Electric vehicles have reached a tipping point in China. They now represent the majority of the new car market, surging to 51% market share.

China and electric vehicles are linked together.

The majority of the world’s electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) are both built and sold in China.

In 2024, global electric car production reached around 17 million vehicles, with China accounting for about 12 million of those — over 70% of the world’s total.

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Roughly 11 million of the 12 million EVs were also sold in China. The rest were exported to other markets.

This is impressive in itself, but China has a massive automotive market. How significant are these EV volumes within the market?

It turns out that electric vehicles just reached a tipping point in China.

According to registration data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), electric vehicle sales have achieved over 50% market share for each of the last five months.

Year-to-date, electric vehicles market share currently sits at 51% of new car sales in China. This is often viewed as a tipping point that quickly leads to electric vehicle sales dominating the entire market.

Tesla has announced the Model Y Performance, available in Europe starting in September.

The Model Y Performance is now out in Europe, after Tesla teased a Friday announcement earlier this week. The teaser went out from Tesla’s Europe/Middle East account, but the release seems to only be in Europe, for now.

Tesla updated its European configurator today with the new Model Y Performance, along with details on what sort of upgrades the car gets over the other trim levels of the Model Y.

The basic headline stat is that the Performance model brings 0-100km/h (0-62mph) times down from 4.8 to 3.5 seconds, quite a leap (or 3.3 seconds for 0-60mph). This is thanks to the increased 460hp available on the Model Y Performance.

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That higher level of horsepower doesn’t seem to greatly affect efficiency, though, as the car is still capable of 580km (360mi) range on the WLTP cycle – which, keep in mind, is more lenient than the EPA cycle. It also hasn’t lost much charging speed, according to Tesla, with the ability to add 243km (151mi) of range in 15 minutes – a better measure of efficiency, given Tesla doesn’t specify its battery capacities anymore. Though it does say it’s using “new, high-voltage battery cells.”

But the performance upgrade isn’t just more horsepower and better 0-60 times, there are some other design, interior and performance touches.

The Performance model comes with 21″ “Arachnid 2.0” wheels, a new wheel design, along with redesigned front and rear bumpers which look more aggressive and less flat.

On the inside, Tesla has added performance badging, reminiscent of the “Plaid” theme it has used on other performance vehicles, and has slightly increased the size of the front touchscreen (from 15.4 to 16 inches), with higher resolution to boot.

The front seats get an improvement, with adjustable thigh extensions for those with particularly long legs.

In terms of performance changes, Tesla added updated suspension to the Model Y Performance with electronic dampers. We saw this on the recent Model Y L which earned praise for its driving dynamics, despite being full of 6 adult passengers.

The Model Y performance includes a new mode which Tesla calls “Stability Assist Mode,” which it says allows drivers to “Customize your traction and control. Choose between Standard, Reduced or Off to give your vehicle more or less traction according to your driving style and terrain.”

This sounds like a performance tuning of the car’s stability control systems – stability control can apply brakes to individual wheels to help correct over/understeer, but can get in the way in performance driving applications.

There may be other performance-related options in there, but Tesla isn’t telling us about them yet – merely referring to them as “drive modes.”

While nobody has gotten their hands on the Model Y Performance for a driving review yet, the Model 3 Performance earned immediate rave reviews from most of those who drove it. It’s quite the performance package, and there’s pretty much nothing out there with the same sort of specs on offer for that price, gas or electric (though personally, I prefer rear-wheel drive cars and was a bit disappointed by the slightly slower steering rack post-Highland refresh).

Chrysler parent company Stellantis is sinking billions on electric Jeeps and Chargers that no one wants, but the they’ve developed market-leading EVs in Europe, and this latest, £36,995 DS Automobiles No4 is exactly the sort of electric crossover that could rejuvenate the brand’s American prospects. The only question now is: why won’t they bring it here?

Both the Dodge and Jeep-branded Stellantis EVs are being offered with huge discounts in a bid to generate some kind of market interest, but the company’s American product and marketing teams seem to be deeply confused about what the market actually wants. Over in Europe, though, Stellantis’ EVs are hot sellers – and this latest five-passenger crossover from the company is expected to steal even more sales from the Model Y.

The new all-electric No4 E-Tense model from Stellantis’ French brand DS Automobiles will be offered at three trim levels starting with the Pallas at £36,995 (approx. $48K US), rising to £39,160 for the Pallas+ and topping out at £41,860 (approx. $56K US, before incentives get applied) for the range-topping Etoile. 

All three trims use a front-mounted electric motor rated at 213 hp, drawing from a 58.3‑kWh battery pack. That setup delivers up to 280 miles on the WLTP cycle (about 240 miles by EPA estimates). That feels like a lot of miles from a relatively small battery, aided no doubt by the DS No4’s aerodynamic. Inside the No4’s sculpted flanks is enough room for five adults and a bunch of their stuff, as well as an incredibly sexy dash and infotainment layout that (in the official press photos, at least) seems positively slathered in Alcantara (think “vegan suede”).

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With 120 kW fast charging capabilities, the No4’s battery pack can replenish from 20 to 80 percent in under 30 minutes. Thanks to built‑in V2L/V2X tech, the No4 can also supply power back to external devices.

Electrek’s Take

I think it would be a hit. As for why the marketing gurus at whatever’s left of the old Chrysler corporation seem to think an electric muscle car that no one asked for or a Dodge-branded Alfa Romeo that no one will ever ask for is a better use of their marketing dollars – that’s simply beyond me.

Maybe you guys know? Check out these photos of the new DS No4, then scroll on down to the comments and let us know what you think of Stellantis’ US product plans, and whether or not they messed up canceling the Airflow after all.

SOURCE | IMAGES: DS Automobiles.

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