News

Li Auto Opens First Overseas R&D Centre in Munich

Li Auto Opens First Overseas R&D Centre in Munich

Move signals the official start of Li Auto’s globalisation strategy, though European sales remain off the table for now Li Auto has taken its first step towards a planned global…

US Bans ‘Connected’ Chinese Cars From 2027

US Bans ‘Connected’ Chinese Cars From 2027

Ban also covers Russian vehicles, and the sale of any software or hardware, even if produced in the US. The US government has announced the complete ban of ‘connected’ Chinese…

Pony.ai Begins Driverless Robotaxi and Truck Platoon Tests on Beijing Highways

Pony.ai Begins Driverless Robotaxi and Truck Platoon Tests on Beijing Highways

Taxis will operate in the south of Beijing around the airport and require a safety officer in the passenger seat, while truck platoons will run between Beijing and Tianjin. Pony.ai…

GAC and Huawei To Create New Automotive Brand

GAC and Huawei To Create New Automotive Brand

First model will cost around RMB 300,000 and feature a “new architecture and technologies”. GAC Group has confirmed plans to create a new automotive brand in collaboration with Huawei focused…

Two-Seater Sports Car  and Super-powered BYD Han Among January’s Bumper MIIT Filings

Two-Seater Sports Car and Super-powered BYD Han Among January’s Bumper MIIT Filings

Cars from BYD, AITO, XPeng, firefly, Tesla, Juneyao, Zeekr, Nissan, and Hyptec get approvals. A bumper month of MIIT filings has seen the Yichi 01 two-seater sports car, a pair…

Battery Swapping Grows In Popularity As Nio-Chery and SAIC-CATL Alliances Make Headlines

Battery Swapping Grows In Popularity As Nio-Chery and SAIC-CATL Alliances Make Headlines

Chery set to reveal two Nio battery-swap compatible models in Q3 while SAIC inks agreement with CATL. Developments in battery swapping look set to steal the headlines in 2025 with…

XPeng Shares Official Images of New G7 SUV

XPeng Shares Official Images of New G7 SUV

Mid-size SUV should sit between G6 and G9 in XPeng’s line-up and will target the Zeekr 7X and Tesla Model Y. XPeng has released official photos of a new mid-size…

Zeekr Teases 7GT Estate And We Reveal The Details

Zeekr Teases 7GT Estate And We Reveal The Details

7GT, which may be called 007GT in China, is the wagon version of the Zeekr 007 Zeekr has taken to X to reveal teaser images of their upcoming 7GT, an…

XPeng and Volkswagen To Merge Super-fast Charging Networks

XPeng and Volkswagen To Merge Super-fast Charging Networks

Partnership is fourth major collaboration between the brands since VW invested $700 million to co-develop EVs for China last July. XPeng and Volkswagen have announced their intention to merge their…

Updated: Lynk & Co 900 Revealed As Six-Seater, Supersized Hybrid SUV

Updated: Lynk & Co 900 Revealed As Six-Seater, Supersized Hybrid SUV

New flagship model boasts up to three motors, twin 30-inch 6k screens, 31-speakers, a fridge, and ‘living room’ setting for the second and third rows. Lynk & Co has unveiled…

Chinese Brands Smash New Energy Sales Records In End Of Year Push

Chinese Brands Smash New Energy Sales Records In End Of Year Push

Almost all brands see increases with many hitting record monthly sales in end-of-year push. Chinese new energy vehicle (BEV, EREV, PHEV) sales benefitted from the annual end-of-year sales push to…

CATL Launches Bedrock Chassis Promising Safety and Customisation

CATL Launches Bedrock Chassis Promising Safety and Customisation

Platform is capable of surviving 120kph frontal pole test with no fire or thermal runaway, and can shorten concept to production time to 12-18 months. CATL, the global leader in…

NIO ET9 Launched As Ultra-High Tech Flagship To Celebrate 10th Anniversary

NIO ET9 Launched As Ultra-High Tech Flagship To Celebrate 10th Anniversary

Flagship ‘landjet’ targets Maybach with focus on luxury, tech, safety, autonomous driving, and silky smooth ride. The Nio ET9 has been unveiled at the brand’s annual NIO Day event in…

CATL Unveils Two New Swappable Batteries and Future Plans

CATL Unveils Two New Swappable Batteries and Future Plans

The world’s largest vehicle battery manufacturer started their battery swap business three years ago and is ready to expand. CATL, the world’s largest automotive battery maker, has revealed two standardised…

