produce

Stellantis and Dongfeng have just signed an agreement to produce Jeeps and Peugeots in China, and then bring them from China

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Stellantis and Dongfeng have signed an agreement of production valued at more than 8 billion yuan (approximately 1 billion euros) to manufacture four new vehicles in China under the Jeep and Peugeot brands. This initiative will be channeled through Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile (DPCA), the joint venture that both companies have had for more than three decades. Penetrating China. This agreement is Stellantis’ clearest commitment to adapt to the new reality of the sector. And instead of competing head-on with Chinese manufacturers, the group chooses to rely on its technology and production capacity. The Financial Times point that Chinese buyers have turned their backs on foreign brands, whose market share fell to approximately 30% last year, compared to 64% in 2020. In such an environment, growing alone is almost impossible, so Stellantis has used the classic “if you can’t beat the enemy, join him.” A strategic agreement. The four vehicles will be new energy vehicles (NEV), a category that includes pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and models with a combustion engine acting as a battery generator. The two Peugeots will be based on the design language that the brand presented at this year’s Beijing Motor Show with the Concept 6 and Concept 8, according to account the CnEVPost media. The two Jeeps will have an off-road profile. According to share According to the Financial Times, production will be destined for both the Chinese market and export, in the latter case for destinations such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The two companies have also agreed to explore broader cooperation outside China. In addition, as the media reports, Stellantis is simultaneously studying transferring capacity from its Rennes plant, in France, to Dongfeng. Jeep’s return to China. The agreement represents the return of the brand’s local production in the country. Jeep abandoned manufacturing there in 2022, when the joint venture was dissolved that Fiat Chrysler (precursor of Stellantis) maintained with GAC. Since then, Stellantis had been importing the vehicles, a formula that was already much less competitive due to price. Between the lines. Dongfeng assumes most of the disbursement, while Stellantis contributes around 130 million euros. There are already clues as to who has the productive and technological capacity, and who provides the brand value. The agreement also benefits from the industrial policies of Hubei province and the city of Wuhan (where the joint venture has its plant), something that has generated criticism in Europe and the United States by interpreting that Western manufacturers are taking advantage of Chinese state subsidies. For Dongfeng, the pact comes at a delicate time. And the manufacturer has fallen behind other large companies such as BYD or Leapmotor, and now the state firm needs both income and international projection. Dongfeng President Qing Yang account that the agreement will be “beneficial for both parties.” Movements. Stellantis has been accelerating its alliances with Chinese partners for weeks. Only last week it announced that it was deepening its collaboration with Leapmotor, in which it has 21% of the capital. The brand will hand over the Villaverde plant, in Madrid, and will expand lines in Zaragoza. That makes Stellantis the first major Western manufacturer to offer European production capacity to a Chinese brand, according to stand out from the Wall Street Journal. Antonio Filosa, CEO of Stellantis, who foresees present its new long-term strategy on May 21has repeated on several occasions that alliances will be a central pillar of the group’s future, a group that we remember closed 2025 with net losses of 22.3 billion euros. And now what. The big question is whether the models leaving Wuhan will have enough Jeep and Peugeot DNA to appeal to the global buyer, or whether they will in practice be Chinese vehicles with a European logo. With Dongfeng taking on most of the funding and technology development, the answer points more towards the latter. We will have to wait to find out how the play ends up turning out. In Xataka | Google gives Android Auto its biggest update yet: new interface, YouTube, Maps redesign, and lots of AI

The world depends on gas to produce food. Paraguay believes it has the definitive solution thanks to the Itaipú dam

