With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.
Audi establishes innovation technology center in Shanghai; E7X SUV to begin presales
Who: Audi; SAIC Group; Momenta (technology partner).
What: Audi and SAIC signed a strategic cooperation agreement to deepen collaboration and establish an Audi Innovation Technology Center in Shanghai; Audi will also launch new models under the AUDI brand.
When: Agreement recently signed; Audi E7X to debut at Auto China 2026 and begin presales on May 8, 2026.
Where: Shanghai (innovation center); Beijing (Auto China 2026 debut).
How:
The center focuses on intelligent electrification R&D and full vehicle development across the ICV (Intelligent Connected Vehicle) value chain.
Core technologies include:
Advanced Digitized Platform (ADP)
AI-powered immersive smart cockpit
Advanced driver assistance systems
Development follows a joint China-Germany model, with Chinese teams deeply involved in core platform definition.
Product Details (Audi E7X):
Positioned as a "smart performance flagship SUV."
Equipped with Momenta R7 reinforcement learning world model, enabling point-to-point assisted driving.
Features:
900V high-voltage platform
109.3 kWh battery
CLTC range: 751 km
4C fast charging: 10 minutes adds 429 km
Rear-wheel steering + progressive steering; turning radius 5.15 m
Smart cockpit includes 21.4-inch QD Mini LED display and AI assistant 2.0.
Future Plan:
Audi will jointly develop four models based on the ADP platform.
Third AUDI model scheduled for 2027.
CATL unveils multiple next-generation batteries and integrated charging-swapping network
Who: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL).
What: CATL launched multiple battery products and a "integrated charging and battery swapping" network plan.
When: April 21, 2026.
Where: Beijing.
Key Products & Technologies:
3rd-gen Shenxing superfast charging battery:
Supports 10C (peak 15C) charging.
Charging performance:
10%–35% SOC: 1 minute
10%–80% SOC: 3 min 44 sec
10%–98% SOC: 6 min 27 sec
Retains ≥90% capacity after 1,000 cycles.
At -30°C, 20%–98% SOC in ~9 minutes.
3rd-gen Qilin battery:
Energy density: 280 Wh/kg.
Enables 1,000 km range with 10C charging.
Battery weight: 625 kg (255 kg lighter vs comparable models).
Instant power: 3 MW.
Introduces thermal-electric separation safety technology.
Qilin condensed-state battery:
Energy density: 350 Wh/kg; volumetric density: 760 Wh/L.
Range: up to 1,500 km for sedans; >1,000 km for large SUVs.
Uses condensed-state electrolyte (non-flammable, no leakage).
Previously validated in 4-ton-class aircraft flight tests.
2nd-gen Xiaoyao hybrid battery:
Pure electric range:
500 km (LFP version)
>600 km (ternary version)
Combined range: >2,000 km.
Peak power: 1.5 MW (1.2 MW at 20% SOC).
Sodium-ion ("Naxin") battery:
Breakthrough in four key industrialization challenges.
Scheduled for mass production by end of 2026.
Infrastructure Plan:
Integrated charging-swapping network:
Combines home charging, public charging, and battery swapping.
"Chocolate" passenger EV and "Qiji" heavy truck swap stations equipped with supercharging.
Energy loss reduced by >13 percentage points vs conventional stations.
Equipment utilization rate: >85%.
Deployment targets:
4,000 stations by end of 2026
Coverage: ~190 cities and 12 vertical + 11 horizontal highways
Long-term goal: 100,000+ shared energy facilities by 2028
Partners: Changan, Chery, GAC, Seres, SAIC-GM-Wuling, BAIC
Horizon partners with BICV Technology and PATEO to advance cockpit-driving integration
Who: Horizon Robotics; BICV Technology; PATEO Connect Technology.
What: Strategic partnerships to develop integrated cockpit-driving solutions based on centralized computing architecture.
When: April 22, 2026.
How:
Adoption of Horizon's Starry single-chip platform for unified cockpit and autonomous driving functions.
Integration of AI + Beidou positioning technologies with centralized computing.
Enables unified computing resource pooling and cross-domain functionality.
Key Collaboration Areas:
With BICV Technology:
Develop full-stack solutions covering hardware, middleware, and applications.
Focus on:
Multimodal interaction
Cockpit-driving coordination
Cloud-edge integrated services
Estimated cost reduction: RMB 1,500–4,000 per vehicle.
With Pateo:
Four collaboration directions:
Mass production of cost-effective cockpit-driving integrated solutions
Deep integration of smart cockpit and autonomous driving functions
Expansion into robotics control systems (low latency, high reliability)
Joint global market expansion
Technical Impact:
Enables vehicles to evolve into AI agents with:
Cross-modal understanding
Continuous planning
Adaptive decision-making
