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Nation builds lead position in eco-friendly auto sector

China-based automakers are building significant leads in the zero-emission vehicle market, the International Council on Clean Transportation's third annual Global Automaker Rating released on Tuesday showed. The finding reflects China's broad leadership in the global EV transition, where the country now accounts for more than 11 million EVs sold annually — over half of global EV sales, it said. China-based automakers occupied the top five positions in ZEV class coverage, and five of the six top positions for EV sales share. Companies like Geely and SAIC have reached 50 percent EV sales share, meeting their targets a year ahead of schedule. In contrast, automakers in the US and EU face the dual challenges of catching up technologically while navigating increasingly uncertain regulatory environments, the council said.

Spanish drivers lapping up Chinese brands

Chinese car brands accounted for 10.12 percent of total vehicle registrations in Spain during the first five months of 2025. The figure more than doubled the 23,235 units registered in the same period of 2024, the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers said last week. Felix Garcia, ANFAC's director of communications and marketing, said in a statement: "More than 112,000 units sold and the growth of over 18 percent show that it was the best May since 2019, before the pandemic began." According to a recent survey by online car dealer Coches and the Spanish vehicle distributors' association Ganvam, seven out of 10 Spaniards expressed a favorable opinion of Chinese brand cars, saying they would consider buying one.

Internal combustion engines to live on at Audi

Audi has reversed its decision to end the development and sale of internal combustion engined vehicles in 2033 and now has no fixed date for such a plan. The German automaker had planned to end development of internal combustion engines in 2026.At one stage it planned to launch no new ICE cars from 2026, but now hints that the plan has been ditched. Speaking to Autocar, CEO Gernot Doellner emphasized that he "had not been the one to communicate the end date", and the decision has been taken by previous management. But he confirmed he had reversed it as he "believes in flexibility". He said: "Audi is launching from 2024-26 a completely new lineup of internal combustion engine and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and that gives us complete flexibility for at least another seven, eight, maybe 10 years, and then we will see how our markets develop."

Nio sets schedule for expansion across Europe

The Chinese electric car startup Nio wants to further expand its presence in Europe. A launch in Austria and Hungary is scheduled for this year. Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic are then on the road map for 2026. So far, Nio's presence in Europe is still limited: the Chinese manufacturer's electric cars are only available in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Outside China and Europe, the vehicles are available in the United Arab Emirates. However, there is nothing to suggest that Nio will reach the target of 25 foreign markets in 2025 that was set three years ago. Nio emphasizes that it also wants to bring its subsidiary brands Firefly and Onvo to Europe in addition to the main brand of the same name.

Zoox opens first robotaxi factory in California

Amazon's Zoox has opened its first robotaxi serial production facility in California, it said on Wednesday, marking a crucial step toward launching a commercial robotaxi service that will compete with Alphabet's Waymo and Tesla. Zoox is testing in various US cities with more than 20 vehicles and plans to launch the commercial services in Las Vegas this year, followed by San Francisco, where it seeks to expand areas of operation. The operator currently tests in San Francisco and expects to onboard public riders soon. "This expansion, plus the anticipated demand once rides open up to the general public, and additional market entrances in the coming years warrants this increase in robotaxi production," Zoox said in a statement.

Agencies - Motoring