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… April that the company will take a conservative approach to domestic store openings but will actively pursue foreign ones, starting in Southeast Asia.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/companies/gold-slump-tests-chinese-brand-laopu-s-resilience-as-luxury-upstart">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: HKD, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of HKD 7.84 = USD 1 and RMB 6.80 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 8, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Gold slump tests Chinese brand Laopu's resilience as luxury upstart

Retail

Consumer Economy

China

… barley from Australia, so none was shipped. With the launch of CPTPP, Australia has displaced the US as Mexico's dominant barley supplier, and the grain has become Australia's biggest merchandise export to Mexico.
Thanks particularly to demand from Mexican beermakers, shipments last year reached AUD 138.7 million (USD 95.6 million). Reduced Mexican tariffs on beef and wine have also boosted imports from Australia.
Australia had preexisting trade agreements with many of the other members of RCEP and CPTPP, but the pacts still managed to lower barriers. A government review last year said that reduced tariffs had boosted iron and steel exports to Vietnam, shipments of wine to Malaysia and Canada, and beef sales to Japan.
Indeed, due to more favorable terms under CPTPP, 59% of Japanese imports from Australia last year utilized the regional pact, while 29% rode in on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement. Overall, according to calculations by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, Australia's annual goods and services exports to CPTPP member nations were 54.6% higher in the first five years of the agreement than during the previous five years.
"CPTPP is a steady anchor in a messy global trading environment," said Arnold Jorge, CEO of the Export Council of Australia, which represents companies engaged in international trade. "It is keeping high-quality rules intact and giving Australia and its partners a practical way to diversify and de-risk."
Both agreements have also begun to reshape supply chains. Under them, imports into one member state from another benefit fully from trade preferences even if the goods contain substantial inputs from third countries that are also members. The "rules of origin" in both agreements also allow for more inputs from nonsignatory nations than is often the case with bilateral preferential trade agreements.
"For companies, the strength is that there is a supply chain operating under a set of promises," said Ken Itakura, an economics professor at Japan's Nagoya City University who focuses on trade policy analysis.
This feature has been particularly beneficial for Cambodia, which has seen its exports to RCEP members grow 120.9% since the bloc's launch, according to data collated by the University of Hong Kong's Asia Global Institute.
Much of this increase has come in the areas of clothing, footwear, electronic equipment and components, electric wires, and automotive parts, with shipments to Japan and South Korea posting strong gains. Shipments to RCEP members now account for the majority of Cambodia's exports.
"RCEP's cumulative rules of origin let Cambodian apparel producers use inputs from China and still qualify for preferential tariffs in member countries," reads a website promoting investment in Cambodia's Manhattan Special Economic Zone.
Now that RCEP and CPTPP have been in operation for a few years, areas for improvement are becoming more evident.
Banh Thi Hang, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Asia Competitiveness Institute, said RCEP's rules of origin requirements could be adjusted to be more in line with those of CPTPP to make "the supply chain [optimization] effect of RCEP stronger." Electronic certificates of origin would be another possible reform, she said, along with strengthening the agreement's rules in newer areas like digital trade.
Participating governments also need to do more to make companies aware of the trade benefits available under the pacts and how they can access them.
"Lower tariffs on paper do not automatically produce stronger trade growth in practice," Heiwai Tang and Guanzheng Sun of the Asia Global Institute wrote in an analysis in May. "Firms need to know that these preferences exist, understand how to use them, and find it worthwhile to comply with the agreement's rules."
Consequently, while the macro impact of the trade pacts has so far been limited, observers like Denise Cheok, head of Southeast Asia economics for Moody's Analytics in Singapore, say more effects could emerge later.
"The benefits of trade agreements," she said, "are usually realized over years, even under the best circumstances."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/policy-asia/asia-s-big-trade-pacts-soften-damage-from-trump-tariffs">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

