CHINA: BYD Hiring Drive, July NEV Record and Geely/Ford Partnership | 23 Jul 2026

CHINA: BYD Hiring Drive, July NEV Record and Geely/Ford Partnership | 23 Jul 2026 EV News Daily - Technology and Business of EVs · Jul 26, 2026

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Car

Ti7 Fang Cheng Bao

Ti7 is an electric car model that’s meant to be more “premium” than basic EVs. The podcast brings it up in the context of companies building higher-end EVs for sale beyond their home market. That usually means it’s designed with features and packaging aimed at a wider range of buyers.

Term

EV penetration

EV penetration just means how big a portion of car sales are electric cars. If it goes up, more people are buying EVs instead of gas cars.

Term

retail market

Retail market means cars being sold to everyday customers. It’s different from cars sold in bulk to companies or dealers.

Car

BYDs

BYD is a big Chinese company that builds electric cars. The host is saying some articles pick out BYD when talking about whether the EV market is slowing down.

Term

over-capacity

Overcapacity means there’s too much production for the number of customers buying. When that happens, companies may have to discount to move cars.

Term

subsidies

Subsidies are money support that can make EVs cheaper or help companies build them. If subsidies change, it can change how quickly people buy cars.

Term

CPCA's latest survey

CPCA is a China auto industry group that studies what’s happening in car sales. When they do a survey, it’s used to estimate how automakers and buyers are responding.

Term

retail targets

Retail targets are the sales numbers car companies aim to sell to customers. If they cut them, it usually means they think sales will be slower than expected.

Term

units a day

“Units a day” means roughly how many cars are being sold each day on average. It helps compare sales pace from one week to another.

Term

EV sales

EV sales are how many electric cars were sold. The host is using these numbers to show whether EV demand is growing or slowing.

Brand

Geely

Geely is a car company. In this segment, they’re getting involved in a factory deal near Valencia, which shows how production plans are shifting.

Brand

Ford

Ford is a big car company. The host is talking about a factory deal where part of Ford’s plant will be used by another company.

Place

Valencia

Valencia is a place in Spain. The factory deal the host mentions is happening near there.

Term

final assembly line

An idle assembly line is a factory production line that isn’t being used right now. Restarting it means the plant can start making cars again, often faster than starting from scratch.

Person

Pedro Sanchez

Pedro Sánchez is the Prime Minister of Spain. The fact he’s announcing it suggests the factory deal is important to the country’s jobs and industry.

Company

Stellantis

Stellantis is a big car group. The host brings up its Leap Motor deal as an example of how partnerships can bring Chinese EV know-how into Europe.

Company

Leapmotor International

Leap Motor International is the Chinese EV maker mentioned in the Stellantis partnership. The host says Stellantis owned 51%, meaning it had majority control in that setup.

Term

GEA EVO platform

A platform is the shared “car design foundation” used for multiple models. Here, the host says Geely’s GEA platform would be the basis for the EVs built in Spain.

Term

Bodyline 3

Bodyline 3 is a named production line inside a car factory that builds the car bodies. The host is saying Geely would use that line to make EVs in Spain.

Car

Geely EX2

Geely EX2 is a Geely car model. The host suggests Spain will get a local version of it, and that it could be sold as a plug-in hybrid or as a fully electric car.

Term

plug-in hybrid

A plug-in hybrid is part electric and part gas. You can charge it by plugging it in, but it can also run on gas when the battery runs low.

Term

fully electric options

Fully electric means the car runs only on electricity from a battery. There’s no gas engine involved in that version.

Term

EU tariffs

EU tariffs are taxes the EU can charge on imported cars. If the car is built in Spain instead of imported from China, those extra import taxes may not apply.

Car

Lincoln Co 07 GT

The Lincoln Co 07 GT is a new wagon-style model from Lincoln Co. The hosts are saying it’s important because it’s meant to help the brand sell more consistently, not just add another body style.

Term

shooting brake

A shooting break is basically a wagon with a sportier, sleeker roof shape. It’s meant to look more stylish than a normal station wagon while still carrying cargo.

Car

Zeekr 007 Gt

The Zeekr 007 is an electric car, and the podcast is talking about a version called the 007 GT. It’s aimed at a price range where there aren’t as many similar options. That’s important because it affects who the car is trying to attract.

Term

hybrid system

The EMP hybrid system is the car’s hybrid setup—part battery-electric, part other power. The host also mentions it uses about a 30 kWh battery, which helps explain how much electric driving it can do.

