ev.news China: BYD Launches Da Han With 1,008km Range, Tesla Model Y On Top & Chery Becomes China's Second Largest Exporter | 15 Oct 2026

BYD LAUNCHES DA HAN WITH 1,008 KM CLTC RANGE

BYD has launched its flagship Da Han electric saloon from 235,900 yuan ($35,200), offering a 102.3 kWh Blade Battery, up to 1,008 km CLTC range (816 km WLTP), and claimed 10–97% charging in nine minutes using dedicated flash chargers. The 5.26-metre luxury EV features standard air suspension, rear-wheel steering and lidar-based driver assistance, with a 570 kW all-wheel-drive version accelerating to 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds, as BYD seeks to reverse a 71% decline in existing Han sales.

TESLA MODEL Y TOPS CHINA’S SEPTEMBER SALES

Tesla’s Model Y became China’s best-selling passenger vehicle across all powertrains in September with 50,359 sales, ahead of the Geely Xingyuan’s 44,275, despite being the most expensive vehicle in the top ten. New-energy vehicles reached a record 67% of passenger-car retail sales even as the overall market contracted 28% year on year, although Tesla remained fourth among NEV manufacturers behind BYD, Geely and Leapmotor.

BYD PLANS GOD’S EYE FOR EUROPE IN 2027

BYD will introduce its lidar-based God’s Eye B urban driving assistance to Europe in 2027, beginning with the Denza Z9 GT through an over-the-air update, enabling supervised navigation through junctions, roundabouts and city traffic. The Level 2 system uses lidar, 11 cameras and radar sensors with continuous driver monitoring, while rival Xpeng is also preparing European urban-navigation assistance for early 2027.

CHERY OVERTAKES GEELY IN CHINA’S NEV EXPORTS

Chery has overtaken Geely to become China’s second-largest new-energy passenger vehicle exporter, shipping 85,990 vehicles in September, up 25.7% from August, compared with Geely’s 72,893. BYD remains the dominant exporter with 174,277 September shipments and a 31.1% market share, having exported more than 1.3 million NEVs during the first nine months of the year.

XIAOMI’S RANGE-EXTENDERS LIFT SEPTEMBER DELIVERIES

Xiaomi delivered 40,015 vehicles in September, up 32.7% month on month, as its newly launched Sky Nomad N70 and N90 range-extended SUVs contributed 12,444 sales while deliveries of its battery-electric SU7 and YU7 both declined. Despite securing more than 70,000 locked-in orders for the new SUVs, Xiaomi has delivered just 286,490 vehicles against its 550,000 annual target, requiring monthly deliveries to more than double during the final quarter.

XPENG X9 AND AION UT EARN FIVE-STAR RATINGS

The Xpeng X9 and GAC Aion UT have achieved five-star ANCAP safety ratings under tougher 2026 testing requirements, scoring 91% and 90% respectively for crash protection, although their Safe Driving scores were substantially lower at 56% and 68%. The smaller Aion UT combines its safety credentials with a 60 kWh battery and 430 km WLTP range, while ANCAP has urged manufacturers to restore physical controls for essential functions including wipers and demisting.

XPENG SEEKS 500,000 ANNUAL EUROPEAN SALES

Xpeng aims to sell 500,000 vehicles annually in Europe by 2030, representing half its planned global sales, and is exploring expanded European manufacturing capacity with Magna in Austria and other potential partners. Magna already builds several Xpeng models in Graz, but the manufacturer's European deliveries have totalled just over 60,000 since 2020, highlighting the scale of production expansion required to achieve its ambition.

BYD’S LARGER SEAGULL ARRIVES AT DEALERS

BYD’s second-generation Seagull has arrived at Chinese dealerships ahead of launch, growing 425 mm to 4.21 metres and offering 30 kWh or 39.2 kWh batteries with up to 420 km CLTC range (344 km WLTP). Expected to cost below 100,000 yuan ($14,900), the electric hatchback promises 10–97% flash charging in nine minutes, bringing ultra-fast charging technology into the affordable EV segment as BYD attempts to reverse a 66.5% decline in Seagull deliveries.

CHINESE EXPERT WARNS OF BATTERY-RECYCLING COSTS

China’s battery-recycling industry faces rising compliance costs, volatile raw-material prices and immature commercial models as increasing numbers of EV batteries reach retirement, according to Pan Wang of the China Automotive Technology & Research Center. Although revised recycling regulations took effect in April and recovered lithium, nickel and cobalt offer growing environmental benefits, the industry must overcome economic uncertainty to establish a sustainable supply of recycled battery materials.