The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the Washington lobby that represents almost every major carmaker selling in the United States, on 2 November pressed Congress to pass a bipartisan bill that would permanently bar Chinese vehicles from the American market. It wants the measure voted through in the short session before lawmakers break, once the midterm elections are settled.
The alliance’s membership covers General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen and Hyundai, which means the request arrives with the endorsement of both Detroit and its Japanese, German and Korean rivals.
Two demands, one direction
In the same briefing the alliance backed the Trump administration’s looser fuel economy standards and asked courts to dismiss suits brought by California, New York and other states. The Department of Transportation has fixed the 2031 fleet average at 34.9 mpg, replacing the 50.4 mpg target set in 2024.
Seen together, the two positions describe a single strategy: shut the door on Chinese imports and slow the efficiency timetable that Chinese electric vehicles have been beating.
Elsewhere in the same cycle
Stellantis said a shortage of an engine control unit component is materially disrupting Fiat output in Italy, with the problem likely to run through November and possibly December. The group also plans to widen LFP battery use across European models from 2027, with supply expected to come from its Spanish plant developed with CATL.
Lexus confirmed its first China-built model, a China-specific battery electric SUV, for 2027 from its wholly owned Shanghai Jinshan plant. Tata Motors closed the initial acquisition of Iveco, holding about 89.42 per cent of ordinary shares. Forvia posted third quarter sales of EUR 5.1bn with organic revenue broadly flat and double digit organic growth in Asia excluding China.
On the supply side, LS Cable subsidiary Korea Motion Works signed a memorandum with North Gyeongsang province and Gumi city to invest about KRW 350bn, roughly USD 262m, by 2029 in what it calls the country’s largest rare earth permanent magnet facility, aimed at EV, robot and defence motors and explicitly at reducing reliance on Chinese magnets and midstream processing.
Japan is meanwhile drafting safety certification rules for autonomous vehicles without steering wheels, brake or accelerator pedals, covering both level 4 and level 5 systems, a step aimed at scaling robotaxi production. Grab raised 2026 revenue guidance to USD 4.15bn to 4.2bn from USD 4.1bn to 4.15bn, and EBITDA to USD 790m to 800m.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Gasgoo report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://auto.gasgoo.com/news/202611/3I70476744C108.shtml.