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As we’ve been briefly mentioning the past month or so, we got an opportunity to attend the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show in… you guessed it, Shanghai. Aside from taking place in an event center larger than many cities in the US, this annual event featured some of the most advanced tech we’ve ever seen and a glimpse into the future of electric mobility as, a glimpse into the future of electric mobility, and well as some of the strangest yet entertaining design and presentation.

Table of contents

Reporting live from China (yes, right now)

It’s after midnight here local time, and after five days overseas, endless cups of coffee (and some Westlake tea), I can’t keep track of what day or time it is back in the States. So bear with me if my thoughts are a bit scattered. Just look at the pretty pictures, okay?

I’m sorry for the number of bystanders who photobombed most of these shots. A clean image of any BEV at the Shanghai Auto Show was impossible, given the number of people (primarily influencers and content creators) clamoring for the right angle and always managing to walk into Every. Single. Shot.

The recap is simple. Seth Weintraub and I walked the entire show, scoping everything out for you. Below, I have compiled images of some of the more noteworthy vehicles and adjacent technologies, sorted into four easy-to-follow groups: the interesting, the cool, the downright badass, and the weird. Let’s dig in.

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The Interesting

Buick and Nissan showcased some pretty sleek EVs for China

From a US perspective, Nissan is only beginning chapter two of its BEV journey. Chapter one was, of course, the long CHAdeMO-powered saga of the LEAF. The Ariya is quite adequate, but as we strolled around the floors of the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show, the N7 caught our eye.

Its design is nothing groundbreaking but pretty sharp, and its front pixel illuminations below the headlamps are a lovely touch. Nissan also has several variants on display in some beautiful colors. I would love to see this one in the States.

Speaking of the US, Buick turned our heads with its Electra BEV lineup. The GM sub-brand has been selling BEVs in China for a bit now. Still, if some of the Electra models on display at the Shanghai Auto Show (like the SUV, Sedan, and GS Concept seen above) were to ever come to the US, they could perhaps help Buick become relevant again (Yes, Buick is irrelevant in the US, I said it, bring in the BEVs).

ZEEKR’s booth was packed with visitors and lineup of EV models

ZEEKR was one of the first Chinese automakers to hold a live event during day one of the Shanghai Auto Show, where it unveiled its new 9X MPV – it’s first ever PHEV. Like its BEV 009 counterpart, the 9X is an ultra-luxe multi-purpose vehicle with a giant rear screen and a mini fridge, not to mention new wheels.

But it’s a PHEV, so we found two more interesting things around ZEEKR’s floor. First was the number of models on display to auto show visitors. In addition to the 009 and 9X, ZEEKR showcased the MIX (which shares a lot of DNA with the Waymo BEV being developed for the US), the 001, 001FR, 007, 7X, X, and the recently unveiled 7GT.

Now remember that this Geely sub-brand was only founded four years ago. Wow.

The second thing we noticed was how grounded the ZEEKR area was all day in Shanghai. Many guests of the auto show explored each and every BEV inside and out, and there were plenty to peruse. Not to mention ZEEKR’s recently announced EV fast charger (more on that in a bit).

We got our first in-person look at NIO’s Firefly brand BEVs

We’ve been following the progress of NIO’s ultra-affordable Firefly sub-brand for three years now, so it was exciting to see the initial models in person during the Shanghai Auto Show. Honestly, there’s not much to say here except that they’re neat. Small, simple, unique—exactly what NIO set out to deliver.

The youngins’ of the show were all over these things, capturing tons of content. Given its size and affordability, Firefly could do well in Europe in addition to China if it can siphon some of NIO’s brand recognition.

Let’s move onto some stuff that we found to be slightly cooler.

The Cool

eVTOLs and flying cars aplenty

While this was the Shanghai Auto Show, there were no shortage of electric vertical, takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft prototypes, both scaled down and actual size. There were too many eVTOLs to count, but CATL’s (seen above) stood out because its CATL and it can actually innovate into reality.

Chery’s flying car/eVTOL combo was quite strange-looking but a cool idea nonetheless. The showstopper of the bunch, however, was the eVTOL/vehicle combo called the “Land Aircraft Carrier” from XPeng and AeroHT. I’ve been covering this thing for years, but this was my first time seeing it all in person.

I found the vehicle itself to be massive, but a tad underwhelming. It didn’t seem like a finished production-ready design to me yet, but I could totally be wrong. The eVTOL which can be stored onboard the vehicle was on display and completely unfolded. It looked awesome.

According to previous promises from XPeng, the Land Aircraft Carrier is supposed to reach production in 2026 and actually be delivered to Chinese customers. If and when that happens, I will be returning to China ASAP.

I didn’t know I wanted an iCAR V23 until this past week

I was at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show when I learned about iCAR for the first time. This is an all-electric subsidiary of Chery Automotive founded in 2023. These are fun, compact SUVs that look modular and hella customizable.

