OEM TrendCailian Press: On August 16, NIO’s official WeChat account announced that as of today (August 16), the company has built 9,210 battery swap and charging stations nationwide, including 4,020 swap stations and 5,190 charging stations equipped with 29,915 piles, having facilitated over 120 million battery swaps to date.Cailian Press: Addressing recent controversy, Avatr Technology Vice President Yong Jun clarified the company’s deep ties with Huawei. "We never wanted Huawei to build a version exclusively for Avatr," he said, "but rather to develop platform technology shared across the entire industry." The Avatr 07L was built under a joint creation model, featuring the alliance logo on its B-pillar and integrating extensive Huawei technology developed in tandem with the Yinwang team. Strategically, Changan and Huawei have signed a comprehensive cooperation framework in Shenzhen, signaling even deeper collaboration between Avatr and Huawei in the future.Gasgoo: Xiaomi EV confirmed that it will showcase the Pengcheng N90 Max and N70 Max extended-range SUVs, alongside pure electric models including the SU7, YU7, and SU7 Ultra, at the 2026 Chengdu Auto Show from August 21 to 30.IT Home: CARIAD recently announced that Volkswagen Group (China) has launched its first in-house developed full-scenario driving assistance (L2++ ADAS) product through CARIZON, its intelligent driving competence center. Dubbed HS8 (Hyper Sense 8), this one-step end-to-end solution is tailored to the complex road conditions and diverse traffic scenarios Chinese drivers face daily.IT Home: During the 2026 Monterey Car Week, Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann revealed in an interview that the company "has no plans to reintroduce manual transmission models." Records show the last Lamborghini offered with a manual gearbox was the 2014 Gallardo; its successor, the Huracán, came exclusively with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.Mydrivers: Reports suggest Tesla plans to unveil the redesigned Roadster as early as August, nearly nine years after its initial 2017 reveal. The launch event is expected at SpaceX’s McGregor test facility in Texas, potentially showcasing a limited-edition cold gas thruster version developed with SpaceX. The demonstration will feature remote operation without a driver, with spectators kept hundreds of yards away. It remains unclear how the event will be broadcast. The thruster-equipped version won’t be street legal and could cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Delivery plans have been pushed back at least eight times, and Tesla has yet to release a clear timeline for the production Roadster or respond to requests for comment. Mydrivers : Waymo, Google’s autonomous driving unit, has imported over 3,200 Chinese-made ZEEKR electric vans since 2024 to expand its Robotaxi fleet, with more than 2,600 arriving this year alone. These vehicles are shipped as chassis without autonomous driving or connectivity features. Once in the U.S., Waymo partners with Magna to install its sixth-generation self-driving hardware and software. Thanks to a partnership deal with Geely announced in 2021, these vehicles receive regulatory exemptions to operate legally on public roads. The total cost per vehicle exceeds $100,000—significantly lower than the $200,000-plus cost of retrofitting the Jaguar I-PACE, making them better suited for fleet operations.Supply Chain NewsIT Home: ECARX announced that its Flyme Auto system was installed in 135,201 vehicles in July. From January to July, installations exceeded 1.018 million, bringing the cumulative total to over 3.285 million units to date.Cailian Press: According to the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, SiEngine has announced full mass production of its self-developed automotive-grade 7-nanometer AI acceleration chip, the "Tiangong 100," and has begun bulk shipments to OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. This chip delivers independent large-model computing power via a plug-in card form factor, eliminating the need to replace the vehicle’s main control chip or modify existing hardware and software. It is seen as a major breakthrough in expanding domestic on-device AI computing capabilities.Gasgoo: Pateo and Yunji Technology have officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Leveraging their respective strengths in intelligent vehicles and robotics, the two companies will establish a deep strategic partnership to explore new paradigms for the integration of smart manufacturing and the robotics industry.Cailian Press: SMIC Co-CEO Zhao Haijun told an earnings briefing that revenue in China grew the most—by 22% in the second quarter—driven by robust demand for AI-related chips, the return of overseas orders, and strengthened localized manufacturing. By application, revenue breakdown was: smartphones 17%, PCs and tablets 16%, consumer electronics 44%, connected and wearable devices 7%, and industrial and automotive 17%. All segments saw absolute value increases quarter-over-quarter. By allocating more capacity to areas with tight supply, SMIC drove roughly 40% sequential growth in absolute value for AI-related PCs and tablets as well as industrial and automotive segments. Although end markets for other applications were sluggish, early stockpiling by customers offset some of the drag, leading to absolute value growth of 8% for smartphones, 16% for consumer electronics, and 13% for connected and wearable devices.Gasgoo: The 500th humanoid robot dedicated chassis rolled off the production line at Weimaier’s Huzhou manufacturing base. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hangzhou Lanxin Robotics Technology, Weimaier leverages Lanxin’s deep expertise in 3D vision technology and mobile robotics to develop chassis for humanoid robots and industrial mobile robots, providing global customers with safe, stable, and intelligent mobility solutions.Industrial EconomyCailian Press: Cui Dongshu, deputy secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), wrote that auto groups are seeing a sharp divergence in performance in 2026. Companies like BYD are recovering quickly, climbing back to the top spot, while Geely and Chery continue to maintain strong momentum overall.Policy Situation Mydrivers : Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on imported drones and their components, covering products from even some of America’s core allies. The Trump administration cited excessive reliance on foreign drone sources. The White House stated that Trump has signed a presidential proclamation imposing a 100% ad valorem tariff on drones of specific sizes and capabilities deemed highly sensitive to national security, while smaller drones will face a 25% tariff rate.
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