According to data from the Passenger Car Association, China's passenger vehicle retail market showed some changes in January this year. Total retail sales reached 1.544 million units, down 13.9% YoY. By segment, passenger NEV retail sales were 596,000 units, also declining, with a drop of 20%. However, in terms of exports, passenger NEVs demonstrated strong growth momentum. Exports in January reached 286,000 units, up 103.6% YoY, accounting for 49.6% of total passenger vehicle exports.

[SMM Cast Aluminum Alloy Morning Comment: Overnight Futures Slightly Lower, Spot Prices Hold Steady Amid Wait-and-See Attitude] On Wednesday, the A00 aluminum price edged down by 30 yuan/mt to 23,260 yuan/mt compared with the previous trading day, while the SMM ADC12 price remained stable at 23,650 yuan/mt. As the Chinese New Year approaches, upstream and downstream enterprises in the secondary aluminum industry chain have entered a concentrated holiday period, leading to a noticeable decline in market liquidity. Actual transactions continue to be sluggish, with spot quotations largely making minor adjustments around the futures market.

[French January new car sales fell 6.55%] The latest data released by the French Automotive Industry Association (PFA) shows that new car sales in France in January this year decreased by 6.55% YoY, to 107,157 units.

[Cross-border E-commerce Platform Launches Car Sales Business: Chinese EVs Go on Sale in the Middle East] Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce platform, AliExpress, has launched a car sales business, taking the lead in launching sales in the Middle East during the overseas 618 shopping festival. The AliExpress store page shows that the vehicles currently listed are mainly Chinese new energy vehicles, including popular car models such as BYD Yuan, Geely Xingyuan, Xiaomi SU7, Li Auto L7, XPeng G9, etc. Many of them have joined AliExpress's 10 billion yuan subsidy program for brands going global. It is reported that this is the first platform among the "Four Little Dragons Going Global" to sell cars. "Selling cars" is not a whim. In fact, auto parts have always been a strong category for AliExpress, maintaining rapid growth and accumulating a vast global user base of car owners, providing a natural user foundation for "exporting complete vehicles." On the other hand, China's automobile exports are growing rapidly, with continuous breakthroughs in technological fields such as new energy and intelligent connected vehicles.

[SMM Morning Comment on Cast Aluminum Alloy: Inventory Buildup Continues, Weak Demand Limits Upside Potential for ADC12 Spot Prices] Yesterday, the SMM A00 aluminum price rose by 240 yuan/mt from the previous trading day to 20,400 yuan/mt, while the domestic SMM ADC12 price remained stable within the range of 19,800-20,000 yuan/mt. Yesterday, the secondary aluminum alloy market generally maintained stable quotes or increased by 100 yuan/mt. Currently in the off-season, market transactions were average, and weak demand continued to suppress the upside room for price increases, while the cost side provided some support. In the short term, the ADC12 spot price is expected to fluctuate rangebound, and the inverted price gap with A00 aluminum will persist.

Toyota's global car sales reached 876,900 units in April, up 10% YoY, marking growth for four consecutive months and setting a new record for the same period in history, driven by a surge in car purchase demand in the US. In China, sales increased by 20.8% to 142,800 units.