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Although BYD was already the best-selling brand in China, it reached an even more significant milestone last month. After overtaking SAIC, BYD is now China’s largest auto group.

BYD tops SAIC to become China’s largest auto group

After sales surged by 62%, with over 3 million vehicles sold last year, BYD officially became China’s best-selling brand.

Last month, BYD hit an even more significant milestone. BYD is now China’s largest auto group after topping SAIC in September sales. The milestone is significant, given that SAIC has joint ventures with leading global automakers, including Volkswagen GM.

BYD Group sold a record 419,426 vehicles last month, a 45% increase from September 2023. The numbers include BYD’s Denza, Fang Cheng Bao, and Yangwang subbrands.

September was BYD’s fourth consecutive record-breaking sales month. Despite an influx of new competition and an intensifying price war in China, BYD is still taking market share.

BYD’s cheapest electric car, the Seagull, was the best-selling EV in China in August, with 40,949 models sold. In September, BYD sold another 43,425 Seagull models.

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BYD Seagull EV (Source: BYD)

The BYD Seagull starts at under $10,000 (69,800 yuan) in China and is already stealing market share overseas.

Meanwhile, SAIC is struggling to keep pace. Its joint venture with GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling, is a big reason as sales collapsed 35% in September, with 313,260 units sold.

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BYD’s wide-reaching portfolio (Source: BYD)

Through September, SAIC has sold 2,649,333 vehicles (-21.5% YOY) in China, falling behind BYD, which has 2,747,875 vehicle sales (+32% YOY). BYD’s production numbers through September are also now outpacing SAIC’s.

Electrek’s Take

BYD continues to expand in China despite its increasingly competitive market. With low-cost EVs like the Seagull, Dolphin, and Yuan Plus, BYD is leading the market.

Although BYD is best known for its affordable vehicles, the automaker is rapidly expanding its lineup with new pickup trucks, luxury SUVs, and electric supercars.

BYD is also looking overseas to drive future growth. The company is already a leading EV brand in key auto regions like Southeast Asia and Latin America. With new plants planned in Hungary, Pakistan, Mexico, and Turkey, BYD is laying the groundwork to continue its dominant expansion.

After selling more vehicles than Honda and Nissan for the first time in Q2, BYD became the seventh-largest automaker globally. Will it continue to climb the global auto ranks? With new tech and batteries driving down costs, BYD is poised for a run.

Source: CarNewsChina

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Tesla Autopilot drives into Wile E Coyote fake road wall in camera vs lidar test

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Tesla Autopilot drives into Wile E Coyote fake road wall in camera vs lidar test

Tesla Autopilot drove into Wile E. Coyote-style fake road wall in the middle of the road in a camera versus lidar test.

While most companies developing self-driving technologies have been using a mix of sensors (cameras, radar, lidar, and ultrasonic), Tesla insists on only using cameras.

The automaker removed radars from its vehicle lineup and even deactivated radars already installed in existing vehicles.

The strategy has yet to pay off as Tesla’s systems are still stuck at level 2 driver assist systems.

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CEO Elon Musk claims that Tesla’s advantage is that once it solves autonomy, it will be able to scale faster than competitors because its vision plus neural net system is designed to work like a human driver and, therefore, will be able to adapt to any road.

Critics have pushed back against those claims, especially since Musk mentioned Tesla achieving “level 5 autonomy”, which means “in any conditions,” and cameras have limitations on that front that are fixed by lidar sensors.

A new video by engineering Youtuber Mark Rober has provided a very interesting demonstration of that very problem:

In the video, Rober puts a Tesla Model Y on Autopilot against a vehicle using a lidar system in a series of tests in different conditions.

The Tesla on Autopilot managed to stop for a kid mannequin in the middle of the road when statics, moving, and blinded by lights, but it couldn’t stop in fog or heavy rain:

It’s not surprising that the lidar, a laser-based system, is capable of detecting better in heavy fog than a camera system.

The heavy rain was a bit more surprising, but to be fair, the level of rain was quite spectacular.

The last scenario of a Wile E. Coyote-style wall with a fake road painted on it was obviously not realistic, but it serves to illustrate the issue with cameras versus radar or lidar sensors: they rely on the perception of potential obstacles rather than hard data about potential obstacles.

In simple words, the lidar sensors didn’t care what was painted on the wall, they only cared that it was a wall, while cameras can be tricked.

Electrek’s Take

I think it’s clear that no Tesla vehicle currently available will be capable of level 5 autonomy as Elon claimed.

Level 4 is also questionable.

