logo
Global EV sales jump 24% in June

Global EV sales jump 24% in June

TimesLIVE2 days ago
Global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles jumped 24% in June from a year ago as a switch to electric vehicles maintained momentum in China and Europe, market research firm Rho Motion said on Tuesday.
However, EV sales in the US were down 1% in the month and will struggle to pick up this year after President Donald Trump's spending bill cut tax credits sooner than anticipated, Rho Motion's data manager Charles Lester said.
North America, also weighed by slowing sales in Canada, lagged for the first time behind the "rest of the world" countries, which include emerging markets in Southeast Asia and South and Central America, Lester said.
Global carmakers face a 25% import tariff in the US, the world's second-largest car market, causing many to withdraw their outlooks for 2025.
In Europe incentives for retail and fleet buyers in key markets such as Germany and Spain, alongside a growing availability of cheap EVs, are expected to support electric car sales through the second half of the year.
While some of the most successful EVs in the small vehicle segment are produced by European carmakers such as Volkswagen and Renault, those by Chinese brands including BYD are taking up market share in the continent and driving growth in emerging markets, Lester said.
Global sales of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids rose to 1.8-million units in June, Rho Motion data showed.
Sales in China jumped 28% from the same month last year to 1.11-million vehicles.
Europe posted a 23% increase to about 390,000 units, while North American sales fell 9% to more than 140,000.
Sales in the rest of the world surged 43% to exceed 140,000 vehicles.
"There's been reports over the past few months of a slowdown potentially in China" due to some cities running out of subsidies, Lester said.
"However, overall we'd expect in (the second half) more subsidy amounts to be available", leading to a "big boost" in volumes towards the end of the year, he said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

EU sets stage for big battle over long-term budget
EU sets stage for big battle over long-term budget

eNCA

time3 hours ago

  • eNCA

EU sets stage for big battle over long-term budget

The European Commission will kickstart two years of tense negotiations when it unveils its proposal Wednesday for the EU's long-term budget including funding reforms that risk renewed confrontation with farmers. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has to balance a growing list of priorities including bolstering the bloc's security, ramping up Europe's competitiveness to keep up with US and Chinese rivals, countering climate change and paying debts due from 2028. And all of this against a backdrop of soaring trade tensions with the European Union's biggest commercial partner, the United States. The 2028-2034 budget could be worth 1.7 trillion euros, with the commission creating an umbrella "competitiveness fund" worth over 500 billion euros, EU officials said -- but with discussions ongoing, this could change. Von der Leyen could also announce a fund for Ukraine, worth up to 100 billion euros. One of the biggest challenges ahead will be over the size of the budget, as the EU's biggest -- and richest -- countries want to avoid paying more. But unlike in the previous budget, the EU has debts due from the Covid pandemic, when states teamed up to borrow 800 billion euros to support the bloc's economy. These are estimated to cost 25-30 billion euros a year from 2028. The European Parliament has made it clear that an increase will be necessary. "We believe that the union cannot do more with the same amount or less. So we believe that in the end, an increase of the budget will be unavoidable," said Siegfried Muresan, the EU lawmaker who will lead negotiations on behalf of parliament. The previous 2021-2027 budget was worth around 1.2 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) and made up from national contributions -- around one percent of the member states' gross national income -- and money collected by the EU such as customs duties. Von der Leyen plans to propose new ways of raising money including taxes on large companies in Europe with annual net turnover of more than 50 million euros, according to a draft document seen by AFP. - Funding farmers - An area of fierce debate will be the large farming subsidies that make up the biggest share of the budget, known as the common agricultural policy (CAP). Brussels plans to integrate it into a new major "national and regional partnership" fund, according to another document -- which farmers fear will mean less support. The CAP accounts for almost a third of the current seven-year budget -- around 387 billion euros, of which 270 billion euros are directly paid to farmers. Centralising "funding into a single fund may offer some budgetary flexibility, but it risks dissolving" the CAP with "fewer guarantees", pan-European farmers' group Copa-Cogeca has said. Farmers will put pressure on the commission from the outset, with hundreds expected to protest outside the building in Brussels on Wednesday. That will raise fears in Brussels after protests broke out last year across Europe by farmers angry over cheap imports, low margins and the burden of environmental rules. Muresan, who belongs to the biggest parliamentary group, the centre-right EPP, urged the same level of funding for the CAP, "adjusted for inflation". The commission has stressed the CAP will continue with its own rules and financial resources, especially direct aid to farmers. Brussels could however propose reviewing how CAP payments are calculated to better target beneficiaries. For example, the commission wants to cap aid per hectare at 100,000 euros -- a thorny issue unlikely to garner much support. - More money - Facing new costs and competing challenges, the EU wants to tap new sources of funding -- fast. In one document, the commission suggests the bloc take a share from higher tobacco excise duties and a new tax on non-recycled electronic waste. Such a move, however, is "neither stable nor sufficient", according to centrist EU lawmaker Fabienne Keller, critical of giving new tasks to Brussels "without the necessary means to accomplish them". Wednesday's proposal will launch difficult talks over the budget and is expected to "as usual, end with five days of negotiations" between EU capitals, an official said. By Raziye Akkoc And Adrien De Calan

