Cars

from manufacturing cars to 1,000 police robots that are, really, a seed of the future

by

Today has been a completely different day from the others. Because frankly, the last thing I expected to see at a car show was a nearly three-hour presentation on a humanoid police robotbut here we are. The robot, however, is the least important thing, as we will see later. The clues that the robot would play a leading role were there, to be honest. After all, this same humanoid robot was on display at the Chery stand during the Beijing Motor Showbut of course, from seeing a robot displayed on a stand to understanding its purpose there is one step. Anyway, let’s go in parts. Just a few days ago, on April 17, Chery Group announced an agreement with AiMOGA Robotics to turn robotics into its new avenue for growth. The idea is simple: AiMOGA puts the expertise in robotics and Chery puts the manufacturing capacity, its experience with cars and the savoir faire in the international arena. The AiMOGA robot in the Chery showroom | Image: Xataka In April of last year, AiMOGA managed to ship the first 220 robots to more than 30 countries. These robots have their own name, by the way: Mornine M1. Today we have witnessed the signing of a commitment by different Chinese cities to deploy 1,000, which says a lot about how clear the government (which was present) is that there is a new field to dominate here. These robots are, let’s say, oriented to specific scenarios. Mornine is not a robot designed to make us a French omelet on a Tuesday night, but to control traffic, help with health care, etc. For now, at least. Detail of Mornine’s face | Image: Xataka The robot from behind | Image: Xataka If anyone is interested, they can buy their own Morine M1 robot at JD, the Chinese Amazon. Its price is 285,800 yuan, around 40,000 euros. If that seems like a lot of money to you, another option is his companion, the Argos robotic dog, which costs 15,800 yuan (around 2,000 euros at the exchange rate). Image | Xataka What is the robot like? It is a humanoid that is found at the most extreme point of the uncanny valley. The robot, feminine in appearance, is 1.67 cm tall, weighs 70 kilos, is capable of walking at one meter per second, pivoting 40 degrees and carrying up to 1.5 kilos of weight. It talks, sees (LiDAR, cameras and ultrasonic radar), moves its arms and has a goal: work. Mornine, as I said, has been developed with specific scenarios in mind. The most obvious is that of assistant and we have the clearest proof of it in the train stations and shopping centers of Wuhu, where it is already officially present. Today Chery has gone a step further, signing a commitment with several Chinese cities to deploy 1,000 robots on the roads. Robots dressed as police | Image: Xataka Because yes, Mornine is going to work as a traffic officer. As explained by Chery, Mornine will be able to detect violations, apply and explain the lawmanage vehicle flows, interact with drivers, etc. In fact, in a presentation they have suggested that it could be integrated with government systems to, for example, record violations as soon as they are detected. On paper and in the sample videos it sounds great, but honestly, I would like to see this robot in the middle of one of the main arteries of Beijing talking and interacting with the helmetless motorcyclists, the drivers who cross paths and the general chaos that prevails on Chinese roads. Beyond warning, the robot has no punitive capacity (or does not seem to have it), so it will be necessary to see if its practical application goes beyond the anecdotal. Ah, the irony | Image: Xataka In any case, there is something poetic about seeing human police officers stand next to these robots, which are dressed alike and mounted on a mobile base. Chery maintains that they seek to offer an alternative to professions for which there are no candidates, such as the aforementioned traffic agents, but what I see is different. It’s a robot taking a first step that, in 20 or 30 years, we will remember as the germ of something bigger. Because in this robot, whose movements are orthopedic and depend on a human operator to control them, I see something else. I see a China preparing for the future. I see a country that already anticipated the electric car and is now doing so with robotics. It also plays, yes | Image: Xataka A country with 5,000 years of history has all the patience in the world. Domestic robots will not reach society today, tomorrow or the next day. They probably won’t do it in this decade, but they will. Sooner or later, and being aware that this is a very techno-optimistic thought, domestic robotics will be a reality, and when it is, While the rest of the world takes its first steps, China will already know how to run. Literally. Xpeng is another local brand that has made its first steps in robotics, like Unitree or AgiBot. Tesla, with his Optimus, too. In fact, Chery has put Elon Musk and his goals with Optimus as an example to follow and beat. Hyundai, Honda have robotics projects. But China has something that the others don’t: total and absolute control of the supply chain. China is winning the electric car racethat is no secret, and it is sowing the seeds of victory for robotics. Today they are crude, somewhat clumsy designs, but a country that was able to invest 2,000 years and several dynasties in building a wall is in no hurry. They have all the time in the world to improve their robots, and not only that, but they are fast at iterating. Image | Xataka They are very patient, but they also react in the moment. They are slow and fast at the same time. That is something that … Read more

