CHINA: Leapmotor’s 80kWh EREV, Zeekr 8X PHEV and XPeng Delivers P7+

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Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi-agentic AI, they are already deployed one.

It's called Chat Concierge, and it's simplifying car shopping.

Using self-reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks,

it doesn't just help buyers find a car they love, it helps schedule a test drive,

get pre-approved for financing, and estimate trading value.

Advanced, intuitive, and deployed, that's how they stack.

I didn't realize I was wasting $415 a month until I downloaded RocketMoney.

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Takeout, shopping, and unused subscriptions were quietly draining my account.

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It takes action to save you money.

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First, the app looks at your income and monthly expenses,

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RocketMoney also finds and cancels unwanted subscriptions for you,

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

It's time to simplify your finances and take control of your money.

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Rocketmoney.com slash cancel.

Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi-agentic AI.

They already deployed one.

It's called Chat Concierge, and it's simplifying car shopping.

Using self-reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks,

it doesn't just help buyers find a car they love.

It helps schedule a test drive, get pre-approved for financing,

and estimate trading value.

Advanced, intuitive, and deployed.

That's how they stack.

That's technology at Capital One.

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.

LeapMota kick us off with the news today.

The new D-19 flagship, Large SUV, due to launch in April,

showed up on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's catalogue.

Fair bit of news actually over the weekend,

and also the next couple of days.

I'll be talking about the latest catalogue filings,

this time revealing specifications of a huge EREV battery.

Now the model straddles both sides of China's high-end EV push.

LeapMota will sell the D-19 as a pure-bev battery electric vehicle,

and as an EREV extended-range electric vehicle,

both aimed at the upper-mid market,

with a target price of around $300,000 RMB.

That's $43,000 USD.

The filing lists six or seven seat layouts,

placing the car squarely in China's family and large fleet segment.

On the EREV side, LeapMota is stretching the battery size.

The D-19 EREV uses an 80.

Yeah, 80.3 kilowatt-hour pack.

That's just the battery.

Good for 500km of battery-only range,

paired with a 1.5-litre engine,

obviously a big fuel tank as well.

Never driving the wheels, only ever a range extender in this.

It drives dual motors,

rated at 100kW at the front, 200kW at the rear.

So not the most powerful of EVs.

We've seen big vehicles like this three-row,

large SUVs that are much more powerful.

That's not really what this is going for.

This thing is going for a huge pack.

In fact, what LeapMota claims is the largest battery pack yet,

fitted to an EREV in China.

The Bev battery electric vehicle variant

tilts further towards performance though.

It also runs dual motors,

180kW at the front and 230kW at the rear.

So much more powerful, 115kWh battery pack.

This one supplied by CATL.

I couldn't find out who supplied the pack

for the plug-in hybrid.

I will on tomorrow's podcast.

I'll get you that information.

So basically 720km of range,

CATL is listed as the sole battery supplier

for the Bev versions.

LeapMota has yet to confirm final pricing

or detailed trims,

but the filing makes one thing clear.

When the D19 reaches showrooms in April,

Chinese buyers will have a choice between pure battery power,

which I think will be plenty good enough,

bit more performance and loads of range,

or an 80kWh range extender.

When will you ever go to the fuel station

and put petrol in this thing?

Especially considering that long-distance,

high-speed public transport in China

is way better than many other places.

Are you really needing a car to do 2-3,000km journeys regularly?

Well, you've got the option.

Staying with LeapMota,

they will launch a new compact SUV,

the A10.

So this will take on things like

Zhili's Geometry, the Xingwan,

BYD's Seagull, we'll talk about that

in a little more on the podcast soon,

in the low-cost market.

So LeapMota's A10 is now open for blind pre-orders,

mass deliveries, I think sometime in the first half of the year.

A10 is the first model in LeapMota's new A-Series,

sitting alongside the A, B, C and D-Series,

plus there's the Laffer 5.

It targets the $100,000 yuan and below segment,

so that's $14,000 US dollars.

Car news China reckons the starting price

could be $10,000 US equivalent.

Adding pressure on both the state-backed groups

and the private rivals,

LeapMota claims 500 kilometers pure electric range,

LFP pack, 16 minutes, 30 to 80,

so I don't love 30 to 80 yet,

or the car makers just give us the 10 to 80 number.

So if you're new to the podcast,

I say that 10% to 80%.

So I think a lot of people who typically drive an EV,

especially if it's on a longer journey

and you're doing a mid-journey refresh,

they're a recharge, it would be down to about 10%.

