Filed under: Government/Legal,Green,Tesla,Safety,Electric
Continue reading WaPo research finds 736 Tesla crashes involving Autopilot since 2019
WaPo research finds 736 Tesla crashes involving Autopilot since 2019 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jun 2023 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsThere were rumors over the weekend that Tesla FSD would be running in Shanghai on a pilot basis, but this was denied.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Rumors over the weekend that Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) will start a pilot run in Shanghai have been denied.
"The information is not true," local media outlet Cailian said in a brief report today, citing a response from Tesla China about the rumors.
On May 12, a Shanghai official said the city would further deepen its cooperation with Tesla and promote the electric vehicle (EV) maker's self-driving and robotics businesses in Shanghai.
Shanghai will work with Tesla to build a technology industry cluster with core technology advantages for the global market, Chen Kele, deputy director of the intelligent manufacturing promotion division at Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, said at the time.
Chen did not directly mention Tesla's FSD at the time, although it was the first hint of support from Chinese officials for Tesla's software.
Before that, local media outlet Caixin said in an April 3 report that Tesla was about to begin widespread testing of FSD in China.
All Tesla vehicles currently come with the free Basic Autopilot (BAP) software. In addition, Tesla also offers Enhanced Autopilot (EAP), FSD software as an option.
EAP and FSD cost $6,000 and $15,000 in the US, and RMB 32,000 ($4,480) and RMB 64,000 in China, respectively.
On June 9, CITIC Securities analyst Lian Yixi's team said that the trend of Tesla FSD entering China is becoming clearer, which is expected to accelerate the intelligent process of local EVs.
However, this is still facing two major problems from becoming a reality -- data collection qualification and supercomputing centers, according to the team.
Also on June 9, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, that the company would be happy to license Autopilot/FSD or other Tesla technology.
This is the first mention of FSD on Musk's Weibo account since 2021, although the account appears to be managed by Tesla's team in Beijing. The Tesla CEO visited China earlier this month and met with several top Chinese officials.
($1 = RMB 7.1452)
Analysts list 2 major issues Tesla must address before bringing FSD to China
The post Tesla says rumors that FSD will start pilot run in Shanghai untrue appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
The NIO ET5 Touring offers more trunk space while improving the high driver's seat that the regular ET5 was complained about. The key now is the price.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
NIO (NYSE: NIO) will hold a launch event for the ET5 Touring starting at 19:00 Beijing time on June 15, and the model is already allowing visitors to experience it in its stores before then.
As of June 10, the ET5 Touring show cars are available at 248 NIO stores in 48 cities across China. In Shanghai, where NIO's global headquarters is located, the model is already available at 10 NIO Houses and 15 NIO Spaces.
I went to one of the NIO Houses in Shanghai's Pudong New Area on Sunday, June 11 at around 9 am to check out the model and left at around 10 am.
The store is located in a large shopping district and the office hour start time was 10:00 am. Even though I visited before then, the store staff allowed me to enter.
NIO is one of the strongest local car companies in terms of abilities to build beautiful models, and the ET5 Touring is clearly another well-designed one.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
It's worth noting that photos of a car give a very different feeling than seeing it in person, and this applies to all models of all brands.
The gray ET5 Touring in the NIO House I visited has very natural body lines. In fact, a non-offensive exterior design is already the basis for a car that is acceptable to most people.
I don't want to discuss too much about its appearance, but you can get a general impression through the pictures in this article.
It should be noted that just a few years ago, for the average Chinese consumer, family cars consisted only of sedans and SUVs, and derivatives of sedans were not considered. You also hardly ever saw a gasoline-powered touring or shooting brake model on the streets of Shanghai.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Geely's premium electric vehicle subsidiary Zeekr is the first of the local brands to try to tap into the sedan derivative market, announcing the all-electric Zeekr 001 shooting brake on April 15, 2021, with deliveries starting in October 2021.
The Zeekr 001 is Zeekr's first model, and it is a brave move to target an unproven market. The model delivered 11,337 units last December, bringing full-year 2022 deliveries to 71,941 vehicles.
The ET5 Touring, a derivative of the regular ET5 sedan, is equipped with the same powerful assisted driving hardware as NIO's other NT 2.0 platform-based models, including a roof-mounted LiDAR, and four NVIDIA Orin SoCs capable of delivering a total of more than 1,000 TOPS of performance.
