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Political and business leaders say the Green Book changes give the North and other regions a better chance of public backing for major projects
Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram and Chancellor Rachel Reeves on a visit to Southport Pier(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A long-term campaign by Northern leaders has paid off with Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing revamped Treasury rules that aim to give regions outside London and the South East a better chance of securing public funding for major infrastructure projects.
Business and political leaders had long complained that Treasury officials had favoured wealthier areas where major projects were more likely to see economic benefits at a quicker rate. The Treasury said “overlooked regions and communities” would now be given a “fair hearing in public spending decisions”.
The revamped Treasury ‘Green Book’ aims to ensure that investment decisions are no longer based solely on single metrics such as benefit-cost ratios. Decisions must now take into account the full range of impacts of different investment options, the Treasury said.
The Treasury said too that the new version of the Green Book is less complex, being 40% shorter than the previous iteration, and aimed to speed up decisions by civil servants.
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Announcing the move, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “For too long, people outside of London and the South East will have felt the system is working against them and their community, not for them. I know full well that everyone has the potential to contribute to our country’s growth and success regardless of where you live.
“These groundbreaking reforms are part of a new approach from the Treasury that truly makes a long-lasting difference for all areas across the country – ensuring they get the fair hearing they deserve and can have confidence in how Government invests into where they live.”
Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram, who has been a prominent campaigner for changes to the Green Book, said: “For years, areas like ours have lost out because the system was stacked against us. It meant projects that could genuinely change lives in the North were too often overlooked – marked down by a rulebook that didn’t understand local needs and told communities up here that they were literally worth less.
“I’ve fought hard to change that – and I want to pay tribute to Rachel Reeves for listening, and for taking action. This might sound like a technical change, but we shouldn’t underestimate just how big a difference it could make. This could unlock billions in investment for the North in the years ahead.”
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Those sentiments were echoed by West Yorkshire mayor, Tracy Brabin, who said: “Having a simpler and more accessible Green Book will help to drive investment and open opportunity across the country. The changes provide great clarity and certainty, making it easier for places like West Yorkshire to grow and succeed.”
Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, welcomed the move but said more needed to be done to ensure growth in the Northern economy.
He said: “The business community has for many years been concerned that the way Government has appraised projects has not properly accounted for the benefits of creating economic opportunity where it is currently limited or prevented by poor transport for example. Instead, prioritising activity that is already happening and is constrained somehow – such as by speeding up journeys many people already make.”
“These changes, championed by those like Steve Rotherham in Liverpool City Region will benefit the whole North. However, many projects with strong value for money have been turned down in the past, proving Green Book is only part of the ingredients we need.
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“In the end, if the Northern Growth Corridor is to achieve its potential we will need political will and more fiscal devolution as too many of the ambitions of local leaders depend on Westminster remaining focused and stable which has proved to be hard over the last decade in particular.”
A large number of new energy vehicles for export park at a car terminal on the Hangzhou section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, on June 2, 2025.
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
DETROIT — The unraveling of the U.S. electric vehicle push is increasingly raising concerns of an existential crisis for the American auto industry, as Chinese carmakers surge ahead in the technologies that many still believe will define the next era of cars.
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The latest warning sign came Friday, when Stellantis disclosed a $26 billion charge from a major business overhaul, including a pullback in EVs, triggering a more than 20% plunge in its stock. CEO Antonio Filosa blamed the hit on overestimating the pace of the energy transition.
It follows other automakers in the U.S. significantly pulling back from pure EVs in favor of large gas-guzzling trucks such as the Ford F-150 and SUVs like the Chevrolet Suburban. Chinese automakers are taking the opposite approach and are growing globally, led by EVs.
Legacy automakers General Motors and Ford Motor have lost billions of dollars on EVs and are pulling back partly because of the loss of a federal tax credit and lackluster consumer demand.
Even Tesla, which pioneered the EV industry, is facing pressure. It was surpassed by Chinese automaker BYD in EV sales as the Elon Musk-led brand lost its appeal and market share in Europe this year, while BYD ramped up exports there and around the world. Tesla also last week canceled its two oldest, lowest-selling electric vehicles to repurpose an American plant for humanoid robots.
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After helming the electrification movement for years, Musk increasingly appears focused elsewhere, especially on robots, driverless taxis and his artificial intelligence company, which he combined with Space X in what was the biggest merger in history.
Meanwhile, global market share of Chinese brands has jumped nearly 70% in five years, and many experts see a threat to U.S. automakers, including the anticipated entrance of Chinese brands into America.
There’s fear among global automakers that Chinese rivals like BYD and Geely could flood global markets, undercutting domestic production and vehicle prices. The U.S. has taken a protectionist approach by implementing 100% tariffs on imported EVs from China, but Chinese automakers have made inroads across Europe, South America and elsewhere.
