The Xiaomi Su7 is a car made by Xiaomi, which is better known for making smartphones. They are now making electric cars too, and the Su7 is one of their models.
Electric range is how far a car can go using just electricity before it needs to be charged again. It's important for electric cars to have a good range so drivers can travel longer distances.
The Ford Galaxy is a big family car that can fit a lot of people and their stuff, making it great for trips. It's talked about because it's designed to be comfortable and useful for families, and there are other similar cars out there trying to compete with it.
The BYD Tang L is a large SUV made by a Chinese company called BYD. It's designed to be stylish and has many features, especially for electric driving.
Car
BYD Ato 8
The BYD Ato 8 is the name used for the BYD Tang L when it is sold outside of China. It is a large SUV with a modern look.
The Lucid Gravity is a new electric SUV that will be very luxurious and high-tech. It's important because it's part of a new wave of electric cars that can go really far on a single charge, making it a cool option for people who want a fancy and eco-friendly vehicle.
A kilowatt is a way to measure how powerful something is. In electric cars, it tells you how much power the motor has or how fast you can charge the battery.
DC fast charging is a way to quickly charge electric cars. It can fill up the battery much faster than regular charging, so you can get back on the road sooner.
Car
Ato 8
The Ato 8 is a new electric car that can run only on electricity or use a mix of electricity and gasoline. It's designed to be a top model in its series.
Trade protectionism is when a country makes rules to protect its own businesses from competition with other countries. This can make it harder for foreign companies to sell their products there.
NEVs stands for New Energy Vehicles, which are cars that use energy sources like electricity instead of just gasoline. They are better for the environment.
Nexperia makes tiny electronic parts that help cars and other devices work properly. They are important for things like safety features and entertainment systems in vehicles.
These are special computer chips that help cars run their electronic systems, like the engine and safety features. They're essential for modern cars to function properly.
Force majeure is a legal term that means unexpected events make it impossible for someone to meet their obligations. This can happen due to things like natural disasters or political issues.
Rivian is a new car company from the United States that makes electric trucks and SUVs. They focus on making vehicles that are good for the environment and great for outdoor activities.
The Porsche Panamera is a fancy car that looks like a sports car but has four doors, so more people can ride in it. It's known for being really fast and comfortable, and people talk about it because it's a high-quality car that many love to drive.
Mercedes-Benz is a luxury car brand that makes high-end vehicles known for their quality and technology. Many people consider them to be some of the best cars in the world.
Benchmarking is when companies compare their cars to others to see how they can make them better. It's like checking your grades against your friends to see how you can improve.
A tear down is when a car is taken apart to see how it works inside. Companies do this to learn from each other and improve their own cars.
LIVE
Welcome back to the podcast. Today, Xiaomi offers discounts, BYD refreshes the hybrid
and China's EV roadmap to 2040 plus stay tuned later in the show. I'll tell you what Rivian CEO
RJ Scaring said about tearing down a Chinese EV. Welcome to EV News China, the podcast dedicated
to the world's largest EV market. Each day I bring you the 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. We'll start with news of Xiaomi introducing new subsidies
to offset China's winding down of purchase tax incentives next year, protecting customers whose
orders are delayed into 2026 for reasons within company control. Orders locked down by November
30th will qualify. Protection covers the Xiaomi Su7, that's their sedan, the ultra version
and the YU7 SUV. Xiaomi EV will compensate customers the purchase tax subsidy they would
have received this year through a final payment cash discount. So buyers face no extra vehicle
purchase tax, capped at 15,000 RMB, it's about 2000 US dollars. Now BYD today updated three
of their hybrid models, their DMI hybrids in its Song and Shin lineups, extending the electric only
range to boost the competitiveness in China against strong rivals from the likes of Geely's
Galaxy brand. So the three vehicles they did with the 2026 Song Pro, that's an SUV,
that arrives from $14,430 US equivalent, 133 kilometers battery range up from 75. The Song L
DMI SUV, also in three variants starting at 140,000 RMB, now up to 200 kilometers of battery range
up from what it started at 75 before. And the Shin L DMI, that's a sedan, quite a cheap sedan,
very affordable 97,000 RMB on this 128 kilometers battery range and what they offer the combined
range, so fuel tank and battery, of 2,148 kilometers. It's a sexy number when you've
got a big combined range. I'm not surprised with these hybrids and EREVs and plug-in hybrids and
they've got a decent sized battery and a good range why they're going for that big number.
