Human Horizons’ HiPhi brand moves closer to bringing its ultra-futuristic EVs to Europe
Human Horizons’ automotive brand HiPhi announced its flagship X EV has completed TÜV SÜD testing overseas to allow for the sale of the electric SUV in Europe. With a second model already making digitized waves in China and a third to be announced at the Shanghai Auto Show next week, Human Horizons will look to bring more of its HiPhi EVs to European markets in the future.
Human Horizons Technology is a Chinese start-up based in Shanghai that develops autonomous driving technology and manufactures luxury EVs under its HiPhi brand.
A year after its official founding in 2017, Human Horizons launched its EV brand alongside three concept designs – one of which would become the HiPhi 1 SUV, which first caught our eye back in 2019. That SUV concept would eventually evolve into the company’s flagship production model, the HiPhi X SUV, which began deliveries just over a year ago.
The X was followed by the HiPhi Z – a “digital GT” EV designed with automatic ultrawide band suicide doors, a wraparound Star-Ring ISD light curtain, and a robotic arm connected to the dash display. We should eventually see the HiPhi Z sold in Europe too, but for now, the focus is on the X SUV.
HiPhi X EV approved for EU sales, HiPhi Z to follow
According to Human Horizons, the HiPhi X EV has completed the approval and homologation process undertaken by TÜV SÜD, ensuring the Chinese-made SUV adheres to the necessary European standards and regulations.
The process analyzed the HiPhi X’s battery management system, chassis control, brakes, steering, plus ADAS features like park assist and radar-guided cruise control. Human Horizon states that TÜV SÜD not only successfully completed the crucial homologation for the HiPhi X but did so in record time. HiPhi CTO and cofounder Mark Stanton spoke to the regulatory EV approval:
Receiving the necessary test reports from TÜV SÜD for the European vehicle approval is not only an important step forward in our carefully considered plans for launching in Europe, but it’s also a reinforcement of the meticulous standards to which HiPhi products are engineered. European road safety standards are among the strictest in the world, and the homologation by TÜV SÜD confirms that HiPhi X meets these standards.
While the automaker’s immediate focus in the EU will be the HiPhi X, Human Horizons has already confirmed it intends to sell the aforementioned HiPhi Z in Europe as well. HiPhi states that further details of its European plans, including its initial launch markets, will be announced during the Shanghai Auto Show next week.
That is also when we intend to see the official debut of HiPhi’s third EV model – the HiPhi Y, which has been “designed and engineered with global markets in mind.” So we’d imagine that the upcoming model eventually makes its way to Europe as well. We are sure to learn more next week. In the meantime, here’s some footage of the ultra-futuristic HiPhi Z GT:
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Paris’ bike-share system, Vélib has long been considered one of the shining success stories of urban micromobility. With a massive fleet of over 20,000 pedal and electric-assist bicycles around Paris, the service has helped millions of residents and tourists get around the City of Light without needing a car or scooter. But lately, a growing problem is threatening to knock the wheels off this urban mobility marvel: theft and joyriding.
According to city officials and the service operator, more than 600 Vélib bikes are now going missing every single week. That’s over 30 bikes a day simply vanishing from the system – some stolen outright, others taken on “joy rides” and never returned.
“At the moment we’re missing 3,000 bikes,” explained Sylvain Raifaud, head of the Agemob company that currently operates the Velib system. That’s nearly 15% of over 20,000 Vélib bikes across Paris.
The sticky-fingered culprits aren’t necessarily professional thieves or organized crime rings. Instead, they’re often regular users who treat the shared bikes like disposable toys.
The city estimates that many people have figured out how to pry the bikes out of the system’s parking docks, unlocking one for a casual cruise and then ditching it somewhere far from a docking station.
Once pried free, the bikes are technically usable for the next 24 hours until their automatic locking feature kicks in. At that point, the bikes are often simply abandoned. Some end up in alleyways. Others get tossed in rivers. A few just disappear completely.
And since the bikes are intended to be parked at their many docking stations around the city, they don’t have GPS chips, further complicating recovery of “liberated” bikes.
The issue started small but has grown into more than an inconvenience – it’s beginning to undermine the entire purpose of the service. With bikes going missing at such a high rate, many Vélib docking stations are left empty, especially during rush hours.
Riders looking for a quick commute or a convenient hop across town are increasingly finding themselves without available bikes, or having to walk long distances to find a functioning one.
That kind of unreliability chips away at user confidence and threatens to drive potential riders back into cars, cabs, or other less sustainable forms of transport at a time when Paris has already made great strides to dramatically reduce car usage in the city.
The losses are financially painful, too. Replacing stolen or vandalized bikes isn’t cheap, and the resources spent on tracking down missing equipment or reinforcing anti-theft measures are stretching thin. Vélib has faced theft and vandalism issues before, especially during its early years, but this latest surge has officials sounding the alarm with renewed urgency.
Officials acknowledge that there’s no easy fix. Paris, like many cities with bike-share systems, walks a fine line between accessibility and accountability. Part of what makes Vélib so successful is its ease of use and widespread availability. But those same features make it vulnerable to misuse – especially when enforcement is limited and the consequences for abuse are minimal.
The timing of the problem is especially unfortunate. In recent years, Paris has seen impressive results in reducing car traffic, expanding bike lanes, and promoting cycling as a key part of its sustainable transport strategy. Vélib is a cornerstone of that plan. But if the system becomes too unreliable, it risks losing the very people it was designed to serve.
Meanwhile, as Parisians increasingly find themselves staring at empty docks, the challenge for the city and Vélib will be to restore confidence in the system without making it harder to use. That means striking the right balance between freedom and responsibility, between open access and protection against abuse.
In a city where cycling is supposed to be the future of mobility, losing thousands of bikes to joyriders and sticky fingers isn’t just frustrating; it’s unsustainable.
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