OEM TrendIT Home reported on April 12 that after halting custom orders for the Model S and Model X in late March, Tesla is now inviting select fans to purchase the newly launched, extremely limited "Signature Edition" Plaid series.IT Home: At the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development Forum 2026 in Beijing, VOYAH Chairman Lu Fang discussed the competitive landscape in China's auto market, noting that the "excessive rivalry" seen last year has eased significantly. "There was a period when the competition was nasty, but now it's intense without being vicious — the environment has improved greatly under state regulation," he pointed out. He specifically mentioned that disparaging rivals and unfair competition are fading, and the industry is returning to a healthier track.CLS: Yu Cheng, global product development general manager at Changan's DEEPAL, said at the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development Forum 2026 on April 12 that the company's first-generation fuel cell system already exceeds industry benchmarks by over 10% and powers the DEEPAL SL03 hydrogen version. Currently, the company is developing its second-generation system, which will achieve industry-leading performance metrics like system efficiency and significantly reduce costs for both the fuel cell and hydrogen storage systems. DEEPAL plans to launch a new fuel cell passenger vehicle in 2027.IT Home: At the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development Forum 2026, NIO founder and Chairman William Li stated that the rapid iteration of the smart electric era creates massive waste — often, a model needs updating just as its production ramp-up is complete. It is normal to waste a few hundred million yuan on a single model, Li argued. He called for the standardization of battery cells and chips, estimating this could unlock over 100 billion yuan in cost savings for the industry.Harmony lntelligent Mobility Alliance officially announced that pre-orders for the AITO M6 have surpassed 100,000 units since reservations opened on March 23. Positioned as a large five-seater SUV for young families, the vehicle is being hailed by many as the "first HarmonyOS SUV for young people." The extended-range version starts at 269,800 yuan, while the pure electric version begins at 289,800 yuan.Jiemian:Jiangsu Yueda Automotive Group released a statement addressing recent online rumors that "Chery is fully taking over HiPhi's Yancheng factory" and "Chery is coming." Media reports stating that 'Chery has fully taken over the HiPhi factory' are inaccurate. Yueda Automotive Group clarified that while Yueda Kia's first plant previously partnered with Human Horizons to produce HiPhi vehicles, ownership remains unchanged, ruling out any scenario where Chery has taken over.Mydrivers: According to intellectual property data from Tianyancha, Seres Automobile has been granted a patent for an "on-board toilet and vehicle." The patent aims to provide an emergency restroom solution inside the car that can be completely hidden under the seat when not in use, avoiding taking up valuable cabin space.IT Home reported, citing industry insiders, that the M Performance variant of the Neue Klasse iX3 — the iX3 M60 xDrive (NA5) — is set to enter production in March 2027.Supply Chain NewsMydrivers: Huawei Senior Vice President Jin Yuzhi made it clear at the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development Forum 2026: Level 3 autonomy is a necessary stage on the path to fully self-driving cars — it cannot be skipped. From a safety perspective, Level 4 allows drivers to leave the seat and removes the need for a steering wheel, but that requires at least a tenfold increase in safety, which depends on data accumulation.Jiemian: RIVOTEK announced it has officially received a designation notice from BAIC Group for smart cockpit projects on models codenamed B**** and N**** (classified). RIVOTEK stated it will provide BAIC with products including a central control unit (integrated machine), instrument cluster, and an integrated cockpit controller with built-in T-box, based on the UNISOC 7870 platform.Jiemian: SigmaStar stated on an investor interaction platform that its first automotive primary LiDAR chip was released in late 2025 and is scheduled to be installed in vehicles and achieve small-scale mass production in the second quarter of 2026; a second fill-in LiDAR chip is slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2026. Both chips are progressing as planned according to project schedules and customer requirements.Industrial EconomyIT Home reported on April 12 that Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), forecasted at the Smart EV Development High-Level Forum (2026) that total auto wholesale sales in 2026 will reach 34.8 million units, a 1% year-on-year increase. Passenger vehicle wholesale sales are projected at 30.09 million units, up 2%. Domestic sales are expected to dip 1% to 23.59 million units, while exports should jump 13% to 6.5 million units. Wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles are predicted to climb 13% to 17.3 million units.CLS: Fang Haifeng, a chief expert at the China Automotive Technology & Research Center, said at the forum that China's new energy vehicle penetration rate is expected to exceed 70% by 2030. During this process, pure electric vehicles will remain the mainstream technology route, but the market share of PHEVs and REEVs will continue to grow steadily. The "Technology Roadmap for Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicles" forecasts that by 2035, traditional energy passenger vehicles will be fully hybridized, and by 2040, hybrids will account for over 65% of traditional energy commercial vehicles.IT Home: Speaking at the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development Forum 2026, Su Bo, deputy director of the National Manufacturing Power Construction Strategy Advisory Committee and former vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that by 2030, new energy vehicles will become the absolute dominant force in the market, with domestic penetration rate exceeding 70%. He added that the goal of building a strong automotive power in new energy vehicles could be achieved ahead of schedule by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan.IT Home: According to the latest data from the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, China's combined production of power and energy storage batteries reached 177.7 GWh in March 2026, up 25.5% from February and 50.2% from a year earlier. Cumulative production for the first quarter of this year reached 487.4 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 49.3%.
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