I have seen the future of cars in Beijing and yes, it is electric (and very cool)

by

I remember when I was in Dubai and I attended GITEXthe largest technology fair in the world with its 230,000 square meters of stands spread across several pavilions. That seemed absolutely unbearable to me, even having two or three days to visit it relatively calmly. It was something absolutely insane. Three years later I woke up not in Dubai, but in Beijing. And if the 230,000 square meters of GITEX were overwhelming, the 380,000 square meters of the Beijing Motor Showthe 1,451 cars on display, the 181 new cars, the 71 concept cars and the 200 press conferences are, directly, mission impossible. Chery Hall | Image: Xataka I would need a week to tour the two pavilions that shape this event, but I have only had a few hours. Not that I needed much more. Not only because 99% of the cars I have seen here will not arrive in Spain, that too, but because just take a look around the stands of Chery, Xiaomi, BYD, Geely, Changan, Nio, Xpeng and company to discover that the future of the automobile does not have a European sealbut a Chinese flag that is displayed with pride. AION i60 | Image: Xataka The clearest sign that something is changing and that the sector is evolving is expectation. I have attended countless technology events, from CES to IFA to MWC or GITEX. It had been years, many years, without seeing lines to enter a stand, to take photos of the latest product launched by a company. Here, well, this was the press conference of the Chery Group. Moments before the Chery press conference | Image: Xataka While consumer technology has become a commodity, as everyone has a cell phone, a laptop, a watch and headphones, the cars are transitioning. Talking about cars is, perhaps, an understatement, because what Beijing is teaching me is that the car is passing to be a gadget. It is no longer just a matter of consumption, finishes and bodywork. Here talking about a car means talking about connectivity, charging powers, ecosystem, infotainment. While technology is currently going through a period of relative stagnation, reducing innovation to incremental improvements in specific aspects, the driving force is quite the opposite. The sector is experiencing one of its best moments in terms of variety, capacity and technology. Jetour G700 | Image: Xataka The gasoline, or rather, the electricity that drives this evolution has a Chinese seal. I wonder, now that I see firsthand the power of companies like BYD, Chery, Nio and company, If no one thought of this when manufacturers sold their long-term capacity for short-term profits. Did no one think that China, which requires a partnership with a local partner and the transfer of intellectual property in exchange for being able to sell in its huge country, was going to hit the table one day? That, at some point, I would want to stop manufacturing for others to take what you have learned, improve it, optimize it and sell it herself? Arcfox S5, the premium range from Beijing’s BAIC | Image: Xataka Sure, outsourcing molding, part production, and engineering kept prices low and increased competitiveness in the past, but now the tables have turned. Now it is the Chinese brand that also accumulates years of expertise competing in a ultra aggressive market and electrified like the premises, which is capable of vertically integrating and controlling the entire manufacturing process, from the batteries to the last screw, and if it does not do so, it surely has a nearby company capable of providing every last cable. Because that is a huge competitive advantage.: If Europe or the United States wants a Chinese part, they have to wait for it to be shipped and it arrives. Days, at least. Those finishes? 🤤 | Image: Xataka If a Chinese brand needs it, I probably just have to cross the sidewalk or drive a few minutes to the manufacturer’s headquarters. That capacity, that good work, I see clearly as I walk through the infinite halls in the Hall. I see a BYD that fills an entire Hall 3 with its brands, showing off a 1,000 HP roadster like the Denza Z. Its finish has little to envy of any European car, although I doubt it will reach Europe. Denza Z | Image: Xataka Denza Z | Image: Xataka Denza Z | Image: Xataka I also see a spectacular supercar from their Fangchengbao brand capable of making anyone’s jaw drop. Anyway, what to say | Image: Xataka At his side, a Denza Z9 GT and a Fangchengbao frozen at -33 degrees serve the brand to boast of fast charging in extreme conditionsnailing to the millimeter the promise that the car, frozen, is fully charged in 9 minutes. I can think of few more risky demos. Yes, it’s frozen | Image: Xataka That is a live image of frozen car interior screen | Image: Xataka Then there is this car, also BYD, with a My Little Pony theme that I leave here for haha. Yes, it’s hair | Image: Xataka The tires, please | Image: Xataka Without words | Image: Xataka In the Chery hall, which has had the most crowded conference I have seen in years, the company’s executives explain their international vocation and their plans to continue extending their tentacles. And I must say that it is even dizzying. When a Chinese executive makes a presentation in English, it is not for pleasure. It is a declaration of intentions like the top of a pine tree. Chery has introduced the Omoda 4, the Lepas L6 EV and the Tiggo V (which can be transformed into a pick-up, convertible and SUV and which we will see here as an Omoda, Jaecoo or Ebro). The signature, furthermore, intends to bring its Lepas brands (more elegant cut) and Exeed (which will be Exlantix and will be sold as a premium brand) to Spain. Omoda 4 | Image: Xataka Lepas L6 EV | Image: Xataka Tiggo V … Read more

