The Change Optimist: Weekly News Roundup - November 1, 2026

Li Auto launches 2026 Li i6 in China: upgraded hardware and starting at 35,800 USD
Li Auto’s 2026 Li i6 arrives in China with a limited introductory price of 239,800 yuan ($35,800), undercutting the current model by 10,000 yuan and switching away from CATL battery cells. The update adds ADB headlights, Li's Mach M100 intelligent-driving chip and a Qualcomm 8797 cockpit processor, and includes dual zero-gravity front seats plus an electric front trunk that existing owners can buy as a paid upgrade. carnewschina.com

Chery considers manufacturing in Canada
Chery Automobile is considering taking over idle capacity at a Canadian plant as it prepares to launch vehicle sales in Canada next year. autonews.com

Chery’s Luxeed to launch six NEV models globally
Luxeed, Chery’s premium brand launched with Huawei in 2023, plans to roll out six NEV models worldwide across three product lines with three powertrain variants. The V9 minivan and RX SUV, renamed LLounge and Stormax, will lead the global push and arrive in markets including Australia. carnewschina.com

BYD now has 1.02 million workers, more than Toyota, GM, Ford, and Tesla combined
BYD now employs 1.02 million people, more than Toyota, GM, Ford, and Tesla combined, after adding roughly 150,000 workers since the end of 2025. About 960,000 are based in China, and around 60,000 work abroad, with up to 120,000 listed as R&D engineers working on batteries, motors, electronic controls, and semiconductors. electrek.co

BYD’s ultra-luxury EV could debut next week with solid-state batteries and much more
BYD’s upcoming Yangwang flagship is set to be the company’s largest and most luxurious sedan, and it could debut in the UAE next week, featuring Rolls-Royce-style coach doors and solid-state batteries. Yangwang is at the top of BYD’s brand hierarchy, and the division previously launched models on a quad-motor e4 platform that delivered about 1,300 horsepower and used DiSus-X intelligent body tech. electrek.co

BYD opens orders for 2nd-generation Seal 07
BYD has opened blind orders for the second-generation Seal 07, retaining its Ocean Aesthetics 2.0 styling while extending the wheelbase to 2,960 mm to increase cabin space. A roof-mounted LiDAR suggests the car may get BYD’s God’s Eye B driver-assistance system, and the model measures 5,080 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,495 mm high. carnewschina.com

Geely Auto's Q3 earnings reveal a harsh reality: Car sales in China are barely profitable
Geely Auto posted 99 billion yuan in Q3 revenue, and a core net profit of 5.21 billion yuan, yet exports alone accounted for about 4.84 billion yuan of that net profit. After shipping 343,700 vehicles overseas in Q3, the company raised its annual export target from 640,000 to 920,000 units. carnewschina.com

Geely launches 2027 Emgrand with 12.8-inch screen and 540° camera, starts at 8,400 USD
Geely’s refreshed 2027 Emgrand Upward Series arrives in China with revised front styling, a 12.8-inch Flyme Auto touchscreen, and a 540° camera. It keeps a 1.5‑litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, and promotional pricing starts at 59,900 yuan (about $8,410) through November 30, 2026, with a 9,000‑yuan discount across the range. carnewschina.com

GWM’s Svolt began mass production of 100 kWh semi-solid batteries
GWM’s Svolt has begun mass production of a 100 kWh semi-solid battery called Dragon Armour, with the first packs rolling off the line in Changzhou. Built on a 900V high-voltage system, the pack supports 6C charging and, Svolt says, can add about 500 km of range in 12 minutes. carnewschina.com

GWM releases new Wey Lanshan as a luxury version of the Haval H10
GWM launched the second-generation Wey Lanshan, a plug-in hybrid full-size crossover presented as a higher-spec, more luxurious version of the Haval GWM H10, with a monocoque body and seating for up to six. The H10 debuted in August 2026 at 201,800 yuan, offers up to 440 kW combined peak power and a 42.8 kWh battery for 232 km CLTC range, and sold 19,281 units in China from August to September. carnewschina.com

CATL pushes ahead with 20 Ah solid-state EV batteries
CATL has advanced to 20 Ah solid-state cells and plans to begin small-scale production in 2027 as it pushes toward a roughly 500 Wh/kg energy density. The company held a 39.9% share of the global EV battery market in the first half of 2026 and expects to scale to mass production around 2030. electrek.co

