China Auto Thread

[Yommie]

BYD’s 2024 product planning leaks, Seal S coming in September

BYD is preparing a new model offensive in 2024 with its Ocean series.

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BYD’s 2024 product planning leaks, Seal S coming in September​

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Jiri Opletal

February 8, 2024


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2024 product planning for BYD’s Ocean series leaked in China. It exposed upcoming facelifts of some existing models, such as Seal EV or Song Plus (Seal U), and new models we never heard of before (Seal S, Destroyer 06). It also shows models, which BYD is moving from the Warship series to the Ocean series.

February​

In the second half of February, BYD plans to launch the 2024 version of one of its best sellers, the all-electric hatchback BYD Dolphin. The annual update is called Champion Edition, and CarNewsChina reported the car was spotted at the dealer in late January.
In January, BYD Dolphin sold 18,905 units, up 7% from the same month last year.

2024 BYD Dolphin Champion Edition.

March​

The annual update of the Frigate 07 (previously called Corvette 07) will launch in March. It is a PHEV SUV initially positioned in the Warship series, which is quietly dissolved, and its models are being distributed among the other two BYD series – Ocean and
Dynasty. Frigate 07 launched at the end of 2022 for about 30,000 USD; we haven’t heard much about it since then. BYD Frigate 07 sold 1,575 in January, down about 70% from the last year.
BYD Frigate 07 PHEV SUV.

April​

BYD Sea Lion 07 will start sales at the Beijing Auto Show in April. That suggests the presales might begin earlier in March. Thanks to homologation fillings, Sea Lion 07 is an all-electric fastback SUV with dimensions (L/W/H) 4830/1925/1620 mm and a wheelbase of 2930 mm.

The top trim level is 4WD with 390 kW peak power (160 kW in front and 230 kW motor in rear). It will rival the Tesla Model Y in China and might also cannibalize other BYD’s BEVs, such as BYD Song L.
The Sea Lion is a new BYD series exclusively focusing on SUVs; the 07 will be its first model, followed by the Sea Lion 05 and 06.
BYD Sea Lion 07.

June​

In June, BYD will launch the annual facelift of its all-electric sedan Seal EV. The car was previously called just BYD Seal, but we will stick with Seal EV as BYD launched the PHEV variant in 2023 Seal DM-i.
BYD Seal (BEV + PHEV) sold 8,347 units in January, up about 26% from last year. Alongside Atto 3 and Dolphin, BYD Seal EV is one of the leading export articles for BYD.
BYD will also unveil Destroyer 06, aka Sea Star, which we had never heard of before. Judging by the name, it will be a mid-size sedan positioned between Destroyer 05 and BYD Seal DM-i (previously called Destroyer 07).

July​

In July, the updated Song Pro, aka Coral, will debut. The Song is BYD’s best-selling series, with 59,514 units sold in January, up about 20% from last year. The Song series comprises various SUVs such as Song Pro, Song Max, and Song Plus. Most of them are PHEVs, and to make it even more confusing, BYD considers some as part of the Ocean series and some as part of the Dynasty series.

August​

The second generation of the Song Plus EV will debut. Song Plus EV is branded as Seal U for overseas markets.
BYD launched the annual facelift of this electric SUV in 2023, Champion Edition, and shipped it to Europe, where the car had a public debut at the September IAA Mobility Munich auto show. With the second generation in work, we can expect significant changes.
BYD Song Plus EV Champion Ediiton aka Seal U.

September​

In September, the BYD Seal S will debut. The Seal was originally an all-electric sedan competing with the Tesla Model 3, but BYD had turned it into a series. Destroyer 07 was rebadged as a PHEV variant of Seal (Seal DM-i), and this week, the new BYD Seal 06 was revealed as a PHEV sedan. There is no more information about this mysterious S variant; we will keep an eye on it.
BYD Seal 06 PHEV sedan

October​

BYD Sea Lion DM-i will be launched as a PHEV variant for the Seal Lion 07 we discussed earlier.
Leaked Ocean series 2024 product planning. Source: Sohu

Other brands​

Aside from the Ocean series, BYD also has a Dynasty series and three sub-brands – Denza, Fang Cheng Bao, and ultra-premium YangWang. BYD plans to release some new vehicles under those brands in 202 to the market.
Yangwang

• YangWang U9 supercar, which can dance
• YangWang U7 sedan with about 1,300 hp

Fang Cheng Bao

• Bao 3 SUV
• Bao 7 SUV

 

[Yommie]

Top-Selling car brands in January 2024 in China – VW overtook BYD to become No. 1

Volkswagen ended BYD's 11-month streak as the car sales champion in the Chinese market and became the sales champion this month. Volkswagen ended BYD's 11-month streak as the car sales champion in the Chinese market and became the sales champion this month.