They’re almost like a more compact Chinese version of what Ford could have done with an all-electric Bronco, but I’m not salty about that at all. Instead, the V23 from iCAR has caught my gaze. They look so fun, I would love to own one of them in the US (except for one specific variant you’ll see below). What do you think?

We saw the Xiaomi SU7 in person, but where was the YU7 SUV?

If we weren’t already aware, Chinese tech manufacturing giant Xiaomi is moving fast after seemingly knocking it out of the park with its first-ever vehicle, the SU7. Xiaomi gives us a stinging feeling of what may have been if Apple had ever actually one day possibly maybe made an electric car.

Instead, we have Xiaomi – and I think the SU7 and SU7 Ultra are a lot sexier that anything Apple would have done. Usually, one is front and center, but Xiaomi kept it low-key in a smaller booth on the second level of the event center, displaying several colors of the SU7 variants.

Many surmise it was due to the recent unfortunate accident in a Xiaomi SU7 in China, killing three passengers. That’s understandable in virtually all degrees, but I wondered, “Where’s the YU7?” Xiaomi has already shared images of its second model, which will be an SUV, so I was disappointed I couldn’t see it in person, even if it had only been for display purposes only.

That new model is supposed to officially launch this summer.

On to the most exciting stuff we saw at the Shanghai Auto Show 2025.

The Downright Badass

ZEEKR’s 1,300 kW charger was on display (sorry no demos)

While it wasn’t doing any actual charging, ZEEKR’s presence at the Shanghai Auto Show also included its new 1,300 kW (1.2 MW) DC fast charger, announced less than a month ago.

“Sure, it’s just a picture of a non-functioning EV charger on a wall in Shanghai, so what?” What gets this EV tech onto our most badass list of Shanghai 2025 is its potential and what it represents. Most BEVs in the US can’t handle more than 250 kW of charging power, 350-400 kW tops.

Now we’re looking at 1,300 kW from ZEEKR?!? They don’t even make a BEV that can handle that much power. Even at a lower rate, ZEEKR and BYD have recently introduced charging technology that can finally deliver visits that resemble a gas station stop.

I also prefer that the charging technology is ahead of the BEV architecture and not vice versa. This is exciting stuff… at least for EV owners in China *begins to cry in a Rivian R1S Standard that tops out charging at 200 kW.

The Yangwang U9 stole the show as the most breathtaking BEV

This! This was the BEV that truly stole my heart at the Shanghai Auto Show. It’s sleek, sporty, sharp, and unique. It’s the U9 from BYD luxury sub-brand Yangwang. Like many of these Chinese vehicles that I have been covering for months or even years, this was the first time I got to see the U9 in person, and just wow.

Walking around, I saw a lot of copycat BEV designs around the halls, but not the Yangwang models. In my opinion, the U8 SUV is ugly, but at least it’s different. The U7 is super luxe and perfect for a long ride to the airport, but the U9 looks like a monster

We went toe-to-toe with XPeng’s Iron humanoid robot [Video]

XPeng makes our list again for live demonstrations of its humanoid robot, called “Iron.” As you can see from the video I captured below, Iron interacted with guests of the Shanghai Auto Show, waving and following their movements. Eerie times, but still badass as well.

Despite the technical accomplishments, it will likely be a while before we see an army of Iron robots building XPeng BEVs.

The Weird

Last but not least, here is some of the weirder stuff we saw walking around the Shanghai Auto Show. Some of it was cultural, some was experimental, but all of it was entertaining.

Fuzzy cars were aplenty at the Shanghai Auto Show

I’m not sure if this is a China thing, or perhaps adds to the appeal for content creators, but we spotted several fuzzy, furry, or diamond-studded models. Seth and I’s favorite was the hamster (or guinea pig?) themed MiniEV. At first we thought it was the shaggin’ waggin’ from Dumb and Dumber. “Chicks dig it!”

The new Firefly already modded out in the most obnoxious way

Remember everything I said about Firefly being simple and minimalist? They threw all that out the window with this body kit that is so over the top that I’d imagine Hot Wheels would even say to reel it back in a little. Universal, PLEASE put this in the final (maybe?) Fast & The Furious Film. PLEASE!

Shanghai Auto Show

BYD did something similar with this… thing

I have no words. A clear nod to Chinese history and culture in design. Cool idea for an auto show floor I suppose, but you’d never catch me in this vehicle.

Equal opportunity objectification at Shanghai Auto Show 2025

Something prevalent at the Shanghai Auto Show we don’t see at US shows anymore was females modeling in front of the cars. Aside from being a bit strange and awkward (The 12-foot teddy bear didn’t help), it was the fact that the models would find your lens and stare directly at it and for a second there you’re just lost.