Putin calls Elon a ‘genius’; Russia develops Starlink alternative
Vladimir Putin called Elon a genius while describing Russia’s effort to build a Starlink alternative called Rassvet, and he revealed the two are in “close contact” about developing a Russian alternative to Starlink. The Russian system had 31 satellites in orbit, according to the report, compared with more than 11,000 for Starlink. cnbc.com

Tesla turns to Turo to boost adoption of Full Self-Driving (Supervised)
Turo will start flagging which Teslas on its marketplace have Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and eligible hosts will get a free one-month trial of FSD. The company says it will work with Tesla to access the automaker’s API to verify FSD status, as Tesla reports that about 1.7 million customers have paid for FSD globally, with over 75% of North American new deliveries in Q3 taking a subscription. techcrunch.com

Tesla appears to be preparing to sell US-built Model 3s in Canada again
Tesla Canada updated the Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive page to show 584 km of range and a 0-100 km/h time of 5.2 seconds, the same specs as the Fremont-built Long Range RWD sold in Canada two years ago. The Shanghai-built Model 3 remains rated at 463 km and 6.2 seconds, and the Canadian page lists a curb weight of 1,745 kg. electrek.co

Tesla confirms Vietnam entry to take on VinFast and its 36% market share
Tesla has started hiring in Vietnam, with a recruiter on X saying the company is "officially coming" and listing roles such as sales manager, service manager, and charging project developer. The firm registered Tesla Motors Vietnam LLC in Ho Chi Minh City on September 11 with about 77.7 billion dong in charter capital, while local EV maker VinFast holds roughly 36% of new-car sales this year. electrek.co

Tesla begins humanoid robot production in California
Tesla has begun early production of its Optimus humanoid at the Fremont factory, and says it has installed the vast majority of a production line capable of 1 million units per year. Elon said customer shipments are planned for 2027, and early buyers will likely use the robots for dangerous, repetitive industrial tasks. supplychaindive.com

Tesla drops car referral rewards, now pays owners in FSD for referrals
Tesla now gives a referred buyer one free month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and the referrer gets a free month or a $99 Tesla Credit if that buyer starts paying. Referral links appear under Refer and Earn in the Tesla app (version 4.62.0 or later), and only people who pay for FSD monthly or owned it before Tesla stopped selling it can share them; owners who received FSD via a one-year grant cannot participate. electrek.co

Elon declares Tesla Robotaxi win over Waymo, but Waymo still drives 7x more
Tesla logged 438,000 driverless miles in Austin in one week, narrowly beating Waymo’s four-month-old weekly average of 406,000 miles for the city. But across the US, Waymo still records about seven times as many weekly driverless miles as Tesla, according to company reports compiled by Robotaxi Tracker. electrek.co

Ex-Tesla Autopilot head calls vision-only a “weird religious stance”
Sterling Anderson, GM chief product officer and a former head of Tesla Autopilot, called Tesla’s vision-only approach "a weird religious stance" and said it ignores basic physics. In a Verge interview after GM’s New York tech event, he argued that radar is cheap and can measure instantaneous velocity while cameras cannot see through dense fog, and added that lidar helps camera systems improve faster as Tesla pushes camera-only Cybercabs into driverless service in Austin. electrek.co

SpaceX closes $40 billion debt deal for AI chips, Elon Musk says
SpaceX has closed a $40 billion financing arrangement to buy GPUs for its artificial-intelligence systems, Elon said. The company said the financing primarily consists of callable debt, with the chips expected to arrive in the first and second quarters of 2027. cnbc.com

US Oil Industry Earned Over $130 Billion in Profit During the Iran War
US oil majors, led by Exxon and Chevron, recorded more than $130 billion in combined profit during the Iran war. Those gains came as global crude prices jumped and oil companies raised prices, lifting earnings across exploration, production, and refining. nytimes.com

Diesel prices expected to stay elevated into spring 2027
Fuel executives at the WEX OTR Summit warned that trucking companies could face elevated diesel prices through at least spring 2027, citing geopolitical conflicts, refinery constraints, and limited pipeline capacity that are straining supplies. Chuck Ryan, president and CEO of AMBEST, said prices are unlikely to fall before spring even if global crude oil prices retreat, and cited disruptions from conflicts involving Iran and Russia’s war in Ukraine. freightwaves.com

Equinor profit doubles on soaring oil and gas prices, sees higher output
Equinor’s profit doubled as higher oil and gas prices lifted the Norwegian energy company’s results. The company also pointed to higher output as it reported against a backdrop of stronger commodity prices. reuters.com

