China puts the brakes on driverless taxis

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Marketplace Morning Report
Episode: China puts the brakes on driverless taxis
Air Date: December 24, 2025
Host: Stuart Clarkson (BBC World Service contribution)
Guests: Suranjana Tiwari (Marketplace), Ella Hochse (Newton Investment Management)

This episode covers the latest economic and business headlines, focusing on China’s sudden slowdown in the rollout of driverless taxi technology following a fatal crash, commodity market performance in 2025, and notable investment news.

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1. China’s Cautious Approach to Driverless Taxis

[01:01 - 04:31]

Main Discussion Points

• Regulatory Setback for Driverless Taxis:
  China has paused broad plans for mass production and public sale of self-driving taxis after a high-profile, fatal crash earlier this year.

  • Only two out of nine automakers (Beijing Automotive Group and Changan Automobile) were granted narrow, testing-only approvals for limited operation of autonomous taxis—and only in their home cities, on specific highway segments.
  • The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology prohibited these taxis from changing lanes under computer control. Elsewhere and for lane changes, a human driver must be present.

“They only allowed further testing really, rather than mass production… the taxis will not be allowed to change lanes while under computer control.”
— Suranjana Tiwari [01:45]

• Public Sentiment Shifts after Major Crash:
  A self-driving taxi accident in March 2025 killed three women. Unlike previous incidents that were suppressed by Chinese censors, news of this crash spread widely, increasing public attention and regulatory scrutiny.

  • Experts see the government’s hesitancy as a rollback of previous ambitions in the robotaxi sector—a notable step given China’s reputation for embracing new tech.

“This is a rolling back of what China is planning. And remember, China is really pushing these new technologies... so it’s really interesting that only these two companies have been given the approval to only test this driverless technology.”
— Suranjana Tiwari [02:55]

• Implications for Rest of Asia:
  Other Asian countries have yet to deploy driverless taxis at scale, facing unique challenges such as much higher population densities and differing regulatory frameworks compared to the U.S.
  • Success elsewhere, like in U.S. cities, does not automatically translate to Asian contexts (e.g., chaotic traffic in Jakarta, New Delhi).
  • Strict government oversight and regulatory standards are essential for deploying these technologies safely.

“Having these self-driving cars in California is very different from the streets of Jakarta or the streets of New Delhi or Mumbai… They also have to have the government regulation and those safety standards hand in hand.”
— Suranjana Tiwari [03:40]

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2. Global Commodities in 2025: Winners and Losers

[04:37 - 08:25]

Key Discussion Points

• BP Divestment:
  BP is selling a 65% stake in its Castrol lubricants business to Stone Peak for $10.1 billion.

• Europe’s Oil & Gas Buying:
  EU’s total spend on U.S. oil and gas is down 7% over four years, despite increased gas volumes—reflecting declining prices in the market.

• Precious Metals Rally:
  2025 was a standout year for precious metals.

  • Silver was the “superstar,” with returns over 109% year-to-date.
  • Platinum and palladium also performed strongly.

“2025 will probably go down as one of those very strong years for precious metals in general. Star performer being silver… really been the superstar. More than 109% returns year to date.”
— Ella Hochse [05:31]

• Driving factors: Silver’s critical use in industrial applications, limited sources of supply, and rising demand.

“When you have a combination of demand for industrial use going up together with some of the elements, we’re seeing gold as well, which is supporting precious metals, you have a winning combination… for a big upward move.”
— Ella Hochse [06:15]

• Oil:
  • Oil underperformed with prices dropping 18-20% across both Brent and crude benchmarks.
  • Causes: robust supply growth (especially from non-OPEC sources), and slower rise in global demand.

“Oil has been one of the key underperformers... driven by a couple of factors. One, supply. So there was plenty of supply this year, including from non-OPEC members... and somewhat of a slower demand coming there as well.”
— Ella Hochse [06:43]

• “Consumable” Commodities:
  • Coffee: Up 24% this year, mainly due to supply issues and trade tariffs; supply improvements from Brazil and Vietnam eased price pressure later in the year.
  • Cocoa: After historic price spikes last year, supply from West Africa stabilized. Cocoa futures corrected downward by about 50%.

