Monthly Archive: March 2023

Chinese self-driving startup WeRide plans to start autonomous vehicle testing in Singapore this year

In September 2022, WeRide launched its Singapore company and signed a memorandum of cooperation with a subsidiary of a local public transport operator in November.

(Image credit: WeRide)

Chinese startup WeRide plans to start testing autonomous vehicles in Singapore this year, as it begins to set its sights on Southeast Asian markets.

WeRide will work with Strides, a subsidiary of Singapore's largest public transport operator SMRT, to test and pilot self-driving vehicles in the Southeast Asian country, according to an article yesterday on its official WeChat account.

In September 2022, WeRide established the Singapore branch and signed a memorandum of cooperation with Strides in November, according to the article.

SMRT and another Singaporean investment house, K3 Ventures, are both strategic investors in WeRide, and they will help the company grow in Singapore and Southeast Asian markets, the article said.

On March 27, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong kicked off a six-day visit to China and visited WeRide's headquarters in Guangzhou, said the article.

WeRide's office in Singapore is hiring talents there, and the company will use the office as a regional development center for Asia Pacific operations, according to its founder and CEO Han Xu.

Founded in Guangzhou in 2017, WeRide's products include Robotaxi, Mini Robobus, Robovan, Robo Street Sweeper and SAE L2-L4 advanced smart driving solutions.

WeRide is now testing and operating driverless vehicles in 25 cities in 5 countries, according to the article.

The company has a fleet of more than 500 self-driving vehicles and more than 16 million miles of autonomous driving, WeRide said.

On March 13, Bloomberg reported that WeRide has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the US and hopes to raise as much as $500 million.

WeRide is poised to go public as early as the first half of this year, according to the report.

In March 2022, local media outlet LatePost reported that WeRide had closed a new round of over $400 million in financing, with a post-investment valuation of $4.4 billion.

Investors in the round included GAC Group, Bosch, China-Arab Investment Funds, and Carlyle Group, the report said.

WeRide unveils smaller, lower-cost self-driving sensor suite

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Denza starts warming up for new SUV N8, releases official exterior images

The Denza N8 will be a mid to large-size SUV that will be available in 5-, 6- and 7-seat versions.

(Image credit: Denza)

's premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand Denza seems to be preparing to market two new SUVs in parallel.

Denza is already warming up for the new SUV, the Denza N8, as it just started intensive marketing on the Denza N7 earlier this month.

The brand shared several images of the Denza N8 on Weibo today, showing off the model's exterior design.

Denza didn't share anything else, but the information it released earlier this month suggests that the Denza N8 will carry over much of the design of the now-discontinued Denza X.

The Denza X measures 4,890 mm, 1,950 mm, 1,725 mm and has a wheelbase of 2,820 mm.

The Denza N8 will be mid to large-size SUV that will be available in 5-, 6- and 7-seat versions, featuring the Denza family's new π-Motion design language, it said earlier this month.

On March 14, Denza released a video of one of the Denza N8's winter tests, showing a maximum charging power of 175 kW for the model's electric-only version and 90 kW for the plug-in hybrid version.

Denza was established in February 2011 as a 50-50 joint venture between BYD and Daimler, the first Sino-foreign joint venture in China to focus on NEVs. In February 2022, the Daimler brand was rebranded as Mercedes-Benz.

Last year, BYD's stake in Denza increased to 90 percent, and Mercedes-Benz's stake decreased to 10 percent.

In August 2022, Denza launched the D9 MPV, the brand's first model after its rebranding. The Denza D9 began deliveries at the end of October last year.

On March 6, Denza released several exterior images of the Denza N7 on Weibo.

On March 9, the Denza N7 appeared on a regulatory declaration list with a paging showing the car's length, width and height of 4,860 mm, 1,935 mm and 1,602 mm respectively, with a wheelbase of 2,940 mm.

The Denza N7 has inspired a high level of enthusiasm, and with the announcement of Denza's partnership with French high-end audio brand Devialet on March 22, there have been particularly many inquiries from customers every day, said Zhao Changjiang, general manager of Denza's sales division, on Weibo on March 26.

Many customers want to have Denza N7 launched as soon as possible, and according to the inquiry volume data, the model is expected to get 30,000 orders before its launch in the middle of the year, Zhao said.

Denza N7 expected to get over 30,000 orders before mid-year launch, exec says

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BYD expects its Q1 NEV sales to grow over 80% YoY, aims to be largest automaker in China by year-end

Based on January-February retail sales, is already the largest automaker in China with an 11.8 percent share.  |  BYDDY.US | BYD HK

BYD's new energy vehicle (NEV) sales are expected to maintain strong growth in the first quarter, despite the overall weak performance of China's passenger vehicle market.

In January and February, year-on-year growth in Chinese vehicle demand was slightly weaker, but BYD still maintained strong growth, the company's chairman and president, Wang Chuanfu, said at a conference today.

BYD's sales in January and February were much higher than a year ago, and in a few days, March figures will be released, and first-quarter sales are still expected to grow by more than 80 percent from a year ago, Wang said.

BYD yesterday announced its full-year 2022 and four-quarter results, showing a more than 10-fold year-on-year increase in net profit in the fourth quarter. The company held an investor meeting today that was not public, but the main points are being covered by local media.