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Top-Selling car brands in January 2024 in China – VW overtook BYD to become No. 1​

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Qian Jin

February 8, 2024


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The Chinese automotive market experienced a notable fluctuation, with new car sales totaling 2.03 million units in January 2024, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 57.4% and a month-on-month decrease of 13.9%.

The decline from December 2023 to January 2024 can be attributed to automakers’ reduced discounting activities, which had been aggressively pursued in the final month of 2023 to meet annual sales targets.
The New Energy Vehicle (NEV) sector, encompassing both electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), continued to exhibit stable growth amidst the market’s recovery, contributing to 33.8% of the total vehicle sales in January 2024. EV sales stood at 396,000 units, while PHEV sales reached 291,000 units.

It’s worth noting that January 2023 and February 2024 traditionally mark the Chinese New Year, which results in lower sales due to factory and retail store closures. This seasonal change tends to affect sales figures, making performance in January 2024 stronger than January 2023. As a result, the overall sales volume of the market this month increased by more than 50% year-on-year, and the top 10 sales brands are all growing.
Note: The sales data in this article come from CPCA: CPCA’s statistical basis is the retail sales of passenger cars produced in China. Sales data do not include imported cars and commercial models. Brand sales do not include sub-brands.

Market Dominance and Brand Rankings​

Volkswagen took the lead with an impressive sale of 209,476 units in December 2023, achieving a year-on-year growth of 41.5% and claiming a market share of 10.29%. This made it the only brand to exceed a 10% market share for the month, overtaking BYD, which had consistently held the number one spot for eleven consecutive months.

BYD, not far behind, ranked second with sales amounting to 191,122 units, marking a 43.4% increase from the previous year and securing a 9.39% market share.
Toyota followed in third place, with sales reaching 141,689 units, up by 35.1% year-on-year, resulting in a 6.96% market share. Changan and Wuling completed the top five, with sales of 130,408 and 129,638 units, respectively.

BYD’s dominance in the NEV sector remains unchallenged, leading the EV and PHEV markets with significant shares. The brand held a 26% market share in China’s EV market and an even more dominant 34% share in the PHEV category for the month.

Pure Electric Vehicle Market​

In the pure electric vehicle segment, BYD continued its leadership with sales of 98,423 units, capturing a 26.18% market share. Tesla, with sales of 39,881 units, ranked second, achieving a 10.61% market share in the EV category.

Top Car Models​

The top-selling models in the Chinese market for the month were Changan’s CS75Plus, leading with 40,496 units, followed by Volkswagen’s Lavida with 32,419 units, and BYD’s Song Plus closely behind with 32,267 units sold.

Source: Dongchedi; Yiche

 

[Yommie]

Xiaomi SU7 official interior details and winter testing

More details about the Xiaomi SU7 interior plus winter testing video.

carnewschina.com

Xiaomi SU7 official interior details and winter testing​

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Mark Andrews

February 8, 2024


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More official pictures of the interior of the Xiaomi SU7 give a better idea about what to expect and the design inspiration behind the inside. Also just dropped is a new video showing winter testing of the car.

Although price and delivery commencement are still unknown more complete details about the Xiaomi SU7 grow by the day for what must be one of the most anticipated Chinese cars of 2024. Xiaomi CEO, Lei Jun, has promised deliveries will commence in the first half of the year and the car is likely to be one of the stars at the Beijing Auto Show in April. Car News China expects prices to be around the 300,000 yuan (42,000 USD) mark.
Perhaps the biggest surprise about the Xiaomi SU7 is the presence of buttons and not just a minimum of them, all the more surprising seeing as Xiaomi is a tech company. Core design concepts are good-looking, intuitive, and human-vehicle integration and the SU7 has a human-centered inner-arc around the front occupants provided by a technological driving axis and human-machine interaction.

If that sounds too much like marketing speak what does it mean in practice? First off the inner arc wraps around the front occupants ensuring that all functions are in the most convenient and comfortable position. Supposedly the inner arc not only physically expands the space for passengers, making it more comfortable, but also gives passengers a psychological sense of space extension.
The arc goes from door to door through the steering wheel and along the dashboard. Positioning is meant to provide the occupants with the most comfortable static posture for the arms.

With the technological driving axis it means everything is centered through the middle of the three spoked flat-bottomed steering wheel. This line extends up through the digital speed readout on both the instrument panel and the wide-angle head up display.