The world will run out of memory for AI chips until 2027. And cell phones and cars are already paying the price

by

The big bottleneck in the artificial intelligence industry has nothing to do with AI models, GPUs, or data centers. It has to do with memory, and for months we are immersed in a crisis of which now the manufacturers give us more information. Three companies—Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron—control 90% of global production, but current estimates indicate that between the three They can only cover about 60% of expected demand through 2027. That’s terrible news not only for AI, but also for everything non-AI. The era of memory scarcity. These three manufacturers have prioritized HBM production for AI accelerators because these memories leave better margins. The direct consequence is the shortage of DRAM memories, which are used in PCs and mobile phones, and since October 2025 we have seen how this market has skyrocketed in price. Betting everything on one segment has left the other dangerously neglected. Samsung will have new factories. According to indicate In Nikkei, Samsung plans to launch its fourth memory manufacturing plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, in 2026, although mass production will not begin until 2027 or later. Furthermore, not only memories will be manufactured in that plant. There is a fifth plant under construction on that same technology campus, but it will be dedicated to HBM chips and will not begin operating until at least 2028. The South Korean giant has another ace up its sleeve: the United States. HBM to power. SK Hynix is ​​the only one of the three that has a concrete supply improvement for 2026, because it has already started manufacturing HBM chips at its Cheongju plant in February. It is also accelerating construction of a plant in Yongin, near Seoul, with the goal of completing it by February 2027. Micron also asks for patience. Meanwhile, Micron, the American company, has the goal of starting production of HBM chips in Idaho and Singapore in 2027, and will build a factory in Hiroshima that will theoretically come into operation in 2028. It has also just purchased a plant in Taiwan from Powechip, but the chips that come out of it will not be available before the second half of 2027. This is not enough. The consulting firm Counterpoint Reserach estimates that in order to resolve the current DRAM crisis, an industry-wide production increase of 12% annually until 2027 would be required. However, current plans add up to a growth of 7.5%, which makes it clear that these expansions by these three manufacturers are not enough. For Counterpoint analysts, the consequence is clear: the balance between supply and demand will not be normalized until 2028. SK Hynix is ​​already talking about supply limitations for AI chips could last until 2030, and the truth is that all the forecasts only confirm that this problem will still last for years. We consumers pay the price. Memory is an absolutely transversal product that is everywhere. 80-90% of current memory chips go to computers, mobile phones and servers, and the rest to cars and industrial equipment. The most direct impact is already in the mobile market entry-level: memory already represented 20% of the manufacturing bill for one of these smartphones, but that figure is expected to reach 40% by mid-2026. That gives manufacturers few (or no) options, which will impact that cost on the price of these devices. And so with everything. IDC esteem that mobile sales will fall by 13% in 2026 due to this circumstance. The danger of cycles. The memory industry has a history of cycles in which the rise and fall of memory prices is traditional. In 2023 there was a collapse in prices after post-pandemic demand for PCs faded. Several manufacturers recorded historic losses, and learned the lesson of overproducing to meet demand. Now that we need more production, manufacturers are being much more cautious when it comes to increasing their production or investing in new factories. For them, by the way, the crisis is going great: Samsung has earned in three months of 2026 what it earned in all of 2025. China to the rescue. Although South Korea and the United States dominate global memory production, there are several Chinese manufacturers that are gradually gaining relevance. YMTC and CXMT They have been growing significantly in production for some time and that is making now have a golden opportunity to gain market share over competitors that they seemed unattainable. Image | Liam Briese In Xataka | The situation with RAM prices is so desperate that there are already those who build their own memory at home

from spending a decade sowing ports and trains to reaping with their electric cars