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In the midst of a scenario of high tension in the Middle East and threatened trade routes, a project in the heart of South America promises to change the rules of the game for global agriculture. The British company Atome has given the final green light for the construction of Villetaa fertilizer plant in Paraguay valued at 665 million dollars, which will completely eliminate the use of fossil fuels in its production. A question of food safety. As detailed Financial Timesthe fertilizer industry’s dependence on natural gas is an Achilles’ heel for the global economy. Traditionally, most nitrogen fertilizer is produced by combining nitrogen from the air with hydrogen extracted from natural gas. However, Villeta will use renewable electricity to separate hydrogen from water (electrolysis). For Olivier Mussat, CEO of Atome, the project’s focus goes far beyond sustainability. “It’s not an ecological story, it’s actually a food security story,” declared in FT. Mussat’s warning is no small matter, since between a quarter and a third of global nitrogen fertilizer exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. With the recent conflicts, gas shipments have fallen, raising prices and raising alarms about a possible food crisis. For Latin America, an agro-export power but highly dependent on imported fertilizers, the project works as a “structural hedge” against geopolitical volatility. The financial milestone that Wall Street observes. Atome managed to close a financing package that includes $420 million in debt and $245 million in equity. This backing comes from development lenders of the caliber of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), along with specialist hydrogen investment fund Hy24. “We have shown that you can actually close and finance a green fertilizer facility on an industrial scale. It has never been done before,” Mussat said. For his part, Pierre-Etienne Franc, executive director of Hy24, explained to the press that having cheap and non-fossil energy sources offers “a route to green fertilizer that will be localized”, making the industry independent of raw material prices dictated by natural gas. The technical feasibility. Green hydrogen has historically been too expensive to compete with its fossil counterpart. However, Paraguay’s competitive advantage changes the equation. The Villeta plant will operate with electrolyzers large-scale powered by the Itaipú hydroelectric dam (shared between Paraguay and Brazil). According to the company’s projections, electricity costs will be just under $30 per megawatt-hour under a long-term agreement. This technical and economic feasibility was enough to convince the Norwegian fertilizer giant, Yara International, to sign a binding contract of 10 years to purchase the entire production of the plant, estimated at around 260,000 tons per year, a detail exhaustively covered by the industrial press. The view from Asunción. For decades, Paraguay has exported its surplus energy generated in Itaipú to its neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, at very low prices. For the local pressAtome’s installation represents a historic paradigm shift. It means taking that clean energy and using it within the national territory to generate local jobs and produce a good with high added value. Although Villeta will represent less than 1% of the global nitrogen fertilizer market when it begins production in 2029, its backers and market observers agree on something fundamental: if the Paraguayan model works, it could become the definitive template for freeing global agriculture from its dependence on fossil fuels. Image | Atome Xataka | We are wasting a valuable resource: urine is helping solve the fertilizer crisis

