Colombia earthquake death toll rises above 130 as rescuers search rubble Trump demands Iranian reparations as Hormuz stays shut Ukrainian drones kill 13 in Tatarstan as Russia strikes Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv Nvidia and Wall Street line up $500bn for AI data centres Netanyahu holds out against US-backed Gaza roadmap England under amber heat alerts as drought spreads across Europe Oil holds gains as Hormuz stays shut Meta releases open AI model as Zuckerberg sets out superintelligence vision Turkish parliament clears path for PKK dissolution, Ocalan's status open Record rain floods Shanghai after Typhoon Dolphin landfall WHO dates Congo's Ebola outbreak to February, months before it was declared Russia's Supreme Court bars antiwar Yabloko from Duma ballot Trump cuts childhood vaccine recommendations and splits MMR shot Rhine low water threatens to split Germany's main waterway US intelligence points to Russia over Leipzig airport drone bomb Sixteen Bangladeshi workers killed in Riyadh factory fire China ships 97 percent of the world's humanoid robots Chinese EVs set new sales records in western Europe despite EU duties US appeals court lets social media addiction suits proceed US yields at crisis-era highs as Fed's Hammack floats rate rises IAEA to remove nuclear material from secret Syrian site under US-brokered deal Ceuta mayor demands internment centre as border checks stay US judge dismisses fraud and bribery case against Adani Intel to raise $15 billion in stock sale as AI strains chip supply Zelensky asks Seoul for air defence, warning of North Korean troops in Russia Pope Leo calls for immediate ceasefire after Sudan's army vows to fight on Oil slick nears Oman after blasts on Russia-linked tanker US troops prepare to leave Iraqi Kurdistan by end of September Moldova recalls ambassador from Moscow after drone crash Attackers kill Libya's military intelligence chief in Benghazi Colombia recognises Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights US ammunition shortage weighs on allies US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks set for Rome Venezuela's government and opposition begin election talks Japanese bond yields rise on bets for faster BOJ rate hikes Long March 7A rocket fails, destroying communications satellite Iran welcomes Saudi-Pakistani-Turkish defence pact as shift away from Washington Houthis plan escalation in Yemen in support of Iran Three confederations press Infantino to resign as Fifa president China opens new trade fronts against Washington Kosovo and Albania call Vucic's Ibar remarks destabilising US visa revocations pass 175,000 Russia's share of India's oil imports climbs to record 48 percent Taiwan tests public resilience with simulated disruption Europe moves toward drafting women for military service Chinese shipping company opens Arctic route around the Strait of Hormuz Component in British naval drones sent signals to China Russia's central bank tells lenders to ease terms for firms hit by drone strikes British man shot dead by Pakistani security forces in Kashmir US pledges $2 billion for battery and materials producers Wildfires spread across Indonesia Enterprise AI costs hit 2026 low as Chinese open models spread Indian police fire teargas at job-exam protesters in Jharkhand Kurdish film-maker describes months of force-feeding in ICE detention Sanders urges Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to pause AI development Gunman shoots Thai provincial official days after teenager's killing spree Backlash grows against Flock's licence-plate camera network Arab states warn of eroding status quo at Al-Aqsa Airbus and Boeing plan record production ramp-up Hanwha makes $1bn push into US naval shipbuilding FDA orders ingredient disclosure but delays ultraprocessed food curbs Violence mars return of displaced Kurds to Syrian border town US records hottest month in 132 years Colombia earthquake death toll rises above 130 as rescuers search rubble Trump demands Iranian reparations as Hormuz stays shut Ukrainian drones kill 13 in Tatarstan as Russia strikes Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv Nvidia and Wall Street line up $500bn for AI data centres Netanyahu holds out against US-backed Gaza roadmap England under amber heat alerts as drought spreads across Europe Oil holds gains as Hormuz stays shut Meta releases open AI model as Zuckerberg sets out superintelligence vision Turkish parliament clears path for PKK dissolution, Ocalan's status open Record rain floods Shanghai after Typhoon Dolphin landfall WHO dates Congo's Ebola outbreak to February, months before it was declared Russia's Supreme Court bars antiwar Yabloko from Duma ballot Trump cuts childhood vaccine recommendations and splits MMR shot Rhine low water threatens to split Germany's main waterway US intelligence points to Russia over Leipzig airport drone bomb Sixteen Bangladeshi workers killed in Riyadh factory fire China ships 97 percent of the world's humanoid robots Chinese EVs set new sales records in western Europe despite EU duties US appeals court lets social media addiction suits proceed US yields at crisis-era highs as Fed's Hammack floats rate rises IAEA to remove nuclear material from secret Syrian site under US-brokered deal Ceuta mayor demands internment centre as border checks stay US judge dismisses fraud and bribery case against Adani Intel to raise $15 billion in stock sale as AI strains chip supply Zelensky asks Seoul for air defence, warning of North Korean troops in Russia Pope Leo calls for immediate ceasefire after Sudan's army vows to fight on Oil slick nears Oman after blasts on Russia-linked tanker US troops prepare to leave Iraqi Kurdistan by end of September Moldova recalls ambassador from Moscow after drone crash Attackers kill Libya's military intelligence chief in Benghazi Colombia recognises Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights US ammunition shortage weighs on allies US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks set for Rome Venezuela's government and opposition begin election talks Japanese bond yields rise on bets for faster BOJ rate hikes Long March 7A rocket fails, destroying communications satellite Iran welcomes Saudi-Pakistani-Turkish defence pact as shift away from Washington Houthis plan escalation in Yemen in support of Iran Three confederations press Infantino to resign as Fifa president China opens new trade fronts against Washington Kosovo and Albania call Vucic's Ibar remarks destabilising US visa revocations pass 175,000 Russia's share of India's oil imports climbs to record 48 percent Taiwan tests public resilience with simulated disruption Europe moves toward drafting women for military service Chinese shipping company opens Arctic route around the Strait of Hormuz Component in British naval drones sent signals to China Russia's central bank tells lenders to ease terms for firms hit by drone strikes British man shot dead by Pakistani security forces in Kashmir US pledges $2 billion for battery and materials producers Wildfires spread across Indonesia Enterprise AI costs hit 2026 low as Chinese open models spread Indian police fire teargas at job-exam protesters in Jharkhand Kurdish film-maker describes months of force-feeding in ICE detention Sanders urges Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to pause AI development Gunman shoots Thai provincial official days after teenager's killing spree Backlash grows against Flock's licence-plate camera network Arab states warn of eroding status quo at Al-Aqsa Airbus and Boeing plan record production ramp-up Hanwha makes $1bn push into US naval shipbuilding FDA orders ingredient disclosure but delays ultraprocessed food curbs Violence mars return of displaced Kurds to Syrian border town US records hottest month in 132 years

