With the implementation of the new EU Battery Regulation, the German Battery Act has been upgraded to BattDG. Starting in 2026, the OfH recycling system will replace the old one. OfH is an officially recognized Producer Responsibility Organization, responsible for managing the battery recycling network, data reporting, and collecting environmental fees. Cross-border sellers should pay special attention: merchants selling products containing batteries, using German warehouses, or shipping to German consumers must bind with OfH. Otherwise, they face risks such as registration cancellation, product seizure, and high fines. Key steps for compliance include: confirming the authorized representative status, clarifying battery categories, binding OfH in the EAR system, and updating platform information and labels. The new regulation requires companies to bear full life-cycle responsibility, and sellers are advised to self-check their compliance status as early as possible.

Tracking and analysis of consumption trends by the State Taxation Administration using tax big data reveals multiple highlights in China's consumer market in 2025, with robust demand released for household appliances, mobile phones, and new energy vehicles (NEVs). Invoice data shows that appliance consumption maintained a growth trend in 2025, with sales revenue from daily home appliances such as refrigerators, kitchen and bathroom appliances such as gas stoves, and communication equipment such as mobile phones increasing by 17.4%, 12.9%, and 18.6% year-on-year, respectively. Consumption of NEVs continued to gain momentum. According to unified motor vehicle sales invoice data, the sales volume and sales revenue of new energy passenger vehicles grew by 24.3% and 21.1% year-on-year, respectively, in 2025.

According to Tianyancha legal litigation information, recently, Evergrande New Energy Automobile Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. and Evergrande New Energy Automobile (Liaoning) Co., Ltd. have added a piece of information about being an executor, with an execution target of over 200 million yuan, and the executing court is the Hunnan District People's Court of Shenyang City. Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. was established in January 2019, with Liu Weisheng as its legal representative and a registered capital of 3.5 billion US dollars. Its business scope is to lawfully invest in areas where foreign investment is permitted by the state. According to shareholder information, the company is jointly held by Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited and Evergrande Hengchi New Energy Vehicle (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. Tianyancha risk information shows that the company currently has 15 records of being an enforced person, with a total enforced amount exceeding 3.3 billion yuan. In addition, there are multiple records of equity freezes, dishonest enforced persons (deadbeats), and concluded cases.

In 2025, Tesla's new car registration share in California was 9.9%, a 1.7 percentage point decrease from 2024, making it the brand with the most significant decline in the state. This data was released by the California New Car Dealers Association on January 22nd, based on Experian statistics. Sales decreased from nearly 203,000 units to less than 180,000 units, leading to a year-over-year reduction of approximately 7,300 zero-emission vehicle registrations statewide. The main reasons include an aging product line, lower-than-expected Cybertruck sales, an increase in competing electric vehicle models, the cancellation of federal tax credits, and consumer resistance due to Elon Musk's political activities. The Model Y remained California's best-selling EV, and the Model 3 ranked as the state's second best-selling passenger car. California is currently planning to allocate $200 million to restart state-level car purchase subsidies.

On January 22, 2026, Zotye Auto launched a recruitment drive in Jinhua and Hangzhou, opening a total of 49 positions across departments including design, R&D, validation, production entry, legal, and procurement. It is reported that the recruitment aims to advance new energy vehicle projects initiated in 2025 and restart its complete vehicle business. Currently, candidates have been identified for approximately 20% of the positions, with applicants primarily concerned about salary and job stability. In the first three quarters of 2025, the company reported revenue of 419 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.98%, but recorded a net loss of 223 million yuan. Over the past seven years, Zotye has accumulated losses exceeding 25 billion yuan, with sales in 2024 totaling only 14 units.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has approved the establishment of banks by Ford Motor Company and General Motors under their respective units, Ford Credit Bank and GM Financial Bank. Both banks are chartered in Utah and positioned as industrial banks, with their primary business involving the provision of automotive financing products through the purchase of retail installment sale contracts. The FDIC requires both banks to maintain a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 15% and explicitly mandates that Ford and GM provide support for their respective banks' capital and liquidity positions. This move signifies the further deepening of the two major automakers' presence in the automotive finance sector.