Companies in the U.S., where the automotive industry represents about 5% of the country’s gross domestic product, are worried about long-term implications.
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“The Chinese auto industry presents an existential threat to the traditional [automakers],” said Terry Woychowski, a former GM executive who serves as president of automotive at engineering consulting firm Caresoft Global.
Several automotive experts used the word “existential” when discussing the growth of Chinese automakers.
“The existential risk to the U.S. auto industry isn’t Chinese EVs alone, it’s the combination of sustained government support, vertically integrated supply chains and speed,” said Elizabeth Krear, Center for Automotive Research CEO. “Those advantages lower costs and accelerate execution. Concurrently, saturation in China’s domestic market is driving automakers to expand aggressively into global markets.”
China’s growth
The Chinese automotive sector has rapidly changed from an insular industry to the largest exporter of vehicles globally since 2023.
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China’s growth has been fueled by government funding for companies as well as a culture of innovation and speed the country has instilled in its workers, experts said. A slowing Chinese market and plant underutilization have also forced companies to begin exporting to major auto markets globally.
China’s expansion of EVs has been particularly impressive, with a nearly 800% increase globally, largely fueled by sales in China growing from roughly 572,300 in 2020 to 4.95 million in 2025, according to GlobalData. Outside of China, EV sales have increased by more than 1,300%, from less than 33,000 to more than 474,000, per the firm.
While China has grown, Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers — GM, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis, which is no longer based in the U.S. — have collectively fallen from a global market share of 21.4% in 2019 to an estimated 15.7% in 2025, according to S&P Global Mobility.
That compares to China’s largest automakers BYD and Geely, which have grown from a less than 3% market share to an estimated 11.1%, according to S&P Global Mobility.
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HONG KONG, CHINA – JANUARY 05: A general view of the BYD Auto showroom on January 5, 2026, in Hong Kong, China. (Photo by Sawayasu Tsuji/Getty Images)
Sawayasu Tsuji | Getty Images News | Getty Images
China’s most recent announced expansion is to Canada, a relatively small vehicle market that removed 100% tariffs on imported vehicles from China amid a trade dispute with the Trump administration.
That follows the rapid growth of Chinese automakers in lower-income, less established regions that have historically been growth markets for U.S. automakers, such as South America, India, and Mexico. They’re also making inroads in Europe, where the share of sales has risen from virtually nothing in 2020 to nearly 10% in December, according to Germany-based Dataforce.
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“The shift to electric has made it easier for them, because they’ve got the right products,” said Al Bedwell, U.K.-based expert and director of global automotive powertrain for GlobalData. “The fact that it is electric has really opened the doors, and it wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”
Bedwell said China wanted to wean itself off oil since it doesn’t have vast amounts on its own. “It saw an opportunity to be a leader,” he added.
GlobalData forecasts Chinese EVs will continue to grow globally to roughly 6.5 million units by 2030, followed by nearly 8.5 million in 2035. That includes continued growth in the U.S., where a few China-made vehicles such as the Buick Envision have been imported in recent years.
“Breaking into the U.S. market successfully and sustainably is not an easy accomplishment; it takes time, investment, patience and the willingness to make product mistakes but improve them until you get it right. It is expected that some Chinese automakers will have that blend and eventually look to participate in the U.S. market,” said Stephanie Brinley, a principal automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility.
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Brinley noted it took Japan’s Toyota Motor from 1957 to 2001 to reach a 10% market share, while South Korea’s Hyundai Motor reached 10% after 26 years in 2022.
US President Donald Trump speaks alongside Ford executive chairman Bill Ford as he tours Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan, on January 13, 2026.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
“Because the U.S. is a mature market and sales are forecast to remain between 16 million and 16.5 million units through at least 2035, newcomers will take share from existing brands and automakers,” Brinley said. “How quickly they connect with consumers and which automakers lose volume or share to the new competitor remains to be seen.”
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The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a lobbying group representing nearly every automaker in the U.S., wants to prevent that from happening. It called on Congress and the Trump administration in December to prevent Chinese government-backed auto and advanced battery manufacturers from gaining entry to manufacture in the U.S.
“Automakers doing business inside the United States face geopolitical and market pressures from China that are a direct threat to America’s global competitiveness and national security,” John Bozzella, CEO of the alliance, said in a message to a U.S. House of Representatives select committee, citing unfair, anticompetitive trade practices and intellectual property theft.
State of U.S. EV industry
U.S. automakers spent billions of dollars developing and launching EVs under regulations and incentives from the Biden administration that have largely been undone by the Trump administration.
That deregulation opened the doors for automakers to deemphasize all-electric vehicle plans.
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GM and Ford alone have announced more than $27 billion in write-downs recently due to their retreat on EVs, including canceling new models and lowering production of current ones.
