CHINA: BYD Studies Canada Plant, Mercedes Weighs Geely Tie-Up and VW ID.Unyx 8 Production Begins | 16 Mar 2026

Welcome back to EV News China. Today, BYD studies Canada plant, Mercedes weighs GD tie-up,

and VW's ID UNIX 8 begins production. Plus stay tuned, later in the show I'll tell you

how Chinese EV makers are affected by the US-Israeli War on Iran. Welcome to EV News China, the

podcast dedicated to the world's largest EV market. Every day I bring you headlines,

insights, and analysis from the hearts of China's booming EV industry and decode how

fast-moving developments in the east shade the global landscape.

Let's kick off with news. From last Friday, actually, BYD is studying the Canadian market

for a possible manufacturing plant. Who said it? Well, someone at the top of the company.

Stella Lee is BYD's executive vice president, confirming, in a Bloomberg interview, the company

has not made a statement, though, or nor a decision. One point looks settled. BYD wants

full ownership and control of any plant that it builds in Canada. Lee ruled out a joint venture

model and said the approach does not fit with BYD. And that puts BYD at odds with Ottawa,

the Canadian government, wants Chinese car makers to use joint ventures with local partners

as a condition of the investment. Exactly what China did a couple of decades ago.

The timing matters. Canada changes policy on Chinese EVs in January, exempting 49,000 Chinese

built EVs a year from 100% tariffs down to 6.1%. BYD not only looking at Greenfield investment,

Lee said the company is also reviewing legacy automaker assets and acquisition

targets. Well, BYD is not messing around. Mercedes-Benz are next in the news today,

holding talks about deepening cooperation with China's Geely as it tries to strengthen vehicle

development in China. The discussions remain at an early stage. They focus on possible

cooperation for models that come after the current generation of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

People familiar with the matter said greater reliance on Geely would help Mercedes cut

development times in China and lower costs. That matters because domestic brands in China

are pulling ahead on speed and pricing. Mercedes have not commented on the talks.

A company spokesperson said Mercedes is, I quote, continually reviewing ways to make

research and development faster, better and more efficient, both in China and globally.

A spokesperson for Geely declined to make a comment on the record.

The logic fits a wider pattern where Volkswagen Group partnered with X-Pung to improve its

competitiveness in China. Renault and Chinese engineering partners work together in Stalant

as invested in LeapMotor to bring some of that Chinese speed to develop two developments and

also get access to LeapMotors when they sell them outside of China. Volkswagen and Nui,

talking of VW and joint venture in China, confirming four model launches this year

across all four quarters, and the schedule starts with the ID UNIX 08. That rolled off the

production line three days ago. The very first ID UNIX 08 rolled off the line on the 13th of March

in China. Cars are now reaching dealers ahead of a market launch before the first half of 2026 is

over. And the ID UNIX 08 matters for a simple reason. It's the first co-developed Volkswagen

with X-Pung, the production version of the ID EVO concept seen in April at the Shanghai Auto Show

last year. Volkswagen and Nui began life in 2017 as a 50-50 joint venture with JAC,

the former Neo manufacturer. The move now looks rather different, this time signing the

joint development technology agreement to start the mass production. In 24 months,

to give you a sense of the pace, the speed that China works at, with X-Pung on an 800 volts

platform using silicon carbide components, supporting ultra-fast charging and high efficiency

as well with high levels of efficiency and driver technology, the carship standard with X-Pung's

VLA. Full scenario, intelligent driving and level two driver assistance, 1500 tops of computing

power. That's right up there, by the way, with some of the best of the best in China right now.

The China Electronic Architecture is the platform jointly developed by VW X-Pung

and Cariad China. That is Volkswagen software division. Inside, the cabin closely resembles

the X-Pung G9's cockpit layout funnily enough. A 10.25 inch fully digital instrument cluster

and dual 14.96 inch 2.4K central displays. Nice place to be, the inside of this, by the way,

a large five seat crossover SUV. And Volkswagen has packed in all the usual high end premium

features. So that would be a 20 speaker audio system, huge auto dimming panoramic sunroof.

And so the entry level, by the way, of this one is 230 kilowatts of power. The top all-wheel drive

version using two motors and 370 kilowatts of power. And the LFP packs come from CATL,

either 82.4 or 95 kilowatt hours. And so the rest of the plan for the year fills up pretty quickly.

