The changing fortunes of Chinese and European EV markets

Are European and Chinese EV markets set to diverge in 2026?

Which Chinese brand is bringing 5 minute charging tech to Europe?

And how is a humanoid robot already helping to build cars at Renault?

This is the Automotive Update presented by Autovista24.

Hello and welcome to the Automotive Update.

I'm Tom Hooker, Autovista24 journalist, here with the biggest headlines from the last seven days.

We'll start with some quite unusual electric vehicle or EV sales results

that you might not have expected.

Last year, Europe and China enjoyed double digit EV volume growth.

However, only one of them has kept this form into 2026.

Here to discuss this with me is Autovista24 Special Content Editor, Phil Curry.

Hi Phil.

Hi Tom, great to be here as always.

And it's great to have you with us.

Let's just jump straight into it, shall we?

Did EV sales in China start the year on a positive note?

Unfortunately not.

The Chinese EV market was down 27.1% year on year in January.

That's according to the latest data from EV volumes.

The plug-in hybrid or pH EV market proved particularly difficult,

which sales down 35.6%.

Now the market's been struggling for a while, but according to the latest EV volumes data,

January saw the lowest monthly volume since February 2024.

The battery electric vehicle or BEV market in China slowed towards the end of last year,

but it started 2026 with a decline in volumes of 20.4%.

Like the pH EV market, January saw the lowest total volume since February 2024.

And it was also the first year on year decline recorded in the BEV market since that time as well.

Now that completely contrasts with Europe, because EV sales were up 19.2% year on year in January.

And instead of a 35.6% decline like in China, pH EVs saw a 33.5% growth.

BEVs had a smaller increase of 12.7%, but this was based on large volumes compared to pH EVs.

So overall a positive performance, but pH EVs had the much more interesting result

when looking at the overall market and the best selling models too.

That is interesting, because in China both technologies experience very odd results when looking

at the best selling models, each for their own reasons.

Looking at the BEV best seller top 10, five models in that table were not on sale in January 2025.

And one of those was the Xiaomi YU7, which topped the market with a dominant result.

In fact, it was 19,411 units ahead of the NEO ES8 in second place.

The Tesla Model Y was third, closer to the NEO model, but the US brands Model 3 placed

40 third in January's best seller list.

Well, you mentioned a big margin between first and second place there, Phil,

but there was no such thing in Europe.

The Skoda Elrock was the best selling BEV in January, just 45 units ahead of the combined

deliveries of the Renault 5 and the Alpine A290. Both models placed ahead of the Tesla Model Y,

which was last year's best seller in Europe.

We did see a stronghold from one OEM though in the BEV table, and this was Volkswagen Group.

They filled six of the top 10 positions.

Usually, there's a similar trend in China's PHEV market with BYD typically dominating.

In the annual chart for 2025, it placed seven models in the top 10 list.

However, that wasn't the case in January with just three BYD models in the table.

In fact, taking BYD's total EV sales, incorporating BEV and PHEV numbers,

they can't make a saw a 61.6% drop year-on-year in January.

But it wasn't all bad news.

The Fang Chen Baotai 7, a BYD sub-brand and model, topped the Chinese PHEV table.

Now, that's a model that's been building momentum since launch in September 2025.

It led from the Ato M7 with the BYD Song Pro and BYD Jim Plus coming next.

Although both BYD models did register volume declines of 44.9% and 49.8% year-on-year respectively,

highlighting the carmaker's struggles in its domestic market.

Now, if we look back again at Europe, BYD did not feature as many models in the PHEV top 10.

But the one model that did appear ended up leading the market.

This was the SEAL U, and it was followed in second by a fellow Chinese model,

namely the JQJ7. Both PHEVs were some way ahead of the chasing pack.

This was the Volvo XC60 and third, the Volkswagen Tiguan in fourth,

and the Mercedes-Benz GLC in fifth.

It will be very interesting to see if these two Chinese models can maintain this sales pace

throughout the year. Definitely, it's also worth keeping on the Chinese market

into year two to see if it can return to growth and improve on January's performance.

Absolutely. Well, on that note, Phil, thanks very much for joining me.

A pleasure as always, thank you.

And if you'd like to learn more about how the European and Chinese EV markets are evolving,

then check the show notes for our latest analysis.

There, you'll also find a link to our review of the global EV market.

To make sure you don't miss out on any of this content,

as well as our upcoming analysis on the Australian EV market,

sign up for our email, which brings our insights directly to your inbox.

You can sign up via the form at the bottom of our homepage.

Check out our YouTube channel as well.

There you'll find our what is explained in videos,

launch report insights, and webinar recordings.

Our next live webinar will take place on the 1st of April,

and is called Europe's Auto4Cast 2026.

I'll put a registration link in the show notes.

And of course, subscribe to the Autovista 24 podcast, wherever you listen to us.

What could you do in 12 minutes?

Well, apart from listening to an episode of the automotive update,

you can also charge a Denzer Z9 GT, a model from BYD's premium brand that is coming to Europe this year.

According to Denzer, the Z9 GT delivers a 10% to 70% charge in only 5 minutes,

a 10% to 97% refill in just 9 minutes, and a 20% to 97% recharge in 12 minutes,

even in minus 30 degrees Celsius.

So, how is this possible?

Well, it's thanks to two core components.

BYD's second-generation blade battery, and the brand's flash charger.

The latter provides up to 1,500 kilowatts through a single connector.

BYD said it would start installing hundreds of its flash stations in Europe this year,

the Financial Times reported.

The brand already has more than 4,200 sites in China,

and aims to have 20,000 operating globally by the end of 2026.

In other battery news, Cherry has revealed it's all-solid-state battery

that can achieve a range of over 1,500 kilometers during its battery-night event on Wednesday,

electric reported.

The new battery is part of its Rhino series, which includes various energy density levels.

Cherry aims to begin testing the solid-state battery in vehicles next year.

This comes as various other car makers and battery producers, such as BYD,

CATL, and Changan Automobile, aim to begin small-scale production or trial installations.

Rhino is already using a AI-trained humanoid robot to help build its cars.

The robot is called Calvin, developed by French robotic firm Wanderkraft.

Over the next 18 months, another 350 humanoid robots will be added to assist with vehicle production,

according to auto express.

However, it's not just Rhino that is accelerating investment in robotics and automation.

A recent survey by ABB Robotics found that 31% of vehicle manufacturers and suppliers

identify increased investment in automation and robotics as a key response to rising costs

and competitive pressures. Meanwhile, three out of 10 respondents cited labor shortages

and rising wage costs among their most significant challenges.

A big thank you to Autovista 24 Special Content Editor Phil Curry for appearing in

and co-producing this episode. Additional thanks go to web editor James Roberts.

The music was better find a solution fast by Richard Ames.

Thanks very much for listening to the Autovista 24 podcast.