NIO, XPeng, & BYD - Chinese EV Startups

[Randy W]

from the WSJ on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wsj/posts/10160678386843128

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Gone are the long waits at charging stations: Chinese electric-vehicle startup NIO is pioneering battery-swap systems, challenging Tesla and other rival car makers. Here’s how NIO and Tesla are racing for the world’s largest EV market in China. Photo illustration: Sharon Shi

https://www.wsj.com/video/tesla-vs-nio-battle-for-the-worlds-largest-ev-market/4EDE99CE-1DF7-4428-8C87-F93C1322AEDB.html?mod=e2fb

 

 . . . or Car and Driver

China's Nio Lets EV Drivers Swap Batteries in 5 Minutes, Hit the Road

Here in the U.S., electric-vehicle makers are rightly focusing on making charging stations work faster, but this is a glimpse at something that could be coming here someday.

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The company launched a Battery as a Service (BaaS) subscription model that lets owners deal with charging needs by simply having a fresh battery pack installed in a matter of minutes. Users have the option of signing up for different battery sizes and making the exchange at special Power Swap stations. The service allows Nio to sell vehicles without a battery. It's essentially "batteries not included" on a large scale, and according to Nio, it can save buyers about $10,000 off the price of a vehicle.

 

[Randy W]

A list of 

Tesla Superchargers in china

including one in Yulin, although we haven't seen it yet to know if anyone's using it. I've only seen one or two Tesla's here - ever.

 

from Reuters

Tesla plans to produce electric car chargers in China

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Tesla Inc said on Thursday it planned to start making electric vehicle (EV) chargers in China in 2021, part of the U.S. carmaker’s push to boost sales in the world’s biggest car market.

Tesla, which now sells its Model 3 electric cars in China and plans to deliver its Model Y sport utility vehicles in 2021, plans to invest 42 million yuan ($6.4 million) in a new factory to make its third generation of quick chargers, known as the Supercharger V3, it said in a statement.

The factory will be near its car plant in Shanghai.

China, which offers hefty subsidies for electric vehicles as it seeks to cut down on pollution from petrol or diesel cars, has been expanding its nationwide network of charging points, one of the biggest challenges to encouraging adoption of EVs.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

And another competitor Hongguang Mini EV

https://www.facebook.com/7382473689/videos/439334267199415/

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Tiny car overtakes Tesla in China EV market
This tiny car from Chinese automaker Wuling, has overtaken Tesla as the top-selling electric vehicle in China — and it costs just $5,000

Edited January 8, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

A simple fact about electric vehicles is the simplicity - take a L'il Red Wagon, splice in an electric motor with battery pack, and hand the driver a rheostat. That's a fully functional electric vehicle, although most drivers will expect something a little more upscale.

Why China Is Beating The U.S. In Electric Vehicles

The global electric vehicle market is heating up and China wants to dominate. The country has invested at least $60 billion to support the EV industry and it’s pushing an ambitious plan to transition to all electric or hybrid cars by 2035. Tesla entered the Chinese market in 2019 and has seen rapid growth.

China sold roughly one million more EVs than the U.S. in 2020. But there are signs the U.S. is getting more serious about going electric. President Joe Biden announced a goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and investments in green infrastructure. Watch the video to find out how China came to dominate the market and whether it’s too late for the U.S. to catch up.

from CNBC

 

[Randy W]

WSJ video

XPeng vs. Tesla: The Race for the Best EV Tech

Chinese automaker XPeng is betting that driving assistance features and other tech will be the key to winning new customers. WSJ travels to its research and development lab to see how its rivalry with Tesla could reshape how we drive. Photo: XPeng

[Randy W]

 

Take a look at Chinese EV maker Xpeng's upcoming P5 sedan, which is undercutting Tesla's Model 3 by a third

from Business Insider.com

Xpeng expects to start deliveries of the P5 in the fourth quarter of 2021. 

Xpeng

• Xpeng revealed the pricing for the P5, its new electric sedan, last week.
• The cheapest version comes in at $24,670 — a third less than the cost of Tesla's Model 3 in China.
• The P5 has a top speed of 105.6 miles per hour and some versions come with Lidar technology.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Rather than turning your keys over to some kid who's writing software that MAY be ready to drive your car for you in another 5 or 10 years, you might take a look at these.

Top New Chinese EVs that You Might End Up Buying

 

 

[Randy W]

Sixth Tone editor Wu Haiyun wrote about why she had been driven to the decision of buying a Tesla — a car she neither wanted nor needed — by a maze of new traffic rules implemented by Shanghai.

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/3134590890193083

The Obscure Traffic Rules Helping Tesla Conquer Shanghai
What looks like a loophole in the city’s vehicle registration system is in fact an example of how city officials leverage minor regulations to effect big changes.

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The auction itself is held online on the third Saturday of every month. About 150,000 people participate each time. You start by bidding under the so-called warning price given by the system, which registers you for that auction. After that, you have two more chances to bid, though you can only raise your offer by 300 yuan each time. Then, after 59 minutes of inactivity, you join a mad dash of more than 100,000 people over the auction’s final minute, as each of you tries to hit the right price at just the right time.

Understand? If not, you’re in good company. I participated in the online auction six times and walked away with nothing more than a headache. Of course, that’s normal in a system where no more than 6% of participants win their bids.

