Challenges For The Automobile Industry

Industries generally are grappling with various issues but the car industry is particularly vulnerable. One former CEO was critical of the wastefulness of the industry with a reluctance to share costs with other manufacturers. Necessity is moving many to increased cost sharing. 

Car companies have many issues to deal with and most are not self inflicted. Here are some of them.

Tariffs: These have always been around, usually started to protect local manufacturing but tend to hang around long after that is no longer required. The worst offenders are in Asia, with China recently reducing the threshold on tariffs for premium cars, which is over and above its standard tariff. Why are tariffs required at all? The US has also been using tariffs to encourage more local manufacturing. 

Regulations. Reducing emissions is the goal, achieved with incentives or disincentives. If done with reasonable warning, the industry can adjust. Sometimes, they can prove to be hard to achieve, causing backtracking as with the EU in a recent about face on its 2035 deadline to end fossil fuel vehicles. A relief for some in the industry, but still disruptive for others. 

Instability. A recent semiconductor shortage and raw material issues contribute to production delays. Rising costs for materials, energy and labour is pushing up costs and usually prices. Even logistical disruptions regarding maritime and road transport have to be accommodated.

Technology. Modern cars are becoming even more complex, with emphasis shifting from mechanical engineering (which is still needed) to increased software development for new features. 

Increasing Competition & Development cycles. Many new brands are coming out of China and the fight for market share is hotting up. New model development has been extremely slow in the past but things are speeding up in that area. 

Summary. The consumer is increasingly spoiled for choice, perhaps even bewildered but doesn't necessarily think about challenges the industry is facing. We just want a good product that fulfils our needs. Meanwhile, the industry grapples with all the challenges that come its way. Hurdles it must jump to survive and hopefully prosper. 

Electric Vehicles Proving Expensive

When I say proving expensive, I'm refering to some manufacturers in this instance. In particular Ford and the F-150 Lightning. If the name Lightning implied that would be selling fast, then that would be a misnomer. 

Sales were suggested to be in the 150,000 region per annum. They peaked at 33,500 in 2024 and over the four years it's been on sale, barely got past a combined total of 100,000. The scrapping of federal EV tax credits may have been the final nail in the coffin, but maybe it was doomed regardless. 

The amazing thing is it was the best selling BEV truck in the US. Mind you, the Cybertruck wasn't exactly competition, just a little opposition. Still there are others out there and they were beaten too. Despite that, Ford has decided to end the Lighning. 

So this u-turn is costing the company billions of dollars, according to Ford. From the outset, I never saw BEVs as an ideal mass market vehicle, more likely to carve out a niche. Surely, fuel cell or synthetic fuels have potential for broader mass appeal. 

Some markets see it differently and are pushing BEVs to become the future of mobility, for now at least. One positive is they are providing some stability by not flip flopping. What it shows is that predicting the future is as difficult as it has ever been. Those that are putting a great deal of money into BEVs are taking a risk and already some have been burned. Electric vehicles sure can be expensive. 

Toyota Deeside Wales

The UK produces quite a few car engines. Up to November, 2025 about 1.5 million engines were manufactured YTD. With the world moving away from ICE powered vehicles, that looked like an industry living on borrowed time. Recent pull backs on the move to ban such engines will give this industry a reprieve. 

One such plant is situated in Deeside, North Wales, which started producing engines for the Carina model in 1992. My father grew up in the area, so I do have a connection with it. He worked at the local Shotton Steelworks before moving away. 

According to Toyota, the plant employs around 600 workers and in 2024, a total of 244,463 hybrid & petrol engines were produced. 

They found their way into the Corolla built in Derbyshire, for the C-HR model built in Turkey and the Corolla Cross in South Africa. 

The Deeside engine assembly line has the capability to produce an engine every 44 seconds, the fastest Toyota assembly line of its type in the World.

So if you own any of the models mentioned above, the engine came from Deeside, Wales. Pictures and information sourced from Toyota UK. 

UK Vehicle Production : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

Do you want the good news or the bad news? Well, there is only the latter here. UK vehicle production is nothing short of embarrassing. It's been building for many years and little has been done to address the situation even as it reaches a disastrous level.

Let's dissect it by diving deeper. Passenger car production is 665,000, down from 734,600 in 2025. You would have to go to the early 1950's to see lower figures. That was when a devastated post war Britain was trying to get back on its feet. 

So far, 151,000 sales in the UK were for locally produced cars. That represents 8.1% of total sales. In other words, 91.9% of the cars sold in the UK this year are imports! Just as well no one cares. 

Can commercial vehicle sales salvage something from this disaster? Of course, I jest. It's even worse. Production is at 45,000 units, down from 118,500. No, that's not a typo. So tell us then, how bad is it? 

