Economy
Audi CEO faces heavy criticism after joining Trump campaign rally
The Audi chief drew heavy criticism Monday for appearing alongside U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in the battleground state of Georgia, with the head of Germany’s top union saying it violated the automaker’s company guidelines.
Gernot Doellner appeared alongside Trump at the rally in Perry, near Macon in central Georgia, to announce plans to build a $4 billion plant, the luxury carmaker’s first in the U.S., which would produce 200,000 SUVs annually.
Top VW committee must decide on US plant
The announcement of the plan, which needs approval by the supervisory board of parent Volkswagen, including German labor representatives, follows lengthy considerations over launching U.S. production to escape import tariffs that cost Audi around 1.2 billion euros ($1.34 billion) last year.
“Doellner is also in flagrant breach of his own company’s rules, which expressly require political neutrality in the run-up to elections,” said Christiane Benner, head of Germany’s IG Metall union and deputy chair of the Volkswagen supervisory board.
Audi had no immediate comment on the matter.
However, a person familiar with the matter said Audi’s management board had cleared an exception to the company’s code of conduct before Doellner’s appearance. Under the code, the board can allow deviations from the rules except in cases involving criminal offences, the source said.
The automaker’s top stakeholders discussed the matter during a meeting also attended by Benner and fellow labor representative Daniela Cavallo, with the latter expressing reservations about the appearance without formally opposing it, the person said.
A second person confirmed that Volkswagen’s supervisory board committee, which is already fraught with tension over the company’s sweeping restructuring, had discussed the issue on Friday.
Trump has voiced his support in the past for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, raising concerns among Germany’s political and corporate mainstream.
German automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer referred to Doellner as a “mini Elon Musk,” comparing him to the Tesla boss who has appeared onstage with Trump.
Audi’s code of conduct forbids “public engagements with political parties or politicians standing for election, nor any sponsorship of such events” in the three months leading up to an election.
Trump keen to promote impact of tariffs
Trump is in the midst of a nationwide campaign blitz to bolster his Republicans, who are trailing the Democrats in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. One of his campaign messages is that his tariffs are creating more U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Olaf Lies, state premier of the German state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen’s second-largest shareholder, said it was inappropriate that Doellner had become part of a political spectacle.
“A campaign rally cannot be the right place to announce an investment of this magnitude,” he said. “This appearance has caused consternation among employees who are worried about their jobs here, and far beyond. I can fully understand that – I feel the same way.”
The U.S. investment plan coincides with Volkswagen’s push to cut 100,000 jobs and cut excess production as it grapples with heavy losses in China while absorbing steep tariffs and the costly transition to electric vehicles.
The group’s German production sites have been under particular pressure to reduce costs, with Audi’s factory in Neckarsulm one of four plants threatened with closure from early next decade.
“The optics are not great, jobs are being created in the U.S. while Audi is reducing the capacity globally,” Metzler analysts said of the U.S. plan. “Still, we would argue the decision to produce in the U.S. is right.”
Türkiye may reach agreements to make acquisitions or form new partnerships abroad for hydrocarbon exploration before the end of the year, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Tuesday.
Addressing an energy summit in Istanbul, Bayraktar said the government will expand its overseas exploration, with a focus on Iraq, Syria, Libya and Pakistan. He said Türkiye also wants to explore off the coasts of Lebanon and Syria with its own ships.
Ankara is seeking to step up operations of the state-owned upstream oil and gas company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) through partnerships with international companies as it looks to strengthen energy security and build a larger global production portfolio.
Officials have repeatedly voiced the aim to transform the TPAO into a more prominent energy producer.
Bayraktar said Türkiye had a production capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, adding that the current planning had this reaching 550,000 to 600,000 by 2028. A longer-term goal is to produce 1 million barrels of oil and natural gas a day.
Reaching the target would mean more than tripling Türkiye’s current output, and even the level planned for 2028 would leave it well short.
Bayraktar’s comments show Ankara is looking abroad, to Africa, Lebanon and elsewhere, to close the gap.
“There may be more news, good news by the end of the year. We may buy, acquire companies. We are making partnerships and will continue to do so,” the minister said.
