OEM Trends
On June 29, GAC Group reported cumulative sales of approximately 628,200 units for the first five months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 3.80%, while May sales alone reached 127,300 units, up 8.18%. Notably, monthly sales of the Aion i60—developed under the new process system—exceeded 10,000 units. Meanwhile, the GT7, co-developed with Huawei, launched as scheduled, and GAC Toyota's bZ series maintained strong sales momentum.
On June 29, Faraday Future founder Jia Yueting stated that shipments for the company's EAI robotics business are climbing rapidly, with June recording a combined total of 105 units in sales, shipments, and deliveries. However, the company's current market capitalization fails to reflect the growth potential unlocked by these recent operational improvements.
In a recent interview, Ford CEO Jim Farley conceded that Ford currently cannot produce competitive affordable electric vehicles, admitting its R&D system lags the industry by 25 years—a framework that makes it impossible to outpace BYD. Farley noted that BYD has achieved vertical integration across the entire battery chain, giving it a 30% cost advantage over Ford, which sources batteries from CATL. To approach BYD's cost level, Ford would need to completely redesign the efficiency of its electric motors, transmissions, and inverters to reduce battery capacity by 30%, relying on technical innovation in energy consumption to catch up. Ford has already begun airlifting various Chinese EVs to its U.S. headquarters for teardown and benchmarking. Farley also pointed out that U.S. EV sales are just one-tenth of those in China, meaning local automakers simply cannot match the competitiveness of their Chinese counterparts.
Li Auto has officially entered the Macao market, partnering with Hongyue Group to open its first retail center in the region at Golden Island. To comply with local regulations and meet cross-border travel needs for users in Macao and Hong Kong, the company has completed localization adaptations across multiple product areas, including window glass, communication networks, and the smart cockpit.
A business delegation led by Dr. Muhammad Mufthi Mubarak, chairman of Indonesia's BPKN, recently visited Zotye Auto, where they were received by Chairman and President Han Biwen and other executives. Through discussions and site visits, the parties reached a preliminary strategic consensus on cooperation across the full new energy vehicle supply chain, with plans to advance preliminary research and preparation.
Recent reports suggest that Volkswagen Group plans to terminate its partnership with supplier Bosch in the field of autonomous driving as part of a broad cost-cutting drive to boost competitiveness. In response, Bosch and CARIAD issued a joint statement declining to comment on market rumors. The companies emphasized their long-standing collaboration aimed at bringing automated driving systems to the global mass market. According to the statement, both sides regularly review projects to ensure alignment with their strategic, technical, and market goals. They offered no comment on confidential negotiations with partners.
Supply Chain News
On June 29, China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA) and the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) jointly released an initiative on payment norms for power and energy storage battery suppliers, aiming to enforce regulations on payments to small and medium-sized enterprises and foster win-win cooperation across the supply chain. On the same day, CATL, FinDreams Battery, Ganfeng Lithium, and EVE Energy were among several companies expressing support through official channels, pledging to build an honest, compliant, and symbiotic industrial ecosystem.
On June 29, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong stated that current capacity is insufficient to meet market demand, revealing the company is considering a new investment base in Gwangju, South Korea. Plans also include advancing robotics investments in Gumi, laying out biopharmaceutical investments in Incheon, considering battery business investments in Ulsan, and investing in semiconductor substrate businesses in Busan.
Chinese Smart driving supplier Momenta kicked off its public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on June 29, with the subscription period running until July 3. According to the prospectus, the company plans to issue 19.938 million shares globally, with 10% allocated for the Hong Kong public offering. Priced at 295.6 Hong Kong dollars per share (approximately 256.4 yuan), the offering is expected to raise total proceeds of 5.89 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 5.11 billion yuan).
Industrial Focus
The booming AI supercycle is rippling through upstream bottlenecks. Nearly 20 global analog and power semiconductor companies are set to launch a new round of price hikes starting July 1, adding to the tiered increases seen earlier this year. Many manufacturers report full order books and significantly improved capacity visibility. Analysts attribute this round of hikes to cost pressures from rising wafer foundry and raw material prices, resonating with surging demand for power chips driven by AI data center construction. Market share is expected to consolidate toward top chipmakers with full IDM capabilities, deep upstream ties, or exposure to high-growth sectors. Price hikes for AI server, data center power management chips, and high-voltage signal chain analog chips range from 15% to 25%, while industrial automation and energy storage isolation chips are seeing increases of 10% to 15%. Low-end consumer goods are seeing milder adjustments, with some well-stocked items maintaining original prices.
A 10,800-unit car carrier, built by CSSC's GSI, was delivered in Nansha, Guangzhou on June 29. This marks the third such vessel delivered by China, signaling the country has achieved batch and series production capabilities in this sector.
The year 2026 marks the debut of mandatory sustainability report disclosures for A-share companies, with major exchanges requiring the first batch of subjects to publish their 2025 reports by April 30. Seven automakers meeting the criteria—BYD, SAIC Motor, Changan Automobile, Great Wall Motor, GAC Group, Seres, and JAC Motors—have all submitted their reports on schedule. According to these reports, while the auto industry has established a basic ESG disclosure framework, significant shortcomings remain, including a lack of quantitative metrics, distorted environmental compliance data, and weak circular economy figures—highlighting a clear gap before the industry can achieve refined, standardized, and high-quality ESG disclosure.
According to the Federation of Thai Industries, Thailand's automobile production climbed 17.94% year-on-year in May, rebounding from a 2.69% decline in April; domestic sales rose 10.60% in May, following a 2.54% gain in April.
Shaanxi Zhilaite Embodied Intelligence Technology announced the completion of a new funding round, backed by Tsinghua alumni and Xi'an Jiaotong University's 1896 Capital. Simultaneously, the company signed a long-term supply agreement with Zhiyuan Innovation (Shanghai) Technology, a leading domestic humanoid robotics firm, for integrated joint modules.
Archon Robotics, a developer of general-purpose embodied intelligence systems, announced the completion of a seed round worth several hundred million yuan.