AVATR closes RMB 11 Billion from Series C Funding Round Ahead of Planned IPO

AVATR closes RMB 11 Billion from Series C Funding Round Ahead of Planned IPO

Brand is a collaboration between battery maker CATL, tech company Huawei, and car maker Changan Chinese car maker AVATR has raised RMB 11 billion ($1.5 billion) in a series C…

iCar V23 Launches Starting from just RMB 99,800 (£10,700 / $13,700)

iCar V23 Launches Starting from just RMB 99,800 (£10,700 / $13,700)

Possibly the coolest car of 2024 drops at an astoundingly affordable price point with both rear- and all-wheel drive variants on offer. iCAR has officially launched its third fully electric…

Pre-orders Opened for Zeekr 7X in Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands

Pre-orders Opened for Zeekr 7X in Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands

The Zeekr 7X mid-size SUV will start from as little as $48,250 in Sweden and will go to RHD markets including Australia and possibly the UK. Customers in Sweden, Norway,…

Geely and Baidu JV, Jiyue, Seemingly Becomes Latest Chinese EV Brand To Close Doors

Geely and Baidu JV, Jiyue, Seemingly Becomes Latest Chinese EV Brand To Close Doors

The brand, that focused on autonomous tech and stunning looks, looks poised to join Evergrande and HiPhi on the scrap heap of history. (This article has been edited to update…

AVATR 06 Previewed In New Images Ahead of 2025 Launch

AVATR 06 Previewed In New Images Ahead of 2025 Launch

Latest model will be a mid-size saloon and makes do without a rear window like on the Polestar 4. AVATR has revealed official images of its upcoming 06 saloon which…

Baidu Apollo Go Claims First Hong Kong Autonomous Vehicle Licence

Baidu Apollo Go Claims First Hong Kong Autonomous Vehicle Licence

China’s largest robotaxi operator gets the first green light to test autonomous cars in the right-hand drive market Baidu Apollo International has been granted the first pilot licence to test…

Records smashed across the board in China’s NEV November sales charts

Records smashed across the board in China’s NEV November sales charts

Big month for Geely, Leapmotor, and XPeng, less so for Li Auto, Nio, and Jiyue. November’s China NEV delivery figures are in and it’s looking like yet another record month…

XPeng Produces 10,000th P7+ and marks 20,000th X9 Delivery

XPeng Produces 10,000th P7+ and marks 20,000th X9 Delivery

XPeng P7+ has only been on sale for 20 days and looks likely to take XPeng monthly sales over 30,000 in November XPeng has announced the production of its 10,000th…

Huawei Pulls Covers Off China’s answer to Maybach

Huawei Pulls Covers Off China’s answer to Maybach

S800 marks Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance’s entry into the million RMB segment. Huawei has unveiled the Maextro S800 executive saloon, the first model from the new flagship brand that sits…

ROX Motor Expands to over 20 countries and launches off-road academy

ROX Motor Expands to over 20 countries and launches off-road academy

Off-road focused brand says international sales have totalled more than 10,000 units as they expand into four new markets. ROX Motor has announced the expansion of its international operations into…

Hongqi unveils Tiangong 08 electric SUV

Hongqi unveils Tiangong 08 electric SUV

Electric model, named E-HS7 internationally, will spawn a battery-swap capable version. Hongqi’s New Energy division has pulled the covers off its latest fully-electric SUV, the 08, ahead of a public…

Zeekr takes majority stake in Lynk & Co in Geely reshuffle

Zeekr takes majority stake in Lynk & Co in Geely reshuffle

Both brands remain but will be more clearly positioned and share more back-end technology. Chinese premium electric brand Zeekr will take a 51% majority stake in sister brand Lynk &…

Hyptec HL Revealed Ahead of Guangzhou Auto Show Official Debut

Hyptec HL Revealed Ahead of Guangzhou Auto Show Official Debut

Three-row fully electric SUV is brand’s fourth model and looks set to rival Li L9 and AITO M9. GAC’s Hyptec brand has released official images of the HL three-row electric…

VW Anhui Cancels Future MEB Models In Shift to XPeng Co-developed Architecture

VW Anhui Cancels Future MEB Models In Shift to XPeng Co-developed Architecture

Both brands signed a deal in April 2024 to co-develop the CEA platform to underpin future electric Volkswagens. Volkswagen Anhui has decided to cancel future models based on VW’s MEB…