keep all the gasoline you produce

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The news of the week has been, without a doubt, the conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran, which has led to the Strait of Hormuz It will be practically sealed. According to a monitoring report of Morgan Stanleytraffic in the strait has plummeted by more than 95%, with only one oil tanker managing to cross on March 3. Given this scenario, the shock wave has not taken long to reach Asia, and the first major domino effect is already here. As he advanced BloombergChina’s government has ordered its largest oil refineries to immediately suspend gasoline and diesel exports. It is not a minor decision. Although the immense Chinese refining machinery produces mainly for its voracious domestic marketthe country It is the third largest fuel exporter by sea from Asia, only behind South Korea and Singapore. Suddenly withdrawing your product from the international market means, by pure law of supply and demand, less fuel available and rising prices for everyone. The execution of this measure has been as lightning-fast as it is opaque. According to industry sources cited by Reutersthere was no official public decree. Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) — the country’s top economic planning body — met with executives from state-owned giants such as PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Sinochem, as well as private refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical. The demand was verbal and clear: immediately suspend shipments, stop signing new contracts and negotiate the cancellation of those already agreed upon. In fact, Chinese diplomacy has played the distraction. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied having knowledge of this suspension when asked at a press conference. as reported Euractiv. However, there is small print in this export blackout. According to Business Standardrefueling of aviation fuel (kerosene) for international flights will be maintained, marine fuel stored in customs warehouses is exempt, and vital supplies to the Hong Kong and Macau regions will not be affected. As for deadlines, the international market will feel the real blow starting in April. As pointed out LiveMintmost March exports (estimated at a combined 3.8 million tons) were already closed and shipments are difficult to remove at the last minute. The reason for this drastic measure? Pure national survival. Although China has been trying to diversify for years, 57% of its direct imports of crude oil by sea come from the Middle East, according to the analysis firm Kpler. If the Persian Gulf tap is closed, Beijing prioritizes ensuring that its internal tanks do not empty. Asia in panic and runaway prices The consequences of China’s move are already shaking the global economy, hitting its neighbors first. Financial Times details how the great Asian technological powers They are activating emergency protocols. Taiwan, South Korea and Japan – highly dependent on Middle Eastern crude – are desperately seeking to secure alternative routes and coordinate mutual supplies due to fear of being left in the dark. In financial markets, panic translates into money. With less Chinese fuel available, refining margins in Asia have hit three-year highs. According to LSEG pricing data collected by APA Newsthe diesel margin has touched $49 per barrel, while that of aviation fuel (jet fuel) has shot up above $55. Paradoxically, Beijing’s order has also heated up its domestic market. Chinese wholesalers, anticipating shortages, have started hoarding product. Business Standard explains that the price of diesel wholesale jumped 13.5% and 92 octane gasoline jumped 11% in just one week. In this troubled river, independent refiners (known as “teapots” in Shandong province) are taking advantage to squeeze margins. “We are busy raising prices, hoping to maximize our profits,” one trader told the financial publication. Even so, the physical lack of raw materials is undeniable. At least two large plants—Zhejiang Petrochemical and the Sinopec refinery in Fujian—already have begun to reduce their volume processing this month. Beijing’s masterstroke To understand China’s position of strength today, we must look to the recent past. As we analyze in Xatakathe Asian giant is not improvising. In 2025, while the world feared an oversupply, Beijing spent $10 billion buying heavily sanctioned and cheap oil (Russian, Venezuelan and Iranian) that it did not immediately need. Thanks to this, its Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) are estimated between 1,100 and 1,400 million barrels, enough to cover about 140 days of internal demand. Furthermore, the closure of Hormuz will force a new geopolitical realignment. According to Financial TimesXi Jinping’s government will rely even more on Vladimir Putin’s Russia. There are already increases in shipments of Russian crude oil, and Beijing plans to revive refineries in the northeast (such as Dalian) to process it, in addition to accelerating the construction of the gas pipeline. Siberia power 2. On the other hand, the real Chinese insurance policy is not fossil, but renewable. As analyzed by Professor Hussein Dia in The Conversationthe country’s massive commitment to electric vehicles (which accounted for 50% of new car sales last year) and solar energy is, at its core, a national security strategy. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, physical collapse is a reality. The increase in logistics costs is wild. The charter of a supertanker on the route to China has risen 600%touching $200,000 a day, and insurers have raised war risk premiums by up to 50%. And the problem with ships not sailing is that oil accumulates at source. Iraq has already been forced to cut its production by 1.2 million barrels a day simply because its inventories have reached a critical level and it has nowhere to store the crude. In this context, OPEC+’s promises to inject 206,000 additional barrels per day are, as the expert John Kemp describes in the Financial Timesa mirage: that excess capacity is within the Persian Gulf; If the ships do not leave, that oil does not exist for the rest of the planet. While the West hyperventilates at the possibility of a barrel at 100 dollars and looks into the atavistic terror of reliving the inflationary crisis of 1973reality shows that interdependence … Read more

15 Chinese car manufacturers are going to produce humanoid robots. They will use the same advantage that made them leaders

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China is not late to humanoid robotics: it arrives with factories, suppliers, engineers and software already amortized, an advantage that is difficult to overcome. The supply chain of an electric car (sensors, motors, batteries, chips, perception algorithms…) overlaps by more than 60% with that of a humanoid robot, according to CITIC Securities estimates. XPeng, one of the most technological manufacturers in the sector, It also ensures that its robot reuses 70% of the same AI software as its cars.. If those numbers are real without many asterisks, the Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles are not that they are aspirants to robotics, it is that they are clear favorites. The panoramic. Fifteen Chinese car brands have announced humanoid robot programs, according to the analysis firm Kaiyuan Securities. China already manufactures 70% of the components of “classic” industrial robotics, and the jump to humanoids takes advantage of the same factories, the same suppliers and the same talent that have given it leadership in electric vehicles. The parallel with what Tesla is doing with Optimus is inevitable, but China is running it with dozens of companies in parallel, at a speed that no single company can match. Between the lines. The bets diverge as much as the companies: Yes, but. There are dark clouds on the sunny day that is humanoid robotics for China. XPeng’s IRON robot crashed in a shopping mall in Shenzhen a few days ago. The company has been in robotics for six years. Driving on roads and moving through the rooms of each parent are very different problems. Roads have lanes, signs, and fairly predictable physics. The rooms have stairs, dozens of small objects, people moving, doors to open, intricate locations or chargers with a cable on the floor. The manual dexterity and dynamic balance required by a humanoid robot have no equivalent in the control architecture of any car. And the most talented engineers in the sector know it: several former XPeng executivesLi Auto and Huawei have left their companies to found their own robotics startups. When the path seems clear, the best are not afraid to go it alone. The contrast. Unitree, a pure robotics company with no ties to the automotive industry, distributed 5,500 robots in 2025. Agibot is approaching 1 billion yuan in revenue, about 122 million euros. These companies built from the ground up for robotics are already delivering their product while car manufacturers are still in the reorganization phase. The technological overlap between cars and robots is real in sensors and perception software, but it quickly thins out when the robot has to manipulate objects with great precision, maintain balance on uneven terrain, or work alongside humans. That last “frontier”, the 30% that does not transfer, may be where it is decided who dominates the industry. In Xataka | China manufactures 90% of the world’s humanoid robots and the reason is not its industrial policy: it is crossing the street Featured image | Xpeng