“Coffee, we had a big squeeze… but certainly another strong year, particularly for coffee I think it was up 24%. Cocoa… futures have actually seen a big… something like 50% downward correction.”
— Ella Hochse [07:32]

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3. Quirky Investment News

[08:27 - 09:03]

Notable Moment

• Martha Stewart Invests in Swansea City:
  Martha Stewart, age 84, becomes a minority owner of Welsh soccer club Swansea City, joining rapper Snoop Dogg as a high-profile investor.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On China’s slow embrace of self-driving tech:
  "The only place to make sure that it’s really safe for the people, not only in the cars, but on the roads as well, is through very stringent standards and tight regulation."
  — Suranjana Tiwari [03:55]

• On silver’s performance:
  “Silver has really been the superstar. More than 109% returns year to date.”
  — Ella Hochse [05:43]

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Main Timestamps

• [01:01] China’s regulatory decision on driverless taxis
• [02:25] Impact of the fatal crash on Chinese public and regulatory perception
• [03:25] Wider context of autonomous vehicles in Asia
• [04:37] BP’s Castrol sale; EU oil & gas spending
• [05:31] Precious metals performance review
• [06:43] Oil’s underperformance in 2025
• [07:32] Coffee & cocoa market trends
• [08:27] Martha Stewart’s soccer investment

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Summary

This episode highlights China’s abrupt pivot away from scaling up driverless taxis amid safety concerns, illustrating the broader challenges automakers and policymakers face around autonomous vehicles. The show also provides a rapid review of 2025’s shifting commodity markets and ends on a light note with Martha Stewart’s unexpected soccer club investment. The conversations blend marketplace impacts with insightful quotes, making this episode an efficient window into both global trends and local responses.

Transcript

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[Stuart Clarkson]

China puts the brakes on driverless taxis Live from the uk, this is the Marketplace Morning report from the BBC World Service. I'm Stuart Clarkson. Good morning. Plans to mass produce and sell self driving vehicles in China have been delayed. It's after news spread of a crash involving one earlier this year. Suranjana Tiwari is with us on Marketplace this morning. Hi, Suranjana.

[Ella Hochse]

Hi there.

[Stuart Clarkson]

So this is a big turnaround in the plans for China, isn't it?

[Suranjana Tiwari]

That's right. And the reason we know about it is because China's regulatory last week gave the go ahead to just two out of nine automakers that had submitted plans to sell self driving cars. And even then the approvals by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in China were very narrow. They only allowed further testing really, rather than mass production. So these two companies, Beijing Automotive Group and Changan Automobile in Chongqing, will be allowed to operate self driving taxis on particular stretches of highway in each company's hometown. And the taxis will not be allowed to change lanes while under computer control. On any other roads, the taxis will need to be under the control of a driver. And that's largely because of the crash that you mentioned, because the issue apparently was that the self driving car did change lanes.

[Stuart Clarkson]

And what's the feeling in China about driverless cars after news of this crash as it was quite a serious thing, wasn't it?

[Suranjana Tiwari]

That's right. In March, this news spread very quickly and widely. It was a crash on a highway and it actually, actually killed three women. Now news of previous Accidents involving assisted driving had been suppressed by China's censors. But it was really interesting that this one in China's Anhui province did spread so quickly. We're putting two and two together a little bit because it is China and information is very tightly controlled. But because just these two companies have been given the approval, experts are saying that this is a rolling back of what China is planning. And remember, China is really pushing these new technologies. We're hearing about robotaxis every other week. And so it's really interesting that only these two companies have been given the approval to only test this driverless technology.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Yeah. And lots of US Cities obviously have driverless taxis. Many other places around the world testing the water on this as well. How is the picture in Asia? Are other countries going to start doing more of this?

[Suranjana Tiwari]

Yeah, that's the big question. We're hearing a lot about it from China, again because of the investment, because of the government backing of, you know, new technologies which include robotaxis and self driving cars. We've heard Elon Musk wants to take Tesla's self driving cars whenever they appear to China as well. But having these self driving cars in California is very different from the streets of Jakarta or the streets of New Delhi or Mumbai. And there are a lot of other considerations. Another big issue in this part of the world is just the population numbers and the regulation around these types of technology. It requires a lot of government involvement in order to make sure that they are safe. We've heard so many incidents around the world. And the only place to make sure that it's really safe for the people, not only in the cars, but on the roads as well, is through very stringent standards and tight regulation. And that's something that even though lots of emerging economies in this part of the world want these new technologies, they also have to have the government regulation and those safety standards hand in hand.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Okay, Saranjana, thank you as always for being with us on Marketplace and have a lovely Christmas break.