I have data going back to and including 1945. This is by far the worst over that time. I don't have detailed data on why this is, so all I can do is speculate. 

Stellantis is the main CV producer in the UK and they seem to be having problems either making or selling vans. Truck makers such as Leyland DAF and Dennis Trucks are still doing OK but they can't stem the slump. Exports are the hardest hit. 

Buses don't make up huge numbers but the government is subsidising the switch to electric buses. The UK's largest bus operator recently took the offer and bought buses made in China. Taxes spent on overseas manufactured buses. Just as well no one cares. 

By combining the above figures, the picture won't be any brighter. A solution could be an import tax on import gradually increased each year and then manufacturers encouraged to start local UK production. 

The market is big enough to support that. Some of the revenue could be used to incentivise buying locally made.

Would this increase vehicle prices overall in the UK? Not if they bought locally made. Would other nations understand the precarious situation or cry foul and threaten 'consequences'? The latter. 

Don't other nations impose import duties to 'protect' their markets? Some like China, Korea and India don't even need protection. Surely, they would be supportive, seeing as they do it. Again, I jest. Double standards are the default setting of international dealings. 

So here I am, proposing a way forward to save a car industry on life support but realistically knowing nothing will change. It was a productive UK industry while it lasted but it could end up being a few luxury brands only and maybe a few trucks. Just as well no one cares. 

EU to Backtrack on China Sourced EVs?

Since November 2024, the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese sourced electric cars (BEV) due to unfair advantage through state subsidies. Now pressure is being applied by a European car maker who manufacture a BEV in China to make an exception for them. What is the reasoning?

According to VW's SEAT/Cupra, they say it is "an unfair tariff that penalises strategic investments." So making cars in China rather than Europe is 'strategic' or the definition of the word 'helping achieve a plan'. Protecting European jobs isn't the plan nor punishing perceived infair subsidies, so I guess increased profit is the strategic plan.  

After deciding to build a car somewhere and then legislation is introduced that affects that decision adversely is a bitter pill to swallow. Getting an exemption would seem an ideal solution. The downside is opening the door to many others doing the same and that works against the initial tariff's aim. 

Other brands make electric cars in China. BMW decided to make the MINI Aceman in China rather than the UK but would retaining tariffs lead BMW to start making them in the UK? Volvo produces the EX30 in Belgium and that circumvents tariffs. It seems Dacia will bring the Spring model production back to Europe in 2026. I wonder how the manufacturers that accepted BEV tariffs and are moving production back to Europe are now feeling?

 As to whether tariffs are a good idea or not in this situation is not an argument I want to join. As a general observation though, SEAT/Cupra is looking at their personal situation and they want an exception for their benefit. Considering the effect on others and the impact on the overall objective becomes secondary. 

BEV sales in Europe aren't going that well anyway and plans to impose a ban on selling new cars with internal combustion engines in the EU from 2035 have been abandoned. I wonder if trying to beat the tariff will reap that much anyway.

Brands From China In France : 2025 (Jan -Nov)

The chart to the right shows sales of brands that are based in China. Rk is where they rank compared to all brands, MS is market share and +/- shows increases over 12 months of 2024. 

There have been some impressive gains plus some new ones, n/a showing that. Saying that, compared to many other markets, the 3.1% overall penetration is low. 

MG is well established (since 2020) and BYD has wasted no time in moving up the rankings, 2024 is its first full year here. Leapmotor and Xpeng have done well in a short time as well. 

It will be interesting to see what develops from here. The EU have set tariffs based on what they have determined are unfair subsidies. These are not imposed as a blanket figure but vary according to the calculated amount of the subsidy. 

This will have impacted the numbers compared to the UK, where they haven't acted on this issue so far. I would like to do an article on Norway, which has like the UK, does not impose tariffs. I just don't get enough data to do that. 

For others in the series: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore. The UK.

Data source: AAADATA. 

Photo source: MG (EHS - top) and Xpeng (G6 -bottom) France. 

JLR's Gerry McGovern Leaves The Company

Anyone who reads articles here will know my affection for the Jaguar marque but also my disquiet about the direction it is being taken. Bold decisions were needed with Jaguar, but bold needs to be executed sensibly. I cannot think of one decision that would describe Jaguar's treatment in recent times as sensible. 

The design of the new range of Jaguar EVs looked appalling in my opinion. One could tell that designers of the quality of Ian McCallum were not part of the process. The new CEO has shown JLR design boss Gerry McGovern the door. There could be various reasons as to why his departure happened, but I won't speculate. 

