China Auto Daily丨China's Strict EV Battery Safety Standard Takes Effect July 2026

China's New EV Battery Safety Standard to Take Effect July 2026

April 15 — MIIT's new national standard “Safety Requirements for Batteries for Electric Vehicles” (GB38031-2025) will come into effect on July 1st, 2006. Dubbed the "strictest battery safety regulation ever," the revision will require:  

- No fire/explosion (vs. previous 5-minute warning threshold);  

- Bottom impact testing;  

- 300-cycle fast-charge durability check (no fire/explosion) before short-circuit tests.  

XPENG's Turing AI Chip Begins Mass Production in Q2 This Year

April 15 — CEO He Xiaopeng confirmed that the in-house Turing AI chip would begin mass production and be installed in vehicles this quarter in a media interview. Except for the vehicles, the chip will also be applied to XPENG’s AI robots and flying cars.  

Zeekr 007 GT Shooting Brake Launches at RMB 202,900  

April 15 — Zeekr's second electric shooting brake Zeekr 007 GT was officially launched with a starting price of RMB 202,900 (USD 27,690). As the brand’s second shooting brake model, the Zeekr 007 GT comes standard with Lidar and 800V platform. The model also features:  

- Offers single-motor RWD and dual-motor AWD options  

- A maximum of 825 km CLTC range

- Industry-first "mechanical parking spot self-parking"  

- Dual NVIDIA Orin-X chips for low-light obstacle detection  

CATL to Expand Battery Swap Ecosystem with 1,000 Stations in 2025

April 15 — CATL announced partnerships with Sinopec, NIO, and Didi to build China's largest battery swap network. More OEMs will launch swappable EVs this year, per its earnings call.

TUOPU Group Plans $300M Thailand Auto Parts Plant  

April 15 —TUOPU Group, the leading Chinese automotive parts supplier, released a notice stating that, it will invest up to USD 300 million in Thailand to support global OEMs and Chinese automakers' overseas expansion. As a one of the top partners of Tesla, TUOPU Group is moving towards a dual-industry development model of "intelligent automotive + robots".  

Trump Hints at Temporary Auto Tariff Relief  

April 15 — The U.S. president said he's considering short-term exemptions for auto/parts imports to allow manufacturers more time to establish production facilities in the United States. He did not specify how long the suspension or reduction of auto tariffs might last.

*Exchange rate: RMB 7.3269 = USD 1