Term

kilowatt-hour pack

A kilowatt-hour (kWh) pack is how big the battery is in terms of stored energy. Bigger usually means the car can go farther on electricity, though it also depends on how efficiently the car uses power.

Term

China cycle

The China cycle is a specific test route and method used to estimate how far an EV can go. Range numbers from this test may not match what you’d see under other countries’ testing rules.

Term

two-wheel drive

Two-wheel drive means the car only powers one set of wheels. It often helps the car get better range because it’s simpler and uses less energy than powering all four wheels.

Term

all wheel drive

All-wheel drive powers all four wheels, which can help the car grip better. The host also notes the AWD version goes fewer kilometers on the test, likely because it uses more power.

Term

LiDAR

LiDAR is a sensor that uses lasers to measure distances around the car. It helps the car “see” the world in 3D, which is useful for advanced driving assistance.

Term

Nvidia's Thor U-Chip

Nvidia’s Thor U-Chip is the car’s computer chip that helps process sensor data and run driving features. The host connects it to the system that supports navigation and autopilot behavior.

Term

augmented reality head-up display

An augmented reality head-up display shows helpful info on the windshield. Instead of you looking away to read a screen, the car can overlay directions or warnings where you’re already looking.

Company

CATL

CATL is a company that makes EV batteries. The host is talking about which car companies are buying the most from CATL and how their shares compare.

Brand

Neo

Neo is an EV brand being discussed in terms of how many cars it delivered. The episode also links Neo’s battery suppliers to why its ranking doesn’t perfectly match its sales.

Brand

Xiaomi

Xiaomi is best known for phones and gadgets, but it also sells EVs. The episode mentions how many cars it delivered to show how fast its EV business is growing.

Brand

Li Auto

Li Auto is a Chinese company that makes EVs. The episode talks about its delivery numbers and how sales can shift when people wait for the next generation of a model.

Car

Li L6

The Li L6 is a particular EV model from Li Auto. The episode says its sales fell because some buyers were holding off for the newer version that had just launched.

Term

LFP packs

LFP packs are EV battery packs made with a specific battery chemistry called LFP. The main idea is that this chemistry is commonly used because it can be cheaper and is often viewed as safer for EVs.

Brand

Sunwoda

Sun Woda makes batteries for EVs. The episode says it’s not the biggest battery company overall, but it still supplies batteries to some EV brands.

Brand

Firefly

Firefly is an EV brand mentioned here because it uses a certain type of battery. The episode says it gets its LFP battery packs from another supplier, Sun Woda.

Brand

CALB

CALB is another company that makes EV batteries. The episode says Neo tried to use CALB too, but it didn’t really change the fact that CATL remained the main supplier.

Term

power batteries

“Power batteries” means the main battery packs that drive an EV. The episode talks about how many megawatt-hours CATL has installed, which is a measure of how big its EV battery business is.

Term

megawatt hours

Megawatt-hours (MWh) is a way to measure energy. Here it’s used to show how much battery capacity CATL installed across EVs, basically how much energy those batteries can store.

Term

battery market

“Battery market” means the overall business share for EV batteries. The episode uses market share numbers to show which battery company is supplying the most EVs in China.

Term

NMC

NMC is another common type of EV battery chemistry. It’s different from LFP, and manufacturers compare them based on things like cost and how much energy the battery can store. The host is basically saying China’s battery market is mostly LFP instead of NMC.

Car

Xiaomi SU7

The Xiaomi SU7 is an electric car from Xiaomi. In this segment, the host says it uses batteries from CATL, which is a big battery maker. That’s relevant because it connects the battery chemistry trend to actual cars people can buy.

Car

Xiaomi YU7

The Xiaomi YU7 is an electric car from Xiaomi. The host says it also uses CATL batteries, just like the SU7. This helps show which battery supplier is behind Xiaomi’s EVs.

Car

X9 Xpong

X9 is an electric car model that the podcast mentions while talking about EV-related companies or technology. The segment suggests it’s connected to how these EVs are built or powered. With only the snippet, the main takeaway is that it’s part of a larger EV lineup being discussed.

Car

Xpeng G6

The XPeng G6 is an electric car from Xpeng. In this segment, the host says it’s been selling well internationally, with 200,000 total deliveries and sales in many countries. The G6 is presented as Xpeng’s biggest driver of growth overseas.

