China’s automotive sector braces for an escalating price war, and the intensified scramble for market share could hasten the closure of unprofitable laggards.

AeroHT, an affiliate of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng, has started the countdown for the commercialisation of its flying car and plans to start taking pre-orders in the fourth quarter of this year.

International marques are mounting a spirited fightback, focusing on reliability and safety, and providing a mixed bag of petrol and electric cars for a new generations of local customers.

But American treasury secretary says the policy option is something Washington ‘would be prepared to use if necessary’.

Chinese electric vehicle start-up Xpeng said its partnership with AI chip supplier Nvidia has not been affected by tighter US trade sanctions, but it will keep its options open with local suppliers.

Nissan Motor unveiled four new electric vehicle models at the Beijing Auto Show and vowed to build more EV products ‘in China, for China’ in an attempt to recover lost sales.

The carmaker hopes to lure high-end Chinese consumers amid an escalating price war among some of its top rivals.

The Chinese tech giant already counts more than 100 carmakers and various automotive industry players as partners.

Further discounts offered by carmakers in a price war in mainland China’s electric vehicle market could ensnare even the likes of top seller BYD, Goldman Sachs says.

The German carmaker, which saw its market share shrink in China last year, said it plans to launch 30 new electric cars on the mainland by 2030 as it vies to keep up with the rapid pace of electrification in the world’s largest vehicle market.

Tesla launch of ‘new models’ by early 2025 in an advanced timeline would use its current platforms and production lines

Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi has declared initial victory in its foray into the crowded electric vehicle market, claiming more than 70,000 orders for its SU7 sedan in the first month.

Li Auto , Tesla’s nearest rival in mainland China, reduced the price of all its vehicles by up to 5.7 per cent, just a day after the US carmaker offered discounts to local customers amid an escalating discount war.

Musk has ordered the company’s biggest lay-offs ever and staked its future on a next-generation, self-driving vehicle concept called the robotaxi. People familiar with his directives are unsettled by the changes the CEO wants to push through.

Tesla has cut the prices of its Shanghai-made vehicles by more than 5 per cent in mainland China, joining an intensifying discount war in the country amid a slowdown in the carmaker’s sales globally.

Hesai, which released new products based on its ATX technology on Friday, is seriously considering building plants outside mainland China to capitalise on the growing use of the technology, CEO Li says.

The affected vehicles have a fault with their accelerators that could cause the pedal to jam, Tesla said.

The internet giant’s Intelligent Driving Group will strive for ‘100 million yuan of revenue and 100 million yuan of profits’, unit head Wang Yunpeng writes in a letter to employees.

Beijing-based Li Auto has priced the new L6 SUV from 249,800 yuan (US$34,509) onwards, 5 per cent cheaper than Tesla’s popular Model Y.

Only a few dozen employees at the Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai were told to leave, representing a tiny portion of the workforce of 20,000 assembling Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, say two people with knowledge of the matter.

Banma Network Technologies, an Alibaba-backed autonomous-driving software start-up, has replaced its CEO amid an overhaul.

German industry debates how to proceed after finding cracks in a once robust and mutually beneficial relationship.

Carmakers like Dongfeng, Chery and BYD are eyeing production sites in Europe to assemble the next generation of electric vehicles as a foil against the EU’s protectionist tariffs as a brutal price war at home drives more producers offshore in search of fresh markets.

Chinese state-owned carmaker Chery Automobile takes a step into Europe’s EV markets as its Omoda brand establishes a partnership with UK car rental company Octopus Electric Vehicles.

Xiaomi’s roaring entry into the electric vehicle market is dimming the recovery outlook for China’s beaten down car start-ups, with better-than-expected initial orders for the SU7 helping a rally its shares.

Ahead of China’s quarterly GDP release, survey figures reflect how difficult times have been for half a billion Chinese people, and where their priorities now lie.

The electric version of the motorised cargo tricycle, long used in China, has drawn interest in the United States after a social media account showed one in Dearborn, Michigan.

Spotlight Automotive, BMW’s 50-50 EV venture with mainland Chinese partner Great Wall Motor, is designing new models that it hopes to sell globally.