One of the biggest attractions of the ET5 Touring compared to the regular ET5 is the larger trunk space. Such models give consumers the same driving experience as a sedan while gaining load capacity close to that of an SUV.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
The ET5 Touring is not yet available for test drives, and NIO will officially launch the model on June 15, with test drives available on that day.
For the regular ET5, many owners have complained about the high seating position in the driver's seat, which may be a deterrent for some potential customers to choose this model.
I got into the driver's seat of the regular ET5 at that NIO House and found that this issue was indeed apparent, especially when compared to my own Tesla Model 3 Long Rang, a 2020 purchase.
The regular ET5 feels very much like the driver is sitting in an SUV, even with the seat position cranked all the way down. For the Model 3, on the other hand, the appropriate seating position for me is with the seat height cranked to the middle gear.
NIO has obviously learned this lesson from the regular ET5, and the ET5 Touring driver's seat has a significantly lower seating position. The feeling of sitting in the ET5 Touring driver's seat is almost the same as when I drove my own Model 3.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
The ET5 sedan seems to have been experiencing demand issues after China's purchase subsidies for new energy vehicles (NEVs) expired at the end of last year, and the price will be critical for the ET5 Touring to make the ET5 family shine again.
Earlier today, NIO announced an RMB 30,000 ($4,200) price cut for the entire new model lineup, effective immediately, but the previously free battery swap service several times a month has become a paid option.
Under the latest pricing system, the starting price of the ET5, including the battery, is reduced to RMB 298,000. If consumers choose to lease the battery using the BaaS (battery as a service) option, the starting price of the vehicle is RMB 228,000.
For the ET5 Touring, many expect that its starting price in China, including the battery, will likely be RMB 10,000 to 20,000 higher than the regular ET5.
In addition to targeting the new sedan derivative market in China, NIO also hopes to sell the ET5 Touring in Europe, where such models have a higher acceptance.
A few hours after the ET5 Touring's China launch, NIO will hold a European launch event on June 16 at 1:00 am Beijing time (June 15 at 1:00 pm US Eastern time) to launch the ET5 Touring, as well as the EL6, known as the ES6 in China.
BREAKING: NIO cuts starting prices by $4,200 for all models and makes battery swap benefits optional
($1 = RMB 7.1415)
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
The post Store visit: First impression of NIO ET5 Touring before official launch appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
Many visitors have experienced the show cars at XPeng stores over the past 3 days, demonstrating their enthusiasm for the G6, it said.
(Image credit: XPeng)
XPeng's (NYSE: XPEV) new SUV, the G6, appears to be getting a good initial reception, the electric vehicle (EV) maker's pre-sale orders announced today showed.
The XPeng G6 received more than 25,000 orders within 72 hours of the start of pre-sales, the company said on Weibo.
Many visitors have experienced the show cars in XPeng stores over the past three days, demonstrating their enthusiasm for the G6, the company said.
Visitors have commented positively on the XPeng G6's space, 755 km range, and fast-charging capability thanks to the 800 V high-voltage platform, XPeng said.
XPeng will announce official configurations and pricing at the end of June, and the company will accelerate its capacity climb and deliver vehicles as early as possible, its chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said in a retweet of XPeng's Weibo.
XPeng began pre-sales for the G6 on June 9, with pre-sale prices starting at RMB 225,000 ($31,510), significantly lower than the RMB 263,900 starting price of the Tesla Model Y in China.
The G6 show cars are already available at XPeng stores, and the model will officially launch on June 29 with deliveries starting in July, the company said last week.
Consumers who pay RMB 2,000 to reserve an XPeng G6 now will receive an RMB 5,000 discount when they pay for the car.
XPeng unveiled a new architecture, called SEPA (Smart Electric Platform Architecture) 2.0, at a technology conference in Shanghai on April 16, saying the G6 would be the first model built on the architecture.
On April 18, XPeng officially unveiled the G6 on the first day of the Shanghai auto show, saying that the G6 is the ultimate form of car before fully autonomous driving is achieved.
The model is based on the 800 V high-voltage platform and can get 300 kilometers of range in as little as 10 minutes on a charge, XPeng said at the time. Another of the company's 800 V-based models is the G9.
It is an all-electric mid-size SUV with a length, width and height of 4,753 mm, 1,920 mm and 1,650 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,890 mm, a regulatory filing in March showed.