I think you can accomplish a lot with cameras, but I think it’s undeniable that adding radars and lidars can make systems safer.

In DMs with us during Tesla’s transition to vision only, Elon even admitted that “very high-resolution radars would be better than pure vision”, but he claimed that “such a radar does not exist”:

“A very high-resolution radar would be better than pure vision, but such a radar does not exist.”

When we pointed one out to him, he didn’t respond. Also, while they use light rather than radio waves, lidars are basically high-resolution radars, but the problem is that Musk has taken such a strong stance against them for so long that now that they have improved immensely and reduced in prices, he still can’t admit that he was wrong and use them.

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Trump’s war on Biden’s climate policy is creating a new form of EV range anxiety

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Trump's war on Biden's climate policy is creating a new form of EV range anxiety

Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images

Ownership of electric vehicles continues to rise in the U.S., with nearly six million battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids currently on the road. Even though that’s still a fraction of the overall market and the growth rate of EV sales has slowed, automakers remain invested in the eventual transition away from gasoline, as 2024 sales of traditional internal combustion engine cars fell below 80% for the first time in modern automotive history.

Continued EV sales growth shows that at least for a significant portion of auto consumers, range anxiety is no longer an issue. But it is a persistent fear in the EV market that is getting a new test with the Trump administration looking to slash EV incentives from the federal government.

The majority of EV owners charge up at home, but from city streets and interstate highways to parking garages and airports, the EV industry is concentrated on installing enough chargers in public places to help end range anxiety, while building pure-play charging business models that can stand on their own and turn a profit.

According to the latest figures compiled by Paren AFDC+ Charger Database, there are 68,000 public and private Level 3 (fastest) and Level 2 EV charging stations across the country, each with one or more individual ports, for a total of around 266,000 ports. Installing, operating and servicing the chargers, it’s an industry that is a fundamental driver of widescale EV adoption — and right now, it’s an industry that is struggling to maintain traction in what has lately become an uncertain and politicized marketplace.

Despite a recent surprise Tesla’s sales event at the White House, Trump and his top administration officials — from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary and former fossil fuels industry CEO Chris Wright — have made it clear that stripping away federal support for EVs is among changes being sought as they prioritize oil and gas in energy policy. Already impacted by the slowdown in EV sales, charging companies are battling a recent freeze on an important federal funding program, while also waiting to see how OEMs are affected by the Trump administration’s tariffs and resulting trade wars, particularly involving essential steel and aluminum.

Former President Joe Biden, as part of his signature agenda to combat climate change, set a goal that half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030 would be electric, which also meant having an adequate, reliable nationwide charging infrastructure by then. To address the build out, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program was authorized by Congress under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

NEVI earmarked $5 billion in grants, apportioned annually over five years, to states’ departments of transportation to deploy a network of 500,000 high-speed EV chargers by 2030, primarily along interstate highways, but also rural roadways and low-income communities. Funding is available for up to 80% of eligible project costs. State DOTs are responsible for developing projects and coordinating with site owners and charging companies, which can be an arduous process, markedly different from planning routine infrastructure projects.

A national issue that the funding seeks to address is that while public chargers are relatively plentiful in big cities and suburbs where EV adoption is high — think San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Chicago, Miami and New York — they’re lacking in rural and remote communities in places like Montana, Wyoming and upstate New York, where EVs sales are low. That geographic disparity contributes to charging anxiety. Drivers are worried that there aren’t enough charging stations outside of metro regions, which accentuates their fears of running out of juice, especially on long trips. And harrowing tales of broken, vandalized or otherwise non-working chargers feed into the trepidations.

According to Paren, four of the five years of NEVI funding, or $3.2 billion, has been approved for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Yet only $616 million has been awarded by 33 states to 104 applicants for 1,000 charging stations. To date, 60 charging stations with a combined 268 ports have been built, using $33 million of NEVI funds. While the federal government has not released figures, Paren estimates that perhaps less than $25 million has actually been transferred to states to reimburse charging companies for incurred expenses.

‘Killing those evil EVs and EV chargers’

Stark evidence of the Trump administration’s plans to target EV charging came on Feb. 6, when the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration issued a memo to state DOTs informing them that it was suspending NEVI. The memo stated that FHWA will publish revised NEVI guidelines this spring and solicit public comment before final rules are determined. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy subsequently told Fox Business News that any existing contracts that have been signed “are still going to be funded, but there will be no new funding priorities or projects as we go through a review process.”

