China EVs & More

BMW and Volkswagen are getting more aggressive in China—but NIO, ZEEKR and the Chinese competition aren't slowing down.
In Episode #259 of China EVs & More, Tu and Lei break down the biggest developments from the Chengdu Motor Show, including aggressive pricing from BMW's Neue Klasse iX3 and Volkswagen launching an EV for under RMB90,000 (~$15K).
Meanwhile, NIO's ES8 continues dominating the premium BEV segment, ZEEKR's 9X pushes above RMB500,000, and Geely is attacking the global affordable-EV market with the Xingyuan/EX2.
We also discuss:
🇩🇪 BMW & Volkswagen's new China pricing strategy
🔥 NIO ES8 vs. ZEEKR 9X in China's premium market
🌎 Geely, BYD & Chery's accelerating global exports
🤖 Waymo's ZEEKR Ojai robotaxi rollout
🚕 Baidu, Pony.ai & Uber's global robotaxi expansion
🧠 China's autonomous-driving chips moving into Europe
🤝 Stellantis & Dongfeng deepen their China partnership
📉 The spectacular collapse of Evergrande's EV ambitions
Topics: China EVs, BMW China, Volkswagen China, NIO ES8, ZEEKR 9X, Geely, BYD, robotaxi, Waymo, Pony.ai, autonomous driving, China auto exports.
🔎 Search-Optimized Keywords: China EVs, Chinese EVs, China EV market, China auto market, Chinese automakers, BMW China, BMW iX3, Neue Klasse, Volkswagen China, Volkswagen EV, NIO, NIO ES8, ZEEKR, ZEEKR 9X, Geely, Geely Xingyuan, Geely EX2, BYD, Chery, Mercedes China, XPeng, Tesla China, China auto exports, Chinese EV exports, Chengdu Motor Show, robotaxi, Waymo, ZEEKR Ojai, Pony.ai, Baidu Apollo Go, Uber robotaxi, autonomous driving China, Horizon Robotics, Stellantis China, Dongfeng, China EV podcast, China EVs & More, Tu Le, Lei Xing, Sino Auto Insights
Key Companies & Brands: BMW, Volkswagen Group, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, NIO, ZEEKR, Geely, BYD, Chery, XPeng, Tesla, SAIC Volkswagen, Horizon Robotics, Waymo, Uber, Pony.ai, Baidu, ZOOX, Nuro, Wayve, Stellantis, Dongfeng, Jeep, Bosch, NVIDIA, Black Sesame, Huawei, Li Auto, Evergrande, Hengchi
⏱️ Episode #259 Chapters
00:00 Welcome to China EVs & More #259
00:56 Chengdu Motor Show & the week's biggest stories
01:45 BMW gets aggressive with the new iX3
03:15 Is pricing power disappearing in China?
03:45 Volkswagen launches a ~$15K EV
04:55 VW now competes directly with BYD & XPeng
05:10 Are Volkswagen's new China EVs selling?
06:20 NIO ES8 momentum keeps building
06:50 Is the NIO ES8 China's best EV value?
07:45 NIO & ZEEKR attack the premium Germans
08:15 Geely earnings & the Xingyuan's global push
09:05 Waymo's ZEEKR Ojai robotaxi expands
09:45 Pony.ai, Baidu & Uber take robotaxis global
10:50 Why ZEEKR could transform robotaxi economics
12:55 Is Waymo's Ojai good enough?
13:50 The global robotaxi battle heats up
14:25 Mercedes launches its China-developed GLE
15:20 Geely's ICE strategy vs. BYD
16:05 China heads toward 3M+ exports from BYD, Geely & Chery
16:45 Chinese autonomous-driving chips enter Europe
17:25 NVIDIA faces growing Chinese competition
18:40 Stellantis & Dongfeng deepen their China partnership
20:35 Evergrande: From EV ambitions to spectacular collapse
24:00 Final thoughts

