The European tyre industry, which says it employs 75,000 people in 14 EU states, has said the tyres for cars and small trucks are being "dumped" or imported at unrealistically low prices, the European Commission said in a statement.

The EU has already imposed anti-dumping measures on imports of Chinese bus and lorry tyres.

In 2024, the EU market for car and small truck tyres was worth more than 18 billion euros ($20.4 billion), according to the EU.

"Today, the European Commission launched an investigation to assess whether anti-dumping measures are warranted on imports of tyres for passenger cars and light lorries from China," said the commission statement.

"If the investigation confirms that the EU tyre industry suffers from injury or threat of injury because of dumped imports from China, the commission may impose anti-dumping duties on imports if these are found to be in the interest of the EU."

The statement said the investigation could take 14 months but that "provisional anti-dumping measures may be imposed within eight months if dumping and consequent injury have been provisionally established."

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 12, 2025

- As the global push for renewable energy accelerates, the challenge of stabilizing power grids amidst fluctuating solar and wind output and the rapid growth of electric vehicle (EV) adoption becomes increasingly urgent. Researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology have unveiled a groundbreaking AI-optimized control system that promises to address this critical issue, potentially transforming the way microgrids operate.

Central to this advancement is the FO-Fuzzy PSS controller, a cutting-edge hybrid system that integrates fractional calculus with fuzzy logic to adapt dynamically to ever-changing grid conditions. This innovative approach, which incorporates a specialized washout filter to eliminate high-frequency noise, significantly outperforms traditional controllers by maintaining stable power delivery even under rapidly shifting supply and demand scenarios.

In practical tests, the FO-Fuzzy PSS controller reduced settling times by up to 283% compared to conventional PID controllers, a critical improvement for real-world applications where rapid response to grid instability is essential. This system allows microgrids to quickly adjust to sudden changes, such as those caused by cloud cover impacting solar output or unexpected surges in EV charging, ensuring consistent power quality.

At the heart of this breakthrough is the advanced Sine Cosine Algorithm (a-SCA), which optimizes the controller's performance by minimizing frequency errors 29-35% more effectively than standard methods. This algorithm enables the system to maintain superior stability across a wide range of operating conditions, a crucial advantage as grids become more decentralized and renewable-focused.

The potential impacts are far-reaching. For utilities, this technology could significantly reduce the risk of blackouts and power disruptions. For EV owners, it offers the promise of seamless, uninterrupted charging. And for communities investing in renewable energy, it provides the stability needed to phase out fossil fuel backups confidently.

Looking forward, the researchers envision integrating real-time communication protocols to coordinate entire networks of microgrids, potentially applying this approach to larger-scale renewable installations. By tackling the frequency regulation challenges that have long hindered microgrid adoption, this work marks a critical step toward a cleaner, more resilient energy future.

Research Report:Impact and integration of electric vehicles on renewable energy based microgrid: Frequency profile improvement by a-SCA optimized FO-Fuzzy PSS approach

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Budapest (AFP) May 15, 2025 - Chinese electric-vehicle giant BYD will open a European centre in Hungary, creating 2,000 new jobs, the government said on Thursday, as Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been wooing China.

In recent years, the central European country of 9.6 million people has attracted a flood of major Chinese projects, mostly related to battery and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.

BYD has decided to open its "European corporate and development centre" in Budapest, an investment of 100 billion forints (248 million euro), Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a statement after a signing ceremony attended by BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu.

Szijjarto hailed the investment as a "qualitative leap".

"In total, 2,000 new jobs will be created... and 90 percent of these 2,000 jobs will be filled by workers with higher education qualifications, mainly in engineering," he added.

BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu called it "another step in the friendly cooperation between the two parties".

The group is already established in Hungary, where it is due to open its first European electric car production plant by the end of 2025, making it the first Chinese company to manufacture passenger cars in Europe.

The factory is located in Szeged, in southeast Hungary.

Orban has encouraged Chinese companies to set up in his country with tax breaks and infrastructure projects.

But China's electric car exports are causing tensions with the European Union, which in 2023 opened an inquiry into alleged subsidies for Chinese manufacturers.

Orban -- China's closest alley in the EU -- hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping last year during his first European trip since 2019.

Orban has been championing an "eastern opening" foreign policy since his return to power in 2010, seeking closer economic ties with China, Russia and other Asian countries.