Nvidia's Huang says 'doing our best' to serve Chinese market
Nvidia's Huang says 'doing our best' to serve Chinese market

eNCA

time3 hours ago

  • eNCA

Nvidia's Huang says 'doing our best' to serve Chinese market

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday his firm was "doing our best" to serve China's vast market for semiconductors after it secured permission from the United States to sell chips to the world's second-largest economy. Nvidia last week became the first company to hit $4 trillion in market value -- a new milestone in Wall Street's bet that artificial intelligence will transform the global economy. The firm now has a market value greater than the GDP of France, Britain or India, a testament to investor confidence that AI will spur a new era of robotics and automation. But it has also found itself in the crosshairs of a brutal China-US battle for dominance in semiconductor production, vital to the manufacturing of smartphones, wind turbines, military equipment and other goods. In a rare concession, Nvidia said on Tuesday it will resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports. Huang is in the Chinese capital this week to attend the China International Supply Chain Expo, a forum for the country to boost its image as the global defender of free trade in contrast to the tariff chaos sparked by US President Donald Trump. - China 'open and stable' - AFP | Jade GAO He told reporters at that expo that top officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng, had assured him this week that China was "open and stable". They discussed "China welcoming foreign companies to invest here and build businesses here and that China is open and stable", he said. Huang also said he assured them his firm was keen to serve the massive Chinese market for microchips needed in everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles. "They want to know that Nvidia continues to invest here, that we are still doing our best to serve the market here," he said. Huang also addressed the expo's opening ceremony on Wednesday morning, when he hailed China's role in pioneering AI. "China's open-source AI is a catalyst for global progress, giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution," he said in reference to Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. Huang also praised China's "super-fast" innovation, powered by its "researchers, developers and entrepreneurs". - Opening up - The California-based company produces some of the world's most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to concerns that Beijing could use them to enhance military capabilities. Nvidia developed the H20 -- a less powerful version of its AI processing units -- specifically for export to China. AFP | Jade GAO That plan stalled when the Trump administration tightened export licensing requirements in April. But Nvidia said this week Washington had told it that "licences will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon". The announcement from Nvidia boosted tech firms around the world, with Wall Street's Nasdaq exchange rising to another record high. Asked on Wednesday about whether he had sought to sway Trump on export controls before heading to China, Huang said: "I don't think I changed his mind." "It's my job to inform the president about what I know very well, which is the technology industry, artificial intelligence," he told reporters. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for America to have AI technology leadership," he said. Huang stressed that any discussion was between the Chinese and US governments and has "nothing to do with me". The tightened US export curbs come as China's economy wavers, with domestic consumers reluctant to spend and a prolonged property sector crisis weighing on growth. President Xi Jinping has called for greater self-reliance in the face of increasing external uncertainty. By Peter Catterall

South Africa's mining production sees slight increase despite US tariffs on other goods
South Africa's mining production sees slight increase despite US tariffs on other goods

IOL News

time8 hours ago

  • IOL News

South Africa's mining production sees slight increase despite US tariffs on other goods

Manganese ore recorded the largest negative contribution to the overall performance, followed by coal. Copper also declined over the period and platinum group metals gained a marginal 2.1%. Image: Pixabay South Africa's mining production increased by a mere 0.2% in May year-on-year, according to Statistics South Africa's mining production and Sales report. Manganese ore recorded the largest negative contribution to the overall performance, followed by coal. Copper also declined over the period and platinum group metals gained a marginal 2.1%. Some commodities recorded increases. Gold output rose year-on-year, while iron ore and chromium ore also showed gains. These improvements were not sufficient to offset the declines in other key sectors. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump slapped South Africa with 30% tariffs on goods exported to America, based on an alleged trade imbalance, excluding precious metals. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are used in high-technology and electronics manufacturing and are found in components such as processors, circuit boards, connectors, and memory systems. In the context of artificial intelligence (AI), demand for advanced computing hardware has increased, and these metals play a role in the performance and reliability of AI-related infrastructure. AI chips, servers, and related technologies often rely on materials that include these metals. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Trump has expressed support for expanding the US's AI capabilities, including investment in domestic semiconductor production and research. He has also advocated limiting access by geopolitical rivals to advanced US-developed AI technology. Domestically, South Africa's mining sector continues to be affected by infrastructure and operational constraints. Investec economist Lara Hodes said that 'bulk mineral exports continue to be impacted by the country's logistical challenges, including port and rail inefficiencies, leading to billions of rands in lost revenue'. Creating a world-class logistics system to drive export growth remains a key priority of government, said Hodes. 'Dealing with the other challenges that impede the country's competitive position remains imperative,' she adds. The Minerals Council South Africa has stated that the mining industry continues to play a central role in job creation, foreign exchange earnings and industrial development. IOL

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store