Author: Phate Zhang/CnEVPost

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China Electric eMobility eV Giga Shanghai Tesla

Tesla applies to expand Shanghai plant, to add pouch-type battery cell capacity, report says

The potential expansion would give the Shanghai factory the capacity to produce 1.75 million powertrains per year, up from the current 1.25 million, according to Reuters.

(Image: Tesla China video screenshot.)

Tesla has applied for regulatory clearance to expand its Shanghai plant and to begin producing pouch-type battery cells for the first time, according to a Reuters report today.

The potential expansion would give the Shanghai factory the capacity to produce 1.75 million powertrain units a year, up from the current 1.25 million, the report said, citing an undated public notice.

It's not clear whether Tesla is committed to moving forward with the expansion or is simply seeking approval for potential, future capacity, the report noted.

Tesla is seeking permission to produce pouch battery cells, and a trial production line would have an initial annual capacity of 20,000 amp-hour cells, the equivalent of one Model Y battery pack, according to the report.

It's not clear how Tesla would use the pouch batteries, which it hasn't used in electric vehicles before, the report noted.

Tesla is also looking to ramp up production of cylindrical 4680 battery cells in China and has brought in new suppliers to reduce costs, according to the Reuters report.

Giga Shanghai is Tesla's largest plant in the world, producing the Model 3 and Model Y, with an annual capacity of about 1.1 million vehicles.

is Tesla's power battery supplier in China, and has a factory near Giga Shanghai that makes battery packs for the EV maker.

Earlier today, Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying that Tesla is nearing the final stages before starting trial production of its revamped Model 3 sedan in Shanghai.

On April 9, Tesla signed a deal with Shanghai's Lingang authorities to build a new Megafactory in the area, which will be dedicated to Megapack, Tesla's energy storage product.

The Megafactory will be Tesla's first energy storage system factory outside of the US home market, with an initial planned annual production capacity of up to 10,000 commercial energy storage batteries and an energy storage scale of nearly 40 GWh, with products to be supplied to the global market.

The plant is scheduled to start construction in the third quarter of this year and go into operation in the second quarter of 2024.

It is not clear whether the pouch battery cells mentioned in the Reuters report are related to the Megafactory.

Tesla's revamped Model 3 nears final trial production in Shanghai, report says

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China Electric eMobility eV Giga Shanghai Tesla Tesla Model 3

Tesla’s revamped Model 3 nears final trial production in Shanghai, report says

The revamped Model 3 is slightly longer and sportier than earlier versions and has a sleeker interior design, according to Bloomberg.

Tesla's revamped Model 3 nears final trial production in Shanghai, report says-CnEVPost

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Tesla is nearing the final stages before starting trial production of its revamped Model 3 sedan in Shanghai, a Bloomberg report today said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The revised Model 3 is slightly longer, sportier and has a sleeker interior design than earlier versions, the people said, according to the report.

Since the beginning of this month, some production staff at Tesla's Shanghai plant have been asked to keep their phones in special lockers outside the factory's production line to prevent potential photo leaks, one of the people said.

Production lines in the first phase of the factory could be shut down for a few days at the end of the month for adjustments, though those plans could still change, the report said.

On March 1, Reuters reported that Tesla had been working to retool its Shanghai assembly plant for a revamped version of the Model 3, a project codenamed Highland by Tesla.

The Highland version of the Model 3 is expected to go into production in Shanghai in September, the Reuters report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

With the Highland, Tesla aims to cut production costs and boost the appeal of the electric sedan, which debuts in 2017, people involved in the project said.

Appearance and powertrain performance will also be changed, with a focus on production efficiency, they said, according to the report.

Giga Shanghai is Tesla's largest plant in the world, producing the Model 3 and Model Y, with an annual capacity of about 1.1 million vehicles.

Tesla sold 75,842 China-made vehicles in April, including 35,886 units exported, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Model 3 sales in China in April were 13,196 units, up 2,290.58 percent from 552 units in the same month last year, but down 39.26 percent from 21,726 units in March.

Model Y sales in China in April were 26,760 units, up 2,687.50 percent from 960 units in the same month last year, but down 51.29 percent from 54,937 units in March.

This is due to the fact that Tesla's sales in China fell sharply last April due to the Covid lockdown in Shanghai, and its pattern of producing vehicles primarily for export in the first half of each monthly quarter.

Tesla expected to put new Model 3 into production in Shanghai in Sept; prepares to revamp Model Y, report says

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China Electric eMobility eV Nio NIO ES6

NIO to officially launch new ES6 on May 24, delivery to start next day

The new ES6 will be officially launched on May 24, with test drives available on the same day and deliveries starting on May 25, NIO said today.

