Passenger vehicle sales in China fell in August for the fifth straight month, industry data showed on Monday, though sales of all-electric and plug-in hybrid models rose, helped by subsidies for drivers trading in more polluting vehicles…Sales fell 1.1% from the same month a year earlier to 1.92 million vehicles, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed. That compared with a 3.1% decline in July…New energy vehicle (NEV) sales, however, jumped 43.2% to account for a record 53.5% of total car sales, as local EV champion BYD set a sales record and U.S. rival Tesla had its best month of 2024…Car exports increased 24% after a 20% rise in July…Drivers are eligible for a cash subsidy of as much as 20,000 yuan ($2,823) when trading in petrol-powered cars to buy NEVs, while those trading in petrol-powered cars for smaller-engine alternatives are entitled to up to 15,000 yuan.

Japanese Tesla supplier Panasonic Energy has finalised preparations for the mass-production of its high-capacity electric-vehicle batteries, the company said on Monday, as it seeks to start supplying the cell to automakers…Panasonic Energy's renovated plant in the western prefecture of Wakayama will serve as the main factory for producing the 4680 cells, which the company says have five times the capacity of its smaller 2170 cylindrical batteries…The unit of Panasonic Holdings has sent samples of the 4680 batteries to some automakers to which it is already a supplier, and intends to kick off production after getting the green light from clients, a Panasonic spokesperson said..The bigger cells, which have a diameter of 46mm and an 80mm height, will allow automakers to extend the driving range of electric vehicles and use fewer cells to achieve the same battery pack capacity, Panasonic Energy said in a statement…Panasonic, one of Tesla's long-standing battery suppliers, is currently building its second U.S. battery plant in Kansas that is set to start production next year, in addition to one in Nevada…The company plans to start battery production at an annual capacity of several gigawatt hours, CEO Kazuo Tadanobu told reporters after the ceremony, adding the global EV market was likely to expand over the medium to long-term.

Northvolt will cut a large number of jobs and sell or seek partners for its energy storage and materials businesses as Europe’s leading battery hope aims to survive by refocusing on its struggling first gigafactory in northern Sweden. The Swedish manufacturer, which has raised more capital at $15bn than any other unlisted European start-up, has been heavily delayed by problems at its factory just below the Arctic Circle as well as suffering from European carmakers slowing their plans to move to electric vehicles. Northvolt said on Monday that it would pause its cathode active material production, selling one site and buying instead from Chinese or Korean companies, as well as seeking a buyer or partner for its energy storage business based in Gdańsk, Poland…It will also delay plans, according to executives, to build three more gigafactories — in a joint venture with Volvo Cars in Sweden and in Germany and Canada — but said it would provide further details on that and the number of job cuts later…Europe’s carmaking and nascent battery industries are facing an uncertain future amid huge investments needed to produce EVs and fierce competition from Asia, in particular China…Northvolt was the first European company to produce a battery cell for EVs from a homegrown gigafactory in late 2021, but has struggled to ramp up production since then. Its gigafactory in Skellefteå has an annual capacity of 16 gigawatt hours but is producing fewer than 1GWh at present. 

Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo will be heading home from the two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing with limited success in their bid to expand economic relations beyond the mineral exports that have dominated trade, analysts say…“The Chinese will continue to want to consolidate their position in Congo, including on minerals,” says Jean-Pierre Okenda, a Congolese consultant on mining issues…Although the DRC has a trade surplus with China, while most African countries have large deficits, almost all of it is from minerals China is buying to feed its manufacturers that are hungry for raw materials…The central African nation is the world’s largest producer of copper and cobalt, a metal used in electronics and a key material for batteries used in electric vehicles. The DRC has about 70% of the planet’s cobalt reserves…China is by far its largest single trading partner, representing nearly half of its merchandise exports and more than a quarter of its imports, according to 2022 data from the World Trade Organization…China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said ahead of the forum that Xi declared his nation is ready to “deepen cooperation in agriculture, mineral products processing, vocational training and other fields.”…The DRC is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking 162 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index…Chinese businesses have also come under increasing pressure under Tshisekedi’s administration, with the government working to renegotiate long-standing deals with Chinese mining firms…In January, the Congolese government concluded talks on renegotiating a deal with the Chinese consortium running Sicomines, a copper-cobalt mine in Congo’s southeast. That renegotiation saw the investors behind the consortium agree to spend a massive $7 billion on developing infrastructure, such as badly needed roads and bridges, in the DRC…Another Chinese company, CMOC, which runs the largest copper-cobalt mine in the world, situated in the DRC, agreed to pay $2 billion to the Congolese state last year after a commercial dispute…Defense is another area where some in the Congolese administration had been hoping for more cooperation in light of the country’s struggle to end the brutal conflict in eastern DRC…The M23, a Rwandan-backed rebel group, has captured swathes of territory in the region since launching a rebellion in late 2021 and displaced more than 1 million people from their homes…The DRC’s army, which critics say is weak and plagued with corruption, has struggled to fight back, losing battles and territory. But the DRC army did purchase nine high-tech Chinese CH-4 Rainbow attack drones, which it has used effectively in battle despite some being shot down.