South Africa is poised for Chinese investment in its US$27 billion automotive industry after the president signed a tax break for the production of so-called new-energy vehicles into law.

Europe’s automakers face existential threats from EU CO2 rules, China competition, weak sales and factory closures. The biggest market, Germany, is ailing.

But the ad, unfamiliar and unsettling, does at least work as a portent of what’s coming for the global auto industry.Jaguar, ...

The multinational automobile giant Stellantis is one of them. The carmaker had one of the worst years in its history in 2024.