Asia's big trade pacts soften damage from Trump tariffs

Chinese tea chain GoodMe will soon bring its ready-to-drink beverages into retail channels. Its first launch cities will be Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Wenling, and Hangzhou.
GoodMe launched ready-to-drink beverages in December 2025, though sales were limited to its own stores. It has introduced four products so far: apple juice, kale juice, Thai mandarin orange juice, and seven-ingredient fruit and vegetable juice. All use HPP technology.
HPP, short for high-pressure processing, is a nonthermal preservation method used in juice production. It is designed to preserve a taste closer to freshly squeezed juice without relying on heat treatment. But HPP equipment requires significant upfront investment, and the process requires products to be kept refrigerated at a constant temperature throughout the supply chain. Most HPP juice brands in China rely on third-party contract manufacturers.
A person familiar with the channel told 36Kr that GoodMe’s retail-bound products will be HPP apple juice in a 260-gram format and HPP seven-ingredient fruit and vegetable juice, also in a 260-gram format. Their wholesale procurement costs are RMB 108 (USD 15.9) per case, or RMB 4.5 (USD 0.7) per bottle, and RMB 132 (USD 19.4) per case, or RMB 5.5 (USD 0.8) per bottle, respectively. The final retail prices will be RMB 9.9 (USD 1.5) and RMB 11.9 (USD 1.7) per bottle. Compared with GoodMe’s stores, both products will cost RMB 2 (USD 0.3) more in retail channels.
36Kr has also learned that GoodMe plans to enter channels including Laopo Daren, Yonghui Superstores, and Shizu, spanning snack discount stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores. Like GoodMe, Laopo Daren and Shizu both originated in Zhejiang and have deep roots in the province.
It is not unusual for freshly made tea beverage companies to move into ready-to-drink products. What sets GoodMe apart, according to 36Kr, is that it makes HPP ready-to-drink products and operates its own HPP production line. The ready-to-drink products launched by Heytea and Nayuki are shelf-stable products with longer shelf lives and are made by contract manufacturers rather than on self-built production lines. At present, GoodMe’s HPP juices are produced through both outsourced manufacturing and its own production lines. Its factory is operated by Zhejiang Guoru Food Technology.
HPP products must remain refrigerated throughout the supply chain and have short shelf lives, placing heavy demands on cold chain logistics. For freshly made tea brands, HPP juice is more often used on the business-to-business side as a drink base supplied to stores, serving as an upgrade option for fruit tea and fruit-infused coffee products. Heytea’s seasonal fruit drinks and fruit and vegetable specials, as well as GoodMe’s “big orange Americano” and other fruit-infused coffee products, all use HPP juice bases.
GoodMe is taking a different approach. By launching HPP ready-to-drink products in its stores, it can reuse its in-house cold chain and HPP production capacity, putting the same assets to work across both store operations and packaged retail products. Among freshly made tea companies, GoodMe is also the only one that has made a heavy-asset investment in a self-operated cold chain network, according to 36Kr.
Now that the products are moving into retail channels, GoodMe’s HPP ready-to-drink beverages will shift from an in-store add-on to a standalone retail business.
In terms of end-market pricing, the two HPP ready-to-drink products GoodMe is preparing to launch in retail channels sit in the RMB 9.9–11.9 (USD 1.5–1.7) price band. Compared with HPP products in the same 260-gram format, VCleanse and Per Se are positioned higher, with prices above RMB 14 (USD 2.1). Nongfu Spring and Beibingyang only offer 300-milliliter formats. Converted to a 260-milliliter basis, their prices fall in the RMB 11–13 (USD 1.6–1.9) range, placing them in the mainstream midrange segment.
GoodMe is pricing its HPP apple juice at RMB 9.9, below competing products in distribution channels. The pricing suggests a familiar strategy: just as GoodMe has sought to build a reputation for quality at accessible prices in freshly made drinks, it is applying the same approach to ready-to-drink beverages.
Choosing HPP, a niche category, as its entry point is apparently a strategic move for GoodMe. It allows the company to avoid direct overlap with its peers while using its own factory and cold chain to build a pricing advantage. This may also explain why GoodMe has chosen to launch first through distribution channels in Zhejiang and Guangdong. These are the two regions where its store density is highest and where its cold chain is most developed, lowering marginal costs.
In recent years, GoodMe has moved into new businesses including coffee, bakery products, and ready-to-drink beverages. The company is using its store network and cold chain capability as the foundation for new revenue streams beyond its core milk tea business. As of December 31, 2025, GoodMe had 13,554 stores, according to 36Kr’s estimate.
But stores and retail channels are two different systems. By putting ready-to-drink products into distribution, GoodMe will face a new set of tests: moving from using spare capacity to meeting stable external demand, absorbing higher channel costs, coordinating inventory and supply chains once products leave its stores, managing longer turnover cycles, and controlling product loss for short-shelf-life HPP beverages.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3868265993016580">article</a> was written by Zhong Yixuan for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.80 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 10, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