U.S. EV sales peaked in September, ahead of the federal incentives ending, at 10.3% of the new vehicle market, according to Cox Automotive. That demand plummeted to preliminary estimates of 5.2% during the fourth quarter.
GM CFO Paul Jacobson said Wednesday that the Detroit automaker, which has largely become a regional player in North America, isn’t abandoning EVs but is right-sizing to natural demand instead of attempting to appease regulators.
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When asked about the expansion of Chinese automakers, Jacobson said GM “can hold our own” but that it needs to be on a level playing field — rehashing that he thinks U.S. tariffs should work to offset subsidies Chinese companies get from the Chinese government.
“You can see the type of intensity and competitiveness that those vehicles bring to the marketplace. And therefore, we’ve got to be ready,” he said during a Chicago Federal Reserve automotive conference in Detroit.
GM wasn’t ready for the rise of the domestic auto industry in China, which was the company’s top sales market from 2010 to 2023. The automaker’s earnings from China fell from around $2 billion annually in 2018 to a second consecutive year of losses in 2025 as China grew its own auto manufacturing.
GM’s crosstown rival Ford is taking a different approach. It has largely scrapped plans for large EVs in exchange for a next-generation of smaller models that CEO Jim Farley believes will be the company’s saving grace against Chinese automakers.
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Farley, who has been complimentary of Chinese automakers at times, said the new platform will be a simple, efficient, flexible ecosystem to deliver a family of affordable, electric, software-defined vehicles.
“This is a Model T moment for the company,” Farley said last year. “We really see, not the global [automakers] as a competitive set for our next generation of EVs, we see the Chinese. Companies like Geely and BYD … and that’s how we built our vehicle.
From autos to autonomy
Domestic EV startups such as Rivian Automotive and Saudi-backed Lucid Group — both exclusively producing vehicles in the U.S. — are facing profitability and sales challenges.
Amid the demand issues, the EV startups have tried to appeal to investors by touting themselves as technology plays rather than automakers, following in the footsteps of U.S. EV industry leader Tesla.
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Tesla’s Musk has been warning about Chinese automakers for years, saying in 2023 after the rise of BYD that such companies will “demolish” global rivals without trade barriers.
Musk has historically positioned Tesla as a technology company that also sells cars despite the vast majority of its revenue comes from car sales, leasing and repairs. He took it a step further on the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call, saying that Tesla is ending production of its Model S and X vehicles and will use the factory in Fremont, California, to instead build Optimus humanoid robots.
After the original Roadster, the two models are Tesla’s oldest vehicles. The EV maker started selling the Model S sedan in 2012, and the Model X SUV three years later. They only represented about 3% of Tesla’s sales in 2025, with the company continuing to offer the Model Y, Model 3 and Cybertruck.
In recent, years the company has slashed prices for those vehicles as global competition for electric vehicles has soared.
Musk believes China will once again be the company’s main competition in its newest humanoid robot venture.
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“China will definitely be the tough competition as there’s no two ways about it,” Musk said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “So I always think people outside of China kind of underestimate China. China’s an ass-kicker, next level.”
Sam Jones, Sean Cowan and Claire Tyrrell discuss rates; Bronwyn Barnes; Laurence Escalante; defence sites for sale; and major property news of the week.
In fact, for many businesses, utilising the undeniable strengths of artificial intelligence is a must, which is why the most asked question for every digital marketing agency in London is: how is AI adoption reshaping their outputs?
Not only does this new way of working affect digital marketing specialists, but it also changes how clients assess value, accountability and turnaround. Agencies today operate in an environment where performance data is abundant, and decision-making windows are shorter. With this in mind, the use of artificial intelligence aids in interpreting this data at a greater scale than most manual methods. This means agencies can fulfil client expectations better than before with faster execution, exceptional results and clearer insights.
What can you expect to see as the client of one of these agencies utilising AI? We break down everything there is to know in this guide.
Improved Efficiency and Quality
Keyword research, campaign reporting and competitor analysis all take a great amount of time, even for the greatest marketing geniuses. Although you may question why they need AI for tasks such as these, it is the way to achieve streamlined operational efficiency. Rather than spending hours at a screen, marketers can now complete these processes with speed, consistency and accuracy through their AI-assisted platforms.
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It’s important to know that agencies using this advanced technology are the ones maintaining rigorous quality control. It’s often a misconception that performing tasks quickly leads to a drop in results; however, that is far from true – outputs are now more refined and aligned than ever, especially with your brand guidelines.
We are not stating that AI replaces human expertise, rather that it allows these teams to reallocate their time to the more desirable areas. Less time is being spent compiling the data from your campaigns, resulting in more time interpreting it for future success.