Place

Bahrain

Bahrain is the country where Xpeng held a launch event. The host mentions it to explain why Xpeng was talking about the G6’s sales and demand in international markets. It’s basically the “where” behind the news.

Term

Turing AI chip

The “Turing AI chip” is the car’s dedicated computer for AI tasks. Here, it’s used to help run the driver-assistance features, like interpreting what’s happening around the car.

Term

driver assistance unit

Driver assistance functions are the car’s semi-automated safety and convenience features. They help the driver by watching the road and assisting with tasks like staying in the lane or slowing down to avoid crashes.

Company

Magna

Magna is a company that makes parts and helps with vehicle production. Here, it’s mentioned as a partner involved in Xpeng’s manufacturing plans outside China.

Concept

asset light strategy

An asset light strategy means the company tries not to build everything itself. Instead, it partners with local businesses so it can start selling faster without spending as much money upfront.

Term

dealer trust crisis

A “dealer trust crisis” means customers lose confidence in the dealerships. Here, it’s because some buyers paid money but couldn’t get their cars or complete the paperwork when the dealer ran into trouble.

Term

cash crunch

A “cash crunch” means the dealer doesn’t have enough money on hand to keep things moving. In this story, that shortage is linked to customers not being able to get their cars or finish registration.

Term

after sale support

After sales support is what happens after you buy the car—help with service, support, and handling issues. The episode says IM Motors moved where that support is managed in certain cities.

Term

dealer network

A dealer network is the set of dealerships that sell and help customers with a brand’s cars. The episode mentions accusations that this network is falling apart, and the company denies it.

Company

SAIC

SAIC is a big Chinese car company. In this segment, they’re mentioned because SAIC’s yearly report is used as the source for sales numbers related to IM Motors.

LIVE

Welcome back to EV News China on the podcast today, BYD's Hiring Drive, July's NEV sales

could be a record and the Geely and Ford partnership, plus stay tuned, I'll tell you why.

Later in the show, IM Motors are being forced to say there's no crisis here.

Welcome to EV News China, the podcast all about the world's biggest EV market.

Every day you get the latest headlines, insights and analysis from the heart of China's booming

EV industry and I decode how fast moving developments in the East shape of the global EV landscape.

We work out what it really means for the rest of us, what's happening in China.

BYD has started a hiring drive at their industrial base in Shenzhen to fill more than 9,000 jobs.

This push centers on a key super factory for BYD, the Shenzhen Automotive Industrial Park

builds mid to high-end models, think Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 plus the export focused cars

the Song Plus and the Song Pro. The site made more than 300,000 vehicles last year

and will have an annual output value of 220 billion yuan.

BYD sales fell year on year for eight straight months until April.

Sales then stabilized in May and grew in June by 5.2% thanks to exports.

And that export story carries more importance than ever for many of the Chinese names.

BYD's overseas passenger car and pickup sales reached 1.05 million units last year.

That is up 145% from the previous year. In the first half of this year overseas sales

climbed to about 790,000 units. That's a 70% increase year on year.

This year they want to go from 1 million to 1.5 million overseas sales.

In Brazil, they're building locally, just made the 100,000th locally made vehicle in Brazil.

In Hungary, BYD is building its first European passenger car plant.

And in Thailand, they already build five models like the Dolphin, the Atto 3 and more.

Alright, moving on. China's passenger EV retail sales, always have to differentiate

and pay attention to wholesale or retail. Retail sales within China should be 980,000 units

in July by the time the last few days of this month get wrapped up according to the CPCA.

That would sit slightly below June, even though it would lift EV penetration to 64.5% of the retail market.

It's so interesting how I've seen so many articles lately about things like the slowdown

in the automotive sector in China, or they pick things like BYDs, slowdown,

or they just cherry pick certain numbers like a crisis in China.

Hey look, there is a lot of challenges for the Chinese EV industry to do with overcapacity

and investments and things being propped up when market forces would probably tell a different story.

But either way, it's going to be a 64% EV share of the new retail car market in June.

July, rather, if it all shakes out. That's absolutely huge.

Overall passenger vehicle retail sales will be 1.52 million, which is slightly down,

but the EV share is going up. Bad weather's made things worse in June.

There was heavy rain, flooding, and high temperatures. That can all show you room traffic.

And customers are more cautious than ever. There's trade in subsidies, new model launches,

but people are not rushing to buy cars at the same speed as they have done.

CPCA's latest survey found that leading automakers, which 70% of the market have been cutting retail targets.

