AI and car sales, October 10. The EU and China agree to curb hybrid exports

This is my collection of world news from the last day. It covers the EU and China, Geely in Canada, British dealers, a fee case in the US and AI driving at Stellantis. Then come price and demand surveys and short news from Japan, Mexico, China. I added what I think about each story.

The EU and China agree in principle to cut hybrid exports by half, but do not say how#

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič announced the deal in Beijing on October 9. He spent two days in talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. Brussels says hybrid and plug-in hybrid shipments could fall by more than half over four years. The cut is measured against projected growth, not today's volumes.

There is no mechanism yet. Šefčovič did not say if the tool will be quotas or tariffs. EU leaders will discuss the deal at a summit next week.

The background is simple. Since October 2024, Chinese electric cars face duties of up to 45%, while hybrids kept the normal 10% rate. In August, Chinese brands took a record 12% of European sales. Plug-in hybrid imports into the EU grew 86% in the year to September, and prices fell 20%. Automotive World reports this.

My opinion. "Half" is counted from future growth, so there can still be more cars on the market than today. Until there is a mechanism, nobody knows the prices and delivery dates of Chinese hybrids.

A European dealer should not promise a price that depends on a duty. I would let the agent write the date of the price and the condition that can change it in every answer. A person calls the customer when the rules are known. AI prepares the answer, and the person stands behind the promise.

Source Automotive World

Geely will enter the Canadian market in 2027 and has not named the models#

Geely Auto announced that it will start sales in Canada in 2027. The company did not reveal the models. Its lineup includes the brands Geely, Geely Galaxy, Zeekr and Lynk & Co. The sales and service network is still being built, and there is no dealer count.

The Canadian quota opened the market. Each year, 49,000 Chinese electric cars can enter at a 6.1% duty instead of an extra 100%. The quota will later grow to 70,000. CarNewsChina reports this.

From January to September, Geely Auto sold more than 2.235 million cars, a record. Exports passed 797,000, up 169%. In September, more than 106,000 cars went abroad, the fourth month in a row above 100,000.

My opinion. For a Canadian dealer this is an invitation and a risk at the same time. The brand is new, there are no customers in the database, and the quota is limited.

Before signing, I would ask the brand not about volume but about warranty, parts and sales training. The agent handles the first hundred inquiries, and every answer is recorded. After a year, this dealer has market numbers that the factory does not have.

Source CarNewsChina

Volkswagen names its new electric SUV ID. Tiguan and opens pre-orders on October 13#

Volkswagen showed the ID. Tiguan on October 9. It will replace the ID.4 and ID.5 in early 2027. Pre-orders open on October 13 in Germany and other European markets. The price starts at 42,695 euros.

The range is up to 600 km on the MEB+ platform. There are two rear-wheel-drive versions, 140 kW with a 58 kWh battery and 210 kW with a 77 kWh battery. The all-wheel-drive version has 220 kW. It can tow up to 2,000 kg.

Physical buttons for climate and steering wheel controls are back. The electric version is built in Emden. The petrol, diesel and hybrid Tiguan stay on sale and come from Wolfsburg. The ID.4 and ID.5 together passed 950,000 cars built. Automotive World reports this.

My opinion. One name on two different cars will confuse buyers. A customer will ask about the Tiguan, and the showroom now has two different models.

I would give the agent a short note on how the cars differ and put it first in the reply. Volkswagen brought back physical buttons after driver complaints, and that is a strong reason for a test drive. I would build the waiting list before October 13, not on the opening day.

Source Automotive World

A British dealer says used-car buyers are moving to the new Jaecoo#

Sam Luscombe runs the family dealer Luscombe Leeds. Since March 2026 he has sold Jaecoo, and also MG and Suzuki. In September the showroom delivered 150 new Omoda and Jaecoo cars. Across Britain, 10,813 Jaecoo 7 cars were registered that month.

