Cars

which cars can circulate and which rest on June 20

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This Saturday, once again, the limitations of the Hoy No Circula Saturday program are reactivated, a mechanism coordinated by the Environment Secretariat of Mexico City (SEDEMA) to mitigate air pollution rates in the region of the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico. For this reason, anyone who intends to use their car this weekend must check the numerical ending of their license plate and the verification sticker before entering the roads. It should be noted that this regulation is not limited only to the 16 districts of CDMX, but directly influences multiple neighboring municipalities belonging to the State of Mexico. The operation is fully 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 Of course, keep in mind that if your route includes passing through any of these towns, the Saturday restrictions will be mandatory. What cars and license plates does Hoy No Circula Saturday affect? The objective of this restrictive scheme is to reduce the number of vehicles in circulation to cut gas emissions, applying a set of particular rules on Saturdays that complement the restrictions that operate from Monday to Friday. These restrictions do not affect all drivers in the same way each week and that is why you must be especially attentive. Likewise, it is essential to remember that the Saturday Hoy No Circula does not last twenty-four hours. Your application period is from 05:00 to 22:00beyond this schedule there are no prohibitions on mobility, unless the environmental authorities activate a contingency or issue an extraordinary ruling that modifies the common regulations. June 20, 2026 corresponds to an “odd week” since we are facing the third Saturday of the month of June. Thus, units that carry hologram 1 and whose license plate ends in an odd number will be prohibited from circulating during the scheduled hours. Vehicles with holograms 0 and 00 retain their exemption to travel freely under the Saturday scheme. On the contrary, units with hologram 2 are completely denied circulation on any Saturday of the month. Of course, these restrictions do not apply to the following exceptions: 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 | Jan Baborak In Xataka | The countries that pollute the most in the world, gathered in a detailed graph

The head of CATL explains why it will still take us a while to see them in cars

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We have been hearing the industry buzz for years about solid state batteries. These promise more autonomy, faster charging and greater safety than the current liquid electrolyte ones. However, everything indicates that we still have a long way to go until we see them in commercial vehicles. And the president of CATL, Robin Zeng, has spoken in an interview with the Chinese magazine Caijing, suggesting that they are unviable before 2030, and that when they arrive, they will not be for the average buyer. They are not ready. Zeng explained in the interview that, for the production of these batteries to make industrial sense, the industry needs to manufacture at least one million vehicles with them, and that volume does not seem to be achievable before 2030. In addition, the manager suggests that, if ready, they would first target the premium vehicle segment. Technical problems. According to share At CarNewsChina, CATL’s solid-state technology is currently at level four on a nine-point technology maturity scale. That means it remains confined to laboratories and prototyping phases. As the media reports, the main bottleneck is at the solid-solid interface, since to join the components, hot isostatic pressing is applied at 6,000 atmospheres of pressure. The problem is that materials with different densities misalign under that pressure, creating internal resistance and accelerating cell degradation. Other chemicals. With solid batteries still in the lab, CATL continues to accelerate with conventional liquid electrolyte chemistry. In May, the company reached an installed capacity of 33.08 GWhup from 29.06 GWh in April, according to data from China EV DataTracker. The bulk of this volume is supported by lithium-ferrophosphate (LFP) batteries, which in May represented 23.12 GWh, while ternary lithium batteries added 9.96 GWh. For now, these batteries are what keep the industry going. Cost, another barrier. In previous statements, the company recognized that solid-state sulfur cells cost three to five times more than conventional lithium-ion cells. The development of sulfur electrolyte technology alone requires a cumulative investment estimated at 10 billion yuan (about 1.27 billion euros). There are alternatives that don’t wait. Although pure solid state is far away, some Chinese manufacturers are betting on intermediate architectures. From CarNewsChina stands out the alternative from Dongfeng Motor, which plans to integrate into production during the second half of 2026 an oxide-polymer composition battery with an energy density of 350 Wh/kg and ranges of more than 1,000 kilometers. This hybrid approach reduces the total weight of the battery pack by 30% compared to conventional liquid solutions and improves cold performance by more than 10%, according to the company’s testing at -30 ° C in Mohe, where prototypes maintained more than 74% of their nominal capacity. The aerospace sector already uses them. Outside of the automobile, technology advances faster in niches where cost is not a limiting factor. And just as share CarNewsChina drone manufacturer Ehang completed an unmanned flight across the Qiongzhou Strait using a 480 Wh/kg solid-state lithium-metal battery manufactured by Shenzhen Neox. The Chinese industry does not act alone. In parallel, since January 2024 there has been the China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP), an alliance promoted by the Chinese government which brings together battery manufacturers such as CATL, BYD, CALB, Gotion or SVOLT, along with both state and private car manufacturers. The stated goal is to develop and produce competitive solid batteries with an established supply chain before 2030. According to counted Nikkei at the time, the State also participates with public funds, which makes clear Beijing’s desire not to lose leadership in this sector. Cover image | Andrew Roberts In Xataka | Spain will have to maintain 1,000 more km of roads in 2027. Problem: a hole of 13,000 million euros without solving

