Author: Jackson Han

BYD has started sea trials for its two newest car carriers, BYD Xi’an and BYD Changsha, each capable of transporting up to 9,200 vehicles — among the highest cargo capacities globally for automotive transport vessels. The announcement was made Thursday by semi-official Weibo account @小迪快报, which tracks developments related to BYD. The two vessels are expected to enter service soon, marking a key step in the Chinese automaker’s push to enhance its international logistics capabilities. The BYD Changsha and BYD Xi’an will be the fifth and sixth ships in the company’s expanding fleet, joining earlier vessels including BYD Explorer No.…

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD plans to significantly expand its dealership footprint in South Africa by 2026 as part of a broader strategy to boost its market share in the region, a company executive said on Wednesday. The company expects to have around 20 dealerships in the country by the end of 2024, up from about 13 currently, and aims to grow that number to between 30 and 35 in 2025. “The aim is to expand that to about 30, 35 the next year,” said Steve Chang, General Manager of BYD South Africa, in an interview with Reuters. BYD, which…

Tesla has reintroduced its owner referral rewards program in China, offering discounts on paint options to encourage vehicle purchases amid continued sales pressure in the country, the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market. From June 5 to June 30, customers who buy Tesla vehicles through a referral can receive a discount of RMB 8,000 ($1,110) on paid paint finishes, according to an announcement on Tesla’s official Weibo account. Referrers, including existing Tesla owners or customers who have placed orders but not yet taken delivery, will earn Tesla points valued at RMB 800 per successful referral. The program covers Tesla’s Shanghai-made…

Maextro, the new high-end automotive brand co-developed by Chinese tech giant Huawei and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC), secured over 2,600 firm orders within 72 hours of launching its first model, the Maextro S800 luxury sedan, Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA) announced on Monday. The Maextro S800 debuted on the evening of May 30, offering both battery electric vehicle (BEV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) variants. The model carries a starting price of RMB 708,000 ($98,360), notably lower than earlier estimates of between RMB 1 million and RMB 1.5 million. Within an hour of the launch event, more than…

Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr will officially launch its Zeekr 7X SUV in Hong Kong later this month, the company said on Tuesday, as it expands international sales following the model’s recent debut in Europe. A Zeekr spokesperson told CnEVPost that the 7X is “poised to become a new benchmark for family vehicles in the city” when it goes on sale in late June. The model, a mid-sized electric SUV, is Zeekr’s second offering aimed at the mainstream market, following the Zeekr 007 sedan. The 7X debuted in mainland China on September 20, 2024, and is available in three variants…

Xiaomi’s electric vehicle (EV) business is expected to turn profitable in the second half of 2025, the company’s founder and CEO Lei Jun said at its annual Investor Day event, underscoring the smartphone maker’s ambitions in China’s highly competitive EV market. If achieved, the milestone would make Xiaomi the fastest among China’s new automotive brands to reach profitability. Rivals Nio and Xpeng, both launched around a decade ago, are targeting quarterly profitability this year, while Li Auto has remained profitable since the fourth quarter of 2022. Leapmotor reported its first quarterly profit at the end of 2024. See also: Xiaomi…

Luxeed, the electric vehicle brand formed through a partnership between Huawei and Chery, has delivered its 100,000th vehicle, the company said on Monday, marking a key milestone less than a year after its first model entered the market. The company announced the achievement on Chinese social media platform Weibo, noting it would host a ceremony at its manufacturing plant in Wuhu, Anhui province to commemorate the event. Luxeed is part of Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), which also includes other automotive collaborations such as Stelato, Aito, Shangjie, and Maextro. The brand launched its first model, the all-electric Luxeed S7…

BYD’s premium sub-brand Yangwang has commenced production of its ultra-luxury U7 sedan, with the first batch of customer vehicles now off the assembly line. The announcement was made via the brand’s official Weibo account, with customer deliveries expected to begin shortly. The Yangwang U7 was officially launched on March 27 with a starting price of RMB 628,000 ($87,240), notably lower than the RMB 1 million threshold previously mentioned by the company. The vehicle is available in both battery electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) configurations, and comes in four-seat and five-seat versions. Built on Yangwang’s proprietary e4 technology platform, the…

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) provided detailed insight into its product roadmap during its recent earnings call, confirming the launch schedule for its first fully electric SUVs and sharing hints about future sedan ambitions. The company will introduce its first all-electric SUV, the Li i8, in July 2025, followed by the Li i6, a five-seat electric SUV, scheduled for release in September. The Li i8 will be a larger six-seat SUV model, further diversifying Li Auto’s lineup beyond its current extended-range electric SUVs (EREVs)—the Li L6, Li L7, Li L8, and Li L9—as well as its pure electric MPV, the Li…

Chinese battery manufacturer CATL said it has made significant progress in the development of lithium-metal batteries by improving the electrolyte composition, achieving a high energy density of 500 Wh/kg and extending the battery’s service life to 483 cycles. The breakthrough, developed at CATL’s 21C Lab and published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, is considered a step toward commercialising lithium-metal batteries for use in electric vehicles and aviation. Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries, lithium-metal batteries replace the graphite anode with lithium metal, resulting in reduced weight and improved energy efficiency, though commercialization has been hindered by issues such as dendrite formation and…

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng suggested on Tuesday it will incorporate Huawei’s head-up display (HUD) technology in an upcoming model, signaling a rare collaboration between the two firms after previous tensions. The company posted a promotional image on Chinese social media platform Weibo showing that one of its new vehicles will use Huawei’s HUD system, which projects data such as range, navigation, vehicle speed, and driver assistance status onto the windshield. See also: Xpeng Files for Regulatory Approval of Next-Gen P7 Sedan, Eyes Mid-Year Launch in China “This industry hasn’t seen any groundbreaking changes in a long time. Change starts…

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio said it will expand into seven additional European markets over the next two years, deepening its global footprint through a partnership-based distribution model. The company announced Tuesday that it will enter Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, and Romania in 2025 and 2026. “We’re working with local distributor partners to make this growth possible,” Nio said in a post on social media platform X. “At the same time, we’re introducing a multi-brand offering with both NIO and Firefly to reach even more users.” See also: Nio Delivers 23,231 Vehicles in May, Up 13%…