NIO to officially launch new ES6 on May 24, delivery to start next day-CnEVPost

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

NIO (NYSE: NIO) will officially launch the new ES6 SUV in China next Wednesday, and deliveries will begin the next day, making it the fastest model from launch to delivery.

The new ES6 will be officially launched on May 24, with test drives available on the same day and deliveries starting on May 25, the company announced today on its mobile app.

The model is available for pre-order now, and consumers who pay a RMB 5,000 ($720) pre-order deposit before its official launch and convert those payments into a non-refundable deposit by July 31 will receive a Moon-themed exterior package and orange caliper worth RMB 8,000 and NOP+ two years free access worth RMB 9,120.

NIO has not announced any more information about the new ES6 based on its latest NT 2.0 platform, and its pricing is expected to be known on May 24.

It is not clear whether NIO will hold an offline launch of the new ES6 or whether the model will be launched only at an online event.

NIO to officially launch new ES6 on May 24, delivery to start next day-CnEVPost

(Image credit: NIO)

NIO officially unveiled the 2023 ET7 sedan at a brief launch event on the first day of the Shanghai auto show on April 18, and allowed an improved version of the ES6 SUV based on the NT 2.0 platform to make its debut.

The older ES6 based on the NT 1.0 platform was previously offered in three versions -- Sport, Performance and Signature -- with starting prices of RMB 386,000, 426,000 and 496,000 respectively.

On May 11, NIO asked its community for opinions on the pricing of the new ES6, and a questionnaire at the time offered six options: under RMB 368,000, RMB 368,000, RMB 378,000, RMB 338,000, RMB 398,000, and above RMB 398,000.

For NIO, the new ES6 will be a model of strategic importance, as it will be the least expensive of NIO's SUVs. The move underscores the high hopes it has for the model's sales prospects.

From January to August 2022, 32,877 units of the ES6 were delivered, contributing 46 percent of NIO's total deliveries of 71,556 units for the period, according to figures monitored by CnEVPost from the company and the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The new ES6 is now widely seen as being powerfully equipped and competitively priced, which has sparked discontent among some owners who previously purchased the ES7 SUV.

Last month, several ES7 owners formed a WeChat group to collectively express their dissatisfaction that the upcoming new ES6 means NIO has betrayed them.

NIO's announcement today of the launch date for the new ES6 confirms a rumor from earlier this month.

Local auto industry media D1EV reported on May 4 that the new ES6 will be officially launched on May 24, and that show cars of the model will be available in NIO stores starting on the launch day.

Compared to the old ES6, the new model will retain only the Sport version, and the previously available higher-priced Performance and Signature versions have been optimized to become the new ES7 model currently on sale, the report said.

($1 = RMB 6.9582)

NIO asks its community for advice on pricing of new ES6

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China Electric eMobility eV Nio NIO EC7 NIO ET5 Wait Times

NIO EC7 and ET5 wait times get slightly longer

Wait times for the EC7 have changed from about 5 weeks to 5-7 weeks, and for the ET5 from about 2 weeks to 2-3 weeks.

NIO EC7 and ET5 wait times get slightly longer-CnEVPost

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

NIO's (NYSE: NIO) EC7 coupe SUV and the ET5 sedan saw slightly longer wait times in China after the information for the ES7 SUV saw a similar change a week ago.

The EC7's current expected delivery date is 5-7 weeks, up from about 5 weeks previously, information from the NIO App monitored by CnEVPost shows.

The last change in the model's wait time information was on April 28, when it changed from about 4 weeks to about 5 weeks.

The EC7 was launched on NIO Day 2022, December 24, 2022, and NIO announced plans at the time that deliveries of the EC7 would begin in May.

On April 28, NIO EC7 started delivery, slightly ahead of the original plan.

The EC7 is NIO's second coupe SUV after the EC6, with a wind resistance coefficient of only 0.23 Cd, which NIO said is the lowest among mass-produced SUVs worldwide.

In addition to the EC7, the ET5 also has a slightly longer wait time.

The current expected delivery date for the ET5 is 2-3 weeks, slightly higher than the previous time of about 2 weeks. On April 10, the wait time for the sedan was reduced from about 3 weeks to about 2 weeks.

NIO EC7 and ET5 wait times get slightly longer-CnEVPost

NIO's website and app currently showcase seven models -- the new ES8, ES7, new ES6, EC7, EC6, ET7, and ET5.

In the vehicle configurator of the NIO App, there are 5 models available -- new ES8, ES7, EC7, ET7, ET5. The configurator of the new ES6 and EC6 based on the NT 1.0 platform is not available.

