CHINA: BYD Unlocks Battery Future, China Price War Cooling and Lotus Enters Low Tariff Canada | 10 Mar 2026

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Welcome back to EV News, China.

Today, BYD unlocks a battery future.

China's price war is cooling.

And Lotus Eyes Canada for EV Entry.

Plus, stay tuned.

Later in the podcast, I'll tell you why.

Way is betting on a new range extender.

With 800-volt architecture and 6C batteries.

Welcome to EV News, China.

The podcast all about the world's biggest EV market.

And every day, you get the headlines, the insights,

and the analysis from the heart of China's booming EV industry.

And I decode for you how fast-moving developments

in the East shaped the global landscape.

We'll start with news of BYD, and after last week's launch

of their 1.5 megawatt flash charging 2.0 system,

which does 10 to 17 in around five minutes.

The new models will also reach 97% in roughly nine minutes.

The charge curve doesn't show our dramatic collapse

near the top of the pack.

And I think that's one of the more under-reported points

of the technology last week.

By the way, check out if you missed it last week's EV News

China for full details on that.

Megawatt charges already exist in the world for heavy duty trucks.

Indeed, Megawatt charging for some BYD cars,

like the Han El and Tang El, have been out for over a year.

BYD's claim was so extraordinary, though, for a different reason.

The more we look at what this actually means for the EV industry,

a smaller, car-sized pack absorbing 1.5 megawatt safely

with no thermal runaway and no heating or increased fire risk

from their blade batteries.

If fast charging now stays across the usable state of charge window

to 97%, the case for 100 kilowatt-hour battery packs

in the everyday cars that we drive diminishes BYD's tech

would allow for commuter cars and non-towing SUVs or pickups

to have a regular pack of 50 to 60 kilowatt hours.

And that's 200 miles or 320 kilometers added in a five-minute stop

and even worst case scenario, a nine-minute stop.

It means drivers wouldn't need to stop at 60 to 80%

when they're charging their car to manage the charge curve

because existing battery technology slows down a lot.

After around 80%, it's not exact science.

It changes by battery and by manufacturer.

But if you can get effectively a full charge or 97% is effectively

a full charge in less than 10 minutes,

it then matters more about where the charges are

and where you need them to be.

BYD has said that they will install up to 20,000 flash charges

by the end of 2026.

Well, CleanTanker points out that smaller packs cut mass,

which is true and weight is not everything in terms of EVs,

but weight is very important as part of the efficiency matrix.

Trim the bill of materials cost

and it frees up cell production capacity

to spread across more vehicles.

And that matters as much as the stopwatch.

Already valid points that CleanTanker made in terms of,

do you make one car with 100 kilowatt hours

because you need to carry that energy with you?

You need to store that energy yourself just in case

and also stopping is inconvenient because it takes too long

or you could make two cars with 50 kilowatt hours in.

And if you have charges where you want them

and it's a five or a 10 minute stop,

depending on how much you need to charge,

it changes a lot of economics.

Pickups and towing might still want a large pack though,

but megawatt charging in the right places when you need it

dulls the worst edges of driving a pickup truck

that you need to tow with.

The Chevrolet Silverado, for instance,

is in the 170 kilowatt hour class of EVs.

And there's EVs in the US with 200 kilowatt hours plus battery pack.

And that in itself brings more surface area of the cells.

Massive packs can spread thermal load during megawatt charging.

So what megawatt charging doesn't do is rule out large packs,

but it gives a use case which hasn't really been considered

since the announcement last week.

I know we're only five days after the announcement by BYD.

But with the new chemistry, BYD is opening up a future,

tow capable pickup that could have maybe a 120 kilowatt hour battery pack.

And in 10 to 15 minutes,

which really is a comfort break and grab a snack

and a drink from the fridge or a coffee and then back to the car,

worth perhaps two or maybe three hours of driving if you are towing.