does not produce 13 minerals critical for economic security

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For years, the so-called critical minerals have remained out of the focus of public debate, despite the fact that entire industries and a good part of the economic security of countries depend on them. Its relevance does not respond only to a technological issue, but also to geopolitical tensions, fragile supply chains and strategic decisions that today condition industrial development. In that context, Mexico has begun to put figuresnames and concrete limits to their own exposure, opening a conversation that goes far beyond mining and reaches directly to their productive future. What exactly is considered a critical mineral. These are elements present in nature whose demand is high while their availability is limited, either due to geological restrictions inherent to finite resources or due to external factors such as geopolitical tensions and trade blockades. That combination of scarcity and dependence makes them sensitive pieces for contemporary industry. They not only intervene in everyday electronic devices, they also determine energy efficiency, component durability and thermal stability in multiple technologies. Image shared by the Government of Mexico The concrete photography of Mexico. The Mexican Geological Service has defined which materials are scarce or directly non-existent in the national territory, or without technical and economic conditions today to produce them viably, a diagnosis that allows foreign dependence to be measured with sufficient precision. The list is not small and concentrates a good part of the inputs associated with electronics, energy and various advanced industrial chains. These are the 13 minerals classified as scarce or non-existent resources in the country: Aluminum Cadmium Cobalt Chrome Germanium Iridium Lithium Nickel Palladium Platinum Tantalum Titanium Vanadium The reverse of the diagnosis. Mexico has a relevant mining base in certain materials where there are not only reserves, but also extraction and processing capacity, which allows it to sustain its own industrial chains and participate in international markets. This dimension is key to avoiding a reading solely focused on external dependence and understanding that the resource map combines shortcomings with operational strengths. According to the Mexican Geological Service, the minerals that the country concentrates or processes are the following: Baryta Copper Fluorite Graphite Magnesium Manganese Silver Lead Zinc The diplomatic channel and the geopolitical board. The diagnosis of available resources has not remained internal. Mexico has brought the issue of critical minerals to the field of international politics with a specific goal: to ensure access to materials that are necessary for its present and future industry. This is how Marcelo Ebrard explained itSecretary of Economy, when detailing the country’s participation in different forums and coordination spaces, including areas linked to the United Nations. The strategy, as he stressed, does not seek to offer its own reserves, but rather to be part of the decisions that will determine how these supplies are guaranteed in an increasingly competitive environment. Coordination with the northern neighbor. The United States Trade Office (USTR) announced that Its ambassador, Jamieson Greer, and Marcelo Ebrard agreed on an action plan aimed at building a preferential trade scheme for critical minerals, which includes everything from the identification of priority materials to the exploration of adjusted minimum border prices for imports and consultation on how to incorporate these minimum prices into a binding plurilateral agreement. The cooperation seeks to respond to global market distortions that have left North American critical mineral supply chains vulnerable to disruption. The initial calendar, it should be noted, establishes a work horizon of two months to analyze measures before defining subsequent steps. Lithium. State ownership and pending viability. Among the minerals that explain the Mexican position, lithium occupies a unique place. The Constitution establishes that only the State can exploit it, a decision that reinforces its strategic nature but, at the same time, coexists with technical and economic limits. As President Claudia Sheinbaum notedthere is already a technology developed at the Mexican Petroleum Institute to obtain lithium in clays, although “today it is not economically viable, it is very expensive.” This combination of state control and production difficulty illustrates why guaranteeing access to critical materials remains an open question for the national industry. In conclusion. The image that emerges is not that of a country without resources, but of an economy that must precisely manage its material dependencies in an increasingly demanding international environment. Mexico has relevant mining capabilities and, at the same time, faces clear limits on essential inputs for the technology and energy industry. Between both extremes is a strategy that combines internal diagnosis, diplomatic action and technological development still in process. The result does not close the debate, but it does define the context in which the country must work. Images | Dominic Vanyi + Nano Banana In Xataka | What are rare earths, the elements that move the technological world and separate China from the West