BYD, which began as a battery manufacturer, overtook Tesla to become the world's largest electric car maker in 2024.

ros-jza/sbk

BYD COMPANY

Tesla

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Shanghai (AFP) May 14, 2025 - Chinese tech giant Baidu plans to start testing self-driving taxis in Europe for the first time by the end of this year, a source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to AFP on Wednesday.

China's tech companies and automakers have poured billions of dollars into self-driving technology in recent years, with intelligent driving the new battleground in the country's cutthroat domestic car market.

Driverless taxis are already on the roads with limited capacity in China, most notably in the central city of Wuhan where a fleet of over 500 can be hailed by app in designated areas.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Baidu was in talks to launch its Apollo Go robotaxi service with Switzerland's PostAuto, part of Swiss Post responsible for public bus services.

A source confirmed to AFP that Baidu will set up a local entity in Switzerland in order to begin tests there before the end of 2025.

The company will also start testing Apollo Go in Turkey, they said.

In March Baidu announced it had signed an agreement to launch autonomous driving tests and services in Dubai, Apollo Go's first international fleet deployment.

One hundred self-driving vehicles will be on the roads there by the end of the year, the firm said in a statement.

Baidu is not alone among Chinese companies in searching to expand its foothold abroad.

Its rival WeRide is also active in the Gulf region, and in January announced it had been picked to lead a small pilot project in Switzerland.

Pony.AI, another Chinese company, announced in April that it had received a permit to test robotaxis in Luxembourg.

Last week, it said it had signed a deal to launch its self-driving taxis on the Uber platform in "a key market in the Middle East later this year".

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Paris (AFP) May 14, 2025 - Uncertainty about trade and industrial policy triggered by US tariffs won't derail growth in sales of electric vehicles, which should account for one in four cars sold this year, the IEA said Wednesday.

In its annual report on the outlook for the uptake of electric vehicles -- a key element in efforts to reduce climate-changing emissions -- the International Energy Agency indicated that the increasing affordability and lower operating costs was supporting sales.

"Our data shows that, despite significant uncertainties, electric cars remain on a strong growth trajectory globally," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement accompanying the report.

"This year, we expect more than one in four cars sold worldwide to be electric, with growth accelerating in many emerging economies," he added.

"By the end of this decade, it is set to be more than two in five cars as EVs become increasingly affordable."

The IEA put sales of EVs, including plug-in hybrids, at more that 17 million last year, as sales increased by more than 3.5 million vehicles from 2023.

With first quarter EV sales jumping 35 percent globally, the IEA expects more than 20 million should be sold this year.

China continues to drive the transition to electric vehicles, accounting for almost two-thirds of global sales last year and more than 70 percent of worldwide production.

"The growth in China reflects in no small part the growing price competitiveness of battery electric cars with conventional cars in the country," said the IEA.

It found that "in China, two-thirds of all electric cars sold last year were priced lower than their conventional equivalents, even without purchase incentives."

But a considerable purchase price gap remains in many other markets.

The IEA found the average battery electric car price in Germany remained 20 percent higher than that of its conventional counterpart.

Battery electric cars in the United States were still 30 percent more expensive.

EV sales in China increased by almost 40 percent year-on-year in 2024, to nearly one in two vehicles overall, said the report.

Sales of EVs stagnated in Europe last year at around one in five, thanks in part to a reduction of government purchase subsidies in France and Germany.

EV sales growth slowed in the United States last year, to 10 percent, with their share in overall sales also rising to just over 10 percent.

- Affordable Chinese cars drive sales -

Sales in emerging and developing economies in Asia, Latin America and Africa boomed last year, increasing by over 60 percent year-on-year.

"This rapid growth has been strengthened by policy incentives and the growing presence of relatively affordable electric cars from Chinese" automakers, said the IEA.

Chinese automakers have also been investing in local production in numerous developing country markets to avoid tariffs, it added.

The IEA noted that high tariffs wouldn't impact only sales of EVs but conventional cars as well, with a slowing economy pulling down demand for cars overall.

But it said the Chinese market showed potential to resist a slowdown thanks to political support and competitive EV prices. The IEA added that Europe's experience during the Covid pandemic showed policies could support the sector as well in the face of economic headwinds.