According to Xiaomi when the driver sits in the SU7 the central axis of the driver coincides with the axis of technological driving, and that both the gaze movement and driving operation conforms to the body’s intuition and habits.
The Xiaomi SU7 adopts a floating dashboard design integrating the HUD, flip instrument panel and air outlets. Supposedly this means the volume of the components is smaller with the saved space being given over to the occupants.
Remember those buttons mentioned earlier? Well on the center console there are four rocker switches plus the Start/Stop button. These control from top: temperature, fan strength, electric rear wing and air suspension. Xiaomi Auto says that it believes that physical buttons are the most natural way for humans to interact with machines, and they are also the medium for establishing the emotional connection between people and vehicles. The rocker switches mean that they can be operated without being looked at with the controls being intuitive. However, the need for button for the electric rear wing seems questionable and even the one for air suspension is likely to only need occasional use.
Those are not the only buttons on the Xiaomi SU7. If you have a need for a feel you can add a whole row of physical switches underneath the touchscreen by a docking unit.

Winter fun​

Lei Jun emphasized in the unveiling ceremony that Xiaomi aims to be the king of winter range and efficiency. A common problem with EVs is that range reduces significantly with low temperatures. Part of the solution for the Xiaomi SU7 is the in-house developed heat pump. In the video a couple of SU7 sedans tear up the snow and ice in extreme cold of -33°C near Heihe City in Nothern China during winter testing.

Source: Autohome

 

[Yommie]

Volkswagen ID.7 is bigger in China

The Shanghai Volkswagen ID.7 S is longer in China than the European electric car.

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Volkswagen ID.7 is bigger in China​

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Mark Andrews

February 9, 2024


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The Shanghai Volkswagen version of the ID.7 has been revealed by a government regulator in China and there is a big surprise, in fact quite literally, it is longer and wider than the European version.

Volkswagen currently sells its cars through two main joint ventures, one with SAIC and the other FAW. With the complicated state of companies in China there is also a third venture known as Volkswagen Anhui which is 75% owned by VW (25% JAC) and concentrates on the R&D and production of new energy vehicles.

Like with Volkswagen’s ICE cars the ID. range is currently split between the two main JVs. While there is a degree of variation in the ICE models of the competing JVs when it comes to the ID. range each one is duplicated with the exception of the ID.3 which is only produced by Shanghai Volkswagen.

The ID.7 S revealed in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) listings is the one produced by Shanghai Volkswagen (SAIC) – the FAW version is the ID.7 Vizzion. While the ID.7 S is overall larger than the European version it should be noted it’s not a long wheelbase version, the wheelbase remains unchanged at 2966 mm.

Nonetheless length is up significantly on the European version at 5026 mm versus 4961 mm. This translates into both longer overhangs at the front and back. In front it is up 39 mm for a total of 946 mm. Rear overhang is 1114 mm compared to the original 1088 mm. Width is almost the same at 1864 mm against 1862 mm. Height is slightly down at 1537 mm compared to 1538 mm.

China is no stranger to lengthened cars but this has usually been of premium models and via way of long wheelbase versions. There have however been some stretched versions of more mundane cars including many years ago the Citroen ZX Fukang. In more recent years the Skoda Yeti got a 60 mm plug for China and the third generation Ford Mondeo was 10 mm longer.

Power comes from a rear mounted 170 kW motor, there will also be a dual motor version available. Will the extra length of the ID.7 in China help it win sales? We will keep an eye on it!

 

[Yommie]

Great Wall Motor has a bumper January

Great Wall Motor has a good start to 2024 with January sales.

carnewschina.com

Great Wall Motor has a bumper January​

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Mark Andrews

February 9, 2024


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Great Wall announced on February 7 that it had sold 104,030 cars in January a 69% year-over-year increase. Highlights include 25,030 new energy vehicles accounting for nearly a quarter of the total, a 295.5% YoY increase. Overseas sales were 26,374 units, up 64.9% YoY. Furthermore sales of models priced over 200,000 yuan (USD27,920) made up 23.6% of the total with 24,497 units sold, a 9.72% YoY increase.

Looking at the individual brands, they all saw increases. Haval was up 50.8% with sales of 59,103. Although sales of Haval New Energy were up 276.3% they make up a small proportion of overall sales with a total of 6,005 cars.

While sales of Wey were up to 217.3% YoY the total of 3,351 was not particularly impressive.

Tank did much better with sales of 20,067 up 239.3% on the year. More impressively 9,631 of those were new energy vehicles, up 16.7% month-on-month. Sales of the Tank 400 Hi4-T and Tank 500 Hi4-T were 4,586 units and 5,045 units, respectively. January also saw production of the 300,000th Tank 300.

Great Wall’s Ora brand of all electric cars sold 6.001 an increase of 63.3% over last year. Production of the Ora Good Cat (Ora 03) commenced on January 12 at Great Wall’s Rayong New Energy production plant in Thailand. Great Wall claims to be the first auto brand in Thailand able to manufacture hybrid, PHEV and fully electric cars.

