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

China-EU relations

Discriminatory and egregious: China blasts EU’s subsidy crackdown

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Robotics

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

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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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.

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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.

Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng poses for a photograph at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong, April 14, 2025. Photo: Sun Yeung
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.

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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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.

A Li Auto vehicle draws crowds at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, April 25, 2024. Photo: Reuters
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.

The Baidu-BAIC Arcfox robotaxi is seen on the road. Photo: Shutterstock Images
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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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.

Workers conduct final checks on an Xpeng new energy car at the firm’s plant in Zhaoqing, Guangdong province, on October 9, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
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.

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.

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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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Illustration: Henry Wong
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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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.

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.

Robot arms are seen at work on a car production line at a factory of FAW-Volkswagen in eastern China’s Shandong province on March 12. Photo: AFP
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.

Labourers work on an assembly line at a factory in Chongqing, China, in May. Beijing has pressed German carmakers to help resolve disputes over the European Union’s anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Photo: EPA-EFE
China-EU relations

‘A big opportunity’: why Spain’s new electric car plan hands an opening to China

Madrid’s ambitious strategy may hinge on attracting more Chinese investment, giving China’s firms greater leverage, analysts say.

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Malaysia

Malaysians swap hotels for RVs to drive down holiday costs

Rentals are up 200 per cent, with families finding a six-berth campervan more affordable than booking seaside resorts.

BYD

BYD founder bets on new tech to win back customers as sales decelerate

Company is pinning its hopes on a 12,000-strong R&D team to come up with technological breakthroughs.

In 2022, BYD dethroned Tesla for the first time as the world’s largest EV builder. Photo: Reuters
Xiaomi

China’s Xiaomi says returns from AI investments ‘far exceed expectations’

Xiaomi’s smart EV, AI and other new initiatives turned a profit for the first time in the third quarter.

A Xiaomi SU7 Ultra electric vehicle is displayed during a media day for the Shanghai Auto Show, April 23, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Belgium

EU launches 1st formal review of Chinese EV tariffs after VW Anhui’s submission

Bloc’s acceptance of a narrow review process from a manufacturer may give others hope that tariffs could be reduced or removed.

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Tesla

Tesla’s China plant sees shipment surge ahead of subsidy expiry

However, the rebound may not be sufficient to help the company reclaim lost ground in China, an analyst says.

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