For comparison, the Tesla Model Y has a length, width and height of 4,750 mm, 1,921 mm and 1,624 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,890 mm.
The G6 will be a hot seller in China's new energy SUV market in the RMB 200,000 to 300,000 range and will enable XPeng's total deliveries to grow well above the industry in the third quarter, the company's management said in a conference call with analysts after announcing its first-quarter earnings on May 24.
That means XPeng management expects monthly sales of the G6 to reach 6,000-8,000 units, Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu's team said in a research note sent to investors on May 30.
($1 = RMB 7.1399)
XPeng surges in HK as investors seem to like G6's pre-sale price
The post XPeng says G6 gets over 25,000 orders 72 hours after pre-sale starts appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
Tesla ranked third in the CPCA's NEV retail sales rankings, with BYD and GAC Aion in first and second place with 38.1 percent and 7.8 percent shares, respectively.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) retail sales in China in May were 42,508 units, ranking third in the country's new energy vehicle (NEV) market with a 7.3 percent share, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on June 9.
That's up 332.65 percent from 9,825 units in the same month last year and up 6.39 percent from 39,956 units in April, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.
BYD's retail sales in May were 220,735 units, up 94.0 percent year-on-year, placing it first in the NEV market with a 38.1 percent share, according to the CPCA's ranking.
Tesla has a factory in Shanghai, its largest in the world, producing the Model 3 and Model Y, with an annual capacity of more than 1.1 million units.
Model 3 and Model Y breakdown sales figures in China are not yet available. Tesla's pattern is to produce vehicles in the first half of each quarter primarily for export and in the second half for the local market.
China's new energy passenger vehicle retail sales in May were 580,000 units, including 388,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 192,000 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), data released by the CPCA on June 8 showed.
This means that Tesla's share of the BEV market in China was 10.96 percent in May, slightly higher than April's 10.8 percent. It had a slightly lower share of the NEV market in May than the 7.58 percent it had in April.
Tesla's Shanghai plant exported 35,187 vehicles in May, considering the CPCA said on June 5 that Tesla sold 77,695 China-made vehicles in May.
That export figure was up 57.51 percent year-on-year but down 1.95 percent from April, CnEVPost's calculations show.
In the ranking released yesterday by the CPCA, GAC Aion came in second with a 7.8 percent share of May retail sales at 45,003 units, up 113.7 percent year-on-year.
SAIC-GM-Wuling ranked fourth with a 6.3 percent share of May retail sales, up 13.7 percent to 36,253 units.
Li Auto ranked fifth with a 4.9 percent share of May retail sales, up 146.0 percent to 28,277 units.
Geely ranked sixth with a 4.4 percent share, Changan Auto ranked seventh with a 4.2 percent share, Great Wall Motor ranked eighth with a 3.6 percent share, Leapmotor ranked ninth with a 2.1 percent share and Neta Auto ranked 10th with a 1.9 percent share.
The post Tesla delivers 42,508 vehicles in China in May, taking 7.3% share of NEV market appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
Filed under: Government/Legal,Green,Ford,GM,Tesla,Electric
White House says Tesla chargers available for federal dollars — as long as they include CCS originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 9 Jun 2023 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Design/Style,Green,Plants/Manufacturing,Rumormill,Tesla,Truck,Electric
Continue reading Leaked document shows significant early issues with Tesla Cybertruck
Leaked document shows significant early issues with Tesla Cybertruck originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 9 Jun 2023 10:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Earnings/Financials,Green,GM,Tesla,Electric
Continue reading Tesla stock jumps on EV charging tie-up with GM
Tesla stock jumps on EV charging tie-up with GM originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 9 Jun 2023 08:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsXPeng's stock traded in Hong Kong continues to rally after the announcement of the G6's pre-sale price, currently up about 5 percent.
XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) shares traded in Hong Kong rallied quickly after pre-sales of the new SUV G6 began, suggesting investors may be bullish on the pricing.
At press time, XPeng was up 5.03 percent to HK$34.45 in Hong Kong.
XPeng's local peer NIO (NYSE: NIO) is now down about 0.08 percent in Hong Kong, while Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) is up 0.8 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is up 0.58 percent.
XPeng opened up more than 2 percent in Hong Kong, but then fell quickly, giving back all of its gains at about 10:20 am.
The company announced at 10:16 am today that the G6 was up for pre-sale, with a starting pre-sale price of 225,000 yuan ($31,610). Its stock price continued to move higher after that.
