May 17, 2024
Carlos Tavares, the big boss of car giant Stellantis, with a total of 14 French, Italian, and American car brands under his wings, is crushing opposed to Joe Biden’s move to increase import taxes for Chinese cars in the US with 100% and the EU’s plans to do something similar. “When you put a bubble […]
May 16, 2024
As the US government has now opted to quadruple trade tariffs on electric vehicles from China, Europe is also considering a (much more modest) increase. However, whether any of the trade war’s efforts will benefit customers remains to be seen. Apparently, the European Union will impose punitive tariffs on electric cars made in China before […]
May 16, 2024
On Wednesday, Chinese premium carmaker NIO officially showed the world its first model of a completely new ‘affordable’ line, the Onvo L60. It is directly targeted to compete in China with Toyota’s RAV4 and the Tesla Model Y for 219,900 yuan (€27,890), which is 30,000 yuan (€3,820) cheaper than the latter. According to NIO founder […]
May 15, 2024
“We will never let China control the market for this type of vehicle.” With those words, the President of the US, Joe Biden, announced that he would raise current import rates for Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%. Fearing an engulfment of cheaper Chinese electric cars, this doubles their retail price. Citing the impossibility of […]
May 15, 2024
The Stellantis Group and Chinese electric car manufacturer Leapmotor have finalized the establishment of their joint venture and announced that Leapmotor International would commence operations in Europe in September 2024. The market launch in Europe will initially start in France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Greece, and Romania. Both sides have announced that […]
May 14, 2024
Avatr, the joint venture between the Chinese state-owned manufacturer Changan and CATL, with Huawei as a major supplier, has unveiled its third model: the 07, a mid-size extended-range electric SUV. It follows the larger Avatr 11 SUV and Avatr 12 sedan and should rival the Tesla Model Y with a low price tag. With a […]
May 14, 2024
China’s biggest EV maker, BYD, has launched the Sea Lion 07, the first of a new Ocean-array SUV model product line. It is built on an upgraded e-Platform EVO 3.0, offering a ‘higher level of integration, stronger powertrain, and charging performance’. In China, the Sea Lion will cost 189,800 yuan (€24,220) and is targeted—once again—against […]
May 10, 2024
Chinese automaker NIO has celebrated the 500,000th car, an ES8, rolling off the production lines of its F2 plant at NeoPark in Hefei, the capital of east China’s Anhui Province. With that milestone, it confirms its position as China’s leading premium EV brand in the market for cars above 300,000 yuan (€38,500), the number one […]
May 06, 2024
Chinese shipping giant COSCO launched the world’s first 10,000-DWT pure electric container ships, which it developed and constructed at the Heavy Industry Shipyard at Yangzhou. The ‘Green Water 01’ and its sister ship, Green Water 02, have a large-capacity battery combining for over 50,000 kWh. However, as it consists of multiple 20-foot battery containers offering […]
May 06, 2024
Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng is now accepting orders for its third model in Europe. The electric SUV G6 is initially available in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, and it is cheaper than a Tesla Model Y. In Belgium, the Xpeng starts at €42,990 (190 kW, RWD, 435 km WLTP range), the same […]
May 01, 2024
BYD presented its new Ocean M electric car concept at the Beijing Motor Show. The production version of the hatchback will launch on the Chinese market in the third quarter of 2024 at a price between 150,000 and 200,000 yuan (some 19,300 to 25,800 euros). It is not yet known whether BYD will also bring […]
April 30, 2024
Chinese luxury brand Hongqi brings out the big guns at the 2024 Beijing Auto Show with new models and concept cars. The brand is officially launching the EH7 Convertible, a new open-top version of the EH7 electric sedan launched a month ago. The sub-brand of Chinese FAW Group also showcased three concept cars. The E702 […]
April 30, 2024
China’s biggest battery maker, CATL, aims to produce all-solid-state batteries by 2027-2028 in small batches, according to one of its executives at the China International Battery Fair (CIBF) 2024 event. The Chinese, being world-dominant in liquid lithium-ion batteries, fear future solid-state battery technology could turn their pole position into an otherwise arrear. It’s the first […]
April 29, 2024
NIO and Lotus found each other at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition to sign a strategic charging and battery swap technology partnership. According to a statement by NIO, the ultimate goal is to build a standard battery system and jointly develop passenger vehicles with a unified battery-swapping and fast-charging operational and management system. Changan Automobile, […]
April 29, 2024
Japanese independent car manufacturer Mazda has shown its second full-electric vehicle, the EZ-6, at the motor show in Beijing. It was developed with partner Changan and is only intended for the Chinese market. The same goes for Toyota. The world’s number one car manufacturer presented two new BEV models for the Chinese market at Auto […]
