China

On today’s totally true episode of Quick Charge, Fred returns from the Beijing Auto Show with a fresh look at the future of the car business, and a test drive in a 2nd generation Xiaomi SU7 does nothing to convince him that China hasn’t just set the bar even higher.

China’s solar exports surged to unprecedented levels in March as a global energy shock is pushing countries to rapidly pivot away from fossil fuels.

Packing just over 1,380 hp and up to 255 miles of all-electric range, the new, tri-motor, extended-range hybrid Zeekr X8 is redefining what buyers could and should expect from their next SUV – and parent company Geely’s global ambitions could mean the platform will make its way to North America. As a Volvo.

Global EV sales are still huge, but they’re not moving in the same direction everywhere: New data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence shows 4 million electric vehicles were sold worldwide in Q1 2026, down 3% year over year.

Last week, Chinese heavy equipment brand Sunward unveiled unveiled a new class of rotary drilling rigs that combine electric drive and actuation with onboard range-extending generators – bringing smooth, low-vibration performance to projects just about anywhere.

China’s clean energy boom is saddled with a major challenge: what to do with all its old wind and solar equipment.

What happens when you deploy 100 massive, driverless, and fully electric heavy haul trucks at a working mine? After nearly a year of continuous operation, one mining company is already finding out. Here’s how their great experiment is going.

I’ve done it again. I took a risk and spent a stack of cash to buy what could either be the most affordable, awesome electric ATV in the world, or a dangerous pile of steel and magnets that has no business ferrying around innocent lives through off-road terrain.

Ready to find out which it is? Me too, so let’s hit it!

Global EV sales hit 1.1 million units in February 2026, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. But the global market is now splitting sharply by region.

Chinese manufacturing and equipment firm Zoomlion looks set for a breakout year – the company has shipped some 15,000 units with a combined value of approximately 8.5 billion yuan (~1.2B), and we’re barely into March (!).

While DC fast charging infrastructure and range anxiety dominate Western EV headlines, Nio’s battery-swap system in China reached a new milestone that proves battery swap tech can rival traditional refueling models at scale: Nio customers performed more than 165,000 battery swaps in single day.

UPDATE 22FEB2026: they beat last week’s record of 165,898 swaps.

The new electric SUV from Audi’s Chinese AUDI brand is being billed as the most important launch in the young company’s history, and it’s set to make its official debut in production form this April – but thanks to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), you can see it right now.

1.2 million EVs were sold globally in January – but the market shrank. Global EV sales fell 3% year-over-year and 44% in January 2026 from December to 1.2 million units, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. The slowdown was largely driven by China, where sales dropped after new taxes and weaker incentives kicked in.

Chinese equipment brand Boonray has developed an autonomous, battery-swapping electric mining truck that it hopes will revolutionize the global mining industry – and global EV leader BYD just gave it a multimillion dollar vote of confidence.

Xpeng’s flying car unit Aridge is ramping up its marketing efforts for the new Land Aircraft Carrier designed carry its AeroHT eVTOL “flying car” as it inches closer to production reality.

China has officially moved forward with a proposed ban on flush EV door handles, with an effective date of January 1, 2027. The regulation will force a redesign of many EVs with sleek, electronically-actuated handles, a design popularized by Tesla.

The ultra-fast Xiaomi SU7 Ultra made enough headlines with its astonishing 0-60 sprints and record Nürburgring lap times to drum up around 3,000 sales per month – but the good times seem to have come to an end, and Xiaomi sold just 45 units in December.

It’s been a big week for humanoid robots with a first-ever humanoid to directly connect to a low-Earth orbit satellite from one firm and plans announced to launch a robot into space by another. It seems like the robot space race is on – and China is winning.

Volvo parent company Geely is set to complete production of its first in-house solid-state battery pack in 2026, becoming the latest Chinese electric automaker to announce progress with this next-generation battery tech.

While some companies are making promises, other companies are building hybrid and electric semi trucks. In fact, more than 231,000 electrified work trucks rolled off assembly lines 2025 – and that’s just in China!

Weighing in at just 1,356 kg and packing a 320 kW (~430 hp) electric motor, the Xiaomi-backed JMEV SC01 ditches the extras and keeps the essentials – so if you’re the kind of person that dreams of a self-driving future that lets you pay more attention to your Twitter X feed than the road ahead, this one’s not for you.

But if it is for you, I have fantastic news: this electric roadster is being sold in Europe (and it won’t stop there).