by

For more than a decade, Beijing has been building the infrastructure, alliances and agreements that allow it to gain an advantage in a continent that has just opened its doors wide. And after having conquered Europe, and in the process of doing the same in Canada With its new energy and industrial vehicles, Latin America has for years been a pending strategic point for China in which to transfer a good part of its technology in exchange for raw materials. A fertilized land. Although China has had an eye on Latin America for many years, its strategy is now entering a different phase. For years, his play has focused on ports, railways, loans and commodities. Today, to this is added an automobile industry that urgently need to exportand that finds in Latin America a terrain that has already been fertilized with patience. Infrastructure. The most visible example is the Chancay megaporton the central coast of Peru, operated by the Chinese state shipping company Cosco Shipping. With the capacity to receive the largest container ships in the world, its objective is to reduce transit times between South America and Asia from the current 40 days to just 28. Robert Evan Ellis of the US Army Institute for Strategic Studies. he described it to the BBC some time ago as the transition from a route that “previously made all the stops” to another that “goes directly to the destination.” Peru, with China as its main trading partner for more than a decade, is not the only country: 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are already part of the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s great global connection project. Added to that are the railways. It is estimated that Latin America has more than 150 railway projects on the table with an estimated investment of 384 billion dollars until 2050, according to the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. China plays a central role in its financing, from the 16 billion dollars in road modernization in Argentina to the Bioceánica Railway, the 3,700 kilometer corridor that It will connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, crossing Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.. A work that not only connects countries, but shortens China’s route to the continent’s raw materials. lthe cars chinese. While the country is building all this logistics operations, China has been facing a serious problem for some time: a chronically overproduced automobile industrymargins under pressure and a cooling domestic market. BYD, its best-known manufacturer, saw the state withdraw subsidies for plug-in vehicles, making it its sales suffered. The answer to preventing its economy from sinking has been foreign expansion. Europe knows this perfectly, and Latin America has also been at the center of the plan for some time. To continue with the example of BYD, despite being a privately held company, already produces in Brazilwhere it sold 113,000 cars last year, more than in any other market outside of China, with a plant with the capacity to reach 600,000 vehicles annually. As Bloomberg tells it, from there, it will export 50,000 units to Mexico and another 50,000 to Argentina, taking advantage of trade agreements that eliminate tariffs between these countries. The factory in Brazil will be the one that supplies vehicles to the rest of Latin America. It is not the only front. Manufacturers like Changan have been perfecting for years in Mexico a model reuse strategy (the same vehicle with different brands and prices over time) that allows them to maintain a constant presence with a minimum investment in development. On the other hand, Yutong, one of the largest bus manufacturers in the world, has just delivered the first 180 of the 600 buses planned for modernize public transportation in Nicaragua within the framework of an agreement with the country’s Government. Concern in Washington. Donald Trump’s administration has classified the case of the port of Chancay as an example of how “cheap Chinese money” can erode national control over critical infrastructure. His warning also points to something more serious: that China uses displaced labor from its country instead of local ones, something that does not catch us by surprise in Europe, and that ends up generating economic dependencies that are difficult to reverse. Ellis counted to the BBC that “with Chancay, Peru will become more dependent on China,” and recalled that in other relations between Latin America and Asia “China used predatory techniques and ended up taking natural resources.” Peru illustrates the tension well: it has China as its main trading partner and the United States as a strategic ally and military partner. Washington negotiates the construction of a naval base a few kilometers from the port that Beijing operates. The same enclave, two powers, and an uncomfortable decision. A paradise for Chinese technology. Latin America is not a homogeneous market, but it has several common features that make it attractive to China: aging transportation infrastructures, growing middle classes, low penetration of electric vehicles and tariffs that, in many cases, have not yet adjusted to the pace of China’s entry. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina concentrate the bulk of attention by market size, but the agreements with Nicaragua or the projects in Chile, Colombia and Peru show that the strategy is much broader. In Xataka | In 2022 it seemed impossible for China to close the US “gap” in AI in four years. In 2026 it is a fact

Brands are eager to turn our cars into a subscription service. Honda has reminded us again

by

Buying a car today can be a whole box of surprises. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes, as recently happened to a Honda Passport owner, for the worse. And just as has shared user on Reddit, the function to open your garage that previously came as standard, has become an option included in a subscription package offered by the firm. The story has some nuances that are worth mentioning, but the reality is that this example has become another reflection of something that has been happening for years in the automobile industry: manufacturers are determined to turn your vehicles into recurring revenue platformsand software is your main tool to achieve this. From opening the garage with a little button in the car, to doing it from an app The Honda Passport in question has removed the rearview mirror with integrated Homelink, the system that allows the car to be synchronized with the garage receiver via radio. In your place now offers the function as standard through the MyQ applicationintegrated into HondaLink. For it to work, the user needs an internet connection in the car, Apple CarPlay or Android Autoand you must also install a MyQ receiver connected to the home Wi-Fi at home. The result is a system that provides more technical complexity to do something that was previously solved with a small radio control attached to the visor. Sling confirmed According to CarBuzz, customers receive a free 30-day trial period, after which they must contract a three- or five-year subscription. If they don’t, the feature is still accessible through the standalone MyQ app, and Honda also sells a rearview mirror with Homelink as an additional accessory for around $170. That is to say: What used to come as standard now has to be paid separately. The main advantage of the new system (being able to check if you have left the garage open from anywhere with a connection) makes some practical sense. But the price of the subscription, between $129 and $179 for three or five years, plus the possible connectivity costs of the vehicle itself, turns something so simple into a payment chain that is difficult to justify. BMW and heated seats: the case that started it all To understand where we are today with the issue of subscription services in vehicles, it is worth remembering the most talked about episode in recent years. In 2022, BMW began to offer in some markets (South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, among others) the possibility of activate seat heating through a monthly subscription about 18 dollars a month. The problem here is that the hardware is already installed in the car from the factory, and it is the owners who had to pay a monthly subscription to unlock this feature. Both the press and the users attacked them so much that they had to back away. In September 2023, BMW Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Pieter Nota will confirmed to Autocar the end of that practice: “What we no longer do, and it is a well-known example, is to offer seat heating in this way. Either it comes from the factory or it doesn’t.” But BMW did not abandon the subscription model, but rather reoriented it. The brand confirmed that it would continue to expand the services and functions it offers through subscriptions, but that it will stop charging for hardware functions already installed in the vehicle. After the move, the firm continued with its plans to add subscription services, but this time only in its software, such as driving or parking assistance systems. Through your ConnectedDrive platformoffers functions such as adaptive suspension, high beam assistant, adaptive cruise control or even welcome animations with the lights, through subscription. Mercedes: up to 80 horses per subscription BMW’s example ended up spreading to many other firms. Mercedes-Benz launched its “Acceleration Increase On-Demand” function in 2023 for the electric EQE and EQS models: for $60 per month or $600 per year in the case of the EQE, or $90 per month and $900 per year in the EQS, owners could unlock between 60 and 80 additional horsepower and cut the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h by up to one second. They also added a single payment option for life, which is around 2,000 or 3,000 euros, depending on the model. Mercedes’ logic with which it tried to distance itself from BMW’s case was that standard hardwired functions, such as seat heating, would not be offered as “digital extras”, leaving subscriptions for software upgrades. However, the principle is the same– The car has the necessary hardware, but the feature is blocked until the user pays. Mercedes-Benz aimed reach 2,000 million euros of revenue from software subscriptions in 2025, with plans to reach between 7,000 and 9,000 million euros before 2030. This growth would be driven above all by its own operating system (MB.OS) and its autonomous driving system. If we think about it coldly, electric cars usually have lower maintenance costs than combustion cars, which reduces the income of dealers and the brands themselves. Software subscriptions are presented as a way to compensate for that loss. Tesla, GM and Ford: the model that already works Tesla has been the benchmark for this model for years, and in its case the discussion has important nuances. Your system Full Self-Driving Supervised (supervised autonomous driving) could be purchased for about $8,000 as a one-time payment or as a monthly subscription. And we tell it in the past tense because earlier this year, Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla would offer this mode only as a subscription service and not as a one-time payment. The good news is that those who had paid to get the lifetime feature will continue to have this feature. The subscription option costs about $99 per month. Perhaps the main difference here with BMW or Mercedes is that Tesla updates its software continuously with new capacities, which gives greater meaning to the recurring fee model. In the case of General Motors, … Read more