Baojun, China’s cheapest car brand, showcases four-wheel-steer chassis

Baojun, China’s cheapest car brand, showcases four-wheel-steer chassis

Even budget Chinese EV brands are getting in on the sideways parking act with game-changing digital chassis tech. Chinese EV maker Baojun, sister brand to Wuling, has shown its Tianyu…

XPeng P7+ Takes 31,528 Firm Orders Within Hours Of Launch

XPeng P7+ Takes 31,528 Firm Orders Within Hours Of Launch

Guangzhou-based EV maker looks to have successive big sellers on its hands as P7+ lights up the sales charts. XPeng officially opened the order books for their P7+ saloon-cum-hatchback this…

AUDI, not Audi, launches in China with the E Concept

AUDI, not Audi, launches in China with the E Concept

Out with the four rings, in with the four letters, as AUDI plots the comeback of German electric cars in China. The brand is the first product of a collaboration…

Neta the latest Chinese EV brand to hit financial troubles

Neta the latest Chinese EV brand to hit financial troubles

Rumours suggest up to 70% of staff are being laid off as brand seemingly confirms a restructuring is underway. Various reports coming out of Neta suggest the budget EV brand…

XPeng Announces EREV Drive System, Super AI Chip, Robot, And New Flying Car

XPeng Announces EREV Drive System, Super AI Chip, Robot, And New Flying Car

Electric carmaker XPeng took the opportunity of its AI Tech Day to unveil a host of AI-driven products as it enters its second decade. Chinese carmaker, or more accurately now…

DeepRoute Secures $100 million funding from Great Wall Motors

DeepRoute Secures $100 million funding from Great Wall Motors

Shenzhen-based autonomous driving startup defies industry-wide macroeconomic challenges to win hefty funding from major OEM. The significant funding boost was announced at a media briefing today by the Chinese autonomous…

BYD Hires Nearly 200,000 Employees In Just Three Months

BYD Hires Nearly 200,000 Employees In Just Three Months

BYD’s sales success continues unabated leading brand to significantly boost hiring and production capacity numbers. In the space of just three months from August to October, BYD has added both…

Hyundai To Launch China-only EV in 2025 As It Launches Local R&D Hub

Hyundai To Launch China-only EV in 2025 As It Launches Local R&D Hub

Hyundai has struggled in China of late but isn’t throwing in the towel just yet, with a China-only EV set to launch in 2025. The news was revealed alongside the…

Record NEV sales galore in October as BYD crosses half a million threshold

Record NEV sales galore in October as BYD crosses half a million threshold

Nearly all brands see deliveries increase in October, but absolutely nobody can keep pace with BYD. As predicted, October’s NEV (new energy vehicle) sales in China hit new heights almost…

Geely Launches EM-i Hybrid System to Challenge BYD’s Dominance

Geely Launches EM-i Hybrid System to Challenge BYD’s Dominance

Geely has launched its new Leishen EM-i hybrid system, otherwise known as NordThor 2.0, boasting thermal efficiency of 46.5% and potential range of 2,390km The new technology, which claims a…

Xiaomi SU7 Ultra Debuts With Over 1,500hp

Xiaomi SU7 Ultra Debuts With Over 1,500hp

Smartphone giant unveils most powerful SU7 yet alongside Nurburgring record for 4-door saloon. Xiaomi has unveiled the SU7 Ultra, an electrifying flagship version of their popular EV saloon producing an…

Spy Images Reveal Upcoming AION Compact Hatch

Spy Images Reveal Upcoming AION Compact Hatch

Images, seemingly taken inside GAC’s Design Studio in Guangzhou, show an as-yet-unrevealed Fiesta-sized hatchback that appears production-ready. The secret model sports AION’s updated design language which first appeared on the…

AITO M8 Revealed in Patent Images with New Design Language

AITO M8 Revealed in Patent Images with New Design Language

Fourth AITO model, expected to be called M8, appears to debut new HIMA face in patent images Patent images, submitted by the makers of the AITO and Seres brand vehicles,…

Chery Teases Pick-up Truck for International Markets – Could Take Himalaya Moniker

Chery Teases Pick-up Truck for International Markets – Could Take Himalaya Moniker

Chery has teased an as-yet-unreleased pick-up truck codenamed KP11 at their Global User Summit in Wuhu. The model, which previews an upcoming pick-up similar in size to the popular Ford…

Chery to Launch Yet Another New Brand: Lepas

Chery to Launch Yet Another New Brand: Lepas

China’s largest vehicle exporter for 21 years in a row has announced a ninth brand to add to their collection. They may already count Chery, Exeed, Jetour, Omoda, Jaecoo, iCar,…

