CHINA: BMW Banks On China, Mercedes Defies Market and Sunwoda Under The Microscope | 19 Jan 2026

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Welcome back to EV News China.

Today, BMW Banks on China.

Mercedes-Benz defies the market and Sun Woda under the microscope.

Plus they tuned because later in the show,

I'll tell you how quickly Aito sold their first million vehicles

and how quickly they want to double the tally.

Welcome to EV News China,

the podcast dedicated to the world's largest EV market.

Each day, I bring you the latest headlines, insights and analysis

from the heart of China's booming EV industry

and decode how fast-moving developments in the East

are affecting the global EV landscape.

We'll start with BMW had a pretty good last year, 2025.

They sold worldwide 2.46 million vehicles.

China was the anchor, taking 625,000 BMW and Mini cars,

even as domestic brands squeezed the foreign joint ventures.

China now sets the pace in electric cars,

and the test is whether a premium foreign badge can keep its edge.

BMW plans 20 new products for China this year,

led by the long wheelbase version of Neuer Classes BMW iX3.

We don't get that one.

That's going to be the first locally built model on the brand new platform.

It wants Neuer Classer technology in every future BMW

to lift both capability and, of course, pricing power.

In 2025, tougher local rivals ate into BMW's share,

yet the group still held its ground in the upper tiers.

Performance sells.

BMW M lifted sales by 30% or so

and broke 10,000 units for the first time in China,

with 25M models now on offer there.

That, of course, will also go electric.

To stay in the game on technology,

BMW's pouring money into AI and smart manufacturing for its EVs

has teamed up with Chinese partners on drive resistance and smart systems,

building closed-loop battery recycling,

and will source its sixth generation cells from both CATL and eVenergy.

Now, talking BMW, let's talk Mercedes-Benz.

They delivered 575,000 vehicles in China in 2025,

so not too much less actually than BMW.

The two brands are pretty similar in terms of sales numbers.

But last year was the year the country's luxury car market did shrink,

imports fell, and sales of higher priced models did slip.

High net worth buyers still want them, though,

even as the market tightens.

That steady demand has helped Mercedes-Benz

defend its perch against the cheaper Chinese rivals.

But policy threatens to tilt the field.

From the 20th of July 2025,

the luxury car tax consumption threshold dropped

from 1.3 million yuan to 900,000 yuan.

Dealers have already moved with the subsidies

to steady would-be buyers and stop them delaying orders.

Mercedes plans a broad expansion this year.

It will launch more than 15 new and refreshed models,

including a long wheelbase version of the Electric GLC,

that's an SUV by the way,

and the 2025 deliveries validate Mercedes' chance

to hold its high-end pricing in China,

while pushing electrification.

They also have to start a new competitive cycle,

though in which next-gen models and EVs will define what counts as luxury.

Now, Volvo's EX30 recall is putting Sunwoda under the microscope.

Volvo had a global recall of 33,000 EX30s,

that's the smallest one they make by the way,

and that reached China's battery sector.

But Sunwoda says the fault lies outside of them.

Chairman Wang Wei has moved to distance the firm

from the high-voltage packs at the centre of the ISU,

which includes 10,400 vehicles here in the UK.

Wang says Volvo's own factories supplied the recalled packs,

not Sunwoda.

The battery cells came from a company called Shandong Geely Sunwoda Company Limited.

That's a joint venture in which Sunwoda owns only 30%.

Those cells went straight to Volvo's battery system provider,

they then built the packs up, now being replaced.

The recall followed a fire involving an EX30 at a dealership

in Brazil in November last year,

and later reports of overheating in the cells.

They found reports in 0.02% of cars.

Volvo's notice cites manufacturing defects in the high-voltage packs

that could cause an internal short circuit,

a risk that regulators and investors now track very closely.

Responsibility doesn't stop with one incident.

A source says Viridi Emobility Technology Company,

that's a geely subsidiary,

with the ones also working on the design of the battery pack.

Viridi has already sued Sunwoda for $2.31 billion,

about $323 million, alleging quality defects in the cells supplied from 2021 to 2023.

For China's EV ecosystem, the case shows just how blurred the lines can be

in these joint ventures, cell suppliers, and pack integrators.

Let's move on.

China's main car lobby claims a big win.

On January 13th, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers

declared a soft landing in the European Union's anti-subsidy case against Chinese EVs,

creating steady talks, and what they say credited,

well, they credit those, to the deal done between Beijing and Brussels,

based on what it called mutual respect.

Earlier in January this year, China and the EU struck a price undertaking deal,

a price floor, minimum pricing, if you like, for EVs.

No one's chasing the bottom.

No one's selling Chinese EVs at a loss, potentially, in Europe,

just to get market share, like they have been doing at home in China.

Well, for Europe, it shows that Chinese EVs were to be taken seriously.

It slows their market penetration without stripping consumers of choice

or tearing into supply chains.

The European Commission will issue guidance for the Chinese exporters

on how to file the price undertaking applications that comply with

World Trade Organization rules.

For the industry in China, the outcome is less illegal detail

than more of a template of how to do business.

