India to expand EV infrastructure by adding 72,000 fast chargers nationwide

India is focused on expanding its fast charging network by rolling out 72,000 fast chargers across the nation, reported ET Energy World. Speaking at the SIAM 5th Global Electric Mobility Summit, Hanif Qureshi, the additional secretary of the Ministry of Heavy Ministries, said that the government is receiving proposals from public sector units, oil marketing companies and several states for chargers. 

With around ₹2,000 crore earmarked for chargers, the 72,000 chargers will cater to all vehicle categories — buses, trucks, cars, two and three-wheelers. States like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Telangana, Bihar and Odisha have already submitted proposals. 

China focuses on recycling batteries to boost critical minerals supply

As the demand for EVs shoot up globally, critical minerals are becoming dearer. In a bid to shore up critical mineral supplies, China is focused on maximising battery recycling capacity, according to Climate Change News. In 2025, China generated nearly 400,000 tonnes of old or damaged power batteries. This can rise to one million tonnes per year in 2030. To tackle this, the Chinese government has launched a series of new policies for battery recycling and repurposing. 

aimed at regulating the country’s battery recycling industry, which though well-established is marked by a high degree of informality – especially in the lucrative repurposing sector where discarded EV batteries are given a new lease of life in less energy-intensive uses, such as power storage.

EV rollback leads to $55 billion writedown for global auto manufacturers

A variety of factors have led to global carmakers booking $55 billion in writedowns in 2025. According to Reuters, this is primarily due to having to roll back on the manufacturing of electric vehicles. Factors include stiff price competition by Chinese auto makers, demand for a complex mix of vehicles in Europe and a tough auto market in the US. 

Stellantis, the owner of Jeep-to-Fiat, is the latest to join the list. It revealed charges of $26.5 billion in the latter half of last year. Ford Motors said it would face a $19.5 billion writedown and withdraw several EV models. General Motors is looking at a $6 billion charge, while Volkswagen will take a $6 billion writedown. 

Chinese carmaker BYD to longer enjoy tariff break in Brazil

Chinese carmakers like BYD enjoyed a tariff break in Brazil which made its products more  lucrative for buyers due to reduced costs. But that halted on January 31, when the exemption expired and was not renewed, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. Once again, Chinese companies will have to pay import taxes on vehicle kits brought from abroad for assembly in Brazil. 

According to SCMP, the exemption for Chinese companies faced significant opposition from other international car manufacturers. Now, Chinese automaker BYD aims to “produce and source 50% of its vehicle components locally at its new Brazilian factory” by the end of this year.

Chinese open-source AI models better suited for developing countries

China’s open-source artificial intelligence models are better suited for customising models to local conditions, thereby being lucrative for middle powers like Indonesia, according to an Indonesian telco chief. 

Speaking at a conference, Vikram Sinha, president director and CEO at Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, one of Indonesia’s largest telecoms firms, said that “digital colonisation, or digital monopoly, is the biggest threat for any country. I see more openness from companies from China who want to be open-source, who want to respect [local] guard rails, which respect sovereignty,” reported South China Morning Post.

According to Sinha, the cost competitiveness of Chinese AI services offered better services to a developing country compared to services offered by US companies which are more expensive. 

Taiwan pushes back against US wish to move 40% of its chipmaking capacity

The island nation of Taiwan, a semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse, revealed that it would be impossible to move 40% of its chipmaking capacity to the US, according to officials. This comes after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the US’ goal was to negotiate a major production shift after a trade deal was struck between the US and Taiwan in January, reported the South China Morning Post. 

A production shift would cause production costs to increase massively, and lead to fragmentation of the supply chain. Also, there could be potential lower utilisation rates for expensive advanced manufacturing equipment due to the lack of mid- to high-level skilled workers in the US, cited the article.