Author: Linda Ma

After a difficult December, Tesla China seems more determined than ever to maintain its position in the country’s electric vehicle market. This was demonstrated recently when Tesla China implemented significant price cuts for the Model 3 and Model Y. These adjustments were so significant that the Model 3 is now the cheapest it has ever been in China. Tesla currently manufactures the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y crossover at its primary vehicle export hub, Gigafactory Shanghai. The Model 3 is offered in two versions in China: the base rear-wheel drive version and the Dual Motor Performance. The Model…

According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla China saw a significant decrease in its sales of China-made vehicles in December. The company sold 55,796 wholesale vehicles in the month, a drop of 44.37% from November’s figure of 100,291 and a decrease of 21.24% compared to the 70,847 vehicles sold in the same month the previous year. It is currently unclear how many of these wholesale sales were deliveries within China and how many were exports from Tesla’s Shanghai plant. In the latest quarter, Tesla’s factory in Shanghai, which produces both the Model 3 sedan and the…

NIO is recalling a total of 997 ET5 electric sedans due to a potential safety hazard in the event of a serious frontal collision. The vehicles, which were manufactured between September 7, 2022, and October 10, 2022, may have a front cabin shock tower that crushes the high-voltage wire harness after being deformed by the impact, which in extreme cases may cause the wire harness to break and short circuit with the body. To fix this issue, NIO will retrofit the high-voltage wire harness with a high-strength insulating protective cover for the recalled vehicles at no cost to the owner.…

BYD surprised everyone when they launched the electric supercar YangWang U9 on January 5th. It was originally thought that BYD would only be launching the YangWang R1 hardcore SUV at the event, which has now been renamed to YangWang U8. This revelation has shown that YangWang is not only a high-end SUV brand, but also BYD’s premium EV brand in general. The YangWang U9 electric supercar, equipped with BYD’s Yisifang power system, was unveiled at an event where BYD President Wang Chuanfu announced that the YangWang brand would be the first to showcase the company’s leading technologies. The U9 can…

In November, exports of electric vehicles from China to Europe more than doubled, setting a new monthly record. Interestingly, the majority of these exports were not from Chinese automakers but from European companies that have production facilities in China. This comes as European automakers, including Volkswagen and BMW, are looking to manufacture parts and vehicles in China due to limited capacity in their home countries. According to data from China’s customs authority, car manufacturers in China – both domestic and foreign – exported $3.2 billion worth of EVs in November, a 165% increase from the previous year. This marks the…

Tesla has announced that the Model S sedan and Model X SUV will be available in China with their Plaid powertrains in the first half of 2023. This news has been eagerly anticipated by customers, as the Model S Plaid was first released in the US in June 2021. Traditionally, Tesla has first released its products in the US before moving on to the rest of North America and then other countries. However, the timeline for international releases can vary. CEO Elon Musk had previously estimated that the Model S Plaid would be available in China by March 2022, but…

The Velimotor VMX 08 is an electric off-road two-wheeler from China that is positioned between a mountain bike and an electric enduro, similar to the Light Bee from Sur-Ron. It has a lightweight design, with the frame, rear swing arm, body panels, and handlebars made from carbon fiber laminate. Velimotor claims that the VMX 08 weighs less than 50 kilograms, with an exact weight of 47.5 kilograms. This weight is relatively light for an electric motorbike, but would be considered bulky for a bicycle or pedelec. The Velimotor VMX 08 is classified as a light motorcycle, with an electric motor…

The Lotus Eletre SUV will soon be available in China with the option to add e-mirrors for an additional cost of CNY 16,000. This option is only available to buyers who have already placed an order for the vehicle. The Eletre is scheduled to be shipped to customers starting on July 1, 2023, which coincides with the date when Chinese laws will permit vehicles with electronic mirrors on the roads. As a majority-owned subsidiary of Geely, Lotus is proud to be among the first to offer e-mirrors in China with the Eletre. The Eletre SUV will be equipped with electronic…

BYD’s new high-end sub-brand, Yangwang, will unveil its first vehicle, the Yangwang R1 off-road SUV, on January 5th at 3:00 PM Beijing Time in China. The SUV is expected to have a price tag of over 144,900 USD, or more than 1 million RMB. Yangwang is expected to produce vehicles within the price range of 800,000 to 1.5 million RMB (110,280 to 206,763 USD), according to BYD. The Yangwang R1 SUV will feature both electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain options, with a maximum output of 650 horsepower. All versions of the vehicle will have four-wheel drive capabilities. The top versions…

Electric vehicle manufacturer Nio will begin installing its Power Swap Stations (PSS) in the UK in 2023, , announced Eleanor Sand, Nio’s Network Development Lead, on January 3. The company currently operates over 1,300 PSS in China, with plans to increase that number to 1,700 by the end of the year. “We are actively seeking sites throughout all cities in the UK to host our Power Swap Stations, so if you are a landowner or CPO interested in learning more, please do get in touch,” Sand posted on Linkedin. In Europe, Nio has 10 PSS in operation and has announced…