Support the show

Chinese automakers just captured 77.4% of China's passenger-vehicle market—and exports have topped one million vehicles for two consecutive months.
In Episode #258 of China EVs & More, Tu and Lei unpack a dramatic shift in the world's largest auto market: Chinese brands dominating at home, NEVs approaching 70% of domestic passenger-vehicle sales, and China's automakers increasingly turning to exports as domestic demand weakens.
We discuss:
🇨🇳 Chinese brands reaching 77.4% market share
🌎 China's 1M+ monthly vehicle export run rate
🔋 PHEV exports surging into Europe
📉 BYD's slowdown and Geely Xingyuan's rise
🇩🇪 Why Volkswagen may bring China-developed EVs to Europe
🇺🇸 GM, Ford and the growing pressure on legacy automakers
⚡ Tesla's resilience in China despite brutal competition
🔄 Lei's firsthand experience with NIO Firefly and battery swapping
🤖 China's accelerating autonomous-driving advantage
🚗 Why foreign automakers may still not have found the bottom in China
Is China's auto industry entering the next phase—where its biggest growth opportunity is no longer China, but the rest of the world?
Topics: China EVs, Chinese automakers, BYD, Geely, Volkswagen China, GM China, Tesla China, NIO, China auto exports, PHEV, EV sales, autonomous driving.
SEO Keywords: China EVs, Chinese EVs, China EV market, China auto market, Chinese automakers, China auto sales, China auto exports, Chinese car exports, China NEV sales, China EV sales, BYD, Geely, Geely Xingyuan, Volkswagen China, Volkswagen EV, GM China, Ford China, Tesla China, NIO, NIO Firefly, XPeng, Chery, Li Auto, Leapmotor, PHEV, EREV, Chinese EVs Europe, China EV exports, autonomous driving China, battery swapping, global EV market, China EV podcast, China EVs & More, Tu Le, Lei Xing, Sino Auto Insights
Companies/brands: BYD, Geely, Volkswagen Group, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Lincoln, Tesla, NIO, Firefly, XPeng, Chery, Leapmotor, Land Rover, WEY, Fiat, Stellantis, Waymo, Baidu, Wayve, HIMA, Huawei, MAEXTRO, MG, CATL.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to China EVs & More #258
01:05 Lei returns from six weeks in China
02:45 BYD slows as Geely Xingyuan takes #1
03:20 Chinese automakers hit 77.4% market share
04:00 China's NEV share approaches 70%
04:15 China exports 1M+ vehicles per month
05:05 What China's export surge means for the world
06:20 Volkswagen considers bringing China-made EVs to Europe
07:35 Why speed matters more than size
08:05 China's PHEV exports surge into Europe
09:00 The EU's PHEV tariff loophole
09:55 Why EREVs could take off in America
11:10 China's domestic auto market faces a major decline
12:55 New EV launches keep coming despite the slowdown
13:35 China's slowdown hits Volkswagen, BMW & Mercedes
15:50 Is this the end of the old guard in China?
16:00 Chevrolet officially exits the China market
17:00 GM doubles down on Buick & Cadillac
18:00 Chinese automakers take the fight global
19:25 China vs. Detroit: Lei's reverse culture shock
20:30 Woodward Dream Cruise & the future of cars
21:35 Waymo's robotaxi fleet keeps growing
23:20 Lei drives the NIO Firefly
24:30 NIO Firefly pricing & battery swapping
25:55 China's brutal small-EV segment
27:30 Can a $15K Firefly work outside China?
29:20 Inside Huawei's massive HIMA store
30:35 Ford pulls Lincoln Nautilus production from China
31:25 What happened to Lincoln in China?
32:45 Final thoughts
Support the show