Say what you will about using beautiful women to promote cars. Still, Chinese brand Baojin also had a handsome, muscular man up there, staring daggers into my soul as I tried to take a simple pic of the vehicle he was guarding over. See above.

Signing off from the Shanghai Auto Show

I have more thoughts, I’m sure, and perhaps I’ll add them later, but I am out of bad jokes and need to sleep. For now, at least. Stay tuned for more footage and impressions captured this past week during the Shanghai Auto Show

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Want EV charging at your apartment, as an owner or a renter? Click here (update)

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Want EV charging at your apartment, as an owner or a renter? Click here (update)

EVs are great, and can unlock more transportation convenience with the ease of charging at home. But for apartment-dwellers, this can be a complicated conversation. So a nonprofit called Forth is here to help, through its Charge at Home program.

One of the main benefits of an electric vehicle is in the convenience of owning and charging the car in the place it spends most of its time. Instead of having to go out of your way to fuel it, you just park it at home, in the same place it spends at least 8 hours a day, and you leave the house every day with a full charge.

But this benefit only applies to those with a consistent parking space which they can easily install charging at. When talking about owners who live in apartment buildings, it can sometimes get more complicated.

While certain states have passed “right to charge” laws to give apartment-dwellers a solution for home charging, apartment charging is nevertheless a bit of a patchwork solution so far.

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And as a result of this, EV ownership among apartment renters lags behind that of single-family homeowners. It’s clear that apartments are holding back people from buying EVs, and that’s bad – lots of people live in apartments, and the gas those cars use pollutes the air just as much as any other.

Certain areas where EVs have hit a point of critical mass (namely, the large California cities) have pretty good EV ownership among renters, but it could still be better. And residents are clamoring more and more for easy EV charging in apartment communities.

So, Forth, a nonprofit advocating for equitable access to clean transportation, set up a program called Charge at Home, which is meant to connect renters, apartment building owners or other decisionmakers with resources to help install chargers at multifamily properties.

The site lets you select your situation – a resident or a decisionmaker for a new or existing multifamily development – and then gives you access to tools for your specific situation, whether you be a resident and developer.

The site houses links to help design a multifamily project, find electricians, inform you about right to charge laws or available incentives, and provide case studies, among others.

Charge at Home also hosts roundtable webinars periodically, and includes a library of past webinars with the information you need.

There are a lot of considerations for each of these projects, so it can be helpful to have someone with experience to help you go over it all. Personally, when talking to friends about getting an EV, charging considerations are usually the thing that takes up the bulk of the conversation.

So if the toolkits are still too daunting for you, Charge at Home is offering free charging consultations for multifamily developers, owners, property managers and HOAs.

The charging consultations will last through at least April 2026 – but it wouldn’t hurt to get your requests in soon. Forth may still offer consultations afterwards, but it all depends on funding availability (the program was previously funded by the Department of Energy, which has taken a turn). Regardless, the website will remain up for people to submit questions and find information, whether or not free consultations stick around.

But at the very least, as Forth points out, whether a multifamily development is interested in having EV charging at this moment or not, any developer should think about having the infrastructure, conduit and capacity ready to go for future install of EV chargers, and should consider the needs of current residents who are likely already considering EVs today.

It’s going to be necessary to install this capacity at some point, and doing so earlier can help save money down the line, make your development more attractive to renters today, and allow more renters to make the switch to cleaner transportation which helps air quality and to reduce climate change, both of which harm everyone on the planet.

Head on over to Forth’s Charge at Home site to get access to all the above resources – and to sign up for a consultation before the end of April if you’re a multifamily developer, owner, property manager or HOA.

Update: This article has been updated to account for an extension in program availability.

Electrek’s Take

I’ve long said that the only real problem with EVs is the problem of access to consistent charging for people who don’t have their own garage. Whether this be apartment-dwellers, street-parkers or the like, the electric car charging experience is often less-than-ideal outside of single family homes, at least in North America.

There are workarounds available, like charging at work, or using Superchargers in “third places” where you often spend time, but these still aren’t optimal. The best thing is just to charge your car wherever it spends most of its time, which is your home. When you do that, EVs outshine everything in convenience.

We’ve highlighted some projects before which showed how reasonable it can be to install charging for developments. Every project is going to have its complexities, but when you see projects like this condo complex that managed to install chargers for just $405 per parking spot, all of a sudden it becomes a no-brainer not to have EV charging.

But the fact is, there just aren’t enough apartment complexes out there which have EV charging. So if Forth’s Charge At Home program can help residents or landlords with that, it can go a long way towards solving the only real problem with EVs. Click here to check it out.