The pre-sale starting price for the XPeng G6 is RMB 38,900 less than its direct competitor, the Tesla Model Y, and RMB 84,900 less than the RMB 309,900 starting price for XPeng's flagship SUV, the G9.
It is important to note that the pre-sale price is not the final price and XPeng may provide new pricing based on consumer feedback when the G6 is officially launched.
G6 show cars are already available at XPeng stores, and the model will be officially launched on June 29, with deliveries starting in July, the company said.
Analysts believe the G6 will be critical for XPeng as the company continues to face weak sales and financial performance.
"With margins and cash burn looking materially worse following 1Q earnings, we believe management may be making its last stand with the G6," Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu's team said in a May 30 research note.
The team's previous view assumed XPeng could see stable natural margin improvement from the sharp drop in battery input prices, but those savings were mostly offset by incremental promotional activity and a poor mix.
" Therefore, the importance of the upcoming G6 has become even GREATER," the team wrote.
Weak delivery performance over the past year has dampened XPeng shares, and they are down about 11 percent year to date.
XPeng begins pre-sales of G6 with starting price significantly lower than Tesla Model Y
($1 = RMB 7.1187)
The post XPeng surges in HK as investors seem to like G6's pre-sale price appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.
While the overall trend is for FSD to enter China, there are still two major issues before it becomes a reality -- data collection eligibility and supercomputing centers, according to CITIC Securities.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
A Chinese official's remarks a month ago sparked much anticipation for Tesla to bring FSD (Full Self-Driving) to China.
However, Tesla still has a lot of work to do if it makes this a reality. A team of local analysts shared their views in a new research note.
The trend of Tesla FSD entering China is becoming clearer, which is expected to accelerate the progress of intelligence in local electric vehicles (EVs), said a team of CITIC Securities analyst Lian Yixi in a research note today.
While the overall trend is for FSD to enter China, it is still two major issues away from becoming a reality -- data collection eligibility and supercomputing centers, according to the team.
Under China's current regulations, high-precision map mapping can only be conducted by qualified entities, and only 19 currently hold the qualification, the team noted.
Moreover, the compilation of electronic maps for navigation is currently open only to local companies, and the transmission of mapping data outside of China must also be approved in advance, the team said.
Map data is highly sensitive and related to national security, and exactly how Tesla should obtain the qualification is still unknown, the team said.
Viable options for Tesla include forming a joint venture with a Chinese company or moving the process forward in Shanghai on a pilot basis, but it would be difficult for it to roll out the effort on a large scale any time soon, according to the team.
In addition to map-related qualifications, Tesla would need to build a supercomputing center in China.
The pure vision route for autonomous driving relies more on massive data collection and model training for image processing, so Tesla built Dojo, a supercomputing center in the US, and developed its own D1 chip to improve the training efficiency of FSD, CITIC Securities noted.
And in China, even if Tesla obtains the data acquisition qualification, the probability is that it can only train the model locally in China and the data may not be allowed to be transmitted back to the US, the team said.
This means that to achieve the same training efficiency as in the US, Tesla would need to establish a supercomputing center in China similar to Dojo, which would require a certain development cycle and cost, according to the team.
Despite these two major issues, CITIC Securities believes that if Tesla succeeds in bringing FSD to China, it will benefit the overall intelligence of China's EVs, helping to strengthen consumer education, expand the market, and accelerate the process of letting the best win out.
The entry of FSD into China is likely to significantly strengthen consumers' awareness of the intelligence of cars and develop their daily needs and habits for smart driving, which is expected to allow the market to expand significantly in China, the team said.
It is also important to note that if Tesla introduces the highly profitable FSD to China, it has the potential to further reduce the prices of its vehicles and could launch a lower-priced Model 2/Q, with pricing likely in the RMB 150,000 ($21,070) to RMB 200,000 range, according to the team.
If such a scenario emerges, cost pressures on local low- and mid-range models would be further exacerbated, when obtaining a low-priced but qualified smart driving software from a third-party supplier could become a mainstream option for car companies with weaker R&D capabilities, the team said.
($1 = RMB 7.1213)
Shanghai official hints at support for Tesla's FSD rollout in China
The post Analysts list 2 major issues Tesla must address before bringing FSD to China appeared first on CnEVPost.
For more articles, please visit CnEVPost.