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According to China Trade Remedies Information, on March 18, 2026, in response to applications filed by US enterprises including RealTruck, Inc., the US Department of Commerce announced the initiation of anti-dumping and countervailing investigations into truck bed covers imported from China. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) was expected to make a preliminary determination on industrial injury no later than April 13, 2026. According to US statistics, in 2025 the value of US imports of truck bed covers from China was approximately $1.1 billion.

XPeng Motors' Q4 2025 revenue was 22.25 billion yuan, up 38.2% YoY; Q4 non-GAAP net profit was approximately 510 million yuan. XPeng Motors expected Q1 vehicle deliveries to decline 29.8%-35.1% YoY, to between 61,000 and 66,000 units.

Geely Automobile (0175.HK) announced its full-year 2025 results. In 2025, Geely Automobile's total revenue reached 345.2 billion yuan, up 25% YoY, a record high. Excluding non-core items such as foreign exchange gains and losses, core profit attributable to shareholders reached 14.41 billion yuan, up 36% YoY. The growth in core profit outpaced revenue growth, delivering high-quality growth. Benefiting from the continued release of economies of scale and the optimization of its high-value product mix, gross profit increased to 57.3 billion yuan, up 25% YoY. As of the end of 2025, total cash rose 46% to 68.2 billion yuan, with ample and solid cash reserves.

Zhongli Co., Ltd. (603194.SH) announced that, to meet its business development needs, the company plans to invest 350 million yuan in the Zhejiang Anji Economic Development Zone to build a project with annual production capacity of 50,000 intelligent robots and 100,000 sets of forklift components and parts. The funding will come from self-raised funds, including its own funds and bank loans. The project will primarily engage in the R&D and manufacturing of intelligent robots and forklift components and parts equipment.

[Nvidia Unveiled an L4 Autonomous Driving Platform, and Multiple Automakers and Mobility Platforms Announced Partnerships] On March 17 local time, at the 2026 GTC conference, Nvidia announced multiple advances in L4 autonomous driving technology and partnership updates. It will work with leading automakers including BYD, Geely, and Nissan to jointly develop next-generation L4 autonomous driving programs based on the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion platform. Isuzu, meanwhile, partnered with TIER IV to use the platform’s core component, the DRIVE AGX Thor chip, to build an L4 autonomous driving bus.

[Bank of America: Humanoid Robot Shipments Are Expected to Grow 86% Annually Over the Next Five Years] Bank of America forecasts that annual shipments of humanoid robots will increase from 90,000 units in 2026 to 1.2 million units in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate as high as 86%, faster than the growth seen in the early EV market. BofA also expects the global number of humanoid robots to reach 3 billion by 2060, exceeding the current global automobile ownership of 1.5 billion units.

[Due to Declining Exports to the Middle East, Nissan Motor Will Reduce Production] Nissan Motor Co. plans to cut production due to a decline in exports to the Middle East. According to foreign media reports, the company will reduce monthly production at its plant in Kyushu, Japan, by 1,200 units. This decision was made as challenges in the Middle Eastern market have affected Nissan’s overall manufacturing strategy.

Nissan Motor said it would introduce the US-produced Murano car model to the Japanese market, with sales expected to begin in early 2027.

[Phosphorus Chemical Industry: Wengfu's Wet-Process 85 Phosphoric Acid Rose by 700 yuan/mt Within Half a Month, Pushing Iron Phosphate Production Costs Higher Under Pressure] On March 16, 2026, SMM reported that phosphorus giant Wengfu Group raised the ex-factory price of wet-process 85 phosphoric acid by 200 yuan/mt yesterday. Wengfu implemented a "price adjustment on every 5th" mechanism (the 5th, 15th, and 25th of each month). This marked the second price adjustment in March, bringing the cumulative increase to 700 yuan/mt (it had already increased by 500 yuan/mt on March 5). The continued increases in phosphoric acid prices brought significant cost pressure to new energy enterprises, while the production costs of iron phosphate via the iron-process and sodium-process routes rose by several hundred yuan accordingly.

[SMM Daily Review: Spot Lithium Carbonate Prices Fluctuated Upward on March 13] SMM's battery-grade lithium carbonate index price fluctuated upward from the previous working day. Futures trend, the most-traded contract fluctuated higher after opening and once climbed to around 163,000 yuan/mt; after the midday session, the price reversed downward and once fell to 150,000 yuan/mt near the close, then fluctuated rangebound at low levels until the close. As of the close, open interest for the day decreased by about 8,500 lots from the previous trading day. Actual transactions, upstream lithium chemical plants showed a clear reluctance to sell and held prices firm, while willingness to sell spot orders remained weak; downstream material plants still mainly stayed cautious and on the sidelines, maintaining only just-in-time procurement. Overall, both market inquiries and actual transactions were sluggish. As for subsequent price movements, given that downstream procurement sentiment remained cautious and the market lacked sustained momentum to chase higher prices, lithium carbonate prices were expected to continue a fluctuating trend in the short term.

On March 13, the China Automobile Dealers Association released the results of its February 2026 "Automobile Dealer Inventory" survey: the comprehensive inventory coefficient of automobile dealers was 1.95 in February, up 31.8% MoM and up 21.1% YoY. According to data from the CPCA under the China Automobile Dealers Association, passenger vehicle retail sales totaled 1.043 million units in February. Based on this, total dealer inventory at month-end February was estimated at about 2 million units.

[Aptiv’s 2025 Results Hit a Record High, with Full-Year Revenue of $20.4 Billion] Recently, Aptiv released its 2025 financial results, with full-year revenue, adjusted operating income, and adjusted earnings per share all reaching record highs. Revenue reached $20.4 billion, up 3% YoY; adjusted operating income was $2.461 billion, adjusted EBITDA was $3.228 billion, and diluted earnings per share excluding special items reached $7.82.

Porsche expected sales to remain under pressure this year, as the luxury carmaker struggled to cope with tariff issues and costly adjustments related to EVs. Porsche said on Wednesday that it would seek to streamline its operations, accelerate development, and expand into higher-margin areas to address these challenges. Porsche CEO Michael Leiters said, “We will comprehensively reposition Porsche to make the company leaner, faster, and its products more attractive.”