Daily Archive: March 17, 2023

Vlogger ordered to apologize and pay damages to NIO for spreading false info

The vlogger was ordered to publish an apology on his channel and pay financial damages of RMB 80,000 yuan ($11,640).  |  NIO US | NIO HK | NIO SG

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

NIO (NYSE: NIO) has won a lawsuit involving reputation infringement in China, in one of the company's rare tough moves.

Laotan Shuoche (literally, Mr. Tan talks about cars), a vlogger on the short-video platform Douyin, was ruled to have infringed on NIO's reputation and was required to publish an apology on his channel and pay financial damages of RMB 80,000 yuan ($11,640).

The vlogger had called NIO's vehicles uncontrolled "wild horses" on his channel and blamed an accident on the quality of NIO's vehicle, even though traffic police authorities had confirmed that the accident was caused by the driver's mishandling, several local media said, citing a verdict.

The vlogger spliced multiple unverified collision videos to cause damage to NIO's reputation by distorting the facts while gaining viewers, according to the verdict, which is final.

Last February, an NIO vehicle was rear-ended on a highway in Jinhua, Zhejiang province in eastern China, and eventually crashed into three other vehicles before coming to a stop after driving forward for about 2 kilometers.

Laotan has apologized to NIO by posting a video on his Douyin account, which showed that he posted the video on the accident on February 16, 2022.

In China, NIO has always been seen as showing caution and restraint in dealing with similar issues, rather than being as aggressive as .

A few years ago, a video by a blogger criticizing NIO gained high attention. However, his video was not seen as an infringement of NIO's reputation, and he himself became one of the earliest owners of the ET7.

On June 30, 2022, car blogger @一个菜两个菜, who has more than 1 million followers on Weibo, said he purchased an ET7, a model that only started to be delivered at the end of March last year.

The blogger claimed in a video posted on January 28, 2019, that there is no future for NIO and explained his view in detail.

He claimed in the video at the time that NIO was playing a game of quick money through the capital markets and was not capable of building cars.

($1= RMB 6.8707)

Blogger who said NIO had no future three years ago becomes one of the first ET7 owners

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Baidu’s robotaxi platform Apollo Go gets permit to offer fully driverless rides in Beijing

To date, Baidu's Apollo Go has been offering fully driverless ride-hailing services in Beijing, Wuhan and Chongqing.  | Baidu.US | Baidu.HK

(Image credit: Baidu)

Baidu's ride-hailing service platform Apollo Go has won a permit to offer fully driverless rides in Beijing, allowing it to expand the service to three Chinese megacities.

The search engine giant announced the development today, saying it is the first provider of fully driverless robotaxi services in the capital city of any country worldwide. Apollo Go has previously been approved to offer the service in Wuhan and Chongqing.

Baidu Apollo will deploy a total of 10 fully driverless vehicles in Beijing's Yizhuang Economic Development Zone, according to a press release from the company.

Apollo Go is currently providing an average of more than 20 rides per vehicle per day within the area, exceeding the average number of rides taken by traditional online ride-hailing services, Baidu said.

Yizhuang is one of the active hubs for autonomous driving in China. Beijing plans to expand its high-level automated demonstration area in the Yizhuang Economic Development Zone from the existing 60 square kilometers to an eventual 500 square kilometers.

Baidu has been developing autonomous driving technology since 2013 and has accumulated more than 50 million kilometers of testing in Level 4 autonomous driving.

As of the end of January, Apollo Go offered more than 2 million cumulative rides to the public, Baidu said.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Apollo Go provided 561,000 rides to the public, up 162 percent year-on-year, according to Baidu's fourth-quarter earnings report.

On November 29 last year, Baidu announced that it plans to scale up Apollo's operations in 2023 with fully unmanned self-driving operations in more regions.

Baidu will build the world's largest fully driverless taxi service area in 2023, maintaining its growth momentum as the world's largest robot cab provider, the company said at the time.

Baidu previously announced plans to expand its self-driving mobility service to 65 cities by 2025 and 100 cities by 2030.