GoodMe takes ready-to-drink beverages beyond its own stores

… compromises over the technical route for humanoid robots, and disagreements over team size and management methods. After winning the turnaround battle for the Xpeng P5, he suddenly chose to leave.
In September 2023, Xpeng spent USD 98.96 million to fully acquire Pengxing Intelligence. Zhao gave up his equity in exchange for freedom from noncompete restrictions, left, and founded EngineAI. Mi was the person parachuted into the robotics business from autonomous driving at that time, serving as vice president as the independent company was transformed into a business unit.
whereRelatedArticle
Still, Xpeng has its own distinctive positioning. Compared with robot-native companies such as Unitree Robotics and Agibot, automakers have a natural advantage in data feedback. Xpeng does not need to rely on users or third-party companies. It can build its own data collection system and database through an automaker’s physical industrial scenarios.
Xpeng’s rivals also include other automakers moving across industries.
According to Stella Li, <a href="/company/byd">BYD</a> executive vice president, BYD’s self-developed humanoid robot has been developed in secret for four years, and the in-house development rate for core components exceeds 80%. However, BYD has denied online rumors that it would internally deploy 20,000 units in 2026.
<a href="/company/li-auto">Li Auto</a> has completed an organizational restructuring, setting up three major departments: embodied engineering, embodied interaction, and embodied behavior.
<a href="/company/nio">Nio</a> continues to refine its world model.
<a href="/company/chery">Chery’s</a> Mornine has completed batch delivery of 220 units, making Chery the first automaker in the world to achieve batch deployment of humanoid robots.
For now, Xpeng clearly feels pressure, but it still has certain advantages compared with these cross-industry companies. Amid the wave of automakers moving into embodied intelligence, most companies’ robotics businesses take the form of a business unit or subsidiary, led by a vice president or general manager. He Xiaopeng personally serving as CEO of the robotics business is unusual among mainstream automakers.
“Xpeng’s automotive team has been eyeing the robotics team for a long time, wanting to absorb it,” a former employee quipped when asked to assess the new organizational structure. In any case, after the departure of the key trio, He has not, at least for now, chosen to give up or scale back.
What kind of people will Xpeng bring in next? Will there be a new leader for its robotics business? With less than half a year left, He has compared Iron’s current stage to the eve of the launch of Xpeng’s first car, the G3, eight years ago. For him, that moment was not an easy memory. After the G3, Xpeng went through production capacity and quality crises, as well as organizational turmoil. He himself also transformed from chairman into CEO.
If greater challenges follow mass production, Xpeng will need capable lieutenants alongside him to face them.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3875691543179267">article</a> was written by Fang Tingyu for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 9, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Mi Liangchuan’s exit deepens pressure on Xpeng’s robotics push