Luscombe says the brand attracts people who do not usually buy new. Part exchanges include German brands and the Kia Sportage. Replacing a Sportage with another one could cost about 500 pounds a month, and a Jaecoo is cheaper. Finance declines are higher on Jaecoo than on MG.

Cazana consultant Derren Martin names the reasons. There are discounts of up to 30% on selected petrol and electric cars, and lease deals under 200 pounds a month on selected SUVs. The Autotrader forecast for 2026 says new registrations will grow 9.5% to 2.21 million. Used sales will grow 1.9% to 7.95 million. Car Dealer Magazine reports this.

My opinion. Buyers compare the monthly payment of a new and a used car. For the customer, the line between "new" and "used" has faded.

I would put the payment for a new car next to the payment for a used car in every reply about a used car. Finance declines are solved by collecting documents before the visit. The agent collects the answers in chat, and a person checks them and sends the application to the bank.

Source Car Dealer Magazine

The FTC settles with the dealer Greenway over hidden fees of 3,350 dollars#

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed settlement with Greenway Auto Group of Orlando on October 8. The FTC alleges that buyers paid on average more than 3,350 dollars above the advertised price in over 92% of sales. The fees were administrative, dealer, delivery and processing fees. The article gives no response from the dealer.

Under the proposed order, advertised prices must include everything a buyer has to pay, except government charges. The dealer may not present required charges as optional or misdescribe financing. It may also not send mailers with false cash prizes. The order takes effect when a judge approves it. The commission voted 2 to 0.

In March 2026, the FTC sent Greenway a warning letter. Per the commission, the dealer then added price-transparency claims to its sites and kept advertising prices below real costs. On October 5, the FTC dropped its case against Asbury Automotive Group without a ruling on the merits. CBT News reports this.

My opinion. The dropped Asbury case does not mean the regulator stepped back. The claim against Greenway is that the advertised price does not match the price in the contract.

Today I would take three documents for one car. The price in the ad, on the website and in the sales contract. If they differ, small print will not satisfy a regulator. The agent writes the first message with the full price, and the record stays in the CRM.

Source CBT News

Expert: a US dealer with a Chinese brand earns a good margin for a year, then it shrinks#

Michael Dunne, CEO of Dunne Insights and author of "Car Wars", told CBT News what could happen if Chinese cars come to the US. These are his estimates, not forecasts from automakers. He says Chinese brands already hold about 20% of new-car sales in the UK and about a third in Australia. A few years ago both numbers were close to zero.

In the short term, Dunne says, a dealer with a Chinese franchise would earn a healthy margin for about the first year. Then brands push volume, the margin shrinks and the value of the business falls. He says Chinese makers privately discuss selling directly to customers within about five years. That would weaken the dealers' influence on governments.

My opinion. Dunne gives the scenario of one expert, and I would treat the five-year date as a guess. But Britain and Australia show how fast the number can grow.

Before signing, a dealer should ask for rights to the customer base and to service in the contract. If the brand moves to direct sales, the customer base is the only asset left. No record of every touch, no sales department, and nothing to sell after the brand leaves.

Source CBT News

Stellantis and Wayve show hands-free AI driving on the Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale#

Stellantis and the British company Wayve showed development versions of the Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale in Turin on October 9. The cars drive from door to door with hands off the wheel, under driver supervision. This is level 2++, and the Wayve AI Driver runs on the STLA AutoDrive platform.

Each car went from integration to road testing in under four weeks. The program now has three cars, the third being the Jeep Grand Cherokee. A North American launch is planned for 2028. Wayve co-founder Alex Kendall says the company builds a general-purpose AI driver for any car. Automotive World reports this.

My opinion. A salesperson must explain this car in two sentences. "Hands-free" and "under driver supervision" go together, and the second part matters more. The driver is responsible for the road.

I would write one shared answer about what the system can and cannot do, and I would not promise "autopilot". A trained person runs the test drive with this function. I would write what to say on one page and give it to the agent as the only source.