Wait time information for all other NIO models remains unchanged, with the new ES8 still showing deliveries expected to begin in June, the ES7 wait time at about 4 weeks, and the ET7 at about 3 weeks.

The last change in wait times for NIO models was on May 9, when the expected delivery date for the ES7 went from about 3 weeks to about 4 weeks.

NIO model wait time update: EC7 and ET5 become longer

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China China Auto Market Electric eMobility eV Industry News

Prominent economist suggests China ban fuel car sales in 5 years

Independent economist Ren Zeping has suggested that China introduce a timetable to ban the sale of fuel cars within five years and have regions south of Hebei actively develop the new energy sector.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

A prominent economist is proposing that China should ban the sale of conventional fuel cars within five years, sparking widespread discussion on social media.

Independent economist Ren Zeping said on Weibo today that he suggested China introduce a timetable for a ban on fuel cars within five years and for the region south of Hebei to actively develop the new energy sector.

He hinted that this is a move China needs to make to reach its carbon peak and carbon-neutral targets, as well as to expand domestic demand.

The words have generated a lot of discussions, with many opposing voices in the Weibo comments section, some of whom say that fuel car production and sales could also expand domestic demand.

Ren used to work for China's national think tank, as chief macro analyst at Guotai Junan and chief economist at Evergrande Group. He is currently an independent economist and has set up his own studio.

China does not currently have a national timetable for banning fuel cars, although the southernmost province of Hainan did so last year.

A carbon peak implementation plan released by the provincial government on August 22, 2022, said that by 2030, the sale of fuel cars will be completely banned across Hainan.

By then, vehicles in Hainan's public services and operations will be fully powered by clean energy, except for special uses, the plan said, adding that 100 percent of new and replacement vehicles in the private sector will be new energy vehicles (NEVs).

The document does not specify, though in China, NEVs generally refer to pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell cars.

China previously set a goal of seeing NEVs contribute 25 percent of all new vehicle sales by 2025, but that goal was met ahead of schedule last year.

For the full year 2022, China sold 5.67 million new energy passenger vehicles at retail, contributing 27.6 percent of all passenger vehicle retail sales of 20.54 million units, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

In April, China's retail sales of new energy passenger cars were 527,000 units, with a penetration rate of 32.3 percent.

By December 2025, NEVs will account for more than 80 percent of all new vehicle sales in China, Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of (NASDAQ: LI), said on April 24.

Ren has previously posted bullish comments on China's NEV industry, saying on December 31, 2021, that the NEV industry will be the most promising replacement for the real estate, heavy industry and chemical sectors as the most important engine of growth for China's economy.

The NEV industry was growing at a rate of several times, bringing a fast-growing penetration rate, while taking into account the market size of the industries associated with it, a large number of fuel vehicles will be replaced by NEVs in the next decade or longer, he said at the time.

China's Hainan to completely ban sales of ICE vehicles by 2030

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Alibaba China DAMO Academy Electric eMobility eV Self-driving

Alibaba backtracks on autonomous driving R&D

Alibaba's DAMO Academy's autonomous driving lab will lay off about 70 percent of its staff, while others will be transferred to the e-commerce giant's logistics arm, according to local media.

Alibaba backtracks on autonomous driving R&D-CnEVPost

(Image credit: DAMO Academy)

Alibaba, one of China's most powerful tech giants, is backing away from autonomous driving research and development, highlighting the challenges facing the field.

Alibaba's DAMO Academy no longer retains its autonomous driving business and team, which was merged into its logistics unit Cainiao, the Shanghai Securities News said in a report today, citing people from the e-commerce giant.

This means that Alibaba's autonomous driving business is entering a whole new phase of moving from cutting-edge tech exploration in the lab to applications in real-world scenarios, the report noted.

The Shanghai Securities News report did not provide more information, but according to a subsequent report by Jiemian, another local media outlet, not all of DAMO Academy's autonomous driving business was merged into Cainiao, but rather a significant layoff will be made.

DAMO Academy's autonomous driving lab previously had more than 300 people, with 80-90 receiving the option to move to work at Cainiao, while about 200 others, or about 70 percent, will be laid off, according to Jiemian.

One of the key reasons Cainiao was unable to take on all members of the team was the limited investment it was willing to make, the report said, citing an Alibaba insider.

The team that will be incorporated into Cainiao will be primarily responsible for keeping the autonomous driving robot Xiaomanlv, or little donkeys, in business and will not do much expansion, the report said.

