profit excluding non-recurring items was 2.61 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.30%. Net cash flow from operating activities totaled 4.48 billion yuan, an increase of 38.5%.
Minth Group recently released its full-year 2025 performance report. Financial data shows that in 2025, Minth Group achieved revenue of 25.74 billion yuan, up 11.2% from 23.15 billion yuan in 2024; net profit reached 2.69 billion yuan, up 16.1%. The net profit margin improved from 10.0% to 10.5%, an increase of 50 basis points year-on-year, while operating profit rose 9.8% to 2.82 billion yuan, indicating sustained enhancement in profitability.
Industrial Economy
The main lithium carbonate futures contract surged as much as 7.10% during trading on March 24, touching 154,400 yuan per ton. Regarding the news, Zimbabwe's ban on lithium exports has been in place for nearly a month with no sign of being lifted, and the duration of the impact may exceed previous market expectations. Market analysts had estimated in late February that the impact of Zimbabwe's export policy adjustment would last about a month. On March 24, it was learned from Chinese companies with lithium assets in Zimbabwe that local mines and lithium salt plants are still operating normally, but the export of lithium concentrate remains paused, as the local export ban lacks supplementary detailed rules. As for when exports can resume, all parties are still actively communicating. Companies currently hold inventory. Notably, even if Zimbabwe's lithium exports resume later, shipping lithium concentrate back to China takes nearly two months.
In the first two months of this year, exports of commercial vehicles through the Horgos Port in Xinjiang reached 54,000 units, a 13.9% year-on-year increase, marking a record high for the same period. According to statistics from Horgos Customs, among the exported models, new energy vehicles have gained widespread popularity in the five Central Asian countries and Russia, becoming a hot export category.
Personnel Changes
On March 24, ECARX announced the appointment of Dylan D.Jeng as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective March 23. Following his appointment, D.Jeng will be based at ECARX's Singapore office, where he will fully oversee core functions including global financial strategy planning, treasury management, investor relations, and financial operations. By strengthening financial discipline and business scalability, he will help accelerate the company's global expansion.
