Volkswagen cut its 2026 operating-margin outlook to 1 percent or less after taking 10 billion euros in special charges, while Volvo Cars named Klaus Zellmer to take over as chief executive by late 2027. In supply chains and infrastructure, SK On partnered with L&F on a 160 billion won ESS cathode deal, OCP Nutricrops secured a major fertilizer agreement with Brazil, and security risks mounted for mining operations in Pakistan.
01Earnings
Volkswagen Cuts Outlook Following $11.5 Billion One-Off Charge
Writing down Porsche's valuation while facing compressed Chinese electric vehicle margins strips Volkswagen of the high-margin cash engines historically relied on to fund structural labor restructuring.
Volkswagen slashed its 2026 operating- forecast to no more than 1 percent, down from a previous range of 4 percent to 5.5 percent, after flagging approximately 10 billion euros in special charges. The profit warning wiped 5.6 percent off Volkswagen shares on Friday, dragging down luxury sports-car maker Porsche and top shareholder Porsche SE. The writedown includes a 6 billion euro non-cash impairment of goodwill tied to Porsche, alongside 2 billion euros in expenses for expanded early retirement programs, Chinese impairments, and the planned sale of the Osnabrück manufacturing subsidiary. Chief financial officer Arno Antlitz pointed to a 20 percent contraction in the Chinese car market and lower profitability on battery-electric vehicles as core drivers of the margin compression. The restructuring program will double planned global job cuts to 100,000 workers as the automaker grapples with weaker pricing and intensifying competition from domestic Chinese brands. Volkswagen shares fell nearly 30 percent over the course of the year, culminating in its removal from the Euro Stoxx 50 .
Morgan Stanley Details Deepening AI Integration Between SpaceX and Tesla
Cross-corporate hardware and energy sharing between Tesla and SpaceX effectively turns their separate balance sheets into a single, vertically integrated physical computing platform.
Morgan Stanley has identified deep operational and technological ties between Tesla and SpaceX as both companies pursue physical across robotics, energy, and manufacturing. In a note led by analyst Adam Jonas, the bank detailed how the two companies share talent, infrastructure, and technology to convert energy into intelligence. SpaceX’s S-1 registration filing contains 71 references to Tesla, with 34 percent concerning direct collaboration and 41 percent covering governance matters and related-party transactions. The partnership includes the Terafab project in Texas being developed with Intel at a construction cost exceeding $119 billion. SpaceX purchased $506 million in Megapack energy storage systems and $131 million in Cybertrucks from Tesla during 2025 to support the Colossus computing cluster. The companies are also co-developing an artificial intelligence agent platform named Macrohard while targeting annual vertically integrated solar manufacturing capacity of 100 gigawatts in the United States. SpaceX supplies Tesla with computing resources projected to reach 4.9 gigawatts by the end of 2027 and terrestrial capacity of 15.3 gigawatts by 2031, alongside Starlink satellite connectivity integrated into the Cybercab and other vehicles. Tesla contributes robotics, battery storage technology, manufacturing expertise, and a workforce exceeding 135,000 employees, which is more than six times the size of SpaceX's headcount.
SpaceX S-1 Filing Mentions of Tesla (%)
Direct collaboration and related-party matters form most Tesla references.
Volvo Cars Names Klaus Zellmer as CEO to Lead Turnaround
Installing a mass-market European turn-around specialist grounds Geely's luxury brand in legacy cost-cutting rather than standalone electrification, prioritizing near-term margin targets over pure EV transition goals.
Euronews.com reports that Volvo Cars named Škoda chief Klaus Zellmer as its next chief executive officer, tasking him with leading a turnaround at the Swedish car manufacturer. Zellmer will assume the role no later than October 1, 2027, with current CEO Håkan Samuelsson remaining until then to manage the transition. Samuelsson returned to the post in April 2025 to stabilize operations affected by American , launching an 18 billion Swedish krona cost and cash plan that included 3,000 job cuts and the abandonment of a 2030 all-electric target. Volvo is now targeting an above 8%, compared with 3.5% in 2025, relying on a 13-model electrified lineup and deeper integration with majority owner Geely.