A wind farm in Tudela is going to lose most of its wind turbines. And despite this it will produce much more energy

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The useful life of wind turbines is between 20 and 25 depending on the location and can reach up to 30 with some investments. The old blades are then removed and They are recycled in the most diverse ways and the wind turbines (some) are replaced by others. Or almost not, because the iconic Montes de Cierzo wind farm in Tudela is practically going to stay bald. Paradoxically, it will produce almost double. The skyline of Montes de Cierzo is going to change a lot. One of the autonomous communities that previously and most intensively opted for wind energy was Navarra, reaching become the Silicon Valley of wind turbines. Its deployment began in 1994 in the Sierra del Perdón, covering its territory from north to south that decade. What does that mean? Taking into account its useful life, in recent years there has been a renewal of its machinery. Latest, that of the Montes de Cierzo in Tudela. On the Statkraft roadmap is removing these veteran wind turbines from the Navarre park this year, removing 41 wind turbines to replace them with four latest generation models. Before, in the first phase of this renovation project, had already retired 44 machines to replace them with 10. In short, the park is going from 85 wind turbines to 14, with what that means in terms of visual impact. For this purpose, the company will allocate 40 million euros and has already been selected to receive aid of up to 24% from the IDAE. Less mills, more energy. Of course, the wind turbines will have a nominal power of around 6.5 MW (standardized by common companies such as Siemens Gamesa either Nordex). Thus, when the park is operational, there will be 84% fewer wind turbines disturbing the horizon of the Ebro Valley, but that will not mean that Monte del Cierzo takes a step back in energy supply, quite the contrary. We are facing a full-fledged repowering: the installed power will go from 60 MW to 90 MW, growing by 50%. Annually, the production estimated by the Norwegian company will go from 145 GWh/year to around 300 GWh/year, almost double. This change of wind turbines will be accompanied by storage systems. Repowering with hybridization. Having fewer mills and producing more is the standard for updates, but this project hides a technical singularity: the incorporation of a lithium ion battery system with 14.26 MW of power and 28.51 MWh of capacity. In fact, it is one of five projects by a Norwegian company to combine sun or wind and storage. only in the Spanish state. With a loading and unloading capacity of two hours, the park will be able to carry out peak shaving and energy shiftingor what is the same, smooth out production peaks and be able to move energy at times where it is needed or the price is higher. In addition to better peak management and improving efficiency, the company explains that this system will allow you to reinforce the security of supply. Why is it important. Because although there are fewer machines, power increases by 50% and production doubles. Furthermore, with this system the wind farm will function as if it were a bank: if there is excess energy, it will be stored for when the wind stops or there is high demand. In this way, it minimizes one of the endemic evils of renewable energy such as wind or solar, which depend on external and unrelated factors such as the climate. On the other hand, cleaning the horizon by almost decimating the number of wind turbines is also important from an environmental point of view. Finally, Statkraft has explained that will prioritize companies in the area in the construction of the project, which will directly generate employment in 2026. In Xataka | The solar miracle that went wrong: Spain produces more electricity than it can manage In Xataka | We have a problem with heat in buildings. A Navarrese investigation knows how to cool them without air conditioning Cover | Statkraft

Zara has found the formula to produce more photos in much less time. The answer was not where many thought

