Hongqi is a Chinese car brand that makes luxury vehicles. Their new electric flagship prototype is a high-end electric car that shows how they are innovating in the electric vehicle market.
Car
Hong Qi E702
The Hong Qi E702 is an electric car made by a Chinese company called FAW Group. It's designed to be a larger sedan and looks very modern and stylish.
LED headlights are a type of car light that uses special tiny lights to shine brighter and last longer than regular headlights. They also use less energy.
LiDAR is a technology that helps cars understand their surroundings by using lasers to measure distances. It's important for things like self-driving cars to know where they are and what is around them.
Electronic mirrors are like regular side mirrors, but instead of glass, they use cameras to show you what's behind you on a screen inside the car. This can help make the car more aerodynamic.
Point-to-point autonomous driving means a car can drive itself from one place to another without needing a person to control it. It uses special technology to follow the road safely.
Path planning is how a self-driving car figures out the best way to get from one place to another. It looks at things like traffic and road conditions to make good choices.
Battery swapping is when you take out a dead battery from an electric car and replace it with a fully charged one. This helps you get back on the road faster without waiting for the battery to charge.
Car
BYD Yang Wang U8L
The BYD Yang Wang U8L is a luxury SUV made by a Chinese company called BYD. It has a unique frame made from aluminum, which makes it strong and lightweight.
Electric range is how far an electric car can go before it needs to be plugged in to recharge. It's important for planning trips and knowing when to charge the car.
Li Auto is a car company from China that makes electric vehicles. They are also building a lot of charging stations to help people charge their cars more easily.
A supercharger is a special kind of charging station that can charge electric cars much faster than regular ones. This helps drivers get back on the road quickly after charging their cars.
Battery electric vehicles are cars that only use electricity to run, without any gasoline. They are part of a movement to make cars more environmentally friendly.
Car
Li i6
The Li i6 is an electric car made by a company called Li Auto. It's important because it shows that the company is focusing on making fully electric cars instead of cars that need gasoline.
NIO is another car company from China that makes electric cars. They are famous for their unique technology that allows you to quickly swap out a car's battery instead of charging it.
Tesla is a well-known American car company that makes electric vehicles. They are famous for their long-range cars and have many charging stations to help drivers recharge quickly.
The Smart Electric Drive is a small car that runs entirely on electricity instead of gasoline. It's designed for city driving, which means it's easy to park and helps reduce pollution since it doesn't produce harmful emissions. People talk about it because it's a step towards cleaner transportation.
CATL is a company that makes batteries for electric cars. They are one of the largest battery manufacturers in the world and supply batteries to many car makers.
DC fast charging is a quick way to charge electric cars. It allows you to get a lot of power into the battery in a short amount of time, so you don't have to wait as long to drive again.
LIVE
The holidays are expensive.
You're paying for gifts, travel, decorations, food,
and before you know it, you've blown way past what you were planning to spend.
Don't start the new year off with bad money vibes.
Download RocketMoney to stay on top of your finances.
The app pulls your income, expenses, and upcoming charges into one place
so you can get the clearest picture of your money.
It shows how much to set aside for bills and how much is safe to spend for the month
so you can spend with confidence.
No guesswork needed.
Get alerts before bills hit.
Track budgets and see every subscription you're paying for.
RocketMoney also finds extra ways to save you money
by cancelling subscriptions you're not using and negotiating lower bills for you.
On average, RocketMoney users can save up to $740 a year
when using all of the app's premium features.
Start the year off right by taking control of your finances.
Go to rocketmoney.com slash cancel to get started.
That's rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
Rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
How many times have you wished you could be in two places at once?
With Wix, you practically can.
Wix's website builder is packed with powerful AI tools
to make running your business online easier.
Build a full site just by talking with AI.
Get an AI agent to manage your sales and marketing
or work like a 10-person team, even if it's just you.
So you don't need superpowers to get everything done.
You just need Wix.
Try it now for free at wix.com.
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 RocketMoney to reach your financial goals this year.
Track your spending, cut waste, and automate savings in one simple app.
RocketMoney shows you all your expenses
and categorizes them so you know exactly where your money's going
and where you're overspending.
From there, the app cuts waste by cancelling 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.
RocketMoney'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
when using all of the app's premium features.
Make saving money a priority this year.
Go to rocketmoney.com slash cancel to get started.
That's rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
Rocketmoney.com slash cancel.
I don't know about you, but when I'm using AI for my business,
I don't need it to tell me what to do.
I know what I want.
I just need help making it happen.
With Wix, I finally have an AI tool
that gets things done the way I want.
I just have to describe the type of website I need
and it's ready.
I can even ask it to manage my inventory,
plan my next marking campaign, or help out my customers.
Wix gives me AI wherever I need it.
Try it out at wix.com.
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.
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.
League One Volleyball is back.
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.
I didn't realize I was wasting $415 a month
until I downloaded Rocketmoney.
I thought I had my finances under control
until the app laid out all my spending
and categorized it for me.
Takeout, shopping, and unused subscriptions
were quietly draining my account.
And as a result, my savings took a backseat.
But Rocketmoney doesn't just tell you
what you're wasting money on.
It takes action to save you money.
First, the app looks at your income and monthly expenses
and calculates how much you can safely spend
each day to stay under budget.
Rocketmoney also finds and cancels
unwanted subscriptions for you
and even negotiates better rates on your bills
so you have more money in your pocket.
On average, Rocketmoney 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.
It's time to simplify your finances
and take control of your money.
Go to rocketmoney.com slash cancel to get started.
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, 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.
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.
League One volleyball is back.
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 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.
Houston, get ready to feel the power.
In January 2026, Love Houston Volleyball
is back and turning up the heat.
Featuring two-time Olympic medalist
Jordan Thompson and Micahan Cog.
Big serves, fearless rallies, and a hometown crowd
that brings serious energy.
This is a new H-town night out.
Bring the noise and don't miss a single moment.
Ticket start under $15.
Visit lovbhgx.com slash iHeart.
League One volleyball is back.
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.
About this episode
Rapid advancements in China's EV sector are highlighted as Hongqi unveils its stylish E702 prototype, showcasing impressive development speed and autonomous driving capabilities. MG4's sales soar with strategic tax incentives, while Envo plans to double its battery swapping stations ahead of the busy travel season. The episode also discusses BYD's innovative all-aluminium frame for the Yang Wang U8L, Li Auto's expansion of supercharging stations, and the potential for pure electric ships to revolutionize maritime travel by 2030.
