CHINA: Hongqi Prototype Rapid Development, MG4 Smashes Sales and Onvo Doubles Battery Swapping

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Welcome back to the podcast.

Today, Hong Chi's prototype rapid development.

The MG4 smashes sales and Envoe doubles battery swapping.

Plus they tuned later in the show.

I'll tell you why pure electric ships

could be ready for ocean voyages.

Welcome to EV News China,

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

Each day, I bring in 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 shaping the global EV landscape.

Let's start with a very quickly developed car.

Hong Chi's latest electric flagship prototype

has rolled off the line in China,

drawing attention for both rapid development

and advanced drive resistance performance.

FAW Group's Development Institute Assembly Division

completed the prototype of the Hong Chi E702,

also known as the P601 project.

It's a mid to large electric sedan.

Looks very stylish.

If this was coming out of one of the German makers,

you'd think that makes sense.

It looks great.

It's part of Hong Chi's flagship nine series product line

under its new energy sub-brand.

One key milestone is the speed at which the team

brought the car's core systems online.

They say the high voltage system activation

for the E702 was done in 10 days from commissioning.

According to internal reports,

that sets a new record for test bench

preparation speed at FAW.

On the outside, the E702 uses a design

that integrates technology into the bodywork.

It features LiDAR integrated LED headlights.

That saves putting it as a little taxi hump above,

doesn't it?

But in the headlights, has a V-shaped grille,

electronic mirrors rather than side mirrors,

frameless windows, hidden door handles,

and low drag wheels.

All about efficiency improvements.

On the software side, Hong Chi is testing

what it calls point-to-point autonomous driving

on major trunk roads.

Reported trial data suggests few of them,

0.5 human interventions per 100 kilometers.

The system is said to support automated lane change,

automatic entry and exit, on-ramp, off-ramp,

and path planning through self-learning data.

This prototype illustrates how Chinese automakers

are compressing development cycles

and pushing advanced drive resistance cars

into premium EVs.

Next steps will be the wide road testing,

safety validation, getting approval from the regulators

before the E702 can move into pre-production

and a market launch.

Now let's talk about the MG4,

a vehicle that is sold overseas as well.

MG's compact electric is ending the year

with strong sales and steep discounts.

MG announced on the 1st of December

that the all-new MG4

achieved more than 13,000 official deliveries in November.

To keep the momentum, MG is extending incentives

and tax support through the end of the year.

The automaker has prolonged its purchase tax protection subsidy

for MG4 orders until the end of this year

so that buyers don't lose tax benefits

because of cross-year deliveries into 2026.

So buyers who lock in your order by the end of the year

for certain MG4s,

like the standard range, free edition, smart edition,

or even the semi-solid state edition,

get eligibility for tax protection

even if their cars end up being delivered in 2026.

The tax rules, the incentives are changing in China,

but MG will make them good.

MG is offering reservation benefits as well

of up to 27,000 yuan.

That's almost $4,000 equivalent

for bookings made before the end of this year.

With these limited-time subsidies,

MG4 pricing in China starts at 66,000 yuan,

goes to 100,000 yuan.

That's about $9,200 equivalent.

Under the skin, the MG4 has two battery and range options,

an LFP pack that'll do you 437 kilometers

and a 530 kilometer semi-solid state pack

supplied by Qingtao based in Suzhou.

That mix lets MG target cost-conscious buyers,

although seeking longer range

and trying out some new battery technology.

Okay, let's talk Envo,

the mass-market sub-brand of the Chinese EVMaker, Neo.

They're racing to expand its battery swapping capacity

ahead of China's biggest travel season.

The sub-brand today announced its plan

to double the number of available battery packs

at battery swap stations.

They want to deploy 8,000 new battery packs

for Envo vehicles.

This initiative is expected to be completed

by the middle of January, 2026.

Work on the rollout started in November

and Envo says more than 800 new packs

are in place across the swap network.

The timing is aimed squarely

at the 2026 Chinese New Year

Spring Festival travel rush.

The holiday runs from the 15th to the 23rd of February next year,

when hundreds of millions of trips are made across the country.

Envo currently sells two pure electric SUV models,

the L60, that's a five-seat mid-size SUV,

and the L90, a large three-row SUV,

aimed at families

and both use Neo's battery swapping network.

For the wider EV industry,

this is one of the largest time-bound expansions

of battery swapping capacity so far,

and it signals growing confidence in swapping

as a mainstream alternative

to plugging into DC fast charges.

Okay, let's talk BYD's Yang Wang U8L.

A Chinese supplier has produced what it calls

the world's first one-piece low-pressure cast

all-aluminium frame for a large vehicle.

That's in use in BYD's ultra-luxury Yang Wang U8L.

Now, the U8L is an SUV,

Hubei Hantak Equipment Manufacturing,

Hantak publicly unveiled the frame on the 2nd of December

at the Yangtze River Industry and Technology Innovation Conference

in Hubei in China.

The company says this structure replaces

traditional multi-part aluminium frame assemblies

with a single large casting.

The frame has a projected area of 4.2 square metres.