The IEA also found that the global trade in EVs has been increasing, now accounting for almost one fifth of total sales.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Strasbourg, France (AFP) May 8, 2025 - EU lawmakers on Thursday gave the green light to a delay for European carmakers to meet new emission targets, as the bloc seeks to balance climate goals with supporting the struggling industry.

Starting this year the European Union is cutting the average carbon emissions that new vehicles sold in the 27-country bloc are permitted to produce, with steep fines if carmakers fail to comply.

But the European Union has also made it a priority to bolster key sectors -- including automobile manufacturing -- in the face of fierce US and Chinese competition.

Part of that effort includes loosening rules to give companies breathing room, including the reprieve approved in Strasbourg by a 458 to 101 majority of EU lawmakers.

Under the scheme put forward in March by European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, companies will be able to comply with the new targets by averaging their emissions over three years from 2025 to 2027, rather than each individual year.

This means they will not be fined if they fail to meet the 2025 target by December 31 this year.

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) welcomed the vote, saying the mechanism provided "much-needed flexibility in meeting CO2 targets at this important moment in our transition toward zero-emission mobility."

The parliament's biggest political grouping, the conservative EPP, hailed the vote, with lawmaker Laurent Castillo calling it "a first step to strengthen the European automobile market".

The French MEP said the next step would be to revise the EU's plans to phase out new sales of combustion engine vehicles by 2035.

The measure passed with support from the parliament's centrist and socialist groups.

Criticizing the move, Green EU lawmaker Saskia Bricmont said loosening emissions rules would "delay the marketing of affordable electric vehicles, which are vital" for European consumers.

"This is incomprehensible. It is yet another step back in the fight against climate change," Belgium's Bricmont said in a statement.

The far-right Patriots group meanwhile described the three-year flexibility as "insufficient", urging the "complete repeal" of the EU's penalty mechanism.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Los Angeles, United States (AFP) May 7, 2025 - Donald Trump's order to withhold $5 billion earmarked to grow the electric vehicle charging network in the United States is being challenged in court by more than a dozen states, California officials said Wednesday.

The lawsuit is the latest attempt by a coalition of largely liberal jurisdictions looking to push back on what they see as the American president's overreach, especially on environmental issues.

"The President continues his unconstitutional attempts to withhold funding that Congress appropriated to programs he dislikes," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

"This time he's illegally stripping away billions of dollars for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, all to line the pockets of his Big Oil friends."

A mammoth congressional bill passed in 2022 aimed at bolstering America's crumbling infrastructure included $5 billion to help build out charging points for electric vehicles.

But as soon as he arrived in the Oval Office in January, Trump ordered that the money be stopped, part of a slew of executive orders the Republican has issued, which also included demands that the United States produce more fossil fuels.

The cash had been allocated by Congress to the states, and in some cases was expected to be paired with state and private funds as jurisdictions look to grow charging networks and reduce the range anxiety that drivers of gas cars sometimes say puts them off switching to electric vehicles.

The lawsuit announced Wednesday contends that as president, Trump does not have the power to divert monies the legislature has allocated.

"The complaint asks the court to declare that the... directive is unlawful and to permanently stop the administration from withholding the funds," a statement said.

Trump, a climate change skeptic, has long been hostile to electric vehicles and has repeatedly lashed out at Environmental Protection Agency rules requiring automakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions in their cars.

California, which is home to the lion's share of EVs and hybrid vehicles in the United States, plans to phase out the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

The lawsuit comes as Republicans in Congress are trying to remove the rules that allow the state -- the biggest and richest in the nation -- to make its own vehicle emission rules.

"The facts don't lie: The demand for clean transportation continues to rise, and California will be at the forefront of this transition to a more sustainable, low-emissions future," said Bonta.

"California will not back down, not from Big Oil, and not from federal overreach."

Bonta is joined in the lawsuit by attorneys general from, Colorado, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Ottawa (AFP) May 2, 2025 - General Motors said Friday it would reduce the number of shifts at a truck assembly plant in Canada, as US President Donald Trump's trade war upends the North American auto sector.

The announcement comes a day after the US auto giant said it projected a $4-5 billion hit this year from Trump's tariffs, despite moves earlier in the week by the president to dampen the blow.

GM's plant in Oshawa, Ontario "will return to a two-shift operation" from three, "in light of forecasted demand and the evolving trade environment," the company said in a statement.

