By Nick Carey

June 9 (Reuters) - Greetings from London! I have just returned from a long hike in Albania, and aside from the country’s stunning beauty and fabulous cuisine, what struck me most was ... the number of Chinese electric vehicles on the roads.

Especially BYDs.

A combination of government subsidies and affordable models has boosted Chinese automakers in Albania. Though you can get hold of EVs from a growing number of brands, including Xpeng, Li Auto, Zeekr and Avatr – a Changan brand – you can find BYDs in most places, above all around the capital Tirana.

The world’s largest EV maker has come out of nowhere and so far this year is Albania’s fourth-best-selling automaker, according to government data.

You may justifiably ask why we should care about the 3,415 cars BYD sold in the first five months of this year in a small market like Albania - where under 100,000 new cars were sold last year.

The reason we should care is that this is happening in countries large and small around the world as BYD and other Chinese automakers expand rapidly into new markets, aggressively pursuing sales and eating away at the market share of traditional Western automakers.

Loss of share across dozens upon dozens of markets has huge implications for Western automakers in the years ahead.

Many of the more than 100 Chinese automakers around today are not expected to survive the next decade, but consolidation is also likely for Western automakers who cannot respond to their new rivals – in Albania and elsewhere.

Which brings us to today’s Auto File…

Chery makes some moves

Honda CEO stays on

Pentagon says BYD helping China’s military

CHERY’S GROWING FOREIGN PARTNERSHIPS

Chinese automaker Chery has garnered far less attention for its global expansion than rival BYD, despite being China’s largest car exporter – its sales merely quadrupled in the last five years while BYD’s grew tenfold.

But the company is emerging from obscurity thanks to rapid sales growth in Europe, where it wants to build more cars.

Chery has now signed deal with Nissan to look into building cars at the Japanese automaker’s UK factory in Sunderland.

For that to work, Chery will need clarity on Britain’s complicated post-Brexit relationship with the European Union – an issue Nissan is presumably lobbying the UK government to address.

In separate news, Reuters colleague Aditi Shah reports that India’s Tata will use Chery tech for its Avinya brand EVs. You can read all about it here.

Tata will use the same platform that its unit JLR has used with Chery to resurrect its Freelander brand. I was in Wuhu, Chery’s hometown, when it unveiled the Freelander 8 to lots of eager cooing from dealers.

Chery may be quieter than BYD, but it is a company to watch.

Recommended reading:

Nvidia’s Korean AI chip deals

China’s solar panel makers get into batteries

U.S.-Iran war could cost European jobs

BOTCHED HONDA HIT JOB

It is no secret that Honda is struggling as it tries to navigate a tough environment, where Chinese EV makers are eating its market share while consumers at home in Japan don’t want its EVs.

Honda’s failed bet on EVs led to its first annual loss in 70 years.

As Reuters colleagues Norihiko Shirouzu, Daniel Leussink and Maki Shiraki report, behind the scenes retired and some current Honda executives hatched a plan to force out Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe.

You can read all about it here.

But their lengthy scheming came to naught because Honda’s board backed Mibe and the power of Japan’s corporate alumni has been eroded by independent company directors.

To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson: if you’re going to shoot the king, don’t miss.

BYD ON PENTAGON NAUGHTY LIST

China’s BYD found itself this week on a list of companies – that includes Alibaba and Baidu - the Pentagon says are aiding the Chinese military.

As Reuters colleagues Michael Martina, David Shepardson and Eduardo Baptista report, this will prevent the Defense Department from contracting directly with those firms and from buying their products ​or services via third parties beginning in 2027.

You can read all about it here.

BYD opposes being labelled a military firm and told Reuters it will use all "feasible administrative and legal means" to safeguard its rights and interests.

The move also threatens the delicate trade war truce that U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping agreed to just a month ago.

RIGHT-TO-REPAIR FIGHT

President Trump waded briefly into a longstanding U.S. argument between automakers and independent workshops over the “right to repair,” complaining after meeting with auto industry representatives that they “don’t want people ⁠to fix their car.”

Independent U.S. repair shops complain that automakers do not share enough data on newer models with them to make effective repairs possible. You can hear a similar complaint from independent outfits in Europe.

Repairs are big business. It’s where franchise U.S. dealers make their money because margins on new car sales have plummeted.

The U.S. auto service market is worth about $200 billion annually and it is unclear whether Trump intends to follow up on this contentious issue.

FAST LAPS

• Tesla is rolling out its unsupervised robotaxis in the ​Austin Metro area in Texas, as the ‌electric-vehicle maker looks to speed up its autonomous ride-hailing operation.

• China's car sales extended a downturn in May that has become a stress ​test for foreign automakers led by Volkswagen, which is trying to revive its Chinese business through locally developed EVs.

• Britain's new car sales rose 7.1% ​in May, the strongest for the month since 2019, driven by ‌resilient retail demand, especially for electric vehicles, according to industry data.

• Uber has committed close to half a billion dollars in self-driving startup Nuro, two sources directly aware of the matter told Reuters.

• A strike at a major supplier for General Motors' trucks has entered its second week ​ with the United Auto Workers and Dauch ‌Corp still unable to reach a deal, a local union official said.

• Uber said its users could now sign up for a chance to ride ​in London's first robotaxis as soon as regulators give the go-ahead for launch, which it expects ‌in the coming months.

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