Ford and Geely to Build Joint Venture Plant in Spain; Antolin Granted U.S. Bankruptcy Protection

Ford Motor Company and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited have reached an agreement to establish a joint venture in Valencia, Spain, to produce multi-energy-type vehicles under both the Ford and Geely brands for the European market through shared production capacity. This collaboration aims to support Ford’s product offensive in Europe, accelerate Geely’s localization strategy, and boost economic development in the Valencia region. Spanish automotive supplier Grupo Antolin-Irausa recently secured judicial protection from a U.S. court for its assets within the United States. This move forms part of its efforts to obtain cross-border judicial recognition following the initiation of restructuring proceedings in Spain. The U.S. court ruled that creditors must refrain from initiating new lawsuits against the company for several weeks to safeguard its U.S. assets. Grupo Antolin noted that due to the summer recess of Spanish courts, the restructuring plan will likely be reviewed no earlier than September or October. Other automaker and industry updates: In Q2 2026, Tesla delivered over 480,000 vehicles globally, a 25% year-over-year increase, with total revenue reaching $28.2 billion, up 26% year-over-year. Its trailing 12-month revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. In the same quarter, Hyundai Motor reported an operating profit of KRW 2.85 trillion and net profit of KRW 2.52 trillion—both below market expectations—though sales revenue reached KRW 49.22 trillion, slightly exceeding forecasts. Renault Group reported global sales of 1,165,133 vehicles in the first half of 2026, down 0.4% year-over-year. Passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales in Europe totaled 821,092 units, a 1.3% decline. Renault brand sales rose by 2.6% to 528,849 units, maintaining its position as Europe’s second-best-selling brand; Dacia sales fell by 8.7%, while Alpine sales surged by 67.6%. Electrified vehicles accounted for 52.0% of the group’s European sales, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) representing 18.8%. Porsche’s supervisory board has approved a new round of restructuring measures. Previously, the company planned to cut approximately 1,900 positions by 2029 and eliminate another 2,000 roles through natural contract expirations. Reports now suggest an additional 5,000 job cuts may occur, potentially bringing total reductions to around 9,000. Furthermore, Porsche will discontinue its all-electric Taycan sedan at the end of its current lifecycle without a successor model, and the gasoline-powered Cayenne Coupe is entering the final phase of its product cycle. In June 2026, passenger car registrations in the EU, UK, and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries rose 13.1% year-over-year, with year-to-date growth at 6.1%. Electric vehicle registrations accounted for 67.8% of total new vehicle registrations that month. Tesla’s market share in the region increased to 3.7%, while BYD reached 2.7%. In China, the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 62.8% in June 2026. During the same period, Chinese-brand passenger vehicle sales totaled 1.812 million units, up 6.2% year-over-year, accounting for 75.5% of total passenger vehicle sales—an 8.2 percentage point increase from the prior year. From January to June 2026, cumulative sales of Chinese-brand passenger vehicles reached 9.138 million units, down 1.4% year-over-year, with a market share of 71.8%, up 3.3 percentage points year-over-year. TotalEnergies reported Q2 2026 revenue of $57.1 billion and adjusted net income of $6.03 billion, a 68% year-over-year increase. Average hydrocarbon production reached 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company expects the average LNG selling price in Q3 to exceed $11.5 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) and maintains its full-year net investment guidance at $15 billion. Autonomous driving open-source software developer TIER IV has listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Growth Market under ticker symbol 593A, becoming Japan’s first publicly traded company focused primarily on autonomous driving technology. Additionally, Micron Technology recently allocated a significant volume of memory chips to Tesla, alleviating its supply constraints. Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that the supply terms were reasonable.