SK On Partners With L&F for W160 Billion LFP Cathode Material Supply
Establishing a Korean LFP cathode route allows battery makers to qualify ESS cells for US subsidies while bypassing the Chinese supply dominance that previously bottlenecked non-China production.
SK On will source 160 billion won ($117 million) of lithium iron phosphate cathode materials from L&F to build a non-Chinese for energy storage systems. The agreement runs through the end of 2028 with an for a three-year extension, and feeds production lines at SK On facilities in Seosan and Georgia. L&F will supply third-generation high-density cathode materials designed to overcome traditional energy density limits. Chinese companies currently dominate more than 90 percent of the global LFP cathode supply chain. SK On is converting existing production lines to meet rising demand, dedicating 3 gigawatt-hours of its Seosan plant capacity to ESS LFP cells starting in the first half of next year.
Elon Musk Proposes Hyperloop Connecting Austin and San Antonio
Sovereign capital injections enable private tunneling ventures to continually pitch new intercity corridors, offsetting a track record of stalled municipal infrastructure commitments.
techcrunch.com reports that Elon Musk is pitching a precursor Hyperloop built by The Boring Company to connect Austin and San Antonio. The proposed infrastructure project aims to reduce travel time between the two cities to under 30 minutes. The Boring Company recently closed a $3 billion funding round led by the United Arab Emirates. Previous high-profile proposals by the tunneling startup in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and between New York City and Washington, D.C. have failed to materialize, though the company currently operates a combined tunnel and surface transportation system in Las Vegas.
Fortifying remote mine sites concentrates operational risk onto unshielded road transit, turning logistics corridors into the primary bottleneck for project delivery and workforce retention.
Mining.com reports that Balochistan recorded 38 attacks connected with extractive operations between January and September 2026, bringing the total over the past three years to more than 130 according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data figures. Separatists target extractive sites and transport routes to protest what they view as the exploitation of local resources. Nearly 90 percent of separatist attacks against mineral projects happen on roads where militants disable trucks and sometimes set them ablaze. Flagship projects like the Reko Diq and Saindak copper- mines rely on private and state security forces for protection, while public-owned oil and gas operations face more frequent on-site attacks due to lighter security. Privately owned mining operations have warned of potential shutdowns or slower operations, and workers have gone on strike as instability mounts.
OCP Nutricrops Signs Contract to Supply 3.8M Tonnes Fertilizer to Brazil
Government-backed volume reference agreements allow foreign producers to lock in baseline demand and anchor market share in import-dependent agricultural economies before private commercial negotiations even begin.
OCP Nutricrops and Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding covering 3.8 million tonnes of phosphate fertilizer. The document was co-signed on Friday, September 18, by Brazilian Agriculture Minister André de Paula and OCP Nutricrops CEO Faris Derrij at the Jorf Lasfar industrial complex in Morocco. The volume serves as a reference figure rather than a firm commercial order, with actual sales subject to subsequent negotiations between OCP and various Brazilian operators. The projected supply could begin in 2026, addressing a domestic estimated at five million tonnes for the 2026-2027 agricultural season. Brazil imports roughly 92% of its consumed fertilizer, creating acute vulnerability when geopolitical conflicts disrupt raw material supplies. OCP already derives 23% of its global from Brazil, tying the country with India as its primary market.
Brazil Phosphate Fertilizer Deficit and Supply Target (Million Tonnes)
The 3.8 million tonne target covers 76% of Brazil's projected fertilizer deficit.
Strengthening automotive supply chains and new infrastructure proposals contrast with severe margin pressures in legacy auto and escalating security threats to critical mineral extraction. Whether expanding non-Chinese material pipelines can outpace geopolitical disruption and industrial restructuring is unresolved.
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