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Every time a big fashion brand mentions artificial intelligence, the reflex is almost automatic. We think about the possibility of models replaced by avatars, sessions that are reduced to a minimum and increasingly automated campaigns. It is a logical reaction, fueled by what we have already seen in the sector in recent months. But not all bets go that way. In the case of Zara, the question is not whether AI enters the creative process, but how it does so and what it decides to preserve intact. Not all AI in fashion is the same. In recent years, the sector has been trying very different paths under the same label. There are brands that have opted for generate complete campaigns with images created by generative systems, and others that have explored the creation of digital “doubles” of models to reuse their image in marketing. This context explains why Zara’s announcement triggers almost automatic suspicions. But it also forces us to refine the focus, because replacing a session is not the same as reusing a photograph, nor is it the same to displace people as to reorganize how visual content is produced. What exactly has Zara announced. Reuters reports thatZara has begun using AI to help create new images of real models in different outfits and accelerate visual production, in a movement that is part of a broader trend in the sector. As explained by an Inditex spokesperson, AI is being used to complement existing processes, not to replace them. The company presents it as a way to gain speed in the production of images without considering a total change of model in how its visual communication is built. How the “nuanced” approach works. From what has been published so far, the approach aims to take real photographs of human models and use AI to edit them and show those same models with other combinations of clothing, without repeating the session. The British newspaper CityAMfor its part, includes the anonymous testimony of a model according to which Zara asked for permission to edit its images with AI and thus show different items. This difference is important, because we are not talking about generating a campaign from scratch or creating a complete digital replica, but rather about expanding the number of final images based on previously photographed material. A precedent that marked the debate. Months before Zara’s move, H&M had contributed to tense the conversation with a much more visible proposal. In March 2025, the swedish company announced that would begin to create digital “twins” of 30 models to use in social networks and campaigns, always with prior permission. The initiative included compensation and control of rights by the models, but it also provoked criticism and once again put on the table the fear of a progressive reduction in work on traditional sets. The other end of the spectrum. The clearest contrast is offered by Mango. The company presented a campaign for its youth line generated entirely with AIa much more radical approach than Zara’s. In its case, AI is not limited to expanding combinations from a previous session, but is placed at the center of the creative process, although with subsequent intervention by human teams for selection and retouching. Mango frames this decision within its 2024-2026 strategic plan and presents it as a commitment to efficiency and innovation, thus marking a clear limit compared to hybrid approaches. Even so, the discomfort does not disappear. Some actors in the sector warn that the growing use of AI could reduce the number of assignments for photographers, models and production teams. It does not speak of a specific impact, but of a cumulative effect that can alter an entire ecosystem, from established professionals to those trying to make their way. The concern is not only focused on a specific brand, but on the sum of decisions that, little by little, change how many times a camera is turned on. Images | Zara | Highlight ID | M. Rennim In Xataka | All tech companies are putting AI in all their products. The problem is that nobody wants them

Tesla urgently needs to make its electric cars cheaper. And their plan is to produce batteries in Germany

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Tesla will take the production of batteries for its European Tesla Model Y to Germany. This is what the German press agency DPA assures, information that has been echoed by German media such as Handelsblatt. “From battery cells to vehicles, everything must be produced in one place,” a spokesperson told DPA. For now, the statements remain somewhat cautious. The company talks about a three-digit investment (speaking of millions of euros) and that the decision will be confirmed “if the framework conditions are adjusted”. It must be taken into account that Elon Musk already assured in 2020 that they would raise “the largest battery factory in the world” in Germany which, of course, has not been carried out. Tesla’s intentions are to make the production of the Tesla Model Y as cheap as possible in order to face European competition. Right now, the company has to import its batteries to Germany from the United States, an environment that is also complicated in production due to the tariffs that the country has raised on components that arrive from abroad. If consolidated, Tesla aspires to produce batteries worth 8 GWh, a figure that is far from the 50 GWh it aspires to produce. Stellantis with CATL in Aragon. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? Between the bad and the worst If we take the month of October as a reference (the last analyzed by ACEA), Tesla has fallen almost 40% in sales in Europe in the first eight months of the year. The figure has left the company with 117,000 units sold compared to the 192,439 units it had registered last year in the same period of time. Obviously, its weight in the market has also fallen, to the point that it has been reduced by almost half. Right now, 1.3% of the cars purchased in Europe are Tesla vehicles when the company reached a market share of 2.2% and in 2024 it will make the Tesla Model Y the best-selling car in the world. Suzuki, Nissan or SAIC (owner of MG) have overtaken Tesla this year. However, 2025 is being a fateful year for the company. Especially in Europe where Elon Musk’s political positioning has squandered the brand image in countries like Germany and France. The company is facing new proposals from its rivals that are close in price and already offer a real alternative to Tesla cars. To solve it, and no smaller, more affordable versions on the horizonTesla has launched the Standard versions of its Model 3 and Model Y. They are versions with reduced equipment that try to reduce prices to keep both cars as attractive options. At the same time, yes, the price of the rest of the versions has increased to increase the gap and force the customer who does not want a shortened version to spend more money. The announcement also comes in a strange context in the European Union. media like Bloomberg They emphasize that the announcement has been made at a time when solutions are being sought to lower the limits of polluting emissions, but the truth is that European manufacturers They still need to sell many electric cars even if the measures proposed by the European Commission were approved. What is true is that Tesla is manufacturing its batteries in the United States but they have had to face an extra cost for them because the country has raised harsh tariffs on all components arriving beyond its borders. Although Tesla has been one of the least affected manufacturersthe extra cost appears to be high enough for the company to invest in Europe. And Tesla itself has pointed out that producing batteries on our continent continues to have such a high price that its profitability is doubted. Therefore, the only reason for Tesla to continue investing in Germany and not opt ​​for other European countries such as Spain (as it has done CATL with Stellantis or the Volkswagen Group) is because It already has part of the structure assembled in the German country and it would be a matter of increasing the productive land on their land. Furthermore, it is to be hoped that the European Union will further pave the way for attract investments in terms of battery production. Our continent is still far behind the United States but, especially from China and the most renowned attempts have been a total failure like Northvolt. It remains to be seen to what extent this movement allows Tesla to make its vehicles cheaper and continue to stand up to increasingly stronger European manufacturers. And some Chinese companies that hope that the negotiations between their country and the European Union to lift tariffs come to fruition. What Tesla is surely looking for are more stable policies than those of the United States, something complex in such a changing geopolitical context. Photo | In Xataka | Car manufacturers bend their arm to the European Union: we will have combustion engines in 2035