Xiaomanlv is an L4 autonomous driving product launched by DAMO Academy's autonomous driving lab in September 2020 to serve the last three kilometers of delivery, take-out and fresh food delivery.

To date, the autonomous driving robot has entered more than 200 universities and communities, with a fleet size exceeding 500 vehicles.

It is worth noting that DAMO Academy's self-driving lab has undergone previous management changes.

In January 2022, the lab's then-head, Wang Gang, left after three years on board. In March this year, his successor, Chen Junbo, also left after one year in the position.

Alibaba's move underscores the huge challenges facing autonomous driving R&D.

At the end of March, BYD chairman and president Wang Chuanfu said at an earnings meeting that autonomous driving is nonsense that comes out of capital coercion.

BYD has more than 600,000 employees, and the company can't even replace all its workers with machines, because the machines can't simulate every scenario of manual operation, he said.

"It's not even possible to do unattended work on a fixed production line, let alone the ever-changing actual road conditions," Wang said at the time.

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China Electric eMobility eV Insurance Registrations Li Auto Li Xiang

Li Auto stops sharing weekly sales data, CEO explains why

Li Auto CEO said they have been complained about by many of their peers, so they are temporarily unable to publish insurance data from last week.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) continued to share weekly auto insurance registration numbers in China after they became unavailable on major channels starting in April.

Now the automaker has stopped sharing those numbers as well, and its founder, chairman and CEO Li Xiang explained why.

"We have been complained and reported by many peers, so we can't release the insurance registration data for the time being since last week, very unfortunate," Li wrote on Weibo today.

Notably, earlier today, multiple versions of a table purportedly showing the insurance registration data for the first week of May circulated on Chinese social media, with Li claiming that much of the data was fake.

"I saw that some of my peers couldn't stand the fact that some people started faking the insurance registration data (which every car company buys) and took it upon themselves to release the real data for the first week," he said.

Li Auto's insurance was not less than 6,000 in that falsified data, but 7,000, he said.

Previously, we had access to those numbers every Tuesday, and it was Li Auto's practice to share a portion of them later to show off that it was leading the pack among new car makers.

The company last shared those numbers on May 5, when it provided a table showing that it sold 8,100 units in the week of April 24 to April 30.

Li Auto delivered 25,681 vehicles in April, another monthly high, while surpassing the 20,000-delivery mark for the second consecutive month.

On May 10, Li Auto reported its first-quarter earnings with guidance that second-quarter vehicle deliveries would range from 76,000 to 81,000.

This means that it expects to deliver a total of 50,319 to 55,319 vehicles in May and June.

Insurance registrations for week ending Apr 30: Tesla 11,500, Li Auto 8,100, NIO 2,600

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China Electric eMobility eV Nio NIO Singapore

Singapore’s deputy PM visits NIO House in Shanghai

NIO is building a R&D Center in Singapore, where it looks into smart power solutions & autonomous driving technologies, said Lawrence Wong.

Singapore's deputy PM visits NIO House in Shanghai-CnEVPost

A Singaporean deputy prime minister visited a NIO House in Shanghai today, the first senior local official to visit the electric vehicle (EV) maker since it went public on the country's stock market.

Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, tweeted today that he visited NIO and saw its next-generation battery technology.

"NIO is building a R&D Center in SG, where it looks into smart power solutions & autonomous driving technologies. Had a fruitful conversation & I wish NIO all the best in its EV journey in SG," Wong wrote.

Wong shared a picture that shows William Li, the founder, chairman and CEO of NIO, accompanying him on his tour.

"NIO team is honored to welcome Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Mr. Lawrence Wong and Singaporean government officials for a visit and further discussion at NIO House | Shanghai Tower today," the EV company said in a retweet.

On May 20, 2022, NIO was listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST), becoming the first Chinese automaker to list in three locations.

NIO announced at the time that it would establish an artificial intelligence and autonomous driving R&D center in Singapore. The company has already established R&D centers in Beijing, Shanghai, San Jose, USA, and Europe.

"We will also leverage Singapore's advantageous position as an international financial and technology center. By collaborating with science and research institutions and establishing NIO's R&D center for AI and AD in Singapore, we will further broaden and enhance our global R&D footprint," Li said at the time.

NIO made a secondary listing in Hong Kong by way of introduction on March 10, 2022, and the listing in Singapore was its second secondary listing.

NIO is currently down 2.89 percent to S$8.07 in Singapore. It closed down 2.46 percent to HK$63.50 in Hong Kong today.