GWM’s Poer pickup brand managed to sell 15,466 units, a 32.4% YoY increase.

Sales in China are usually weak in the first quarter with the second half of the year being the best. Going in to 2024 Great Wall seems to have good momentum and should be able to achieve sales in the region of 1.5-2.0 million units. With a string of new product launches such as the Tank 300 Hi4-T and new models from Ora the company should be able to maintain the momentum. The increasing figures for new energy vehicles, an area Geat Wall has struggled with, are particularly welcome.

 

[Yommie]

GAC unveils new editions for Lunar New Year: E8, ES9, and E9

Popular GAC Trumpchi models get Lunar New Year editions with new styling and other enhancements.

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GAC unveils new editions for Lunar New Year: E8, ES9, and E9​

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Adrian Leung

February 10, 2024


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GAC Trumpchi has recently launched new editions of three popular models – E8, ES9, and E9, to celebrate the Lunar New Year. They are showcasing some exterior enhancements.


GAC Trumpchi E8 New Year Edition:
Priced at 235,800 yuan (33,100 USD), the GAC Trumpchi E8 New Year Edition features a new exterior kit and LED headlights. The design includes a distinctive trapezoidal front grille, a five-layer chrome-decorated grille, and segmented headlights. The side profile displays a three-dimensional “Z”-shaped waistline. The dimensions are 4920/1900/1760 mm (L/W/H) and a wheelbase of 2930 mm. Powered by a 2.0L plug-in hybrid system, the GAC E8 delivers a maximum power of 103 kW, torque of 180 Nm, a pure electric range of 150 km, and a comprehensive range of 1200 km.


GAC Trumpchi ES9 New Year Edition:
Priced at 259,800 yuan (36,500 USD), the GAC Trumpchi ES9 New Year Edition features the “Dragon Scale Wing” design. It has a large grille and sharp headlights. The dimensions are 5015/1950/1780 mm (L/W/H) with a wheelbase of 2920 mm. It is equipped with a GAC 2.0T hybrid engine and a 25.57 kWh battery pack. The GAC ES9 provides a mixed range of 1215 km and a pure electric range of 143 km. It supports fast charging, slow charging, external discharge, and in-car power supply.

GAC Trumpchi E9 New Year Edition:

Priced at 352,800 yuan (49,500 USD), the GAC Trumpchi E9 New Year Edition features a brown interior. It has 4-way adjustable headrests for the first-row seats and a 15.6-inch entertainment system. It is powered by GAC’s self-developed 2.0TM hybrid engine. The E9 boasts power of 140 kW, torque of 330 N·m, and a high thermal efficiency of 40.23%. The electric motor has a power of 134 kW and torque of 300 Nm, contributing to a combined power of 274 kW and torque of 630 Nm. The GAC E9 offers a 25.57 kWh battery pack at a CLTC pure electric range of 136 km. It has a WLTC energy consumption of 6.05 L/100 km and a range of 1032 km. The GAC E9 is equipped with SDC electromagnetic suspension, three driving modes, and three energy modes.
Background on GAC:
Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC), is a prominent Chinese automaker based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. It is a key player in both ICE and NEVs. The recently released sales data for 2023 highlights GAC’s growing influence and consumer appeal. In the past year, GAC Motor sold a total of 406,505 vehicles. This signals a significant 12.12% year-over-year increase. Notably, GAC Aion, the brand’s new energy vehicle lineup, experienced a 77.02% year-over-year surge, achieving a sales figure of 480,003 vehicles in the same period.
Source: GAC Motor

 

[Yommie]

Zeekr reveals updated 001 EV with LFP battery: 600 miles (1000km) range​

 

[Yommie]

Volvo joins BYD and Tesla, growing electric car profits by 400% in 2023​

 

[Yommie]

Yangwang U8: 1200 HP Chinese Super SUV​

 

[Yommie]

BYD Seal U review | The Seal U will fill the mid-size SUV vacancy currently in BYD's range.​

 

[Yommie]

Changan CS35 Plus Luxe | Car Review​

 

[Yommie]

New Jetour X90 Plus ( 2024 ) - 1.6L Turbo 7Seater Luxury SUV​

 

[Yommie]

New 2024 HiPhi Z EV - Amazing China SUV - Exterior and Interior 4K| M.z car club|​

 

[Yommie]

Comprehensive Review of the Haval H6 GT - Is It the New Benchmark in SUVs?​

 

[Yommie]

Anticipated Arrival: Tesla's Model 3 Performance Poised for China Launch in Q2​