[Suranjana Tiwari]

You too. Merry Christmas.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Okay, let's do the numbers now. And British oil giant BP has agreed to sell a majority stake in its Castrol lubricants business. US investment firm Stone Peak is buying the 65% share for around $10.1 billion. The EU has spent 7% less on oil and gas from the US in the past four years, despite making a pledge to President Trump to buy more American energy. Volumes of gas purchased are up, but oil and gas prices are down. So the overall value has fallen year on year. Now 20, 25 was a mixed picture for commodities with precious metals like gold and silver hitting record values while oil is closing the year at a five year low. To help us assess the performance of commodities during the past year, we're joined by Ella Hochse from Newton Investment Management. Hi there, Ella.

[Ella Hochse]

Hi.

[Stuart Clarkson]

So apart from gold, what other metals have done well in 2025?

[Ella Hochse]

Well, 2025 will probably go down as one of those very strong years for precious metals in general. Star performer being silver, followed closely by platinum. So those have been. And then palladium as well. But silver has really been the superstar. More than 109% returns year to date.

[Stuart Clarkson]

And what's been driving that?

[Ella Hochse]

Silver actually goes into a lot of the industrial production cycles. So there is actually an industrial use for it. With gold as we know, it's more as a store of value and you know, to preserve your wealth if you like. And also for jewelry, but for silver, of course there is a jewelry use, but predominantly the supply element is quite constrained and it comes from a couple of countries really, so, you know, harder to source if you like. So when you have a combination of demand for industrial use going up together with some of the elements, we're seeing gold as well, which is supporting precious metals. You have a winning combination, if you like, for a big upward move.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Of course, oil is a big part of the commodities picture. How's that performed over the year?

[Ella Hochse]

So oil has been one of the key underperformers, in fact, when you look at the broad commodity basket. And so energy has been particularly hit, both Brent and crude, so down between 18 to 20%. And that was driven by a couple of factors. One, supply. So there was plenty of supply this year, including from non OPEC members. So there was a supply growth element and somewhat of a slower demand coming there as well. And so that's certainly been the case for this year and potentially for the first quarter of the next coming year. So in 2026 beyond there, things might change a little bit in my view.

[Stuart Clarkson]

And how about commodities that we consume like coffee and cocoa?

[Ella Hochse]

So coffee, we had a big squeeze, particularly driven by supply issues and some of the tariff concerns around Brazil. But Brazil and Vietnam, some improvements in supply helped to the pressure that was coming through coffee mid year. So we've seen a bit of a release there, but certainly another strong year, particularly for, for, for coffee I think it was up 24% cocoa. Some of the supply constraints there coming from West Africa actually stabilized this year because, I mean, last year I remember we were talking a lot about how expensive chocolate was becoming. So now that's been easing off. And so cocoa futures have actually seen a big over the course of the year, something like 50% downward correction.

[Stuart Clarkson]

Perfect. Ella Hodgescher, thanks for that whistle stop tour through commodities in 2025.

[Ella Hochse]

My pleasure. Thank you so much.

[Stuart Clarkson]

And finally for today, the homemaking and lifestyle expert Martha Stewart has become a minority owner of Welsh soccer club Swansea City. The 84 year old TV host and author joins rapper Snoop Dogg as a high profile investor in the team. Swansea sit 19th in the English football second tier. Thank you for listening today in the UK. I'm SN Stuart Clarkson with the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. Have a lovely day and Merry Christmas.

[Maria Grace]

Hey everyone. You already listened to Marketplace Podcasts, so you know that it's important to understand how economic forces shape our lives. And that feels especially important now as we're all trying to make sense of the latest headlines. I'm Maria Grace, host of Marketplaces. This is Ankara, a show that explores how money bumps up against our relationships, our choices, and the parts of life we don't always say aloud. And starting January 15th, we are back every single week. New stories, new questions, and the kind of conversations that make you feel less alone in this quickly changing economy. We're tackling questions like should I turn my hobby into a money making side hustle? How do I deal with layoff anxiety? Or what do we owe our parents financially? Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to this is Uncomfortable from Marketplace. Wherever you get your podcasts.