Toyota is often criticized for being “late” to EVs. That criticism misses the point. Toyota didn’t fall behind.It refused to panic. While many legacy automakers rushed into EVs after 2020, rewriting software stacks, reorganizing engineering teams, and burning capital, Toyota did something unfashionable: It protected its system. Here’s what Toyota did differently 👇 1️⃣ It…
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China Proposes New Limit: No Passenger Car Should Do 0–100 km/h Faster Than 5 Seconds
Recently, China’s Ministry of Public Security released a draft of the updated National Safety Technical Requirements for Motor Vehicle Operation. ✅ One highlight is drawing major attention: Passenger cars, upon every startup, must default to an acceleration mode no faster than 5 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h. In other words, even if a vehicle…
Some OEMs are cutting corners on testing
In today’s “6-month refresh, 1-year full upgrade” development cycle, one uncomfortable truth is emerging in the automotive world: some OEMs are cutting corners on testing. Environmental validation, durability runs, high-altitude testing — these are not “nice to have.” They are the foundations of product safety. Yet under extreme time-to-market pressure, they’re often the first to…
China Just Took a Major Step Toward Level 3 Autonomous Driving
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has conditionally approved L3 (conditionally automated driving) vehicles for production, marking a historic milestone for the industry. Changan Automobile and BAIC BluePark Magna are among the first automakers to receive approval under China’s vehicle product access regulations. Why this matters:• This is product approval, not a pilot…
The “Uncomfortable Truth” About China’s EV Industry
At the recent ORA preview event, Great Wall Motors Chairman Wei Jianjun made a brutally honest statement: “The government can’t keep funding you forever. Only parents do that for their kids — but isn’t that basically ‘living off your parents’?” One word — “living off your parents” — perfectly captures the current state of many…
Xiaomi Just Hit 500,000 Cars. And It Changes the EV Game
On November 20, Xiaomi reached a milestone that would have sounded impossible just a few years ago: the 500,000th Xiaomi car rolled off the line at the Beijing Yizhuang Super Factory. From Car #1 to Car #500,000, it took Xiaomi only 1 year and 7 months—about 602 days. According to industry data, this is the…
I Finally Realized Why Only One Chinese Founder Became a True Icon
A few months ago, I was rewatching one of Lei Jun’s early product launches. The one where he was nervous, stiff, and got laughed at by half the internet. But something struck me: Most founders would hide after that.Lei Jun didn’t. He came back on stage again. And again.And again.Until suddenly—people weren’t laughing anymore. They…
As someone who works for Detroit’s Big Three but drives an LS430…
When I first bought the car, a few colleagues teased me. “Why not drive one of our own?” they asked. Fair question. But the truth is, the LS430 taught me something I couldn’t learn just from working inside the industry – It taught me what timeless engineering really feels like. Every time I close the…
Hedge Funds Are Turning Against Xiaomi. But Should They?
According to a recent Bloomberg report, hedge funds have piled into short positions on Xiaomi just weeks before its Q3 earnings. Goldman Sachs’ data shows short interest in Xiaomi surged 53% in one week – A clear sign that institutional investors are losing confidence, at least in the short term. Why?• Slower-than-expected EV rollout• Rising…
When a Cleaning Lady Became Lexus’ Viral Star
Recently, a Lexus dealership in Harbin, China, invited a 58-year-old cleaning lady — part of the dealership’s janitorial staff — to introduce their cars on camera. To everyone’s surprise, her video went viral — over 5 million views — while the dealership’s usual videos barely reached a few thousand. It seems accidental, but it actually…