Xpeng Motors

East Asia

Robotics

Deep Tech

Embodied Intelligence

… models stop being open source, or if licensing terms change, its core supply could be affected.
Judging only by operating data, SiliconFlow is growing quickly. At the end of 2024, the end of 2025, and the end of April 2026, it had 127,000, 9.197 million, and 10.282 million registered users, respectively. From December 2024 to April 2026, average daily token throughput increased about 12 times. It rose 241.1% from 2024 to 2025, then grew another 254.7% from December 2025 to April 2026.
But all that traffic translated into only RMB 55.33 million in revenue in 2025, and it did so at a negative gross margin. In 2025, SiliconFlow’s cost of sales reached RMB 68.632 million, equivalent to 124% of revenue, resulting in an overall gross loss margin of 24%. Between the rapid growth in users, throughput, and paying customers, and the thin, negative-margin monetization that followed, lies a wide gap.
The prospectus also acknowledges that serverless token services are aimed at developers and small and midsize enterprises, and are mostly prepaid, low-priced consumption products. This kind of traffic is large in scale and low in unit price, while supply must be provided close to cost, or even below cost.
<h3>Valuation rises to RMB 7.7 billion</h3>
From December 2023 to June 2026, SiliconFlow completed seven financing rounds in two and a half years. It has used only about 32% of its net financing proceeds.
Its post-money valuation rose from RMB 280 million (USD 41.1 million) in the angel round to RMB 7.74 billion (USD 1.1 billion) in the Series B+ round. That was a 27.6-fold increase in two and a half years, while cost per share rose 13.4 times.
In 2026 alone, SiliconFlow completed three rounds, with its valuation rising from RMB 3.1 billion (USD 455.2 million) in the Series A+ round to RMB 5 billion (USD 734.2 million) in the Series B round, and then to RMB 7.74 billion in the Series B+ round. Notably, the Series B+ round was completed just one month before it filed its listing application. Based on the Series B+ post-money valuation of RMB 7.74 billion, equivalent to about HKD 8.4 billion (USD 1.1 billion), SiliconFlow just met the listing threshold for pre-commercial companies under Chapter 18C.
In its shareholding structure, the controlling shareholder is Jinhui Yuan, who directly holds 14.35%. Through employee incentive platforms, Yuan controls about 44.48% of voting rights in total. <a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba Group</a> holds 7.42% and has appointed Chen Yingjie as a director. <a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a> holds 4.07%, Sinovation Ventures holds 4.01%, Suzhou’s Glory Ventures, a semiconductor venture capital firm, holds 3.01%, Nanjing Lvyong holds 3.01%, Wang Huiwen holds 2.06%, Puhua Capital holds 1.81%, Guotai Junan holds 1.56%, SenseTime holds 0.64%, Biren Technology holds 0.39%, while Kingdee and <a href="/company/meituan">Meituan</a> are also shareholders.
Yuan is 45 years old. He holds a doctorate in computer science from Tsinghua University and a bachelor’s degree from Xidian University. From OneFlow to SiliconFlow, he has held multiple roles, including board chair, CEO, general manager, and finance chief.
From 2013 to 2016, Yuan was a principal researcher at Microsoft China, where he led the development of LightLDA, described in the prospectus as the world’s fastest large-scale topic model training system at the time. From 2017 to 2023, he founded and led OneFlow, a deep learning framework company, which was later acquired by Light Year and ultimately folded into Meituan.
In August 2023, Yuan started SiliconFlow with OneFlow’s core team. CTO Juncheng Liu and COO Zhao Zhen were both OneFlow veterans, while deputy general manager Zeng Hua previously served as a vice president at <a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a>.
Nonexecutive director Chen Yingjie, 49, is managing director of Alibaba’s strategic investment department. He also serves as a nonexecutive director of MiniMax.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3879814941437956">article</a> was written by Peng Xiaoqiu for 36Kr.
Note: HKD, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of HKD 7.84 = USD 1 and RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 9, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Surging users, widening losses, and leased compute: Behind SiliconFlow’s IPO filing