And with an increase in things like pull through charging bays,

designed for trailers, the EV towing penalty effectively goes

and you move from long repeated fast charge stops

and awkward maneuvers maybe even taking the trailer off

if there's not the right kind of charging bay

to something closer to just being routine.

Let's not forget so many diesel trucks as well

with small fuel tanks can only do maybe 275

or 300 miles depending on what if you are towing a really large load

less about the weight and more about the arrow impact.

You might be stopping every 300 miles,

but it's not 300 miles because you might then be going through

I don't know the Midwest or somewhere

where there's not as many truck stops to pull in.

And then you are thinking well, I've only got 100 miles of diesel left

and so I'm better pull in and then there's diesel additives to think

to think about as well.

And look, actually we're not a million miles away

from a really interesting tech future

thanks to the BYD announcement last week.

There's lots of, I call it fallout if you like,

but just lots of things that haven't been fully considered

about the impact of charging a very average size battery pack

at 1.5 megawatts.

It depends on the charges being in the ground

in the right places where you need them.

But when we get to that place,

it really changes the economics of so many things we're thinking about.

Now BYD's premium brand, young one,

has revealed the full cabin of their U8 for this year.

That is the ultra luxury, very boxy, off-road SUV,

Range Rover equivalent if you like.

The update pairs a new curved screen cockpit

with the new rapid charging hardware under the skin.

And this is over the, it's in the million RMB class.

It's $146,000 plus.

It has a five screen digital cockpit.

The centerpiece is the OLED curved screen,

which is 12.8 inch.

The driver gets a 23 inch cluster

and the front passenger gets their own 23 inch screen as well.

And then rear passengers get dual 12.8 inch floating media tablets

plus a seven inch armrest control.

Five screen linkage software,

that's the five main displays all share video in sync

and share data in real time as well.

Napa Leva leather covers the seats,

four way power, lumber, support, massage, memory function,

heating, cooling, that kind of thing

for front and rear passengers.

And the sensor suite looks equally plush.

Three LIDARs, roof mounted LIDAR

and wheel arch modules as well.

For complete vehicle, surround LIDAR,

five millimeter radar and 12 ultrasonics.

God's eye, dipilot, 600 level system.

Under the body, it's a range extender

on their platform, a two liter engine,

four independent motors.

And so that's 880 kilowatts, 1200 horsepower.

China cycle puts the pure electric range at 143 miles

or 230 kilometers.

And the 2026 update adds that new BYD blade battery 2.0,

second generation flash charging capability under the skin.

So again, huge vehicle here at a 70% charge in five minutes

and 97% charge in nine minutes on the big battery pack.

Just incredible technology.

And we're finding out more about the vehicles

that it's going to be going in.

Let's move on, China's passenger vehicle price war,

which is close to two years old now,

looked of cool last month in February.

Fewer models cut the official guide prices,

even as discounts and finance deals did the heavy lifting.

Only six passenger vehicles cut the official guide price last month.

That was 15, the same month last year.

The EV segment is even quieter.

Two pure bear models cut their prices in February 2026.

That's seven fewer than the same month last year.

The average EV price, the average price of EV models

that cut prices came in at 51,000 US dollars.

That's 350,000 RMB.

And the average EV price reduction was around $7,000 equivalent.

Auto-makers also pushed alternative incentives

like seven-year low interest and five-year interest-free deals

as an alternative to cutting the headline price.

Now, let's talk about Lotus opening pre-sales

of the Electra X.

It's a plug-in hybrid.

And so we have confirmation now that in China,

it's going to be called the Lotus for me,

and which is an interesting name.

And it won't be called the Lotus for me outside of China.

Outside of China, it'll be overseas.

It's called the Electra X,

sticking with the e-naming of the Lotus cars,

like in May Electra.

Electra X makes a lot of sense to Western buyers,

calling it the Lotus for me,

not sure lands as well.

I'm not into how it lands inside China,

but I can speak to how it would land overseas,

and it's less good.

So call the Electra X when it goes overseas,

the same arrow and similar body shape.