The industry presents the deal as a model for settling trade disputes,

and as a way to keep China, EU economic and investment ties stable.

It also gives Chinese battery electric vehicle exporters a clearer route into Europe,

although somewhat narrower, amid fierce price competition at home.

Beijing's Commerce Ministry says the two sides held rounds of consultations on the EU's probe,

and they've now agreed to steer Chinese bear makers towards price undertakings.

Okay, for exporters to the EU in return,

the Commission will issue guidance on how it will assess every undertaking,

which it pledges to handle fairly in line with World Trade Organization principles.

I can't wait to see how this works and what all these words actually shake out to mean

in terms of the prices that you and I pay in the West for Chinese cars.

Chinese exporters that opt in must hand over detailed data on export prices,

sales channels and commercial information.

The industry in China says it will help firms defend their interests to the EU on a case-by-case

basis. Now, a few stories in a row about China's market.

First of all, the overall EV market. China's car market itself is still growing.

Total vehicle sales last year, everything, 34.4 million passenger cars sold in China.

That's up 9.4%. All rosy, right? Well, that keeps China the world's largest car market for the

17th year in a row. Yet overall passenger vehicle sales are expected to stabilise this year,

and to perhaps reach 34.75 million, that's not even a 1% year-on-year gain.

Almost all of the momentum now comes from the EVs. New energy vehicles, as they're called in China,

are forecast by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers to reach 19 million units this year,

up 15.2%. That follows a far faster 28.2% jump in 2025, when EV sales hit 16.49 million.

The EV share makes the shift clear. Penetration is expected to climb from the current almost 50%

to 55% during the year. Some months will obviously be higher. Within that, the passenger EV sales

are forecast to edge up, with commercial sales also reaching 4.5 million units. Exports add

another dimension, another thing to prop up, demand. China shipped 7.1 million vehicles last year,

a 21% increase overseas, including 2.62 million EVs that headed over their shores,

which doubled year over year. In 2026, exports are expected to reach

7.4 million units in total. Second forecasting story now, before we take a break,

and Chinese car makers plan for strong growth in a market that we've just discussed will

barely expand. The overall car market, they predict, will be around 1%. But most firms are

setting double-digit targets and counting on EVs and exports to do the hard work,

with EV penetration hitting 61% at times this year. The old guard is cautious only by local

standards. Geely aims to sell 3.45 million units this year. That's a 14% growth. Chang'an targets

3.3 million, a 13% rise. Cherry Group wants 3.2 million, that's a 14% rise. They're going to

launch 17 new models. Dongfeng wants 3.25 million, of which 1.7 million will be EVs, and 600,000 will

be exported to Great Wall Motors. Sounds almost restrained, with their goal of 1.8 million units.

But that still implies hefty growth. Startups and tech entrants show less restraint. Leap Motor

wants to sell 1 million vehicles this year, that's up 67%, and to cast itself as the leading

intelligent EV maker. Xiaomi targets 550,000, up 34%, helped by refreshing the original Su7.

NIO is projecting sales growth of up to 50%, with volumes up to 489,000.

So if China's market is not going to grow, according to forecasts in 2026,

and somewhat stagnate, and yet all the individual firms are chasing at least double-digit gains,

if not a lot more, well something has to give. Both things can't be true at the same time.

Industry consolidation is probably what will speed up as weaker brands fall away,

get absorbed, BYD, SAIC, FAW haven't revealed their numbers yet, but expectations are that

they too will be very ambitious, leaving at least 7 manufacturers aiming for more than 3 million

sales in 2026. Let's take a break, another EV China story to talk about in terms of exports,

Geely's Galaxy on its big MPV. Stick around back in a mo.

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Welcome back to the podcast. Now EVs were 48% of vehicles sold in China last year.

In December, that was at least 52.3%. And battery electric vehicles have been leading

the growth. December, Bev sales were 1.1 million units, up 14% year over year. Plug-in hybrids

were lagging. Plug-in hybrids sales fell actually in China, down 4% year over year in December.

December, domestic EV sales, excluding the exports, were 1.4 million units.

That's actually a slight drop year on year, and a bigger drop 7.4% year,

a month on month from November. So we're just talking about the big China growth story,

but hang on, if you look at domestic sales, they were actually down year on year,

month on month as well. So that's not great. What's happening?

Exports are what's saving so many of the big Chinese names. They want to go overseas,

not as an experiment nor hobby, or because they'd quite like to bring their wonderful vehicles to

some buyers. They absolutely have to, and they will fight to make sure that they are the exporters

that rise above the others. China shipped 2.62 million EVs last year overseas twice, twice.

2024, December alone saw 300,000 EVs exported 120% up on December of 24. Total vehicle exports were

7.1 million, up 21%. So EVs were the fastest growing slice of China's outbound auto trade.

