Lithium Market Dynamics: Price Grinding, Mining Enterprise Diversification, and Potential Shifts in Industry Competition

Ford Motor Company announced that it will launch a comprehensive product and technology strategy in Europe over the next three years. Under this new strategy, its FordPro division will transform from a pure automaker into a productivity partner, leveraging software and services to maximize returns. Ford plans to launch five all-new passenger vehicles in Europe by the end of 2029, all manufactured in Europe.

Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA),stated that the national passenger vehicle industry inventory stood at 3.54 million units at the end of April, up 90,000 units MoM and up 40,000 units compared to April 2025, forming a trend of sustained inventory growth. Among this, manufacturer inventory accounted for 29.8%, which was relatively high. The April forecast optimism was 36%, and the post-April satisfaction in early May was 7%. Expectations were low but satisfaction was even worse, mainly due to the significant impact of high oil prices. The team's optimism for the May market dropped to 27%, which was a relatively low level in recent market optimism assessments. Even after repeated downward adjustments, expectations have yet to turn more optimistic.

On May 20, data from South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed that total automobile exports in April reached $6.17 billion, down 5.5% compared to the same period last year. Among them, exports to North America, Latin America, and Oceania were up 2.4%, 23.7%, and 20.1% YoY respectively, but due to the ongoing war between the US and Iran, exports to the Middle East plunged 38.7%; exports to the EU and Asia declined 13.1% and 31.7% respectively. The data also showed that due to disruptions in some auto parts supply chains and consumers waiting for new and facelifted versions of major car models to launch, China's automobile production fell 6.1% YoY to 362,000 units.