Robotics giant ABB ‘pretty pessimistic’ on China: ‘It will be challenging for the rest of the year’
The CEO of Swedish-Swiss multinational robotics firm ABB said he has been “disappointed” by the state of the Chinese market, adding he expects conditions will prove challenging for the rest of the year.
“China is not really developing as we hoped in the beginning of the year,” said Bjorn Rosengren, CEO and chairman of ABB, speaking with CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche on Wednesday, adding ABB has been impacted by a “softening” in China’s property sector.
Rosengren said that a decline in Chinese real estate development and hefty debts faced by the sector have meant pain for its residential construction segment, which is more cyclical and therefore prone to changes in the economy.
“We are pretty pessimistic at the moment” on China, said Rosengren. “We thought in the beginning of the year that we should see some recovery from the Covid period, but I think everybody has been pretty disappointed.”
“China continues to be pretty soft. It’s a big market though, so it’s not dead. It’s still living there, but not really developing as we’d hoped. I think it will be challenging for the rest of the year.”
ABB is one of the largest companies globally operating in the realm of industrial manufacturing. With its machines embedded in so many major global companies’ factories, the company’s performance serves as something of a barometer for the health of the manufacturing sector — and the broader economy.
Notably, China, a powerhouse of manufacturing often referred to as “the world’s factory” due to the country’s influence on global trade, is the company’s second-biggest market.
ABB says it’s the leading robotics player in the Chinese market, accounting for more than 90% of sales from locally-made products, solutions and services there.
But it has been showing signs of weakness.
In the second quarter of 2023, ABB reported a 2% increase in orders on a comparable basis, to $8.7 billion. Comparable revenues were up 17%, to $8.2 billion. Income from operations, meanwhile, climbed 15.9%, to $1.3 billion. However, in China, the firm saw its order intake decline 9% on a comparable basis in the period.
More than 50 Chinese property developers have defaulted or failed to make payments in the last three years, according to credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s.
In July, Fitch Ratings pulled its credit ratings for Central China Real Estate Limited, a Hong Kong-based investment holding company primarily engaged in property businesses.
More recently, economists have flagged concerns with structural issues in China’s economy, such as debt, an aging population and young people unable to find work, and a growing fear of a “decoupling” from the rest of the world as tensions with the United States reach boiling point.
The Chinese real estate sector has been in a state of turmoil over the last two years, most notably marked by the financial woes of heavily indebted property developer Evergrande, which earlier this month filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection.
On Monday, Evergrande’s shares lost as much as 87% of their value after the company resumed trading for the first time since March 21, 2022. The shares have struggled to recover since.
A silver lining?
Rosengren said that, despite the weakness it is seeing in China, electric mobility is proving a fast-growing area for the company globally — especially in China.
“One of the positive things is EV vehicles, which also are getting a position globally as you’ve seen also in Europe today, Chinese cars from that perspective,” said Rosengren.
“I think that’s one of the sectors which has been good, which had some positive for the robotics market. But I think actually the real estate construction part which is low and has been low for quite some time.”
ABB is currently planning an initial public offering for the e-mobility business, which in raised 325 million Swiss francs ($370.6 million) from investors in a pre-IPO placement.
Rosengren said that most businesses and governments are “aligned” on the need to push toward a green energy future, so the ceiling for growth remains high.
In Europe, especially, greater impetus has been placed on the need to accelerate the energy transition due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting restrictions of natural gas supplies to the continent.
“Energy generation is of course one of the sectors that needs to go green,” Rosengren said.
“You also need to build up infrastructure, electrification infrastructure globally. And I think that is what we are feeling today and that’s what we are seeing and that’s why we see still very strong market in electrification and that’s why that is important.”
ABB has an e-mobility division responsible for developing electric charging solutions, which are the backbone of the EV industry.
Still, this part of the business has proven challenging as macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated.
In the second quarter, ABB’s e-mobility unit lost $67 million, which the company attributed to “inventory related provisions as well as technology investments triggered by a shift back to a more focused product strategy to secure a continued leading market position.”
Volkswagen is putting its Tesla Robotaxi rival through its paces in Wolfsburg, Germany, where the self-driving Gen.Urban research vehicle is now driving autonomously in real urban traffic – without a steering wheel or pedals!
VW’s Gen.Urban research project sets out to explore how passengers experience riding in a self-driving vehicle on real roads, among real drivers, and without a traditional steering wheel or pedals, and what those requirements might mean for future vehicle concepts.
Some of the key questions VW is asking include:
- How do people spend their time in a self-driving vehicle?
- Which digital features best support work, entertainment, or relaxation?
- How should interaction between the vehicle and passengers be designed, particularly for older people or children?
- Most importantly: Do people feel comfortable?
“The technology for autonomous driving is making rapid progress,” explains Dr. Nikolai Ardey, Head of Volkswagen Group Innovation. “With our Gen.Urban research vehicle, we want to understand exactly how passengers experience autonomous driving. Because: The key to a positive customer experience is to build trust – through meaningful interaction, a relaxed atmosphere, and intelligent assistance systems that respond precisely to the needs of passengers. Ultimately, technology should fit people, not the other way around. We will benefit from these insights across the entire Group in the long term.”
