China’s Automotive Expansion
BYD’s Denza Z
BYD’s new Denza Z, their latest electric supercar, is not only faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo S, which can hit 0 to 62 mph (to 100 km/h) in as little as 2.5 seconds, but also cheaper. electrek.co
BYD's Denza N8 has a claimed 1,003 km range and a 5-minute charge time. The model, which first went on sale in 2023 as a plug-in hybrid, now uses BYD’s Blade Batteries 2.0 to support its electric drivetrain. electrek.co
BYD kicked off pre-orders for their new Fang Cheng Bao Formula S lineup in China. carnewschina.com
Chery’s Luxeed RX was designed by Werner Gruber, a former Ferrari designer. The 586 HP electric coupe-SUV reached more than 250 km/h during a company-described oval proving-ground test. carnewschina.com
The MG 07 is available as either a BEV or a PHEV, with the top electric trim offering a range of around 845 km and a starting price of about $15,600 USD. cnevpost.com
Chinese brands’ sales in Europe through July surpassed their total for all of 2025, with BYD and Chery Group leading 102 percent growth that saw market share hit a record 11.2 percent. autonews.com
Dear “legacy automakers”, Geely wants to teach you how to build cars as quickly as they do with a “reverse joint venture” pitch. autonews.com
Must-Know Musk News
Tesla Needs To Get A Handle On… Its Door Handles
Tesla will voluntarily recall about 3 million of its vehicles in China to address door handle safety concerns and deficient driver monitoring systems. China’s product-safety regulator published similar recall notices from eight other automakers. cnbc.com
Tesla asked Nevada for 5,000 robotaxi permits. They got 10. electrek.co
Tesla prepares to launch the Cybercab with rides for employees starting later this month. reuters.com
A Tesla robotaxi driving without a safety monitor drove straight through a row of bollards protecting a closed-off lane in Austin, then it kept driving. electrek.co
Tesla plans to make their robotaxis fully unsupervised in Austin ahead of their Cybercab launch. theverge.com
Tesla has stopped taking orders for Solar Roof tiles. The dedicated Solar Roof page now directs customers to Tesla’s solar-panels. theverge.com
There are more Tesla Roadster rumblings afloat. reuters.com
Einride plans to add 500 Tesla Semi trucks to its North American fleet. reuters.com
ICYMI: Elon owns 48.4% of SpaceX. theglobeandmail.com
Elon could give every person on the planet $69.420 and he would still be worth nearly $300 billion. finance.yahoo.com
Rise Of The Machines
Unitree G1 Humanoid Robot
Unitree Robotics shares surged in their Shanghai trading debut after the company raised 6.1 billion yuan in an initial public offering, becoming the first listed humanoid robot maker in mainland China. reuters.com | bloomberg.com
Chery is gearing up its robot division for an IPO to help fund future growth and targets delivering 10,000 humanoid bots next year. reuters.com
Alibaba-backed LimX Dynamics has filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering to raise several hundred million dollars. bloomberg.com
Dexmal, the Chinese robotics startup also backed by Alibaba, is in an ongoing funding round targeting around a $3 billion valuation. bloomberg.com
Chinese robot makers showed off humanoids sorting parcels, packing mobile phones and helping with household chores at the World Robot Conference, hoping to demonstrate a shift from crowd-pleasing gymnastics and antics to more viable commercial applications. reuters.com
Amazon’s drone deliveries are landing in pools and ponds. theverge.com
Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record in test run. reuters.com
Energy
Muskrat Falls Generating Station
Hydro-Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador have reached a 50-year electricity supply agreement worth about C$49.3 billion. bloomberg.com
Six proposed and ongoing Canadian crude oil export pipeline projects could raise Canada’s oil export capacity by 2.25 million barrels per day by 2035. reuters.com
US diesel crack spread rose above $100 a barrel for the first time as supply disruptions persisted in the Middle East and Ukraine. reuters.com
California could turn parked EVs into one of its largest sources of energy storage. A study estimates that 10% of California’s projected EV fleet could supply about 9 GW of power for 12 hours through vehicle-to-grid programs by 2036. electrek.co
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that oil drilling in northern and northeastern coastal regions could be “a passport to the country’s future” after visiting a Petrobras offshore drilling vessel following a find announced last week near the mouth of the Amazon River. apnews.com
Wawa launched self-branded Tesla Superchargers earlier this year, and now it’s doing the same with Electrify America EV fast chargers. electrek.co
Walmart opened its 100th company-owned EV fast-charging site, expanding the network to 20 states. electrek.co
Anthro Energy has broken ground on a first-of-its-kind US battery materials factory in Louisville, Kentucky, aimed at producing advanced electrolytes. electrek.co
LG Energy has shifted North American production away from BEV batteries to build Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS) instead. reuters.com
Automakers are re-evaluating who supplies their batteries as requirements shift with evolving chemistries and demand. autonews.com
