Around 90,000 cars from Chinese brands will be built in Europe this year.
European lawmakers are looking for ways to boost domestic manufacturing.
Spain has emerged as the hotbed for Chinese car production in Europe.
The European expansion of Chinese car manufacturers is in its early stages, and already, local production is growing rapidly. Within the next decade, as many as 1.5 million vehicles from Chinese brands could be built in Europe annually.
This year, Chinese brands like BYD, Leapmotor, and Chery are expected to manufacture approximately 90,000 of these vehicles in Europe, either in new factories or existing ones that have been underutilized. Global Mobility expects this figure to grow to 1 million units annually by 2030 and 1.5 million by 2035.
However, lawmakers in Europe are eager to ensure that brands don’t exclusively rely on Chinese parts when building new vehicles, and instead work with local suppliers. They’re doing this through the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), which aims to strengthen Europe’s industrial base and boost domestic manufacturing.
Details are still being ironed out, but the act is expected to introduce quotas for European parts to be used in vehicles manufactured across the continent. Without this act, “the main risk is that China will open pure assembly plants for Chinese components in the EU – with minimal economic added value for the Europeans,” economist Sander Tordoir said.
BYD will soon start production of its cars in Hungary and is also looking to add a plant in Spain to its local portfolio. In addition, several Jaecoo and Omoda vehicles are being built in Spain, and soon, Leapmotor will also start building EVs at the Stellantis site in Zaragoza. Geely will also manufacture vehicles in Valencia through a partnership with Ford.
The key reason Chinese brands are building locally is to avoid paying hefty import tariffs. However, if the IAA enforces car companies to increase their reliance on European suppliers and manufacture more components locally, brands like BYD, which have a high degree of vertical integration, will have to consider if the investments are worthwhile.
“Because, to be considered ‘Made in Europe,’ large parts of the components, including the battery, would then have to be manufactured locally,” Gregor Williams from the Rhodium Group think tank told Automobilwoche.
Ferrari challenged Luxeed to name the designer behind its new RX.
The SUV’s styling borrows heavily from Ferrari’s Purosangue playbook.
It starts at $44,550, undercutting many Western performance EVs.
Earlier this year, China’s Luxeed brand made a claim it didn’t expect to have to back up, announcing that the RX, its answer to the Xiaomi YU7, had been penned by a former Ferrari designer. Ferrari’s Chinese arm read that and asked the obvious follow-up question, which was, fine, what’s his name? Luxeed has supplied one, and while it was at it, the company also put a starting price on the electric SUV.
The name came from Zhao Changjiang, executive director and executive vice president of Luxeed, in a Weibo post rounding up the brand’s latest progress. The designer is Werner Gruber, and the resume holds up. He spent time at Ferrari and worked on the LaFerrari, the FXX-K, and the Portofino, which is a strong set of credits. While the RX certainly has plenty of similarities to other performance SUVs like Ferrari’s own Purosangue and the Xiaomi YU7, there’s no denying it looks nice.
Luxeed was created through a partnership between Chery and Huawei, and pre-sales of the RX kicked off in China earlier this week. Prices start at 299,800 yuan ($44,550), making it more expensive than the YU7, which starts at 253,500 yuan ($37,700), yet compared with the prices we pay for high-performance electric SUVs in the West, the RX remains relatively cheap.
Several versions are available, provided with 81.1 kWh, 100.25 kWh, and 100.42 kWh battery packs. Entry-level models feature a single rear-mounted electric motor producing 371 hp, while power-hungry buyers can also order the RX with dual motors producing 586 hp and all-wheel drive.
A Chassis From AMG’s Former Boss
It’s not just impressive performance that could win over buyers. The RX also comes equipped with 38 sensors, including four LiDARs, enabling autonomous driving between addresses. Importantly, the system officially remains at Level 2, so drivers will need to remain attentive and ready to take over control at a moment’s notice.
As it turns out, Gruber isn’t the only European industry veteran to have a hand in bringing the RX to life. In the same social media post, Zhao said that former Aston Martin chief executive and ex-AMG boss Tobias Moers tuned the chassis in a new role as chief dynamic performance advisor for the Luxeed brand, and added that former BMW engineers have joined the effort as well.
Not too long ago, Chery was an unfamiliar name to most car buyers outside of China. However, in recent years, the company has expanded overseas and grown its model portfolio, offering a range of powertrains, body styles, and designs.
One of the newer and most compelling of its brands is Jaecoo. Established in 2023, it sits alongside sister brand Omoda, but its vehicles are not sold in China. Instead, the focus is entirely on overseas markets, and the strategy is working, particularly in the UK, where one of its models recently topped the sales charts. That model is the Jaecoo 7, which resembles a Range Rover Evoque closely enough to have picked up the Temu Range Rover nickname in Britain.