Artificial Intelligence

Hong Kong

There are many stories around the world, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, where close friends or siblings, precisely because they are so close, are confronted with a crisis that drives them apart. Perhaps Canada and the US, staring down China's massive <a href="/industry/ev">electric vehicle</a> sector, should be added to that list.
Chinese EV giant <a href="/company/byd">BYD</a> is reportedly planning to establish a dealer network in Canada. Considering that Chinese vehicles are subject to a 100% tariff in the US and Canada, effectively creating an embargo, the natural question upon hearing this is, why?
In the background is the disagreement between the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Canadian government over tariffs. In January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would stop aligning its tariffs on Chinese cars with the US, setting an import quota that took effect in May lowering the duty on Chinese vehicles to 6.1%.
The import quota is 49,000 units in the first year, a small number compared to Canada's annual market size of 1.9 million units. Moreover, the first to raise their hands were US automakers Tesla and General Motors, apparently looking to import EVs produced in China.
But the Canadian government has said that it will gradually widen the import quota, with BYD, <a href="/company/chery">Chery Automobile</a>, and <a href="/company/geely">Geely</a> preparing to export. These companies see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to crack open the North American market.
A trilateral meeting was held on July 1 to decide whether to renew the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, six years after its launch. The US declined to renew the deal, taking the three countries back to the negotiation stage to try to come to a new agreement.
Considering the benefits to the three countries, especially to US companies, the agreement itself is unlikely to collapse entirely. But individual policies and strategies toward China outside of the agreement, like Canada's import quotas, may continue to diverge.
What kind of consequences could that have? The US and Canada have shared the world's longest border, stretching 8,891 kilometers, for about 200 years. With the similarities in their language, lifestyles, and values, if inexpensive Chinese EVs gain popularity in Canada, the psychological barrier against Chinese cars in the US could start to break down.
A similar phenomenon is occurring in Australia, where BYD has largely caught up with Tesla in just three years since its entry into the market. This was after Chinese EVs gained popularity in Europe, where values are similar, lowering the psychological barrier for Australia.
The discord between Canada and the US stems from a misunderstanding between their leaders. If The Lord of the Rings doesn't help you conjure an image of their dynamic, how about the biblical story of Cain and Abel, two brothers pulled apart by the differences between them?
But it's worth thinking about where Canada is headed as it seeks to reduce its trade dependence on the US. As China waits with arms open, an examination of why its EVs are so cheap is called for.
BYD, Chery, and Geely all boast high technological standards, and their efficient management, evidenced by their short development cycles, is highly rated. But it is also said that their rapid rise and low-cost operations have been possible thanks to China's domestic industrial policies.
According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, China provides approximately eight times more subsidies to businesses than European and Asian member states. This includes national and local government grants, low-interest loans from government-affiliated financial institutions and tax incentives.
The Chinese government said these are things that every country does, but a detailed analysis by US think tank Rhodium Group revealed that in addition to the government subsidies and loans, companies are able to secure significantly more favorable contracts through state-owned enterprises in areas like steel and other raw material procurement, electricity, and logistics services than companies in other major countries. This appears to be government policy.
By continuously exporting inexpensive final products overseas, China is cornering competitors worldwide and narrowing the scope of competition, wrote Rhodium partner Agatha Kratz.
In the EV sector, both in finished vehicles and batteries, it has become difficult for companies outside of China to grow. China, which holds a dominant share of key raw materials, has tightened export restrictions to countries like Japan, effectively weaponizing its supply chain.
The starting point to all of this may have been 2013, when Xi Jinping became president. China began tightening restrictions on US tech companies, politically entangling companies like Apple—which manufactured most of its products in China—and seizing their technology.
US journalist Patrick McGee wrote in his book "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company" that, without intending to, Apple helped Beijing acquire technology comparable to that of the US.
China has since dominated most manufacturing sectors through its "Made in China 2025" policy, which began in 2015. From 2026, China is adding <a href="/industry/autonomous-vehicles">autonomous driving</a> and next-generation solar cells to its five-year plans, as Xi reportedly secretly advocates for total industrial dominance.
It would be fine if the progress of industrial development was a fair and even thing. But if the goal is to distort competition and crush competitors in other countries, then supply chain bottlenecks will increase everywhere.
Unity is crucial to confront China's business practices, sometimes referred to as the "red supply chain." The "One Ring" in The Lord of the Rings symbolizes both destruction and human bonds, but Germany, whose automotive sector heavily relies on China, has been slow to act.
Can the US and Canada unite based on their shared values and achieve a grand, epic conclusion, like Frodo and Sam?
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/comment/byd-spots-north-america-foothold-amid-us-canada-tariff-discord">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