Retail activity averaged about 34,000 units a day in the first week of the month,

and that went up to 47,000 units in the most recent week we've got.

So if that continues, we could be looking at total passenger retail sales for EVs hitting a new record.

June, I think, was 1.007 for EVs in June.

So ticking over the million the first month this year when EV sales topped a million,

and even if July was slightly down, the share of the market because combustion suffering is going to be huge.

64%. I mean, it's not Norway numbers, but it's Sweden numbers, and that's huge in a massive car market.

So that's enormous.

Geely is next in the news. We'll take over part of Ford's plant near Valencia.

Production will move onto an idle assembly line at the site after months of talks.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will announce the agreement at the factory.

The move fits the wider push to make Spain a bigger player in European car making

and to draw Chinese investment into local production.

And for Ford, the deal will lift the use of a plant that's been running a quarter,

less than a quarter of its annual capacity of 450,000 vehicles.

It'll also help protect local jobs, which tends to focus mines faster than a PowerPoint presentation.

The agreement also points to wider talks between Geely and Ford.

Those discussions have covered possible technology sharing and the use of Ford's plants in Europe.

And that very much makes me think of the Stellantis deal with Leap Motor.

Although the Stellantis deal was much more of an investment and a joint venture and Leap Motor International was the 51% owned.

By Stellantis, therefore non-Chinese venture over here.

That was a little bit more formal, but I can see Ford looking at that and saying,

what a clever way for Stellantis to get access to Chinese technology.

And Leap Motor, by all accounts, has been a big success.

Certainly Leap Motor International here in Europe and moving overseas.

Customers have bought into it, have caught on.

They know what it is and has access through all of those Stellantis dealerships.

I can see more Chinese companies wanting to do deals like that.

They could go themselves and go overseas themselves and bear all the risk.

NEO has made a very concerted effort to go overseas and it hasn't worked in Europe, despite a lot of investment.

So I see why Geely would want to partner with the likes of Ford.

Earlier reports said that Geely would use the factory's Bodyline 3 to build new energy vehicles based on their GEA platform.

Maybe a local version of the Geely EX2, that's known in China as the Xing One.

The model will come plug-in hybrid and fully electric options.

Building in Spain gives Geely a route into Europe with no EU tariffs on China-made EVs.

Looks like the EU will be clamping down on the plug-in hybrid loophole, which was crazy anyway,

but it means that a lot of the Chinese car makers went overseas with plug-in hybrids and avoided the tariffs.

So that's probably going to be closed up and I understand why they'll want to get ahead of the game on that.

Let's move on.

Lincoln Co has launched its first station wagon.

Man, this is a good looking car.

The 07 GT, Lincoln Co 07 GT, is at the brand's inflection point of sales,

because Lincoln Co sales have slowed a little.

That makes it more than a simple body style expansion.

It's a test of whether moving into niches can help steady demand and widen interest in the overall brand of Lincoln Co.

Okay, so yeah, I am a sucker for a shooting break or a wagon, an estate car, call it what you will.

The publicity photos they've done of this include bikes on a bike carrier on the rear,

pitching this as a lifestyle vehicle and going big on things like the storage capacity,

which of course you would, smart idea.

Pricing matters though.

The 007 GT sits in a relatively underserved wagon price band under $200,000.

Lincoln Co has gone low with the price on this, 35,000 pre-orders actually during the first 24 days of pre-sales.

Power is the EMP hybrid system, so almost a 30 kilowatt hour pack.

Two-wheel drive versions are pure electric at 200 kilometers on the China cycle.

All-wheel drive version, 170 kilometers on the China cycle.

Lincoln Co has made LiDAR standard.

The standard setup supports the GASD H5 drive resistance system using Nvidia's Thor U-Chip with urban navigation on auto pilot.

Big 15.4 inch central screen, a 10.2 inch instrument display and a big augmented reality head-up display.

Let's talk a little bit of Xiaomi news first of all.

Xiaomi matched Li Auto as CATL's the largest customer last month in June.

So Xiaomi and Li Auto both take 6.8 percent now of CATL's business.

G-Li led CATL with 8.2 percent of their business.

The head of Shangam, Neo was fifth.

And that ranking says as much about battery sourcing as car sales.

Xiaomi delivered almost 35,000 vehicles in June, up 36 percent year on year,

staying above 30,000 monthly deliveries for the third straight month.