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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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This Maryland county will get its power from a solar farm on landfill

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This Maryland county will get its power from a solar farm on landfill

Baltimore County, Maryland, just brought its first large-scale ground-mounted solar farm online, and it sits on what used to be the Parkton Landfill. The 213-acre site, once a symbol of waste, is now generating clean power that will cut costs, slash emissions, and turn an underused piece of land into a long-term energy asset.

Located north of Baltimore City, Baltimore County is one of Maryland’s largest and most populous counties, and its push toward renewables has major implications for the state’s climate and energy goals.

County Executive Kathy Klausmeier called the project a clear example of innovation meeting sustainability: “We are cutting costs for taxpayers and making investments that benefit our communities for decades.”

The new solar farm will provide around 11% of the Maryland county government’s annual electricity, producing roughly 8.2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in its first year. That’s the equivalent of avoiding greenhouse gas emissions from burning over 620,000 gallons of gasoline, powering more than 1,150 homes for a year, or driving 14 million fewer miles in gas cars, according to the EPA.

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The 7 MW system includes four large solar arrays of 15,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels. It’s part of a growing trend in the US to repurpose capped landfills for renewable energy, turning dormant properties into productive clean energy sites.

Through a power purchase agreement with TotalEnergies, which owns and operates the system, Baltimore County will lock in reduced electricity rates for 25 years, with options to extend the contract for up to 33 years. That long-term deal protects taxpayers from future electricity price hikes while advancing local climate goals.

“Adding another large source of solar electricity to power our County’s facilities reflects our community’s values of making smart investments that take care of the health of our community and environment,” said Greg Strella, the county’s chief sustainability officer.

TotalEnergies Managing Director Eric Potts called the project a “powerful example of transforming underutilized assets into productive resources,” pointing to the dual benefits of cutting emissions and saving money.

Baltimore County’s next landfill solar project, at Hernwood, is expected to come online by 2028. Once that system is up and running, renewables will supply about 55% of the county government’s electricity use.

Read more: The Trump administration just killed the US’s largest solar project


The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

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The Hyundai IONIQ 3 looks just as wild as the concept [Video]

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The Hyundai IONIQ 3 looks just as wild as the concept [Video]

The IONIQ 3 was spotted in public rocking a wild new look, just like the Concept Three Hyundai revealed last month.

The Hyundai IONIQ 3 draws looks from the Concept Three

We got our first look at the IONIQ 3 just over a month ago after Hyundai revealed the Concept Three at the Munich Motor Show.

The concept will arrive as the IONIQ 3 when it launches next year. Production is set to begin in early 2026 at Hyundai’s manufacturing plant in Turkey with the first customer deliveries shortly after.

Hyundai’s Concept Three is a preview of the new EV, set to arrive as a little sibling to the IONIQ 5. Like the concept, the IONIQ 3 is bringing a radical new look to the IONIQ series, which Hyundai said will set the tone for its next wave of vehicles.

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The new design theme, dubbed “Art of Steel,” is inspired by advanced steel technology. It features an Aero Hatch profile that Hyundai calls “a new typology that reimagines the compact EV silhouette.”

Hyundai-IONIQ-3-looks
The Hyundai Concept THREE EV, a preview of the IONIQ 3 (Source: Hyundai)

The added lemon-tinted glass that wraps around the vehicle and wheels to match only adds to the electric hatch’s bold new look.

Hyundai kept a few design elements found on other IONIQ models, including its signature Parametric Pixel lights.

Hyundai-IONIq-3-looks
The Hyundai Concept THREE EV, a preview of the IONIQ 3 (Source: Hyundai)

With its official debut coming up, the IONIQ 3 was spotted driving in Korea with what appears to be a nearly identical design to the concept.

The video from HealerTV offers a closer look at Hyundai’s new EV from nearly all angles. Although it’s still covered, you can see the front headlights are about the same. The only noticeable difference is that the turn signal lights are now above the headlight.

As the reporter points out, if you look at the headlights, tail lights, and radiator grille, it appears just like the concept.

Like up front, the turn signal is above the rear taillight. It also features a brake assist light similar to the Nexo, Hyundai’s fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

Hyundai-IONIQ-3-looks
The Hyundai Concept Three (Source: Hyundai)

Measuring 4,287 mm in length, 1,940 mm in width, and 1,428 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,722 mm, the Concept Three is about the size of the Volkswagen ID.3 and Kia EV3.

It will sit between the Inster EV and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s European lineup. Hyundai has yet to release prices, range, and other specs, but like the Kia EV3, it’s expected to be available with 58.3 kWh and 81.4 kWh battery packs, offering a WLTP range of around 365 miles.

Since the Kona Electric starts at £35,000 ($47,000), the IONIQ 3 will likely be priced closer to £25,000 ($33,700). For those in the US, the IONIQ is not expected to make the trip overseas.

However, Hyundai is still offering one of the most affordable EVs in the US with the 2026 IONIQ 5 starting at under $35,000.

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