GAC Group recently responded to investor inquiries regarding whether models such as the Trumpchi M8 would be sold through Huawei's retail channels. The company stated that the comprehensive cooperation framework agreement signed with Huawei Terminals on January 5 focuses on the co-construction of the HarmonyOS ecosystem, joint innovation in AI technology, and smart cockpits. The partnership aims to integrate the strengths of both parties in new energy vehicle manufacturing, operating systems, and global services to create globally competitive intelligent mobility solutions. GAC emphasized that the current cooperation is limited to strategic synergy at the technical and ecological levels and does not involve sales channels for the time being. Since 2017, GAC and Huawei have deepened their cooperation across multiple fields, including hardware, software, cloud services, smart manufacturing, and high-end intelligent new energy vehicle brands.

GAC Group announced in an investor interaction event on January 22nd that its flying car, GOVE AirCab, has received nearly 2,000 intended orders. The model was launched in Hong Kong in June 2024, with an official guide price of no more than 1.68 million yuan, primarily targeting low-altitude cultural tourism scenarios. GOVYAirCab utilizes aerospace-grade carbon fiber composites, with carbon fiber accounting for over 90% of the fuselage, resulting in a weight reduction of over 30%. Equipped with a top-mounted rotor and gull-wing doors, it supports 25-minute fast charging (charging from 50% to 100% in 15 minutes). The interior features a 2-seat layout and is equipped with 5G, a smart assistant, and a fragrance system. It possesses L4-level autonomous driving capabilities (computing power > 500TOPS, detection range > 300 meters). In terms of safety, it supports redundant flight control, full monitoring, and cloud-based self-inspection. The product is currently undergoing comprehensive airworthiness review and is expected to obtain certification and commence deliveries by the end of 2026.

Financial Associated Press, January 21st. The National Energy Administration released national electric vehicle charging infrastructure data for December 2025. According to data from the National Charging Infrastructure Monitoring Service Platform, as of the end of December 2025, the total number of electric vehicle charging infrastructure units (guns) in China reached 20.092 million, a year-on-year increase of 49.7%, exceeding the 20 million mark. Among them, public charging infrastructure units (guns) numbered 4.717 million, a year-on-year increase of 31.9%, with a total rated power of public charging piles reaching 220 million kilowatts, and an average power of approximately 46.53 kilowatts; private charging infrastructure units (guns) numbered 15.375 million, a year-on-year increase of 56.2%, with the installed power capacity of private charging facilities reaching 134 million kilovolt-amperes.

An investor asked on the investor interaction platform: "Currently, Dongyue Chemical's 200,000-ton waste plastic pyrolysis unit has been shut down for technical upgrades to the feeding system. A hydrogenation unit upgrade is also scheduled to be completed soon. Will the hydrogenation unit upgrade require a shutdown?" Huicheng Environmental (300779.SZ) stated on its investor interaction platform on January 21 that the hydrogenation unit revamp of its 200,000-ton/year demonstration project for the comprehensive utilization of mixed waste plastic resources will not require shutdown, and related construction is progressing steadily as planned.

Fuyao Trim (Anhui) Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. was recently established with Ye Shu as the legal representative and a registered capital of 300 million RMB. Its business scope includes the manufacturing of auto parts and accessories. According to equity penetration data from the Kuaicha App, the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fuyao Glass.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has approved Tesla's request for a five-week extension to submit a formal response regarding the investigation into defects in its "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) system. The investigation, launched in October 2023, focuses on traffic violations such as running red lights and driving in the wrong direction while FSD is enabled, as well as recognition issues in low-visibility environments. One accident has resulted in a fatality. Tesla stated that it needs to manually review 8,313 related records and, at the current processing speed, the response deadline has been extended to February 23rd. The company stated that it is simultaneously dealing with multiple regulatory investigations and it is difficult to complete the submission of all data to a high standard in the short term. It plans to apply for a further extension later to supplement information such as software versions, system prompts, and accident details. In addition, California regulators question Tesla's exaggeration of FSD capabilities and may impose a 30-day sales suspension.

On January 16, 2024, Euro NCAP released its annual test results, indicating that electric vehicles have generally surpassed gasoline-powered cars in safety performance. Among over a hundred participating models, the Mercedes-Benz CLA was awarded for best overall performance, while the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y were named safest large family car and small SUV, respectively. New energy vehicle brands like Leapmotor and Firefly have contributed to raising safety standards. The tests covered occupant and pedestrian protection, as well as active safety systems, with multiple high scores reflecting automakers' simultaneous focus on electrification and safety.

Musk: Tesla will stop selling the Full Self-Driving (FSD) package after February 14th, and thereafter, FSD will only be available as a monthly subscription.

