Geopolitical Conflicts and Industrial Transformation Intertwine | Global Energy and Automotive Sector Roundup — March 28
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I. Macro Environment
Temporary Regulatory Measures Implemented for Domestic Refined Oil Prices
Since the adjustment of domestic refined oil prices on March 9, international crude oil prices have surged sharply due to the escalating conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, with crude oil prices in the Middle East hitting record highs repeatedly, with an increase of more than 20% at one point, bringing significant cost pressure to domestic downstream industries. To mitigate the impact of the abnormal rise in international oil prices, reduce the burden on downstream users such as transportation and industrial production, and ensure the stable operation of the national economy and social well-being, temporary regulatory measures have been adopted for domestic refined oil prices on the basis of maintaining the existing price mechanism framework.
According to the current price mechanism, the domestic prices of gasoline and diesel (standard products) should have increased by 2,205 yuan and 2,120 yuan per ton respectively on March 23; after regulation, the actual increases were 1,160 yuan and 1,115 yuan per ton, effectively hedging the adverse impact of the soaring international oil prices. This regulation not only stabilized the order of the domestic refined oil market but also directly reduced the costs of industries dependent on refined oil, such as logistics and chemical industry, providing strong support for the stable development of related industries. Calculated based on the average fuel consumption of the logistics industry, this regulation can reduce the monthly fuel cost of each freight vehicle by about 2,000 yuan, effectively easing the operational pressure on enterprises.
II. Industry Environment
Soaring Energy Prices Drive European Consumers to Solar Energy and Electric Vehicles
According to foreign media reports on March 23, since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, international energy markets have fluctuated sharply, and refined oil and natural gas prices in Europe have risen significantly. Many energy companies in the United Kingdom and Germany have stated that inquiries about green technologies such as rooftop solar energy, household energy storage, and electric vehicles have increased significantly. Faced with the soaring energy prices triggered by the Iran conflict, consumers in Germany and the United Kingdom are paying more and more attention to green energy solutions, among which rooftop solar energy and electric vehicles have become the most popular options.
Octopus Energy, the UK’s largest energy supplier, said that in the week when the conflict broke out, inquiries about household solar energy systems were 27% higher than the daily average, and some regions even saw a doubling of inquiries; many green energy companies in Germany also reported a significant increase in consumer interest in solar energy equipment and electric vehicles, with a month-on-month increase of more than 15% in order inquiries. The surge in energy prices has stimulated demand in the European new energy market in the short term; in the long run, it will force local governments to increase investment in green energy infrastructure and accelerate the transformation of a clean and low-carbon energy structure.
Canadian Consumers’ Interest in Electric Vehicles Wanes
According to the latest 2025 Mobility Consumer Index released by EY on March 23, only 7% of Canadians planning to buy a car in the next 24 months intend to purchase an electric vehicle, a sharp drop from 15% in the previous 2024 report, nearly halving; at the same time, 58% of respondents said they prefer traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, a proportion higher than 44% in 2024, showing an obvious upward trend.
It is reported that the Canadian federal government officially suspended the electric vehicle subsidy program at the beginning of 2025 and plans to launch an affordable electric vehicle program to replace it more than a year later, but the new program has not yet been implemented, leading to a further decline in consumers’ willingness to buy cars. While Europe is accelerating its embrace of electric vehicles due to the energy crisis, Canada has seen a reverse trend. In addition to the direct incentive of subsidy cancellation, the core issues are insufficient charging infrastructure (coverage rate of charging piles in remote areas is less than 30%), high price of electric vehicles, and reduced cruising range in winter. The promotion of new energy vehicles requires coordinated efforts in policy, technology, infrastructure, and market acceptance; a shortcoming in any link will affect the promotion process.
III. Corporate Information
Volkswagen CEO: China’s Experience Worth Learning for Germany
On March 23, Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group, stated in an interview with the media that Germany can learn a lot of development experience from China, especially in industrial layout and execution efficiency. He clearly pointed out that China carries out systematic industrial layout relying on the Five-Year Plan, with clear goals, prominent priorities, and an optimized industrial structure, which can concentrate efforts to promote the development of key areas; Chinese enterprises have strong execution and rigorous work style, and their efficiency in technological innovation and project implementation is impressive, which is worthy of learning by German enterprises.
Blume emphasized that China’s extremely high execution and willingness to implement are most worthy of recognition. In the context of accelerating global industrial transformation, we cannot stand still, and there are many aspects of China’s development model that are worthy of learning. At the same time, he frankly admitted that Volkswagen is facing fierce competition in the Chinese market, with more than 150 competitors in China, and the local market has strong innovation momentum, forcing Volkswagen to accelerate its transformation. As the world’s largest new energy vehicle market, China accounts for more than 60% of the global market share; losing the Chinese market means losing global competitiveness. Volkswagen’s initiative to learn from China’s model is essentially an inevitable choice to cope with survival pressure and adapt to market competition.
