China EVs & More

In Episode 235, Tu and Lei break down a pivotal week for autonomous driving, global EV competition, and the future of premium automakers—from Silicon Valley to China and Europe.  
The conversation opens with a surge of AV and robotaxi news: Tesla removing safety drivers in Austin, shifting FSD to a subscription model, and signaling potential approval in China and Europe; Waymo expanding into Miami; DiDi launching a new robotaxi platform in China; and large-scale robo-van ambitions from Mobileye–Volkswagen and Geely’s Caocao Mobility. Together, these moves signal that autonomy is no longer experimental—it’s scaling.
Tu frames autonomy through four lenses: technology readiness, silicon and cloud stacks, regulatory approval, and societal impact, including job displacement and cost reduction through scale. While Tesla remains the benchmark, Chinese players like XPeng, Huawei, and Baidu are rapidly closing the gap—supported by a more permissive regulatory environment in China.
The episode then pivots to a blunt assessment of the premium auto sector. Porsche’s collapse to ~42,000 units in China, deep price cuts from BMW and Mercedes, and the stark comparison between Porsche’s Macan EV and Xiaomi’s YU7 highlight how “premium” is being redefined by software, features, and price—not heritage.
Tu and Lei argue that the high-margin glory days for German luxury brands are over, not just in China but globally, as Chinese OEMs demonstrate faster iteration, lower costs, and mass-market appeal—especially to younger and female buyers. The discussion closes with battery swapping (BAAS), cold-weather EV realities, and whether Chinese automakers could realistically build trust and scale in North America.
Strategic, candid, and forward-looking, this episode explains why autonomy and affordability—not badges—will define the next era of the auto industry.
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⏱️ Chapter Timestamps (for YouTube description)
00:00 – Welcome & episode overview
02:20 – January slowdown in China EV sales explained
02:45 – Tesla autonomy headlines & safety driver removal
04:10 – FSD approval talk in China & Europe
05:25 – Cannonball Run: Tesla zero-intervention drive
06:45 – Framing autonomy: tech, policy, jobs & scale
09:30 – Robotaxi expansion: Waymo, DiDi & China vs US
10:50 – Robo-vans at scale: Mobileye–VW & Geely plans
12:30 – Regulation: why China is moving faster on L3/L4
14:15 – Tesla vs Chinese AV players: closing the gap
16:10 – Porsche’s collapse in China
17:45 – Are the best days over for BMW, Mercedes & Audi?
18:30 – Macan EV vs Xiaomi YU7: a brutal comparison
20:30 – How China is redefining “premium”
22:15 – Renault’s China R&D model as a blueprint
24:00 – Pricing traps: halo cars & product cannibalization
26:00 – Volkswagen ID.ERA 9X and pricing pressure
28:00 – Margin compression & operating like a startup
30:15 – Cadillac, GM & Chinese tech partnerships
31:50 – Battery swapping & cold-weather EV realities
34:30 – BAAS in North America: why it’s hard
37:00 – Can Chinese brands win trust in the West?
39:30 – Audience Q&A
42:00 – Final thoughts & what’s n

Episode 234 may go down as one of the most consequential conversations yet on China EVs & More. Tu and Lei unpack the Canada–China trade truce that effectively opens the door for Chinese EV imports into North America—and why this moment could trigger a chain reaction across the U.S., Mexico, and global auto markets.  
Canada’s decision to allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs at just 6.1% tariffs isn’t about volume—it’s about symbolism. Once the door opens, it rarely closes. The hosts explain why this move pressures the U.S. ahead of USMCA renegotiations, accelerates conversations around Chinese manufacturing in Canada, and raises the stakes for GM, Ford, and the German luxury brands already losing ground in China.
The episode also breaks down 2025 China auto and NEV sales, showing a maturing but brutally competitive market where growth now comes from stealing share, not market expansion. With BYD, Geely, Chery, Leapmotor, and Huawei-backed brands targeting aggressive 2026 volumes, the pressure on legacy OEMs—especially BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche—has never been higher.
Tu and Lei debate which Chinese OEMs are best positioned for Canada and eventually the U.S., why affordable EVs in the $30–40K range are the real battleground, and how price cuts of 10–25% by German brands reveal structural inefficiencies long masked by premium margins.
Strategic, provocative, and deeply grounded in real data, this episode explains why North America just entered a new phase of the China EV story—and why the next 12–18 months may redefine the global auto industry.
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⏱️ Chapter Timestamps (for YouTube description)