US Environmental Protection Agency Loosens Methane Rules for Oil Firms
The E.P.A. is loosening methane rules for oil companies, scaling back monitoring and repair requirements and easing reporting thresholds for many sites. The Donald’s EPA said the changes will cut compliance costs for producers, while environmental groups and several states vowed to sue. nytimes.com

'It’s offensively cheap': How solar power is quietly becoming bigger than nuclear
Solar electricity has overtaken nuclear generation globally, according to BBC analysis of Ember data. Falling panel costs, Chinese manufacturing scale, and cheaper battery storage are helping solar move from a fast-growing power source toward a larger role in the electricity system. bbc.com

New Batteries That Store Blistering Heat Are Taking Off
Firms are converting electricity into blistering heat that can be stored and reused, heating molten salt, silicon, or ceramic media to temperatures above 1,000°C. These thermal batteries can store energy for days to months and are transitioning from pilot projects to commercial deployments for industrial heat and grid backup. nytimes.com

Someone Put 470,000 Miles on a Chevy Bolt EV. Here’s How It’s Holding Up
A 2019 Chevy Bolt logged 471,616 miles before arriving at Out of Spec Renew’s garage, making it one of the higher-mileage EVs documented on YouTube. It already had a battery replacement under the 2021 recall that covered roughly 140,000 Bolt and Bolt EUV models in North America, and shows typical high-mileage wear, such as suspension, wheel-bearing, and steering-rack repairs. thedrive.com

Rivian’s electric van gets 30% more range and AWD
Rivian has started delivering EDVs fitted with a new 129 kWh LFP battery and a dual-motor AWD option, which boosts range by about 30% over the previous roughly 160-mile rating. The company confirmed in its Q3 2026 shareholder presentation that deliveries began in early October and that the upgrades are intended to expand route coverage into more rural networks, including Amazon’s fleet. electrek.co

Rivian R2 Sales Are So Strong It’s Outselling Both R1 Models Combined
Rivian’s smaller R2 SUV is selling faster than the R1T and R1S combined, helping drive a 46% year-over-year jump in deliveries to 19,248 vehicles in the third quarter. That momentum comes while Rivian is only offering the R2 in the Performance trim starting at $59,485, with the Premium listed for late 2026 and the base model lacking a firm arrival date. caranddriver.com

BMW’s new iX5 looks like a big upgrade next to the old X5
From a side-by-side view, the iX5’s Neue Klasse styling and double-X headlights make the redesign obvious, with an upright, slimmer kidney grille replacing the old wide, chunkier look. BMW will offer the fifth-gen X5 across five powertrains, and in the US it will be sold as gas, a plug-in hybrid, and, for the first time, a battery-electric iX5 that goes on sale in November, while the gas 2027 X5 40 xDrive starts at $72,100. electrek.co

BMW is going upscale with its first 3-row EV, the iX7
BMW’s first fully electric three-row SUV, the iX7, is due in 2027 and will sit at the top of the brand’s EV lineup as a more luxurious option. Camouflaged prototypes show a slimmer, more upright kidney grille, small pillar-mounted door handles instead of conventional pull handles, and split headlights rather than the Neue Klasse-style units used on the iX3. electrek.co

Bev has a new job. Congratulations, Bev!
Ford is bringing on a new US executive to lead its Canadian operations as veteran CEO Beverly Goodman transitions to a new role in the United States. Ivan Boykin, most recently Ford’s global executive director of yield management, will take over as CEO of Ford Canada on Dec. 1. Goodman, a Canadian who has spent more than 30 years with Ford Canada and has led the organization since 2021, has been appointed chief of staff to Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley. autonews.com

Ford Oakville Plant Starts Back Up
Ford’s sole Canadian assembly plant has begun production of Super Duty pickups after more than two years of retooling. autonews.com

Ford Recalls 102,159 F-150 and Super Duty Trucks over Faulty Gauges
Ford is recalling 102,159 F-150 and Super Duty trucks because analog speedometers and tachometers can stick or move erratically, which may display incorrect speed without illuminating a warning light. The Super Duty models account for 91,588 of the recalled vehicles, with 10,570 F-150s and one F-750 also affected; owners will be notified by October 30. caranddriver.com

Ford casts 5,000 ‘unicastings’ for Fathom EV truck in Tesla-style shift
Ford has produced more than 5,000 large aluminum unicastings for the Fathom, its $28,350 mid-size electric pick-up, as it fine-tunes the process ahead of a 2027 launch. Each truck gets two single-piece castings, front and rear, replacing 146 individual parts. The castings are made at Shelbyville and shipped to Louisville for testing and prototype builds. electrek.co

