What were the biggest headlines in the new energy vehicle market this week?
NIO ES9 Breaks 10,000-Unit Delivery Mark in 30 Days
Gasgoo, June 26. NIO marked its 10,000th delivery of the ES9 on Friday. Founder, Chairman, and CEO William Li personally handed over the keys to the milestone owner—Li Ningchuan, founder, chairman, and general manager of Futur Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
It took just 30 days from the May 28, 2026, delivery start to hit the 10,000-unit mark. This sets a new record for high-end pure electric models priced around 500,000 yuan in the Chinese passenger market. The ES9 is ushering in the electric era for premium full-size SUVs.
Image Source: NIO
The ES9 represents the culmination of NIO's systemic innovation over the past eleven years. It has created a new category—the intelligent electric executive flagship SUV—setting the benchmark for technology and experience in this segment.
Gasgoo Take: Thirty days. Ten thousand units. An average price exceeding 500,000 yuan. Together, these figures stand out against a backdrop of industry-wide pressure. A profound power shift is underway in the market for large SUVs priced around 500,000 yuan.
Robin Zeng: Solid-State Battery Tech is Only at Level 4; Level 9 is Ready for Mass Production
Gasgoo, June 24. At the 2026 Summer Davos Forum in Dalian, CATL Chairman Robin Zeng spoke on the "No Electricity, No Intelligence" panel. He stated that solid-state battery technology is currently at Level 4 on a scale of 1 to 9. Level 9, he noted, is when mass production becomes feasible.
Zeng explained that there are three distinct paths: the technology route, the product route, and the commercial route. The product route concerns supply availability and whether reliability and safety meet requirements. The commercial route, meanwhile, depends on market acceptance and sales volume.
Previously, Gasgoo reported that Zeng had offered a cautious outlook on the industrialization of all-solid-state batteries. When asked if million-vehicle-level installation was possible before 2030, he explicitly said the chances were "very slim." He also revealed that CATL internally rates the current maturity of all-solid-state battery technology at TRL4 (Technology Readiness Level 4), on a scale where 9 is the maximum.
Gasgoo Take: By pegging solid-state battery maturity at Level 4, Zeng is applying a rational correction to the industry's overly optimistic sentiment.
Leapmotor Opens New Battery Assembly Workshop in Spain
Gasgoo, June 23. Leapmotor International, a joint venture between Stellantis and Chinese NEV maker Leapmotor, inaugurated a new battery assembly workshop in Spain. The facility is located near the EV and battery production base that Stellantis is building with Chinese battery giant CATL.
Details from Leapmotor's announcement show the workshop is situated in Mallén, Spain. It has a planned annual capacity of about 65,000 battery modules, with space reserved to expand production to a maximum of 100,000 units.
Image Source: Leapmotor
The workshop can accommodate the assembly of batteries using various chemistries. Production will launch with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, a cost-effective energy storage solution tailored for electric vehicles. The factory will operate with a collaborative model involving both Chinese and Spanish staff. Some Spanish workers have already completed specialized training at Leapmotor's battery production base in China.
Gasgoo Take: As Chinese NEV makers shift from exporting products to exporting technology standards and supply chains, Leapmotor's move in Spain serves as a defining footnote to this industrial upgrade.
Canadian Industry Minister: BYD, Chery, and Geely Eye Joint Venture Plants in Canada
Gasgoo, June 22. Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Mélanie Joly stated that China's top three automakers—BYD, Chery, and Geely—are seeking electric vehicle import quotas for Canada. They are also "willing to explore" establishing joint venture assembly plants locally.
During her week-long visit to China, Joly met with representatives from all three companies. The Canadian government is actively courting automotive investment, offering access to the domestic market in return.
The federal government has made it clear that for Chinese automakers to set up production in Canada, they must form joint ventures with Canadian capital. These ventures must be majority-owned by the Canadian side. They must also rely on local supply chains for production.
Image Source: BYD
"I communicated with these three companies to explore feasible paths for cooperation," Joly told reporters on a conference call. She noted that all three Chinese automakers have accepted the joint venture model but did not disclose further details of the negotiations.
Gasgoo Take: Chinese automakers are shifting from "exporting products" to "exporting capacity" and "exporting compliance." The ceding of controlling stakes signals that the tug-of-war over profits and dominance has only just begun.
National Energy Administration: Total Charging Piles in China Top 22.5 Million
Gasgoo. The National Energy Administration recently released statistics on China's electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Data shows that as of the end of May 2026, the total number of charging connectors nationwide reached 22.5 million, up 44.9% year-on-year. Breaking down the figures, public charging connectors totaled 4.95 million, a 25.9% annual increase, with a combined rated power of 242 million kilowatts. The private sector is larger, with 17.55 million connectors—a 51.4% jump—representing an installed power capacity of 151 million kilovolt-amperes.
A comparison of growth rates reveals that private charging installations are significantly outpacing public ones. Growth in this category has remained above 50% throughout the year, highlighting robust demand for home charging setups.
Power capacity is also trending upward. The average power per charging connector nationwide is now 48.89 kilowatts, an 8.9% increase from last year, maintaining a steady rise throughout 2026. This shift reflects ongoing upgrades to public charging stations and a higher proportion of high-power fast chargers being deployed. As a result, the rapid replenishment capacity of charging networks is steadily strengthening to meet the needs of new energy vehicles on high-voltage platforms.
Gasgoo Take: As charging infrastructure moves from broad coverage to deep efficiency, it supports more than just faster charging. The value inflection point for charging networks is arriving.