Source Automotive World

Research#

Bestselling car prices in the US hit a record 36,418 dollars, truck incentives up 32%#

CDK Global publishes a monthly affordability tracker. The period is September 2026, compared with August and with September 2025. The sample is the ten bestselling passenger cars of 2025 at franchised dealers, including the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. It also covers the four bestselling light pickups. Tesla is not included because it does not sell through franchised dealers.

The average transaction price for passenger cars is 36,418 dollars, 2.7% above last year. This is a record for the tracker and the fifth month above 36,000. Pickups average 55,912 dollars, 0.6% below last year. Truck incentives are 5,084 dollars per vehicle, up 32% on last year and the highest since March 2025.

My opinion. Car prices are rising, and truck prices hold because of incentives. The buyer sees the payment, not the price.

I would show the sales manager the incentive and the payment side by side, and I would start every talk with the payment. On a pickup, the incentive belongs in the first message. The agent names it at once and invites the customer to a trade-in appraisal.

Source CBT News

Demand for used electric cars in Britain is up 40%, diesel demand is down 19%#

Autotrader published its retail price index for September 2026, compared with September 2025. Car Dealer Magazine does not give the sample size. Marc Palmer, head of strategy at the company, comments on the numbers.

Demand for used electric cars grew about 40%, while supply grew 26%. The average asking price is 25,091 pounds, up 2.8%. Electric is the only fuel type with a yearly price rise. Diesel demand fell 19.2%, and the price is down 0.8% to 13,924 pounds.

The average used car costs 17,299 pounds, 1% lower than a year ago. A car sells in 29 days on average.

My opinion. A used electric car sells faster than dealers can bring them in. Diesel sits on the lot.

I would change the buyer's rule. Take electric cars more readily, and diesel with care. An electric car listing needs facts about battery health, because the customer will ask about it first. The agent answers from a document, not from memory.

Source Car Dealer Magazine

60% of British dealers think mileage fraud has increased#

Cazoo surveyed 310 British used-car dealers and published the result on October 9. The article gives no survey date. It is part of the company's campaign and is marked as sponsored. The Vehicle Safe Trading Advisory Group backs it.

60% think clocking has increased over the last five years, and 81% call it a serious problem for the industry. On average, dealers estimate that 14% of the cars they see may have had their mileage changed on purpose.

90% support a specific criminal offence. 68% say changing the mileage on a modern car is easy with the right equipment. Dealers check mileage with MOT history (77%) and service history (63%).

My opinion. These are dealer estimates, not measured cases. But a used-car buyer fears this more than the price.

I would put the MOT history and the service book in the first reply to the customer, before they ask. Honest mileage with a document sells better than a discount. I would make a check against the manufacturer's digital records a required step before buying a car.

Source Car Dealer Magazine

California's used EV rebate fits almost one model#

The service Bestest (shopbestest.com) studied California's MyFirstEV program. Kelley Blue Book published the story on October 7. A first-time EV buyer gets up to 3,500 dollars off a new car and up to 1,750 dollars off a used one.

The researchers found more than 3,000 used EVs under 25,000 dollars on dealer lots. Only 32 qualified, and 31 of them were the Ford Mustang Mach-E. The state pays half of the rebate and the automaker pays half.

Only four brands included used cars. Among them are Ford and Volvo, and also Lucid and Rivian.

The car must also be manufacturer certified pre-owned and at least two model years old.

My opinion. The ad promises a rebate, and the customer learns the rules in the showroom. That is the worst moment for this talk.

I would let the agent check the VIN against the program rules before the first message. The customer learns "eligible" or "not eligible" in writing, with the reason. For a dealer in California, it also protects against advertising claims.

Source Kelley Blue Book

In short#

Japan has almost used up its EV subsidy budget. Out of 110 billion yen, payouts for April to September reach 97.4 billion, which is 89%. Applications could close as early as December.

