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Plus, stay tuned because later in the show I’ll tell you which Chinese auto maker is already putting humanoid robots to work.
Welcome to EV News China — the podcast dedicated to the world’s largest electric vehicle market. Each day, I bring you the latest headlines, insights, and analysis from the heart of China’s booming EV industry — and decode how fast-moving developments in the east are shaping the global EV landscape.
ZEEKR PLANS 900V, NVIDIA THOR-U UPGRADE FOR 007
ZEEKR will not leave its 007 saloon and 007GT tourer idle. In the second quarter of 2026 it plans updated versions built around NVIDIA’s next-generation DRIVE Thor‑U chip and a 900V high-voltage system, with fuller specifications kept back for launch.
The timing matters because the current cars already sit near the front of China’s EV pack on powertrain and compute. The 007 first appeared on 27 December 2023; the 2025 model arrived on 13 August 2024 with four trims priced from 209,900 yuan (about $30,100).
Every 007 carries LiDAR and dual Nvidia OrinX chips as standard, feeding ZEEKR’s in-house Haohan Intelligent Driving system. Haohan now sits at version 2.0 and uses an end-to-end large model.
On hardware, the 2025 007 runs an 800V architecture, claims up to 870 km (541 miles) of CLTC range, and quotes 10%–80% charging in 10.5 minutes. In its fastest guise it sprints from 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 2.84 seconds.
The 007GT, launched on 15 April 2025, pushes the formula towards performance touring. It comes in three trims—Rear-Wheel Drive, Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive and Four-Wheel Drive—with LiDAR and 31 sensing hardware units, plus dual Nvidia Orin‑X chips delivering up to 508 TOPS of compute.
The 007GT also uses an 800V platform and offers either a 75 kWh Golden Brick battery or a 100 kWh Qilin pack, for up to 825 km (513 miles) of CLTC range. ZEEKR highlights 5.5C ultra-fast charging and 60 kW vehicle-to-load output, pitching the car as a mobile power source that can supply other EVs.
The planned shift to 900V and Thor‑U signals that ZEEKR means to keep raising both charging speed and autonomous capability in a Chinese market where quoted volts and TOPS now decide brand pecking order.
https://evne.ws/49Jhae7
MERCEDES BETS ON CHINA WITH NEW ELECTRIC VAN PLATFORM
Mercedes-Benz will unveil its all-new VLE pure-electric MPV on 10 March. Spy shots from China already show a van that matters far beyond its sliding doors.
Built by Fujian Mercedes-Benz, the VLE is the first model on VAN.EA, the firm’s new dedicated EV van platform. China thus gets the launch role for a core Mercedes architecture, showing how the group now treats the country as a development base as well as a sales market. A higher-end VLS line is expected to follow, pointing to a full ladder of electric people-carriers.
The VLE uses an 800 V electrical system and will offer both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. Cabin flexibility is the lead feature: seating for up to 8, with reconfigurable layouts, targets family buyers, premium ride-hailing firms and corporate shuttles weighing up Chinese rivals.
Chinese outlet Autohome reports that Mercedes has put the VLE through wind-tunnel work, high-speed testing, extreme dynamic assessments and long-distance validation. One benchmark stands out. A reported 1,100 km (684 miles) Stuttgart-to-Rome drive needed only two 15-minute fast-charge stops. If that carries into series production, the mix of efficiency and charging strategy will set a high bar for electric MPVs.
https://evne.ws/3ZsZLl3
ASIAN FIRMS CONTROL EUROPE’S BATTERY AMBITIONS
Europe is racing to build battery factories. But nearly all that capacity belongs to Asian firms, with 86% of owners headquartered in South Korea, warns new research from Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
For Britain, which wants a large domestic EV industry, that matters too. IPPR models a severe, year-long disruption to battery supply and finds that the UK’s reliance on imports could put up to 90,000 jobs at risk. A global scramble for cells would expose how little of the value chain Britain controls.
Battery demand is set to surge as EV adoption rises, with global demand expected to grow sixfold by 2035. Yet the UK’s clean-energy supply chains still look fragile. The country has several battery recycling projects in the pipeline, but they lack depth and scale. Without more capacity, valuable materials will keep flowing overseas.
The weakest link, IPPR argues, is cathode production. On its numbers, and on current investment plans, 80% of cathode demand would still be met by imports. Britain would assemble more EVs but still depend on others for key materials and cells, and so remain exposed to external shocks.
As for reusing the raw materials, the IPPR points out China controls 80% of the world’s battery recycling
https://evne.ws/4bDPlq6
CHINA DRAWS UP RULES FOR EV BATTERY AFTERLIFE
China now wants a graveyard plan for its electric-vehicle boom. On 16th January regulators set out interim rules to tighten control of power-battery recycling and reuse, with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology joining the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the State Administration for Market Regulation.