"These changes will help support a sustainable manufacturing footprint as GM reorients the Oshawa plant to build more trucks in Canada for Canadian customers," it added.

It is expected to result in 700 out of 3,000 jobs cut at the plant, according to the auto workers' union.

"Today's news from GM is extremely tough for the workers in Oshawa and their families," Ontario premier Doug Ford said on X.

"In the face of economic uncertainty caused by the chaos of President Trump's tariffs and tariff threats, we will continue to fight every single day to attract new investment, secure good-paying jobs and support workers and their families," he added.

Trump in March announced 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles, including from free trade partners Mexico and Canada, dealing a major blow to manufacturers who have developed highly integrated North American production lines.

His administration later granted partial exemptions for Mexico and Canada based on the value of American-made components.

US imports of auto parts are also set to face 25 percent tariffs beginning Saturday, with exemptions for parts compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.

On Tuesday, Trump issued an order to minimize overlapping tariffs for automakers -- as he has also placed 25 percent levies on steel and aluminum imports -- and created a two-year "offset" process to reduce the immediate financial blow.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Stockholm (AFP) April 29, 2025 - Sweden's Volvo Cars announced Tuesday a plan to cut costs by 18 billion kronor ($1.9 billion), including through job cuts, as its profits fall and the auto sector navigates US tariffs.

The carmaker, owned by Chinese group Geely, posted a net profit of one billion kronor for the first three months of 2025, down 73 percent from the same period last year.

Volvo Cars sales fell 12 percent 82.9 billion kronor over the same period, the company said in an earnings statement.

European automakers were already struggling with slowing electric sales and rising Chinese competition before US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on the sector in early April.

"The world has changed a lot in the last few years and the automotive industry is in the middle of a very difficult period with challenges we have not seen before," Volvo Cars chief executive Hakan Samuelsson said in the earnings statement.

Most of the cost-cutting programme will take place in 2026, the company said, without saying how many jobs would be affected.

"As part of the action plan, there will be redundancies at our operations around the globe, but we will come back with more details as soon as possible," Samuelsson said.

He added that 2025 would be a "challenging and transition year given the uncertainties around macroeconomic, geopolitical and market developments".

"As we enter into the year, we see that tougher market conditions and lower volumes combined with increased price pressure and tariff effects are impacting profitability," Samuelsson said.

After US tariffs came into force in early April, Volvo Cars announced earlier this month that it would increase its production in the United States and probably produce an additional model there.

"We need to adapt to a more regionalised world," Samuelsson said.

He said Volvo Cars would focus its strategies for the US and Chinese markets.

"In the US, we will sharpen the product line-up we need for growth and look into how we better can use the existing manufacturing footprint we have there in the coming years - producing more where we sell," he said.

ef/eb/lth/ach

Volvo Cars

Geely

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:08:42 AEST Rome (AFP) April 28, 2025 - The board of Italian tyre firm Pirelli said Monday that Chinese control over the company, which imperilled its sales in the United States, had ended following the government exerting national security measures.

The Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had issued a so-called golden power share that allows it to block foreign control over strategic assets, and Monday's board meeting formally took the development into account.

The board approved a report acknowledging "the issuance of the DPCM Golden Power, the control of MPI Italy (and, therefore, of Sinochem) over Pirelli has ended pursuant to" international accounting principles, the company said in a statement.

Pursuant to those accounting rules Pirelli "is not subject to the control of any entity."

MPI Italy is Sinochem's Italian holding company, and it had controlled Pirelli along with another investor since buying a 37 percent stake in 2015 in a 7.1 billion euro ($8.1 billion at the current exchange rate).

Pirelli's effective control by Sinochem put its connected tyres afoul of regulations adopted by the Biden administration that banned Chinese and Russian equipment and technology from connected vehicles due to national security concerns.

Pirelli's management noted the end of Sinochem's control "represents a first, but not decisive, step on the path to the necessary adjustment of company governance to regulatory constraints in the USA, a key market in the high value tyre segment and for the development and distribution of cyber tyre technology."

It added discussions with shareholders would continue to align Pirelli's governance with American regulations, particularly regarding connected vehicles, so it can sell its tyres with integrated sensors.

The June 2023 Italian government decree instituting golden power share did not force Sinochem to sell its stake. The government opened an investigation in November last year into a possible violation of the decree.

jra/rl

PIRELLI & C. SPA

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