The Tesla Model Y took 15.3 billion yen and Toyota 34.5 billion. EV sales rose 150% to a record 70,273 cars. When the money runs out, buyers hurry, and I would write today to everyone who was looking at an EV. Automotive World

Nissan will sell the Frontier Pro in Mexico, its first China-developed car for export. A Chinese joint venture designs and builds the pickup. Nissan starts in Mexico in October 2026. By the end of the year it reaches the rest of Latin America and the Middle East, and in 2027 Australia and New Zealand. The company did not give a price.

The article does not say which version Mexico gets. I would give the agent a list of questions about the powertrain before the car arrives. JustAuto

Porsche's global sales fell 16% in nine months to 178,532 cars. China is down 33% and North America is down 13%. In Britain, registrations grew 4.4% to 14,238.

Porsche says it puts value ahead of volume. Only the 911 grows, up 12%, and other models fall. A premium dealer should count customers by model, not by the total. Car Dealer Magazine

A Nio battery swap took 6 minutes 49 seconds, and a BYD charge took about 9 minutes. CarNewsChina compared figures for China's holiday week. Nio has 4,168 stations and 44 swaps per station on the peak day. BYD has 12,165 stations and 15.5 charges per station. The outlet says Nio is three times stronger, but the numbers in its table and text differ.

I would use only the time. A buyer will ask how long the wait is, and the answer must be in minutes. CarNewsChina

BYD opened pre-orders for the second-generation Seagull in China with a refundable 2,000 yuan deposit. The price is not announced, and the outlet expects it under 100,000 yuan. The first generation costs 69,900 to 85,900 yuan. The new car is 425 mm longer, has 30 or 39.2 kWh batteries and a CLTC range of 320 to 420 km.

Sales of the old Seagull fell 66.5% from January to August to 74,087 cars. A refundable deposit builds a list without commitment, and I would build a list for a new model in the same way. CarNewsChina

US light vehicle sales rose 5.5% in September to 1.32 million, but the pace is slower than in August. This is a preliminary estimate from the outlet, and the other numbers need a sign-up. The market grows, but more slowly. I would not plan October from August. JustAuto

The Kain family sold a Kentucky Ford dealer after 66 years. Bob Kain told CBT News that the family found it hard to compete with large groups. The buyer and the price were not named. The store used one price for every customer, and Kain says this did not cost him buyers. One price removes haggling, and I would count the deals that break down over a discount fight. CBT News

HubSpot advises using AI for sales call notes. By the company's estimate, a rep with eight calls a day spends more than two hours on manual notes. An AI summary puts the call result into the CRM, and a manager reviews calls without being present. HubSpot sells such a tool itself, and the article has no result numbers. In a showroom I would start with a lawyer and agree on customer consent to recording. HubSpot Blog

Hype of the day#

These are headlines without analysis. They are the stories that the most outlets cover, or the source did not open.

• Bloomberg. OpenAI expects 70 billion dollars in annualized revenue by the end of 2026, 56 outlets
• WSJ. Anthropic AI model goes rogue and submits a fake unsolved murder tip, 46 outlets
• Fortune. Controversy over the abrupt firing of OpenAI staff involved in the Hugging Face hack investigation, 22 outlets
• Reuters. Tesla's China-made EV sales quicken in September, 8 outlets
• Reuters. Record Chinese turnout puts European carmakers under pressure at the Paris show, 10 outlets
• The Verge. Microsoft launches its new AI model for making decisions quickly, 6 outlets
• Reuters. Super Micro contractor pleads guilty in scheme to divert AI servers with Nvidia chips to China, 7 outlets
• CNBC. Stocks bounce back after sell-off tied to OpenAI's revenue report, 5 outlets
• CNBC. Tesla drops "Full Self-Driving" brand name in Europe after regulator pushback, 1 outlet
• Automotive News. Why EV sales are lukewarm in America, but hot in Europe, 2 outlets