Officials frame the move as preparation for a “large-scale battery retirement phase”. They project waste power batteries will top 1m tonnes a year by 2030. The trigger is scale: China says it produced and sold more than 16.5m EVs wholesale in 2025, close to 48% of all new vehicle sales.
The rules push producer responsibility onto automakers and battery firms. They become accountable for compliant collection, transfer and end-of-life treatment. Manufacturers must build nationwide recycling networks, not a patchwork of pilot schemes that leaves room for informal and unsafe operators. They must also share the technical information needed for safe disassembly, narrowing the gap between battery design and recyclability.
https://evne.ws/3YObLxn
CHINA’S OTA CAR UPDATE ARMS RACE ACCELERATES
Chinese carmakers pushed 1,257 over-the-air feature updates in December 2025 alone. For a young software race, that is a crowded month.
The China Passenger Car Association, with research firm WAYS, says 27 brands took part in December’s deployments, with driving-assistance and voice functions still doing most of the work. Across 2025 the pace quickened: cumulative updated functions rose 36.7% year on year versus 2024.
Software now sits near the top of the pecking order in China’s market. Intelligent-driving updates took a slightly smaller share in 2025, down 2.8 percentage points year on year. Yet they still ranked second in absolute volume, behind vehicle settings and control functions. Together, intelligent-driving and vehicle-control modules made up more than 20% of all domestic-brand updates over the full year.
The split inside the market is sharper still. Newcomer automakers delivered 216 feature updates in December, a modest month-on-month rise, with six brands pushing updates. Li Auto and XPeng shipped major-version OTA releases, billed as the first systematic optimisation pass after rolling out new-generation intelligent-driving architectures. ONVO’s December package added end-to-end urban navigation assistance and an AI family-companion feature.
Chinese local brands drove December’s surge. They delivered 1,005 feature updates and increased their pace month on month. Over full-year 2025, domestic brands’ cumulative OTA feature updates rose 73% year on year.
https://evne.ws/4jMtezP
GAC ENERGY BETS ON CHARGERS, NOT JUST CARS
GAC Energy ended 2025 with one of China’s densest private charging networks and an unusual focus on the grid. In its 2025 Ecological Service Report the GAC Group unit cast charging, grid interaction and operations as parts of a single “2⁶ Energy Action” plan to build a vertically integrated NEV industry chain and the energy system to support it.
By the end of 2025 GAC Energy ran 23,274 self-operated charging piles across 31 provinces and 211 cities, including 17,577 DC piles. It operated 1,956 charging stations serving 8.92m users and claimed an industry lead in 1000V high-voltage fast-charging piles. For an NEV market where range anxiety has given way to queue anxiety, control of hardware, software and power flows now matters as much as car design.
The firm pushed hardware hard. It upgraded ultra-fast chargers to 640 kW, with single-gun capability reaching 720 kW at up to 800 A. Rolled out at scale, that plant sets a technical ceiling for charging speeds that many carmakers still only show on slides.
https://evne.ws/4jM5a00
GEELY PUSHES GALAXY INTO CHINA’S PREMIUM MPV FIGHT
Geely has moved further upmarket in China’s family-vehicle wars with the Galaxy V900, a premium mid-to-large MPV unveiled on January 20th. It comes in three trims, with list prices starting at 309,800 yuan (about $44,300), aimed at buyers who want electric drive without giving up long-range convenience.
The Galaxy V900 uses an extended-range set-up that pairs a 1.5T engine with dual electric motors. Buyers can pick between 43.3 kWh and 50 kWh battery packs, which deliver pure-electric ranges of 220 km and 260 km (CLTC) respectively. With both fuel and battery in play, the claimed total range reaches 1,220 km, a figure aimed at easing range anxiety in a still patchy national charging network.
Inside, Geely leans on comfort to justify the premium label. Cloud-sensing SPA seats offer heating, ventilation, memory and massage. A 17.3-inch screen serves the second row, turning the rear cabin into an entertainment space. A 9.1L temperature-controlled box and a Flyme Sound system with 27 speakers and 2,300W output support the pitch that this is more rolling lounge than workhorse van.
China’s premium MPV segment has grown crowded as local brands chase high-margin family and business buyers. The Galaxy V900 lines up against the Denza D9, Xpeng X9, Voyah Dream, WEY Gaoshan and Buick Electra Encasa, all offering some mix of electric or electrified drivetrains, big cabins and luxury trim.
https://evne.ws/45Ryblc
TOYOTA LEANS ON CHINA FOR TECH IN NEW BZ7 EV
GAC-Toyota will launch its bZ7 all-electric D-segment saloon in March, aiming for a price of about 200,000 yuan (around $28,700). The car enters China’s fiercest segment: mid-market EVs built around local software and services.