Chery Announces Raft of New Battery Tech and ADAS Technology At Global Innovation Expo

Chery Announces Raft of New Battery Tech and ADAS Technology At Global Innovation Expo

Chinese auto giant, Chery, has announced a raft of innovations across the areas of platforms, powertrains, cockpit, autonomous driving, and more at its Global Innovation Expo in Wuhu. Some highlights…

WeRide Launches GXR Robotaxi  – Uses Farizon SuperVAN As Basis

WeRide Launches GXR Robotaxi – Uses Farizon SuperVAN As Basis

WeRide, one of the world’s leading developers of autonomous driving technology, has launched its latest generation of robotaxi, the GXR. The model is based on the Farizon SuperVAN, which we…

October’s Regulatory Filing Reveals

October’s Regulatory Filing Reveals

Every month, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information and Technology releases the filings of cars that have been approved for Chinese sales, often leaking models before the brands have launched…

XPeng P7+ secures 30,000 orders in under two hours

XPeng P7+ secures 30,000 orders in under two hours

XPeng says it has taken over 30,000 orders for its upcoming P7+ hatchback (coming soon to Inside China Auto) within two hours of the new model going on pre-sale following…

Leapmotor B10 Revealed in Paris

Leapmotor B10 Revealed in Paris

Leapmotor has revealed the B10 compact SUV ahead of its debut at the Paris Auto Show. The B10, the smallest SUV in the Leapmotor range, is expected to go on…

Lynk & Co 02 / Z20 Debuts in Milan – Heading to Europe

Lynk & Co 02 / Z20 Debuts in Milan – Heading to Europe

The Lynk & Co Z20, named 02 in Europe, has been unveiled at an event in Milan ahead of an expected public debut at the Paris Motor Show. The brand’s…

Chinese NEV Market Hits Record 54.29% of Total Sales in September

Chinese NEV Market Hits Record 54.29% of Total Sales in September

China’s NEV (new energy vehicle) sales hit a record 54.29% of the total retail monthly sales in September with 1.12 million units finding customers. The record result means that retail…

XPeng launches P7+ ahead of November deliveries

XPeng launches P7+ ahead of November deliveries

XPeng has officially unveiled the P7+, a large hatchback they’re describing as “the world’s first AI vehicle”. The all-new model, which despite its name is not based on, and won’t…

Baidu looks to take Apollo Go robotaxis global

Baidu looks to take Apollo Go robotaxis global

On the eve of Tesla’s expected robotaxi event, it has emerged that Baidu is looking to expand its Apollo Go robotaxi service outside of China, according to sources cited by…

Golden Week sales surge kicks off mega Q4 for NEVs

Golden Week sales surge kicks off mega Q4 for NEVs

Reported sales figures from ‘Golden Week’, the one week national holiday in China that kicks off October each year, suggest October will be yet another record month for NEVs in…

BYD Seal GT launches October 18th

BYD Seal GT launches October 18th

The highly-anticipated BYD Seal 06 GT, revealed at the Chengdu Auto Show in August, is set to officially launch in China on October 18th. Seen by many as the first…

EU votes to impose big tariffs on Chinese-made EVs

EU votes to impose big tariffs on Chinese-made EVs

The European Union has voted to impose the previously proposed high taxes on imported Chinese-made EVs for the next five years with a majority of states voting in favour. China’s…

Denza confirmed as next BYD brand for sales in Australia

Denza confirmed as next BYD brand for sales in Australia

BYD General Manager for the Asia Pacific region, Liu Xueliang, has confirmed that Denza will be the next BYD brand to enter the rapidly diversifying Australian electric car market. The…

Chinese NEV makers way off sales targets for 2024

Chinese NEV makers way off sales targets for 2024

Despite a booming year for NEV sales in China, most Chinese NEV makers will fall well short of their 2024 sales targets according to research by CarNewsChina.com. Despite NEVs now…

China NEV Sales Leaderboard – September 2024

China NEV Sales Leaderboard – September 2024

BYD once again leads the way in China’s NEV (new energy vehicles – BEV, EREV, PHEV) sales charts for September as several car makers set monthly records in the hotly…

Jiyue 07 Launches in China Claiming L4 Autonomous Driving Capability 

Jiyue 07 Launches in China Claiming L4 Autonomous Driving Capability 

The Jiyue 07, the second model from the Geely-Baidu joint venture, has officially been launched claiming to be the world’s first mass-produced L4 autonomous capable car. It features the latest…