The NEVI freeze created immediate confusion among state DOTs, especially as to whether the approved funds will indeed be allocated. “We need that to happen, because this program works on a reimbursable basis,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Many states, he said, “have essentially issued stop work orders, even for existing contracts, because they don’t want to be left holding the bag if the feds decide not to reimburse for any work.”

Historically, new administrations have set their transportation priorities and shifted them accordingly. Yet amending programs and funding that are authorized in law — including NEVI, for which funding has been delayed — would require an act of Congress. The Trump administration, nonetheless, sidestepped Congress and unilaterally suspended NEVI and its funding formula while it considers new guidelines.

In the interim, if those approved funds are not allocated to states, the courts may end up determining whether the freeze is legal. In a ruling on March 6, a federal judge blocked the president’s hold on congressionally approved funds obligated to state agencies and governments, which could conceivably apply to any attempts to renege on NEVI funding.

Loren McDonald, chief analyst at Paren, has a jaundiced view of the motivation behind the NEVI pause. “The administration’s plan is not to actually impact the deployment of charging infrastructure,” he said. “It’s to drive the narrative that we’re killing those evil EVs and EV chargers.”

For the small sector of EV charging companies, headlined by a trio of publicly owned pure-plays — ChargePoint Holdings, Blink Charging and EVgo — all of the EV uncertainty has been enough to keep shares under considerable pressure, with year-to-date declines of 35% to 50% and two of the three stocks currently trading below $1.

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Stock market performance of EV charging pure-plays in 2025.

ChargePoint provides infrastructure hardware, software and services to businesses and fleets that operate EV charging networks. Competitors Blink and EVgo own and operate their own chargers and networks, while also supporting third-party operators. All three experienced substantial stock falloffs starting in 2024, and investors are keeping a wary eye on their performance over the coming months.

The rest of the EV charging industry encompasses a diverse array of players, among them privately held startups, a joint venture between eight automotive OEMs known as IONNA, highway truck stop and travel centers like Love’s, Kwik Trip and Pilot Flying J, convenience store chains including Wawa, Sheetz and 7-Eleven, and big-box retailers such as Walmart, Target and Costco.  

Nearly half of the NEVI awardees are members of the National Association of Truck Stop Owners, the trade association for more than 250 highway truck stops and travel centers, and SIGMA, which represents fuel marketers. David Fialkov, executive vice president of government affairs for both groups, is critical of NEVI’s “incoherent patchwork, not only of grant requirements, but of regulatory and market backdrops in different states that are wholly untethered to one another.” So if the program’s pause “is a bona fide effort to turn it into something more market-oriented and consumer-oriented,” Fialkov said, “we think that’s ultimately better for the market.”

The future of EV charging station demand and deployment

McDonald says a look at the industry numbers shows that the reality is, “whatever they attempt to do is probably going to have little to no actual impact on deployment.”

In 2025, for example, about 10% of fast-charging ports may be funded through NEVI. McDonald estimated that a total of about 16,000 new fast-charging ports will be added this year. “From a macro perspective, the industry is not dependent on federal funding,” he said. At most, he added, “only about 1,500 of those will be NEVI-funded, and maybe even fewer,” depending on the breadth of changes to the program.

During an earnings call on March 4, Rick Wilmer, president and CEO of ChargePoint, told analysts that NEVI-related deals represented an “insignificant portion” of its revenue in 2024 and the company did not anticipate NEVI changes would have a material effect on its business.

According to Paren data, ChargePoint has received three NEVI awards totaling $1.75 million.

Separately, Wilmer told CNBC that in the context of NEVI, ChargePoint supports its customers that operate charging stations and sell electricity. “We’re very intentional about not doing that, because it would put us in direct competition with them,” he said. “We provide the technology and the solutions and help our customers apply for and win NEVI funding. So in the grand scheme of things, NEVI is a very small portion of our business.”

Pilot CEO Adam Wright on EV charging: We think demand is going to push through

ChargePoint reported positive results for the fourth quarter of its FY2025, ended in January, though full-year revenue declined more than 17%, and its stock has fallen roughly 60% over the past year.

The EV charging industry is going through an evolution right now, according to Craig Irwin, an industry analyst at Roth Capital Partners, and companies not dependent on subsidies have better prospects. “The focus on putting credible products out there without subsidy dollars is a winning strategy,” he said. “People want chargers in front of their libraries, real estate developments and other public places. The demand is still there.”

A spokesperson for EVgo, which sites its public chargers in just such high-use urban and metro areas, said that it has received minimal funding through NEVI. The company generates revenue from the utilization of its charging network and taps into other incentive programs offered by state governments and utility companies, whose programs do not include the same geographic constraints as NEVI.  