00:00 – Welcome & episode overview
01:30 – Personal EV ownership pain: Hyundai IONIQ 5 breakdown story
05:55 – Breaking news: Canada–China EV trade truce explained
07:40 – Why 49,000 EVs matters more symbolically than numerically
09:30 – What this means for the U.S. & USMCA negotiations
11:30 – Could Chinese automakers build in Canada next?
13:45 – Which Chinese OEMs are best positioned for North America
16:10 – Canada vs U.S. consumer demand & EV affordability
18:50 – 2025 China auto & NEV sales breakdown
21:30 – A maturing market: growth vs market-share battles
24:10 – BYD, Geely, Chery & Leapmotor’s 2026 ambitions
27:10 – German automakers’ reckoning in China
30:20 – BMW & Mercedes price cuts expose margin pressure
33:15 – Porsche’s dramatic collapse in China
35:50 – Flagship EVs eating into German luxury sedans
38:20 – Why affordable EVs are the real global battleground
41:10 – Chinese speed vs legacy inefficiency
44:30 – Audience Q&A: unions, manufacturing & homologation
48:00 – Can Chinese EVs be driven into the U.S. from Canada?
51:30 – Final thoughts & what to watch next

Kicking off 2026, Tu and Lei return from CES in Las Vegas with firsthand insights into how the global auto industry’s center of gravity continues to shift toward China, AI, autonomy, and robotics.  
This episode unpacks why CES is no longer about cars, but about who controls the software, silicon, sensors, and robots that will define the next decade of mobility. From Geely and Great Wall’s growing U.S. ambitions, to Hyundai’s robot-only keynote, to Ford’s quiet but meaningful autonomy reset, the hosts connect dots that most headlines missed.
Tu and Lei also break down the Geely “coming to the U.S.” scoop, Rivian-style AI days spreading to legacy OEMs, and why Western automakers are increasingly borrowing from China’s playbook—from ADAS and silicon strategy to embodied AI and robotics.
The episode closes with a deep dive into autonomy’s three tracks (L2++, consumer L3/L4, and robotaxis), the growing importance of LiDAR scale, and why Donut Labs’ solid-state battery and in-wheel motor reveal could become a true industry disruptor—if it scales.
Fast, candid, and packed with on-the-ground context, this episode explains why CES 2026 marked a turning point—and why the race is no longer just EVs vs ICE, but ecosystems vs incumbents.
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In this episode, Tu and Lei dive into a week dominated by autonomy, AI, and a widening gap between China’s EV ecosystem and the rest of the world.  
The episode opens with a deep reaction to Rivian’s Autonomy AI Day—why it felt like déjà vu for anyone following China’s smart-EV space, and how Rivian’s announcements mirror what Chinese players like XPeng, NIO, and Li Auto have already been deploying. The hosts debate whether Rivian’s approach represents real leadership or simply entry into the top tier.
From there, the conversation expands to L4 autonomy momentum: WeRide launching passenger rides with Uber in Dubai, Mercedes partnering with Momenta in Abu Dhabi, and Waymo accelerating multi-city deployments while publishing safety data others still keep opaque.
Tu and Lei also tackle the LiDAR vs. vision debate, Volkswagen’s unusual dual bet on Rivian (US) and XPeng (China), and why silicon strategy—not just batteries—will decide winners. The discussion closes with affordability: why 300-mile EVs under $40K are existential for Western OEMs, and why China’s cost structure makes that challenge unavoidable heading into 2026.
Candid, comparative, and forward-looking, this episode explains why autonomy and AI—not just electrification—will define the next phase of the global auto industry.
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In Episode 229, Tu and Lei unpack the November China EV sales inflection point and what it reveals about the next phase of the global auto industry.  
With subsidies set to expire in 2026, November marked the real start of China’s year-end “mad dash.” The numbers show a clear split: Xiaomi, XPeng, Leapmotor, Geely, and NIO accelerating, while BYD and Li Auto lose momentum and Tesla slips into negative growth territory in China.
The hosts explain why Xiaomi’s YU7 and SU7 have proven unusually resilient, how XPeng’s AI-first strategy is paying off, and why Leapmotor and Geely are now knocking on the million-unit club—a threshold that even legacy premium brands have failed to reach in China.
They also tackle the bigger strategic question facing Western automakers: Is it still worth competing in China? Tu and Lei argue that China remains irreplaceable as the world’s largest single passenger-vehicle market—and that exporting from China, leveraging local tech partners, and embracing “China-for-China” design is no longer optional.
The episode closes with a deep discussion on embodied AI, smart glasses, silicon strategy, and why companies like Xiaomi, XPeng, and Li Auto are no longer just carmakers—but ecosystem builders trying to define the future of mobility.
Insightful, data-driven, and grounded in real market dynamics, this episode explains why 2026 may be the most decisive year yet for both Chinese EV leaders and global legacy automakers.
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