There is more human junk on the Moon than there are cars in a local junkyard. And no one really knows what to do with it.

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There is a lot of talk about space debris in orbitespecially in low Earth orbit. However, debris resulting from human activity in space is not just floating beyond our planet. Some are found abandoned on the surface of planets, satellites or asteroids. The two largest cemeteries in the solar system are the Moon, where more than 70 objects have passed “on to a better life,” or Mars, where there are 17 landers, rovers and some helicopter destroyed or out of service. These space scrapyards will likely increase over the years. There may come a time when it will be necessary to recycle these materials to continue advancing in space. There are already some projects, but also a lot of legislation that can stop them. The largest cemetery in the Solar System. The Moon houses more than 70 space objects that have landed there in 4 different ways: a deliberate impact, an accidental collision, a controlled deorbitation or a soft and safe landing. Logically, this includes only ships or rovers. They do not count, for example golf balls nor the flags. If we count that, the figure would rise a lot. Some examples. In the group of deliberate collisions we find Moon 2a Soviet ship that hit our satellite on September 13, 1959. It had two objectives. On the one hand, demonstrate that you can reach the Moon. On the other hand, analyze its magnetic fields and radiation. He did this just before impact, while displaying a flag of the Soviet Union. Regarding accidental collisions, we have the Surveyor 2from NASA, which on September 23, 1966 lost control after one of its 3 thrusters did not ignite when it should. In the third group is Lunar Orbiter 1. It was sent by NASA to take photographs and search for sites for the Surveyor and Apollo missions. However, on October 29, 1966, after verifying that it was no longer working properly, the project engineers decided to deorbit it and land it on the Moon. For the last group we have many examples; but, speaking of the most pioneering, on February 3, 1966, the Moon 9 of the USSR made the first soft landing in history. And there it remains, like all of them. viking 1 A scrapyard on Mars. There are many fewer objects on Mars than on the Moon, but little by little there will be more. Currently there are landers from missions that have failed, like Mars 2which crashed in 1971, or who after carrying out their mission successfully have remained there to spend their retirement. This is the case of Viking 1whose lander was in operation from 1976 to 1982. There are also rovers in operation, such as Perseveranceor out of order, as Spirit, Opportunity either Zhurong. There are even some helicopters retired from their duties, such as Ingenuity. In the future there may be more of these objects. For example, NASA recently declared the MAVEN probe lost, which after 11 years It has moved to another orbit from which it can no longer be controlled. It is estimated that the Martian atmosphere will slow it down little by little and that it will end up landing on the red planet within 50 to 100 years. Space recycling is the future. Every extra gram brought aboard a spacecraft counts. Although no permanent base has yet been installed on the Moon, much less on Mars, there are already many scientists exploring ways to exploit its resources. and those around them. Thus, so many materials would not have to be carried from Earth. Therefore, it is not unusual that there are also projects in which recycling is explored of the ships of these space cemeteries. There are even plans to take space debris that is still in orbit and take it to the lunar surface to recycle the materials. Be careful with the legislation. The problem is that, perhaps, one country could not recycle the materials of another. For example, Russia (in the absence of the USSR) could recycle the remains of Luna 2, but not those of Surveyor 2. On the contrary, exactly the same thing would happen. This is due to the United Nations treaty which establishes that “the State in whose registry an object launched into outer space is transported shall maintain jurisdiction and control over said object, and over any person found on it, while it is in outer space.” This would leave some countries at a great disadvantage. For example, while China is advancing at a good pace on its path to the Moon, the reality is that it only has 4 spacecraft in the lunar graveyard, compared to the United States’ 8. Perhaps in the future, when the need arises, certain agreements can be reached, but today that is the legislation. We will have to see how it evolves. Images | Magnific/Unsplash | POT In Xataka | Ingenuity helicopter breaks down on Mars after 72 flights. A photo reveals the damage to one of its blades

