Honda Korea to Exit Car Sales After 23 Years

The "2026 Huawei Qiankun Technology Conference" was held in Beijing. Jin Yuzhi, CEO of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution BU, revealed at the event that Huawei Qiankun is expected to invest over 18 billion yuan in R&D in the Qiankun intelligent driving field in 2026, exceeding the combined R&D investment of all other major solution providers in China.

On April 23, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Ola Källenius, Chairman of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association and Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group. The two sides exchanged views on China-EU automotive industry cooperation, the EU's trade-restrictive measures against China, and other issues. Wang Wentao emphasized that the proper resolution of the EV case between China and the EU released a clear signal to the world that both sides have the willingness and ability to properly resolve differences through dialogue. Recently, the EU has introduced a series of protectionist trade-restrictive measures, causing substantive damage to China-EU economic and trade relations. China has expressed serious concerns and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. He expressed the hope that Mercedes-Benz Group and the European automotive industry would actively speak out, urging the European side to adjust inappropriate provisions and create a fair, just, and non-discriminatory market environment for cooperation between Chinese and European enterprises.

On April 21 (local time), the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) released its “Automotive Innovation Report 2026”. Chinese automaker BYD ranked first in the global automotive innovation ranking with 157 points, surpassing last year’s leader Volkswagen (143 points). Mercedes-Benz came in third with 134 points. XPeng ranked fourth with 128 points, followed by BMW and Geely Group in fifth and sixth places. Renault, Toyota, General Motors, and Hyundai also made the top ten. This marks the first time since the launch of the “Automotive Innovation Study” in 2005 that a Chinese automaker has taken the top position. According to CAM, the ranking evaluates automakers based on their performance in electrification, intelligent technologies, and overall innovation capabilities.