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Electric & new energy vehicles

Electric & new energy vehicles
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on electric & new energy vehicles, with a particular focus on China.
The Maextro S800 recorded more than 2,100 deliveries in mainland China last month. Photo: Getty Images
Automotive industry

Luxury EV built with Huawei tops Porsche’s Panamera and BMW’s 7 Series in China

Chinese carmakers gain confidence in the premium segment as Maextro S800 – developed by Huawei and JAC Group – tops sales above US$100,000.

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China trade

As Germany’s trade deficit with China nears new high, analysts warn of backlash

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China economy

Opinion | Why China has moved to curb steel exports

China-EU relations

China slaps tariffs on EU cheese and cream amid trade row

Alleging that European subsidies are hurting Chinese producers, Beijing has imposed fees that look to hit French exporters the hardest.

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China has slapped provisional anti-subsidy fees of up to 42.7 per cent on European producers of certain dairy products, including various types of cheese and cream. Photo: AFP
Autonomous vehicles

China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market

Chinese carmakers could sell about 270,000 semi-autonomous vehicles next year, representing 1 per cent of the total market, Daiwa says.

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China economy

Opinion | Arguing about China’s overcapacity overlooks its drive for clean energy

What is often described as overcapacity is the outcome of a development strategy that treats energy as the foundation of economic capability.

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Made in China 2025

Can rising lithium costs save China’s energy storage firms from a price war?

China’s battery makers raise prices amid lithium rebound and global AI energy demand.

Deegares says it is raising prices of lithium batteries by 15 per cent. Photo: Handout
China-EU relations

Discriminatory and egregious: China blasts EU’s subsidy crackdown

Commerce authorities vow to defend firms such as Nuctech and CRRC, while Beijing continues talks with Brussels over EV tariffs.

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Robotics

CATL marks trailblazing deployment of humanoid robots at scale in China plant

The initiative underscores the growing use of intelligent Chinese-made robots in the country’s manufacturing industry.

Autonomous vehicles

BYD ups the ante on L3 autonomous cars, begins testing for mass production

BYD has pinned its hopes on preliminary self-driving technologies to bolster its sales in mainland China.

BYD says it has completed more than 150,000 kilometres of real-world L3 testing. Photo: Xinhua
European Union

Opinion | A complicated new EU-China showdown is quietly taking shape

For now, both sides still need each other and there is nowhere else to turn. But behind this reliance, irritation and paranoia are rising.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China-Latin America relations

BYD plans giant Brazil factory to scale electric bus and truck production

The new plant would dwarf BYD’s current Brazil operation, lifting output from about 600 units over a decade to up to 7,000 a year.

Artificial intelligence

Xpeng CEO dismisses AI bubble fears, predicts more affordable robots soon

He Xiaoping’s recent trip to the US, where he met more than 30 professionals in the AI field, helped form his conclusions about the industry.

Artificial intelligence

Xiaomi launches open-source model to compete against DeepSeek, OpenAI systems

MiMo-V2-Flash ‘particularly excels in reasoning, coding and agentic scenarios’, Xiaomi says.

Xiaomi’s open-source AI model, MiMo-V2-Flash, is available on the company’s developer site MiMo Studio, Hugging Face and the API Platform. Photo: Shutterstock
European Union

EU drops 2035 combustion engine ban in victory for its carmakers

Europe pivots to bolstering its crisis-hit auto sector in a major green policy retreat.

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Fumes emerge from the exhaust pipe of a car with a combustible engine in Berlin. Photo: AFP
Future of transport

Xpeng, Li Auto given approval to test ‘hands-off’ L3 cars amid slowing market

Deregulation to legalise L3 technology represents a leap forward in commercialising autonomous driving systems in China.

Autonomous vehicles

Beijing approves first L3 autonomous cars in leap towards ‘hands-off’ driving

The cars, both pure EVs, can only navigate urban streets and highways in designated areas, according to the ministry.

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Science

Why China’s growing demand for rare-earth steel is bad news for America’s F-35

Advanced product is used in huge infrastructure projects but that has further reduced supply for overseas buyers like the US defence sector.

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The vast mining district of Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia holds 36 per cent of the world’s light rare-earth reserves. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
Volkswagen

Can Volkswagen regain its China market share with its US$3.5 billion bet?

Volkswagen, which once had 50 per cent of China’s vehicle market, has invested €3 billion in its largest R&D centre outside its home country in Hefei.

Automotive industry

Xpeng steps up ‘go global’ drive with Malaysian assembly hub for Southeast Asia

The Guangzhou-based company said it would partner with Malaysia’s EP Manufacturing to locally assemble intelligent EVs.

Geely

China’s Geely Auto raises bar on car safety with world’s largest test centre

Carmaker expands testing to 27 categories at Ningbo facility to prioritise safety over discounts in a crowded market.

A worker checks the frame of a car on a production line under Geely Auto’s Zeekr brand in Ningbo. Photo: Getty Images
Automotive industry

High-end car sales sink in China as cheaper brands trump European marques

Many buyers were swayed by a 20,000 yuan (US$2,830 ) trade-in subsidy offered by the government for purchasing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Porsche’s all-electric Macan Turbo sports car is displayed at the 17th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China 2024) on April 23, 2025. Photo: Shutterstock
China manufacturing

China’s EV battery giants wade into shipbuilding to bolster Beijing’s dominance

CATL and Gotion add momentum to China’s efforts to build new-energy vessels amid an accelerated decarbonisation drive.

Science

US green tech retreat echoes mistake of China’s Qing dynasty before collapse

While Washington pulls back on climate, Beijing is making it possible for developing nations to leapfrog into a cleaner energy era.

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China economy

Opinion | How China is cementing its central role as the architect of green tech

Beyond climate leadership and capacity building, China is rewriting its own energy system – and the global energy order.

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An aerial view of the No 1 booster station of the Ningxia Power Investment Yongli (Zhongwei) 3-megawatt photovoltaic green power project, in Shapotou district, Zhongwei city, Ningxia. It was officially connected to the grid and began power generation on October 25. Photo : Xinhua
Hong Kong

Chinese lidar maker Seyond, founded by former Baidu engineers, debuts in Hong Kong

Its lidar sensors are used by carmakers such as Nio, as well as in robotics, unmanned delivery and industrial automation scenarios.

A view of Nio’s car assembly line in Hefei, Anhui province, China, April 22, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE
SCMP Highlights

China leans on German carmakers; BYD founder bets on new tech: 7 EV reads

From Spain’s new electric car plan to BYD’s founder betting on new tech to win back customers, here are seven EV stories you may have missed.

China-EU relations

China leans on German carmakers to help break Brussels tariff deadlock

Commerce vice-minister urges German industry leaders to leverage their clout to push the European Commission towards a compromise on the anti-subsidy probe.

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