My wife doesn't like going below 10%

in case charges are out of order and stuff.

She's not really charged by the seat of a pants kind of gal,

and many people are the same.

So 10 to 80 is a great metric.

They've given us 30 to 80,

which is a fudge, but it's 16 minutes.

And so that's brisk.

Single electric motor on this little LeapMota A10,

90 kilowatts, that's plenty powerful for a small car.

Plenty, by the way.

Driver assistance is the selling point though,

because in China, you get roof-mounted LiDAR,

which is not unheard of, but rare at this price level.

And for anyone listening to the podcast thinking LiDAR

was the preserve of very expensive luxury vehicles,

well, then yes, it may be in the West and it used to be.

But there's different kind of versions,

different qualities, different amounts of information

that LiDARs can detect, but still very good LiDARs.

Now on very cheap Chinese cars,

and so many people don't realize this.

And so lots of advanced driving on a 10 grand car.

Semi-hidden door handles on the side profile,

make it look a little more upmarket.

The LeapMota meets the price and delivery targets.

It will really deepen the fight

at the bottom end of the market.

A long-claimed range, fast charging, LiDAR, 10K price tag,

what's almost not to love about this thing.

Now, let's talk Zika.

We'll launch its second plug-in hybrid SUV,

the 8X in China soon.

The new model goes between the 7X and the 9X,

as plug-in hybrids already on sale in China.

It may also give Zika a way into overseas markets

like Australia, where the brand has hinted

it could add plug-in hybrids.

Filings in China give a clearer view to Zika's plan.

Images lodged with the authorities

and published by Karnoos China over the weekend

show that the 8X comes in five or six seat forms.

The filings list a 2.0-litre engine.

It's got 205 kilowatts of power

and a 70 kilowatt-hour NMC pack.

That's not RFP packs.

Big performance, really big battery pack.

That's from CATL and Gili's joint venture.

On the WLTC side, they say 256 kilometers electric

only on the smaller pack, which is, I think, 55.

But that big one I mentioned, 328 kilometers.

Zika's already flagged how quickly the pack can charge.

So this in the 9X, the bigger car,

it'll do 20 to 80 in nine minutes,

10 to 18, 10.3 minutes.

The 8X has the same platform.

So 900 volts, the SEAS platform.

Zika, therefore owned by Gili of Volvo Polestar fame,

are knocking this one out of the park.

Motor details for the 8X were unconfirmed.

But Karnoos China reports the flagship version

will use three electric motors

for over 1,000 kilowatts of power,

three seconds, not to 62 miles an hour.

Loads of AI goodness in this and driver assistance too.

That is incredible fast charging time on a plug-in hybrid.

Now, XPung have started to deliver

their new global vehicle, the P7 Plus.

Also, congratulations, the 100,000th P7 Plus

rolled off the production line last Friday, two days ago.

Just 14 months after the model launched,

the same day, chairman and chief exec,

Hu Xiaoping, handed the first units

of the new P7 Plus over

at the firm's Guangzhou factory.

The milestone shows how fast China's

mid-market EV segment is scaling,

and how intent XPung is on keeping its main sedan fresh

without raising prices.

The 2026 P7 Plus keeps the old starting tag

of 186,800 yuan, that is 26,700 US dollars equivalent,

and adds an extended range version

as well to broaden the appeal.

Quick history lesson,

the car was originally launched in China

on November 7th 2024 as a pure Bev,

then they widened it.

It now comes in two Bev versions,

the 615 and the 725 Max version.

The new P7 Plus, EREV range mirrors the pricing,

starting 186,800 RMB.

XPung plans to launch this new car

in 36 countries and regions,

while the company already operates in 60 of them,

holding the entry price level,

while adding EREV options

and pushing exports signals a bid to gain more share,

both in China and overseas as well.

If they can keep demand up for the P7 Plus

at the same pace that they got to 100,000 units

in 14 months,

this will remain a pillar of their lineup.

The firm now has to show that a broader

powertrain mix and a big overseas ambition

can work in price sensitive car markets.

Now, Tesla is stretching its loan deals in China.

Tesla has stretched car finance in China

out of seven years.

On January the 6th, it rolled out

ultra low interest plans for the Model 3,

Model Y and Model YL, a sales slide.

The offer cuts the cost of entry

without cutting the list price

for the Model 3 and the Model Y.

The down payment starts from 80,000 yuan

and monthly payments of 2,000 yuan.

For the Model YL, the down payment's 100,000 yuan

and monthly 3,000 yuan.

Buyers who order before the end of January

can opt for a five-year interest-free plan.