2026 has not yet started but it has already managed to produce the first bad news: the light goes up

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There is one month left until 2026 begins and the January slope already has a clear protagonist: light. The electricity bill will start the year with the largest simultaneous review of regulated costs since 2020. The proposals of the Government and the energy regulator point to an increase that will affect all homes, regardless of what they consume. Without anesthesia. The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has put into public hearing its toll proposal for 2026 – the part of the bill that finances the electrical networks – and proposes a global increase of close to 4%. This update has two pillars: Transportation, which are the large electric highways, will increase by 12.1%. Distribution, which are the networks that reach homes and businesses, will increase by 2.5%. With these changes, the total money allocated to maintaining and expanding electrical networks will reach 6,608 million in 2026. In addition, to this increase we must add that of the chargesset by the Government. According to Five Daysthe Ministry for the Ecological Transition proposes increasing them by 10.5% to cover, above all, the cost of regulated renewable energies (Recore), which will grow by 37%. The fixed part is in charge again. The electricity bill is divided into two large blocks: The cost of energy, which depends on what each user consumes. Regulated costs (tolls and charges), which are always paid. This new year, the regulated part once again gains prominence. According to the specialized portal Tarifaluzhorathe combination of tolls and charges will increase between 2.8% and 4.8% for households. It may seem like a moderate increase, but it affects the amount paid even if consumption drops. Furthermore, the CNMC report estimates that domestic customers with PVPC 2.0 TD rate will see a final increase of approximately 0.6% on their bill, thanks in part to the slight expected growth in demand and the greater number of consumers among whom to spread the costs. A small print that worries the sector. As Cinco Días detailsthe Government has prepared its proposal for charges under the hypothesis that consumption will grow by 4.5% in 2026. This figure is not minor: the greater the demand, the more the regulated costs are diluted among users and the lower the impact per receipt. However, the problem is that the CNMC – which sets tolls – does not share that optimism. The regulator foresees an increase of only 2.3%. And here a delicate scenario opens up: if demand does not grow as much as the Government expects, the system will not collect what was expected. The tolls and charges are calculated on the basis that there will be more kilowatts consumed in 2026. If they are not ultimately consumed, there will be a lack of money to cover the regulated costs, which are already on the rise due to the Recore renewables, the expansion of networks and the adjustments from previous years. If we get ashy. The return of the tariff deficit is at stake. In other words, putting ourselves in the worst possible scenario, if revenues prove insufficient, Spain could return to a known scenario: tariff deficit. In other words, when the bill does not cover the costs of the electrical system, a hole is created that is financed as debt and drags on for years. It took Spain more than a decade to absorb the deficit accumulated between 2000 and 2013—more than 28 billion euros—and the sector fears a partial repeat of that cycle. A gap of just two percentage points between the demand forecast by the Government and the realistic estimate of the CNMC can make the difference between a balanced system or a stressed one. And all in a year in which tolls and charges will rise at the same time for the first time since 2020. And why will everything go up at once? Because in 2026 several impact factors coincide: More investment in networks to integrate renewables and electrification. Higher cost of Recore renewables, which must be compensated according to their contracts. The cumulative impact of the electricity blackout of 360 million, that the marketers still carry. Pending adjustments from previous exercises. 2026: a year that starts uphill. The electricity bill will be the first notice of a year marked by the structural increase in the cost of the electrical system and the need to accelerate investments that sustain the energy transition. More robust networks, more renewables and a more complex system imply higher operating costs. And, once again, it will be consumers who notice in January. Image | freepik Xataka | Spain needs to modernize its electrical grid, so the remuneration rate has increased. The effect will be noticeable in the next five years