We've got a car, a quarter coming refreshed as Unix 06, Unix 07, the brand's first pure electric

sedan. And another joint venture car with X-Pung. That fills in the blanks very, very quickly.

Now let's get into some of the cars announced with the filings because we've got some new

regulatory filings cropping up at the end of last week, which does tip off the cars that are coming.

All right, let's whip through them then. You're going to see a pattern here because a lot of

them are BYDs and they were waiting to tell us more about their Blade Battery 2.0 and their

new flash charging at 1500 kilowatts. And so now they can file for all the details without giving

the game away. Right, first of all, BYD's Fang Cheng Bao sub-brand launching the TI3 in two variants,

either 21,000 or 23,300 US dollars equivalent, either a rear wheel drive or four wheel drive

using BYD's new Blade Battery 2.0 and flash charging. So that's 70% in five minutes, 97%

in nine minutes, and then 12 minutes if you're charging this at temperatures down to minus 30

degrees Celsius. Using BYD's Evo Plus platform, a double wishbone McPherson setup with a five

rear five link suspension arrangement. So this is a four wheel drive vehicle looking

very off-roady, very boxy, looks like it could handle some utility. If you throw with that, kind

of rear door mounted storage box, not a spare tire, but that would be where on and off-roader,

you've normally have the spare tire on there, but they got a big storage box on the, it looks

like a top opening boot, not a side opening tailgate, which again, pretty common in off-road

vehicles, but intelligent all-terrain recognition, intelligent torque control,

electronic four wheel drive for off-roading, and things like that. Staying with BYD, I told you

there's going to be a bit of a pattern emerging. Let's talk the BYD Seal 06. This is a plug-in

hybrid DMI wagon. Oh, this is interesting. This looks like, let me think for my Western buyers,

an MG5 actually, so like the estate MG that you can get. This is not, I'll be honest, not the

sexiest wagon, and I'm a sucker for a wagon by the way. I love an estate car. Not the most aggressively

tapering rear roofline that we've seen in some of the sports oriented ones, but new paperwork

filed today or at the end of last week for the BYD Seal 06 DMI plug-in hybrid estate body version,

and so it's a 34 kilowatt hour battery pack over 200 kilometers of pure electric range

on the China cycle, which is optimistic. Optional LiDAR package as well. Up until the, well almost

to the C pillar really, certainly past the B pillar, it's otherwise exactly the same as the BYD

Seal 06 sedan, but then further back, they've given it an estate form factor. This car starts at

$15,000, by the way, $110,000 RMB, so that's the segment it sits in. Wow, can you hear that flying

overhead? Something, something just flew very low over. We do have an exceptionally long runway

here in Bournemouth. It's an old military runway actually, which is why we get some big planes

taking off from it, and occasionally the Army do their some trials out at sea, and that if you

picked, if the mics picked it up, that was very loud and the whole, the whole house shook.

That was very low flying. Anyway, I could have edited it out, but I thought I'd leave it in.

Wow, the timing matters for this vehicle. The model enters a segment that's gained momentum

recently. Rivals include the Zika 007 GT estate, the Neo ET5 Touring, and Huawei's backed wagon

projects have appeared in winter testing as well. Staying with BYD, the Seal 08 filed as well. Now,

that's a step up in terms of vehicle. In fact, it's many steps up in terms of the Chinese segments.

The BYD Seal 08 will serve as the flagship sedan in the ocean lineup. So mid to large,

fastback sedan above the Seal 07 and Song L. So this looks like they're pushing more premium

to me. 800 volts architecture, their latest DMI plug-in hybrid system with the blade battery,

lithium manganese, iron phosphate, LMFP, a dual format design. BYD says it combines

short blade design for 8C fast charging and long blade design, delivering higher energy density.