The bZ7 does not try to pull Chinese buyers into a Toyota ecosystem. It slots into theirs instead. The car links to Xiaomi’s smart-home platform and runs Huawei’s HarmonyOS 5.0 in the cockpit, a clear nod that domestic tech now sets the standard for in-car experience.
Toyota also leans on Huawei for hardware. The bZ7 uses Huawei’s DriveONE electric motor system and pairs it with Momenta’s R6 Flywheel AI model for driver assistance. The advanced driver-assistance system uses 27 sensors: five millimetre-wave radars, 11 cameras and 10 ultrasonic radars, all tied to an Nvidia autonomous-driving chip. That mirrors the sensor-heavy strategy of China’s more aggressive EV start-ups.
The powertrain follows the local pattern as well. A dual-motor set-up delivers 207 kW (278 hp). Batteries come from CATL using LFP chemistry, with pack sizes of 88.13 kWh and 71.35 kWh.
https://evne.ws/4qxMgwH
LI AUTO DANGLES CHEAP CREDIT AS SALES SLIDE
Li Auto is offering up to seven-year low-interest finance across its full line-up in China, echoing recent moves by Tesla and Xiaomi as it battles falling sales.
The deal covers the extended-range Li L6, L7, L8 and L9, the battery-electric Li i6 and i8 SUVs and the Li Mega MPV. Buyers need put down only 15%. For a brand built on well-heeled family buyers in the RMB 300,000–400,000 ($43,100–$57,500) band, this pushes demand forward rather than protects margin.
The strain shows in the data. Li Auto delivered 44,246 vehicles in December, down 24.38% year on year and its seventh straight month of falling deliveries. For full-year 2025, deliveries reached 406,343 vehicles, down 18.81% from a year earlier. In a market where several local rivals still grow volumes through aggressive pricing and rapid model cycles, a near one-fifth annual decline stands out.
Li Auto remains a major extended-range EV player. Yet demand for its EREV range has softened, while its newer BEVs have yet to fill the gap. Heavy finance subsidies can prop up volumes in the short term but do little to fix weak product fit.
https://evne.ws/4pQ7DIa
VOYAH RACES TO 40-SECOND EV LINE SPEED
VOYAH plans to push one car off its Yunfeng line every 40 seconds by 2026. The state-backed brand has begun a capacity upgrade that will take the plant to a line speed of 90 vehicles per hour, as China’s premium EV contenders scramble to match output with ambition.
The Yunfeng plant anchors what VOYAH bills as China’s first fully localised new-energy vehicle production line, with in-house control of software, hardware and control protocols. Full-stack control matters in a market where domestic brands want to cut reliance on foreign suppliers while squeezing cost and cycle time.
On the shop floor, the engineering matches the strategy. In stamping, a flexible steel-aluminium line aims to hold assembly precision within 0.1 mm, tracked in real time with millisecond-level blue-light measurement. In welding, adaptive spot welding and digital monitoring of electrode-cap maintenance keep weld quality steady; VOYAH claims a 100% pass rate for weld points. In final assembly, Atlas servo tightening tools manage more than 3,600 tightening points, with torque precision of 0.01 N·m and traceable records stored for up to 10 years.
VOYAH also wants greener output, not just more of it. Its “Golden Factory” draws on a power system with 45,000 photovoltaic panels that generate about 20m kWh a year, cutting CO2 emissions by more than 11,600 tonnes.
https://evne.ws/4sUfNCk
XPENG ROLLS OUT FIRST ET1 HUMANOID ROBOT
XPeng has rolled the first ET1 humanoid robot off its production line, a build founder and chief executive He Xiaopeng calls “automotive-grade” and a turning point on the way to large-scale production in 2026. The firm still insists it will reach mass production of humanoid robots by the end of this year, a target it last repeated at its AI Day event in November.
For a Chinese EV maker locked in a bruising price war, the push into humanoids is more than a side project. It signals a bet that in-house robotics, backed by vehicle-grade hardware and software, will give XPeng a new growth story and an operational edge in factories and retail networks.
The original IRON design featured more than 60 joints and 200 degrees of freedom, with control systems derived from XPeng’s vehicle programmes. The company says early units already work inside the business, with deployments focused on industrial and retail settings rather than homes.
The new IRON adds a humanoid spine, bionic muscles, flexible skin and a 3D curved display on its head. In a live demo, its movement looked human enough to fool parts of the audience. To rebut the inevitable “person in a suit” suspicion, Mr He opened part of the outer covering on camera to show the mechanical hardware inside.
https://evne.ws/3LJlimu
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