The new designs and the premium/electric direction Jaguar is being taken cause me to fear for its future because I am not sure it will work. Can JLR afford to recalibrate Jaguar again, or are they committed to continuing their current trajectory? I would say the latter, unfortunately.

PS. For more on Jaguar, simply click on 'Brand - Jaguar' in the Labels column. 

Lotus Sales : 2025 (Q1-Q3)

Lotus Cars has always been a problem child. The issue hasn't been the product. Far from it. It's been about profitability or the lack of. Current owners are Geely (51%) and Etika Automotive (49%), a Chinese-Malaysian collaboration.

The current range consists of the Eletre and Emeya electric SUV/GT,  made in China. The petrol powered Emira and limited volume electric Evija sports cars, made in the UK. 

To the right we can see the last three years of sales, minus one quarter. Things took off in 2023 and continued through 2024. By 2025, orders had been met and a return to relative normality.

A hybrid version of the Eletre SUV is planned for 2026 and that should noticeably lift sales. A hybrid Emira and a smaller SUV are planned for 2027. 

Now looking at models, or more precisely. the two segments they reside in. Comparing Q1-Q3, the Car/SUV grouping is up from 53% to 72%. Both are down in volume and combined that is -40%. 

The sports car side of the business basically revolves around one model and therefore is going to boom with a new model and then fall away to something more reflective of true demand.

As for regions, China has emerged as the largest for Lotus sales, with 46% of the total. It's also the only region that increased. It would be safe to assume that the Car/SUV models would be the main cars sold there, while the sports cars are the more popular elsewhere. 

Data and photo source: Lotus Cars. 

Photos (from the top). Eletre, Emira, Evija and Emeya.

Brands From China In Australia : 2025 (Jan -Oct)

There has been an upsurge of cars made in China coming to Australia. In October 27,700 vehicles came from Japan, 20,800 from Thailand and 20,400 from China. Even a couple of years ago, that would have seemed far fetched. No one would doubt that it will continue to grow. 

The chart to the right shows sales of brands that are based in China. It includes passenger cars and light commercials. 

Rk is where they rank compared to all brands, MS is market share and +/- shows increase over 12 months of 2024. There have been impressive gains plus a host of newbies.

BYD is in its third full year and already has 4.2% market penetration. MG and Haval are both in their 8th full year and while they do well here, they have both lost some ground in 2025. 

New arrivals for 2025 have a n/a in the +/- column to indicate that. 2026 will herald in yet more brands, which will be making it a crowded market place. There is such a thing as too much choice. 

Data source: FCAI. 

For others in the series: France, New Zealand, Singapore. The UK.

Photo source: GWM (Tank 300 model - above) & Deepal (E07- below) Australia. 

Brands From China In The UK : 2025 (Jan -Oct)

The UK has seen a sudden rush of new Chinese brands entering the market. MG has been around since the demise of MG Rover but only reached five digit volume in 2019. 

The list to the right has UK ranking, market share and increase or decrease of market share which compares 10 months of 2025 with 12 months of 2024. 

The list covers brands that exclusively source cars from China so the 8.9% would be lower than the full number of cars sourced from there. 

MG has an advantage of being well established before the recent invasion but with market share down slightly they may be feeling the impact of the new arrivals. BYD is its usual aggressive self and the rest have arrived in 2024 or 2025, the latter shows a 'n/a'. 

I have yet to investigate other European markets but the UK would seem to have far more Chinese brands doing well. The EU has imposed tariffs on electric cars due to their claim of unfair subsidies. The UK isn't doing the same. I wonder how Nissan Leaf sales will go in the UK, as it is produced there and doesn't need unfair competition. 

For others in the series: Australia, France, Singapore. New Zealand.

Photo source: MG (HS), BYD (Dolphin Surf) & Nissan (Leaf).

Greece Top 50 Models: 2025 (Jan-Oct)

Registrations were up 11% in October and 4% YTD. This is a good year economically, which is being reflected in car sales. 

Toyota has 15.5% market share and comfortably the leading brand. Japanese models are highlighted in pink and do well at the top of the Top 50 while in fact they have just 12 models listed, the majority Toyotas. 

Europe has 29 models with Peugeot the most successful brand from that region. Opel too is a popular brand.

The two other regions (countries) are Korea (6 models) and the US (3). 

Data source: SEAA. 

Photos: Toyota (Yaris) & Nissan (Qashqai).

Czechia Top 50 Models: 2025 (Jan-Oct)

Registrations were up 11% in October and up 7% YTD. Electric cars make up 5.5% of the total but is growing. Electric hybrid represent just over 4%. Petrol is 67.5% and diesel 20%.

Of the nearly 206,000 cars sold so far, nearly 1,500 are categorised as 'not found', so they do not make the list to the right.