The 7 isn’t the only Jaecoo with a Land Rover fixation. There’s also the smaller J5 EV, an entry-level Mazda CX-30 rival that raids the same design cupboard, mostly around the profile and the rear end. That has earned it the “Baby Range Rover” tag alongside the Temu Range Rover one. As we recently discovered, it carries the sort of polish you’d expect from a brand with decades behind it rather than three years. The polish isn’t the issue. The flaws underneath it are, and in a segment this packed, they’re enough to make it hard to recommend.
QUICK FACTS
› Model:
2026 Jaecoo J5 EV
› Starting Price:
AU$36,990 (US$26,000), plus on-road costs
› Dimensions:
172.4 x 73.2 W x 64.9 in H (4,380 x 1,860 x 1,650 mm)
› Wheelbase:
103.1 in (2,620 mm)
› Curb Weight:
1,710 kg (3,769 lbs)
› Powertrain:
58.9 kWh battery | single electric motor
› Output:
201 hp (150 kW) / 212 lb-ft (288 Nm)
› 0-62 mph
8.8 seconds
› Transmission:
Single speed
› Efficiency:
15.2 kWh/100 km as tested
› On Sale:
Now
SWIPE
Photos Brad Anderson / Carscoops
In Australia, Jaecoo currently sells the J5 in Petrol and EV configurations. The ICE model starts at a measly AU$25,990 (US$18,300), making it a very compelling deal given its size and technology suite. Then there’s the J5 EV that we drove, priced from AU$36,990 ($26,000), including all on-road costs, making it one of the cheapest EVs currently on sale and the second cheapest SUV, only behind the BYD Atto 2. Soon, a hybrid model will be added to the range.
While the J5 EV is affordable, that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of any compelling features. Quite the opposite, in fact. In terms of power, there’s a single motor powering the front wheels and rated at 150 kW (201 hp) and 288 Nm (212 lb-ft) of torque, figures roughly on par with similarly-sized EVs, even more expensive ones like the Kia EV5 and Hyundai Elexio, the latter of which starts at almost AU$60,000 ($42,200).
Other key highlights of the J5 EV, which is sold in just a single configuration, include a glass roof with a powered sunshade, eight-speaker audio system, 18-inch wheels, seven airbags, and all the safety gizmos you’d expect of a modern EV. These include adaptive cruise control, traffic jam assist, blind-spot monitoring, and a surround-view camera.
Well-Finished, But Far From Perfect
Photos Brad Anderson / Carscoops
The interior of the J5 does not feel like something at this price point. It has an air of premiuness to it which many rivals from legacy brands are struggling to match for similar money.
Our tester was trimmed in a combination of cream and dark grey synthetic leather which is beautifully soft to the touch and oozes quality, even though it’s probably pretty cheap for Chery to source.
Photos Brad Anderson / Carscoops
Positioned behind the two-spoke steering wheel is a slim 8.9-inch digital instrument cluster, nicely incorporated into the dashboard. Also, unlike the vast majority of other EVs hitting the market, the J5 EV doesn’t have a landscape-oriented central infotainment screen, but rather a portrait display that curves neatly into the piano black center console, not dissimilar to recent Mercedes S-Class models.
Unfortunately, the software leaves a little to be desired. The J5 EV does include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and both work well, but there’s an issue. Unlike so many other cars that house their climate control settings in a bar pinned to the base of the screen, even when using smartphone mirroring, the J5’s climate control taskbar is also accessible from the main menu. So, if you’re using CarPlay, you’ll have to exit out of the app to change the temperature or your fan speed. It’s a silly oversight.
Additionally, the software itself is pretty basic, and there are hardly any interesting apps available, despite the screen offering plenty of real estate for them. Speaking of the screen itself, the angle at which it sits means it can suffer from quite a lot of sun glare.
Plenty of storage is found in the J5 EV, including an area positioned below the floating center console and a deep storage bin. The driving position and overall comfort behind the steering wheel is good and feels more than premium enough.
The second row is nice, too, sporting a completely flat floor and enough room for adult passengers. During my week with the J5 EV, I just so happened to be moving house, and it worked quite well as a cargo carrier, thanks to the generous 480 liters (16.9 cubic feet) of capacity at the rear. Hidden beneath the false floor in the rear is an extra storage area, perfect for placing a home charging cable.
How Does It Drive?
Photos Brad Anderson / Carscoops
Obviously, the J5 EV isn’t going to win any awards for performance, but average SUV buyers coming from combustion models will be pleasantly surprised by the level of performance on offer.