which cars can circulate and which rest on June 13

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This weekend Hoy No Circula Saturday returns, the strategy through which the Secretariat of the Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA) restricts the transit of certain vehicles to mitigate pollution in the Valley of Mexico. Given this, drivers who plan to use their cars must verify the last digit of their license plate and the verification badge before setting off. These restrictive measures are not limited only to the 16 districts of CDMX, but also extend to various metropolitan municipalities of the State of Mexico. The regulations operate in the same way 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, keep in mind that if your route passes through any of these towns, you will also be subject to the rules of Today No Circula Saturday. Which vehicles and license plates are affected by Hoy No Circula Saturday? The central purpose of this initiative is to reduce the number of cars in operation to reduce emissions levels, incorporating a series of particular guidelines on Saturdays that complement the usual calendar of work days. The restriction does not impact all motorists equally each weekend: the assigned hologram, the numerical ending of the plate and the position of the Saturday (whether it is considered even or odd within the month) define who must remain parked and who enjoys free movement. Yes, the limitations of Today It Doesn’t Circulate Saturday They do not remain in effect throughout the day. The restrictions apply from 05:00 to 22:00, which means that during nighttime and early morning hours the restriction does not apply to cars, as long as the authorities do not activate an environmental contingency phase or other extraordinary measure that imposes additional limits. For the day corresponding to June 13, 2026, the official calendar indicates that we are on the second Saturday of the monthly period, which is classified as an “even week.” Under this scenario, cars that have hologram 1 and whose license plates end in an even digit will be strictly prohibited from moving during the designated operating hours. Of course, those who have a 0 and 00 hologram can circulate freely. On the contrary, the hologram 2 have an absolute restriction and will not be able to circulate on any Saturday of the year. Beyond the scenarios described above, there are the following exceptions: 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 | Max Titov In Xataka | The countries that pollute the most in the world, gathered in a detailed graph

which cars can circulate and which rest on June 6

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This weekend the Hoy No Circula Saturday program is launched once again, the strategy through which the Environment Secretariat of Mexico City (SEDEMA) regulates vehicular traffic with the objective of mitigating polluting emissions in the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico. Given this, drivers who plan to make trips in their cars must verify the final digit of their license plate and the type of hologram they carry before embarking on the trip. It should be noted that these restrictive measures are not limited exclusively to the 16 territorial demarcations of CDMX, but also extend to various peripheral areas of the State of Mexico. The regulations have legal validity in the following demarcations. 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 must be clear that if your route includes crossing any of these geographical points, you will be subject to the provisions of Today No Circula Saturday. Which vehicles and license plates are affected by Hoy No Circula Saturday? The central purpose of this initiative is to reduce the number of cars on the street to reduce pollution levels. Thus, Saturdays have a series of particular rules that complement the usual calendar. The restriction does not impact all motorists equally each weekend, since the authorization to circulate or the obligation to remain stopped is determined by the assigned hologram, the last numerical digit of the license plate and the position of the Saturday (if it is considered even or odd within the month). It should be noted that the limitations of Hoy No Circula Saturday do not remain in force 24 hours a day. The restriction period strictly includes from 05:00 to 22:00, which means that during nighttime and early morning hours transit is free for any unit, as long as the authorities do not activate an environmental contingency phase or other extraordinary measure that modifies the general conditions. For the day corresponding to June 6, 2026, the official calendar indicates that we are on the first Saturday of the monthly period, classified as an “odd week.” In this case, cars that have hologram 1 and whose license plates end in an odd digit will be strictly prohibited from moving during the designated operating hours. In this case, you must keep it parked at home until the restriction ends at 10:00 p.m. On the contrary, vehicles that have a 0 and 00 hologram can circulate completely freely. Finally, cars carrying hologram 2 have an absolute restriction and will not be able to circulate on any Saturday of the year. Beyond the restrictions described above, the regulations contemplate the following exceptions: 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 Drivers who fail to comply with the Hoy No Circula guidelines can 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 | Sam Kusko In Xataka | The countries that pollute the most in the world, gathered in a detailed graph