That's not free money to Tesla,

very much a cost to their business,

but that's what they need to do

to try and shore up falling sales in 2025.

They sold 1.636 million vehicles worldwide,

nothing to be sniffed at,

but it is down almost 9% year on year.

The Chinese market was once its growth engine,

now it's dragging Tesla down.

In the first 11 months of last year,

it registered sales of Teslas in China of 532,000,

down over 7% from the first 11 months of 2024.

They launched the Model YL to refresh the lineup,

gave it a good start actually.

Deliveries began in September,

Tesla handed over nearly 28,000 of them

before the end of the year,

an average of more than 9,000 a month,

yet they still lean on its old mainstays

in the first 11 months of last year.

Model Y was the big one, 359,000 vehicles,

and Model 3 172,000.

Easy credit may keep the volume from slipping further,

though in a Chinese EV market awash with new models,

I talk about it every day here,

it's non-stop the amount of new cars

that we talk about on this podcast.

There's so little time on EV News China

to talk about sometimes the other issues,

the wider issues, the more interesting points,

because every day the podcast is just

new car launch, new car launch, new car launch,

we can't ignore those, and that's what Tesla's playing with.

And so they're doing what they can to not fall further back.

We'll take a break, we'll come back,

some BYD news to talk about,

and also why China's priorities

may be shifting overseas.

Stick around back in a moment.

Let's do the 60 Second Savings Challenge.

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Granger for the ones who get it done.

Welcome back to EV news, China.

If you like this program or this podcast,

you know somebody who might be interested in it,

staying on top of what's happening in the east,

then please just share it with them

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Subscribe in your podcast apps

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Hit subscribe.

It'll be there next time you pick up your phone

every couple of days or whatever.

Or every day, we try and put this out about 2 a.m. UK time

because by then we're well into the day

in some parts of the time zones ahead of me.

Now, three BYD stories.

BYD will add two new models to its dynasty range

in the first half of this year, pushing up market.

It previewed its D-segment nine series versions

of the Han sedan and Tang SUV on Saturday over the weekend

and asked users to help name them.

The new cars sit at the top of their respective lines.

In China, the nine series usually marks a brand's

high-end models with the number nine seen as supreme.

BYD has floated great Han.

And Han nine as names for the sedan.

And the great Tang and Tang nine for the SUV.

But that's not official.

The Tang nine series, the SUVs, will be in production,

the production version of the Dynasty D full-size concept

shown in April last year at the Shanghai Auto Show.

Pricing, look, I said this is premium, $400,000 RMB.

That is $57,000 US dollars equivalent.

There is the Tang L, DM and DMI, the hybrid,

the all-electric versions Tang L.

These are the ones that charge ridiculously quickly.

The Han series plays the same flagship role on the sedan side

as the Dynasty lineup that currently offers the Han L, DM,

and the Han DMI hybrid.

And the pure electric versions equivalence as well, if you like.

Okay, BYD is pushing its cheaper models,

more at market as well, adding a new all-electric SUV,

the Song Ultra to its Song series.

The new model uses a single electric motor, 270 kilowatts,

top speed of 210 kph and BYD's blade battery.

The move lifts the performance ceiling of

one of China's most important mid-market SUVs.

In the current Song range, no single motor variant

comes anywhere near to 270 kilowatts of power.

The Song L, DMI, the hybrid, is 160 kilowatts.

The Song Pro, DMI is 120.

Even the Song LEV, the pure electric flagship,

is 230 kilowatts of power.

The Song Ultra creates a new performance rung

above the existing models.

In a Chinese market where volume brands sell on spec sheets

and incremental gains and new models,

270 kilowatts single motor SUV.

Let's BYD really stretch its legs

in moving the Song badge upwards, without being a halo car.

It gives the firm a clearer answer

to high-powered domestic rivals in the family EV segment,

and it reuses some familiar components.

And BYD is putting BYD on its cheapest vehicles as well.

As I mentioned with Leap Motor, BYD putting BYD

on its cheapest car.

The MIIT, the Ministry Information,

has got an update on the Seagull, the budget compact EV,

with roof-mounted BYD, exterior otherwise unchanged.

Several years ago, BYD was on high-end models in China.

Now the sensor is turning into standard kit.

I can't get over it.

It's a rival on the Seagull.

BYD's most affordable model, most value-driven model,

marks a further step down the price ladder.

The system targets advanced driver assistance,

of course, and obstacle detection.

Seeing what the human eye can't see or cameras can't see.

The revised Seagull has a single motor.

