Category: eV

US can’t yet compete with China in EV production, says Ford chairman

"They developed very quickly, and they developed them in large scale. And now they're exporting them," Bill Ford said.

(Image credit: Ford China Weibo)

The US is not ready to compete with China in electric vehicle (EV) production, Ford executive chairman Bill Ford said on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" Sunday program.

"They developed very quickly, and they developed them in large scale. And now they're exporting them," Ford said, adding, "They're not here but they'll come here we think, at some point, we need to be ready, and we're getting ready."

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in May that Chinese EV makers are its main competitors in the segment and that Ford would need a unique brand or lower cost to beat them.

"I think we see the Chinese as the main competitor, not GM or Toyota. The Chinese are going to be the powerhouse," Farley said.

China has a well-established EV industry chain that Ford is trying to tap into in its electrification transformation efforts.

On February 13, Ford announced it is investing $3.5 billion to build a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Marshall, Michigan.

The plant, which is wholly owned by Ford, is the first battery plant in the US to be wholly owned by an automaker and will introduce LFP battery solutions for Ford's EV products.

Notably, Ford will use technology provided by Chinese power battery giant .

Ford has a new agreement with CATL, which will provide technical and service support for the production of the LFP battery plant, and Ford engineers will work on cell and vehicle integration, it said at the time.

In China, Ford appears to be scaling back its efforts on electrification, after initial attempts didn't yield the desired results.

Earlier this month it was reported that Ford was making organizational changes that would see the Mustang Mach-E team integrated back into Ford China, and that the separate entity running the program would be written off in the future.

That's because Mustang Mach-E sales were too poor for the separate company to sustain losses for long, Jiemian said on June 8, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The reshuffling of the team does not mean the Mustang Mach-E will be withdrawn from China, and the project will continue to be produced by Changan Ford, Ford's joint venture in China, according to the report.

($1 = RMB 7.1265)

Ford scaling back ambitions for Mustang Mach-E in China amid poor sales

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China auto exports expected to reach 4.4 million in 2023, over 30% to be NEVs, says Canalys

Chinese car penetration is expected to rise to 16.5 percent in Europe and 12.8 percent in Southeast Asia by 2025, according to Canalys.

China auto exports expected to reach 4.4 million in 2023, over 30% to be NEVs, says Canalys-CnEVPost

China's total vehicle exports are expected to reach 4.4 million units in 2023, with new energy vehicles (NEVs) expected to account for more than 30 percent of the total, market research firm Canalys said in a report today.

China's auto exports have been climbing since 2020, surpassing Germany as the world's second-largest exporter in 2022. In the first quarter, China surpassed Japan as the world's largest auto exporter, with growth in NEVs exports the main reason for the overall increase, Canalys said.

In April, China's vehicle exports rose 142.40 percent to 424,200 units, up 9.61 percent from March, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

In January-April, China's auto exports were 1.49 million units, up 71 percent year-on-year, according to the CPCA.

The core regions of China's auto export destinations are shifting from Africa, Central Asia and South Asia to more developed regions, including Europe and Southeast Asia, the report noted.

China's light vehicle exports to these two core regions contributed 5.9 percent and 7.6 percent of the country's vehicle exports in 2020, respectively. In 2022, the share was 22 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively, according to Canalys.

The average selling price of Chinese car exports increased from RMB 112,000 ($15,670) in 2021 to RMB 140,000 in 2022, up by more than 25 percent. In the European market, the figure was RMB 210,000 in 2022.

In 2022, Chinese automotive products had a penetration rate of 2.6 percent in the Southeast Asia region. By 2025, that figure is expected to rise to 12.8 percent, Canalys said.

In Europe, the penetration of Chinese cars is expected to rise to 16.5 percent by 2025, according to the report.

The average selling price of mainstream products in the European market is highly aligned with the average price of Chinese automotive exports, and consumers here are more aware of the NEV market, according to Canalys.

The overall light vehicle market volume in Europe and Southeast Asia is expected to grow to 13.7 million and 3.8 million units, respectively, by 2025, with NEVs penetrating more than 40 percent in Europe, Canalys said.

In 2021, the Covid pandemic caused instability in overseas supply chains and was the core reason for the growth of Chinese vehicle exports. After 2022, the growth of the overseas NEV market presents new opportunities, according to the report.

Chinese automakers have a first-mover advantage in electrification and vehicle intelligence, and have sufficient capacity and short product delivery times, Canalys said, adding that brands in other countries are lagging behind in the NEV transition and are falling short of expectations in core technology development.

($1 = RMB 7.1457)

China Apr auto exports up about 10% from Mar

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NIO testing new EC6 as its product changeover continues

The EC6 is the last remaining piece of the puzzle as switches models from the NT 1.0 platform to the NT 2.0 platform.

(Image credit: Weibo @肉肉爸比ev)

The EC6 is the last remaining piece of the puzzle as NIO (NYSE: NIO) switches models from the NT 1.0 platform to the NT 2.0 platform. Now, the revamped version of the coupe SUV may not be far from being available.

Long-time NIO follower and car blogger @肉肉爸比ev shared several pictures of the new EC6 on Weibo yesterday, saying that the model is undergoing testing.

The daytime running lights on the front of the new EC6 are the biggest difference between it and other models, the blogger noted.