“Investing in the development of full electric cars would be an expensive hobby”

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something like It happened to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo It has happened to Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Lamborghini. He did not want to say but he said when asked about the new Ferrari Luce and all the controversy that has surrounded the Italian company’s first all-electric launch. And Lamborghini, unlike those from Maranello, canceled its all-electric project a long time ago. And both positions have their reason for being. “The right way”. It is the one they have taken at Lamborghini, according to Stephan Winkelmann. Those three words are part of the answers he has given to CNBC in relation to the new Ferrari Luce. Although Winkelmann assures that “each brand, each company has to decide for itself,” he has not hesitated to defend his position. And the head of Lamborghini considers that canceling its first fully electric car has been “the right path.” According to their internal reports, they claim that interest in a completely electric car from Lamborghini had slowed down and that is why they decided to stay with plug-in hybridization. “An expensive hobby”. This is how resounding Winkelmann himself was a few months ago when he confirmed that the project for Lamborghini’s first electric car had been cancelled: Investing heavily in the development of full electric vehicles when the market and customer base are not ready would be an expensive and financially irresponsible hobby towards shareholders, customers and towards our employees and their families. The words were collected by media such as Motorpassion and they emphasize the purchase intentions of Lamborghini customers, who They still prefer the company’s V8 and V12 engines. The company, however, has used its research on the electric car to carry out the Lamborghini Revueltoits first plug-in hybrid. Because?. As we told you during our introduction to the Lamborghini Revueltothe company was always very clear that electricity had to be a means to increase the sensations on board and improve dynamics, not aiming for a more language ecofriendly. This decision, like that of canceling its first electric car, has its own internal logic within a company like Lamborghini, which clearly opts for hypermuscular and hypermasculine cars where sportiness is almost its only reason for being. The only concession they have made is the Lamborghini Urus and its creation falls within the Volkswagen Group’s logic of cost utilization. a lot of sense. If the approach proposed by Lamborghini was that of an electric supercar, the truth is that there does not seem to be a market for this type of car. Mate Rimac, CEO of Rimac and creator of, perhaps, the sportiest electric car in the world, complained that political pressures to jump to electric cars They were precisely slowing down the potential sales of their electric cars. Beyond the fact that the customer may miss the sound of a V12 engine and the feel of a gearbox, the truth is that if the average driver is forced to skip the electric car, driving a combustion supercar will be even more elitist. It is very likely that more electric supercars will arrive but right now the context is against them. The public for this type of car seems to be revolting against the regulations that, supposedly, force them to jump to electric cars. By pure physics, the electric car needs to be much heavier than a combustion car right now. And finally, obviously lacks that sensory part which can only be associated with the sound and smell of a combustion engine. And the Ferrari Luce? It is logical that Lamborghini defends its position and claims that its customers are not looking for an electric car, but the public profile is different between Lamborghini and Ferrari. Or, what is certain, Ferrari is trying to catch a different audience. The Ferrari Luce is not an electric supercar, it is not an aggressive and aerodynamic sculpture on wheels as has been the norm in its history. It is a car designed to send the message that whoever has it is up to date and embraces innovation and groundbreaking products. Since we saw the interior of the car it is something that seems more than evident. The fact that the car was shown in a light blue color and without a trace of moving videos underlines that we are looking at the launch of a car as a fashion accessory for walking comfortably through the center of any city without the discomforts typical of a supercar. Click on the image to go to the original tweet A little pull. Although Stephan Winkelmann says he does not mean to say, the truth is that he says a lot with his response. Despite not wanting to get into controversy, his defense that Lamborghini customers do not opt ​​for this type of car is a way to distinguish the two types of customers. A reaffirmation of Lamborghini’s identity. It adds up Lamborghini’s social media post coinciding with the launch of the Luce, which reads “proud to keep you dreaming” or “proud to keep your dreams” and four attached images of a Lamborghini Revuelto in a tone of blue very similar to that used by Ferrari for the presentation of its Luce. Photos | Lamborghini In Xataka | If the Ferrari Luce breaks with the entire history of Ferrari it is for a very simple reason: new rich

There is a division of Xiaomi that no one pays attention to. It is exactly the one that is paying for the party of mobile phones, AI and cars

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Xiaomi is no longer just a smartphone company; It is a conglomerate of four large divisions that support and feed each other to compete in an increasingly aggressive market. The surprise is that financially the division that generates the least attention is the one that is paying for the other three. The results for the first quarter of 2026 They make it clear: boring business is pure profit. Four companies in oneto. Xiaomi’s current structure settles in four large pillars that are also notably different from each other. Smartphones with the brand that ended up becoming popular globally remain critical to preserving the user base. Then there are internet services (advertising, Mi Cloud), which complete the Apple-style mobile ecosystem. The electric car and AI make up another pillar that fascinates and demonstrates the firm’s ambition in these new areas. And finally there is the IoT division, which a priori seems the least notable, but is much more so than anyone would think. Services, services, services. As we said, mobile phones are Xiaomi’s hallmark, but its profitability comes hand in hand with internet services, which operate with an astonishing gross profit margin of 76.1%. As with Apple, here Xiaomi takes advantage of its almost 750 million active users with advertising, subscriptions and cloud services integrated into its HyperOS mobile operating system. It is a profitable vicious circle: IoT and mobile phones are Trojan horses that manage to put the user into a digital ecosystem in which they end up spending money. Blessed IoT. And despite the fact that it receives less media attention, the gross margin of the IoT division reached a spectacular 25.2% in the first quarter of 2026 according to the company’s financial results. This number is much higher than the 10.1% generated by smartphones, which have logically been punished by the memory crisis. In fact, the gross profit of the IoT division has been 6.2 billion RMB, much higher than the 4.5 billion of the mobile division. The latter bills much more, but it does not shine as much in those gross profits. Refrigerators triumph. The president of Xiaomi’s IoT division, Lu Weibing, explained that the role of this business is key in the Xiaomi group, because it is “a very important balancer” against the impact of the increase in memory costs in the rest of the divisions. Company officials expect this “cost supercycle” (or in other words, the memory crisis) to last until 2028, and that will continue to complicate the mobile division’s margins. Sell ​​less, but more expensive. The escalation of component costs has made Xiaomi make a drastic decision: sell less, but more expensive. The distributed smartphone units they fell 19.2%, but its average selling price reached a record figure of 1,310 RMB, 8% more than in the same quarter of 2025. Xiaomi has a 23.5% share of premium smartphones in mainland China, and makes it clear that the focus is now on super high-end mobile phones. “Premiumization” of the home. The strategy of selling more expensive is also being applied notably in the IoT division, which includes household appliancesand which has also adopted a “premiumization” strategy. Instead of just distributing third-party products, the company is developing its own high-end air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines. This has allowed IoT gross margin to rise 5.1 percentage points in just one quarter. AI price war. The launch of its own AI model, MiMoit was already a surprise, but these days the firm has announced that cut the prices of its API by up to 99% (there are technical arguments) in order to compete with rivals like DeepSeek. This model is at the level of the best Chinese open models, but the company itself has not yet achieved the objectives they seek. As with other AI startups, the costs are massive, so this division of Xiaomi depends on the cash flow generated by the rest of the businesses. Cars impress, but they lose money. The division that brings together electric cars and AI did not have a good quarter and lost 3.1 billion RMB. The new Xiaomi Su 7 has been a success in number of reservations (80,000), but operating expenses for this part of the business have risen 45.8%, too much to be offset by the revenue growth of this division. Xiaomi is the new Samsung. Xiaomi He was born looking very similar (or aspiring to be very similar) to Apple, but currently its structure and strategy are much more similar to that of Samsung. Its advantage is that it currently has an ecosystem with more than 1.1 billion IoT devices that allow it to grow and invest in cars, AI or mobile phones. The problem is what happens if the cushion provided by the benefits of the IoT division deflates. In Xataka | Leica is teaching Xiaomi everything it knows: when the student no longer needs the teacher, the agreement will have fulfilled its function

Western brands are looking for the perfect car. Their way of achieving this is to sell us renowned Chinese cars

