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On our trip to Shanghai auto show facilitated by Zeekr, my colleague Scooter and I got to see an unbelievable amount of EVs from 20+ makers, many of which we’d never heard of. Each maker offered an incredible array of models but one in particular stood out to me: the Lynk & Co 900.

One thing I love about this Plug-in Hybrid is that it has a relatively huge battery and could be ridden fully electric, outside of road trips. The two 45-52kWh battery options provide somewhere between 220 and 280 km of range using China’s optimistic calculator. That’s 137 – 174 miles of EV range before the gas motor kicks in and about six times the average daily commute.

Zeekr, Lynk & Co’s sister company, has an even bigger battery, but gawdier PHEV with a 380km/236 mile range before the gas kicks in. At this point, we are really talking about an EV with a range extender.

As with many Chinese luxury vehicles, the second row seats really stood out. They are as comfortable as a laz-y-boy and offer to electronically spin around 360 degrees to make the 2nd and 3rd row a conference area. I nearly fell asleep in them a few times. OK I did but that’s because of jet lag or something. I can’t get over how futuristic the back of this car is.

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Lynk & Co 900 is 524 cm long, 199 cm wide, 181 cm high and has a wheelbase of 316 cm and uses the SPA Evo modular architecture.

The drive is smooth and quick and never once did that petroleum engine kick in.

The 900 comes with standard roof-mounted LiDAR, with higher-priced variants powered by Nvidia’s Thor smart driving chip enabling door-to-door navigation with G-Pilot H7.

Its sleek body isn’t just for looks as it hits the wind tunnel with an impressive drag coefficient of 0.291 Cd. It also boasts a top tier 0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds.

Lynk & Co is making waves with its upcoming 900 model, which has already received over 40,000 pre-orders ahead of its official launch on April 28. Built on the SPA Evo architecture, the six-seater combines class-leading 88.2% space efficiency with innovative 180-degree rotating second-row seats, targeting premium family buyers seeking versatile cabin configurations. The intelligent cockpit features front and rear 30-inch 6K displays driven by dual Qualcomm 8295 chips, delivering 60 TOPS computing power for eight-screen coordination via the LYNK Flyme Auto system. Powering the SUV is a 2.0T plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain with 3-speed DHT Pro transmission and dual rear motors, generating 650kW total output to achieve 0-100km/h acceleration in 4.3 seconds – positioning the 900 as one of the fastest electrified SUVs in its segment.

It turns out that there are other similar vehicles from other Chinese makers including the Li L9, Denza N9 and Aito M9.

Electrek’s take:

The Lynk & Co 900 is the Chinese EV market in a nutshell:  90% of the car at half the price of its western rivals. Compare to a Range Rover, Rivian R1S, the upcoming Scout, Hyundai Ioniq 7 or a Kia EV9 and it is hard to imagine how well these would sell in the US and Europe.

Something else I love to see is a huge battery PHEV with enough range for reasonable daily tasks before the gas engine kicks in. Scout has a similar idea so we might get to try something similar in the US.

Even in China Lynk&co has noted it had 40,000 pre-orders before launch, so I think this is going to be a popular vehicle. I don’t think, even with the bananas current trade climate, this one will show up in the US. Europe on the other hand might want to keep an eye out however.

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Wheel-E Podcast: ’70 MPH e-bikes’, Vietnam bans gasoline bikes, more

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Wheel-E Podcast: '70 MPH e-bikes', Vietnam bans gasoline bikes, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes “70 MPH e-bikes” prompting new law changes, recalled Amazon/Walmart e-bikes, Vietnam banning gasoline-powered motorcycles, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 8:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 9:00 a.m. ET):

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Exxon earnings beat estimates as production growth softens impact of lower oil prices

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Exxon earnings beat estimates as production growth softens impact of lower oil prices

Exxon earnings beat estimates as production growth softens impact of lower oil prices

Exxon Mobil reported second-quarter earnings on Friday that declined significantly compared to last year, though the company beat Wall Street estimates as production growth in the Permian Basin and Guyana softened the impact of lower oil prices.

Exxon’s net income fell 23% to $7.1 billion, or $1.64 per share, compared to $9.2 billion, or $2.14 per share, in the same period last year.

Here is what Exxon reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $1.64 vs. $1.54 expected
  • Revenue: $81.5 billion vs. $80.77 billion expected

The oil major pumped 4.6 million barrels per day, the highest output for the second quarter since Exxon and Mobil merged more than 25 years ago. Production in the Permian hit a record 1.6 million bpd.

Exxon’s production business posted a profit of $5.4 billion, down 23% from about $7.1 billion in the same period last year on lower oil prices. Its refining business booked earnings of $1.37 billion globally, up 44% compared to $946 million in the year-ago period due to higher refining margins.

Exxon paid out $9.2 billion to shareholders, including more than $4 billion in dividends and $5 billion in share repurchases. The oil major said it’s on pace to purchase $20 billion of shares this year.

Exxon has slashed its costs by $1.4 billion so far this year and $13.5 billion since 2019. It is aiming to cut another $4.5 billion through the end of 2030.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

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Chevron profit hit by low crude oil prices and loss from Hess acquisition

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Chevron profit hit by low crude oil prices and loss from Hess acquisition

Chevron profit hit by low crude oil prices and loss from Hess acquisition

Chevron on Friday reported second-quarter earnings that took a substantial hit due to low oil prices and a loss on its acquisition of Hess Corporation.

The oil major’s net income declined about 44% to $2.49 billion, or $1.45 per share, from $4.43 billion, or $2.43 per share, in the same period last year.

Chevron booked a $215 million loss on the fair value measurement of Hess shares. When adjusted for that charge and other one-time items, Chevron earned $1.77 per share to beat Wall Street estimates.

Here is what Chevron reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $1.77 adjusted vs. $1.70 expected
  • Revenue: $44.82 billion vs. $43.82 billion expected

Chevron completed its acquisition of Hess on July 18, after prevailing against Exxon Mobil in a long-running dispute that threatened to blow up the $53 billion deal. An arbitration court rejected Exxon’s claim to a right of first refusal over lucrative Hess assets in Guyana, clearing the way for Chevron to complete the transaction after a long delay.

Chevron expects the deal to begin adding to earnings in the fourth quarter. It also hopes to reduce annual run-rate costs by $1 billion by the end of 2025.

Chevron pumped a record 3.4 million barrels per day worldwide for the quarter, a 3% increase over the same period last year. U.S. production jumped about 8% to 1.69 million bpd compared to the year-ago period, with production in the Permian Basin hitting 1 million bpd. The Hess acquisition will add assets in the Bakken formation and Gulf of Mexico in addition to Guyana.

Chevron’s production business posted a profit of $2.72 billion, down 38% from $4.47 billion in the same period last year due to lower oil prices. Its refining business booked earnings of $737 million, up 23% from $597 million last year on higher margins for product sales.

Chevron paid out $5.5 billion to shareholders in the quarter, including $2.6 billion in share buybacks and $2.9 billion in dividends.

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