Symbolic image: Chinese EVs set new sales records in western Europe despite EU duties

Symbolic image

Chinese EVs set new sales records in western Europe despite EU duties

3 sources

Chinese carmakers reached fresh sales highs in western Europe even with EU tariffs in force, the Global Times reported on Monday. US outlets link the shift to the war's effect on fuel and to German brands' slide in China.

The state-affiliated Global Times wrote on Monday, 10 August, that Chinese electric vehicles were selling at record levels in western Europe while the EU's duties remain in place. It explained the advance with development speed, saying Chinese manufacturers complete a battery-electric platform in 21 months, and pointed to the appearance of BYD, XPeng, AVATR and JAC Motors at an expo in Tbilisi in mid-June as a sign of their export reach. The report gave neither volumes nor market shares for the western European market.

War economics in the background

The Wall Street Journal wrote the same day that the war is helping Chinese electric vehicles upend the global car market. Only the headline text is accessible, so the mechanism and the figures behind that claim cannot be reported here.

Mercedes cannot halt the slide in China

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that even Mercedes cannot stop the decline of German cars in China. That account, too, is available only as a blurb, so no sales figures can be attributed to it.

Other opinions

The Global Times credits Chinese development speed and mentions neither the war nor the losses of European brands, while the US outlets Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg put wartime conditions and the German retreat in China at the centre of the story.