BYD spots North America foothold amid US-Canada tariff discord

Transportation

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

Opinion

… NOA-centered systems in vehicles produced by automaker customers. Those vehicles collect real-world data, which is then used to optimize Momenta’s algorithms and support its robotaxi service solutions. Improvements in robotaxi technology can then feed back into the vehicle solutions business, creating a loop between the two segments.
According to China Insights Consultancy, Momenta is China’s first independent urban NOA solution provider to achieve mass deployment of the technology.
Among China’s independent urban NOA solution providers, it ranks first across three indicators: vehicle sales equipped with urban NOA solutions in the 12 months ended February 28 this year; cumulative design wins as of February 28; and cumulative number of mass-production models equipped with urban NOA solutions as of February 28. The consultancy also said Momenta ranked first among global independent urban NOA solution providers by urban NOA sales in the 12 months ended February 28, with a market share of 65%.
The day before its listing, Momenta said the deployment volume of its mass production business had surpassed one million units.
As of December 31, 2025, Momenta had established partnerships with 24 leading global automakers, including nine of the world’s top ten automakers: Toyota, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, BMW Group China, Hyundai (including Kia), Volkswagen, <a href="/company/byd">BYD</a>, Honda, and Ford. It has also partnered with Chinese automakers including SAIC Motor, <a href="/company/gac">GAC Group</a>, <a href="/company/chery">Chery</a>, FAW Group, <a href="/company/geely">Geely</a>, Great Wall Motor, and Dongfeng Motor.
Momenta’s revenue was RMB 743 million (USD 109.2 million) in 2023, RMB 1.325 billion (USD 194.8 million) in 2024, and RMB 2.413 billion (USD 354.8 million) in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of more than 80%. Its revenue mainly consists of technology development revenue and licensing revenue. Licensing revenue rose from RMB 23 million (USD 3.4 million) in 2023 to RMB 968 million (USD 142.3 million) in 2025. Momenta said licensing revenue has a high marginal return and will be central to maintaining revenue growth.
Momenta’s gross margin rose from 17.5% in 2023 to 71.6% in 2025. As revenue and gross margin improved, its adjusted loss narrowed to RMB 303 million (USD 44.5 million) in 2025. As of December 31, 2025, Momenta’s cash reserves exceeded RMB 10.9 billion (USD 1.6 billion), which the company said will support its robotaxi business and global expansion.
Momenta’s Hong Kong IPO gives the company additional capital to expand its physical AI business, deepen automaker partnerships, and accelerate overseas growth.
This <a href="https://xueqiu.com/2854806290/399030833">article</a> was adapted based on a feature originally written by Stone Jin and published on IPO Zaozhidao. KrASIA is authorized to translate, adapt, and publish its contents.
Note: HKD, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of HKD 7.84 = USD 1 and RMB 6.80 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 8, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Momenta makes public debut in Hong Kong, puts physical AI in spotlight

Autonomous Vehicles

… could be higher than the market average. That would run counter to the cost efficiency ride-hailing companies typically pursue.
Second, even if Amap can provide SAIC Mobility with traffic support, that traffic has limited value if most of the resulting profit is absorbed by traffic costs.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3878254740549638">article</a> was written by Huang Yida for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.80 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 8, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

IPO aspirant SAIC Mobility grows orders, but platforms capture much of the upside