Baidu plans to put 200 additional driverless vehicles into operation in 2023

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BYD delivers 22 electric buses in Indonesia

This is the second batch of electric buses delivered by in Indonesia after it delivered 30 in the country a year ago.  | BYDDY.US | BYD HK

(Image credit: BYD)

BYD has delivered a new batch of electric buses in Indonesia, the second batch delivered there by the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker.

VKTR Group, a BYD electric bus distributor in Indonesia, recently delivered 22 electric buses, the K9, to local bus company Mayasari, according to a press release from the NEV maker today.

The electric buses will be put into operation on the Transjakarta bus rapid transit system, helping Indonesia achieve its goal of electrifying public transportation nationwide by 2030, BYD said.

This is the second order BYD has delivered in Indonesia, representing the NEV maker's continued effort in the Indonesian market, said Tian Chunlong, general manager of BYD's commercial vehicle operations division, at the delivery ceremony.

In 2022, BYD and its Indonesian partner VKTR Group announced a partnership with Tri Sakti, a local bus assembly plant.

On March 8, 2022, the first 30 BYD buses were delivered to Transjakarta, a bus operator in Jakarta, which were the first all-electric buses to be put into operation in Indonesia.

Up to now, BYD has promoted electric public transportation systems in more than 70 countries and regions and 400 cities around the world, according to the press release.

BYD sold 1,863,494 NEVs in 2022, making it the world's largest player in the segment. Those NEVs include 1,857,379 passenger cars and 6,115 commercial vehicles, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

The company sold 1,177 and 1,991 new energy commercial vehicles in January and February, respectively, up 386.36 percent and 145.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.

BYD plans to launch new commercial vehicle models in markets such as China, Europe and Japan over the next three years, the Wall Street Journal said on March 8, citing people familiar with the company's plans.

The company has set a budget of more than $20 billion for its commercial vehicle division through 2025, with major spending planned for research, product development and capacity expansion, the people said.

BYD reportedly planning big push for battery electric commercial vehicles

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BYD adjusts organizational structure to prepare for higher sales, report says

's biggest organizational change so far this year is to let its car brands operate independently, according to local media.  |  BYDDY.US | BYD HK

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) is restructuring its organization to prepare it for further growth in sales, a new report said.

BYD's biggest organizational change so far this year is to make its car brands operate independently, according to a report by local media outlet 36kr today.

The restructuring starts with BYD's core R&D department, and its engineering institute is planning to set up several separate divisions to cover its product lineup, including Dynasty, Ocean and Denza, according to the report.

All of BYD's sub-brands will have a separate engineering institute, the report said, citing a source.

R&D, operations and product development for all BYD brands are conducted at BYD's engineering institute, and now, in addition to R&D continuing in that department, sub-brands' projects, operations and products will be handled by independent engineering institutes, according to the report.

The organizational restructuring began at the beginning of the year, and key positions in each brand's research institute are now in place.

The heads of BYD's Dynasty and Ocean series' research institutes are basically the directors of their respective models, and the head of the research institute for Denza is the brand's former CEO Wang Fengyi, the report said.

BYD has two automotive R&D departments -- the engineering institute and the planning -- institute -- the former responsible for vehicle engineering technology, model projects and operations, and the latter like a technology provider responsible for DM-i hybrid technology, intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving R&D, according to the report.

Automakers' consideration for implementing independent institutes is usually the desire for clearer responsibility, more flexibility in the operation of each brand, and a heightened sense of competition among different brands, the report said, citing an industry source.

BYD's "family culture" and its previous first value of "equality" have led to a relatively slow pace of operations, the report said, citing several employees of the new energy vehicle (NEV) maker.

As BYD's sales increase dramatically starting in 2022, the company has implemented measures to improve efficiency.

However, for improving efficiency, organizational changes are fundamentally needed, the report said, adding that the establishment of independent research institutes for each brand is a signal that BYD wants to strengthen resource integration and improve operational efficiency.

BYD's planning institute's structure is also being adjusted to begin unifying the management of smart driving R&D tasks, after several departments of the NEV maker had R&D for autonomous driving projects, according to the report.

BYD's full-year 2020 NEV sales were 189,689 units, and that number grew to 603,783 in 2021, an increase of 218.3 percent.