It's a little bit bigger than the all-bev Electra.

You can have door mirror cameras inside,

12.6 inch instrument cluster, 15 inch floating main display,

at a passenger touch screen as well.

The options list includes the high-end audio system,

head-up display, and adjustable rear seats as well.

So premium to be in the back too.

The powertrain is a two-liter engine,

and two electric motors, 700 kilowatts on there,

just 1,000 horsepower.

China spec would hit 62 miles an hour or 100 kph.

In 3.3 seconds, go onto 200 kph in 124 miles.

In 10 and a half seconds,

the pack on the range extender is 70 kilowatt hours.

NMC technology, and it's from a CATL-GLE joint venture.

They're looking at around 221 miles,

maximum electric only on the China cycle,

depending on configuration and spec.

And they'll use that vehicle to fill a bit of a hole.

Lotus wants to become the first Chinese EV maker

to enter Canada under this new 6% tariff rate.

This is the China Canada deal

that caps the rate of imports of 49,000 Chinese-made vehicles

per year.

Lotus has laid some groundwork as six dealerships in Canada

and targets 12 by the end of the year.

It's begun production of vehicles,

which are bound for Canada,

but it cannot ship until Ottawa publishes

the implementation rules.

Should be by the end of March this year.

Lotus has halted exports to the Middle East,

a big market amid the ongoing regional conflict.

Dealers there are updating the firm on local conditions,

but it looks like, for the moment,

overseas sales to the Middle East,

like all of the Chinese car companies is on pause

during the tensions around the conflict.

And so Lotus expect Canadian gains

to offset the volume there,

which is why Lotus could be one of the first Chinese names

to take advantage of Canada opening its doors.

We'll take a break, we'll come back

and we'll talk about XC and Glee's own fast charging.

Stick around back in a bit.

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing,

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All right, welcome back to the podcast.

ArcFox has tied up with C80L's battery swapping service,

as a way for drivers to fill up.

It's always got a deal with Neo,

but with Neo Power, not with Neo battery swapping.

So, let's go back to the podcast.

ArcFox has tied up with C80L's battery swapping service,

as a way for drivers to fill up.

It's always got a deal with Neo,

but with Neo Power,

not with Neo battery swapping.

So, ArcFox has a Neo deal to access

their charging network,

and with C80L to access their battery swapping network.

Now, ArcFox has confirmed the battery swapping variant

of its upcoming large pure electric sedan,

will debut the swap capable model,

a variant of the ArcFox Alpha S5,

which opened pre-sales,

that fell on the 1st of March this year.

Cherry's premium sub brand, Exceed,

has started mass production

of the Exceed EX7, that's an SUV.

The published official interior images yesterday of it.

Exceed says the EX7 marks the world's first mass-produced vehicle

to use electronic mechanical braking,

EMB removing the hydraulic link between the brake pedal

and the brakes themselves,

shifting it purely into electronics and motors.

Inside, Exceed leans into big screens,

a 30-inch suspended display,

combined central control,

and the front passenger screen too,

a separate floating LCD instrument cluster

handles the driver's information.

The cabin uses a two-tone black and brown color scheme,

with dual-spoke steering wheel,

zero gravity front passenger seats,

big panoramic roof, high-voltage platform,

as well.

Ex7 uses the same wheelbase,

as the Exlantix ET.

Now, domestically, that is the Stera ET.

It is in 20 global markets.

Headings of the Middle East, South America,

which gives Cherry a kind of ready-made basis

for scaling that vehicle.

The Pure Bear version,

dual motor all-wheel drive,

353 kilowatts of motor power.

It has a 97 kilowatt-hour battery.

China cycle ranged 451 miles.

That could be around 300 real-world,

depending on configuration.

The e-rev version has a 40 kilowatt-hour pack.

Now, Geely has expanded its in-house

high-power charging network to 2,100 stations

across 215 Chinese cities,

deploying over 6,200 individual charges

at highway service areas.