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There was a day when China lured Europe with the promise of vacant land and cheap labor. Today those days are over. Today the automobile industry has taken the road back. Today, more and more Western manufacturers are partnering with Chinese companies. And the reason is obvious: to sell you a rebuilt Chinese car as your own. What is happening? That traditional manufacturers are assuming Chinese technology to simply sell their product to you cheaper. A product that has little of its own and a lot of Chinese, for better and for worse. The reasons They are different: Pressure to jump to the electric car Complications in making that leap (either due to monetary issues or internal difficulties) Duty A Chinese technology that is above Brands that are on the verge of bankruptcy For some of these reasons (or the sum of several), more and more traditional manufacturers are intertwining with Chinese companies to advance their products. Products that, as we say, are sometimes pure Chinese cars “disguised” as Western. The Stellantis case It is the most recent but far from unique. It is also probably the most complex. The automobile conglomerate has faced serious financial complications in recent years. The cost reduction in many of its models led to the PureTech scandal. With the obligation to manage 14 brands, some of them have lost all types of identity. And their partnership with Leapmotor has shown them that they can get a lot of juice out of the Chinese electric car. During the presentation of its latest strategic plan, the company confirmed that they have reached an agreement of 1,000 million euros with the Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng to produce Peugeot and Jeep cars in China. They will be New Energy cars (NEV). This is what they call electric cars and plug-in hybrids in China. At the moment, not many more details have been given but a key detail does seem confirmed: These are cars designed to be sold in China and exported. That is, they are not cars manufactured in China whose main market is Europe. This suggests that they will probably be entirely Chinese cars that adopt the design language of these two Western brands. Chinese production is not the only one that is compromised. The agreement opens the possibility for European plants to produce Dongfeng cars, specifically the Voyah brand. This allows Stellantis to keep the work committed in its plants (specifically, the Rennes plant in France is targeted) and Dongfeng could sell these electric cars without paying tariffs, as is happening right now. But in addition to this latest news, China has become more and more rooted in the bowels of Stellantis. Since 2023, this automobile conglomerate manages the distribution and sale of Leapmotor outside China. This company is one of those that seems to have greater potential when it comes to selling electric cars at a low price. For now, Stellantis has already confirmed that some of these cheap cars will be produced in Europe. Specifically, Figueruelas (Zaragoza) has been one of the chosen locations. This plant, therefore, will carry out small electric cars from Peugeot, Citroën and Opel and, in parallel, those from Leapmotor because they do not share a platform. However, the latter has already begun to be debated. Tianshu Xin, director of Leapmotor International, pointed out a few weeks ago that “Leapmotor vs Stellantis They are two independent manufacturers and have their own platforms. However, one of the strategic objectives of this alliance is to generate synergies, which could include platforms and their components. “About 65% of Leapmotor components are manufactured in-house, and there are synergies that would allow Stellantis to use Leapmotor parts in its future platforms,” ​​in words reported by forumelectriccars. A few days ago Stellantis presented its STLA Onethe new modular platform that will replace STLA Small for segments B, C and D. This leaves the door for the smallest size, that of segment A, just where the new Citroën 2 CV will arrive, which has fueled rumors about a greater presence of Chinese components or software in the car. To this we must add that A new Opel electric car from 2028 will have Leapmotor technology but German dress. And the relationship between Stellantis and China does not seem to end here. In recent days the rumor has gained strength that the automobile conglomerate could look to JAC for a collaboration to move Maserati forward. The Italian sports car firm has already thrown away billions of euros in its jump to the electric car and JAC manufactures luxury cars together with Huawei in China. Producing them would allow Stellantis to put an electric Maserati on the street without taking more risks. Are you sure it’s western? That a car uses Chinese technology and is re-bodied like a Western one does not have to be bad in itself. In fact, automotive conglomerates such as Stellantis or the Volkswagen Group have made their synergies between brands one of the keys to building their success. However, in some cases yes it can be a problem. When a brand boasts of being different and unique, it has a problem if it only uses a “disguise” to camouflage that what is under its body comes from outside its factories. This is what can happen to Maserati and what Mazda is playing with. Until now, the Maserati customer has bought Maserati because, quite simply, their product was a Maserati. Italian elegance with a heart inherited from Ferrari to conquer a public that preferred its cars to, for example, Porsche. When you buy this type of car, not only buy numbersbuys an aesthetic and a sound and boasts of going against the grain compared to the majority German options such as Porsche or Mercedes. Just give up the engines ferraristas It was a serious problem for his image.. The Mazda 6e and CX-6e have a Chinese heart and soul despite the fact that the brand defends the Japanese philosophy in both cars If Maserati only … Read more

The Chinese brand that sells the most cars in Europe decides on Spain

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MG will manufacture cars in Spain. It is official after weeks of rumors in which we had been hearing that the Spanish region was one of the best positioned to produce cars from the Chinese firm of British origin. It is its first major investment outside China in almost a decade and, without a doubt, an endorsement of its European plans. The advertisement. MG has confirmed it: Galicia is the region chosen for the return to MG manufacturing in Europe. The announcement had been advanced by Alfonso Ruedapresident of the Xunta, this morning but it was not until this afternoon when the MG herself confirmed the news. For months it has been known that the Xunta de Galicia has been in talks with the Chinese brand to settle on Spanish soil for its new arrival in Europe. And in April, Rueda himself held a series of meetings with representatives of the brand between April 23 and 25 in China, according to The Automotive Tribune. The project. The company assures that, from the outset, the project has an investment of 200 million euros and that it will create “more than 2,000 jobs in Europe, establishing a strategic center for the next phase of MG’s growth.” That is, the press release provided by the company does not specify how many of these jobs will be in Spain and how many will be created by the increase in cars in the European market. The company assures that this new plant is scheduled to come into operation in 2028 and that it will have an annual capacity to manufacture up to 120,000 vehicles. At the moment, it has not been confirmed what types of vehicles will be manufactured (pure combustion, hybrid or electric) nor have the models been specified. For its part, in information collected by The Worldthe Xunta raises the figure to 2,300 jobs, of which 1,000 would be direct, another 1,000 indirect and 300 would be related to the company’s activity in As Pontes (a town near Ferrol). In this location, the company is expected to build a components plant. Some doubts. For now, what is known is that the company will establish itself in Ferrol and build an auxiliary plant in As Pontes. The choice of Ferrol is determined by its port, which has already served as a gateway for other Chinese manufacturers for sale in Spain or subsequent distribution throughout Europe. What has not been confirmed, in addition to the type of vehicle used, is what manufacturing method will be carried out. The Chery Group in Barcelona uses the DKD method where the local impact is minimal. The companies (Omoda/Jaecoo/Ebro) have repeated that they will increase the number of operations that will be carried out in Barcelona but, for the moment, the cars arrive semi-assembled in containers and on Spanish soil only the last pieces of the puzzle are being put together. At the moment, in its information SAIC (owner of MG) does not refer to whether the cars will arrive more or less assembled on Spanish soil. The more processes that need to be carried out in the Spanish plant, the more direct jobs and the more work will be given to auxiliary companies in the area. “In Europe, for Europe”. That is, according to MG, the maximum of this landing in Galicia. And the company has found a vein in our continent with the sale of cars with all kinds of technologies at very low prices. In Europe it is the Chinese brand that sells the most carsplacing in 2025 a total of 211,014 units in the European Union and 305,717 units if we put the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom into the equation. These sales are understood because the SAIC Group has found in MG a vein to sell cheaply in Europe. The brand, previously British, is not unknown to the public and both its hybrids and electric ones are cheap compared to traditional European proposals. In Spain, so far this year, the MG ZS is among the 10 best-selling non-plug-in hybrids and is the sixth best-selling car in the sum of all technologies, according to ANFAC data. Furthermore, the brand is the tenth best-selling company in our country. Duty. It remains to be known, as we said, what the bet is in terms of specific models but it is clear that the landing of Chinese brands such as BYD in Hungary and Turkey or the Chery Group in Barcelona is directly associated with the implementation of European tariffs on Chinese electric cars. SAIC, which owns MG, is the company facing the highest tariffs. Manufacturing in Europe may allow them to compete, even more, on price, but the European Union has already made it clear that it will be necessary to make a minimum number of investments to consider that the car is European. This does not mean that the car is electric. Although cars with combustion engines do not have tariffs, rumors point to greater European shielding of their economy. And producing in Europe for Europe can help, even more, to lower the price of cars with combustion engines, partially alleviating the economic effort that the company has to make with electric cars. Photo | MG and Counting Stars In Xataka | Spain has a new brand of Chinese cars and it arrives with an ambitious plan: “Five million units by 2030”

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