Not QUITE fully autonomous
It’s important to note here that, while Volkswagen designed the Gen.Urban without a steering wheel or pedals, the vehicles participating in these test have a trained safety driver monitoring the vehicle from the passenger seat, ready to step in to control the vehicle using a specially developed control panel with a joystick – which means we’re still a long way from the 2022 Volkswagen Gen.Travel concept (above).
Even so, Volkswagen’s autonomous driving efforts have been in public testing phases since at least 2023, when the company unveiled a fleet of ten specially modified VW.Buzz AD electric vans. Tests with those vans have gone well enough, at least, to lead Volkswagen to announce plans for large-scale production.
The current test phase is limited to Volkswagen Group employees as riders, and is planned for a period of several weeks. If results are satisfactory, VW could expand its rider base by the end of Q1.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volkswagen.
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Ask anyone who owned or owns one, and they’ll tell you that Honda Element was ahead of its time, delivering a flexible interior, car-like ride, and SUV-levels of visibility – and, if Honda really wanted to, they could roll out an all-new, all-electric Element riding on an Ultium-style electric skateboard tomorrow.
Honda’s first Element made its debut way back in 2003, when it was still a bit strange to think of companies like Cadillac, Volkswagen, and Porsche selling anything as big and clunky as an SUV. It earned plenty of fans, however, and for all the same reasons, they’ll love an electric Element even more.
Consider the following:
Car-like handling
The original Element rolled around on a lot of bits originally developed for the Honda Civic – widely regarded as a fun-to-drive, great-handling little car. That car-based chassis earned it some mockery among automotive journalists who, more than two decades ago, still widely believed that an SUV had to have some off-road chops to it.
Today, we’re a more enlightened bunch. In 2025, an SUV needs to be practical above all else, emphasizing the “Utility” aspect. With a low-slung, low-cg, and low-intrusion electric skateboard underneath its boxy body (more on that in a minute), a modern Element would be than more than capable of delivering a “car-like” ride with plenty of sporty acceleration, as well.
Flexible interior
Remember that comment about the low-intrusion nature of the Ultium EV chassis? Without a transmission tunnel to get in the way, Honda was able to offer a massive, flat floor that made the Element ideal for moving, camping, beach days, tailgating, antiquing, and (not to put too fine a point on it) drive-in movies – which we still had those in Florida until at least 2010.
In an EV, all that flat-floor goodness is still there, with the added benefit of being able to offer a flat floor without a transmission tunnel ruining the bedroom cargo bay.
Add a bit of extra width inherited from the Prologue, toss in a friendly ASIMO interface to keep the investment class happy, and offer a full range of inflatable tents, dog beds, and other overlanding, pet, or surf-friendly accessories, and Honda could watch the money roll in. At the very least, if Honda had built a modern Element instead of the Prologue on GM’s skateboard, they might have an easier time moving them in post-rebate America, I think. What do you guys think?
You guys are smart, so I’m sure you’ll be able to find all the problems with this particular take – and I can’t wait to hear them! Should it be FWD only? A plug-in hybrid? Ship with a tent? Scroll on down to the comments and let me know what you think it would take to make a battery-powered Honda Element revival make sense to you.
Original content from Electrek.
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File this under “wishful thinking” if you want, but a fresh trademark filing for the Buick Electra name could mean that the storied nameplate is set for a return to US shores.
GM Authority reports that Buick parent company General Motors has renewed its trademark for the Buick Electra name in the US in a filing from 09DEC2025 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and received an assigned serial number 99538079. The application carries a Goods and Services of, “Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles.”
Electra a nameplate that holds a long history with the near-luxe Buick brand and has generally been believed to be one that’s especially relevant to Buick’s electrification strategy in the US. That’s a notion that seems especially true when you consider the following two facts:
- the Buick Electra nameplate is already featured on a number of hugely successful GM products being sold in the ultra-competitive Chinese market
- 2027 is the fortieth anniversary of the Buick Grand National, and GM’s marketers are way too smart to let that moment slide
It’s worth noting, of course, that this most recent renewal for the Buick Electra trademark is a long, long way from a confirmation of a new all-electric Buick for the US market and even further from a confirmation that we’re getting the hot, sexy Electra GM sells in China. If anything, it’s likely just a matter of course legal thing that GM needs to protect its IP in China while, at the same time, preventing some kind of disastrous Sierra Mist scenario from playing out at home (which– yeah, I get that it’s not true, but you got the idea).
That said, I want to believe.
Electrek’s Take
I’m a huge fan of GM, GM’s EVs, and the way Mary Barra has managed the General over the past several years. I also think a big, sexy sedan is sorely missing from GM’s lineup, and the fast, flashy electric sedan formula might play better at the Buick store than at the Cadillac brand.
Combine that with an overwhelming desire to see a new-age Buick Grand National parked in my garage next Christmas and you can see that I’m not to be trusted. So, what say you? Head on down to the comments and let us know what you think of an American Electra revival just in time for the 2027 model year.
SOURCE | IMAGES: GM Authority; GM.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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