Pandaily's Digest #20210811
BYD denies rumors of supplying blade batteries to Tesla, Douyin's food delivery service, Meng Wanzhou's final arguments in extradition battle begin, Xiaomi unveils the Mi Mix 4 smartphone, and more.
BYD Denies Rumors of Supplying Tesla With Blade Batteries
BYD, China’s second-largest EV battery supplier, has denied rumors it is supplying Tesla with “blade batteries” on Wednesday, asserting that the company never told the media that it would do so, nor did it say that its blade batteries would be used in Tesla’s Model Y, according to ifeng.com.
Douyin’s Food Delivery Service Begins to Take Shape
More details have emerged about “Xindong Waimai,” an on-demand food delivery service currently being developed by Douyin, which is the Chinese mainland version of video sharing platform TikTok, owned and operated by Beijing-based tech firm Bytedance.
Xiaomi Chief Lei Jun Releases Annual Speech, “My Dream, My Choice”
Lei Jun, founder of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, on the evening of August 10 delivered his annual speech with the theme of “My Dream, My Choice.” During his talk, he revealed the 10 most difficult choices he has encountered in his experience. The topics of his speech involved sales volume, stock price, high-end strategy, U.S. blacklist, future goals and more.
Meng Wanzhou’s Final Arguments in Extradition Battle Begin
Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei and the telecoms company’s Chief Financial Officer, is bracing for the final phase of her extradition hearings starting on August 4, which will decide whether or not she will be sent to the U.S. to face trial.
Baoneng Motor Starts Second Batch Of Layoffs, Exceeding 65% of Personnel
After initiating layoffs in early 2021, Shenzhen-based new energy vehicle maker Baoneng Motor continued with the second batch of layoffs on July 22, Auto-time reported on Tuesday. Baoneng has not yet commented publicly on the matter.
Tesla Delivered 8,621 Made-in-China Cars Domestically in July, Down 69%
American electric carmaker Tesla sold 32,968 vehicles in July, up 199% year-on-year, while the volume of made-in-China cars delivered domestically in July was only 8,621, down 69% from the 28,138 units delivered in June, according to data released Tuesday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Luckin Coffee Plans New Financing Round with Potential Investors Including Focustar Capital
Chinese domestic media outlet Cailian Press on Tuesday reported that Luckin Coffee is planning a new round of financing, including participants such as Focustar Capital (FSC), an industrial capital investment platform under Five Star Holdings.
Xiaomi Unveils Mi Mix 4 Alongside Mi Pad 5 and New OLED Mi TV Series
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi on Tuesday unveiled its Mix 4, alongside the Mi Pad 5 and new OLED Mi TV series.
XPeng’s P5 City NGP Clip Leaked, Supports Automatic Lane-Change Turn Signalling and Identification of Traffic Lights
A video of XPeng’s electric vehicle P5 Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP) system for city driving was leaked by an XPeng engineer on Tuesday. This is the first public exposure of the firm’s city NGP.
China Evergrande Group in Negotiations to Sell Automobile and Property Management Businesses
Chinese real estate developer Evergrande Group is negotiating with both state-owned and private companies to sell stakes in the China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group and Evergrande Property Services Group, according to a source cited by Reuters in a Monday report.
Tesla Giga Shanghai Reaches Annual Output of 450,000 Units
According to media sources recently invited to visit Tesla’s Shanghai car factory, the combined annual output of Model Ys and Model 3s at the location has reached 450,000 vehicles.
Plus Tests Driverless Trucks in Jiangsu Province, To Supply Amazon With 1,000 Vehicles
California-based autonomous transport start-up Plus has carried out the first test of its kind for fully driverless trucks in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu. In addition, Plus has secured a deal with Amazon to provide at least 1,000 autonomous delivery vehicles to support the leading e-commerce firm in its long-haul logistics operations.
US Lawmakers Call for Inclusion of Former Huawei Sub-Brand Honor on Economic Blacklist
According to a Reuters report, a group of 14 Republican lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives on August 6 asked the US Commerce Department to add the former Huawei smartphone unit Honor to the government’s official economic blacklist.
NetEase Cloud Music Delays Hong Kong IPO
On Monday, Reuters-owned media outlet IFR reported that NetEase Cloud Music has postponed its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong after previously passing the listing hearing on August 1.
Adidas’s Greater China Revenue Declines 15.9% in Second Quarter
German sportswear company Adidas recently released its financial report for the second quarter of 2021, which showed that revenue for Greater China during the period was only 1 billion euros ($1.174 billion), down 16% year-on-year. It was the only region to experience negative revenue growth for Adidas in the second quarter.
Hillhouse Capital Denies that Founder Zhang Lei Faces Border Control Penalty
Hillhouse Capital on Monday denied previous reports that its founder Zhang Lei now faces punishment by border control authorities. The venture capital firm has reported the case to the police and reserved all legal prosecution rights.
Xpeng Motors Launches First Batch of Super-charging Stations Along Expressways
On Monday, Xpeng announced that its first batch of 11 super-charging stations have been installed and are now in operation along the Shandong section of the Beijing-Shanghai expressway and the Henan section of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao expressway.
Trip.com Group Launches “Hybrid” Working Test – A Mix of Remote and In-Office Work
Chinese online travel agency Trip.com Group on Monday launched its own “hybrid” working test, consisting of a mix of remote and in-office work, and will involve two control groups and several hundred employees. The test is meant to find out whether or not this form of working model can be used as one of the company’s long-term office solutions in the future.