On February 13, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a new batch of catalogs of models that will be allowed to be sold in China, and the new EC6 was included.

The page for the new EC6 shows that it uses the same LiDAR and camera setup on the roof as the rest of the NT 2.0-based platform, and the front and taillight designs are similar to the other latest models.

The model is 4,849 mm long, 1,995 mm wide, 1,697 mm high and has a wheelbase of 2,915 mm.

For comparison, the old EC6, based on the NT 1.0 platform, is 4,850 mm long, 1,965 mm wide and 1,731/1,714 mm high, with a wheelbase of 2,900 mm.

The old EC6 was previously offered in three versions, priced at RMB 396,000 ($55,566), 436,000 and 496,000 respectively.

The new EC6 is equipped with dual motors produced by NIO's electric drive systems division in Hefei, Anhui province, with a maximum power of 150 kW and 210 kW, respectively, and can support a top speed of 200 km/h, according to the regulatory filing in February.

The two lower-priced versions of the EC6 on the NT 1.0 platform carry dual motors both with a maximum power of 160 kW, while the highest-priced version carries a maximum power of 160 kW for the front motor and 240 kW for the rear motor.

The new EC6 will support the option of retractable electric tow hooks and will be equipped with an electric rear wing.

NIO is launching new models at a very tight pace this year. The company unveiled the EC7 and new ES8 on NIO Day 2022 on December 24, 2022, with deliveries of the former already starting on April 28 and the latter due to begin later this month.

The EC7 is also a coupe SUV and is currently offered in two versions with starting prices of RMB 458,000 and RMB 548,000 respectively.

The EC7 is not the NT 2.0 version of the EC6, which is expected to offer a lower price point to meet the needs of the group that prefers this type of vehicle.

On April 18, NIO launched the 2023 ET7 and unveiled the new ES6 on the NT 2.0 platform on the first day of the Shanghai auto show.

Deliveries of the 2023 ET7 began on May 20, and the new ES6 was officially launched on May 24 and deliveries began that night.

On June 15, NIO launched the ET5 Touring in China and its deliveries started on June 16.

($1 = RMB 7.1265)

Regulatory filing: NIO's new EC6 coming

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Li L7 sees single-day sales of over 1,000 units, says Li Auto CEO

The Li L7 is a model that was nearly canceled during development, according to CEO Li Xiang.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

The Li L7 -- a new model that almost got canceled -- saw its highest single-day sales ever on Saturday, according to Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI).

"Yesterday was our first tech day, and today is also a historic moment -- the first time that the Li L7 has sold more than 1,000 units on a single day with no new model launch," Li wrote on Weibo late at night on June 18.

Li Auto held its first Family Tech Day event on June 17, announcing the official name of its first BEV, Li MEGA, and the company's progress in developing assisted driving and supercharging capabilities.

"For a model with a starting price of RMB 300,000 ($42,100) or more and in a steady state of sales, selling more than 1,000 in a single day should be a moment to remember," Li said.

Li Auto launched the Li L7, its first five-seat SUV, on February 8 and currently offers three versions with starting prices of RMB 319,800, RMB 339,800 and RMB 379,800, respectively.

All of the company's current models are extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), with the other two being the higher-priced, six-seat Li L8 and Li L9.

The Li L7 was almost canceled during development, according to Li, who said he was quite determined to axe the model last September, but several other executives stopped him.

Li mentioned in another Weibo yesterday that most members of Li Auto's management team thought the company should set an annual sales target of 360,000 units at the beginning of the year, but he ultimately decided to set a budget target based on annual sales of 306,000 units.

"This was partly because I didn't think we could be too optimistic about the economic environment this year, and partly because we didn't meet our budget targets for all three years from 2020-2022," he said.

Li said the too-low targets he set caused the company to place orders at suppliers at the beginning of the year that were clearly not keeping up with current sales, so several key components would take more than a quarter to reach the right capacity if production ramp-up began now.

Currently, Li Auto's plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu province has two production lines, one for double-shift production and one for single-shift production, according to Li.

The current peak capacity of the plant is 7,500 units/week, of which six days are production time and one day is used for maintenance, Li said.

Li Auto's goals set at the beginning of the year were too conservative, and suppliers of key components are currently adding equipment in line with the company's demand of more than 10,000 units/week, according to Li.

Li said Li Auto won't be able to achieve 10,000 units/week capacity until the fourth quarter when both of its lines will be based on double-shift production.

Li Auto delivered a record 28,277 vehicles in May, up 145.97 percent year-on-year and 10.11 percent from April, the third consecutive month to exceed the 20,000-unit mark, according to data released June 1.

The Li L7 achieved its second consecutive month of over 10,000 deliveries in May, Li Auto said at the time, without disclosing specific figures.

Li Auto aims for the Li L7, Li L8 and Li L9 models to see combined monthly sales of more than 40,000 units this year, Li said on June 1.

($1 = RMB 7.1266)

Li Auto Family Tech Day: 1st BEV named Li MEGA, aims to be top seller above $70,000 in China

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Did You Know That Soil Health Affects Human Health?

As a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Package passed in 2022, Congress directed the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to investigate the links between human health and soil health, looking into how soil management practices that support healthy soils influence the nutritional content of foods and affect overall human health. In response, […]
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