“There may be new fields, new countries; it could be Africa. Therefore, we want to reach that 1 million barrel target with these,” he said
TPAO has signed agreements for offshore hydrocarbon exploration in Libya and Pakistan. Türkiye also has an agreement for offshore exploration with Somalia and has been carrying out operations in that region.
Bayraktar recalled what he described as a historic partnership signed between the TPAO and the British oil major BP earlier this year.
Under the agreement, the TPAO acquired a 15% stake alongside BP and ConocoPhillips in the consortium developing the Baba and Avanah domes and the Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz fields in Iraq’s Kirkuk region.
Bayraktar said Türkiye was also exploring possible electricity trade with Lebanon and that it was interested in hydrocarbon exploration there too.
“Türkiye has become a country that can explore for natural gas, oil with its own ships. We have a very strong fleet. This is why we’re now going to Lebanon… We are interested in Lebanon’s offshore,” he said.
European countries offering to buy gas from Türkiye
Türkiye is set to announce its new energy road map next week.
Electrification will be at the center of the 2040 strategy, Bayraktar said, along with plans for electricity storage investments, electric transportation and artificial intelligence.
He said high energy prices make greater use of electric vehicles necessary, and that significant steps will be taken.
The plan envisions about $100 billion of investment in electricity transmission and distribution networks.
Globally, the world is facing a deepening energy crisis due to the Iran war, which Bayraktar called the biggest of modern times.
He said the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which much of the world’s oil passed before the conflict started in late February, has become more complex.
He said energy infrastructure has turned into one of the main targets in wars and conflicts.
The risk of higher oil prices remains, Bayraktar said. “Prices are very high right now. Even $115 oil could turn out to be a low price. There is a risk of it going higher,” he noted.
Bayraktar said Türkiye has had no supply problems during the energy crisis, and is trying not to pass price increases on to citizens.
Natural gas subsidies will continue, he said, but the country is entering a period in which gas and electricity prices will strain it.
He added that some European countries were offering to buy natural gas from Türkiye after deciding to halt energy trade with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Bayraktar said that Türkiye could be an alternative route for Europe while becoming an energy centre of its own.
Akkuyu nuclear plant nears startup
Bayraktar said the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Türkiye’s first, on the Mediterranean coast in Mersin province, was delayed by the pandemic and an earthquake but is nearing completion.
Intensive works are continuing, he said. After more than 1,000 tests, the plant will be put into operation, and its physical startup will come within the next week or two, he said.
The government is also interested in small modular reactors, he said. Türkiye will discuss nuclear investments in South Korea on Monday and is in contact with China and Russia, he added.
Bayraktar said coal supplies about one-third of Türkiye’s electricity and noted that the government is ready to hear proposals for replacing that output with other sources.
French consumer sentiment declined by 5 points to 80 in October, marking its lowest level since June 2013 amid nationwide protests, the country’s official statistics agency INSEE said on Tuesday.
France is being hit by a wave of protests, which began with small student demonstrations in suburban Paris in September to denounce school conditions and swiftly broadened into a wider protest against the government’s economic policies.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected confidence to be 85, the same as the revised September number.
The consumer confidence is well below a long-term average of 100 between January 1987 and December 2025.
The proportion of consumers who believe that prices have risen sharply over the past 12 months has risen by 8 points, having already gained 6 in September.
Households’ sentiment toward their past and future personal financial situations has also dropped by 9 and 6 points, respectively.
Fears over the trend in unemployment are on the rise again, up by 5 points following a fall in September.
The proportion of households considering this a good time to make savings has also fallen by 6 points.
Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, has reclaimed the top spot on a list of China’s richest people, driven by his company’s push into artificial intelligence.
The rankings released by The Hurun Research Institute on Tuesday reflected that the country’s high-tech sectors were rising, but others like consumer and real estate were under pressure.
The institute, which has published the list annually since 1999, found a record 1,529 people with more than 5 billion yuan (about $750 million), up 6.6% from last year.
The number of billionaires based on their net worth in U.S. dollars rose to 1,176, up 155 people – 176 more than the U.S. That was slightly below the 1,185 people in 2021.
Zhang topped the list with $100 billion, up 43%, “almost all of it on the back of AI,” and the amount was a record high for China’s richest person, Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chair, said in a statement. Hoogewerf noted that ByteDance’s Doubao is China’s most used AI assistant.