On January 14th, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released data indicating that in 2025, automobile production and sales reached 34.531 million units and 34.4 million units, respectively, representing year-on-year growth of 10.4% and 9.4%. This set new historical records for production and sales, maintaining China's position as the world's largest automotive market for 17 consecutive years. New energy vehicle production and sales exceeded 16 million units, with domestic new car sales accounting for over 50%. Automobile exports surpassed 7 million units, ranking first globally. Among these, new energy vehicle exports reached 2.615 million units, doubling year-on-year. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's automobile production and sales maintained a scale of over 30 million units for three consecutive years, with operating revenue exceeding 10 trillion yuan. In 2025, sales of Chinese brand passenger vehicles accounted for nearly 70%, an increase of 4.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

According to Chengdu Release, it is reported that recently, Chengdu Science and Technology Investment Group, a subsidiary of Chengdu Industrial Investment Group, has completed its investment in Sichuan Longjia Aerospace Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Longjia Aerospace Materials"). This project originates from the transformation of top technological achievements of Harbin Institute of Technology and has recently officially settled in the Aviation Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park in Qingyang District, Chengdu. The company's product system covers a temperature range from 700℃ to 2500℃, able to meet the thermal protection needs of different parts of aerospace equipment such as spacecraft and carrier rockets, while also extending to civilian fields such as new energy battery protection and energy storage stations, with broad market prospects. It is understood that after the project is settled in the Aviation Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park in Qingyang District, Chengdu, three automated production lines will be planned, with mass production expected to be achieved within 6 to 12 months. This will not only fill the gap in the manufacturing of high-end thermal protection materials in Chengdu but also form a complete industrial chain loop from research and development to integration.

On January 14, it was reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that on the afternoon of January 13, the 2026 work meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference on the Development of Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicles was held in Beijing. The convener of the joint conference, Li Lecheng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of Industry and Information Technology, presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. The meeting emphasized that 2026 is the starting year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, and that the development of the intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry is at an important opportunity period. It is necessary to adhere to a problem-oriented approach, a systematic view, and a bottom-line mindset, to increase collaborative efforts, further improve work measures, and promote high-quality development of the industry. First, the formulation of the "Plan" should be done well, reinforcing the collaborative layout with related plans in energy, infrastructure, etc., clarifying development goals, deploying key tasks, and guiding innovative development in the industry. Second, enhance the autonomous controllability of the industrial chain and supply chain, implement a new round of high-quality development actions for key industrial chains, strengthen the layout of landmark products, basic materials, and software tools, and accelerate breakthroughs in technologies such as all-solid-state batteries and advanced autonomous driving. Third, further expand automobile consumption, promote the trade-in of old vehicles, advance the large-scale application of new energy heavy trucks, deepen the reform of new energy vehicle insurance, and stimulate diverse consumer potential. Fourth, standardize the competitive order of the industry, strengthen cost investigations and price monitoring, enhance supervision and inspection of production consistency and product quality, reinforce the role of standards in guiding industrial upgrading, and encourage self-discipline in the industry. Fifth, strengthen support for international cooperation in trade, investment, and technology, scientifically advance the integration of trade and investment as well as the integration of domestic and foreign trade, enhance the prevention of technological and investment risks, guide enterprises to layout overseas reasonably, orderly, and safely, and promote the formation of a new situation in global industrial cooperation.

According to information from the China National Intellectual Property Administration, Voyah Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. has obtained a patent titled "A Foam Tape Adhesion Tool," with the authorization announcement number CN116353075B. The application date is March 2023. According to Tianyancha, Lantu Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2021 and is located in Wuhan. It is primarily engaged in research and experimental development. The company's registered capital is 3.68 billion RMB. Through Tianyancha's big data analysis, Lantu Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. has invested in one other company, participated in 2,994 bidding projects, and has 294 trademark information and 4,833 patent information. In addition, the company holds 46 administrative licenses.

An investor asked on the investor interaction platform: Which segment does your company's lithium battery business belong to? Shuangxin Environmental (001369.SZ) stated on the investor interaction platform on January 9 that the company's products DMC, DEC, EMC are important raw materials for lithium battery electrolytes.

Ministry of CommerceVice Minister Sheng Qiuping on the 6th inState Council Information OfficeAt a press conference, it was stated that from 2024 to 2025, a total of 17.673 million end-of-life vehicles will be recycled nationwide, with an average annual growth rate of 45.8%; 39.686 million used cars will be traded; and approximately 53 million old household appliances and mobile phones will be dismantled in a standardized manner, with an average annual growth rate of about 12%.