Peak power goes from 55 to 60 kilowatts.

Top speed, 130 kph.

Roof LiDAR also comes along with no other major design changes.

So very much keeping the success story going.

Why change a winning formula?

Because it notched 45,000 sales last month in December alone,

according to CNEV Post data.

Cumulative sales, 530,000 of them sold last year alone.

So you add LiDAR at scale,

and that spreads enhanced driver assistance

from what was a premium segment thing only a couple of years ago

to every segment of the EV market now.

If rivals match BYD's move, LiDAR soon becomes just commoditized.

That's just the routine.

So in China, you would expect having all the best

ADAS systems at every price point.

The West has a lot of catching up to do.

And finally, China's EV price war won't be replicated overseas.

China's car makers have stopped trying to bludgeon its rivals

with discounts alone.

And the battle is becoming more nuanced now.

The battle has moved from sticker prices to software,

range, design, what I call the bladder-busting big numbers.

The 1600, 800, 2000 kilometers of range

when you combine the petrol tank and the big battery

and some of these EREVs.

Price wars will still flare up,

but they no longer anchor so many of the strategies,

according to an auto analyst at Nomura who's called Joel Ying.

State subsidies are shrinking and regulators demand more rigor

on quality, safety and sustainability.

Selling at any cost is now harder.

Makers now lean on performance, styling, technology

to differentiate and tempt buyers.

Beijing has tightened supervision and pushed the industry

away from ruinous undercutting and frankly selling cars at below cost

just to build scale, new rules on payment terms

and pricing compliance aimed to cool the excesses somewhat.

Yet they also raise the strain.

Car makers have got to absorb higher costs

by investing in new models, new batteries, new software.

I've been talking about LiDAR.

That's a key part of it, isn't it?

And the competition, if you thought I was playing it down,

it's not easing in China or when these brands go overseas either.

It's just changing shape.

It will become more selective as firms chase market share

but tiptoe that profitability line without raising the concerns of Beijing.

Both Chinese and foreign brands have got to find sharp ways now

to stand out without just that really low headline price.

And internationally, players are speeding up localization.

German and Chinese brands in particular have spent a last couple of years

really investing in VW Duet and Mercedes Duet

with their joint venture partners in China on research and development,

investment, tapping local supply chain, striking deals

with homegrown, autonomous and intelligent driving firms as well.

The center of gravity in car technology, there's no doubt

in innovation and technology, the world is tilting east

and it's shifting towards China.

The next round of this contest, though, won't be settled in showrooms

doing a deal with a salesperson.

Increasingly, it'll be settled in labs and in software code to stand out.

And that's your podcast for today.

Thanks for listening to EV News China.

Catch you on the next one.

I didn't realize I was wasting $415 a month until I downloaded Rocket Money.

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 Rocket Money 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.

Rocket Money 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, 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.

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.

If you're an HVAC technician and a call comes in,

Granger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product,

fast and hassle-free.

And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor,

there's no need to break a sweat.

With Granger's easy-to-use website and product details,

you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along.

Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com or just stop by.

Granger, for the ones who get it done.

If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant,

you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference.

That's why hands down, you count on Granger for auto-reordering.

With on-time restocks, your team will have the cut-resistant gloves

they need at the start of their shift.

And you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand.

Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com or just stop by.

Granger, for the ones who get it done.

If you're an HVAC technician and a call comes in,

Granger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product,

fast and hassle-free.

And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor,

there's no need to break a sweat.

With Granger's easy-to-use website and product details,

you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along.

Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com

or just stop by.

Granger, for the ones who get it done.

Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi-agentic AI.

They already deployed one.

It's called Chat Concierge and it's simplifying car shopping.

Using self-reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks,

it doesn't just help buyers find a car they love.

It helps schedule a test drive, get pre-approved for financing,

and estimate trading value.

Advanced, intuitive and deployed.

That's how they stack.

That's technology at Capital One.

CHINA: Leapmotor’s 80kWh EREV, Zeekr 8X PHEV and XPeng Delivers P7+

About this episode

EREV

BEV

kilowatt-hour pack

1.5-litre engine

dual motors

kW

kWh

CATL

plug-in hybrid

pure battery power

LeapMota A10

Zhili

BYD Seagull

pure electric range

LFP pack

LiDAR

Zeekr 8X

2.0-litre engine

battery pack

WLTC

charging time

SEAS platform

electric motors

kilowatts

XPeng P7 Plus

P7 Plus

Tesla Model 3

Tesla Model Y

Tesla Model YL

BYD

BYD Song

Request an Explanation

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