I think it is a beauty parade. I think it's a vanity metric. I don't think it means a lot because if
you are doing 2,000 miles or kilometers in China, you're probably using, at least considering,
some high-speed public transport, which is a lot better than high-speed public transport
than in many countries around the world. But if you are genuinely driving 2,000 kilometers in China,
then maybe you need a vehicle like this. I'm not sure the big numbers are always
translatable into a real-world benefit because I just have an EV. If you've got good infrastructure
where you are, but if you're heading into rural China and you're worried about infrastructure
and things like that, then maybe one of these long-distance hybrids is the right thing,
or maybe it's peace of mind, that goes a long way as well with buyers. Now, the BYD Tang L is
going to arrive internationally under a different name. We won't call it the Tang L, we'll call it
the Ato 8. Now, the Ato 8, or the Tang L, is a full-size SUV, but getting a rename for its
export. It's made its international debut at the Auto Show in Tashkent International Auto Show.
It also arrived alongside the BYD M9 and the Seal 6. In China, it's part of the Dynasty
series. It's actually the flagship of the Dynasty series. This thing looking, oh, okay, let me try
and explain it to you. Oh, you know, 1 million miles away from a Lucid Gravity? Okay, if that
makes sense, if that's a reference point for you, looking very sharp at the front end, very sleek.
It starts in, it launched in April this year, and it starts at 230,000 yuan. That's about
US$32,000 equivalent. So, this is a more premium vehicle. There's sort of a ton of them as well.
$30,000 sold so far as per China Review Data Tracker. Its Bev Power train is 810 kilowatts,
while the lineup, which includes the plug-in hybrid with a 35 kilowatt hour LFP pack,
will still DC fast charge at 71 kilowatts of power. The all-electric Ato 8 comes alongside the plug-in
hybrid version. I think it's not entirely clear which versions will go to which countries. I
think here in the UK, both the Bev and the plug-in hybrid would find an audience as the Ato 8.
Single motor variants and dual motor variants, rear wheel drive with 580 kilowatts of power,
all wheel drive with 810 kilowatts of power, 3.9 seconds to do the dash, and a 100 kilowatt hour
LFP pack in the pure Bev. And the numeric 8 in its name positions it as the flagship. So,
you've got the Ato 3. Well, actually, let's start. The Ato 2, which is the U1 up, and the Ato 3,
the U1 plus. I suppose there is room for many more numbers because you could do Ato 9 if you
wanted, but we'll wait and see. Now, published yesterday, China's technology roadmap for energy
saving and new energy vehicles. It will be the majority of the auto market in five to 15 years,
and level four autonomy they want widespread by 2040. Prepared over more than 18 months by
2000 experts in China are convened by the China Society of Automotive Engineers with guidance
from the MIIT. This new roadmap published this week sets long-term objectives for vehicle
electrification, low carbon development, and intelligent connected vehicle technologies
aligning with China's goal to lead in EVs and autonomy. Key targets include EVs exceeding
85% of new passenger car sales by 2040. Quick side note from me on that. There's been months this
year when it's been 60%, and this year we're going to do over 50% of the new China market
in the year 2025, and they want 85% in 2040. I think that's very, very doable. They want battery
electric vehicles to be 80% of that 85%. So the document also anticipates new energy commercial
vehicles expanding to go further than urban and short distance roles into long distance,
long haul transport as well. Now, electric vehicles have scaled from about one in 18 new cars
before 2020 to half, as I've just mentioned, one in two new vehicles have a plug socket
on the side in China. That shift cut sales of petrol and pure internal combustion cars.