how to produce real bacon without having to kill it

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Imagine biting into a piece of golden, juicy bacon with that unmistakable pork flavor, only no pig has had to die for you to enjoy it. And no, I’m not talking about tofu, seitan or another plant replica: it’s real bacon, made from pig cells that still belong to a living animal. A concept as disconcerting as it is unique that is already served in a small restaurant in California. The first cultured pork fat. The startup Mission Barns has become the first company approved to market cultured animal fat and the third to receive regulatory approval for a cell-based food in the United States. In March obtained FDA validation and, shortly after, the support of the Department of Agriculture (USDA)which allowed him to start selling his product on a limited basis. As TechCrunch detailsit is the first cultured pork fat in the world authorized for human consumption. Until now, only UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat They had obtained similar approvals, but only for chicken. With this decision, Mission Barns inaugurates a new category: real pork fat without slaughtering it and capable of being converted into bacon, sausages, meatballs or salami. Real meat without slaughter. Cultured meat—also called in vitro meat or clean meat— is not a plant imitation, but biologically real meat obtained without resorting to animal breeding and slaughter. In this case, the animal has its own name: Dawn, a Yorkshire sow who lives in a sanctuary in northern New York. According to Futurismthe sample is taken painlessly and does not alter your daily life. Its fat cells are grown in a bioreactor with plant nutrients and adhere to a porous structure designed to mimic natural pig tissue. After two weeks, the culture generates real pork fat, which is mixed with vegetable proteins – pea, wheat or bean – to replicate the texture of bacon, sausage or meatball. As explained in Gristthe tastings carried out by the company demonstrate by its flavor and texture that it is meat in biological terms, but without animal sacrifice. So, Is it a vegetarian option? The arrival of this technology reopens a great ethical debate. Different studies indicate that pigs They are “very social” animals.capable of feeling fear, stress and complex emotions, and They are considered the fifth animal smartest in the world. Being able to obtain meat without sacrificing them represents, for many, a moral change of enormous scope. That is precisely the reason why, according to The Guardiansome vegetarians have begun to try cultured meat: by eliminating the violence of the process, the ethical barrier that justified not eating meat disappears. Others, however, are hesitant and wonder if consuming “suffering-free meat” fits with their reasons for abandoning animal products in the first place. A global phenomenon: from California to San Sebastián. The race for cultured meat is global. It is not something from the United States, also in Japan either Netherlands They are already developing lines of cultured beef, chicken or fish. And in Spain, BioTech Foods leads the push from the Basque Country, where it is building the largest cultured meat plant in southern Europe in San Sebastián, with plans to operate in 2032. The immediate obstacle is regulatory, since the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has not yet approved its commercialization. Forecasts. Meanwhile, Dawn—the pig that gave rise to this bacon—continues in her sanctuary, oblivious to everything, seeking the sun and letting her belly be scratched. That fat can come out of it for thousands of servings without your life changing poses an unprecedented image in the history of food. The question is whether society is prepared to take it on. cultured meat promise reduce emissions, suffering and costs; his detractors they talk about an industry still expensive and difficult to climb. Between both visions, the final decision will fall to consumers: whether they accept that the meat of the future can grow in a bioreactor. Image | Unsplash Xataka | Far from the cities, a battle is being fought for the future of the country: that of the pigs against the reservoirs

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