GM is doubling down on China for another 20 years—just as China's auto market enters one of its toughest periods in years.
In Episode #257 of China EVs & More, Tu and Lei break down General Motors' extension of the SAIC-GM joint venture, China's slowing domestic auto market, booming vehicle exports, and what it all means for global automakers competing with BYD, Geely, Chery, NIO, XPeng and other Chinese OEMs.
We also discuss:
🇨🇳 Why GM is committing to China for another 20 years
📉 China's potential auto-market contraction and coming industry shakeout
🌎 Chery's massive export growth and China's global auto expansion
🇺🇸 Ford's ~$28K Fathom and its strategy for competing with Chinese EVs
🤖 Lei's firsthand experience with NIO's latest intelligent-driving system
🔋 NIO's next-generation battery swapping strategy
🇧🇷 BYD's Brazil manufacturing and flex-fuel strategy
🇩🇪 Why Volkswagen and other legacy automakers remain under pressure in China
Is China's slowdown finally going to force consolidation—and are Western automakers moving fast enough to compete?
Whether you're an automotive executive, engineer, supplier, investor or simply following the transformation of the global auto industry, Episode #257 provides firsthand context on what is happening inside the world's largest and most competitive automotive market.
Subscribe to China EVs & More for weekly analysis of China, EVs, autonomous driving, mobility technology and the rapidly changing global automotive industry.
Search-Optimized Keywords:
China EVs, China EV, Chinese EVs, China EV market, China auto market, China automotive industry, Chinese automakers, China auto sales, China vehicle exports, Chinese car exports, China auto slowdown, China EV price war, GM China, General Motors China, SAIC-GM, GM China joint venture, Buick China, Ford EV, Ford Fathom, affordable EV, Jim Farley, BYD, Chery, Geely, NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, Leapmotor, Xiaomi EV, Tesla China, Volkswagen China, NIO battery swap, NIO autonomous driving, intelligent driving China, autonomous driving, ADAS, Level 3 autonomous driving, EV news, global automotive industry, China EV podcast, China EVs & More, Tu Le, Lei Xing, Sino Auto Insights.
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to China EVs & More #257
00:58 Lei reports from Shenzhen
02:15 GM commits to China for another 20 years
05:25 GM's nearly 30-year history in China
08:45 Why GM is doubling down on China
10:15 GM turns China into a global export hub
12:15 Chinese automakers take over Australia's EV market
13:45 China's auto market faces a major slowdown
15:10 Could China's slowdown finally force consolidation?
16:05 Chery's exports explode: 200,000 vehicles in one month
17:00 Volkswagen's China struggles & the ADAS battle
18:25 Why legacy automakers are still moving too slowly
19:30 GM's Buick & Wuling strategy in China
22:00 Ford's ~$28K Fathom EV takes aim at affordable EVs
23:05 Can Ford finally compete with Chinese EVs?
25:15 Ford vs. GM: Two very different EV strategies
27:25 Lei tests NIO's latest intelligent driving
28:20 NIO's ADAS takes on Tesla FSD
31:00 NIO hits 4,000 battery swap stations
31:25 BYD's Brazil strategy: BEV, PHEV, gasoline & ethanol
33:05 China's latest EV launches & Huawei goes viral
34:10 Why America can't buy the electric Ford Bronco
35:05 Leapmotor joins China's 100,000-unit club
35:30 Tesla Model Y remains resilient in China
36:25 China's race toward Level 3 autonomous driving
37:15 Can NIO reach profitability without new models?
38:20 China's EV shakeout could get brutal
39:40 Final thoughts

Support the show

Could Tesla really leave China—the market and manufacturing base that helped transform it into the world's most valuable automaker?

In Episode #256 of China EVs & More, Tu Le and Lei Xing unpack reports that Tesla could potentially sell, spin off or close its China operations as Elon Musk considers a closer combination between Tesla and SpaceX.

The implications would be enormous.

Giga Shanghai accounts for roughly half of Tesla's global vehicle output, serves more than two million Tesla owners in China and remains a critical export hub supplying markets around the world.

Tu and Lei debate whether Tesla could realistically walk away, who could possibly acquire Giga Shanghai, what the move could mean for Tesla's FSD ambitions in China—and whether the report could be signaling something deeper about Tesla's expectations for its automotive business.