GM’s Future Silverados Should Need Fewer Dealership Visits
GM plans a central compute system to enable more over-the-air software fixes, so owners won’t have to visit dealerships for issues that don’t require hardware work. SVP Jaclyn McQuaid told The Drive that the goal is to "significantly reduce what would need a dealership visit versus what can be done OTA," and the system will debut on the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ. thedrive.com

GM Is Leaving NYSE for the Nasdaq After More Than 100 Years
General Motors is moving its primary listing from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq after more than 100 years on the NYSE. The change will place GM on the same exchange as many technology and growth-oriented companies. nytimes.com

GM to pay $220 million to resolve claims it sold driving habits data
A coalition of 36 state attorneys general alleged GM's now-discontinued Smart Driver program funnelled detailed driving-behaviour and location data to brokers. The settlement requires GM to pay $220 million, limit the driving data it collects, and obtain express consent before collecting telemetry such as acceleration, braking, and trip length. theverge.com

GM to offer hybrid SUVs in a strategic pivot from electric
General Motors plans to offer hybrid SUVs as it adjusts its product strategy. The move marks a shift in emphasis from an all-electric push toward a broader mix of powertrains. reuters.com

Honda warns 50% Canada auto tariffs would be catastrophic for the auto industry
Jennifer Thomas, a Honda executive, warned that the Donald’s threat to raise tariffs on Canadian vehicles and parts from 25% to 50% on Jan. 1 would be catastrophic for the auto industry. She urged the US, Canada, and Mexico to preserve a trilateral North American trade framework rather than rely on bilateral deals. cnbc.com

Kia reveals 2027 EV6 prices start at about $38,000, over $8,000 more than the new EV3
Kia left 2027 EV6 pricing unchanged, listing the base Light standard-range RWD at $37,900 before the $1,545 destination fee, about $38,000 and roughly $8,000 more than the new EV3. The standard EV6 uses a 63 kWh battery for up to 237 miles, while the long-range 84 kWh RWD variant delivers up to 319 miles. electrek.co

The 2027 Kia EV9 costs $90 more, but at least you get a few extras
Kia nudged the 2027 EV9’s starting price up $90 to $54,990 while adding a few new standard features on select trims. The base Light short-range trim uses a 76.1 kWh battery with up to 230 miles of range; higher trims use a 99.8 kWh pack for up to 305 miles in RWD; and the GT-Line’s dual-motor setup delivers 379 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, going from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. electrek.co

Hyundai hints at IONIQ P as the name for its new entry-level EV
Hyundai appears set to name its new mass-market electric SUV the IONIQ P, adding a compact model codenamed HE1i to the IONIQ lineup. The vehicle will be made in India and is slated for launch in Q4 FY27, Hyundai said on its third-quarter earnings call. electrek.co

2027 Mercedes-Benz C350 Leaves the ’27 C300 Behind
Mercedes-Benz gives the 2027 C350 a distinct visual and mechanical makeover, while the C300 remains largely a carryover. The C350 gains a new M254 EVO 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine rated at 255 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. caranddriver.com

Mercedes cuts 2026 profit guidance as China woes weigh on German automakers
Mercedes-Benz cut its 2026 profit guidance as weaker demand in China and higher costs weighed on its outlook. The move adds to the pressure facing German automakers in the world’s largest car market. reuters.com

The 2027 Lexus RZ starts at under $50,000 and offers over 300 miles of range
Deliveries of the 2027 Lexus RZ begin early next year, with the base 350e priced under $50,000 and using a 79.6 kWh battery for up to 301 miles of range. The 450e AWD starts at $50,995 with 308 horsepower and 260 miles of range, and the 550e F Sport begins at $58,770 with 402 horsepower. electrek.co

Toyota’s EV sales more than doubled in a year, but gas cars are getting crushed in China
Toyota’s battery-electric sales jumped 127.4% through September to 309,766 BEVs, as refreshed bZ and RZ models and new entries like the C-HR+ and Urban Cruiser broadened the lineup. Shrinking demand for gasoline and hybrid cars in China has pushed Toyota’s global sales lower for three consecutive months. electrek.co

Toyota Details the New Hybrid System Bound for the Next-Gen Corolla
Toyota says the next-generation Corolla will use a new hybrid built around a compact 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, available in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged variants. The smaller engine and electric drive units let the car wear sleeker, more aerodynamic bodywork, and Toyota is targeting about 15 percent better fuel economy. caranddriver.com

