[Gasgoo Express] BYD Song Ultra EV Officially Announced; XPENG Adjusts Organizational Structure; Panasonic Announces Executive Restructuring

IT Home: On February 4, Lu Tian, general manager of BYD’s Dynasty sales division, took to Weibo to announce: The Dynasty network’s first B-segment pure electric SUV — the Song Ultra EV — is here. The Song Ultra made its debut in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) new product announcement for Batch 403, released in January. The new model measures 4,850mm long, 1,910mm wide, and 1,670mm high, with a 2,840mm wheelbase. It is equipped with a single motor delivering peak power of 270kW and a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.

Gasgoo: On February 4, ZEEKR officially announced that cumulative deliveries of its ZEEKR 9X model have surpassed 30,000 units, marking a strong start to the season for the luxury SUV segment in the 500,000 yuan class.

Interface News: Volvo Car reported on February 4 that global sales reached 177,830 units in the three months from November 2025 to January 2026, a 7% decline from the same period a year earlier. The automaker noted that sales over the past three months underscore the severe challenges facing the global market: sustained pricing and competitive pressures, compounded by adverse regulatory developments in the United States, have further exacerbated the situation.

Gasgoo: Recent reports indicate XPENG is merging two key intelligent divisions — the Autonomous Driving Center and the Intelligent Cockpit Center — into a unified General Intelligence Center. The new unit will be led by Liu Xianming, former head of autonomous driving, and will report directly to He Xiaopeng, XPENG’s chairman and CEO. The General Intelligence Center is designed as a new AI organization spanning both automotive and robotics sectors. It will establish secondary structures focused on foundation models, infrastructure, platform delivery, and product quality. The department’s AI technology infrastructure is set to support application layers including intelligent driving, smart cockpits, and robotics. On February 4, a spokesperson for XPENG confirmed the reports.

Kuai Technology: Pan Jiutang, chief of staff at Xiaomi Group, posted: «More than half of Xiaomi car owners use Apple or other smartphone brands. Our users aren’t loyal to brands; they’re loyal to science and rationality. The real user experience and word-of-mouth reputation cannot be discredited by others. Furthermore, January, February, and March are traditional off-seasons for the industry, so sales data shouldn’t be over-interpreted.«

Blue Whale News: Exclusive sources reveal that GAC Honda officially notified its authorized dealers nationwide to stop accepting orders on February 3 at 5:30 PM, as system order volume approached the 3,000-unit limit. The company stated that no further orders would be taken to ensure orderly sales and protect user rights. It was also revealed that production of this limited model will not resume. On January 15 of this year, the new Fit — dubbed the «people’s supercar» — launched with a limited run of 3,000 units nationwide. However, it became embroiled in a controversy over dealer markups, prompting GAC Honda to launch a special investigation and rectify practices at relevant stores. Data shows that since entering the Chinese market in 2003, the Fit has accumulated nearly 1.5 million users in the country.

Gasgoo: Multiple sources indicate that Ford Motor is in talks with China’s Geely regarding potential cooperation. Three sources familiar with the matter stated that the discussions involve Geely utilizing Ford’s European factory capacity to produce vehicles in the region. Two additional sources mentioned that the parties have also explored a framework for sharing automotive technologies, including autonomous driving capabilities. Geely did not respond to requests for comment. Ford, meanwhile, stated: «We are constantly in discussions with various companies on a wide range of topics. Some collaborations materialize, while others do not.»

Gasgoo: On February 4, SenseAuto and Dongfeng Motor jointly unveiled the industry’s first mass-producible generative intelligent driving solution. Built on SenseAuto’s technical expertise in end-to-end autonomous driving models and world models, the solution integrates Dongfeng’s mass production engineering experience to create a closed loop from R&D to vehicle deployment. The core of this collaboration lies in adopting a one-stage end-to-end architecture, diffusion generative models, and a training framework combining reinforcement learning with the Kaiwu World Model.

Gasgoo: Recently, an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) solution developed by FRIDTEK, based on Horizon Robotics’ Journey^® 6B (hereinafter «J6B»), secured designations from leading domestic and joint-venture automakers. This move is expected to accelerate the large-scale adoption of intelligent driving technology. The solution will be supplied in two forms — an all-in-one system and a domain controller — focusing on high quality and cost-effectiveness to target the next generation of active safety products.

Cailian: The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the «List of Unconditional Approval of Concentration of Undertakings Cases for January 19–25, 2026.» The list includes a case involving the establishment of a new joint venture by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), Chery Automobile Co., Ltd., and other undertakings.

Interface News: Data from the General Administration of Customs, compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), shows that complete vehicle exports reached 994,000 units in December 2025 — a 21.4% increase from November and a 73.2% surge year-on-year. Export value hit $17.14 billion, rising 23.6% month-over-month and 71.7% annually. For the full year of 2025, exports totaled 8.32 million units, up 29.9% from the previous year; with export value reaching $142.46 billion, an annual increase of 21.4%.

Interface News: According to the latest data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), manufacturers with new energy wholesale sales exceeding 10,000 units in December 2025 accounted for 93% of the total monthly volume. Preliminary data for January shows that these top manufacturers sold 830,000 units. As most automakers have largely locked in their sales figures, estimates based on last month’s market share and current data project total new energy passenger vehicle wholesale sales for January at 900,000 units. Based on preliminary CPCA data: wholesale new energy sales for January 2026 are estimated at 900,000 units, a 1% year-on-year increase.

Gasgoo: On February 4, QianGu Tech announced the completion of a 700 million yuan Series C financing round. The round was jointly invested by nine institutions, including Blue Lake Capital, Jiaxing Changsantou, Rongyi Investment, Zheshang Capital, Xinyi Donghu, Coco Capital, Chengdu Jiaozi Zhongying Fund, Yida Huizhi, and Chengdu Kechuang. The raised capital will primarily be used to iterate and upgrade core brake-by-wire technology, achieve mass production, and further expand capacity — moves aimed at consolidating and strengthening the company’s leading position in the smart chassis sector.

Gasgoo: On February 4, