Cars

Volkswagen delays plans to manufacture batteries in Sagunto. It is very bad news for your cheap electric cars

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Volkswagen battery production in Sagunto (Valencia) is delayed. He does it because the works are not progressing in the stipulated times but the problem is greater. And the company proposed this factory as essential to have its plans for electric cars manufactured in Spain at full capacity. a delay. This is what they assure in The Confidential who, exclusively, assure that the plans to produce battery cells at Volkswagen’s Valencian factory in Sagunto are delayed, at least, “a few months.” In Xataka We have tried to contact Volkswagen but, as of this writing, we have not received a response to our questions. According to the media, the information has been provided by “sources close” to the company and “unofficial sources linked to the universe of contractors do not rule out that the delay hides more serious changes in the project.” What is the delay? Volkswagen had a calendar which was to have the manufacturing of the first pre-series units of battery cells ready in September 2026. The objective is that, with these tests, mass manufacturing would arrive during the first quarter of 2027. However, they point out in The Confidentialit will not be until December when the tests will begin, so the final production of the cells could be postponed until almost half of next year. The delay, of course, would be due to problems during the construction of the factory but not to cuts in the project. Despite everything, it comes at a bad time. A (small) breath. What they assure from the media is that the project is not in danger, neither due to investments nor due to size. And Volkswagen is in the midst of a restructuring process, with up to 100,000 layoffs hanging over European plants and the possibility of closure of some of them. The Spanish project, however, is one of the most important that the company has in the short term. The investment, adding all the phases, is expected to reach 3,000 million euros and right now 1,500 people are working there in the construction phase. For the production of pre-series cells It is expected to employ 500 people. The Spanish hub. The biggest problem for Volkswagen with the delay of these plans is that the final production to feed the Barcelona and Navarra plants is irremediably delayed. In them, the company will produce the smallest models with up to four cars that will cost 25,000 euros. In Spain alone, Volkswagen will invest 10,000 million euros. Of them, 3,000 million will go to the Sagunto plant, as we have mentioned, and the same amount is dedicated to the renovation of Martorell. The Navarra plant will be renovated with an investment of 1,000 million euros and the remaining 3,000 million will be invested in auxiliary component companies. At a very bad time. Although no work is free of delays, delaying the production of batteries is a real problem for the company. And the German company has enormous hopes placed on these cars to continue gaining share in the electric car market and, finally, to take advantage of this technology as they expected. Besides, the delivery of Perte VEC aid It is also conditioned to comply with the planned schedule. But above all because each car sold is a break in its emissions quota. In 2027 average emissions will be reviewed that the company has put on the street with each car sold. Going over 93.6 gr/km of CO2 will be an automatic fine and now In 2025 the company expected billion-dollar sanctions. Selling as many affordable cars as possible next year is essential to reduce the expected penalty. Photo | Volkswagen In Xataka | Europe has its hope in the 25,000 euro electric car and Volkswagen already knows who will manufacture it: Spain

which cars can circulate and which rest on July 11

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This weekend the restrictions of Hoy No Circula return in its weekend edition, that project devised by the Secretariat of the Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA) with the objective of reducing pollution levels in the Metropolitan Area of ​​the Valley of Mexico. Once again, drivers must verify the final digit of their license plate and the type of hologram they carry before embarking on their trip. These measures are not limited exclusively to the 16 districts of the capital, but extend to multiple neighboring towns located in the State of Mexico. The regulations are also valid in: Atizapan of Zaragoza Coacalco de Berriozábal Cuautitlan Cuautitlán Izcalli Chalco Chicoloapan Chimalhuacan Ecatepec de Morelos Huixquilucan Ixtapaluca Peace Naucalpan de Juárez Nezahualcoyotl Nicolas Romero Tecámac Tlalnepantla de Baz Tultitlan Chalco Valley Therefore, it is worth keeping in mind that if your route includes traveling through any of these regions, the limitations of Today No Circula on Saturday will remain in force. What cars and license plates does Hoy No Circula Saturday affect? As you can imagine, the final objective of this plan is to reduce the volume of polluting emissions into the atmosphere, governing weekends under specific rules that complement the shifts from Monday to Friday. The obligation to stop the vehicle does not affect all drivers simultaneously: the hologram, the final number on the license plate and the position of Saturday in the month (odd or even) dictate who has the green light to drive and who must turn off the engine. It is essential to consider that Hoy No Circula Saturday does not remain active 24 hours a day. Its period of application covers from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., which means that outside of this time frame—during nighttime and early morning hours—cars can circulate freely, unless an alert is activated due to an environmental contingency or an extraordinary regulation is issued that conditions traffic. For this Saturday 11 July 2026second Saturday of the month of July, we are facing what is considered the even week of the month. Under these parameters, units equipped with hologram 1 and whose license plates end in an even number will be prohibited from moving during the hours established by the program. If your car falls into this category, you will have to park it until 10:00 p.m. On the contrary, those cars that have holograms 0 and 00 can circulate without restrictions. Finally, vehicles with hologram 2 cannot circulate on any Saturday, regardless of whether it is an even or odd week. In addition to what was described above, it is worth remembering that there is a group of cars that are exempt from meeting these restrictions: Electric, natural gas or hybrid technology vehicles Units registered with plates for people with disabilities All those intended for urban public transport services (including funeral services) Those dedicated to school or passenger transportation Those assigned to public security and/or civil protection The penalty for not complying with this regulation ranges from 20 to 30 times the Measurement and Update Unit (UMA), a range that approximately translates into a floor of 1,924.40 pesos and a ceiling of 2,886.60 pesos. Added to the hit to the pocketbook, the offender risks having the vehicle towed or impounded and the consequent loss of time involved in solving the administrative procedure before the security forces. What cars and license plates does Hoy No Circula Saturday affect? Failure to comply with the Hoy No Circula will be punished with a fine that ranges between 20 and 30 times the value of the Measurement and Update Unit (UMA), a figure that represents approximately 1,924.40 pesos at its lowest level until reaching 2,886.60 pesos at the highest limit. In addition, the driver risks having the car taken to the vehicle depot. Photo | Cory Bouthillette In Xataka | The countries that pollute the most in the world, gathered in a detailed graph

electric cars that are mobile batteries

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I’m going to tell you a little anecdote about what moves behind some texts. For a time, it became fashionable among car brands to put a coffee maker in presentations to show us the advantages of technology. V2L or Vehicle to Loadin English. Most of the cars electric and some plug-in hybrids They already have it. It is the possibility of using the electric car battery as an energy store to charge our devices. To demonstrate this in the presentations, we have seen everything as we said: coffee makers, electric bicycles, lighting systems with small bulbs to decorate some spaces… Honestly, it’s usually something I mentioned in passing in the texts because I didn’t see much use in it. Who makes a capsule coffee on the road or in the middle of the field? Who prefers to eat up the range of their car to recharge the battery of their electric bicycle instead of carrying it already charged from home? But in China they are showing that the system has much more interest than we can think. In fact, we ourselves have been able to see it, still in a limited way, during the general blackout last year. Now, floods in the Asian country are showing us how useful it is. Your cell phone always ready in an emergency situation Last April 2025, when Spain’s general network was off, a lucky few were able to eat hot, keep the refrigerator cool, and keep their mobile phone ready. They were the owners of electric cars. Some of them then saw that this function that the commercial had sold them and to which they had not paid much attention, finally, served something really useful. Luckily, our discomfort lasted only a few hours but it made clear to us some added advantages of having an electric car. But when your country has filled the streets with this type of vehicle and you suffer real problems, the electric car can become a saving rolling battery. In the Guangxi region have suffered historic rains by the action of a typhoon called Mesaak. Many have been left completely stranded in the middle of the water. We have seen how the drones used for food delivery They helped those who fled from the water in the upper part of their homes. Or even those who have used their “floating” cars to rescue those affected. To the point that since BYD they have had to remember that these cars cannot be used as emergency services. But in addition to these uses, having a multitude of NEV cars (as China calls the category that includes plug-in hybrids and electric cars) has proven to be a perfect opportunity for dozens of people to keep in touch with their families and the emergency services. Media like Southern Metropolis Daily either Shanghai Daily They have published some images on Weibo that show how people crowd next to cars because a single vehicle can charge dozens of mobile phones or portable batteries. This is possible because cars that have V2L technology can charge external devices using alternating current. In this case, what they have done is remove the socket from the vehicle and plug it into a multiple-input power strip to increase the number of phones that can be charged. The result is rolling batteries that keep the phones of dozens of people in a risk situation active. Of course, as explained in CarNewsChinait is important to be clear that this is not the most recommended practice and that multiplying the energy output by connecting power strips together can cause damage to them and, therefore, to the devices. The most striking thing is that, in the cars we see in Europe, bidirectional charging is usually limited to about 3.6 kW in many cases. However, in the CNC They point out that this is a rarity in China and is only available on lower-end cars. On the contrary, most cars have much higher charging capacities when they have to power other devices and even mention a Geely pick-up called Riddara RD6 which is capable of charging up to a power of 36 kW because it can carry a drone on its back. Photo | Southern Metropolis Daily and 老兵陈大叔 In Xataka | I have tried the BYD circuit in China: an underwater YangWang, a 29 meter dune and a car that turns by itself

After the floods in China, the vice president of BYD has had to remember that their cars are not boats. Its owners have not cared

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Dozens of BYD electric cars have circulated these days on completely flooded roads in the Chinese region of Guangxi, transporting food, water and emergency supplies to villages isolated by the rains. The striking thing is that it was not a decision organized by the brand, but those who left with their cars for the affected areas were volunteers, and they did so just when a senior executive of the company asked for caution regarding the risk of driving through floods. What has happened? Guangxi has suffered historic rains caused by Typhoon Mesaak, with roads and entire municipalities under water. According to collect According to Chinese media, 163, owners of vehicles from brands such as Denza and Fang Cheng Bao, both from the BYD group, organized themselves through networks of owners to form civil rescue convoys. These groups voluntarily entered the areas most affected by the flood, ignoring the recommendations for driving in extreme weather conditions. In detail. Chinese electric cars they usually boast of a construction designed to resist water, including batteries with a highly protective seal and reinforced chassis to cross flooded areas. In the case of Fang Cheng Bao, its independent chassis architecture allows, according to factory data, to cross up to 800 millimeters deep thanks to a specific structural sealing on the underside of the vehicle. And it is not the first time that we see this type of vehicle going out for a ride in extreme conditions. Last year we already saw vehicles like the Yangwang U8 and the Jetour Zongheng G700 do the goat crossing rivers or in flooded areas. There is certainly no better advertising. The notice that arrived late. While the owners were already circulating through the flooded areas, He Zhiqi, senior vice president of BYD, published a message on social networks reminding that an electric car “is not a boat”, according to his Weibo account. The manager explained that, although the Blade Battery of the brand has watertightness certifications IP67 and IP68and that from the factory it is guaranteed that the vehicle can withstand being submerged up to one meter deep for 24 hours without suffering electrical leaks or risk of fire in the battery, driving through deep water is still a real risk that should be avoided. Models on the ground. Among the vehicles that have been seen in the images, the Denza N9 stands out, the brand’s large luxury plug-in hybrid that, according to account CarNewsChina managed to move through areas of mud and water thanks to its all-wheel drive system with several independent motors. The Fang Cheng Bao Bao 8 has also been seen circulating, an all-terrain vehicle with a harder profile with a suspension designed to better distribute the load, in addition to the Denza B5 and B8, which incorporate active body control systems capable of adjusting the height on the fly to avoid obstacles. The money has also moved. In addition to help on the ground, several Chinese brands They have allocated funds to the reconstruction of the area. The BYD Charitable Foundation has donated 10 million yuan (about 1.47 million U.S. dollars) to fund emergency equipment and repair public infrastructure. Xiaomi has contributed the same amount in cash, and the Chery group has donated another 10 million yuan divided between financial aid and supplies. Cover image | CarNewsChina (Bilibili) In Xataka | Sky Nomad is a reality: Xiaomi’s second car brand aims at one of the jewels in BYD’s crown

The camera that watches you while you drive is already mandatory in new cars. And no one guarantees what happens with that data.

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Since yesterday, July 7, no new car can be registered in the European Union without the ADDW system (Advanced Driver Distraction Warning or Advanced Driver Distraction Warning), the final phase of the General Safety Regulation. We already had recently What does this system technically consist of? and why the car is going to beep at us more now than before. The melon that we had not yet fully opened was about what happens to the images captured by that camera that looks at your face while you drive. About what goes the regulations. He text of the regulation requires ADDW to function as a warning tool, not a recording tool. It analyzes the driver’s image in real time, decides whether or not the driver’s gaze is on the road and generates only a binary signal: attentive or distracted. In theory, the raw video never leaves the vehicle. Article 6(3) of the General Security Regulation itself establishes that the system must not record or retain data beyond what is strictly necessary to fulfill its function. The problem is what the standard does not say. “The regulations do not mandate any independent audit mechanism to verify that installed ADDW systems actually operate in a closed loop,” account the specialized media All About Cookies. It also does not define precisely what is considered “necessary” or how long that information can be retained before being deleted. In practice, the guarantee that your biometric data does not leave the car depends, today, on the manufacturer’s word. It is not the first time that word fails. The recent history of the sector does not help to generate confidence. An investigation by The New York Times revealed in 2024 that “several manufacturers, including General Motors, shared information about their drivers’ behavior with data brokers such as LexisNexis, which in turn they transferred it to insurance companies”, which came to translate into premium increases for drivers who did not even know they were being evaluated. For its part, a special investigation by Reuters documented that, between 2019 and 2022, “Tesla employees privately shared, through an internal messaging system, especially sensitive videos and images recorded by their customers’ car cameras,” including scenes of accidents, traffic fights and intimate moments captured in garages individuals. Neither case is directly related to ADDW nor did it occur in the European Union, but both perfectly show what can happen when an automaker accumulates sensitive data under vague rules. The road safety argument. On June 16, the Swedish data protection authority (IMY) ruled that the company Securitas Sverige had violated the GDPR by installing cameras with artificial intelligence that continuously analyzed the behavior of its drivers. ”The security argument alone is not enough to legally justify this type of behavioral surveillance,” they shared in Tech Times. Although this case is not specifically about ADDW, but rather about corporate fleet cameras, it also sets an uncomfortable precedent just when that same argument, that of road safety, is the legal basis of the entire European regulation. The other system, the black box. The EDR (Event Data Recorder), mandatory since July 2024 and of which we already detailed more in depthis only activated in the event of a collision, saves just a few seconds of technical data (speed, braking, steering wheel angle) and cannot be transmitted wirelessly, since it is necessary to physically connect to the OBD port of the vehicle to extract it. Its own design, designed to investigate accidents, is so limited that the road safety think tank ETSC came to complain that, by not being able to record location or time, the device is almost useless for investigators studying the causes of accidents. In other words, one falls short due to excess caution and the ADDW falls short in guarantees. And now what. The European Commission has already announced that it will continue developing the ADDW until 2027, incorporating the detection of cognitive and not just visual distractions, which implies even more sophisticated sensors pointing inside the cabin. For our part, we can review the manufacturer’s actual privacy policy (not the commercial website) to check how long the eye-tracking data is retained, if it is shared with insurers or third parties, and if the system ever leaves the vehicle itself. The law requires that the data not leave the car. Now, that it is fulfilled, it is a matter of trust. Cover image | Vitaly Gariev In Xataka | Waymo has not confirmed that it will arrive in Spain. But your documentation says things

Spain has a license only for automatic cars and more and more people choose it

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Getting your driving license without using the clutch and changing gears is now a reality within the reach of anyone who wants to learn to drive in Spain. This is permit B limited to automatic vehiclesa modality that more and more driving school students choose, but which also generates many doubts about how it works or how to request it. That’s why below these lines we tell you all the details. The same permission, but with a nuance: only automatic Despite what many people believe, there is no new or independent license for automatic cars. We have approached some driving schools to ask about it and, as they explain, the permit is the same as it has always been, B, only in the document an annotation is added which indicates that the holder can only drive with automatic transmission vehicles. As expected, those who obtain their license with a manual gear car, however, are enabled to drive both types of transmission without any restrictions. That note It is popularly known as “code 78” and appears printed on the back of the card, next to the permit category. In Spain, the Instruction 2019/C-134 of the DGT, something already marked in the General Regulations for Drivers, says: “if the applicant takes the practical exam with an automatic transmission vehicle, that circumstance must be reflected in the permit and will only enable him to drive cars with those characteristics.” Why is more and more requested? The rise of this type of permit goes hand in hand with the automobile market itself. Two decades ago, automatic transmission was almost a rarity on Spanish roads; Today, however, there are more and more models (especially electric and hybrid, which do not have a clutch) that They are sold exclusively with this transmission. According to share El Periódico, of the 600,000 category B permits issued each year in Spain, between 33,000 and 37,000 already carry this limitation to the automaticwhich places code 78 between 5.5% and 6.2% of the total. However, as the media points out, in the driving school sector the figure they handle is around 10% of the licenses issued. Gear lever on a Volvo CX60 Asking several driving schools, they affirm that this modality has been implemented for a few years. On the other hand, Raül Viladrich, president of the Federation of Driving Schools of Catalonia, counted to El Periódico that the demand started between 2018 and 2020, although it clarified that it is still much lower than that of the traditional card. It is also a case of generational changesince more and more young people see manual transmission as something of the past and, directly, have no intention of ever driving a car with a clutch. How is it obtained and what is the difference with the traditional exam The learning process is identical to that of the conventional B license, that is, you go to the driving school, you take the theory exam, you have your practical classes and a final exam, with the only difference that both the classes and the driving test are done with an automatic transmission vehicle. You also don’t have to make the decision when you first register, since you can start with a manual car and, if you decide, you can upgrade to an automatic car at any time. This is exactly what a former student, Elena García, tells us, who opted for the automatic mode. Elena says that she chose this route because the car she had at home was already automatic, so it seemed like “the best option” to learn directly with the type of vehicle she was going to use later. Even so, he explains that he started his internship with a manual car, but that, after fifteen or twenty classes, he decided to switch to an automatic car. According to him, in your driving school the automatic option existed and was offeredalthough at first they directly recommended the manual. Elena admits that, almost a year after getting her license, not having access to manual cars does not worry her. And in your immediate surroundings you only have automatic vehicles and, when you travel or need to rent a car, you always find hassle-free automatic car options. What happens if you drive a manual car with this permit Basically, if they catch you, fine the song. “They are prohibited from driving any type of car that is not automatic,” assures Sergio Olivera, president of the National Confederation of Driving Schools (CNAE) to El Periódico. And the thing is that whoever has a license with this entry and uses a vehicle with a manual transmission faces a fine of 500 euros and the loss of four points on the license. The Traffic Law considers this situation a very serious infraction, comparable to driving without a permit. In the event that you have obtained your license only with an automatic car, but you want to drive a manual one, it is currently mandatory to go through a practical exam again, this time with a manual transmission car, without the need to repeat the theoretical part. Less procedures to remove the restriction This requirement, however, has an expiration date. And it already exists a European directiveapproved at the end of 2025, which It is intended to replace the complete practical exam for a training course of only seven hours at a driving school to be able to obtain the B permit without any transmission limitations. According to explained Viladrich to El Periódico, this course can be taken both during the process of obtaining the license itself and later, and its entry into force is expected, in principle, for 2029, although there is still no set date for its application in Spain. This model, in fact, already works in other European countries. In France, Germany or Switzerland, drivers with this limitation can eliminate it through specific training, without having to be re-examined from scratch. The future is automatic Just ten years ago, automatic cars accounted for … Read more

which cars can circulate and which rest on the 4th of July

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The restrictions of Today No Circula Sabatino are back this weekend. This initiative, coordinated by the Secretariat of the Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA), seeks to moderate pollution levels in the Metropolitan Area of ​​the Valley of Mexico by restricting the traffic of certain automobiles. So, if you plan to make urban trips in your car, it is essential to verify what type of hologram you have and the final digits of your license plate. It is worth keeping in mind that the regulations not only cover the 16 territorial demarcations of the capital, but also extend to multiple municipal areas of the State of Mexico. Specifically, the regulation is implemented in the following areas: Atizapan of Zaragoza Coacalco de Berriozábal Cuautitlan Cuautitlán Izcalli Chalco Chicoloapan Chimalhuacan Ecatepec de Morelos Huixquilucan Ixtapaluca Peace Naucalpan de Juárez Nezahualcoyotl Nicolas Romero Tecámac Tlalnepantla de Baz Tultitlan Chalco Valley Keep in mind that if your route includes crossing or circulating through any of these geographical points, you will be subject to the same road restriction guidelines. What cars and license plates does Hoy No Circula Saturday affect? To reduce pollution, what has been thought of, as we say, is to reduce the volume of traffic on the streets. Thus, weekends have their own rules within Hoy No Circula Sabatino. This does not mean that all drivers have to leave their cars at home. The hologram, the final number on the license plate and the position of Saturday in the month (odd or even) dictate who has the green light to drive and who must turn off the engine. It is also vital to remember that Hoy No Circula Saturday does not operate uninterrupted 24 hours a day. The road limitations begin at 05:00 and conclude at 22:00which means that during the night and early morning hours, free transit is allowed, as long as the authorities do not activate an environmental contingency phase or another extraordinary measure that modifies the usual guidelines. Taking the date of July 4, 2026 as a reference, the calendar shows us that we are facing the first Saturday of the month, thus classifying it as an “odd week.” That is, private cars equipped with hologram 1 whose license plates end in an odd digit will be forced to suspend activities during the stipulated time window. If your car matches these characteristics, you should save it and wait for the night cutoff time to pass. On the contrary, those drivers whose vehicles have a 0 and 00 hologram will enjoy complete freedom to travel around the metropolis without any penalty. For their part, cars with hologram 2 are not allowed to drive on any Saturday of the month. Beyond the general rules, there is a group that enjoys immunity from these ecological measures, allowing them to transit without setbacks. The following cases are Electric, natural gas or hybrid technology vehicles Units registered with plates for people with disabilities All those intended for urban public transport services (including funeral services) Those dedicated to school or passenger transportation Those assigned to public security and/or civil protection Failure to comply with the Hoy No Circula will be punished with a fine that ranges between 20 and 30 times the value of the Measurement and Update Unit (UMA), a figure that represents approximately 1,924.40 pesos at its lowest level until reaching 2,886.60 pesos at the highest limit. In addition, the driver risks having the car taken to the vehicle depot. Photo | Paul Hanaoka In Xataka | The countries that pollute the most in the world, gathered in a detailed graph

sell more cars than Citroën in Europe

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It is no secret that Chinese car brands They are conquering Europe. For a few years now, the streets have been filled with cars from companies such as BYD, Omoda, Jaecoo, Leapmotor, MG and many others. And it makes perfect sense, since they have come with their entire arsenal at truly competitive prices and loaded with technology. You have to go to last review of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) to really see how much they have achieved in a very short time. And in the case of BYD, the firm has registered more cars than Citroën during the month of May in Europe (specifically in the group formed by the European Union, the EFTA countries and the United Kingdom). According to the agency’s data, the Chinese manufacturer registered 32,380 units compared to 31,665 for Citroën. The difference is small, but it has symbolic weight, since it is the first time that a Chinese brand overtakes such a historic name in European motorsport. In detail. He BYD growth It is being truly groundbreaking, especially outside its domestic market. And in May of this year, its registrations shot up by 136.6% compared to the same month in 2025, raising its market share in the EU+EFTA+UK region to 2.8%, compared to 1.2% a year ago. Citroën, on the other hand, closed the month with a decline of 1.6%. Of course, it should be said that the bypass occurs in the EU+EFTA+UK region, because if we look only at the figures for the European Union, Citroën is still ahead, with 29,227 registrations compared to BYD’s 26,017. But the distance has shortened considerably compared to last year. The driving force behind this expansion has been above all in Italy, France and Germany, where BYD has multiplied its sales, while in the first five months of the year the Chinese brand already has 135,307 cars registered in this region, 145.2% more than in 2025. And BYD is not the only one. Chinese brands as a whole reached a market share of 10.7% in Europe in May, their all-time high, according to data from Automotive News. Chery has skyrocketed its registrations by 244.1% and Leapmotor, backed by Stellantis, has multiplied them by more than five, with a growth of 465.1% in the EU+EFTA+UK region. Even Tesla, although it is not Chinese, has benefited from that same push towards electrification, with an increase of 107.9% thanks to the arrival of the new Standard versions of the Model 3 and the Model Y. Although the tariffs that the European Union imposed on Chinese electric companies in 2024, something that has partially stopped this offensive, Chinese brands continue with overwhelming growth. And now what. The context in which this surprise occurs is that of a European market in full transition towards electrification. According to ACEA data, between January and May 2026, battery electric cars already represent 20% of registrations in the European Union, compared to 15.3% a year ago, while hybrids continue to be the most popular option with 37.8% of the market (in the latter it must be taken into account that the microhybridswith more prominence of the gasoline engine than the small battery as a whole). On the other hand, the sum of gasoline and diesel has fallen to 30.1%. And on this board, increasingly favorable to electrified vehicles, BYD and the rest of the Chinese manufacturers have an advantage due to their specialization in these technologies. Cover image | BYD and Citroën In Xataka | On July 1, buying on Shein, Temu or AliExpress will be more expensive: Europe imposes a fixed tariff of three euros for small packages

In 1967, Ebro moved to the Free Zone of Barcelona. 69 years later, we have seen how Ebro once again manufactures cars in it

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Entering the 500,000 square meters that the Ebro Factory plant in Barcelona occupies is, in large part, a visit to the origins of the brand and its deep connection with the Catalan capital. The same naves and corridors that In 1967 they saw the last Ebro vehicles leave to become later at Nissan Motor Ibérica. In 2026, the factory that opened its doors in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone almost 70 years ago, manufactures vehicles again (and not just assembly) with the Ebro logo on its grille. Ebro has just opened its facilities to the press for the first time, and we have been able to see first-hand what it is like to manufacture a car. What we have found is a factory full of welding robots, automated parts supply lines and state-of-the-art assembly lines that They look more to the future than to the past. A plant with many stories The old Nissan factory closed on December 31, 2021 after 41 years of activity. The cessation of activity left some 2,500 workers on the streets. Three years later, Ebro confirmed his reindustrialization plan of the plant returning its activity. And he did it, to a large extent, with the same workers he had. Of the almost 2,000 employees that the company currently has, nearly 1,000 employees who work here today They were already with Nissan. Of them, about 400 are product engineers, 200 process engineers and 200 welding and assembly line specialists. These employees know every hallway, every corner and, according to those responsible for the factory, they have played a leading role in the start-up of the plant. The factory occupies 500,000 m2 Our guide throughout the visit was Paco DuranDirector of Production Control and Logistics. According to what he said, he himself started at this same plant in 1998, when the Nissan sign still hung on the door. When the Japanese stopped production he spent some time at Stellantis. When Ebro started his reindustrialization plan, he returned to what he considered his Alma mater. Durán is, in all likelihood, the person who best knows how these facilities work. Nissan veterans like him helped design each booth of the new assembly line based on the years of experience that the assembly of Japanese cars gave them. They knew exactly what had worked before and what had failed. That muscle memory acquired by years of automobile production has weighed more than any manual and has contributed to the Ebro Factory will start walking in record time. First as an assembly center, and now as the only Ebro manufacturing plant in Spain and Europe, in which the Spanish brand already manufactures four models with welding, painting, assembly and quality control processes. Barcelona outside and inside There is a very curious detail in how this factory is designed. It is inspired by Barcelona and the two rivers (the Besós and the Llobregat) that frame it. Being called Ebro, it makes sense. Like these rivers, the entire flow of supplies flows from mountains to sea. It is not the only inspiration that Ebro engineers have borrowed from Barcelona when designing it. The interior of the factory has the same structure as the streets of Barcelona Its interior is arranged in streets perpendicular to each other, well-defined islands, without intersections that block the passage or flows that collide with each other. The reference is the Cerdà Plan of 1859who created the orthogonal grid so characteristic of Barcelona that it ordered the Eixample of Barcelona. An urban model that is still a reference in half the world. A small Barcelona within an icon of Barcelona’s industrial past. Under this spatial arrangement, the materials enter at one end of the factory and advance in line to the other, without setbacks or countercurrents. As Durán explained, this flow “towards the sea” reduces errors, improves response times and, as an added advantage, facilitates the evacuation of the plant in case of emergency. The plant works on two levels. All the assembly of the different components occurs on the ground, while the automatic transports of parts and bodies circulate suspended in a complex logistics system that takes the bodies from one section to another without interrupting the assembly work below. To give us an idea of ​​the magnitude of this aerial infrastructure, the equivalent of three days of production of components and bodies was circulating above our heads at all times. 696 meters of line and 20 cars per hour Since November 2024, the factory operated with the M0 assembly line, in which the cars arrived from China semi-assembled and the rest of the parts were assembled at the Ebro factory. However, the heart of the visit, and the new jewel in Ebro’s crown, is the M1 assembly line. There are 696 meters, 97 work stations and a cycle of 160 seconds per vehicle. That is, each operator has that time to assemble the elements assigned to that station. The body is welded in a 23,000 square meter warehouse with more than 150 robots. Around 95% of this process is fully automated. There the floor, sides and roof are welded until forming what is called the Body-in-Whitethe empty structure of the car before receiving any paint or components. From there it travels by air to the painting area which, for safety reasons due to the chemical agents used there, we were not able to visit (we needed PPE and additional protection). In this section, the car chassis go through degreasing baths, paint is applied through cataphoresis and an anti-corrosion treatment. Afterwards, the already painted bodies fly back to the assembly area, but not before disassembling the doors, which travel in parallel, to improve the workers’ access to the interior. Something that caught my attention was that all the cars I saw on the assembly line were Ebro S700 red in color (the Red Blood Stone, to be more exact). When we asked Paco Durán about the reason, he explained to us that instead of responding to color … Read more

you need two cable cars, a cable car and to climb to the top of a mountain

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When someone wants to buy a Rolex, the most common thing would be to go to a central shopping street in any big city in the world and enter one of the exclusive watch stores that abound in these types of commercial hubs. However, to enter the latest boutique that the Swiss watch brand has opened you will need more than just taking a taxi to the center: you will need to grab a backpack, hiking boots and prepare to climb to a peak in the Swiss Alps. As and how I collected watchprothe Swiss brand has opened the highest boutique in the world: at 3,020 meters above sea level, at the top of the Mount Titlisin the Swiss Alps. Yeah, In Switzerland you can buy a Rolex on one of the highest peaks of the country. Getting to the place in question is not easy: you have to take a train, go up on two cable cars and, as the last stretch, ride the Titlis Rotairthe world’s first rotating gondola, opened in 1992. And then, of course, you can buy your Rolex, although in all likelihood you won’t be able to take it home. Who said that to buy a Rolex you only needed to have money? Buying a high-end watch has never been so literal Mount Titlis rises 3,238 meters above sea level, in central Switzerland, about 40 km south of Lucerne. Access from Engelberg includes several stages by cable car and two cable cars, according to the information itself. Titlis website. The final section takes place on the Rotair, a journey that lasts five minutes and rotates 360 degrees on the more than 5,000-year-old glacier, offering views at more than 3,000 meters above sea level. The Tallest Rolex boutique in the world It opened in June 2026, shortly after the inauguration of the Titlis Tower, a peculiar 76-meter-high skyscraper made of concrete, steel and glass that has defied the laws of logistics and Alpine engineering. Titlis Tower at the top of the Swiss Alps The renovation of this old telecommunications tower is part of a million-dollar project to convert the top of Titlis into a tourist center by 2029, when the new area linked to the ski resort of Titlis-Engelberg. Rolex has been one of the first luxury brands to settle there. The top of Titlis already received almost a million views annually before the opening of the tower, with tourists from India, Germany and the United States as the main international groups. The Rolex store is located inside the Titlis Tower, a building that signed Herzog & de Meuronthe Swiss studio that won the Pritzker Prize in 2001 and that has to its credit the design of the Tate Modern Londonhe Allianz Arena of Munich or the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, also known as “the bird’s nest“because of its shape. You get to the top and you leave with a waiting list Going from a mountain trek to the luxurious interior of a luxury watch boutique is a contrast that accentuates the dystopian experience of buy a rolex on top of a mountain. The store has the usual Rolex language: marble, wood, natural stone and well-placed sofas to enjoy the views while your checking account takes the hit. The store is managed by Bucherer, the watch sales chain that Rolex acquired in 2023 following the decision of its owner Jörg G. Bucherer, without direct heirs, to sell the business. The operation was formalized in 2024, after approval by the competition authorities. Bucherer operates more than 100 stores, but the one at the top of Titlis is by far the most unusual. Views from the Rolex store at 3,200 meters above sea level However, and here is the big final twist of this alpine adventure, after having traveled by train, two cable cars, the rotating gondola and climbed the 3,020 meters of altitude of this mountain, the shopping experience It is the same as in any other Rolex boutique in the world and it is very likely that the model you are looking for is not available. So you will go home without your watch. Rolex does not manage official waiting lists, but rather delegates availability to each dealer. That makes availability uneven depending on the model and design you choose. What is constant is that the most sought after models continue to be hard to getalthough the pressure starts to loosen in some markets from 2025. Although it may seem that opening a tent on a peak in the Alps It is more of a publicity stunt than something profitable, for a company whose image was forged on expeditions to the Himalayas and the conquest of Everesthaving a store above the clouds fits better than it seems. In Xataka | A farmer thought a cow had eaten his Rolex. 50 years later he recovered it, but it needed a good cleaning Image | Rolex, Titlis

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