ByteDance is also the parent company of popular short-video platforms Douyin and TikTok.
“AI is the biggest single wealth engine on this list: 160 Hurun rich listers – 1 in 10 – now make their money from AI,” he said.
Bottled water magnate Zhong Shanshan fell to second place with $61 billion, down 23%, while Robin Zeng, chair of CATL, the world’s largest maker of batteries for electric vehicles, came third, Hurun said.
Hurun cross-checked its information with entrepreneurs, regulators, industry experts and others to compile the list, while acknowledging limitations.
Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng, a new face on the list, ranked seventh. AI chipmaker Cambricon chair Chen Tianshi was 10th.
“This year’s gains were polarised – entrepreneurs in AI, semiconductors and robotics surged ahead, whilst those in consumer, real estate and traditional manufacturing saw their wealth shrink – a two-speed economy,” Hoogewerf said.
China last week said its economy grew 4.5% in the July-September quarter from a year ago, fueled by robust exports, moving closer to meeting its official annual growth target for the year. For the whole year, Chinese leaders have set a growth target of 4.5% to 5%, down from last year’s 5% expansion.
While some industries were thriving thanks to government support for technologies such as AI and electric vehicles, owners of small businesses reported tough times as their customers cut back on spending.
China’s domestic demand has been weighed down by a yearslong downturn in its property market.
The Hurun list reflected that too.
Hoogewerf said Lei Jun, chair of Chinese smart consumer electronics maker Xiaomi, was this year’s “biggest faller,” with his wealth halved to $25.1 billion. Consumer fortunes also fell across the board, Hoogewerf said.
“Today, for the first time ever, not a single mainland property developer remains in the Top 100 – the only property names left at the top are the Hong Kong landlord families,” he said.
Türkiye has completed its alignment with the EU’s machinery safety legislation to fulfill the requirements of the customs union, with a declaration also signed, the Trade Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
“As a requirement of the customs union between us and the European Union, our legislation on machinery safety has been harmonized with EU legislation,” the ministry said.
The regulatory harmonization “paves the way for the Turkish machinery sector to benefit from the free movement of goods across European markets,” it added.
Ankara can now designate accredited notified bodies within Türkiye, enabling Turkish machinery exporters to conduct their conformity assessment and certification procedures at home instead of relying on foreign institutions, the ministry also said.
The local assessments will be recognized under the same conditions as those performed by EU manufacturers.
The deal marks a major milestone in simplifying technical and administrative processes that Turkish exporters deal with when accessing the European single market.
The financial costs and administrative burdens associated with these regulatory procedures will be significantly reduced.
The alignment will benefit more than $10 billion worth of Turkish machinery exports to the EU per year.
Machinery sales make up 10% of Türkiye’s total export volume to the EU, according to the ministry.
Electricity could supply 85% of Türkiye’s final energy consumption using technologies available today, according to a report published Tuesday by a leading industry think tank.
The analysis was published ahead of the U.N. climate conference COP31, which Türkiye hosts in the Mediterranean resort province of Antalya next month.
At the summit, Türkiye will seek to rally support for a global target for electricity to meet 35% of the world’s energy demand by 2035.
The target is said to offer an opportunity to extend the progress achieved in clean electricity generation over the past decade to buildings, transport and industry.
Electricity made up 22% of Türkiye’s final energy consumption in 2024, Ember said. That is close to the global average of 23% and the European Union average. It is above the Middle East average of 20% and Africa’s 12%, but behind Asia, where electrification has accelerated to an average of 28%.
“In Türkiye, around 85% of final energy demand could be met by electric technologies already in use today,” said Ember.
By sector, electricity accounted for about 32% of energy use in buildings and about 30% in industry in 2024, the report said. In transportation, the electrification rate is below 1%, although Türkiye became Europe’s fourth-largest market for electric cars in 2025 with 190,000 sales.
“The greatest electrification potential therefore lies in transport and buildings, where electric alternatives are technologically mature and energy consumption is high,” Ember said.
Existing technologies already make it possible in Türkiye to electrify 100% of energy use in buildings, 96% of transport and 58% of industrial energy consumption, according to the report.