NIO makes its debut on Singapore's stock market

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China Electric eMobility eV HK Stocks Industry News

New auto index launched in HK stock market with constituents including BYD, NIO, XPeng, Li Auto

The Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited launched the Hang Seng Automobile Index today with a year-to-date return of about 9 percent.

A new index is now available for investors who wish to track the performance of the Chinese auto industry chain in the stock market.

The Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited (HSI) today announced the launch of three new indices, including the Hang Seng Automobile Index.

"The Hang Seng Automobile Index aims to reflect the overall performance of companies that are engaged in the value chain of automobile production, and are listed in Hong Kong," the description on the HSI website reads.

The new index -- calculated and disseminated in real-time at two-second intervals -- had a return of 9.26 percent for the year to last Friday. As of press time, the index was up 0.69 percent today.

The Hang Seng Automobile Index has a fixed component of 30 stocks and will be reviewed every six months.

The index's current constituents include car companies such as BYD, NIO, , , Leapmotor, , Great Wall Motors, and GAC Group, as well as suppliers such as LK Technology and Fuyao Glass.

The description page on the HSI website does not provide information on the weighting of these constituents in the index.

The index has a base period of December 31, 2019, with a base value of 3,000 points and is currently quoted at 3,272.24 points.

At press time, NIO was down 2.3 percent to HK$63.60 in Hong Kong, XPeng down 2.03 percent to HK$38.55, Li Auto down 0.96 percent to HK$113, BYD was flat and Leapmotor was up 1.47 percent to HK$34.55.

Hang Seng Automobile Index

Stock CodeConstituent Name
A SharesB SharesH SharesRed ChipsOthers
1958BAIC MOTOR
9888BIDU - SW
710BOE VARITRONIX
1211BYD COMPANY
285BYD ELECTRONIC
489DONGFENG GROUP
3606FUYAO GL ASS
2238GAC GROUP
1772GANFENG LITHIUM
175GEELY AUTO
2333GREATWALL MOTOR
179JOHNSON ELEC H
148KINGBOARD HLDG
9863LEAPMOTOR
2015LI AUTO - W
558LK TECH
425MINTH GROUP
1316NEXTEER
9866NIO - SW
1478Q TECH
20SENSETIME - W
3808SINOTRUK
2382SUNNY OPTICAL
819TIANNENG POWER
9696TIANQI LITHIUM
3898TIMES ELECTRIC
2338WEICHAI POWER
868XINYI GLASS
9868XPENG - W
1585YADEA

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China Electric eMobility eV Nio NIO ET5 Nio ET5 Touring

NIO ET5 touring spotted in real life in China uncamouflaged

The NIO ET5 touring with a green exterior is seen for the first time. Yellow and blue versions of the model have already been seen in Europe, while the black version appeared in a regulatory filing in China.

The NIO ET5 touring is on the streets of China without camouflage, after the model was seen in Europe in recent days.

A WeChat user shared three images of the NIO ET5 touring without camouflage in a group chat where CnEVPost is present, showing a green version of the model.

This is the first time the NIO ET5 touring with a green exterior has been seen. Yellow and blue versions of the model have already been seen in Europe, while the black version appeared in a regulatory filing in China.

It is not clear in which Chinese city the NIO ET5 touring was photographed, and the temporary number plate affixed to its rear window is illegible.

On March 9, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the latest batch of models that will be allowed to be sold in China, and the NIO ET5 touring was included.

The model in the catalog was in black exterior and has a length, width and height of 4,790 mm, 1,960 mm and 1,499 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,888 mm, in line with the regular ET5 sedan.

The NIO ET5 touring 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.

On May 9, CnEVPost obtained two spy shots of the NIO ET5 touring, showing the model on the streets of Europe, with the yellow color exclusive to the ET5 sedan sold in China.

On May 12, auto blogger Delu shared multiple images of a blue NIO ET5 touring on the NIO App, saying that NIO was filming a promotional video for the model in Norway.

The NIO ET5 touring is expected to make its official debut in Europe in June, with the launch in China likely to come a little later.

NIO co-founder and president Qin Lihong said in January that this variant of the ET5 would debut in Europe, where the model was developed primarily for European consumers.

Derivatives of sedans have been a niche market in China, and few car companies have tried to tap into it before.

's electric vehicle (EV) brand unveiled its first model, the Zeekr 001, on April 15, 2021, the first such model released by a local brand, with deliveries starting in October 2021.

The Zeekr 001 was an unexpected success in China, with 71,941 units delivered in the full year 2022.

Zeekr positions the Zeekr 001 as a shooting brake sedan, while NIO emphasizes that this NIO ET5 variant is a touring model.

NIO filming ET5 touring promo in Norway, more images revealed

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