In December, EVgo announced the closing of a $1.25 billion guaranteed loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, a financing commitment it has pointed to as a sign of certainty. “This loan ensures we are fully funded to add at least 7,500 [ports at roughly 1,100 charging stations], more than tripling our installed base over the next five years,” CEO Badar Khan told analysts during its earnings call earlier this month.

Yet the Trump administration has threatened to find ways to retroactively pull DOE loan funding approved in the last days of the Biden administration, which sprinted to get deals finalized before Trump’s inauguration.

EVgo has been growing, reporting fourth-quarter 2024 revenue up 35% year-over-year, and up 60% for the full year. But despite those gains, the company continues to operate at a loss.

Blink says it does not depend much on NEVI to fund its charging infrastructure, relying instead on hardware sales, software subscriptions, charging revenue and corporate partnerships. “The majority of our other funding is within the largest utility companies,” said CEO Mike Battaglia. “There are some [state] grants out there, as well, that we take advantage of.”

Blink achieved record charging revenue last year, and significantly grew the Blink-owned network, according to its recent Q4 and full year report on March 13. Yet, revenue declined in the fourth quarter and for the full year in comparison to “exceptionally strong equipment sales in 2023,” Battaglia said. The company said it expects revenue will pick up in the second half of 2025 and to have a better idea as to when it will achieve adjusted EBITDA profitability later in the year.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Then there’s the elephant in the room — Tesla, whose sales and stock price have plunged lately following a post-election surge. Tesla is in a unique position, as a manufacturer of both branded EVs and charging stations — and whose CEO Elon Musk has emerged as a central character not just in the sector, but across the entire economic and political landscape.

It has heavily invested in building out its network of superchargers, which are compatible with a growing number of other OEMs’ EV models, including GM, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Rivian. And its proprietary NACS charging connector and port is being adopted by other charging companies. Ironically, considering that Musk favors getting rid of EV subsidies, Tesla is the second-largest recipient of NEVI funds, granted more than $41 million for 99 sites. Elon Musk said in the lead-up to the election that any Trump policies that hurt EVs would hurt his competitors more than Tesla, but recently, Tesla and other Musk firms have been lobbying the government, at least on the issue of tariffs.

With so much uncertainty looming over the EV charging industry — plus the shakeout that typically occurs among nascent tech industries — there’s bound to be consolidation this year. Several companies have already declared bankruptcy or gone out of business, including the North American affiliates of European utility-owned charging companies, Enel X and EVBox, and Tritium, which runs an EV charging equipment plant in Tennessee and was acquired by an Indian conglomerate after declaring insolvency in 2024.

Depending on the outcome of the NEVI situation, companies that heavily rely on its funds and can’t access alternative capital sources may go belly up or partner with other entities. The fate of the public companies remains to be seen, while Tesla spins in its own topsy-turvy orbit. In the meantime, EV adoption does continue to increase, and more chargers will be installed in a growing number of places. It’s the pace, and the winners and losers, that are yet to be determined.

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All the best EV rebate and cash back deals we could find for March 2025 [Updated]

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All the best EV rebate and cash back deals we could find for March 2025 [Updated]

Cynics will point at big rebates and claim they mean the vehicle isn’t selling, but that just exposes them as industry noobs. A rebate is a powerful financial tool that helps dealers overcome obstacles like negative equity, poor credit, down payment requirements, and interest rate objections so you can drive home in the car of your dreams today.

If you’re dealing with any of the above, pay attention: these EVs could get you behind the wheel of a new electric ride sooner than you think!

Update 16MAR: added more big-money rebates!

As I was putting this list together, I realized there were plenty of ways for me to present this information. “Biggest EV incentive deals ..?” Not everyone qualifies for those. “Most stackable EV rebates ..?” Too much research. In the end, I went with national cash back offers and chose to present them in alphabetical order, by make. And, as for which deals are new this month? You’re just gonna have to read the article. Enjoy!

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Audi RS e-Tron GT Quattro

Audi RS e-Tron GT Quattro; via Audi.

The Audi RS e-Tron GT Quattro is a stunning, high-end electrified cruise missile of an automobile that combines Porsche DNA with Audi styling and, presumably, sufficient all-weather performance chops to earn the legendary Quattro badge. From now until March 31st, you can receive $12,500 in customer bonus cash when you purchase or lease a select, new 2024 Audi RS e-Tron GT Quattro (the “standard” RS gets $7,500).

Dodge Charger

Dodge-Charger-EV-overseas
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Scat Pack; via Stellantis.