In 2022, BYD's NEV sales growth accelerated significantly, seeing monthly sales exceed 100,000 units for the first time in March, when BYD announced that it stopped production and sales of vehicles powered entirely by internal combustion engines.

For the full year 2022, BYD's NEV sales were 1,863,494 units, up 208.64 percent year-on-year.

BYD launches new Han sedan and Tang SUV with lower prices

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Mixed Reactions to Fully Charged Sydney

Was Australia ready for Fully Charged? Mixed reactions are coming from people who attended Robert Llewellyn’s first foray into Australia — Fully Charged Sydney. It appears that the public were eager and thirsty for knowledge, but the event was ignored by most of the news media and there was a notable absence of the legacy […]

BYD launches new Han sedan and Tang SUV with lower prices

announced today that the two models received 8,196 orders on the day they were launched on March 16. BYDDY.US | BYD HK

(Image credit: BYD)

As the price war in China's auto industry continues, BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) has launched revamped versions of its flagship sedan and flagship SUV at lower prices than previously available models.

BYD launched the 2023 Han EV and 2023 Tang DM-i at its March 16 online event, both starting at RMB 209,800 ($30,440).

Both models appear to have received good initial acceptance, with BYD announcing today that the two models received a total of 8,196 orders on March 16.

The dimensions of the 2023 Han EV remain unchanged from the previously available model, measuring 4,975 mm in length, 1,910 mm in width and 1,495 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,920 mm.

The2023 Han EV is currently available in five versions with starting prices of RMB 209,800, 229,800, 259,800, 279,800 and 299,800 respectively, with the most expensive being the four-wheel drive version and the rest being front-wheel drive models.

As a comparison, the previous BYD Han had a starting price range of RMB 219,800-298,800.

The new Han has four range options, with CLTC ranges of 506 km, 605 km, 715 km and 610 km, of which the 715 km version is available in two models.

The least expensive version is equipped with a motor with a maximum power of 150 kW and a CLTC range of 506 km. The model, like all other single-motor Han models, can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.

The highest-priced version has a front motor with 180 kW and 350 Nm of peak torque and a rear motor with 200 kW and 350 Nm of peak torque, which accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds.

The BYD Han 2023 all supports fast charging, taking less than 30 minutes to charge from 30 percent to 80 percent.

The length, width and height of the 2023 BYD Tang DM-i are 4,870 mm, 1,950 mm and 1,725 mm respectively, with a wheelbase of 2,820 mm, also unchanged.

The model is available in three versions, with starting prices of RMB 209,800, 219,800 and 233,800 respectively. For comparison, the previously available Tang DM-i starts at RMB 209,800, RMB 226,800 and RMB 281,800 for its three variants.

The model continues to be equipped with a plug-in hybrid system consisting of a 1.5T engine and electric motor, with the engine producing 102 kW of maximum power and 231 Nm of peak torque, and the motor producing 160 kW of maximum power and 325 Nm of maximum torque. The model can accelerate from 0 to 50 km/h in 4.3 seconds.

All three models of the BYD Tang DM-i are powered by a 21.5 kWh blade battery with a battery-powered CLTC range of 112 km.

The BYD Han family, including the Han EV and the hybrid Han DM series, sold 274,015 units in 2022, contributing 14.7 percent of the automaker's 1,863,494 full-year 2022 new energy vehicle (NEV) sales, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

BYD Tang family models, including the Tang EV as well as the Tang DM series, sold 150,832 units in 2022, contributing 8 percent of BYD's NEV sales.

Supported by a downward shift in price range and configuration upgrades, the 2023 Han EV and Tang DM-i are expected to boost BYD's demand, thus driving sales to accelerate upward, Huaxi Securities analyst Cui Yan's team said in a research note today.

($1 = RMB 6.8925)

BYD Feb sales breakdown: Song 52,400 units, Yuan 33,612 units

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Tesla Pro Tip: Trick Your Trunk Into Thinking It’s Closed

Although Tesla’s vehicles offer quite a bit of trunk (and frunk) space, there are often times when users need to cart items too large to shut the trunk door. This week’s Tesla pro tip from EVSpeedy.com can help users make their vehicles think that the trunk is closed, even if they need to keep it […]
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