China

China's EV industry and the Western response, tracked: BYD's export machine, the range claims that need cycle labels, US bans on Chinese-linked cars, and the strategy bets in both directions.

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Oct 15

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The center of gravity

China builds and exports more EVs than anyone; BYD alone retook the global crown

The walls going up

The US now bans Chinese-linked models — Geely ships Lotus EVs to Canada while their Polestar twin is barred next door

The bets in both directions

Ford reportedly courts Xiaomi for EV speed; Volkswagen chased a Chinese flying car for five years and left its project lead facing criminal charges

China is the center of gravity of the global EV industry, and everything else on this site — the price wars, the tariff walls, Detroit’s strategy — is in some way a response to that fact.

The champion is BYD, which retook the global crown and keeps setting export records; its full story lives on the BYD desk. The walls going up produce sibling-model absurdities: Geely ships Lotus EVs to Canada while the US bans their Polestar twin.

The bets run in both directions. Ford reportedly courts Xiaomi for Chinese EV speed; Volkswagen chased a Chinese flying car for five years and left its project lead facing criminal charges — the cautionary tale in the same genre. And every range headline from this market needs its cycle label, which is the EPA desk’s whole job.

Every China EV story lands in the feed below.

Why do Chinese EVs matter to American buyers who can't buy them?

Because they set the world price and pace. Every US-market decision — Ford's reported Xiaomi talks, GM's cost panic, the tariff walls — is a response to what BYD and its peers ship. You can't buy the cars; you're already living in their market.

Are Chinese EVs banned in the US?

Increasingly, including by lineage: Geely can ship Lotus EVs to Canada while the US bans their Polestar twin. The wall is drawn around software and ownership as much as sheet metal, which produces exactly these sibling-model absurdities.

Are Chinese EV range claims trustworthy?

They are CLTC-cycle numbers — the most generous test in use. BYD's 1,036 km Denza claim is real on that cycle and would land far lower on an EPA sticker. Name the cycle, or the number is marketing.

China

The EV industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.