The eagle eyes among you will have noticed that the local brand Škoda is well represented at the top end of this ranking. Well spotted. The brand accounts for 34% of all sales.

Hyundai and Kia do well here, both manufacturing in the area. Toyota and VW are also popular, along with Dacia.

Data source: SDA.

Photo source: VW (Golf) & Ford (Kuga) Czech R.

Romania Top 50 Models: 2025 (Jan-Oct)

Registrations are rallying in the second half of the year with an 11% in October. YTD, it is still down 4% but being turned around. 

The poor sales earlier were something to do with the rolling back of a scrappage scheme.

The colour coding of the chart shows that Europe (green) provides the most models in the Top 50. 

Dacia is the local brand and it is very popular. The top three places are occupied by Dacia models and they are well ahead of the chasing pack.

Data source: DGPCI.

Photo source: Dacia (Logan) & Toyota (RAV4) Romania.

Brands From China In Singapore : 2025 (Jan -Oct)

The chart to the right shows sales of brands that are based in China. Rk is where they rank compared to all brands, MS is market share and +/- shows increases compared to 12 months of 2024. 

BYD has raced to the top of the market, In 2021 it was the 31st most popular brand and now well ahead of the others and has 20% of the market. It has left Toyota/Lexus in its wake, which is not something that happens.  

No other brand is in the top 10 but those increases in the +/- column indicate that could soon change. The n/a means they are new in 2025. It's like a swarm of locusts. 

With 30% of total sales now taken and done so quickly that the sky is the limit. Looking at the other brands, they all seem to have been affected. 

For others in the series: Australia, New Zealand, Australia, The UK.

Data source: LTA Singapore.

Photos: BYD (Seal) & GAC (Aion V). 

Argentina Top 50 Models: 2025 (Jan-Oct)

Registrations for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were up 17% in October and an impressive 55% YTD. The upsurge comes after a low 2024 and government measures designed to stimulate the economy. 

By colour coding, we see that European models (green) are the most popular with 30 in the Top 50. US (12) and Japanese (7) make up the rest, bar one. 

Data source: SIOMAA & a few estimates.

Picture sources: Fiat (Fastback) & VW (Tera). 

Brazil Top 50 Models: 2025 (Jan-Oct)

Registrations for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were down 1% in October but up 3% YTD. That is very stable data. 

Looking down the list, the mixture of colours shows the diversity of the market. Not having a local brand to support adds to that. 

Europe is strong but so too is the USA and increasingly China. Japan is not far off the pace but apart from two models, Korea is not represented. 

The leading model is the Fiat Strada, which is a small leisure vehicle/pick uptruck. The VW Polo and Chevrolet Onix are tussling it out for second the spot.

Brazil has recently increased tariffs on imported electric cars, designed to encourage local assembly. I could see that being advantageous for some other countries to do something similar.

Data source: Fenebrave.

Photos: Fiat (Strada) & GM (Onix) Brasil. 

Italy Top 50 Models: 2025 (Jan-Oct)

Registrations were down 1% in October and 3% down YTD so steady as she goes. 67,600 electric cars were sold for the ten months YTD and 80,150 plug in hybrid cars. That represents 5% and 6% respectively.

Colour coding reveals that while European brands are a common sight on Italian stradas, there are plenty of cars from other regions.

Fiat used to be so dominant here but now struggles to maintain its top spot overall. At least for models, the Panda saves the day with nearly 90,000 sales. That is 72% of total Fiat registrations in Italy.

The Dacia Sandero retains second place and the Jeep Avenger a very high third. I was surprised to see the BYD Seal U making the chart but the times they are a changin'.DR has a model down the list. It is an Italian firm that assembles Chinese made models.

Data source: UNRAE.

Photo source: Jeep (Avenger) & DR (DR.5).

Netherlands Top 50 Models: 2025 (Jan-Oct)

Passenger car registrations were up 8% in October but down 1% YTD. In October, hybrid cars (PHEV) reached nearly 47% share and electric cars (BEV) 40%.

A change in bijtelling, or a company car tax, is helping push up PHEV and BEV sales leading up to January 2026 when the change takes place.

Government incentives coming and going affect the car industry. It often ends up creating spikes and slumps in registrations.

Colour coding shows that European models are popular but not as much as many other European markets.

Kia is a surprising top brand in the Netherlands. It has three of the top four models. I do prefer them to Hyundai's and they do here too.

Korean models have nine of the Top 50 and Japan only six which is unusual outside of Korea. The US does reasonably well with five models. 

Data source: Bovag.

Photo source: Kia (EV3) and Tesla (Model Y) Nederland.