How Data Changed Creative Content Strategies
Creative output hasn’t been left behind. Firstly, your content strategies are now far more user-led. Businesses used to depend on assumptions. Now, with the help of AI, marketing teams can see exactly what people are searching for, how they interact with online content, and at which points the users start to disengage. With this comes creative content answering real questions, all while meeting the genuine needs of customers, instead of the guesswork.
What does this mean for your business? Well, you now have access to creative decisions backed by evidence, ultimately improving results compared to when they were guided by human instinct alone. Think less ‘trial and error’ and more campaigns with purpose. Your marketing team can implement content that achieves your business goals, be that generating leads, boosting sales, or improving customer retention.
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AI now allows the agencies you partner with to better understand how audiences behave across all your different channels. This includes the content they engage with most and the messaging styles that resonate with specific groups. Again, it’s important to understand that AI insight doesn’t replace creative thinking; it simply gives us a clearer direction and stronger foundations to build upon.
SEO Management and Search Performance
SEO strategies are continuously expected to be both transparent and measurable. This is where AI-supported reporting comes into play. Not only does this provide clearer attribution, but it also helps businesses, like yours, to understand how organic visibility contributes to revenue and long-term growth.
It’s become far more complex now that we see search engines prioritising relevance, experience, and authority. Agencies that implement AI tools within their SEO strategies and Search Performance management can manage these complexities through monitoring ranking trends, identifying technical issues, and pinpointing optimisation opportunities at a more impressive scale.
It’s exciting – rather than reacting to performance drops, we can now anticipate changes and adjust strategies proactively, from refining on-page content, improving site structure or even aligning content as search behaviour updates.
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Real-Time Reporting and Optimisation
Client expectations have changed, too. Businesses now expect more from their reporting than a static monthly report and limited performance analysis. This is especially true for companies in demanding markets. With AI-powered tools, agencies can meet these expectations, offering:
Real-time performance tracking across paid media, organic channels, and full conversion funnels
Early identification of underperforming areas for informed adjustments before the budget is wasted
Ongoing optimisation, ensuring all campaigns are actively managed rather than reviewed after the fact
With this new and improved approach, outcomes include greater efficiency and hands-on campaign management.
When reporting is conducted, you can clearly see in detail:
What is performing well
Why are changes being made
How results align with agreed KPIs and wider business objectives
Personalisation
Your marketing strategies should include personalisation; this is no longer optional. With it, you will see improvements in engagement and conversion rates without the need for excessive manual effort from your team. Without it, you risk falling back in increasingly competitive markets. AI enables the agencies working on your marketing to segment each audience based on user intent and their behaviour, all while delivering more relevant messaging across each ad, email, and website page.
What We Know Now
Incorporating AI systems and tools into marketing efforts is unavoidable. This adoption is not only reshaping how marketers deliver content, campaigns and results, but also changes what clients expect from their teams. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, businesses can now experience faster delivery, clearer insights, smarter optimisation, and measurable results. Agencies that integrate AI thoughtfully into their work are better positioned to meet these expectations while maintaining strategic superiority.
Partnering with an agency that understands both the capabilities and limitations of AI is guaranteed to positively influence sustainable growth and profits for your company.
Leading exchange NSE reported a 37% year-on-year (YoY) slump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2,408 crore in the third quarter, while total income fell 9% YoY to Rs 4,395 crore.
On a sequential basis, profit after tax rose 15%, while total income grew 6%
Operating EBITDA for the third quarter declined 16% YoY to Rs 2,851 crore, while declined to 73%. This was the first results by the company after it received Sebi’s NOC for an IPO.
The overall revenue growth during the quarter was hit by lower transaction charges, which fell 12% YoY to Rs 3,033 crore. Revenue from transactions, however, rose 9% quarter-on-quarter, led by a sequential increase in volumes across equity cash market and derivatives segments.
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Revenue from data feed and terminal services jumped 17% YoY to Rs 121 crore, while revenue from listing services grew 11% YoY to Rs 111 crore.
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NSE recently received a no-objection from regulator Sebi to launch its IPO, marking an end to decade long wait for its offer approval from the regulator. The issue, which is likely to completely an OFS according to various reports, is likely to be launched in the next 7-8 months. With regards to the IPO, the board is expected to form a specialised committee to serve as the central authority for the listing. This committee will be tasked with defining listing procedures and establishing the criteria for appointing the merchant bankers and legal advisors required to draft the Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), PTI reported earlier.The proposed IPO is expected to be among the largest in India’s capital markets. NSE, which has about 1.77 lakh shareholders, is valued at over Rs 5 lakh crore in the grey market, according to various analysts.
NSE MD and CEO Ashish Chauhan had earlier described the approval as a positive signal.
“With Sebi approval, we embark on a new chapter of value creation for all our stakeholders. This approval also reinforces confidence in NSE being an integral part of the Indian economy and a beacon of Indian capital markets,” Srinivas Injeti, Chairperson, NSE had said earlier.
