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Automotive industry

Automotive industry
News about the global automotive industry with a focus on developments that matter most for the China market.
Chinese-made MG cars on a dock before being loaded onto a ship for export at the port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, last week. Photo: AFP
Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese car sales accelerate in Europe as Brussels weighs putting on the brakes

Citi analysts say five largest Chinese-owned groups – SAIC, BYD, Geely, Chery and Leapmotor – have 10.6 per cent share of European market.

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European Union

Opinion | Europe was happy with the trade rules – until China’s industrial rise

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Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s EV brands have Europe’s luxury marques in their sights: Zeekr executive

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Electric & new energy vehicles

The hidden cost of China’s electric car boom: a spiralling roadworks bill

China needs to raise taxes to meet a soaring roadworks bill, as the country’s roads groan under the weight of millions of electric cars.

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Cars drive along a highway in Beijing. Photo: AFP
Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV makers debut right-hand drive models for Southeast Asian push

Chinese brands, including BYD, Jaecoo and Wuling Motors, captured 17.6 per cent of Indonesia’s car market in the first quarter of 2026.

Electric & new energy vehicles

Hong Kong emerging as the proving ground for China’s global smart-car ambitions

Chinese carmakers unveiled 14 smart vehicles in Hong Kong as they use the city to gauge overseas demand and refine global expansion plans.

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Canada

Trump likes Canada’s Chinese EV deal, Carney says after chat caught on hot mic

The arrangement allows a capped number of electric vehicles from China to be imported at a low-tariff rate.

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to US President Donald Trump during the G7 Summit in Evian, France, on Tuesday. Photo: dpa
Electric & new energy vehicles

Motorsport new arena for Chinese carmakers as Geely and BYD rev up global push

Geely sets sights on China hosting the Superbike World Championship after BYD reveals it is exploring options to enter Formula 1.

China economy

Opinion | The real danger in Western peddling of the China overcapacity myth

Protectionism will only slow the green energy transition and make the technologies of the future unaffordable for those most in need.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Geely Auto to curb excess capacity amid overhaul to boost carmaker’s global edge

Company chairman eyes plant mergers and a formal succession road map as the firm rejects price wars to focus on international growth in rivalry with BYD.

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Technicians work on an automated vehicle-assembly line at a Geely Auto plant in Zhejiang province. Photo: Getty Images
Electric & new energy vehicles

EVs capture two-thirds of China’s car market in record-breaking week

Despite subsidy cuts, electric vehicles reached a new sales milestone in mainland China as petrol-powered rivals continued to lose ground.

Visitors inspect a BYD Seagull at this year's Auto China in Beijing. Electric vehicles accounted for a record 66.7 per cent of new car sales in mainland China during the first week of June. Photo: Reuters
China trade

China’s BYD challenges iconic auto giants as hybrid demand surges in Germany

A three-fold jump in BYD’s German registrations highlights shift towards lower-tariff models, as company chairman says ‘the worst is over’.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Europe’s bet on Chinese EV joint ventures may be solving yesterday’s problem

Auto veteran Soh Weiming on the EV tech transfer, China’s plateau, and Europe’s chance to catch up.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

BYD powers past Geely as oil shock charges up global EV demand

Strong overseas demand for battery-powered cars helped BYD recover from a first-quarter setback and retake pole position.

Shanzhen-based EV assembler BYD lost its title as mainland China’s largest carmaker in the first quarter of 2026, but has since rebounded as rising oil prices powered demand for electric vehicles. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

Opinion | EU threat of trade war against China is a strategic farce

The EU is mistaken in believing it still has economic leverage. A trade war will not save an economy in decline.

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Chinese-made electric cars awaiting export are seen parked at the International Automobile Trade Port in Hangzhou in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. Photo: AFP
China-EU relations

Opinion | China’s EV giants are breathing new life into Europe’s ailing car industry

From Chery in Britain to SAIC in Spain, Chinese carmakers are investing in new plants and revitalising old ones as they localise production.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Why foreign marques are struggling to keep pace with Chinese EV demand

Domestic brands surge on fresh incentives and better batteries, while foreign carmakers fail to sustain their earlier market share.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s BYD, Chery chart 80% growth overseas as EV demand spikes

‘Eye-catching’ numbers show efforts paying off amid growing brand recognition abroad and tepid sales at home, analysts say.

A shopper passes a display of Chinese-made cars, including models from Chery and Omoda, in a shopping centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 23. Photo: Reuters
Electric & new energy vehicles

Tesla’s China sales surge to 2026 high, but rivals crowd the rear-view mirror

Tesla’s China sales rebounded in May on financing incentives and stronger demand, but local competitors are gaining momentum.

China-EU relations

China’s SAIC plans to build first EU car plant in Spain’s Galicia

Galicia’s leader Alfonso Rueda said his administration ‌had given the project an initial investment envisaged at around US$232 million.

Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV makers recover in May but competition fierce amid overcapacity woes

Consumer willingness to embrace new tech, along with cash subsidies from local governments, gave the EV sector a much-needed boost.

A man opens the door of a Zeekr X7 electric vehicle at a showroom in Beijing on February 3, 2026. Photo: AFP
Electric & new energy vehicles

Premium plan: China’s EV makers pin hopes on higher-margin models

New models from carmakers including Nio and Seres also challenge Tesla’s bestselling Model Y and cars from luxury German marques.

People inspect and pose with Nio’s ES9 ahead of the car’s launch event in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s BYD aims for zero accidents with ‘God’s Eye’, vows crash cost coverage

EV giant pushes affordable autonomy with its system, aiming to make self-driving safer and accessible to mass-market consumers.

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Banking & finance

Millions of Chinese consumers ditch their credit cards amid weak retail spending

Banks report there are 120 million fewer active credit cards in China with 687 million customer accounts, a dramatic drop from 2022’s peak.

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Made in China 2025

China’s machinery giant XCMG eyes bigger scoop of global sales

State-owned firm banks on intelligent manufacturing, green technology, product integration and digital services to boost sales overseas.

A giant XCMG truck dwarfs other vehicles at the company’s customer festival in Xuzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, on May 19. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

Xiaomi is pouring billions into AI to future-proof its hardware empire

Beijing-based firm bets on frontier tech, from topping AI benchmarks to designing chips that rival Apple, to secure its long-term survival.

Xiaomi has recently committed more than US$8.8 billion to AI investments over the next three years. Photo: AFP
Electric & new energy vehicles

Zelos looks to Middle East, Southeast Asia to turn a profit on robovan fleet

China’s robovan industry is in a period of consolidation, marked by the merger of Zelos with Cainiao’s autonomous-vehicle unit in January.

Robotics

Inside the Chinese auto-glass maker whose chairman sat beside Elon Musk

Fuyao Glass, which holds 35 per cent of the world market for automotive glass, banks on automation to cement its position.

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