MKBHD reviewed the SU7
No foreign carmaker, however, is doing more to become Chinese than VW. It is planning to release 30 new mass-market EV models in the country over the next five years, with the first due in early 2026. They will come with advanced self-driving capabilities and sleek interiors sporting large display panels—features that Chinese buyers often prize above all else—and will be significantly cheaper to make than earlier models. VW is also considering selling the cars in Asian markets such as Thailand, which Chinese companies are currently bombarding with cheap EVs.
To do this, VW is overhauling how it operates. It has built an innovation centre in the city of Hefei that employs more than 3,000 engineers, most of whom are Chinese. The facility is fully owned by VW, rather than being jointly held with a state-owned Chinese partner (which its local carmaking factories are). Perhaps its biggest advantage is that it has the ability to make many decisions without approval from headquarters in Germany. That freedom has helped reduce the time it takes to develop a new EV by about 30%.
BEIJING, Dec 11 (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry on Thursday said negotiations with the European Union over a minimum price plan for China-made electric vehicles have restarted and would continue into next week, while urging the bloc not to talk independently with manufacturers. The 27-member bloc duties of up to 45.3% in October 2024 after the European Commission began investigating whether China's EV makers were benefiting from unfair subsidies that could lead to a supply glut in Europe.
"China welcomes the EU's renewed commitment to restarting price undertaking negotiations and appreciates its return to the path of resolving differences through dialogue," said He Yadong, a commerce ministry spokesperson, at a regular news conference. He said that had taken place in recent days and would continue into next week, without giving further details.
Earlier this year, I speculated whether China would see NEV penetration rate cross 60% on a monthly basis in 2025. Unless December surprises us, this does not seem likely.
![]()
There will be some mild subsidy cuts after 2026/01/01, so we may need to wait a bit longer. Still, given the huge size of China, it's obviously still incredible how fast this has taken.