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Mercedes-Benz chief calls for end to tariffs

German automaker Mercedes-Benz has called for both Europe and the United States to abolish tariffs on car imports, as US President Donald Trump threatens to hike duties on EU goods. Ola Kaellenius, head of the German premium carmaker, said in an interview published on Thursday that the EU levies a tariff of 10 percent on cars imported from America, while the US has a duty of just 2.5 percent on vehicles from the bloc. "Let's lower these tariffs on both sides to zero," he said. "That would be reciprocity and that would create growth instead of stifling it," he said, adding that export-dependent European industries needed free trade more than their American counterparts. "Europe has more interest than anyone else in ensuring that world markets remain open and there is a fair framework for international trade," he said.

Huawei system set to connect with BMW

BMW and Huawei said last week that starting from 2026, BMW's newest electric cars in China will be compatible with the latter's HiCar. This would allow many of its owners to connect their Huawei smartphones to their cars' infotainment system and access various phone apps. Under the deal, BMW's next-generation Neue Klasse electric vehicles produced in China will be the first models sporting Huawei apps through HiCar. The smartphone mirroring system is built on the tech giant's Android replacement HarmonyOS, similar to Apple's CarPlay. In a statement, the German luxury carmaker added that a digital car key will let its customers access their vehicles using their Huawei devices later this year, as nearly a quarter of its owners in China use Huawei handsets. Sales of BMW fell 13.4 percent to 714,500 units in China in 2024.

Bullish outlook as Xiaomi revenue jumps

Xiaomi reported a 50 percent jump in fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday, beating analyst estimates, and raised its target for electric vehicle deliveries this year to 350,000 from 300,000 units. Xiaomi plans to release the YU7 electric SUV in the summer, which will compete against Tesla's recently-refreshed Model Y.Xiaomi spent 24.1 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) on research and development in 2024, primarily toward EVs. It plans to spend more — around 30 billion yuan — in the coming year. EVs are an expensive venture for Xiaomi, which lost 45,000 yuan for every EV it sold. Founder and CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, previously noted that he spent 10 times the industry average to build his first EV prototype.

Germany top choice for third BYD plant

Chinese new energy vehicle giant BYD is considering Germany for a possible third assembly plant in Europe, a source familiar with the matter said, after the region's biggest economy and car market opposed EU tariffs on China-made electric vehicles in 2024. Chinese carmakers are looking to set up manufacturing and assembly plants in Europe as they seek to sell more lower-cost cars in the region to challenge European competitors amid intense domestic competition in China, the world's largest vehicle market. Executive vice-president of the company Stella Li said in an interview earlier this month that BYD was considering a third facility to serve the European market in the next two years, in addition to the two it is building in Hungary and Turkiye, but she did not say where. The source said Germany is BYD's top choice, although the matter is being questioned internally because of the country's high labor and energy costs, low productivity and low flexibility.

Self-driving vehicles recalled over braking

Amazon.com's self-driving unit Zoox agreed to recall 258 vehicles following a United States investigation into issues with its automated driving system that could lead to unexpected hard braking. The recall affects vehicles with self-driving software versions released before Nov 5. The California-based company said it has addressed the issue by updating the software on company-owned vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated a probe in May after two rear-end collisions involving motorcyclists linked to unexpected braking in Zoox self-driving vehicles. According to a filing with the NHTSA on Wednesday, Zoox addressed two issues with the software updates. One is related to overcautious braking near bicyclists at crosswalks with green lights, and the other involves unnecessary hard braking when a motorcyclist or bicyclist rapidly approaches from behind.

Motoring - Agencies