that in addition to cars, Ford and Cadillac manufacture missiles

by

In 1942, the Willow Run Factory in Michigan, operated by Ford Motor Company, managed to assemble a B-24 bomber every 63 minutes, something unthinkable for an industry that until recently produced cars in series. That feat turned a civilian assembly line on a capable machine to sustain a war on a global scale. Now the drums of war are beating again in car factories around the planet. An economy that returns to war mode. The United States is beginning to recover an industrial logic that seemed buried since the mid-20th century: converting its civilian muscle into a direct extension of the military effort. He had exclusive the wall street journal that there are already Pentagon conversations with giants such as Ford Motor Company and General Motors that reflect more than just an increase in production, pointing to a transformation of the role of the industry in a context where conflicts in Ukraine and Iran are draining arsenals at an unexpected rate. The underlying idea is simple but powerful, and already we had seen in Germany in recent months: if wars consume faster than the traditional military industry can replenish, the board must be expanded and civilian manufacturers brought back. From cars to missiles. The Pentagon is not only looking for specific contracts, but the ability to redirect factories, engineers and logistics chains towards the production of ammunition, anti-drone systems or tactical vehicles. This movement implies that companies used to manufacturing cars or heavy machinery can become direct support of the war effort, something that breaks with decades of specialization in a handful of defense contractors. In practice, it is a recognition that modern warfare (especially that based on drones and high-consumption ammunition) requires industrial volumes that are more reminiscent of a war economy than the limited conflicts of recent decades. The precedent. The historical reference is inevitable: during World War II, the Detroit automobile factories stopped producing cars to make bombersaircraft engines and large-scale military vehicles. That total conversion transformed American industry in a war machine capable of supporting multiple fronts simultaneously. Today, although the context is different, the logic underlying current conversations is the same: take advantage of the scale, efficiency and flexibility of civilian industry to cover military needs that exceed the capacity of the specialized sector. Korea, Vietnam and the law that made it possible. After the Second World War, Washington did not completely abandon this capacity for industrial mobilization, but rather institutionalized it with the Defense Production Law 1950, a legal framework that allows the government to prioritize and direct production toward military needs. During the Korean War, companies such as Ford Motor Company created specific divisions for defense contracts, while General Motors and other companies adapted their lines to manufacture military vehicles, engines and supplies. This model was activated again in later conflicts such as Vietnam, although in a more partial way, consolidating a tool that allows the civil industry to be reactivated in moments of strategic pressure without reaching the total mobilization of the 1940s. A system that falls short. The background of this turn is an uncomfortable reality that could already be find in Iran: the US defense industrial base, as designed today, it’s not enough to sustain prolonged, high-intensity wars while supplying allies. The massive transfer of weapons to Ukraine since 2022 and the additional wear and tear derived from the conflict with Iran have highlighted this limitation. For this reason, the Pentagon proposes expand production beyond the usual contractors, directly asking large manufacturers what capacity they can contribute and what obstacles they encounter in integrating into that effort. The return to a logic of total war. If you like, without explicitly declaring it, Washington is recovering an idea that seemed typical of another era: that, at certain moments, the entire economy can become part of the front. From that perspective, it is not yet a total conversion as in the Second World War, but it is a change of mentality that brings civil industry to military effort much more directly. In that sense, current wars are not only redefining the battlefield, but also the role of factories, which are once again placed at the center of strategy as if history were slowly turning backwards. First it was Volkswagen in Germanyand now it’s your turn to Cadillac in the United States. Image | Picryl, Dave Parker In Xataka | Not only has the US just lost the “eye” that Hormuz watched, its nuclear aircraft carrier is in Africa for fear of being shot down In Xataka | The US did not make ends meet in Iran by launching thousands of missiles a month. So let’s move on to plan B: humans.

