Recently, CATL's battery pack laboratory officially received prestigious certification from the Volkswagen Group, becoming the first power battery company in the world to obtain Volkswagen's full-chain laboratory qualification recognition for cells, modules, and battery packs. At the certification ceremony, Dr. Uwe Westerhoff, Head of Certification at Volkswagen Group's Battery Testing Center, and Dr. Su Yuzhuan, Head of CATL's Testing and Validation Center, attended the event together with their core teams.

[SMM Tin Morning Briefing: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Opened Sharply Higher in the Night Session and Then Rebounded in Volatile Trading, While the Spot Market Will Gradually Cool Down]

[SMM Express] According to XPeng Motors, on March 13, the first car model jointly developed by Volkswagen and XPeng Motors—Yuzhong 08—officially rolled off the mass production line at Volkswagen Anhui in Hefei. It took the two parties only 24 months from signing the joint development technical cooperation agreement to mass production rollout. In 2023, Volkswagen Group and XPeng Motors reached a long-term strategic partnership, focusing on product development and technological innovation and jointly developing two pure EV models. The mass production rollout of the first jointly developed car model marked the delivery of tangible results from the technical cooperation between the two sides. Following Yuzhong 08, the second model jointly developed by the two parties will also be launched this year.

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, is expanding the ambitions of its battery business from EVs into utility ESS and energy trading, as global EV demand has fallen short of previous expectations. On Monday, Volkswagen launched its first utility ESS facility in Salzgitter, Germany. The project belongs to Volkswagen’s energy subsidiary Elli and can supply power to up to 20,000 households for about two hours. The facility is directly connected to the power grid and will also be used for energy trading on the European power exchange EPEX SPOT. The batteries used come from Volkswagen’s in-house PowerCo division. As battery suppliers cut prices and EV growth slows down, Volkswagen is seeking new sources of battery revenue.

[Volkswagen Plans to Cut 50,000 Jobs in Germany by 2030] Volkswagen Group also announced on March 10 that it is expected to cut 50,000 jobs by 2030, mainly affecting employees in Germany and covering all brands under the group, including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and Skoda. The latest layoff figure increased by about 43 compared with the company's previously announced 35,000 job cuts.

[Volkswagen Group's 2025 Operating Profit Plunged 53%] Germany's Volkswagen Group announced on March 10 that group revenue in 2025 was 322 billion euros, almost stable compared with 324.7 billion euros in 2024; however, operating profit plunged 53% YoY from 2024 to 8.9 billion euros, mainly due to US tariff policies, exchange-rate fluctuations, and strategic adjustments at Porsche, one of its subsidiaries. Volkswagen Group said that, as US tariff issues and competitive pressure in China still persisted, it expected to continue facing a severe situation in 2026. Revenue this year was expected to edge up by 0% to 3%, with the operating margin at between 4% and 5.5%.

Starting March 11, Xpeng Motors opened test drives for its 2nd-generation VLA (Vehicle Language Assistant) smart driving system at 732 stores nationwide. The system improves traffic efficiency by 30% compared to traditional L2 ADAS and handles complex scenarios like traffic police gestures. Rollouts begin in late March for Ultra trims and will expand in April. It targets global delivery by 2027, with Volkswagen as the launch customer.

Volkswagen Group CEO said that in 2026, Volkswagen would launch affordable electric mobility products equipped with high-end technology. In the Chinese market, Volkswagen would kick off the largest product launch campaign in the company’s history. It would also set key milestone targets for the battery, software, and autonomous driving sectors.

On Feb. 20 (local time), Ganfeng Lithium, the world’s largest lithium metal producer, reportedly began mass production of semi-solid-state batteries with an energy density of 650Wh/kg. The company has secured major electric vehicle battery material supply agreements with leading OEMs, including Tesla, Volkswagen, and Hyundai Motor.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: US December Retail Sales Unexpectedly Stagnate, LME Zinc Center Shifts Upward] Overnight, the LME zinc contract opened at $3,367.5/mt. At the beginning of the session, bulls and bears were intertwined, and LME zinc experienced wide swings along the daily average line, touching a low of $3,351/mt during the period. Subsequently, bulls increased their positions, and LME zinc rose during the night session, reaching a high of $3,405/mt towards the end of the session. It finally closed up at $3,398/mt, an increase of $14/mt, a gain of 0.47%. The trading volume increased to 8,008 lots, and the open interest increased by 1,328 lots to 231,000 lots.