I didn't think that was in the same battery pack, but that's a job for me to go away and research,

that maybe they are combining that in the same battery. Kind of a hybrid battery. I will wait

and see. But yeah, megawatt level flash charging on this. So that is how they haven't given us the

top speed. When they say megawatt level, is it 1,000? Is it 1,500 kilowatts? I mean, either would

either would be very, very good on a plug-in hybrid, on a plug-in hybrid. Expected pricing from

33,000 pounds, that's $42,000 or 300,000 RMB in local currency. So this, think Tesla Model S,

NEO 87, what else? Think, oh, X-Pung P7, premium electric sedan. Really nice looking car, if you

want a plug-in hybrid. That coming with the new blade battery, very, very fast charging. Talking

of blade batteries, more filings. BYD will launch the all-new Song Ultra, and they're going to launch

it on the 26th of March. This is the Dynasty lineup, and the sales chief is confirming on

social media that this SUV, this crossover goes on sale in just 10 days time. The model went on

pre-sale on the 5th of March on the day that BYD unveiled their blade battery 2.0. And the Song

Ultra EV, one of the first models to get the new battery, when they launched this, they did

specifically mention 1,500 kilowatts and 9 minutes 97% charge. Second generation blade battery

supports two CLTC range variants. They'll either be 620 or 710 kilometers. The vehicle

starts at $22,500 USD. BYD are going to keep both the existing blade battery and blade battery 2.0

in production. They say that gives you pricing flexibility and broadening customer choice. I

wonder if customers will look at this Song Ultra and say, right, which one, which battery's inside

it? Like, I want the latest, greatest technology, which trim level, which spec, if they are going

to mix and match the existing and the new blade battery technology. Otherwise, pretty regular

looking 5C SUV with a LiDAR hump on the top for pretty mid-sized price, low $20,000

equivalents in China. All right, let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll talk LeapMoto and

Envo stick around. Hey, welcome back to the podcast. Now some more filings. LeapMoto filed

regulatory submissions for the A05. The A05 is a compact, pure electric car in the budget segment.

The filing shows the A05 will offer front binocular cameras and optional roof-mounted LiDAR.

Interesting, and that matters because LiDAR has until recently mostly stayed in premium vehicles,

but that shift is no longer rare. BYD added LiDAR to its Seagull back in January. The Seagull is

their cheapest model and sells for $10,000. A January filing showed the BYD dolphin with LiDAR,

and the pattern is clear. LiDAR is moving as it becomes more affordable technology

into affordable EVs. Chinese automakers now treat ADAR systems as one of the competitive

tools of which to sell a vehicle. People are looking at spec sheets and asking, does it have LiDAR?

Not asking, what does the LiDAR do? If you talk to some experts in autonomy, many of them will tell

you that you can do many scenarios with vision only. Some would say nearly all. Tesla says all

scenarios with vision only. Some doubt that. But the LiDAR, the ultra-wide band sensors,

they are described by some as more belt and braces, more validation, if you like, of the

camera knowledge, just to make sure. And of course, in dark conditions, low light conditions,

and also poor visibility, LiDAR comes into its own, of course, because it can see what your eyes

and cameras can't see, but still. It fits Leap Motors' plan as they go into a very low segment

here. Not quite the little T03, which is the tiny urban city car, but the A05, certainly a much

smaller budget car. Stellantis backs the firm. Leap Motor won a million vehicle sales this year.

Premium sensor technology in a very budget model sits at the heart of that strategy,

of attracting more buyers by adding more things to the spec sheet. And NEO's sub-brand, as I'm

staying down at that part, down at that part of the market, it's a snobby, doesn't it? But as I'm in

the mainstream affordable model range, NEO's affordable range, that would be Envo, is going to

add LiDAR to its L60 mid-size SUV. We know because, again, we've got the regulatory filings here.

It's a busy day whenever these get published. The version appeared in the filing published

last Friday. That marks a change for the L60, which had no LiDAR option since Envo launched

the L60 in September 2024, pitched up against Tesla's Model Y in China, and they plan LiDAR upgrade

for the larger L90 as well. Together, the L60 and larger L90 changes suggest the brand wants to

spread autonomous driving sensor hardware across the range. The move brings Envo closer to NEO's,

as in the mother brand's, wide approach. The main brand NEO models currently include

roof-mounted LiDAR as standard, and NEO treats LiDAR as essential to its ADAS. The timing looks

deliberate as well. Envo is seeking to stimulate demand in a tough market, and LiDAR support will

help it stand out, with buyers always wanting more capable driver assistance. It would also

fit the Chinese market very well, where LiDAR remains the dominant sensor choice amongst