New data coming out today shows that petrol peaked in 2017, and it's been declining ever
since. Global combustion sales, we think peaked pre-pandemic, by the way, on a global scale,
but China before the rest of the world, because of the rapid EV growth in China,
the IEA, International Energy Agency, now expects global oil demand to peak earlier than previously
projected. The phrase new energy vehicle is BEVs and plug-in hybrids in China.
I think 56% was last month. I'll go and double check the numbers on that, but China is going
even faster than many people predicted. Meanwhile, European automakers are urging cooperation
this week with China at an industry forum in Chongqing municipality in southwest China.
This was Wednesday. European automotive experts convened to urge international cooperation opposing
trade protectionism amid a dispute over tariffs. They said Chinese and European automakers are
stronger when they deepen their ties, better when they work together. In R&D, European Union
tariffs on Chinese NEVs have been criticised by the likes of BMW chairman Oliver Zipser,
saying BMW strongly opposes the European Commission's anti-substitute tariffs in September
at the 2025 World New Energy Vehicle Congress. Hildegard Muller, president of the German
Association of the Automotive Industry, the VDA, said that the VDA supports open markets in the
Germany and the European Union should not support protectionism. She added more than two-thirds of
German automakers plan to continue investing in China, focusing on R&D, production and marketing.
Yes, the Germans make a lot of money from China, but less than they used to. We'll get onto that
in a moment. Let's talk a little bit about batteries now. And Goshen, a subsidiary of the
Chinese battery maker Goshen, has today reportedly by Reuters abandoned its plans to build a $2.4
billion facility in Michigan to make critical EV battery materials. The scheme was first revealed
in October 2022 to create 2,350 jobs inside the factory itself. The project due criticism
over the company's Chinese ownership. US lawmakers said last month China maintains
effective control through multiple individual shareholders. Germany's Volkswagen holds about
30% of Goshen high-tech. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation said none of a $125 million
state grant was ever paid out, and that it wants a repayment of a separate state award
used to buy the site itself. Now, Goshen's head of corporate and public affairs, Benjamin Howes,
declining to answer specific questions about Michigan's plans, but said the company remains
fully committed to its mission of driving America's clean energy future. Yeah, that's a somewhat of a
mealymouth statement to not say, yeah, we've knocked that one on the head, but we'll wait and see.
Back in March, actually it was March of last year, Goshen sued Michigan, the Green Township,
alleging that they breached an agreement over construction of the plant. It's not been without
its speed bumps, and now it looks like they reversed out of it completely. Nexperia's
dispute continues today, 24 hours later, and new developments. This is the dispute over the
Dutch-based but Chinese-owned chip maker, Nexperia. I've been talking about it this week on this
podcast. It's starting to really alarm Europe's auto industry. There they make chips, and the
company's automotive semiconductor supply has fallen off in recent weeks after the Dutch
government took control amid US and Chinese export restrictions, raising fears of the trip
shortages that we saw post-pandemic in a force majeure notice from October the 9th. Nexperia
told customers of unforeseen developments that affect the availability of certain products.
Yes, because the Chinese ownership have said, do not supply European car makers and to ignore
any requests from the Dutch side of the business. A senior automotive official warning,
we will see production stops and slowdowns, because a lot of suppliers don't have the
depth of stock of chips. Nexperia parts are embedded across vehicles, airbags, infotainment,
and automakers have made limited changes to guard against geopolitically driven shocks
while an EU push to rebuild chip capacity. Well, it hasn't met its goals. Now, we'll take a break,
we'll come back, we'll talk Porsche and Rivian and more, stick around, back in a mo.
Okay, welcome back to the podcast and EV News China. Let's talk a little bit about Porsche
in China, which has had, boy, a rough time of it and continues to have a rough time. Porsche cut
its full year guidance after week nine month results and charges, which are tied to a realignment
of their product strategy amid changing conditions in China. Revenue for the first three quarters
was down 6% on the same time last year and operating profit fell to 40 million euros. That's a 99%
decline on their operating profit and return on sales dropping to 0.2% from 14%. That is clearly
a terrible result. So what's causing it? Well, Porsche have blamed, in part, electric vehicles
saying the audience, the customer base isn't ready for electric vehicles. Okay, that's one thing.