I thought Chinese cars were going to be the new Android. They are actually the new iPhone

by

For a few years, the nightmare of European manufacturers has had a specific name: the Android scenario. That Google, or Apple, or Amazon, would turn the car into interchangeable hardware. that the value will migrate to third-party software and they will be reduced to outdated manufacturerslike PC manufacturers in the nineties. That fear has kept them on guard, looking towards Silicon Valley, investing a lot of money in their own connectivity and infotainment systems, trying not to be left out. They’ve been guarding the wrong door. The movement that is happening is not the equivalent of Android. It’s exactly the opposite, at least where it hurts the most: BYD makes its own batteries, your own operating systemand operates its own charging network. Xiaomi does practically the same with HyperOS. The logic is not to create a platform where others monetize but to control every centimeter of the experiencewithout intermediaries. That has a name that we all recognize, and it is not Google. It’s Apple’s. The paradox is that the Android scenario that Europeans feared so much is happening, but it is not being carried out by the big American technology companies, they are building it themselves: European generalists have become what they feared most, without anyone from outside having to impose it on them. What makes the Chinese movement so different is what is noticeable inside the car. Denza, YangWang, Luxeed, Exeed either Xpeng They are brands that three years ago almost no one in Europe even knew about, but that Today they are manufacturing cars with interiors with an attention to detail that is very reminiscent of what happened with the iPhone in 2007.. It wasn’t that the iPhone did more things than the competition (at the time, in fact, it did considerably less than a Nokia). It was that every interaction was thought out, every transition animated, every small gesture had coherence. Rivals had cool features, but Apple had experience that no one matched. Today, sitting in a mid-range or high-end Chinese car and sitting in a German car of the same price is not so much about comparing specifications as it is about comparing philosophies. And the Germans, who are seeing it, are reacting: the new iX3he CLAeither the newly announced i3 They are serious efforts to recover that coherence of experience. But reacting is not the same as taking the initiative. The problem facing the European industry is not that it does not know how to make cars, there is more to it. The thing is that for many years the margin has been captured by those who mastered mechanical engineering, and they learned to optimize exactly that. What they did not learn is that in the 21st century the margin is captured by whoever controls the entire experience: the software, the data, the services, the ecosystem. When they wanted to learn it, they looked at Silicon Valley because there was the model they knew. Until four days ago, no one looked towards Shenzhen, where someone had spent years building something more like Apple than Google: vertical, closed, cohesive, with a speed of iteration that Westerners simply do not have and they already admit it. Nokia also had very good engineers. In Xataka | At 110 km/h and driving every other day: Europe already has its recommendations for the latest oil crisis Featured image | BYD

We wanted electric cars and solar panels. The Hormuz blockade has returned us to the era of coal and nuclear energy

