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China EVs & More

Latest episodes

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Apr 22, 2022 • 50min

Episode #61 - March/Q1'22 China sales numbers, Q2'22 Challenges, Lei goes to New York (auto show)

Tu and Lei start this podcast by highlighting a WeChat moment post by He Xiaopeng, founder of XPeng warning that if issues can’t be contained and resolved production for the entire month of May could be lost. They then move on to review the March & Q1 sales and registration numbers.  Tu takes a few minutes to explain his prior experience working on the supply chain side back in the US and dealing with production disruptions in the automotive and high tech spaces. Since they talked about Q1 numbers, Lei dives deeper into the brand sales numbers that were reported. Lei points out that for the first time, Ford China reported March sales numbers for the Mustang Mach E. Most brand sales numbers were down from Q4’21 which is no surprise. Tu and Lei agree that the Volkswagen ID Series sales numbers continue to disappoint and Tu takes a few minutes to explain that the opportunity to build sales momentum starts when the product is launched when you have a marketing budget that’s supposed to build excitement for the product. One year into the initial launch of the ID.4 and sales are still hovering around 10K/month which points to a lack of overall enthusiasm for the products. Tu stresses that it’ll be difficult to ignite any real excitement for the products after having been in the market an entire year already. Tu takes a few minutes to rant about Newsweek’s article about automotive disruptors without any mention of Tesla or any Chinese EV makers. Lei then talks about his trip to the New York International auto show and how Hyundai and Vinfast seemed to be the BIG news along with a few American EV startups that he’d not heard of until that event. 
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Apr 12, 2022 • 56min

Episode #59 - EV100, XPeng earnings, Talking about Lotus & Vinfast

Tu and Lei start this show out by paying homage and giving a big shout-out to their friends that live in Shanghai that are currently on lockdown. After the headlines, Lei gives everyone a lesson on the EV100 Conference that is normally held each January but was delayed and finally put online last week. One highlight of the EV100 was the announcement from Horizon Robotics about licensing their IP to OEMs so that the OEMs could piggyback off of their existing chip technology in order to design their own SoCs.Tu shifts the conversation over to compelling design takes a happy marriage between hardware and software and one without the other would likely make for a bad UX.The discussion then shifts to XPeng earnings. Lei summarizes the ‘flagpoles’ that XPeng is planting this year likely hit their margins in 2021. The momentum of the P5 & G9 should help them build on their margins as XPeng only needs to focus on marketing these vehicles and launching them on time and on budget. Tu then shifts to talking about the launch of the Lotus Eletre and the reactions on social media from the various interested parties. Lei discusses how surprised he was about the Lotus’s extensive sensor kit for ADAS/AV and how now LiDAR and premium sound have become qualifying features in the near-premium/premium segments. Tu closes out the pod with his take on Vinfast and their aggressive moves into the US market including their recent announcement of building a factory in North Carolina. 
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Apr 1, 2022 • 48min

Episode #57 - Record Profits for OEMs, Didi Motor Company, and EV Pricing Increases

Lei begins this podcast with announcements from the OEMs of record profits in these tough times and the cognitive dissonance of profiting the most during the most challenging times. Tu updates on the current situation on the ground in China with regard to the Covid situation and where the lockdowns are currently taking place and what he thinks will happen with the Beijing auto show that’s scheduled to happen in just over a month’s time.Tu takes over for Lei to make the announcements this week since Lei was traveling. Tu lists all the cars brands in China that have raised pricing of their vehicles, it’s a long list. Tu highlights a Financial Times deep dive into VW Group’s reliance on the China market. A fascinating piece for those that follow VW Group closely.Tu and Lei move on to a conversation about recently announced vehicles that’ll soon enter the China market, with a few of them also likely to be exported to a market near you.Tu and Lei then discuss the recent rumor that Didi is getting int car manufacturing, a Didi Motor Company perhaps and whether either of them thinks it makes sense. The topic moves to TuSimple and what looks to be a planned split between their US and China entities. This turns into a broader discussion about the AV sector including what could happen to US/Chinese hardware developers. All indications point to a similar hard look at how they will be treated by each country. Tu and Lei close out the pod with a discussion on how the short-term increase in EV pricing may initially scare off US consumers and whether or not that’s a good or bad thing for legacies. 
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Apr 1, 2022 • 49min