The J5 EV can hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in around 7.7 seconds, which is decent enough for city driving and for highway overtakes. However, given that the J5 is front-wheel drive, it does suffer from a bit of torque steer, which is disappointing albeit not surprising and a common trait among plenty of other front-driven EVs. The torque steer is also nowhere near as obtrusive as it is in something like a Kia EV5.
While the acceleration is solid, the deceleration isn’t. You see, just like any other EV, the J5 EV includes adjustable regenerative braking. However, it’s been so poorly calibrated that it’s almost not worth using.
Three different levels of brake regen are available, all of which are hidden deep within the menu, so it’s hard to make changes on the fly. Worse still, in the most aggressive of the three settings, it’s impossible to modulate the level of braking using the throttle, as is the case with every other EV I’ve ever driven.
In the J5, if you touch the throttle even the slightest bit while slowing down using the regen, the car will jolt and begin coasting. This feeling was confirmed by the onboard power monitor, which, under regen braking, often says you’re recuperating around 20 percent power. Just look at the throttle and that changes to 0 percent. As such, using the highest regen setting is extremely frustrating. What’s more, the same feeling is replicated in the two other regen settings, albeit it’s not quite as annoying.
Photos Brad Anderson / Carscoops
I also found the electric power steering to be far too light. This is quite a common trait among many EVs, and while it’ll probably be enjoyed by many car buyers, it doesn’t give the J5 the kind of reactive or sporty feeling that we prefer.
On the plus side, the J5 EV does have a nicely tuned suspension setup, riding over bumps well and never feeling unsettled.
Overall efficiency is good. The J5 EV is equipped with a relatively small 58.9 kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery, and according to Jaecoo, averages 14.3 kWh/100 km over the combined cycle, giving it a driving range of up to 402 km (250 miles). I wasn’t quite able to match that figure, averaging 15.2 kWh/100 km. Importantly, this primarily consisted of highway driving and, given my qualms with the regenerative braking, I left it in the lowest setting for most of my time with the J5 EV, inevitably impacting efficiency.
Charging speeds are lacking, but to be fair, one can’t expect an EV that’s this cheap to charge at an absurd rate. The max AC charge rate sits at 10.3 kW, while the max DC charge rate is 130 kW. During the one time I had to use a public charger for the J5 EV, I topped up the battery with 16.55 kWh of juice in 14 minutes, enough to get me home during a long day of driving.
Verdict
The Jaecoo J5 EV is a solid product, and people unfamiliar with the smoothness of other EVs may find it quite enjoyable to drive and to live with. However, for those who expect more from their electric vehicles, the poor brake regen essentially makes it a non-starter in our eyes. If the regen alone was improved, the J5 EV would feel much more complete.
In addition, Jaecoo would be wise to invest more time into the SUV’s infotainment system, improving the software, adding some fun and interesting features, and making the climate control settings more accessible. Here’s hoping these changes can be made soon, perhaps through an over-the-air update.
Beijing trimmed its car subsidy by roughly a third this year.
BYD and Geely leaned on exports to soften the home slump.
Analysts expect China’s whole car market to shrink in 2026.
After years of what looked like unstoppable growth, sales of new electric vehicles in China are down 14 percent year on year, dragged lower in part by a slowing local economy and the government pulling some incentives.
Figures released by the China Passenger Car Association show that 4.7 million new EVs have been delivered in China this year. July treated some brands more kindly than June did, though major players like BYD and Geely are still feeling the downturn, as are smaller local firms including Xpeng and Nio.
In July, BYD sold 239,370 vehicles locally, down 9 percent from the same month in 2025 but up 4.9 percent from June. Geely followed a similar pattern, with July sales up 4 percent on June yet down 29.1 percent against last July, the South China Morning Post reports. What’s helping both automakers cushion the home-market slump is a surge in overseas exports.
Brands like Xpeng, Nio, and Li Auto all have some footprint abroad, but their home nation still accounts for the vast majority of sales. Xpeng’s July deliveries slipped 5.2 percent to 38,027 vehicles versus June, Nio’s fell 11.5 percent to 35,934, and Li Auto’s dipped 1.4 percent to 30,468.
AlixPartners expects that by the end of this year, new car sales in China will have dropped by 10 percent to 24.6 million vehicles. The wider economy isn’t doing EV sellers any favors either. GDP grew just 4.3 percent year on year in the second quarter, China’s slowest pace since late 2022.
Incentive Pain
The government’s decision to trim incentives has had an immediate impact on sales. Earlier this year, any new car purchase came with a 15,000-yuan ($2,220) subsidy. That figure was recently cut by 33 percent, and the subsidy now equals 10 percent of a new vehicle’s purchase price, capped at 10,000 yuan ($1,480). For some of the nation’s most affordable EVs, the payout is now 5,000 yuan ($740) lower than before.
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