Then the conversation turns to another major disruption: Xiaomi's new SkyNomad EREV family SUVs.

After finding enormous success with the SU7 and YU7, Xiaomi is now targeting the large family-SUV segment dominated by companies such as Li Auto.

With the seven-seat N90 Max expected to start below RMB300,000 and offering a massive 76-kWh battery, 60-liter fuel tank and approximately 1,705 km of combined range, Xiaomi is once again using aggressive pricing to reset expectations.

In this episode:

• Could Tesla really sell or spin off its China business?
• Why Giga Shanghai remains critical to Tesla's global manufacturing strategy
• Tesla, SpaceX and the potential conflicts created by a merger
• What happens to Tesla if FSD never receives full approval in China?
• Who could realistically buy Tesla's Shanghai factory?
• Tesla's growing reliance on exports from China
• Xiaomi's new SkyNomad N90 and N70 family SUVs
• Why Xiaomi's pricing should worry Li Auto
• Xiaomi's highly automated Beijing factory
• Why Xiaomi's latest technology event disappointed some investors
• Audi's China-only EV strategy and Momenta-powered ADAS
• BMW, Porsche and the continuing challenges facing German automakers
• Why NIO is prioritizing profitability over global expansion
• Battery swapping vs. charging outside China
• How quickly ICE vehicles could disappear from China's domestic market
• Why China's unwanted ICE capacity could eventually flood emerging markets

If you want to understand the forces reshaping the world's largest automotive market—and what they mean for Tesla, Xiaomi, BYD, NIO, XPeng and the global automotive industry—subscribe to China EVs & More.

Hosted by Tu Le of Sino Auto Insights and Lei Xing, bringing decades of firsthand experience covering China's automotive, EV, AV and mobility industries.

🔎 Search-Optimized Keywords

Tesla China Tesla Giga Shanghai Tesla Shanghai factory Tesla leaving China Tesla China exit Tesla SpaceX merger Tesla SpaceX Elon Musk Tesla FSD China Tesla China sales Tesla China exports Tesla Model Y Tesla Model 3 China EV China EVs Chinese EVs China EV market China automotive industry China auto market China EV podcast China EVs & More Xiaomi EV Xiaomi Auto Xiaomi SkyNomad Xiaomi N90 Xiaomi N70 Xiaomi EREV Xiaomi SU7 Xiaomi YU7 Li Auto Li Auto L9 Li Auto L6 EREV range extended electric vehicle Chinese electric cars BYD NIO XPeng Geely Audi China Audi E7X Momenta Volkswagen China BMW China Porsche China German automakers China China NEV sales China ICE sales Chinese car exports EV price war autonomous driving China battery swapping NIO battery swap future of Tesla global EV market electric vehicle news automotive industry news Tu Le Lei Xing Sino Auto Insights

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to China EVs & More #256
00:55 Tesla's HUGE China question
02:00 Could Tesla really leave China?
04:30 Why Giga Shanghai is critical to Tesla
05:55 Without China, there's no Tesla of today
08:05 Who could buy Tesla's Shanghai factory?
09:50 Is Tesla FSD in China in trouble?
10:45 Could Tesla eventually exit the EV business?
12:40 Watch Tesla's China exports for the next clue
14:15 Xiaomi unveils its SkyNomad EREV family
15:25 Xiaomi N90 & N70 pricing shocks the market
16:45 Why Xiaomi's N90 should worry Li Auto
18:00 Xiaomi closes in on 750,000 EVs
19:05 Is Xiaomi late to the EREV party?
21:15 Inside Xiaomi's highly automated EV factory
22:45 Did Xiaomi's big tech reveal disappoint?
25:05 Xiaomi's wild tire blowout demonstration
27:20 Driving Audi's China-only E7X
28:45 Can Audi's China strategy actually work?
30:10 Why German automakers keep making things complicated
32:05 Porsche, BMW & Volkswagen face more China pressure
33:00 Can Ford & GM disrupt themselves?
33:50 Live Q&A: Why isn't NIO expanding faster globally?
36:00 Who could actually buy Giga Shanghai?
37:15 NIO's profitability vs. global expansion dilemma
40:05 How fast will ICE disappear in China?
42:55 Where will China's unwanted ICE capacity go?
44:50 Final thoughts
Support the show

