What shook up the new energy vehicle market this week?
Geely Auto makes formal entry into Canadian market
On October 9, Geely Auto — the core marque of the Geely Auto Group — announced its official entry into Canada, a move viewed as a critical step in the company' s globalization strategy and a sign of tangible progress in its North American expansion.
Image source: Geely Auto
Geely Auto has already established its Canadian subsidiary and kicked off operations, now moving aggressively to build out local retail and service networks ahead of its first model launch for consumers in 2027. The Canadian unit plans to fuse the group' s global technology arsenal with local market insights, tailoring products and services to the specific needs of Canadian drivers as it seeks to gain a firm foothold.
On the distribution front, Geely intends to partner with local dealers who possess deep community roots and market knowledge. The goal is to construct a service support system covering the entire ownership lifecycle — ensuring a solid after-sales experience. A robust retail and service network, the company argues, is essential for success in Canada.
The company' s confidence in Canada stems from its accumulated strength in vehicle engineering, safety technology, electrification, intelligent tech, and advanced manufacturing. To date, products from Geely, ZEEKR, and Lynk & Co have reached over 100 countries and regions. Underpinning this reach is a global R&D and design network heavily focused on electrification, product development, and next-generation automotive technologies.
Gasgoo Take: Geely' s move into Canada marks a pivotal shift from merely exporting products to exporting systems. Yet, in a mature market like North America, the real test lies in building channels and mastering localized operations before the first vehicle arrives in 2027.
EU says China will sharply cut hybrid vehicle exports to Europe
The European Union says China has agreed to significantly reduce the volume of hybrid vehicle exports to the bloc — a development that suggests trade tensions could be easing. EU leaders are set to meet next week to discuss further measures regarding China.
Following talks in Beijing on October 9, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said the bloc and China have struck a deal to slash exports of Chinese hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles to Europe by half.
Image source: European Union
The agreement reportedly spans the next four years, though neither side has specified exactly how hybrid export volumes will be regulated. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the EU is preparing to introduce so-called "safeguard measures" — typically tariff-based tools used to curb imports that exceed specific quotas.
Gasgoo Take: The EU claims China has agreed to halve hybrid and plug-in hybrid exports to Europe over the next four years. If implemented, this could ease trade friction, but with regulatory details unclear and pure-electric tariff disputes unresolved, the agreement' s enforceability and real impact remain to be seen.
ONVO delivers its 200,000th vehicle
On October 8, ONVO delivered its 200,000th vehicle — an L90 — to the family of Geng Chenchen, a well-known TV host recognized as a "National Five-Virtue Family." Since delivering its first L60 in 2024, ONVO has hit the 200,000-unit mark in just two years, a delivery speed that ranks it among the top three new EV startups.
Image source: ONVO
Guided by a "tech for family" philosophy, ONVO has launched three models: the L60, L80, and L90. On space, the L60 offers large-SUV interior dimensions despite its mid-size exterior, featuring a 763-liter trunk and 139 liters of under-floor storage. The L80 and L90 stretch 5,145mm in length, with a 60.4% axle-to-length ratio and 81.5% space utilization. The L80 boasts a 240-liter frunk and a 1,200-liter trunk, while the L90 offers over a meter of legroom in every row when fully occupied, a 430-liter trunk (including 106 liters of under-floor storage), and a 240-liter frunk.
On safety, the entire lineup is developed to meet both Chinese and European five-star standards. The L60 became the first pure electric model to achieve a "Good" rating in every category of the C-IASI collision test, as well as the first to earn five-star ratings under the 2024 C-NCAP and C-GCAP protocols, alongside NESTA certification. The L90 secured a five-star grand slam across C-NCAP, C-GCAP, and C-ICAP, earning the "2025 Grand Slam Model" title from CATARC. Sharing the same platform as the L90, the L80 has already passed rigorous tests, including underbody scraping over rough terrain combined with 600mm wading depth, and side-impact collisions involving a 5-ton truck.
On the energy front, ONVO' s nationwide charging and battery-swapping network supports three-minute swaps. This separation of vehicle and battery provides a "lifetime health plan" for the power pack, ensuring it is always managed and addressing the lifespan mismatch between car and battery. The L90 accommodates six passengers and ten suitcases, emphasizing VIP seating in all rows and luggage space in both the front and rear.
Gasgoo Take: Hitting 200,000 deliveries in two years proves that ONVO' s strategy of combining family-focused positioning with battery-swapping infrastructure is gaining traction.
MAEXTRO responds to brake pedal bracket issue: No fractures in real-world use, free upgrades offered
On October 8, MAEXTRO Auto issued a statement addressing the controversy over its brake pedal bracket base, sparked by a viral video that same day. Acknowledging that the braking system is critical to user safety, the company emphasized its focus on the matter and outlined its development verification standards, real-world performance data, and planned improvements.
Image source: Screenshot from MAEXTRO's Weibo
MAEXTRO began by detailing the validation benchmarks for its braking system. The company stated that development and verification were completed to standards exceeding national requirements (GB 21670-2025, GB 7258-2026) and industry standards (QC/T 788-2018). Since initial deliveries, there have been no reported instances of brake pedal bracket base fractures in actual customer usage.
However, MAEXTRO did not rest its defense solely on the absence of real-world failures. The company emphasized that user safety is its top priority, and it wants to ensure higher safety margins even under non-standard, extreme testing conditions. Acting on this principle, MAEXTRO will optimize the design of the relevant components and offer free upgrades to existing owners.
Furthermore, MAEXTRO plans to extend these improvements to a systemic level. The company will conduct a comprehensive review and reinforcement of design verification, testing boundaries, and production quality management for related components to continuously bolster its safety framework.
Gasgoo Take: MAEXTRO' s proactive stance on accountability is commendable, but rebuilding trust in safety will depend on whether it successfully incorporates non-standard extreme conditions into its validation protocols and strengthens its systems accordingly.
Tesla' s Q3 global sales exceed expectations
Tesla reported third-quarter global sales that beat market expectations — a sign that its core business is stabilizing even as the electric vehicle industry faces headwinds.
Image source: Bloomberg
On October 2, Tesla announced global deliveries of 486,532 vehicles for the third quarter. That topped the average analyst estimate of 463,761 units compiled by Bloomberg.
The results offer a positive signal after a period of slumping sales and depressed stock prices. Facing intensifying competition in China — a key market — and soft demand in the U.S., Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is driving Tesla' s transformation toward future-focused sectors like artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and humanoid robots.
"The delivery numbers stood out," Tom Narayan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note. He attributed Tesla' s gains to a pullback by major U.S. automakers on EVs, combined with high fuel costs driving demand for electric vehicles.
Tesla shares rose 5% following the report. While the stock is still down for the year, it has staged a modest recovery since hitting a trough in late July, partly fueled by market speculation that Musk could merge Tesla with SpaceX, the rocket company he also leads.
Still, Tesla' s deliveries dipped from the 497,099 units posted in the third quarter of last year. That surge was driven by a rush of buyers ahead of the expiration of U.S. federal tax credits. Even so, Wall Street expects Tesla to notch a slight recovery this year after two consecutive years of declining sales.
Mickey Legg, an analyst at StoneX, noted in a report that last quarter' s better-than-expected deliveries "could lead us to raise our forecasts for the automotive business," though uncertainty remains around the company' s energy storage operations.
Gasgoo Take: Amid industry headwinds and corporate transition, Tesla' s better-than-expected Q3 deliveries appear to be a short-term demand boost — one that hasn't yet reversed the year-over-year decline.