Fuyao Group has begun mass-production of its vehicle-integrated solar glass sunroof, which embeds photovoltaic cells into laminated automotive glass. carscoops.com
But Wait, There’s More
Ford’s Unnamed Hypercar
Ford hopes its new Hypercar will be its next Le Mans winner. arstechnica.com
Ford is expected to expand its lineup with a pickup version of the Bronco, a four-door Mustang (weird) and a smaller Transit van. autonews.com
Stellantis has a rearview camera software problem. reuters.com
GM has an engine failure problem. reuters.com
Toyota is quickly closing the sales gap with GM, threatening to end the American auto giant’s nearly 100-year reign atop the U.S. auto market. wsj.com
The 2027 bZ is now on sale, with US prices starting at $34,980 and Canada prices at CA$45,985, and the delivery fee brings the starting price to about $36,576. Toyota adds a NACS charging port and a longer range, with the XLE FWD delivering up to 236 miles and the FWD Plus model delivering up to 314 miles. electrek.co
Genesis introduced the GV90, a full-size electric SUV with seating for up to seven. Hyundai expects it to compete with the Cadillac Vistiq, Escalade IQ, Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, and Rivian R1S. cnbc.com
Hyundai has set 2027 IONIQ 5 pricing from $35,250 for the SE Standard Range. The base model has an EPA-rated 245 miles of range. electrek.co
Kia’s EV3 GT is the range-topping version of the compact electric SUV. Its dual-motor AWD setup produces 288 horsepower, and US pricing starts at $45,890. electrek.co
Hyundai is considering increasing production at its Georgia plant as part of a planned $26 billion US investment through 2028. cnbc.com
Hyundai Motor's South Korean union staged its first full walkout in ten years. The union is demanding higher wages, an increased retirement age, and job protections against AI and automation. reuters.com
VW CEO Oliver Blume warned that the car industry’s problems are likely to intensify in the coming years, arguing deep cost cuts were needed to keep Europe's top automaker afloat as it gears up for its planned restructuring. reuters.com
The Audi S6 Sportback E-tron proves that sedans still matter. theverge.com
JLR launched the retro-styled Freelander 8, the first product from the Chery-JLR Freelander joint venture in China. electrek.co
A bespoke model of Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle sold for $40 million in a charity sale, setting a record for a new car sold at auction. cnbc.com
Also, Rivian’s micromobility spinout, raised $150 million in a Series D round led by Prysm Capital. The company says it will use the funding to develop autonomous delivery vehicles and additional electric vehicle formats. techcrunch.com
Lucid simplified its 2027 Air lineup and added a Stealth & Sound Package to the entry Air Pure. The Air Grand Touring remains rated for up to 512 miles of range, while pricing stays unchanged across four trims. electrek.co
A Quebec City Nissan dealer was found guilty of misrepresenting a Murano purchase. The case concerns disclosures made during the vehicle sale. autonews.com
US dealerships are increasingly relying on parts and service, along with finance and insurance, to protect profits as new-vehicle sales soften. cnbc.com
Detroit startup Grounded raised $5 million to expand a modular upfitting system for electric and combustion-powered vans. The company also opened a 50,000-square-foot Detroit facility. techcrunch.com
US auto manufacturing employment is declining even as The Donald’s Administration presses for more domestic production. autonews.com
Uber teams up with Zipline to test drone deliveries for Uber Eats in the US. reuters.com
Pony.ai plans to deploy more than 4,000 robotaxis around the world, expanding its international fleet. The move shows the company’s effort to scale its autonomous ride-hailing services outside of China. reuters.com
Waymo has opened its next-generation Ojai robotaxi to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and the company now operates about 300 Ojai robotaxis. Waymo plans to expand to Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego this year, and riders will eventually be able to choose between the Ojai and its Jaguar I-Pace vehicles. techcrunch.com
Waymo has disclosed details of the in-vehicle compute system that powers its robotaxis, including a custom 5-nanometer ASIC that handles incoming sensor data. The company says its fleet operates about 4,000 vehicles in more than 10 cities and completes roughly 500,000 paid trips each week. theverge.com
Waymo spent more than $1 million on federal lobbying from April through June as it sought support for fully autonomous taxi services. The spending brings Waymo closer to Uber’s lobbying activity, while the companies advocate different approaches to robotaxi deployment. arstechnica.com
Google purchased Spirit Airline’s business data, which it plans to use to train future AI models. theverge.com
Bugatti designed a 137 inch folding television. theverge.com
Canadian zero-emission vehicle sales in June reached their highest level in 18 months. The country’s EV adoption rate bounced back into double digits. autonews.com
EV sales are on track to hit record highs this year, with 29% of all new cars purchased around the world expected to be either purely battery-powered models or plug-in hybrids, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency. nytimes.com
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