Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #463
December 26, 2025 - January 1, 2026, by Elm Analytics
Contents
CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT
Porsche CEO handover amid turnaround
Hyundai Motor India names first Indian CEO
CLOSING
Cooper Standard Ohio plant closure
CYBER SECURITY
Endurance Technologies reports cybersecurity incident
INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS
SUVs dominate Europe vehicle mix
Europe shifts toward affordable PHEVs
MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS
LG Energy cancels Freudenberg battery deal
Tesla 4680 cathode contract collapses
Korea Zinc plans US smelter
NationGate acquires Valeo Malaysia
RAW MATERIAL COSTS
Platinum prices surge on policy shift
Every Mineral is a Critical mineral
REGULATION
Mexico hikes tariffs impacting auto supply chain
Maquiladora operations impact
Change In Management
Porsche is handing the CEO role from Oliver Blume to incoming chief Michael Leiters at a difficult moment for the business. Weak demand in China, missteps in its EV rollout, and higher tariffs are pushing 2025 results close to break-even.
The turnaround plan linked to the leadership change focuses on a reset of product strategy and multi-billion-euro cost cuts… moves that could reshape volumes and sourcing priorities across Porsche’s supply base.
Hyundai Motor India has named Tarun Garg as its new MD and CEO, making him the first Indian to lead the company since it began operations in 1996. He will oversee a $5M plan running through 2030 that focuses on EVs, hybrids, connected mobility, and expanded manufacturing and exports.
Closing
Cooper Standard Automotive plans to close its metal tubing plant in New Lexington, Ohio, which produces brake and fuel lines. About 228 employees will be laid off, according to a WARN notice submitted to Ohio officials on December 8, 2025.
Layoffs are scheduled to begin on February 6, 2026, and will continue until the plant closes around July 1, 2027. The company cites plant utilization and operating efficiency as the reasons for the shutdown.
Cyber Security
Endurance Technologies has reported a cybersecurity incident affecting its IT systems, detected on December 23, 2025, and disclosed to Indian stock exchanges on December 29.
The Pune-based company says it quickly isolated the affected systems and began remediation efforts, and so far reports no significant impact on its core operations.
Endurance Technologies produces aluminium die-cast components, including alloy wheels and powertrain housings, for automakers such as Volkswagen Group and Stellantis. The company is still investigating and has not provided details about the breach or whether any data was compromised, citing the ongoing probe.
Industry Directions
SUVs continue to reshape Europe’s market mix, rising from 41% in 2020 to 59% in 2025. Automakers and suppliers are now prioritizing SUV platforms and right-sizing them for urban use, while hatchbacks, sedans, and wagons increasingly take a back seat.
Europe’s market is tilting toward more affordable PHEVs as buyers push back against rising new-car prices and policymakers signal a longer runway for hybrids and ICEs beyond 2035.
That shift, combined with China’s rapid adaptation to tariffs and compliance requirements, is likely to keep Europe in a mixed-powertrain world for longer and will complicate automaker and supplier planning for capacity, content, and localization.
Mergers, Ventures, Acquisitions
LG Energy Solution has terminated a $2.7B battery contract with Freudenberg after Freudenberg exited its battery business.
The LG Energy Solution-Freudenberg project was structured initially so that LGES would supply lithium-ion cell modules, which Freudenberg would then assemble into commercial-vehicle battery packs at its XALT gigafactory in Midland, Michigan.
The move came just a week after Ford ended a $6.6B EV battery supply deal.
These back-to-back cancellations highlight how quickly EV demand shifts and OEM strategy changes can ripple through to supplier revenue and utilization risk.
L&F, a South Korean cathode supplier, has effectively written off a long-term high-nickel cathode contract with Tesla for 4680 cells used in the Cybertruck. The contract value has dropped by 99%, from about $2.9B to just $7k, following a “change in supply quantity.”
The scale of the cut indicates that demand for 4680 cells is far lower than expected, likely tied to a slow Cybertruck ramp, soft sales, tariffs, and a broader EV market slowdown. As a result, L&F now faces a meaningful revenue hit.
Tesla first introduced the 4680 cell at Battery Day 2020 as a core element of its strategy to lower costs and expand in-house battery production, but ongoing manufacturing and performance challenges, combined with the sharp contract reduction, show that the 4680 rollout still falls well short of Tesla’s original targets.
In a regulatory filing, Korea Zinc said it will establish a non-ferrous metal smelter in Tennessee to produce core minerals such as antimony and gallium.
NationGate Holdings will acquire Valeo Malaysia CDA from Valeo for $15M, taking a 100% equity stake through its subsidiary, NationGate System. Valeo Malaysia produces plastic injection-molded components and PCB assemblies and conducts final testing and assembly of automotive modules.
Raw Material Costs
Platinum prices have jumped 146% in 2025, reaching a record $2.5k/oz. The spike is being driven by the EU’s revised approach to the 2035 combustion-engine ban, constrained supply, and rising investor demand.
Uncertainty around US tariffs and the recent addition of platinum-group metals to the US critical minerals list are pulling more material into the US and prompting defensive stock-building.
That is tightening supply in other regions and adding price pressure, which can quickly raise catalyst costs and hedging risk for ICE and hybrid vehicle programs.
Regulation
Mexico’s new tariffs of up to 35% on non-free-trade-agreement imports starting January 1, 2026, could raise costs and accelerate re-sourcing across Mexico’s auto supply chain.
The move is widely seen as an effort to align more closely with the US trade posture ahead of the USMCA review.
The L&F cathode writedown is wild. That 99% drop from $2.9B to $7k shows how fast these battery contracts can collapse when demand doesnt match the hype. I remeber a supplier friend getting caught in similar volume commitments and it was brutal. Really puts into perspective the exectuion gap between Battery Day projections and real-world production ramp.