They said the guidance revision follows last month's powertrain adjustments, including a change
to the new three row SUV and plans to keep gas powered Panameras and Cayennes on the road well
into the 2030s. The company says that these plans, they will weigh on profitability. I think the key
thing is as well, they're doing really badly in China. It's a brutal price war, but also
for the premium German brands, what's happening in China, it's been over the recent years,
but then recent months has seen almost a strengthening of this is that those cars,
Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMWs, Porsches are increasingly seen as well, those are the
nice cars that your parents generation had. And with younger buyers with purchasing power,
they're going for domestic brands increasingly. Now, Tesla's been able to sidestep that a little
bit known as a kind of a new upstart high tech brand and not being lumped in with those. And so
there's a real problem in terms of how to reboot the Germans in China. Still an enormous part of
their businesses, but Porsche more than most is being affected really badly. And finally,
let's talk a little bit about Rivian and the CEO RJ Scarringe. Now, Rivian doesn't sell in China.
Let me just say that routinely they benchmark notably these against what they're making.
And Rivian recently conducted a tear down of a Xiaomi Su7 CEO RJ Scarringe told business insider,
the exercise is industry standard for understanding competitors, engineering and
integration. It's, you know, has been practice for the car makers just to send their new car to
their competitors because they're going to buy one anyway and tear it down. So we will send you
one of our one and you send me one and you want to see what we're doing. All right. And so I'm
imagining that they had to buy this and stick it on a plane or a ship halfway around the world.
Now, the Su7, the SUV launched in early 2024 with a $30,000 starting price and became a major
seller, helping Xiaomi exceed its annual delivery expectations by November last year.
During praise from the likes of Ford CEO Jim Farley, noting strong performance Scarringe
though called it a really well executed, heavily vertically integrated technology
platform and said, Xiaomi nicely done. And if that he lived in China hit by one,
the tear down revealed no hidden secret source. There's no hidden technical advantage. China
hasn't invented some magical technology and kept it under their hat that nobody else know about.
RJ says cost, we understood how they've arrived there. And there's nothing we learned
from the tear down. Scarringe attributed lower prices to lower labor costs and government support
a point echoed by Travis Fisher, the Kato Institute, citing looser regulatory hurdles,
lower labor cost and more subsidies. Scarringe contrasted financing and Chinese cost of capital
can be zero, meaning they get paid or even negative cost of capital. They get paid to put
up plants calling it a very different opportunity. He noted US support like the Department of Energy's
January 6.6 billion loan for Rivian's Georgia plant, not a grant, it's a loan,
it will get paid back. The US taxpayer will make money on that. But the idea of a production plant
being supported through a government grant is not something that exists in the US. And in fact,
the green grants that were announced under the previous administration are all very quickly
being rolled back in the United States. RJ Scarringe urged against mystifying China's lead,
how have they come up with this crazy technology? He says, I think it's like the Wizard of Oz.
Everything could be analyzed and calculated. I think what he's trying to say there is this,
when you look behind the curtain, it's stuff that's available and out there. It's technology
that exists and the cars are cheaper through both brutal price war. Some cars are being sold at
cost below cost to get volume and scale in China. They've been warned against it. I'm not sure that
practice has totally stopped. And fascinating to hear from one of the leaders of the automotive
industry there. And that's your podcast for today. Thanks for listening. See you on the next one.
About this episode
Xiaomi introduces discounts to counteract the end of purchase tax incentives in China, while BYD refreshes its hybrid lineup to enhance competitiveness against rivals. The episode also covers China's ambitious EV roadmap aiming for 85% of new passenger car sales to be electric by 2040. Rivian's CEO discusses insights from tearing down a Xiaomi EV, highlighting the competitive landscape and cost advantages in China. The podcast provides a comprehensive look at the evolving dynamics in China's EV market and the challenges faced by international automakers.