April 26, 2024
CATL, the world’s biggest battery maker, has once again pushed back frontiers by presenting the newest generation of its Shenxing LFP battery. This battery offers EV ranges of more than 1,000 km and can charge 600 km in only ten minutes. The first generation launched last year provides a 700 km range and 400 km […]
April 25, 2024
The motor show in Beijing starts today, but Volkswagen already set the tone for the trade fair yesterday at its Group Media Night. What VW CEO Oliver Blume and his board members presented on stage was akin to a declaration of war. In China, the largest global market for cars, it is not only the […]
April 25, 2024
At the Beijing Motor Show, Mini unveiled the Aceman, a compact crossover that skillfully bridges the gap between the smaller hatchback and the larger Countryman. Built in China exclusively as an electric model, the Aceman marks a pivot in Mini’s design ethos. With a starting price of 36,500 euros, it is eligible for the Flemish […]
April 24, 2024
In its Global EV Outlook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts a “robust” 20% growth in electric vehicle (EV) sales for the entirety of 2024. This optimistic projection positions the year to shatter previous records, with an estimated 17 million EVs expected to be sold. The findings are surprising as they collide with earlier signs of […]
April 23, 2024
Chinese car manufacturer Chery wants to build cars in Spain, specifically in the former Nissan plant in Barcelona. It will be Chery’s first production facility in Europe. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sees the partnership between Chery and Ebro-EV Motors as a ‘symbol for the reindustrialization’ of Catalonia and Spain as a whole. This brings […]
April 18, 2024
78% of the Belgian users who drive a company car via the leasing company ALD Automotive/Leaseplan are convinced that the Chinese car manufacturers will have a growing share of the Belgian car market in the future. GfK surveyed 2,211 lease car users at the request of car leaser ALD Automotive/Leaseplan. The respondents were questioned about […]
April 16, 2024
Yin Tongyue, chairman of China’s Chery Auto, said the Wuhu-based car manufacturer is planning to sign a deal with a premium European brand through platform cooperation. “Two premium European brands want to use our platform, and a deal will be signed with one of them, which is a more premium brand than us,” Yin said. […]
April 15, 2024
Sales of electric models from the Volkswagen Group showed strong regional differences in the first quarter of 2024. While sales fell significantly in Europe and the US, the Chinese market stood for outstanding growth. To further cement its position in China, the brand Volkswagen has announced an investment of 2.5 billion euro to expand its […]
April 10, 2024
Western European ports, particularly Zeebrugge and Antwerp, face unprecedented challenges as they morph into vast car storage facilities. The influx of vehicles, especially from Asia and America, has outpaced the outflow, leading to significant congestion. The bottleneck has several automakers scouting for inland parking lots to keep up with the pace of factory output. The large […]
April 08, 2024
Like other car brands, such as Skoda and DS, Nio is integrating artificial intelligence into its cars. Nio’s voice assistant, Nomi, recently received a GPT update. GPT stands for Generative Pretrained Transformer, a form of artificial intelligence. We first ‘met’ Nio in the Nio ET7 sedan we drove in May 2023. Nomi is the little […]
April 05, 2024
Tailan New Energy, a Chinese company developing solid-state lithium battery technology, has disclosed significant advancements in its latest prototype cell. In its most recent announcement, the researchers point to an extremely high energy density, aiming to deliver a 2,000-kilometer range for BEVs on a single charge. Tailan isn’t one of the household names in solid-state […]
April 04, 2024
China’s biggest battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd. (CATL), has announced a commercial vehicle battery with a lifespan of 1.5 million kilometers or a 15-year warranty. It was developed with one of the world’s biggest bus makers, Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co. Ltd., but the battery also suits light and heavy trucks. The new lithium […]
April 04, 2024
The page is officially turned. After over 25 years, the Hambach, France, plant has churned out its last Smart ForTwo. It’s the end for the small 2.5-m car that was seen as a revolution in urban transport. The Hambach plant, often nicknamed ‘Smartville,’ has produced up to 140,000 cars yearly. However, the plant, which benefited […]
April 02, 2024
It looks like enthusiasts who want to buy Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi’s first electric car, the SU7 sedan, will need the patience of a saint for some versions. Delivery times can stretch up to seven months due to the surprise demand already present in the first hours of pre-ordering. In less than 24 hours, nearly […]
April 01, 2024
China has escalated its confrontation with the United States over electric vehicle (EV) subsidies by filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO). Beijing deems the practices under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) “discriminatory”. It feels targeted in particular and believes they are a form of unfair competition in the changing automotive market. […]
