Pentagon U-Turn on Hesai

Pentagon U-Turn on Hesai

The Pentagon has decided to remove Hesai [HSAI] from its blacklist of Chinese companies. The world’s largest maker of laser sensors for EVs, the firm sued the Pentagon after it was included on the blacklist in January. Elsewhere, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has announced that it is to investigate whether chip design software maker Synopsys’ [SNPS] proposed $35bn acquisition of Ansys [ANSS] would affect competition in the country.

Carmakers Name SK Battery Suppliers

On Tuesday, Mercedes-Benz [MBGYY] and BMW [BMWYY] followed in the footsteps of Hyundai [HYMTF] and Kia [KIMTF] in disclosing their battery suppliers in South Korea. The move comes after a Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle (EV) caught fire in a South Korean apartment complex earlier this month. Mercedes partners with SK On and CATL [300750:SZ], while BMW partners with Samsung SDI [006400:KS] and CATL. Elsewhere, the Financial Times reported that German companies — led by major carmakers — have significantly increased investment in China, despite Berlin’s push for diversification away from the Chinese market.

Musk Defiant

By way of a rude meme, Elon Musk pushed back against a warning from Thierry Breton, the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, over the spread of “content that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation” on X. This came shortly before Musk interviewed Donald Trump on the social media site. In Poland, Meta [META] is facing a legal challenge from Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska related to fake images, Bloomberg reported.

EV Sales Grew in July

New data from market research firm Rho Motion showed that global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose by 21% year-over-year in July, driven by a strong month in China. Worldwide, 1.35 million were sold, 0.88 million of which were in China. Demand is dropping in Europe, where, Reuters reported, low resale values have forced leasing firms to double prices. “If we were pushed very, very hard, that everything has to be electric too soon ... my shareholders will say ‘we don’t want to take the risk’ and we’d be out of the market,” said Tim Albertsen, CEO of Ayvens [ALLDF].

Apple Blocks Probe in India

Following pushback from the tech giant, the Competition Commission of India is to withdraw a report that found Apple [AAPL] had abused its dominance of the market. Launched earlier this year, the high-profile investigation alleged that Apple exerted significant influence over the provision of digital products and services; for its part, Apple said the report contained sensitive information. It is not clear if the regulator will now be able to restart the probe, Bloomberg reported.