Meanwhile, Shanghai kept getting tougher on cars with out-of-town license plates. Starting last May, out-of-town vehicles were banned from all surface roads downtown every weekday from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and again from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. As somebody who lives downtown, this effectively rendered my car useless.

Desperate, I decided to bring in a professional. Known as a “proxy-bidder,” this new, uniquely Shanghai profession was born out of the city’s convoluted license plate auction system. Theoretically speaking, what they do is illegal, but that hasn’t stopped proxy-bidders from offering their services to anyone with the money to pay. It’s now widely accepted that your chances of getting a local license plate are close to zero if you don't hire a pro.

 

 

[Randy W]

As NEV Sales Boom, China’s Charging Industry Hits a Wall
The country has put millions of electric vehicles on the road in recent years. So why are charging stations struggling to stay in business?

 

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According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, carmakers sold more than 3.5 million NEVs in the country in 2021; for comparison, the United States sold roughly 1.2 million NEVs last year. As part of a push to cut emissions, city governments around China have imposed onerous restrictions on when and where fossil fuel-powered vehicles can be driven and streamlined the registration process for NEVs, resulting in a sales boom.

Outside of major cities, however, driving electric vehicles can be a frustrating experience, mostly due to the lack of adequate charging infrastructure. As in the United States and Europe, the problem of “range anxiety,” or licheng jiaolü, is a source of significant stress for Chinese NEV owners. The infrastructure problem is especially acute during the Lunar New Year and other traditional holidays, when many Chinese drive back to their rural hometowns to celebrate, resulting in traffic jams at the handful of charging stations scattered along the country’s freeways.

 

 

 

 

[Randy W]

China’s BYD was written off by Elon Musk. Now it’s beating Tesla

The Shenzhen-based electric carmaker sold more than 641,000 vehicles in the first half of 2022.

China's BYD has overtaken Tesla as the biggest seller of electric vehicles [File: VCG/VCG via Getty Images]

from Al Jazeera

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The Chinese company that this month dethroned Tesla as the world’s top seller of electric cars is no household name.

BYD, founded in 1995 by entrepreneur Wang Chuanfu, has little brand recognition outside China despite selling some 641,000 pure electric and hybrid vehicles in the first half of 2022 – nearly 80,000 more than its Texas-based rival.

 . . .

“Its prices are much better than Tesla’s,” Fu, who lives in Shanghai, told Al Jazeera.

“And it has more models. Now domestic [Chinese] brands offer more choice – so no wonder the sales of BYD are better than Tesla’s.”

BYD’s spectacular rise comes despite years of naysaying about the quality and safety of China’s electric vehicles, underscored by staggeringly high recall rates across the industry that have at times exceeded 10 percent.

Among the most prominent critics was Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk.

“Have you seen their car?” Musk said in a Bloomberg interview in 2011. “I don’t think they make a good product.”

A little over a decade later, Warren Buffett-backed BYD is not only outselling Tesla, but also travelling on a more promising trajectory – although the two companies defy “apples to apples” comparisons as many BYD models are hybrid electric vehicles, while Tesla’s models are all fully electric.

The Chinese firm reported sales growth of 315 percent in the first six months of the year, compared with 46 percent growth for the former number one.

 

 

[Randy W]

On 7/28/2022 at 8:44 PM, Randy W said:

China’s BYD was written off by Elon Musk. Now it’s beating Tesla

The Shenzhen-based electric carmaker sold more than 641,000 vehicles in the first half of 2022.

China's BYD has overtaken Tesla as the biggest seller of electric vehicles [File: VCG/VCG via Getty Images]

from Al Jazeera

 

China’s BYD says it will start selling its first battery electric vehicles in Japan by early 2023.

from Al Jazeera English on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera/posts/pfbid0FFEbPJ8tfP7q4SNC7Jq7NEYFzvMY8gzWg9eSmAAVjqQCAgPoXWGwi51tMbJb7WUfl

China’s BYD says it will start selling EVs in Japan by early 2023
The world’s largest EV maker plans to roll out the ATTO 3 sports utility vehicle in Japan starting January.

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China’s BYD, in which Berkshire Hathaway owns a stake, said it will roll out an electric sports utility vehicle, the ATTO 3, in Japan starting January 31. The car has a cruising distance of 485km (301 miles) and will cost 4.4 million yen ($32,735).

In comparison, Nissan Motor Co’s electric Leaf standard model has a cruising range of 322km (200 miles) and costs about 3.7 million yen ($27,496).

BYD’s Japan chapter is planning to introduce two more models by the end of 2023 and more than 100 dealerships in Japan by the end of 2025, the company said.

Gasoline-electric hybrid models remain more popular than BEVs in Japan. However, the share of battery-driven vehicles is expected to grow, partly due to non-Japanese automakers like BYD and Volkswagen making their way into the market.

 

 

[Randy W]

Doug DeMuro reviews the BYD Han 3.9S. Okay he's a little bit excitable.

from Google

On March 16, refreshed BYD Han 2023 electric sedan was launched in China. The price range is between 209,800-299,800 RMB (30,400 – 43,400 USD).

The Chinese name is 比亚迪汉 (Bǐyǎdí hàn)

Edited March 24, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)