March 28, 2024
With the comfortable certainty of 30 billion yuan (€3,83 billion) profit made in 2023, the top Chinese EV maker BYD can afford to fuel further the price war it initiated to prove electric cars can be sold even cheaper than their ICE siblings. Next in a long row, seeing its price lowered by 5%, is […]
March 28, 2024
For the first time since the outbreak of the Ukrainian war, a Russian factory has rebooted the manufacture of a Western car model. The automotive plant in Kaluga has officially started churning out Citroën C5 Aircross models for the local market. Citroën-owner Stellantis admits having lost control in the region. The PSMA Rus facility, as […]
March 15, 2024
Chinese premium EV maker NIO has chosen ‘Onvo’ as the English name for the line of affordable ‘family electric cars’ it will sell in Europe. In China, it’s called Ledao (乐道), which means as much as ‘happy road’, according to founder and CEO William Li. Under the ‘Alps’ codename, it has been developing a mass-market […]
March 13, 2024
China’s fifth-largest smartphone maker, Xiaomi, unveiled its first electric car in late December. The company confirms that it will bring its first EV SU7 to market on March 28th, when prices should be known. The Xiaoni SU7 is the brand’s first foray into the automotive industry. It’s a mid-size electric sedan powered by two electric […]
March 13, 2024
In an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius made a remarkable statement, rubbing up his French competitors by urging the European Commission to lower tariffs on Chinese EV imports instead of raising them. This would force European carmakers to make better cars, he added. “I’m a contrarian,” he said in […]
March 08, 2024
Hydrogen, regarded as one of the critical energies for decarbonizing heavy road transport and the steel industry, faces a new hurdle. The cost of its quintessential production tool, the electrolyzer, is rising steeply instead of reaching affordability. That’s not according to plan. A recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), the 2024 Electrolyser Price […]
March 06, 2024
According to a document published on Tuesday and cited by the Reuters news agency, the EU Commission says it has sufficient evidence ‘tending’ to show Chinese EVs were being subsidized, and it will start ‘customs registrations’ on Thursday to prepare for possible retroactive tariffs. That means that import tariffs could be imposed retrospectively if the […]
March 05, 2024
Leapmotor, the Chinese start-up with backing from Stellantis, has launched its first ‘global’ model: the C10, an electric or range-extended family SUV with a very aggressive price point. The model is now available in China for around €16,500, with an international launch following later this year. Leapmotor first presented the C10 at the IAA in […]
March 05, 2024
After announcing new price cuts every day last week for nearly every model in its lineup, BYD announced a 12% price reduction for its best-selling compact SUV, the Yuan Plus, better known in Europe as the Atto 3. In China, the Yuan Plus Glory Edition has a starting price of 119,800 yuan (€15,338). In Belgium, […]
March 01, 2024
Beherman Motors has signed an agreement with the Chinese brand Farizon to import and distribute in the Benelux region. The well-known family importer, tied to Mitsubishi, Mazda, Saab, and BMW in the past, taps further into the opportunity of the nascent eLCV market and aims at a share of 5%. Farizon, a subsidiary of the […]
March 01, 2024
German carmaker Volkswagen has inked a Master Agreement with Chinese partner Xpeng on strategic technical collaboration to develop two ‘smart e-car’ models in the Chinese market’s mid-size (B) segment. These two first models should hit the market in 2026. For the time being, the collaboration is only for the Chinese market. Still, earlier in July […]
February 29, 2024
China’s top EV maker, BYD, keeps on pushing further in the price war it started two weeks ago, now targeting the mid-to-high-end EV market, according to Chinese media, by lowering the prices of its Han sedan and Tang SUV hybrids by 11 to 14%. The fully electric Han gets an update as ‘Glory Edition’ costing […]
February 28, 2024
Swedish-Chinese Zeekr, the sister company to Volvo and Lynk & Co, and positioned as one of Geely’s premium brands, has refreshed and beefed up its 001 shooting brake flagship and cut prices in China drastically in the hope of doubling slacking sales to 230,000 cars in 2024. China is seeing a new price war in […]
February 27, 2024
MG has set its sights on Toyota and Renault with a new generation of the MG3. The car replaces its gasoline-only range with a hybrid driveline that is more powerful and has a more extended electric range than its contenders. Simultaneously, ambitions are expanding, as MG will introduce the previously UK-only city car in other […]
February 23, 2024
IM Motors, the joint venture between e-commerce giant Alibaba and Chinese car manufacturer SAIC (MG, Maxus), is coming to Europe with the L6 electric saloon. It will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show with a promised range of up to 800 km thanks to a solid-state battery. IM Motors (Intelligent in Motion) was […]
February 23, 2024