Electric vehicles, heat pumps and electric industrial technologies can provide the same services using significantly less energy than fossil-fuel-based alternatives, it said, adding that electrification would directly strengthen energy security by reducing energy imports.
Need to accelerate electrification
Türkiye has made significant progress in clean electricity generation over the past decade, increasing the share of solar and wind power in electricity generation from 4.5% to 22%.
However, faster electrification is needed to extend these gains to energy consumption.
Türkiye’s electrification rate increased by 1.3 percentage points over the past 11 years, meaning progress must be 10 times faster over the next 11 years to reach the 35% target by 2035, the report said.
The main reason for the slow pace of electrification is that much of the sevenfold increase in electricity demand since 1990 has stemmed from new energy needs rather than the replacement of fossil fuels.
As a result, fossil fuels have maintained a 70% share of final energy consumption for the past 34 years.
If current trends continue, Türkiye’s electrification rate will reach only 24% by 2035, Ember said.
However, the country’s target of tripling its installed solar and wind capacity, along with its 120-gigawatt rooftop solar potential, provides a strong basis for achieving the electrification goal.
“Türkiye has made significant progress in renewable electricity generation in recent years and established a strong foundation for the clean electricity needed for electrification,” said Bahadır Sercan Gümüş, a senior energy analyst at Ember and author of the report.
“The 35% target is achievable, but this requires sector-specific measures to shift services currently provided by fossil fuels to electricity, alongside increasing clean electricity generation. For this success in generation to extend across the economy, electricity must replace fossil fuels in buildings, transport and industry,” Gümüş said.
Because of the efficiency advantages of electric technologies, each one-percentage-point increase in Türkiye’s national electrification rate is equivalent to adding 5.7 million electric cars or switching 2.5 million households from fossil-fuel heating to heat pumps, the report said.
Achieving the target will therefore require the transition to advance simultaneously across sectors and be translated into concrete sectoral road maps.
In buildings, switching residential heating to heat pumps stands out as one of the most significant measures, with the potential to increase the national electrification rate by 11 percentage points on its own.
The global rise in petrol and diesel prices triggered by the supply disruptions resulting from the U.S. war on Iran has cost consumers an additional $468 billion, according to a study published Monday.
U.S. consumers bore the largest share of the bill at $160 billion, said Finland-based nonprofit group Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which supports efforts to move off fossil fuels.
The U.S. thus accounted for roughly one-third of the worldwide increase in costs stemming from the energy shock due to the virtual shutdown and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The figures cover the period since U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February, when the conflict sent global fuel prices higher and increased costs for consumers.
China was the second-most affected country, with an additional $54 billion in costs, followed by Canada at $17 billion, the CREA study showed.
Americans pay nearly 8 times global average
Americans have paid an average of $471 more for higher fuel prices since the war started on Feb. 28, the study said. That amount is nearly eight times the global average, estimated at $60.
U.S. consumers are paying more due to reliance on less efficient private vehicles, longer-distance travel and a relatively slow transition to electric vehicles, CREA said. The impact has also varied significantly by vehicle type. A typical U.S. driver of a petrol-powered car has spent an estimated $440 more on fuel since March, while the increase in charging costs for electric vehicle owners was just $17.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump says higher fuel prices are a small cost for consumers to pay to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons and that oil and fuel prices will fall when the war ends. The war has lasted longer than the administration predicted.
To calculate the costs, the study compared fuel prices in January and February to what they were during the rest of the year.
Consumers in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Belgium have also paid a lot more, according to the study, which looked at fuel prices and consumption in 169 countries from the beginning of March to mid-October.
Canada recorded the second-highest per capita increase, at $422, followed by Australia, at $386.
The findings highlighted how lower fuel consumption can limit exposure to oil price shocks. However, electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. has recently lost ground: EVs accounted for 7.3% of new car sales in the first eight months of 2026, down 3 percentage points from the same period a year earlier.
The comparable shares were 57% in China, 32% in the European Union and 98% in Norway, according to the analysis.
Countries that have reduced fuel consumption since 2023 have been able to limit the financial impact of higher prices.
Lower consumption helped China save an estimated $10.8 billion and Germany $3.7 billion, while savings in the United States reached $5.7 billion, CREA said.
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