As the auto industry transitions to electric, Dodge is hoping that at least a few muscle car enthusiasts with extra cash, will find their way to a Dodge store and ask for the meanest, loudest, tire-shreddingest thing on the lot.

These days, that’s the new electric Charger – and you still owed money on the Hemi you just totaled, Dodge will help get the deal done on its latest retrotastic ride with a $3,000 rebate plus 0% financing for up to 72 months!

Ford F-150 Lightning

Ford-free-ev-charging
F-150 Lightning with available Ford Intelligent Backup Power; via Ford.

The Ford F-150 Lightning is a reasonably capable half-ton truck with V2X capabilities that first proved themselves during Texas’ ice storms, and ship with a world of aftermarket support baked in. Ford Pro customers buying an F-150 Lightning for their commercial or public fleet can get even better deals on the OG electric trucks – meaning your fleet manager would be crazy not to take a serious look at one.

Now through March 31st, Ford is offering retail buyers of remaining 2024 Lightning pickups 0% interest for up to 72 months plus $4,000 in retail bonus cash AND a free L2 home charger (cost of installation included). As with all offers, it’s good to read the fine print, but this is a killer deal for Ford truck fans.

Genesis GV70 Electrified

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Genesis GV70 Electrified; via Hyundai.

Genesis’ GV70 Electrified crossover doesn’t get the love it deserves in most circles – but that’s true of just about every Genesis offering. If you’re willing to give the top shelf Koreans a chance, though, I think you’ll find them to be every bit the equal of anything in their class.

And if you don’t, the $10,000 retail bonus cash offer on remaining 2024 models reported by USNews will surely help readjust the models you’re comparing the Genesis to!

Kia EV6 GT

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Kia EV6 GT; via Kia.

CarsDirect is reporting 24-month leases on the positively awesome Kia EV6 GT featuring up to $19,000 in lease cash. Other EV6 variants get decent cash back offers, too – be sure to ask your local dealer about the one you’re interested in.

Nearly every electric Mercedes

Germany automakers
EQB; va Mercedes-Benz.

With the possible exception of the G-wagen version, Mercedes’ EQ lineup is struggling to move off dealer lots. Blame the bizarre naming conventions, the confusion between an S Class and an EQS Class, or the fact that even the top-shelf AMG versions of Mercedes’ electric line look more like suppositories than one of Bruno Sacco‘s Teutonic masterpieces.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Mercedes dealers are ready to get these things off the lot now, and if you can live with some awkward proportions you’ll be rewarded with solid performance, excellent fit and finish, and all the rest of the things that made the 3-pointed star an icon.

Nissan LEAF

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2024 Nissan LEAF; via Nissan.

The inspiration for this article was a hypothetical $9,140 Nissan LEAF deal that I hastily concocted while walking the floor of the 2025 Chicago Auto Show, but the fact remains that even with “just” $7,500 cash back, the $28,140 $20,640 Nissan LEAF is one of the most affordable new cars you can buy in the US. If you can score some additional local incentives and dealer discounts, so much the better.

Toyota bZ4X

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2025 Toyota bZ4X Limited AWD Supersonic Red (Source: Toyota)

It’s not breaking any sales records, but the Toyota bZ4X is a reasonably capable five-passenger crossover EV that should meet most people’s needs with enough of Toyota’s legendary quality baked in to make it a safe enough bet for a decade of hassle-free driving. Plus, with $10,000 in TFS Lease Subvention cash and plenty of dealer discounts floating around, it might be the best deal in Toyota’s current lineup.

Electric Volvo Cars

Volvo-EX90-batteries
2025 Volvo EX90; via Volvo Cars.

Volvo is offering $7,500 EV Lease Bonus Cash on remaining 2024 C40 Recharge models, as well as 2025 EX40 and EX90 SUVs. Those deals can be combined with another $1,000 in Conquest or Volvo Loyalty cash and up to $2,000 additional dollars for Costco Executive members (“Gold Star” Costco members get $1,500 back).

All-in, that can add up to $10,500 off the sticker price of the hot new Volvo EX90 electric seven-passenger SUV, with additional dealer discounts and local incentives available in some states making a new plug-in Volvo and even sweeter deal.

Disclaimer: the vehicle models and rebate deals above were sourced from CarsDirectCarEdge, USNews, and (where mentioned) the OEM websites – and were current as of 16MAR2025. Despite my best efforts to filter these, some deals may not be available in your market, or be stackable with every other discount, or to every buyer (the standard “with approved credit” fine print should be considered implied). Check with your local dealer(s) for more information.

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