Nvidia has signed a new partnership with Foxconn last Tuesday (03/01), the world’s largest technology maker, to produce Nvidia Drive Orin processors for use in electric and autonomous vehicles. Foxconn will also be using Nvidia Drive Orin hardware and the Drive Hyperion sensor suite in its future electric vehicle lineup. Nvidia Drive Orin SoC (system-on-a-chip) delivers 254 TOPS (trillion operations per second) and is the central computer for intelligent vehicles. It is the ideal solution to support autonomous driving capabilities, confident vision, digital clusters and AI cockpits. Orin’s Drive scalable product suite enables developers to build, scale, and leverage a…

Tom Zhu, CEO of the Greater China region for Tesla and the company’s global vice president, has reportedly taken on responsibilities for sales, service, and deliveries in North America, according to Electrek. Zhu’s title remains vice president in charge of the Asia/Pacific region, but he has been added to the organization chart for North American sales, service, and delivery. Zhu, who has been with Tesla since 2014, was previously in charge of the construction and operations of Gigafactory Shanghai and has played a key role in expanding the company’s presence in China, including building the Supercharger network and overseeing Asia…

Nio has installed a total of ten battery swapping stations in Europe, with plans to add seven more in the near future. These stations are located in Norway, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. In Germany, the stations can be found in Hilden and the Sortimo charging park in Zusmarshausen, with another set to open in Berlin soon. In Sweden, the stations are located in Gothenburg and Stockholm, and in Norway, there are stations near Oslo and Lillehammer. The Netherlands also has three Nio battery swapping stations, with the tenth station recently opening in Denhollen at the Hogenhoorn 1 car park.…

Dongfeng’s subsidiary, Voyah, has successfully delivered its first batch of electric cars in Europe. In December, the first 136 units of the Voyah Free electric SUV model were given to customers in Norway, marking the brand’s expansion into the European market. This marks the achievement of Voyah’s self-imposed timetable for entering the Norwegian market, which was announced in mid-February and included the opening of the brand’s first showroom in Oslo in June and the start of deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2022. Voyah, a premium offshoot of the car manufacturer Dongfeng, launched in China in August 2021 and had…

According to William Li, the founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in China, which was fueled by the abandonment of the zero-COVID policy in December, has had an impact on the automotive industry. However, Li believes that the effects on the industry will start to subside in the coming months, with the supply chain expected to stabilize by March or April, taking into account the Lunar New Year holiday. https://twitter.com/business/status/1610203872240500740 According to Li, the reopening of businesses in China will have a temporary negative impact on both the region where Nio is headquartered and…

GAC AION Hyper GT is an electric vehicle that boasts an impressive drag coefficient of just 0.19 cd thanks to its “Wind Blade Grille” feature, which opens up the lower part of the front bumper at high speeds to reduce drag. When compared to other EVs on the market, such as the Lucid Air (0.21 cd), Tesla Model S (0.208 cd), and Mercedes-Benz EQS (0.2 cd), the AION Hyper GT has less drag. However, it is not as aerodynamic as the upcoming Lightyear 0’s 0.175 cd or the discontinued Volkswagen XL1’s 0.189 cd. While the AION Hyper GT is currently…

XPENG has released its vehicle delivery numbers for December 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2022. The company delivered 11,292 electric vehicles (EVs) to customers in December, a 94% increase from November. Of those deliveries, 4,020 were the flagship G9 SUVs, a 160% increase from the previous month. In total, XPENG delivered 22,204 vehicles during the fourth quarter of 2022. As of December 31, 2022, the company had delivered 120,757 vehicles, a 23% year-over-year increase. XPENG’s cumulative deliveries as of December 31 reached 258,710. In December, the G9 SUV was named one of China’s Top 10 Cars of the Year…

NIO has opened a new delivery center in Shanghai, its largest facility of its kind in the world, highlighting the company’s focus on the city where it is headquartered. The 50,000 square meter delivery center, located in Nanxiang, Jiading district, is approximately 2 kilometers away from a nearby NIO House. It includes a rest area, delivery area, vehicle preparation area, and parking lot, with the delivery area spanning 5,760 square meters and featuring 100 delivery spaces, capable of handling up to 200 vehicle deliveries in a single day. NIO has recently established a new service center in the Songjiang district…

BYD sold 235,197 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in December. This marks the fourth consecutive month that BYD has sold more than 200,000 NEVs. These figures represent a 150.36% increase from the 93,945 units sold in the same month the previous year and a 2.07% increase from the 230,427 units sold in November. BYD stopped producing and selling vehicles powered solely by internal combustion engines in March and now only sells NEVs, which includes both passenger and commercial vehicles. In December, BYD sold 234,598 passenger NEVs and 599 commercial NEVs. Of the passenger NEVs sold, 111,939 were battery electric vehicles (BEVs)…

Jidu Auto, a subsidiary of Baidu, has launched its second model of AI-powered robotic car called ROBO-02 at the Guangzhou auto show. The sedan, which shares many design features with the ROBO-01 SUV, including the absence of traditional door handles, can be accessed through either voice commands or Bluetooth. While the car is primarily designed for autonomous driving and machine interaction, Jidu has not revealed any performance numbers. It is expected that the ROBO-02 will have similar powertrains to the ROBO-01, including dual motors with a combined output of 400 kW and a 100 kWh CATL battery. The ROBO-02, which…