Episode #58 - Li One on loan, Long Talk about NIO, Merc's Tech Day

The episode starts with a discussion about Li Auto loaning a Li One out to Tu for a week in order to get his feedback on the SUV. The conversation moves on to NIO being one of the last EV makers to raise prices and Tu points out why NIO may have a bit more flexibility than their competitors that are building their own vehicles. Still talking about NIO Tu & Lei go over NIO’s earnings and evolves into a longer discussion about NIO’s current situation, their strategy, and where their announced investments, including increasing the R&D staff to 9K people could lead them in the future. Lei then talks about his experience with the Mercedes Tech Day that he attended in LA and gets into a broader discussion about how its new EQS will be one of the first vehicles to offer Level 3 (L3) autonomous and what conditions need to be met in order to activate that function. Tu and Lei get into a detailed discussion about what needed to happen for the L3 feature to be used on the roads in Europe and what would likely happen before the end of the year when the feature will be launched in the US. Tu closes out the podcast by moving the discussion to BYD’s just-announced partnership with Shell. Lei pulls out the discussion to a broader look at how these traditional petrol companies are now rebranding and reinventing themselves to maintain relevance during the cleantech push. 
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Apr 1, 2022 • 1h 15min

China EVs & More MAX Episode #5 (ME) - Elliot Richards, Fully Charged East Asia Correspondent

In this latest MAX episode, Tu & Lei invite Elliot Richards, the East Asia Correspondent from Fully Charged, a YouTube channel dedicated to promoting all things clean energy.Elliot has spent the last two years test driving and reviewing many of the electric vehicles from the Chinese EV brands that Tu and Lei talk about each week on China EVs & More. In this fun and relaxed episode Tu, Lei, and Elliot trade stories about how they got 'into' cars and much more. Does Elliot really think these cars can compete with the Germans, Americans, Japanese, and Koreans? What's the best car that he's driven? How did he get into this role? For anyone that wants to get beyond how some of the China EV Inc cars look, this is a MUST LISTEN TO episode. 
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Mar 28, 2022 • 50min

Episode #56 - The Two Sessions, the Chinese Brands Have 'Made it,' and NIO ET7 Launch Buzz

The podcast starts with Lei giving us an overview of the annual, and critically important 两会 or Two Sessions conference that sets the agenda for the year’s governmental priorities. NEVs have been a major priority of the Two Sessions for the last several years for instance and it was no different for this session.Tu then talks about how the number of new brands being established in China has really pushed a significant increase in the level of competition there and how the Chinese government has begun to take a step back to allow all of these brands across the different market segments push the market forward, drive innovation to make these cars more feature rich, yet affordable. He is doubtful that the few EV startups in the US alongside the legacies who’ve begun to pivot their products to clean energy are enough of a critical mass to quickly get sales to that same tipping point. He is curious and hopeful that as the US govt begins to take a more active role in the sector that there will be a number of startups that enter the market to challenge the established brands. The discussion transitions to Lei reflecting on what Stephan Wöllenstein meant when he said that ‘Chinese brands have made it’ during China EVs & More MAX episode interview with him. Lei talks about how desirable Chinese EV products have become with Tu and Lei both agreeing that 500K RMB automobiles built by Chinese companies would likely NOT have been considered by a Chinese consumer just 4-5 years ago but are now redefining premium in China.  A prime example of what they’re referring to is the interest on Twitter that the NIO ET7 launch received worldwide. This was excitement neither Lei or Tu had seen in some time and it was for a Chinese EV brand. Lei insists that NIO is due because they’ve been out of the news for sometime since this is their first new product since the ET7 was unveiled 14 months ago. 
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Mar 19, 2022 • 59min

Episode #54 - Faraday Future's future, NIO mobile phone's and Lei's Hertz Tesla Experience