Geely's flagship charging piles,

they say will reach megawatt charging of 1.5 megawatts.

That's 1,500 kilowatts,

just as BYD announced last week.

Not to be outdone by BYD.

And Geely are coming with their own big announcement.

Geely say they've now verified 1.5 megawatt output

using a Zika 001.

That's the new updated Zika 001

with its 900-volt architecture,

and it can draw 1,500 amps.

The car carries Geely's golden battery.

That's 12c rated.

Under demo conditions,

admittedly, the battery will take the Zika 001

10 to 80 in 7 minutes.

Geely says that the 1,500 kilowatt piles

target heavy duty use of up to 60 cars a day,

and averaging, they say,

50 kilowatt hours of energy delivered per charging session,

and they will add on-site energy storage

just as BYD said last week

to avoid upgrading grid connections.

Neo has launched the Firefly brand in Thailand,

trying to say that quickly several times,

or maybe it's just me.

Pitching, their fully electric premium compact line

that city buyers.

The debut centers on the Firefly Smart City car.

The car uses rear-wheel drive,

tight-turning circle, perfect for Bangkok's cramped streets,

Firefly's pitch-lings on high-end design,

and what they say is urban freedom,

heading overseas.

And finally, Great Wall Motors way brand.

Unveiled their new car yesterday,

on the 9th of March, the V9X.

The V9X is a large SUV,

and it's the first model,

on Great Wall Motors' new GWM-1 platform.

This is a two-tone vehicle,

so that always signifies a little bit more premium.

It does look a little more conventional,

hasn't got the swoopy closed-off front futuristic look

that some have.

This is, I would say, very conventional-looking vehicle,

very conventional-looking SUV,

and the two-tone paint job, at least in the pictures,

with a deep red on the body,

and a silver roof line.

So when you get those two-tone colors,

think myextro S800,

I always think Mercedes-Mibac,

you know, very kind of premium,

what they're going for with this full-size SUV,

plug-in hybrid,

with EV range that pushes beyond many of its competitors.

The V9X uses a two-liter engine,

and a pure electric range of 150 miles,

or 226 miles, depending on variant.

That's 363 kilometers.

Great Wall expects the production model

to be 800-volt architecture with six-sea batteries.

It also claims the production model

without a 124 miles, or 200 kilometers,

again, China Cycle, optimistic.

In five minutes inside,

the way goes big on screens,

and big on comfort.

A full LED instrument cluster,

large floating central screen,

and a front passenger entertainment display.

There's a two plus two plus two seating layout,

second row seats recline,

and have their own fold-out entertainment screens as well,

in the full set of pictures.

One of those ones that is just very high-end,

very luxury,

the pictures they released have a kind of tan leather

on the inside,

which always looks very premium.

The screens in the back,

so on the door inserts,

a lot of high-end EVs will have effectively,

you see it's on the Huawei-linked cars,

effectively what are mobile phones

that sit inside the doors of the rear

so that you can use those

as effectively remote controls

to control the vehicle.

Very high-end,

this is another plug-in hybrid,

that without pricing can't speculate on that,

will certainly be another high-end,

extended range,

six-seater added to the market,

and that's your podcast for today.

Thank you so much for listening.

See you on the next one.

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing,

another checkered flag for the books.

Time to celebrate with Chamba.

Jump in at ChambaCasino.com.

Let's Chamba.

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sponsored by ChambaCasino.

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing.

Victory Lane?

Yeah, it's even better with Chamba by my side.

Race to ChambaCasino.com.

Let's Chamba.

No purchase necessary,

BGW Group,

voidware prohibited by law,

CTNC's 21 Plus,

sponsored by ChambaCasino.

No purchase necessary,

BGW Group,

voidware prohibited by law,

CTNC's 21 Plus,

sponsored by ChambaCasino.

No purchase necessary,

BGW Group,

voidware prohibited by law,

CTNC's 21 Plus,

sponsored by ChambaCasino.