It's first half deliveries, almost 200,000 vehicles now.

Li Auto delivered 31,000 vehicles, but that was down year on year.

The Li L6 was down and buyers waiting for the new generation, the Li L6, that launched last week.

Neo delivered 40,000 vehicles in June, more than Xiaomi or Li Auto,

but was below them in the CATL customer ranking.

The likes of Firefly use LFP packs from competitor Sun Woda.

They are way down in the Chinese battery maker's league tables.

Not a big, big name Sun Woda, but they do supply Neo.

Well, Firefly, the spin-off brand for their LFP packs.

For Neo and Envo, CATL's position in battery supply remains pretty much dominant.

Otherwise, CATL's battery cells cover nearly all of Neo's sourcing.

Neo has been trying to diversify with BYD, CALB, Sun Woda, and more,

but these efforts have gone nowhere really, or even backwards lately with CATL.

Tightening its links with Neo, they, of course, invested in Neo Power,

2.5 billion yuan in March last year.

Very tight ties between the companies.

CATL's wider position looks hard to shift.

They installed 36,000 megawatt hours of power batteries in June.

They hold 46% of the power battery market in China.

They're well ahead of BYD's thin dreams on an 18 share.

Further down the table, Eve Energy is in there as well with LG and Tesla,

accounting for some local shipments as well.

But otherwise, it really is all about CATL.

LFP packs reaching 83% of battery installations last month in June now.

So LFP, if you're wondering, oh, what's the mix of LFP and Ternaree or NMC?

And it's variations.

LFP is the story in China.

83% of total installations.

Xiaomi already uses CATL batteries for the SU7 and YU7.

BYD's thin dreams supplies the LFP packs for some of those cars.

But it doesn't look like Xiaomi is driving ahead with more CATL packs.

We'll take a break.

We'll come back and talk Xpong and iMotor.

Stick around back in a mo.

Hey, welcome back to the podcast.

Xpong used its Bahrain launch event to flag a milestone.

Total global deliveries of the G6.

Now, 200,000 cumulative deliveries.

And that matters because the G6 now sells in more than 50 countries and regions overseas.

They export it across Europe, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Latin America.

Xpong said the figure shows the model still has demand in overseas markets.

Bahrain widened the lineup in the Gulf, launching the G6 and the G9, X9 and P7+.

As for the G6, though, that's become Xpong's main growth driver since the China launch in June 2023.

Global deliveries past 30,000 in the first half of this year.

And the model making up almost 20% of Xpong's total deliveries in the first half of the year.

Xpong refreshed the car at home in China in January with the new G6.

That version comes with the Turing AI chip as standard for their driver assistance functions.

And the G6 sits at the centre of Xpong's overseas manufacturing plan.

In June, the first locally assembled one rolled off the line in Malaysia, which gives Xpong its third local assembly base.

And it's second in Asia Pacific region.

The other production projects are Indonesia and Austria, of course, with Magna.

Xpong is pursuing an asset light strategy when they go overseas outside of China.

They're not going to do it all themselves.

They're going to rely on local partners rather than building their own factories.

The company said that that cuts upfront investment, speeds market entry as well.

And finally, IM Motors has hit a dealer trust crisis, which they're denying.

Despite some pretty good sales at IM Motors, the episodes put China's EV channel model under scrutiny.

The trigger was a dealer in Kunming, which hit a cash crunch earlier this month.

Some customers had fully paid for their car.

We're told they could no longer come and get them or register them.

One Kunming buyer paid 192,000 yuan, about $27,000,

transferred the money to the dealer before operations became abnormal.

They say the dealer 60 employees are waiting three months for their pay.

IM Motors said it's now set up a task force and sent staff to the site.

It said it finished a customer check in July 17th,

and it began releasing certificates and starting deliveries on July 18th.

It also said after sales support in Kunming and Juhai moved to different delivery centers.

The company rejected claims that its dealer network was collapsing.

It called those malicious smearing claims, but the financial backdrop is less tidy.

The SAIC's annual report showed that IM Motors sold 81,000 vehicles in the full year,

but still working out at a loss of around $6,000 per vehicle.

They need to grow the sales there, and this will not be a welcome story.

But we hope that those customers that in good faith handle over their money,

everything is made right with them.

If it hasn't already, as soon as possible.

And that's your podcast for today.

Thanks for listening.

See you on the next one.

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14:45

BYDs

Lincoln Co 07 GT

Li L6

About this episode

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