For decades, China’s automotive joint ventures followed a familiar formula: foreign carmakers supplied technology, brands and product blueprints, while their Chinese partners contributed manufacturing capacity, distribution and access to the world’s largest car market.

On August 6, 2026, Li Auto put the rear-wheel-drive, long-range version of its i8 on sale without the usual build-up.

“Let the team that lives on this land every day define the cars Chinese customers drive every day.” That was the message GAC Honda used at a strategy briefing in Taiyuan to frame a new phase of its partnership with Honda, now extended through 2038.

July’s delivery figures exposed an increasingly sharp divide among China’s electric-vehicle startups.

China’s car market delivered two sharply different pictures in July 2026. Passenger-vehicle retail sales at home fell to roughly 1.52 million units, a seasonally weak level and lower than a year earlier.  

The launch of the Volkswagen ID. AURA T6 marks more than the arrival of another electric vehicle.

For state-backed automakers such as SAIC Motor and BAIC Group, the real solution to rebuilding market confidence may not lie in short-term capital market measures, but in their ability to compete in the next phase of electric vehicles and intelligent mobility.

Ford’s recent partnership with Geely over European manufacturing capacity has triggered speculation that the US automaker may be reducing its commitment to Changan Ford.

A flagship debut, the decline of a once-core model and a restructuring pledge may appear contradictory. 

 After BYD unveiled its latest flash-charging technology, China's EV industry returned to a familiar question: is ultra-fast charging better than battery swapping?