by

The Third Gulf War has caused what decades of climate summits tried to avoid: the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has erased 20% of the world’s supply of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in one fell swoop. Faced with the imminent threat of a large-scale blackout, governments around the world have put their energy transition plans in a drawer. However, to keep the lights on and the economy afloat, the immediate response has been to look back to the past: burn coal by the piece and resurrect nuclear power. The mirage of “bridge fuel.” Asia buys more than 80% of the crude oil and gas that transits through Hormuz, but the problem goes far beyond a simple ship jam. This crisis has destroyed one of the great pillars of the energy transition. As explained The New York TimesLiquefied Natural Gas (LNG) was sold during the last decade as the perfect “bridge fuel”: less polluting than coal, more reliable than intermittent renewables and capable of being transported by sea to any corner. That bridge just blew up. The damage is far from being repaired, and it is estimated that the infrastructure attacked It will take years to operate again. Added to this is that Iran has turned the Strait of Hormuz into a kind of maritime “VIP discotheque”deciding by hand which ships can cross. No one can depend on LNG ships to guarantee their sovereignty. The main problem: live without pantry. But there is a technical factor that has turned this crisis into an immediate catastrophe: lack of storage. Unlike the West, most Asian countries lack underground gas stores, leaving them completely exposed to supply disruptions. While nations like South Korea can last up to 52 days and Japan about three weeks, Taiwan walk on a wire extremely fragile, with a legal security threshold of just 11 or 12 days of reserves. Without a “pantry” to store the LNG, Asia has no room for maneuver: if the ship does not arrive on Monday, the blackout begins on Tuesday. This structural vulnerability is what has forced an unconditional surrender to coal. Coal’s dirty lifesaver. As Jonathan Teubner, the aforementioned analyst, perfectly summarizes by Financial Times: “No coal ship passes through the Strait of Hormuz.” That is the key to everything. Being a cheap, abundant resource that does not depend on the troubled waters of the Middle East, the most polluting mineral has returned with a bang. According to FortuneSouth Korea has removed the 80% operational cap for its coal plants, a decision that has drawn the ire of environmental groups who accuse the government of using “energy security as a pretext.” Thailand, for its part, is restarting plants it had dismantled last year. From Seoul to New Delhi: the dilemma of the powers. Japan, one of the world’s largest gas importers, has also bowed to the evidence, allowing its least efficient coal plants to operate at full capacity for a year. Energy desperation is such that in Japan There are already voices demanding cancel the emissions trading system, calling it a “death sentence” for the coal plants they now need to survive. In India, the situation is critical. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned of a “major challenge” ahead of the summer. To avoid massive blackouts, New Delhi has commanded giants such as Tata Power and Adani Power operate at full capacity, while Bangladesh seeks multi-billion dollar loans. Sam Chua, analyst at Rystad Energy, sums it up in Financial Times: We are not seeing a transition, but a brutal “destruction of gas demand.” Although it is not that simple: the money wall. This coal revival has a glass ceiling. As experts point out in Japan Timesthe banking sector flatly refuses to finance the construction of new coal plants for fear of being left with “stranded assets” (stranded assets) in the face of global climate commitments. That is, countries are squeezing their dirty old infrastructure to the last drop, but they can’t build new ones. Charcoal is the assisted respirator, but not the cure. The atom as a shield: the great redemption of uranium. Panic too has broken atomic taboos. Taiwan, whose government promised a “nuclear-free homeland” in 2016, has announced plans to restart two decommissioned reactors. The Philippines has charted a fast track to atomic energy by 2032, and Vietnam has just struck a deal with Russia to build its first reactors. Uranium is no longer seen as a threat, but rather as the only way to protect the electricity supply against maritime blackmail. The domino effect reaches Europe. What started as an emergency solution in Asia is already infecting the West. The crisis has forced the European Union to break its own historical taboos, admitting that Europe committed a “strategic mistake” by moving away from atomic energy. Brussels has already put 200 million euros on the table to develop Small Modular Reactors (SMR) by 2030. This shift shows a continental fracture: while France entrenches itself protecting its nuclear investment of 300 billion euros and blocks energy interconnections with the Iberian Peninsula, Europe assumes that it cannot guarantee its future solely with the sun and the wind. War rationing in the 21st century. While the plants uproot, the daily suffocation hit the streets. Philippines has declared a “national energy emergency.” In South Korea, the government implores families to take short showers and Samsung has prohibited its employees from driving to work based on the license plate. In Thailand, officials operate with work weeks for four days and they are prohibited from wearing ties in order to raise the temperature of the air conditioning. The collapse is so severe that Thai ambulances have taken to Facebook to beg gas stations to reserve diesel for them to save lives. The collateral damage. The scope of this blockage transcends the electricity bill. If the conflict lasts until June, Bloomberg alert that the barrel could touch $200, a price designed to cause “demand destruction.” This would lock global inflation at a chronic … Read more

which cars can circulate and which rest on March 28

by

This Saturday the Hoy No Circula Saturday scheme is launched again, the program with which the Secretariat of the Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA) restricts the circulation of some vehicles to contain pollution in the Valley of Mexico. Once again, those who plan to use the car should carefully check the finish of their license plate and the verification hologram before going out on the street. The restrictions are not limited to the 16 municipalities of CDMX, but also extend to several metropolitan municipalities of the State of Mexico. The program also operates 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 Also, remember that if your route passes through any of these locations, the Saturday No Circulation Day also applies. What cars and license plates does Hoy No Circula Saturday affect? The logic of the program is to reduce the number of cars in circulation to reduce emissions, but on Saturdays specific rules are applied that complement the scheme from Monday to Friday. Not all vehicle owners are forced to leave their car on the same weekend: the hologram, the finish of the license plate and whether Saturday corresponds to an odd or even week are the parameters that determine who stays parked and who can drive. It is also essential to consider that the Not on Saturday Circulation Today It does not apply 24 hours a day. The application hours go from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., so that outside of that time frame—at night and early morning—the program does not limit vehicle traffic, as long as no environmental contingency or other extraordinary provision that adds additional restrictions is declared. In the case of March 28, 2026, the calendar indicates that it is the fourth Saturday of the month, which is why it is classified as an “even week.” Under this configuration, vehicles with hologram 1 and license plates ending in an even number are those that must remain out of circulation during program hours. If your car fits that combination, you’ll need to keep it stored until after 10 p.m. On the contrary, cars with hologram 0 and 00 retain permission to circulate without restrictions within the framework of Today No Circula Saturday. Those with hologram 2 cannot circulate under any circumstances on Saturdays. In addition to the previous assumptions, it is important to remember that there are a series of exempt vehicles that can circulate without being affected by these limitations. These 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 Those who decide to ignore the provisions of Hoy No Circula are exposed to a considerable financial penalty. The fine for violating the program ranges from 20 to 30 times the Measurement and Update Unit (UMA), which is equivalent to approximately 1,924.40 pesos at the minimum and up to 2,886.60 pesos at the maximum. Added to this economic impact is the possibility that the vehicle will be immobilized and the time that will have to be invested in resolving the situation before the authorities. Which cars and license plates are affected by Hoy No Circula Saturday? In conclusion, if you are going to travel by car this Saturday through CDMX or through the suburban municipalities of the State of Mexico included in the program, it is advisable to check before starting what hologram your vehicle has, what the ending of your license plate is and if the calendar shows an even or odd week. Hoy No Circula Saturday focuses on removing the most polluting cars from circulation, but at the same time it requires better planning of trips and evaluating mobility alternatives when the vehicle must rest. Photo | Vanessa Krebs In Xataka | The countries that pollute the most in the world, gathered in a detailed graph