BYD sold 151,341 and 193,655 NEVs in January and February, respectively, for a two-month total of 344,996 vehicles, up 90 percent year-on-year, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

The company sold 286,329 vehicles in the first quarter of last year, and the more than 80 percent increase would mean sales of more than 515,400 vehicles in the first quarter, or more than 170,000 vehicles in March.

Wang also mentioned that BYD aims to be the largest automaker in China by the end of this year.

It is worth noting that BYD is already the largest automaker in China based on January-February sales.

BYD's retail sales of 316,417 units in January-February were the highest of all car companies in China, with an 11.8 percent share, according to a list published earlier this month by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

FAW-Volkswagen was second with 221,946 retail sales in January-February, with an 8.3 percent share, and Changan Automobile was third with 209,825 units, or 7.8 percent share.

Wang, referring to the recent price war in China's auto industry, said today that the reason behind this is that supply is outstripping demand and some car companies will be phased out while others will gain greater market share.

China's home appliance and mobile phone industries have been through this, and the NEV industry will be no exception, he said.

If the supply in the auto industry is still greater than the demand, the price war will continue, he said.

The price war has had a certain psychological impact on consumers, but these effects are expected to be reduced by the end of April and market confidence will gradually return as several local auto shows take place in May, according to Wang.

He also mentioned that BYD has no plans to enter the US passenger car market for the time being.

BYD's Q4 net profit up over 10 times year-on-year to $1.06 billion

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NIO brings over 300 partners together to help it achieve swap station build-out goal

said it hopes to strengthen its relationships with partners to help it reach its plan to add 1,000 battery swap stations in 2023.  |  NIO US | NIO HK | NIO SG

(Image credit: NIO)

NIO (NYSE: NIO) yesterday made its third-generation battery swap station a real-life debut in Haikou, Hainan, but perhaps a more important move was its gathering with hundreds of partners in the city.

The company's energy division, NIO Power, held a partner conference in Haikou on March 28 with more than 300 attendees to discuss energy development, Shen Fei, the division's senior vice president, said in a post on the NIO App yesterday.

NIO hopes to strengthen its relationships with partners to help it reach its plan to add 1,000 battery swap stations in 2023 and to strengthen the foundation for ongoing collaboration, the article said.

The company's plan to add 1,000 battery swap stations and 10,000 charging piles this year will require the full support of its partners, the article reads.

William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO, shared the growth of NIO Power and mentioned that China's new energy passenger vehicle penetration rate reached 27.6 percent in 2022, three years ahead of the national goal of seeing that figure reach 25 percent by 2025.

Located next to the Shangri-La Hotel in Haikou, NIO's first third-generation battery swap station and 500 kW ultra-fast charging station made its offline debut, the article reads.

Here's a video of the event from the article.

NIO originally planned to add 400 battery swap stations in China this year, a goal that was raised to 1,000 a month ago.

"We have set a new target and decided to add 1,000 battery swap stations in 2023, accumulating more than 2,300 stations by the end of 2023," Li said in a February 21 article posted on the NIO App.

NIO began the year with a noticeable slowdown in battery swap station construction, perhaps in anticipation of a ramp-up in the capacity of third-generation stations.

NIO has added only 20 battery swap stations in China so far this year, bringing the latest total to 1,325, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

NIO's third-generation battery swap stations are expected to be ready for mass production in April, and deployment will pick up speed in May, Li said last month.

Starting in June, NIO will maintain a construction rate of 120-150 battery swap stations per month, he said.

NIO reveals aggressive plan to add 1,000 swap stations in 2023

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NIO partners with Norwegian smart energy provider Tibber to deliver better charging experience in Europe

Tibber enables users to track their energy usage and allows EVs to charge when electricity prices are lowest.  |  US | NIO HK | NIO SG

(Image credit: NIO)

NIO's (NYSE: NIO) vehicles support charging just like any other electric vehicle (EV), in addition to having access to a fully charged battery via battery swap. Now the Chinese EV maker has entered into a new partnership in Europe to make the charging experience better.

NIO has partnered with Norwegian smart energy provider Tibber to give European owners access to some of the benefits the latter offers, according to an article published yesterday in the European version of the NIO App.

NIO customers in Norway, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands who have a dynamic power contract with Tibber can easily connect their NIO vehicles to Tibber's app, the article said.

Tibber offers a range of services, including the Tibber App, that let customers track their energy use, find real-time energy prices and control the charging of their electric vehicles -- at best, when electricity prices are at their lowest, according to the article.

Smart charging with Tibber can be used with any wallbox, such as NIO's Power Home 3.0, the article said.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

"Once you set up the 'Smart Charging' feature within the Tibber App, your NIO will be charged fully automatically exactly in the hours when the electricity is cheapest," the article reads.

Tibber was founded in 2016 and focuses on using technology to help customers save energy and money.

The partnership with Tibber is the latest NIO partnership in Europe related to EV energy replenishment.

Last December 8, EnBW, Germany's largest fast-charging network operator, announced that it had entered into a partnership with NIO in which the EV maker would build up to 20 battery swap stations at its charging parks.

NIO entered Norway in 2021 and last October expanded its presence in Europe to include Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.

NIO to install 20 swap stations at German firm EnBW's charging parks

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