XPENG AEROHT Unveils Production-ready Flying Car Transporter

XPENG AEROHT Unveils Production-ready Flying Car Transporter

XPENG AEROHT made waves in the automotive and aerospace industries last week with the debut of its modular flying car, the Land Aircraft Carrier.  The innovative vehicle was showcased for…

XPeng Seeks Production Site in Europe to Avoid Tariffs

XPeng Seeks Production Site in Europe to Avoid Tariffs

Shortly after the EU’s temporary tariffs on Chinese-made EVs kicked in, a contact at XPeng confirmed plans for the company to build cars in Europe. At the recent event, this…

Canada Imposes 100% Tariff on Chinese-made EVs

Canada Imposes 100% Tariff on Chinese-made EVs

Canada looks set to follow the lead of the US in imposing 100% tariffs on imports of China-made electric vehicles, raising doubts over BYD’s expansion plans there. The move is…

GAC Launches World’s Fastest Motor

GAC Launches World’s Fastest Motor

GAC sub-brand HYPTEC, formerly known as Hyper, has announced the start of production of the Quark Electric Drive 2.0, a motor claiming the world’s highest speed of 30,000rpm. GAC claims…

CATL’s CIIC skateboard chassis readies for mass production under Neta S Wagon

CATL’s CIIC skateboard chassis readies for mass production under Neta S Wagon

Our contacts at Neta have confirmed that the first car built on CATL’s CIIC skateboard chassis will be the 800-volt Neta S Wagon. Skateboard chassis were all the rage in…

Evergrande Auto Saga Looks All But Over

Evergrande Auto Saga Looks All But Over

Evergrande Auto, the perennially struggling automotive arm of equally beleaguered property giant China Evergrande Group, has laid off all of its remaining employees. The news looks to be all but…

Baidu Robotaxi Fleet Hits Seven Million Rides

Baidu Robotaxi Fleet Hits Seven Million Rides

Baidu’s Apollo Go self-driving ride-hailing platform has clocked up more than seven million autonomous rides since its inception, according to a recent Baidu earnings call. The achievement was reached thanks…

European Commission Announces Decision on Chinese EV Tariffs

European Commission Announces Decision on Chinese EV Tariffs

The European Commission investigation into subsidies for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) has concluded with final tariff decisions made, and it’s good news for Tesla, not so good for other companies…

News Round-up 12-18

News Round-up 12-18

The Chinese automotive market never sleeps and this week was no exception, with a spate of new model releases, pre-order book openings, and production line roll-offs. Here’s your quick summary…

Zeekr announces fastest charging production battery in the world

Zeekr announces fastest charging production battery in the world

Zeekr, the premium EV brand of Chinese automotive giant Geely, has launched what it says is the fastest charging EV battery in the world. The so-called ‘Golden battery’, a self-developed…

CATL Opens Showroom in Chengdu For Cars Using Its Batteries

CATL Opens Showroom in Chengdu For Cars Using Its Batteries

CATL, the world’s largest automotive battery maker, has opened a supersize EV pavilion in Chengdu displaying almost 100 cars that use its batteries. The complex, named NING Space, is the…

Nio Hits 50 Million Battery Swap Milestone

Nio Hits 50 Million Battery Swap Milestone

Just six years on from the completion of their first battery swap station in Shenzhen, Nio has reached the 50 million swap milestone. With a network that now boasts 2,464…

BYD’s To Use Huawei Tech for Fangchengbao Smart Driving System

BYD’s To Use Huawei Tech for Fangchengbao Smart Driving System

Chinese local media is reporting that Fangchengbao will be the first BYD brand to implement Huawei’s intelligent driving system when the Bao 8 launches later this year. BYD doesn’t currently…

HiPhi Parent Company, Human Horizons, Files for Bankruptcy

HiPhi Parent Company, Human Horizons, Files for Bankruptcy

The fortunes of China’s most outlandish EV company, HiPhi, have seemingly gone from bleak to dire with the announcement that parent company Human Horizons has filed for bankruptcy. There had…

China July NEV Sales Top 50% – Winners and Losers

China July NEV Sales Top 50% – Winners and Losers

China’s NEV sales, meaning full electric and hybrids, topped 50% in a single month for the first time in July with the country’s electrified vehicle take-up rate continuing to accelerate.…

BYD and Uber team up to sell more EVs

BYD and Uber team up to sell more EVs

BYD’s global ambitions to turn the world electric have gained a significant boost thanks to a tie-up with ride-hailing giant Uber that aims to get more drivers into their cars.…