Lei heads to California for a family vacation so Tu takes over for this week’s headlines.Tu and Lei kick off this week’s pod by talking Faraday Future’s pre-production vehicle that was unveiled earlier in the week. Lei moves the conversation over to the news that NIO is getting into mobile phones and how this is a trend that other automakers and technology companies will follow. Tu broadens the discussion on NIO and the implications of the increased capacity coming online later this year for them. The discussion heads over to the brewing Tesla vs. BYD biggest EV maker in the world title that both are vying for with their recent announcements of increased capacity. Tu talks about how the west has not only begun to pay attention to China EV Inc but also China Battery Swapping Inc with the news that CATL will be launching a battery swapping service. Where does battery swapping fit into the charging infrastructure conversation and who will end up taking on that technology? Tu explains why battery swapping lends itself so well to the China market.Lei closes out the pod detailing his experience renting a Hertz Tesla Model 3 for a week in California. It looks like Tesla has another convert!
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Mar 14, 2022 • 1h 2min

Episode #55 - Ford's Big Split, Stellantis Global / China Strategy & Lei Drives a Tesla Model 3

Tu starts out the pod talking about Rivian’s marketing and pricing missteps with Lei reminding everyone that the EV startups will run into these types of challenges as they gain footing into the market. Tu then shares his thoughts on Ford’s announcement this week about splitting the company into Ford Blue, the division focusing on ICE development & Ford Model e, the division that will build out Ford's EV & mobility services strategy and why it was such an important move to hire Doug Field and let him take on the lead role for Ford Model e. Lei moves on to discuss Stellantis' China strategy which is was part of his overall strategy review. Stellantis China will take on an asset light approach to China leaning on brands like Jeep, Citröen, and Peugeot.  February sales was due to be a slow month due to Chinese New Year but BYD & Tesla seemed to buck that trend they continue with their expectations for BYD for 2022 and its likely consistent sales of >100K / month starting in March as long as long as they can continue to manage supply chain issues so that they don’t affect production in any significant way.Lei moves the conversation over to Li Auto’s earnings their grand ambitions and how they’ve contrasted themselves vs. XPeng and NIO.Tu talks about Lotus's new electric SUV that’s to be unveiled at the end of March and how Lotus is following the playbook of Porsche, Bentley, Rolls Royce, and other sports car brands that eventually launched SUVs. Lei closes out the pod with his experience of spending a week driving a Hertz Tesla Model 3. 
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Mar 8, 2022 • 53min

China EVs & More MAX Episode #4 (ME) - Dr Stephan Wöllenstein, Volkswagen Group China CEO

In this MAX episode, Lei gets the chance to ask Dr. Wöllenstein for his take on the challenging 2021 VW Group had in China and what his outlook for the company is for 2022 and beyond.In particular, Dr. Wöllenstein gives us his take on how the ID. Series will perform here in China in 2022 and beyond, what he thinks of his Chinese competitors, and his outlook on expanding VW Group R&D in China. He also talks about how "China has finally made it" in terms of the domestic Chinese players finally catching up to (and even surpassing!) the foreign automakers in terms of market share and innovation, and that foreign automakers need to treat China as a "two-way street" (both as a market and innovation powerhouse) rather than a "one-way street" many years before when they simply imported technologies and anything would sell on the the market.This might be one of the last extended interviews that Dr. Wöllenstein gives about the China market before he heads back to Germany in August so don't miss out on his thoughts!
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Feb 24, 2022 • 54min

Episode #53 - Recap on Week #1 MOBILIT/E Conference, Discussion with Porsche China CEO

China EVs & More turns 1 year old! Tu starts the podcast out by summarizing the first week of the MOBILIT/E Conference and Tu & Lei discuss some of the highlights of the week.Lei details his interview with outgoing Porsche China CEO Jens Puttfarcken and Porsche's amazing streak of 20 years of growing sales in China. Tu and Lei move on to how large and complex a company BYD is and how they're well-positioned to take advantage of the global pivot towards EVs and then discuss the news about Volkswagen Group rumored to be acquiring Huawei's autonomous vehicle group. They both discuss Baidu Apollo launching its robotaxi service in Shenzhen, becoming the only AV company with pilot programs in each of the tier 1 cities. Tu and Lei close out the pod by talking about how Diess has been a polarizing figure to a normally low-key Volkswagen management style and how NIO management has targeted BMW as THE competitor that their vehicles are going after. 

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