The global automotive industry may have just crossed another major turning point.
In Episode #255 of China EVs & More, Tu Le and Lei Xing examine why Ford and Geely are partnering in Europe, what it means for the future of global manufacturing, and why more legacy automakers are turning to Chinese technology despite growing geopolitical tensions.
The discussion also explores Mercedes-Benz's challenges with the proposed Connected Vehicle Security Act in the United States, Volkswagen's expanding partnerships in China, Honda's renewed commitment to its Chinese joint venture, Tesla's latest earnings, and whether the global industry has reached a point where competing with Chinese automakers alone is no longer enough.
This episode covers:
Ford & Geely's new European joint venture
Why Spain is becoming Europe's next automotive hub
Mercedes-Benz and the Connected Vehicle Security Act
Volkswagen's growing reliance on Chinese technology
Horizon Robotics and Volkswagen's AI partnership
Tesla's latest earnings and shrinking margins
China's increasingly competitive EV market
BYD's global ambitions
Why more legacy automakers are partnering with Chinese companies
What this means for Europe, North America and the future of global manufacturing
If you want independent analysis on where the automotive industry is heading—not where it has been—subscribe to China EVs & More.
Hosted by Tu Le (Sino Auto Insights) and Lei Xing, bringing decades of experience covering China's automotive industry from the inside.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to China EVs & More #255
00:50 The week's biggest stories: Ford, Mercedes & Volkswagen
02:10 Why Mercedes could be blocked from selling in the U.S.
06:30 How China and U.S. policy are squeezing German automakers
09:00 Mercedes' EV struggles continue in China
11:45 Ford & Geely team up in Europe
15:45 Why Spain is becoming Europe's next automotive hub
18:15 Is Ford's Geely partnership the future of the auto industry?
20:00 What's next for GM in China and Europe?
21:30 Why every legacy automaker is partnering with Chinese companies
23:45 Volkswagen doubles down on China
27:45 Has Volkswagen reached the bottom in China?
29:00 "If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them"
30:15 China's EV price war is becoming unsustainable
33:00 Tesla earnings: Sales up, margins down
35:50 Is Tesla's China advantage starting to fade?
37:30 Financial Times: Chinese premium brands target Europe
39:00 Can Chinese premium brands win outside China?
40:15 Live Q&A begins
41:00 XPeng X9 recall: Should buyers be worried?
44:15 Is XPeng really Tesla's biggest rival?
46:00 Can BYD overtake Toyota as the world's #1 automaker?
48:20 Why hybrids still dominate the U.S. market
50:10 Battery swapping vs. autonomous charging
52:10 Xiaomi's next big launch
53:15 Should we move the livestream to 12 PM Eastern?
55:20 Thanks for watching!
SEO Keywords
China EV
China EVs
China EV podcast
China EVs and More
Chinese EV
Chinese automakers
China auto industry
Ford Geely
Ford Geely partnership
Geely Ford joint venture
Ford Europe
Ford Valencia
Geely
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes China
Connected Vehicle Security Act
Connected vehicle security
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen China
Honda China
GAC Honda
Horizon Robotics
CARIZON
Tesla
Tesla earnings
BYD
BYD global expansion
GM China
SAIC GM
Leapmotor
Stellantis
NIO
XPeng
Li Auto
Toyota
Electric vehicles
EV news
Global automotive
Mobility
Autonomous driving
AI vehicles
Software-defined vehicles
Future of mobility
Tu Le
Lei Xing
Sino Auto Insights
Support the show