MG reveals the secrets of MG SolidCore Battery, the first semi-solid batteries for electric cars that will arrive in Europe

by

Without the light effects that precede a big announcement but with the security of someone who knows they have something good on their hands. MG met us in Frankfurt, met us on the outskirts of the city and put it before our eyes. The car and its tools. The weapons to continue gaining ground in a battle that seems long. Because with a quick presentation and a talk with its managers, the Chinese company revealed the two great advances with which it intends to continue gaining ground in the European automobile market: a new hybrid system and, above all, its semi-solid state batteries that will arrive with the new MG4 Urban EVa kind of evolution of the current MG4 Electric with which it will coexist in the market. In 2025, MG was the brand with Chinese capital that achieved the best results in Europe. Also in our country, where it reached 45,163 registered units. The formula for success has been based on the launch of vehicles for the access range. Cars at low prices, very spacious and equipped. But, above all, very competitive if we compare them with the competition. The strategy is paying off. Both in vehicles with combustion engines, where the brand does not have to pay tariffs, and with the MG4 Electric, which became among the best sellers in many European countries. The recipe at that time was simple: attractive price, good interior space and versions with a lot of power. Now, MG seeks to take a qualitative leap. Continue convincing and gaining ground in those who are undecided. But, above all, they bring technology that is currently not available to any other brand. Some semi-solid batteries to capture the market Our gazes, therefore, were pointed at the stage where the brand representatives were passing, but what was truly important was behind us. There, behind a curtain, the new MG4 EV Urban, a compact electric car that wants to position itself as the most advanced electric car of the moment. At least if we pay attention to its battery. At 4.44 meters long, the new MG electric car is a canonical compactor, of those that continue to triumph in the European market. To test it we will have to wait a few months but we were able to sit in it for the first time and see first-hand that we are facing a qualitative leap in quality in the interior. The car does not represent an aesthetic revolution on the outside and, of course, is less striking than the current MG4 Electric. But packaging does win. Inside, materials have improved and the perception of quality has risen. The screens are accompanied by physical buttons to control the climate and volume with wheels and controls that offer good touch. The sound of the speakers surprised me with their good quality (yes, I have to say that I don’t have the best ear among the staff). Xataka). And it has interesting details such as the controls that we already saw in the MGS6 EV on the steering wheel or a slightly rough mobile phone wireless charging surface so that the phone does not move. The new MG4 We will talk about all this in greater detail when we can get our hands on it to taste it in motion. Until then we will delve into the technology with which they want to hit the table with batteries that they already mass-produce. They are called “MG SolidCore Battery”. Because the MG4 EV Urban will be the first electric car in Europe to use semi-solid state batteries. With the promise that the car will not face a superlative extra cost. On the contrary, they told us that it will move in figures similar to the current ones. At the moment, the MG bestseller is around 38,000 euros but with the brand’s aid and discounts it is currently below 28,000 euros. What are these semi-solid batteries? It is the first step before jumping to solid batteries, the great promise of the electric car. They are energy accumulators that improve each and every one of the current aspects of LFP or NCM batteries, the most common on the market. Currently, these batteries use electrolytes that use liquid electrolytes to move lithium ions between the electrodes and thus generate electricity. With each discharge, lithium ions travel from the anode to the cathode through the liquid electrolyte. There the electricity is produced that is used by the motors. With recharging, the electrolyte takes the opposite path. Solid state batteries promise to forget about this liquid. This will allow, if the technique advances sufficiently, to have batteries with very ambitious ranges (more than 1,000 kilometers are targeted), in a reduced size and with more powerful charging and discharging capacity. And maintaining their security. The semi-solid state battery is the intermediate step. MG claims that the electrolyte liquid takes up around 20% of a conventional battery right now. With its new batteries, that liquid barely reaches 5%. Solidifying that space allows them to increase the nominal voltage of the battery and therefore also improve energy density. MG points out that these new batteries reach a density of 400 Wh/kg. Part of the secret is that the mobility of lithium ions increases their possibilities, they go from moving in a one-dimensional (LFP) or two-dimensional (NCM) to three-dimensional movement using the solid electrolyte. What does this translate into? The batteries of the new MG4 Urban EV will be smaller but will be able to travel the same number of kilometers as the current model. Although no specific figures have been confirmed, the leap forward should be qualitative because It is an evolution that feeds on itself.. If the battery is denser, it can be smaller to travel the same number of kilometers. At the same time, the weight of this accumulator is lower and the car is more efficient, resulting in better consumption data and, therefore, autonomy. But it also has other types of advantages such as less … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.