TV makers. Tesla, of course, rejects it, and is camera-only. X-Pung, one of China's early LiDAR

adopters, recently followed Tesla by going vision-only, so it doesn't look like its one-size

fits all. Now, China unveiled a new five-year plan last week with approval due from the National

Legislature. Climate climate observers, how I think given it a mixed response, I would describe that

as the targets are modest on the surface. China certainly had some more bold climate claims in

the past. Beijing has committed to cutting carbon intensity by 17% by 2030, measured as CO2

emitted per unit of GDP. That's a smaller decline target than previous five-year plans,

which China missed. The plan also avoids a hard pledge to cut coal consumption over the next

five years, instead referring to coal control and reduction efforts. The wording falls short

of the previous plan. In 2021, Xi Jinping pledged to phase down coal use. That does not mean climate

policy has slipped the agenda. The plan points to a strategy built on flexibility, they say.

It also sets out tools to pursue emissions goals for 2035, which Mr. Xi

did announce last September with some firm emissions reductions, up to 7% to 10% below

peak levels by 2035. That is a commitment to an absolute target, if you like, an absolute

emissions reduction. These tools include expanded national carbon markets and tighter industrial

emissions standards. Transport didn't get so much of a mention in this plan, by the way.

I don't think they view EVs as a done deal and job done, but certainly China is now able,

now that it has a very dominant EV market, I think is now able to do things like look at

regulations over door handles and safety and solid state batteries and battery safety,

rather than simply saying, we want to build EVs. Chinese automakers are next in the news.

They've made the Middle East a key export market, as you know, sales of EVs at home,

domestically retail, have gone off to a soft start to this year because some buyers pulled

forward their purchase decisions to make the most of financial benefits, but they've leaned

into exports to hold up their sales numbers, and the Middle East has been a key part of that.

Now the region, which has given them profit and growth, is looking like it's struggling.

Geopolitical conflict escalated suddenly. The Strait of Hormuz was effectively shut down when

the Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran happened. That closure cut off the Persian Gulf shipping,

and car-carrying vessels, so-called row-rows, roll on, roll off. The Strait of Hormuz matters

beyond one trade route. It's a critical global energy and trade choke point.

Gasku Automotive Research Institute singled out Cherry, BYD, SAIC, Changan, and Geely as the main

Chinese exporters to the Middle East. Cherry led Chinese passenger exports to the region from

January to November last year, and the largest business scale of any Chinese brand in the Middle

East. Cherry looks most exposed. Its Middle East operations are heavily concentrated in Iran.

Its Iranian business model depends on supplying semi-knockdown kits to local assembly partners.

Wartime conditions will tighten things like the central bank and foreign exchange,

which will reduce Cherry's business volume, and the blockade of the Hormuz Strait also

disrupts Cherry's kit shipments and even its complete vehicle exports to the UAE.

The picture looks at the moment, in the short term at least, less bleak for those that are

centered on maybe somewhere like Saudi Arabia, Changan, SAIC, and Geely can reroute shipments

through the Jeddah port on Saudi Arabia's west coast. Jeddah port handles two-thirds

of Saudi Arabia's auto imports. This route lets those brands bypass the Red Sea entirely.

Higher inland transport costs only partly offset that benefit. Not every brand can shift so easily.

SAIC's MG brand runs the entirely integrated port-to-store logistics chain and depends heavily

on hub ports like Dubai's Jabel Ali, and that leaves MG highly exposed to any breakdown

and regional logistics. And that's your podcast for today. Thank you for listening.

We're off and up and underway for a brand new week of EV News China. I'll see you on the next one.

CHINA: BYD Studies Canada Plant, Mercedes Weighs Geely Tie-Up and VW ID.Unyx 8 Production Begins | 16 Mar 2026

About this episode

BYD

joint venture

Greenfield investment

Mercedes-Benz

Geely

Ford Four Model

level two driver assistance

China Electronic Architecture

Cariad

CATL

five-link rear suspension

McPherson suspension

double wishbone suspension

estate car

plug-in hybrid

LiDAR package

800 volts architecture

lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP)

megawatt level flash charging

XPeng P7

blade battery

BYD Song Ultra

CLTC range

LeapMoto A05

BYD Dolphin

ADAS

vision-only autonomous driving

Envo L60

Envo L90

camera-only

China five-year plan

Cherry

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