Xpeng Motors Establishes Robotaxi Business Unit
On March 23, Gasgoo learned from reliable sources that Xpeng Motors officially established a Robotaxi business unit today, marking a key step in the commercialization of autonomous driving. The business unit will be responsible for the entire process of Robotaxi, including product definition, project integration, R&D testing, and commercial operation. It will adopt a lightweight organizational model to efficiently coordinate the platform resources of various centers of the company and quickly promote the landing of the business.
It is reported that He Xiaopeng, Chairman of Xpeng Motors, clearly revealed at the 2025 Q4 and full-year financial report conference that the company plans to officially launch the passenger-carrying demonstration operation of Robotaxi in the second half of this year, promoting the comprehensive verification of technology, customer experience, and business model through actual operation scenarios, laying the foundation for subsequent large-scale commercialization. The establishment of the Robotaxi business unit is an inevitable extension of Xpeng’s intelligent driving strategy. He Xiaopeng believes that the ultimate goal of intelligent driving is autonomous driving, and Robotaxi is the most direct commercial path for autonomous driving technology. Xpeng is realizing technological monetization and consolidating its leading position in the industry with its accumulation in intelligent driving technology.
Leapmotor Launches Anti-Corruption Campaign
On March 22, Leapmotor issued an internal email to all employees, officially launching a large-scale anti-corruption campaign. It encouraged employees to voluntarily hand over illegal gains generated in their past work and set a one-month “active correction window period” to give illegal employees a chance to reform. The email clearly stated that as of now, more than 10 million yuan in illegal gains have been voluntarily handed over by employees, and the anti-corruption campaign has achieved initial results.
The application period for active correction ends on March 10. The email emphasized that behaviors that fail to actively correct within the time limit will be severely punished, with penalties divided into 6 grades according to the amount of illegal gains, ranging from warnings and demotions to termination of labor contracts and transfer to judicial authorities for handling. In addition, Leapmotor also released an anti-corruption report reward policy. According to the value of the reported clues, the informant can receive a reward ranging from 1,000 yuan to 10 million yuan, encouraging all employees to participate in anti-corruption and eliminate internal malpractices. In the current context of fierce competition in the automotive industry, internal corruption may lead to high enterprise costs, low efficiency, and affect brand reputation. This anti-corruption campaign is an important measure for Leapmotor to purify the internal environment and improve competitiveness.
Xiaomi Auto Sponsors Three Top Domestic Events
On March 23, Xiaomi officially announced an exclusive naming cooperation with three top domestic automotive events, namely the China Touring Car Championship (CTCC), China GT Championship (ChinaGT), and China Endurance Championship (CEC). According to the cooperation agreement, Xiaomi Auto will provide official safety vehicles and medical vehicles for these three events, specifically the Xiaomi SU7Ultra and YU7 models, which will assume important responsibilities such as safety guarantee and medical rescue.
Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi Group, emphasized at the cooperation press conference that the track is an important standard to test the high quality and high safety performance of automobiles. Xiaomi Auto hopes to integrate the pursuit of high performance and high safety into the team’s genes through in-depth participation in professional events, and at the same time show the product strength to the market. This naming is a key step in Xiaomi’s brand upgrading. With the extreme working conditions of the track, it can verify and optimize the performance and reliability of the models. The performance on the track is more convincing than advertising, which will further enhance consumers’ trust and help it stand out in the fierce competition.
Tesla Partners with SpaceX to Build 1 Terawatt AI Chip Factory
On March 23, Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, announced at a press conference held at the Tesla factory in Texas that Tesla will cooperate deeply with SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) and xAI (artificial intelligence company) to jointly build a chip project called Terafab. The project will build a vertically integrated AI chip factory, covering the entire process of chip design, inference chip and memory chip manufacturing, packaging, and testing, realizing the integration of independent chip R&D and production.
The core goal of the project is to achieve an annual production capacity of 1 terawatt (1 trillion watts) of AI computing power to meet the massive demand for high-performance AI chips in Tesla’s autonomous driving, intelligent cockpit, and other businesses, and at the same time provide computing power support for SpaceX’s interstellar exploration projects and xAI’s large model R&D. Musk said that the Terafab chip factory will greatly enhance Tesla’s core competitiveness in the field of AI chips, break the constraints of external suppliers, and promote its continuous innovation in the fields of artificial intelligence and new energy. This layout is also an important extension of Musk’s “silicon-based life” infrastructure layout, helping to build a full industrial chain ecology covering new energy, space exploration, and artificial intelligence.