Chinese automakers surpassed the sales of Japanese brands in Europe's passenger car market for the first time in May, driven partly by <a href="/company/byd">BYD's</a> strong overseas performance in the first half of 2026.
The change appears in new car sales data for May from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). Across 31 major European countries, sales by five Chinese automakers—BYD, SAIC Motor, <a href="/company/geely">Geely</a>, <a href="/company/chery">Chery Automobile</a>, and <a href="/industry/ev">electric vehicle</a> startup <a href="/company/leapmotor">Leapmotor</a>—increased 65% on the year to 138,410 units.
The combined sales of Japan's Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, Suzuki Motor, Mazda Motor, and Mitsubishi Motors fell 3% to 130,424 units. Chinese players sold 6% more vehicles than their Japanese rivals.
ACEA added three Chinese automakers to its tracking from April and changed its methodology so sales by Sweden's Volvo Car would count within parent company Geely. Even so, Japanese makers retained a 1% lead in April, selling 127,064 vehicles compared with 125,864 for Chinese companies.
Over the past two years, Nissan saw just two months in which sales rose on the year, compared with five months for Suzuki and seven for Mazda. In contrast, SAIC Motor recorded year-on-year sales growth in 17 months, while BYD—added to ACEA's statistics in July 2025—saw 11 such months.
Figures released by BYD on July 1 show its overseas sales of passenger vehicles, including pickup trucks, grew 70% on the year to 789,367 units in the January-June period. In June alone, BYD made 44% of its passenger vehicle sales overseas, an increase of 20 points from June 2025.
BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu said at the company's annual shareholder meeting in early June that "overseas sales in 2026 are expected to reach 1.6 million vehicles." That would be a jump of more than 50% from 1.04 million in 2025.
The European Union (EU) considers Chinese-made EVs to be unfairly cheap and a threat to the European automotive sector. The bloc levied tariffs on the autos in fall 2024, adding duties of up to 35.3 percentage points to the existing 10% tariff, bringing the top rate to as much as 45.3%.
But Chinese makers still retain a strong cost advantage. The BYD Dolphin Surf Boost, a compact EV, is priced in Europe from EUR 26,990 (USD 30,817.5), 3% cheaper than the similar Renault 5 E-Tech, according to Electric Vehicle Database, an EV price comparison website.
In addition to EVs, BYD is also expanding its Europe-bound exports of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which are not subject to the additional EU tariffs. Across 31 major European countries, BYD's sales in May grew 140% on the year.
BYD is aggressively expanding overseas because of the slowdown in China's domestic market. The company's new car sales for the first half of 2026 totaled 1.8 million units, down 16% on the year. This drop, the first such first-half decline in six years, was due partly to intense price competition and sluggish demand in China.
BYD has focused on Europe because of the revival of EV subsidy programs there. Germany, which abolished EV subsidies in December 2023, introduced a program in January 2026 that provides up to EUR 6,000 (USD 6,850.9) for the purchase of new EVs and plug-in hybrid cars. Sweden also resumed subsidies for low-income households, while Italy expanded its support programs.
Japanese automakers are well regarded for the fuel efficiency of their hybrid vehicles. But because they offer limited EV lineups, they are unable to benefit fully from the incentive programs in European countries.
Beatrix Keim of Germany's Center Automotive Research notes that when European consumers look to buy an EV, Japanese vehicles are not even considered.
The European market also is growing less important for Japanese players. Nissan's long-term vision announced in April identified Japan, the US and China as its priority markets, while making little mention of Europe.
To avoid Europe's additional tariffs, Chinese automakers are becoming serious about manufacturing within the EU. Leapmotor plans to begin assembling sport utility vehicles at a Stellantis factory in Spain.
In April, Chery established its European operations headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. Nissan is set to consolidate two production lines at its Sunderland plant in northern England due to low utilization rates. The two companies are reportedly in discussions about producing Chery vehicles on the production line that would become available through the consolidation.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/automobiles/chinese-automakers-overtake-japanese-rivals-in-europe-despite-ev-tariffs">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: EUR figures are converted to USD at rates of EUR 0.88 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 8, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

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