The wall thickness goes from four millimetres

up to 50 millimetres, giving a thickness ratio of 12 to one.

Hantak says that no prior global project

has successfully cast a frame with such thickness variation.

This one-piece low-pressure cast design

could cut the number of parts,

as well as welding and riveting steps

compared with conventional auto manufacturing.

That may reduce structural weak points

and improve rigidity, safety, production efficiency

if this technology scales.

The frame is already installed on BYD's Yang Wang U8L,

a high-end SUV launched on the 12th of September this year.

It starts at 1.28 million NUON,

that is $181,000 equivalent.

It is a hybrid vehicle, so two-litre engine,

four electric motors, 55 kilowatt-hour blade battery,

880 kilowatts of power, that's almost 1200 horsepower

equivalent and 200 kilometres of electric range.

The six seats U8L has 13 driving modes,

14 airbags, 32 speakers, positioning it firmly

as one of the most premium vehicles you can buy in China.

The key question now is whether Hantak can scale

this casting technology and whether other automakers

want to adopt a similar one-piece frame

to move forward innovation in building large EVs.

Now, Li Auto has hit 20,000 superchargers.

Li Auto now claims the largest fleet of superchargers

across Chinese automakers,

built in just over a year and a half.

The company launched its first supercharging stations

on the 20th of April, 2023,

and since then it's expanded to 3,650 supercharging stations

in China.

Li Auto says these stations have delivered

more than 21 million charging services.

The company announced this milestone today,

saying it now operates the largest fleet

of superchargers amongst mainstream Chinese automakers.

The network is designed to support its current

but also upcoming battery electric vehicles,

including the Li i6,

as the company moves beyond

its original range-extended technology into full-bevs.

Li Auto's charges are high-powered.

The two-seat charges are 250 kilowatts rated.

The four-seat units are 360 kilowatts rated.

And the five-seat superchargers are rated

at 520 kilowatts of peak power,

bearing in mind just about the best EVs

that we can buy over here.

Things like the new BMW iX3,

which charges at 400 kilowatts peak.

So Li Auto's new 520 kilowatt charges

are more than enough.

That puts Li Auto into direct competition

with fast-charging networks from NIO,

also Tesla, and others on charging speed

but convenience as well.

The network is open to vehicles from other brands,

which means Li Auto could turn the infrastructure

into a revenue stream,

even if its own Bev sales, or BEV,

sales take time to ramp up.

The big question now is execution, though.

Li Auto has moved from zero to thousands of stations

very quickly, but it has to convert that charging advantage

into stronger demand for its vehicles,

pricing power, and delivery growth.

Upcoming launches like the Li i6

and future earnings and delivery reports as well

need to show whether building out a supercharger network

gives it a competitive edge,

or for now remains an underused asset

in China's very crowded EV market.

Li Auto, though, is facing challenges in its car business,

in fact, its financials as well,

which is what's curious about this next story,

rather than focusing, doubling down,

I think, is the phrase on its core business.

Li Auto is moving into things

like building its own supercharger network,

and even this.

Li Auto is stepping beyond electric vehicles

with AI wearables.

The firm has launched its LiVis smart glasses,

describing them as a gateway for people to experience AI.

LiVis is linked to Li Auto's cars.

Owners can use voice commands through the glasses

to control vehicle functions,

like opening the windows, adjusting air conditioning,

and checking the remaining battery level,

although I'm not sure if you're in the car

why you would not just talk to the car

as opposed to the smart glasses you're wearing,

but maybe if you're not in the car, it could be useful.

Li Auto is also considering an AI speaker

aimed at broadening coverage of services accessing AI.

In China, the LiVis glasses start at 2,000 yuan.

That's only $283 US dollars equivalent.

There's also a 15% Chinese government subsidy

for AI glasses, bringing the effective price down

to 1,700 yuan.

That makes LiVis cheaper significantly

than Alibaba's new glasses.

They're called the Quark AI Glasses S1.

They went on sale a week or two ago, didn't they,

in China at 4,000 yuan.

That's 570 US equivalent.

On hardware, LiVis offers 18.8 hours of battery life,

supports wireless charging through a charging case,

and has USB Type-C.

For imaging, a 12 megapixel Sony sensor,

capable of 4,000 by 3,000 pixel photos,

and video recording at 1440p at 30 frames a second,

all from smart glasses.

LiVis comes standard with Zeiss lenses,

and Li Auto wants to use Zeiss'

international distribution channels

to go overseas as well,

although no specific markets have been announced.

We'll come back in a couple of moments,

time after a quick break,

and finish off the podcast today, stick around.

Let's do the 60 Second Savings Challenge.

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small amounts of cash when you can afford it.

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In a year, you'll be shocked

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Welcome back now.

Let's talk about GWM, Great Wall Motor,

updating one of their most curious lines,

the Tank 300.

These are off-road vehicles looking very chunky.

Everything designed with a ruler.

That makes sense to your mind's eye.

The Tank 300 high-four T plug-in hybrid SUV,

quite a mouthful,

now comes with more electric performance

and a new battery supplier.

Still starts at about 35,000 US equivalent.