Chinese carmaker BYD will showcase a plug-in version of its Seal U SUV at the 2024 Geneva Motor Show. The new high-range plug-in hybrid should be sold in European markets with low EV demand. In addition to a plug-in SUV, BYD will also present its Yangwang luxurious sub-brand to the public with the U8 full-size […]
February 19, 2024
In a remarkable video posted on Weibo, Chinese premium EV maker NIO has demonstrated a feature of its flagship sedan ET9’s SkyRide chassis system that will please customers in the High North. Like a Husky awakening in the snow in the morning, the car is shaking all the snow off its body during winter testing, […]
January 30, 2024
BYD (Build Your Dreams), the Chinese car manufacturing giant that dethroned Tesla as the world’s biggest EV maker, expects to be on a bed of roses with a profit growth of 86.5%. That’s up to between 29 billion and 31 billion yuan (€3,98 billion) for 2023 compared to the previous year, driven by solid sales […]
January 29, 2024
London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), a subsidiary of the Chinese Geely Group, has started prototype production of its second model, the L380. This sizeable electric minivan has a brand-new architecture designed for optimal space usage and a large battery capacity. The model will go on sale in China in 2024, with other markets following later. […]
January 29, 2024
Over a year after its European launch, BYD’s Tang EV is set for an upgrade, including a larger battery and improved features. The Chinese carmaker wants to increase its appeal to compete with the Tesla Model Y, the best-selling car worldwide, last year. An essential upgrade component is the Tang’s battery capacity, which will increase […]
January 22, 2024
Chinese auto manufacturing group BYD is reportedly considering expanding its European range with hybrid off-road models from its sub-brands Yangwang and Fangchengbao. The former is a 1200-hp luxury vehicle with tank turn capability, and the latter is a more affordable SUV that could rival the Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Rover Defender. BYD is expanding […]
January 17, 2024
BYD expands its Ocean line-up with the Sea Lion 07, a mid-size electric Coupé-SUV that should compete with the Tesla Model Y. Ahead of its official launch in the first half of 2024, China’s MIIT leaks the new model’s technical specifications. The Sea Lion 07 will have three powertrain variants, including two single-motor versions and […]
January 17, 2024
BYD (Build Your Dreams) has commissioned the first of what will probably become a fleet of four giant ro-ro ferries with up to 7 000 cars to ‘fuel’ its expansion into Europe. According to Chinese press agency Xinhua, the BYD Explorer 1 has set sail from China’s southern city of Shenzhen to the Dutch port […]
January 11, 2024
Chinese BYD (Build Your Dreams) just unveiled on Weibo ‘out of the blue’ the new super sedan under its premium YangWang brand name, the U7, which is yet another challenger for German premium brands like Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW. Previously, only some European patent images of the sedan appeared, identified as ‘U6’. But apart from […]
January 09, 2024
Yanfeng, a Shanghai-based multinational automotive supplier specializing in interior components, has presented its vision of the EV interior of the future at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. The Smart Cabin Seat integrates most controls, entertainment, safety systems, and even climate control directly into the seat. Yanfeng claims this Smart Cabin Seat results from multiple studies […]
January 09, 2024
While most Belgian car drivers generally stick devotedly loyal to trusted European or to lesser extent Japanese quality, and up to 80% don’t trust Chinese cars, 52% of the professional lease drivers start admitting these ‘Dragons on Wheels’, EVs with an attractive price and lots of high techs, could be a good deal. The distrust […]
January 08, 2024
China’s top-selling automaker has started constructing a factory for sodium-ion batteries in the Xuzhou region. The plant will be scaled up to produce 30 GWh annually, with packs primarily intended for use in scooters, motorcycles, and smaller vehicles. The factory collaborates with the Chinese tricycle brand HuaiHai through BYD’s subsidiary Findreams Battery. Both partners are […]
January 03, 2024
The Chinese car manufacturer BYD (Build Your Dreams) has a very ambitious goal: to become the world’s biggest car manufacturer and overtake Toyota and other VWs by 2030. It is now the biggest producer of electrified cars in the world. BYD sold a record number of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in December, reaching its full-year […]
December 29, 2023
Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi has unveiled its very first car in China. The new SU7 is a mid-size electric sedan powered by two electric motors up to 673 hp. Not only does Xiaomi claim it can reach 100 kph in only 2,78 seconds, but it also has a range of 800 km (CLTC). Xiaomi is […]
December 28, 2023
JAC, China’s partly state-owned EV maker, controlled by Volkswagen, has launched the world’s first mass-produced electric car, equipped with a sodium-ion (Na+ ) battery pack, a promising cheaper alternative to today’s lithium-ion batteries. The advantage of Na-ion batteries is the natural abundance and lower cost of sodium compared to lithium. In addition, Na-ion batteries are […]
