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.
Geely Officially Enters the Swiss Market
Geely officially entered the Swiss market on September 21, holding a brand and product launch event in Zurich. The automaker introduced three new-energy models—the Geely E5, Geely E2 and STARRAY EM-i—covering both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
The Geely E5 is a compact electric SUV, while the E2 is an electric crossover and the STARRAY EM-i is a mid-size plug-in hybrid SUV. The E5 starts at 29,990 Swiss francs in Switzerland, according to Swiss automotive publication Automobil Revue.
Geely has partnered with Swiss automotive import and retail group Emil Frey, which will serve as its official importer for Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The partnership gives Geely an established local channel as it builds its presence in the market.
The Swiss launch marks another step in Geely's European expansion. The company plans to gradually expand its sales and service network in Switzerland and introduce more models as it seeks to strengthen its position in one of Europe's key automotive markets.
Nissan expands China-built vehicle exports
Nissan is expanding exports of China-built vehicles to overseas markets, with the latest shipments headed to Southeast Asia and the Gulf region. On September 9, a second batch of Frontier Pro pickups left China for the Gulf, followed two days later by the first China-built N7 electric vehicles and Frontier Pro pickups bound for Southeast Asia.
The move marks a broader rollout of Nissan's "In China, for the World" strategy. Nissan began volume exports earlier this year, when an initial batch of 900 Frontier Pro pickups departed Shanghai for Latin America. The company said the China-developed and China-produced pickup underwent more than a year of development and validation for overseas markets.
Nissan also plans to export the NX8 and other China-developed models to selected markets.
The strategy reflects Nissan's broader effort to make China not only a major production base, but also a global innovation and export hub, leveraging its local R&D, manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities. Nissan also plans to build overseas aftersales and parts-supply operations as exports expand.
SemiDrive closes roughly RMB 1 billion Series C financing
Chinese automotive chipmaker SemiDrive has completed its Series C, C+ and C++ funding rounds totaling around RMB 1 billion ($140 million) in 2026. The latest financing will support the company's expansion beyond automotive chips into embodied intelligence, robotics and industrial applications.
SemiDrive plans to use the funds to accelerate development of intelligent-cockpit and vehicle-control chips, while increasing investment in embodied-intelligence technologies and products. Its robotics portfolio already includes the R1, D9 and E3-R product lines.
The company has built a significant automotive-chip business, with cumulative shipments exceeding 14 million units by the end of August 2026. It now aims to leverage that automotive production base to develop new applications in robotics and other physical-world scenarios.
The key question will be whether SemiDrive can turn its automotive chip expertise into sustained commercial shipments in robotics and industrial applications, rather than simply extending existing automotive technologies into new categories.