Audi to Build Factory in Georgia, Trump Says
Audi plans to build its first US factory in Macon, Georgia, with a $4.2 billion investment and capacity for 200,000 vehicles a year, The Donald said at a rally. Construction is expected to begin next month, with SUVs planned for the site, as Volkswagen seeks to reduce its exposure to the 25% import tariffs affecting Audi’s imported vehicles and parts. nytimes.com

Audi CEO faces backlash after joining Trump at midterm campaign rally
Audi’s chief executive faced criticism from Germany’s IG Metall labour union after appearing with the Donald at a midterm campaign rally. The union’s leader described the appearance as embarrassing, according to Reuters. reuters.com

VW’s new electric Jetta offers 285 miles of range for under $12K
Volkswagen’s Chinese-market Jetta M6 delivers about 285 miles of CLTC-rated range while selling for under $12,000 USD. Built by a FAW-Volkswagen joint venture, it arrives in three trims priced at 79,800, 89,800, and 99,800 yuan, with model numbers that reflect the estimated CLTC range in kilometres. electrek.co

VW’s EV recall spreads to Audi, and owners are told to stop at 80% charge
Volkswagen’s recall now covers more than 9,000 Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron vehicles, and owners are being told to limit charging to 80% of battery capacity. VW told the NHTSA that certain charging profiles, when combined with a state of charge over 80%, may trigger thermal propagation, after earlier recalling 22,524 ID.4 SUVs this month. electrek.co

VW hits pause on the Golf EV as it faces an ‘urgent need for action’
Volkswagen has paused development of the all-electric Golf as it prioritizes cost cuts after reporting its largest quarterly loss since Dieselgate: an operating loss of €5.9 billion driven by a write-down of its Porsche stake, weak sales in China, and lower EV margins. The Wolfsburg plant is about €300 million short of its cost-cutting targets, and VW brand CEO Thomas Schäfer told staff, "We simply can’t afford this work right now." electrek.co

VW, in a strategy shift, plans to globalize China-developed technology
Volkswagen plans to take technology developed for China into other markets as it changes its global strategy. The move reflects the growing importance of Chinese engineering and software work to the automaker’s wider product plans. reuters.com

VW plant’s new recycling hub does little to ease closure fears
A new Volkswagen recycling hub has opened at a plant in China, but it has not eased concerns about possible closures and restructuring. The project comes as the automaker weighs options to reduce costs in a difficult market. reuters.com

VW gets L3 autonomous driving test permit in China, eyes 2027
Volkswagen Group China has a permit to test Level 3 autonomous driving on public roads in Hefei and says testing and large-scale driving data collection are already underway. VW says the permit was issued under China’s strictest L3 framework and that its setup meets the country’s mandatory safety design standards, as it aims to achieve L3 readiness in China by 2027. electrek.co

Rivian expands joint venture with VW to include an AI assistant
Rivian is licensing elements of its AI voice assistant to Volkswagen as part of their $5.8 billion joint venture, the company said in its third-quarter investor presentation. The assistant, which recently rolled out to Rivian vehicles, may debut on VW's low-cost ID. EVERY1 hatchback, and Rivian did not disclose licensing fees or which models will get the tech. techcrunch.com

Kodiak lands first commercial deal to supply driverless trucks for public highways
Kodiak AI will deliver 75 self-driving trucks to DTL Transport starting in 2028, its first binding commercial deal to put driverless big rigs on public highways. The contract arrives as Kodiak prepares to remove human safety operators from cabs and launch a fully driverless highway service this December, initially hauling Ikea goods on I‑45 between Dallas and Houston. techcrunch.com

Aurora adds 500-truck Charger MOU toward 30,000-truck goal
Aurora signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding under which Charger Logistics could buy up to 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks, with deliveries scheduled for 2027 and 2028. Charger would own the trucks and pay Aurora through its Driver-as-a-Service model, and Aurora expects to deploy 200 driverless trucks by the end of February, more than 1,000 by the end of 2027, and a 30,000-truck fleet by 2030. freightwaves.com

Waymo taps Toyota to supply robotaxis for Japan and the U.K.
Waymo will begin testing Toyota bZ4X electric vehicles with its self-driving system in Japan next year, and Toyota will manufacture and integrate the 2027 bZ4X models at its Takaoka factory. The partnership also targets other right-hand-driving markets like the U.K., where Waymo has been testing Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in London and plans to launch a robotaxi service pending permits. techcrunch.com

You read the whole darn thing! Thank you.