China

Chinese company EHang has opened a new, 5G enabled, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vertiport and maintenance facility in Guangzhou, China – it’s just the latest new project in China’s “official” urban air mobility (UAM) test city.

Beijing-headquartered electric power company Huaneng Power International (HPI) has completed the world’s largest floating solar project in Dezhou, which is in Shandong, an eastern Chinese province on the Yellow Sea. The 320 megawatt (MW) project is the largest floating solar farm to come online to date.

Everywhere you look, you can see signs of an automotive market that’s been hit hard by a silicon “chip shortage.” Everywhere that is, except Tesla, where a more flexible, software-focused approach and sturdier grip on its critical parts supplies have allowed the company to nearly double its deliveries from the year before. Over in China, Geely and Foxconn have taken notice.

You could argue that the quietest business week in the Western world is that week between Christmas and New Year’s, and into that nebulous, boozy, cheese-filled week of relative silence was lobbed news that China has lifted its decades-old ban on foreign ownership of Chinese car factories. Tesla already owned their Chinese factory, so it seemed like business as usual – until Honda announced plans to build a massive EV factory in China.

Chinese EV automaker GAC Aion announced the start of sales for its anticipated SUV, the LX Plus. After announcing an NEDC range of 1,000 km this past November, GAC Aion has now shared a slightly longer range alongside other specs for Chinese consumers, including pricing.

China’s largest offshore wind farm was connected to the grid at full capacity on Saturday, December 25. It transmitted power through undersea cables.

Coal production is forecast to reach an all-time high in 2022, and then after a couple of years, plateau as demand flattens, according to the latest annual market report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), released today.

Chinese EV automaker NIO announced it will reveal a new model later this week during its NIO Day 2021 event in Shanghai. The annual event is normally when NIO introduces new models, and a teaser image from the company may confirm rumors that the public will get its first glimpse of the ET5 later this week.

China is the world’s biggest polluter – and it’s also the world’s leader in clean energy growth. China’s cumulative installed onshore and offshore wind capacity has now reached 302.2 gigawatts (GW), according to Windpower Intelligence (WPI), the data and research division of Windpower Monthly.

The COP26, aka the United Nations Climate Change Conference UK 2021, has officially finished in Glasgow. But the final agreement has not yet been put in place, and that will likely come over the weekend. Here’s Electrek‘s daily roundup of the key happenings at the world’s most important summit ever.

Chinese automaker XPeng Motors has begun teasing its upcoming electric SUV, the fourth vehicle in its overall fleet. While mystery surrounds this SUV more than actual specs, XPeng has shared some clues as to what the public can expect to see next week during the Guangzhou Auto Show.

Chinese automotive conglomerate Geely is reportedly spinning off a pickup truck business from its commercial EV division. Geely is working to release an all-electric pickup in the second half of next year that may very well someday compete against nascent US automaker Rivian.

Chinese automaker GAC Aion aims to be one of the first in China to deliver a long-sought NEDC range of 1,000 km (~621 miles) with its new LX Plus electric SUV. The upcoming EV was recently processed through one of the final steps in China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), meaning it will soon be available to consumers overseas.

A report out of China, citing recent data from the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, hands the crown to the country as having the world’s largest EV charging network. With over 2.2 million charging stations throughout the country, China’s EV infrastructure continues to expand at an impressive rate, while other countries, including the US, have some serious catching up to do.

Relatively young eVTOL developer Autoflight announced it has successfully completed the first flight of its V1500M four-passenger aircraft. This electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vessel is equipped with autonomous technology and can currently travel 250 km (155 miles) on a single charge. Autoflight will seek certification for this eVTOL in China, alongside its other electrified aerial vehicles, as the country continues to push the commercialization of urban air mobility (UAM).

A recent report out of China cites documentation that major battery supplier BYD intends to raise the prices of its lithium battery cells by at least 20% beginning November 1. BYD notes market changes surrounding the limits of raw materials for lithium batteries as the reason for the price hike. With global supply chains stifled, BYD will need to up the price of its battery cells to compensate for its own comprehensive price increases.

Infant luxury EV brand ZEEKR has officially begun rolling the first production models of its flagship 001 sedan off its assembly line in China. The brand exists under the Geely Holding Group umbrella, and will now begin the first deliveries of its first luxury EV to customers in China this weekend.

Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi today announced that it plans to launch its first electric car in the first half of 2024, and then a new car in each of the following three years. It’s aiming for total sales of 900,000 electric cars in those three years.

Ford has just successfully rolled the first models of its Mustang Mach-E off its assembly line in China, ahead of deliveries to local customers later this year. The new EVs will be sold in China through Ford’s direct sales network and will be manufactured at Changan Ford’s manufacturing plant in Chongqing.

EV automaker NIO has just announced that its annual “NIO Day” 2021 event will be held at the Olympic Sports Center in Suzhou, west of Shanghai on December 18. NIO Day 2020 was held in early January of this year, and the event is usually when the automaker introduces new models. That trend should continue this year as the automaker is expected to reveal at least two new models and possibly an entirely new vehicle brand. Here’s what we know so far.

EV startup WM Motor has teased a first image of its upcoming M7 sedan ahead of its official unveiling in China later this week. The M7 is based on a concept EV previously shared by WM Motor and will be the first sedan in its fleet. Furthermore, it’s reported to come equipped with three separate LiDAR sensors.