Phate Zhang

The strategic importance of sodium batteries as a technology reserve and to ensure China's energy security should be valued, but their commercial value should not be overestimated.

Li said that if the vehicle is too cheap, the company cannot afford to use a lot of new technology. "If our vehicles were priced higher, we could use some of the latest technology," he said.

With the release of its new model on the horizon, Chinese electric car company Li Auto seems to be thinking about how to get customers to buy the new model.

Li Auto will hold a spring launch event on May 25 at 20:00 Beijing Time, when it will unveil the new Li ONE model.

Robin Zeng, the founder of Nio and Tesla's battery supplier CATL, said Friday that the company will release sodium-ion batteries around July this year.

Aiways announced Friday that its first battery swap station and Aiways U5 battery swap-enabled model are in trial operation.

The two companies have been working together informally on chips for the past few months and they may soon set up a joint venture for chip development, the report said.

BYD Semiconductor announced Friday that its automotive MCU (microcontroller unit) installed base has exceeded 10 million units, marking a milestone in the local automotive chip sector.

Changan, which trades in Shenzhen, is up more than 40 percent so far this month.

CATL will supply lithium-ion battery packs for the eActros LongHaul electric truck, which is scheduled for mass production in 2024, for a supply period beyond 2030.