The Tank 300 high-four T

has a two-liter engine with its electric drive system.

The electric motors output now goes from 120

to 130 kilowatt motor.

The 36.7 kilowatt hour battery,

now supplied by CATL,

supports an electric range of 105 kilometers.

And so that makes it more usable as an everyday EV.

GWM also says DC fast charging has been improved

but gave no speeds.

On the market side,

between January and October this year,

the Tank 300 high-four T

had total domestic sales of 24,254.

The result shows continued demand in China

for rugged off-road capable plug-in hybrids,

even if they don't ever do that too much of the time.

And finally, what about using battery power

to cross the high seas?

Pure electric ships are almost ready

for true ocean voyages.

They say within three years we'll be doing that.

That's end of the decade stuff.

That's welcome to 2030,

living in the future sci-fi stuff, isn't it?

And that's just not according to an analyst

or a future predictor.

That's the world's biggest EV battery maker, CATL,

saying that.

China's first all-electric tourist vessels

are already on the water

with nearly 900 vessels actually using CATL batteries.

The firm is racing to electrify the seas

and lock in demand for a new market.

CATL first entered Marine in 2017.

It set up a dedicated Marine subsidiary a couple of years ago.

Since then, CATL has supplied batteries

for 900 vessels worldwide.

On the 25th of July this year,

China's first pure electric tourist vessel,

the Yuji-An 77, began operations.

The ship was co-developed with CATL

and is fully powered by their own batteries.

According to CATL, the launch of the Yuji-An 77

validates the feasibility of pure electric technology

on the waters.

This is a tourist coastal vessel.

Low noise, high quality marine tourism

gives great experiences for tourists.

CATL's marine business covers inland rivers, lakes

and coastal waters.

But now the company says it's advancing

towards proper ocean-going applications.

And they expect now pure electric ships

to handle ocean routes within three years.

This rapid rise to around 40% global share in marine batteries

makes CATL an early incumbent in a new segment

that could be very high growth when you think about it.

CATL says it aims for its battery products

to be widely adopted in marine vessels,

setting up a new competitive front

with other battery makers.

Follow-on projects that move from tourist

and coastal vessels to long-range ships now look likely.

Alongside new regulations on maritime emissions

and port emissions, which should move vessels

towards electrification.

That's a podcast for today.

See you on the next one.

Let's do the 60-Second Savings Challenge.

Step one, download rocket money.

Step two, link your accounts

and see every subscription you're paying for.

Tap one you don't use and cancel it.

That's money back every month.

Step three, create a financial goal.

$50 every paycheck

or let the app automatically move small amounts of cash

when you can afford it.

In a week, you'll forget you set it up.

In a month, you'll see real dollars piling up.

In a year, you'll be shocked at how much money you've saved.

Bonus challenge, upload an internet or phone bill

and let rocket money try to lower it.

You only pay if they find you savings.

On average, rocket money members can save up to $740 a year

when using all the app's premium features.

Users love the app with over 186,000 five-star ratings.

Make saving money the resolution you actually keep.

Start the 60-Second Savings Challenge

at rocketmoney.com slash cancel.

That's rocketmoney.com slash cancel.

Rocketmoney.com slash cancel.

Hear that?

That's me with a lemonade in a rocker on my front porch.

How did I get here?

I invested to make my dream home.

Get where you're going with MDY,

the original mid-cap ETF

from State Street Investment Management.

Getting there starts here.

Before investing, consider the fund's investment objectives,

risks, charges, and expenses.

Visit statestreet.com slash im for a prospectus

containing this and other information.

Read it carefully.

MDY is subject to risk similar to those of stocks.

All ETFs are subject to risk,

including possible loss of principal,

Alps Distributors, Inc. Distributor.

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This is volleyball like you've never seen before.

Huge swings, massive blocks, jaw-dropping digs.

A sport where every play is the highlight.

League One volleyball returns January 7th, 2026,

with teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston,

Madison, Nebraska, and Salt Lake.

To buy tickets, visit lovb.com slash iHeart.

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The world's best players together on American soil.

This is volleyball like you've never seen before.

Huge swings, massive blocks, jaw-dropping digs.

A sport where every play is a highlight.

League One volleyball returns January 7th, 2026,

with teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston,

Madison, Nebraska, and Salt Lake.

To buy tickets, visit lovb.com slash iHeart.

CHINA: Hongqi Prototype Rapid Development, MG4 Smashes Sales and Onvo Doubles Battery Swapping

About this episode

Hongqi electric flagship prototype

Hong Qi E702

LED headlights

LiDAR

electronic mirrors

point-to-point autonomous driving

automated lane change

path planning

MG4

LFP pack

Envo

L60

L90

battery swapping

BYD Yang Wang U8L

one-piece low-pressure cast all-aluminium frame

production efficiency

kilowatt-hour

electric range

Hantak

Li Auto

supercharger

battery electric vehicles

Li i6

peak power

BMW New Bmw

Bmw Ix3

NIO

Tesla

BEV

plug-in hybrid

Smart Electric Drive

CATL

DC fast charging

Request an Explanation

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