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Aug 14
Chinese automakers gain share in Europe as legacy carmakers partner to cut costs
Chinese automakers are reshaping Europe's car market, and the pressure is forcing global rivals into uneasy partnerships that could trim costs while raising strategic risks. For drivers, investors, and policymakers worldwide, the shift highlights how China's auto industry is now influencing pricing, supply chains, competition, and industrial policy beyond its home market.

Giant said rising raw material prices and price hikes for components from Japanese supplier Shimano, starting from August 2026, will add cost pressure, prompting the bike maker to raise prices on new products to offset the impact. Even so, the company said short-term gross margins are unlikely to hold at prior levels.

China's lithium battery industry is entering a new phase of cost restructuring as falling lithium carbonate prices, uncertain supply conditions and higher taxes squeeze manufacturers' margins, according to Chinese media reports.
Unique Opto-Electronics said stronger demand tied to artificial intelligence applications lifted first-half profitability above 2025 levels, while management struck a cautious tone on growth in the second half of 2026 and 2027. The company also said its optical glass business could benefit from co-packaged optics (CPO), but the size of any contribution remains unclear.
LG Energy Solution (LGES) and China's Jiangsu Lopal Tech have signed a three-year framework agreement covering up to CNY27 billion (approx. US$3.8 billion) in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material sales as the South Korean battery maker rapidly expands its energy storage system (ESS) business.
LG Chem has been selected as a cathode material supplier for HL-GA Battery Company, the US battery manufacturing joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution, according to The Elec, which cited industry sources. The material accounts for roughly 40% of the cost of a battery cell, and the win is expected to help accelerate LG Chem's shift from petrochemicals toward a business focused on advanced materials.

Ledlink Optics Inc. posted consolidated revenue of NT$353 million (US$10.97 million) in the second quarter of 2026, up 16% quarter-over-quarter and 7% year-on-year, marking its second-highest result for the same period in 11 years. A ramp-up in shipments for new automotive projects, a higher mix of value-added products, and continued optimization of its product and customer order structure lifted operating profit to NT$4.24 million (US$132,000) and net profit attributable to the parent company to NT$5.65 million (US$175,000), with earnings per share (EPS) at NT$0.1, ending its five straight quarters of losses since the first quarter of 2025 and returning the company to profitability.

LX Semicon has begun mass production of an automotive microcontroller unit (MCU) and started supplying the chip to Hyundai Motor and Kia, marking the first time the two automakers will use a South Korean-made MCU in vehicles. The move also marks LX Semicon's first mass-production achievement in automotive MCUs, expanding its business beyond the display driver ICs for which it is best known.

Chinese authorities have announced that sodium-ion batteries will be exempt from consumption tax from September 2026 through the end of 2028, while lithium batteries will once again gradually face a 2% to 4% consumption tax. The new policy creates a 28-month "lithium-sodium tax gap" of about 2% to 4%, accelerating commercialization of sodium-ion batteries and drawing previously cautious downstream buyers into the market.

US battery makers are moving more quickly into sodium-ion technology to gain production flexibility, fresh capital, and reduced exposure to lithium supply shocks. Industry sources say the chemistry still trails lithium iron phosphate in scale and economics, but its long-term appeal is rising as material costs climb and policy support shifts.

Taiwanese lithium battery materials maker Aleees said it secured a 20-year supply contract with Tesla Inc. and plans to deliver at least 100,000 tons of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) precursor materials annually to support demand in the US market. The company is also searching for a new factory site, with Tainan emerging as the leading option.

Whether Germany's renewed electric vehicle (EV) subsidies are inadvertently helping Chinese brands accelerate their push into Europe has become a closely watched issue across the global auto industry.