Within the exports, BEVs, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, both surged,

but from different bases. Bev exports climbed to 1.65 million units. That's a 66% rise year on

year. Plug-in hybrid exports jumped to 969,000, but from a much lower base, showing how Chinese

firms are using plug-in hybrids, at least until now, to get round the EU subsidies,

which didn't drag them in. Now, let's talk about Geely's Galaxy, launching the V900. This is an

extended range MPV, and they will launch it in a couple of days or so. I think sometime actually

January 20th, less than a fortnight after pre-sales opened at 320,000 RMB, that's 40,000 or 45,000

USD equivalent. The car comes in three four-wheel drive trims. Pro, Max and Collectors Edition,

aimed at the top end of China's booming family, and even chauffeur-driven MPV segment. Galaxy

shifted from being a product line to a standalone brand in 2025, with the London Electric Vehicle

Company, LEVC, folded into it as its premium MPV series, by basing the V900 from Galaxy on the

LEVCL380. First launched as a PureBev in 2024, and shown in V900 trim at the Guangzhou Auto Show

last November, Geely is trying to stretch a single platform across BEVs and EREVs.

The V900 is a large MPV, that's somewhat of an understatement. It's 5.36 meters long,

and it has a 3.2-meter wheelbase. Under the bonnet, it's a 1.5-litre engine that is a range

extender, with a peak output of 120 kilowatts, batteries from CALB, up to 50 kilowatt hours in

size, so that is 260 kilometers of all electric range, and a full tank and full battery will give

you 1,220 kilometers. Geely pitches this as a way to deliver BEV-like driving, but to ease any lingering

range anxiety. And I think they've done a really good job with this, the design of the V900,

it's a people carrier, so there's not too much you can do with it, it's always going to be slab

sided, and it's always going to have a completely vertical back, that's just the way they're going

to maximize the space, but you know what, the way they've done it, it's actually looking really nice.

Now the V900 is going to deliver, they say, all of the performance that you would want

from a pure battery electric vehicle, but with an engine, so that's kind of popular in China

right now. Will it work elsewhere? And by the time the rest of the world catches on

to this E-rev craze, will China be, you know, kind of over it? All right, a couple more stories.

ION, GAC's ION, I hear some people call it AION, as in AION, artificial, it either way.

I'm going to have a look online, and people from the company call it ION, so I'll go with ION.

The ION i60 compact SUV cleared 10,000 sales in the first two months of its launch since

November. In December alone, it shifted 10,804 units, the first small SUV in China,

below the sort of 100,000 yuan class to hit 10,000 sales in a month. The result shows how

fast Chinese buyers are moving to low-cost electrified SUVs that blur the line between

BEVs and E-revs. The ION i60 is both a battery electric vehicle and a range extender as well,

with an introductory price of 104,000 yuan. The range extended version they've kindly told us,

because we like to know stuff like this, was 24% of the orders. So clearly,

three out of four buyers are going for the BEV version, but that's interesting. Right,

the i60 offers eight-point massaging seats, rear seats that decline to 137 degrees,

a panoramic glass roof, highway driver assist, and like I say, this is a 100,000 yuan vehicle.

Over the Spring Festival, they're going to add some extra trade-in support,

and some finance subsidies as well. And finally, Ito built its one millionth vehicle. On January

13th, 2026, earlier this year, the Huawei-backed brand took just over four years from its launch

in December 21 to reach the mark. The chairman of Sirius Group wants the next million in less than

two years. It's less than half the time, and that speed matters in China's crowded EV market,

where scale and software now decide who survives. Survival of the fittest has never been more apt.

Ito has a really tight product cycle. It briskly ramps up and deepens ties with Huawei Harmony OS

Ecosystem and shows how fast a new brand can grow, both its manufacturing muscle, if you like,

and its digital reach. It's got the M5, the M7, the M9, and Ito's built a base in the luxury segment

and strong customer satisfaction scores. And that's your podcast for today.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for starting off a brand new week with EV News China. See you tomorrow.

The number one resolution for people last year was to save more money,

but nearly half gave up by February. Don't let that be you. Download rocket money to reach

your financial goals this year. Track your spending, cut waste, and automate savings in one simple app.

Rocket money shows you all your expenses and categorizes them, so you know exactly where

your money is going and where you're overspending. From there, the app cuts waste by canceling your

unused subscriptions and lowering your bills. No customer service needed. With that money freed

up, the app will automatically set some cash aside for your goals, whether it's an emergency fund,

paying off debt, or saving for vacation. Rocket money's got you covered. Users love the app,

with over 186,000 five-star ratings. And, on average, users can save up to $740 a year

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CHINA: BMW Banks On China, Mercedes Defies Market and Sunwoda Under The Microscope | 19 Jan 2026

About this episode

Mercedes-Benz

Mini

Neuer Class

Bmw Ix3

Bmw M

electric vehicles (EVs)

AI and smart manufacturing

closed-loop battery recycling

Electric GLC

electrification

next-gen models

Volvo EX30

high-voltage packs

Volvo

Shandong Geely Sunwoda Company Limited

internal short circuit

EV market

new energy vehicles

penetration

BEV

plug-in hybrid

four-wheel drive

EREV

V900

1.5-litre engine

range anxiety

battery electric vehicle

ION i60

Peugeot iOn

range extender

highway driver assist

BMW M5

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