China

Sport and racing car manufacturer Lotus Cars announced it has officially completed its $1.2 billion production facility in Wuhan, China where several of the company’s future BEVs will be built. The first to arrive will be the Lotus Eletre, whose first unit rolled off the assembly line as part of its development toward actual production.

Global automaker Stellantis is making its footprint slightly less global, following the termination of a joint venture established with GAC Group over a decade ago to build Jeeps overseas. Stellantis has cited a “lack of progress” in acquiring a majority stake in the JV, and instead will try to import its electrified Jeep offerings to China.

Rivian did it first, Ford did it the biggest, and now China is next. Geely Auto is entering the nascent electric pickup truck segment with an entirely new brand called Radar Auto. The new outdoors-centric marque officially launched today along with images of its flagship EV called the RD6. In addition to electric pickups, Radar also has plans for SUVs and ATVs.

As several companies across the globe move closer to delivering scaled production of solar EVs, a team in China has taken sustainable transportation a step further by creating a solar vehicle that runs entirely on energy from the sun. Introducing the Tianjin solar car.

Ahead of its official release in China, XPeng Motors has posted a teaser video showcasing the engineering (beta) version of its City Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP). The one-take video shows XPeng’s P5 sedan driving autonomously from XPeng HQ in Guangzhou to the city center, demonstrating a number of ADAS functions. If and when it reaches mass production, City NGP could offer a legitimate challenge to Tesla FSD beta.

During NIO’s second annual Power Day event, the Chinese EV automaker spoke of its future of charging and battery technology, unveiling new 500 kW ultra-fast-charging piles in addition to a peek at its third-generation battery swap station. Here’s a quick recap of NIO Power Day 2022.

During an online event broadcast earlier today, Chinese EV automaker NIO delivered a robust presentation of product upgrades, existing model updates, and the official launch of its long anticipated ES7 SUV. The all-new ES7 is now available for pre-order in China and will come loaded with NIO’s latest EV tech.

Following months of teasing the public, Baidu’s intelligent EV startup JIDU has officially unveiled its AI powered, robotic EV, called the ROBO-01. The ROBODAY presentation took place today on Baidu’s metaverse platform and included a slew of images, video, and details of the upcoming JIDU smart EV.

A new retro concept version of the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV has emerged in China and begs a number of questions. Will SAIC-GM-Wuling produce the retro Mini EV despite it being a third-party design? Would GM consider bringing the popular EV to the United States? And lastly, does a customer base just starting to dip its toe in the world of futuristic EVs want a retro-looking vehicle?

Just over a year after being founded, intelligent EV startup JIDU is on the cusp of officially unveiling the concept of its first vehicle, referred to as the “Robocar.” Following delays due to COVID-19 restrictions in China, JIDU announced the EV concept will debut at its ROBODAY event in June.

Chinese automaker BYD Auto has officially begun taking pre-orders for its long-teased Seal sedan. The new EV model, anticipated by many to become a competitor to the Tesla Model 3, arrives in four different trim models and will be the first from BYD to include its new cell-to-body (CTB) technology.

EV startup Canoo is reportedly using a lawsuit to recoup profits made by DD Global Holdings and lead beneficiary Pak Tam Li, a significant stakeholder in Canoo with ties to China. In the lawsuit, Canoo is accusing DD Global of selling its shares in March while simultaneously doing an equity swap for the same amount of shares with an unknown buyer.

Two years after launching its Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model, NIO has amended its program to allow those customers enrolled in battery swaps to opt out and purchase their EV battery. NIO states that its decision is based off feedback from consumers who regret their BaaS enrollment, but explains this group remains relatively small.

Autonomous driving developer Pony.ai announced it has received a license to operate its self-driving taxis in China, the first company to achieve the permit. Pony.ai will soon have 100 robotaxis in operation throughout Nansha, Guangzhou, charging riders fares alongside traditional taxis.

Chinese NEV automaker GAC Aion is expanding its repertoire of EV technologies to include battery swap stations. The company announced its first station has opened in Guangzhou and can replace an EV battery in under 2.5 minutes. GAC Aion is the latest company to implement battery swap stations in China.

Earlier this week, battery manufacturer CATL officially began operating four EVOGO battery swap stations in Xiamen, part of southeast China’s Fujian Province. With the start of battery swap services, CATL has declared Xiamen the world’s first EVOGO city, with plans for dozens more stations this year.

Fresh off news of its first expansion outside of China into Germany, CATL is expanding further as part of a new $6 billion dollar battery chain project in Indonesia. Through its subsidiary and an agreement with Indonesia PT AnekaTambang (ANTAM) and PT Industri Baterai Indonesia (IBI), CATL will have a majority stake in five of the six planned battery projects.

In what is being dubbed the “world’s largest electric cruise ship,” the Yangtze River Three Gorges 1 recently completed its maiden voyage out of its home port in Yichang, central China’s Hubei Province. The 100 meter long, zero-emissions ship can haul up to 1,300 passengers at a time and is powered by batteries totaling 7,500 kWh, equivalent to over 100 EVs.

NIO moves ever-closer to delivering its ET7 luxury sedan. The company announced the first batch of EVs has officially rolled off its assembly line in Hefei, China. ET7 deliveries remain on schedule to arrive to NIO reservation holders in China beginning March 28.

Chinese EV automaker BYD announced it has found an unlikely partner in Shell to expand and promote a good deal of energy and charging technologies together throughout Europe and China. This includes EV charging network services, integrated home energy solutions, electric vehicle service centers, and more.

The world’s largest battery manufacturer, is going green… or at least starting to. Earlier today, CATL announced it has built a zero-carbon battery plant in Yibin, Sichuan province of China. While the current details are scarce, we can expect to learn more following a presentation on Friday local time overseas.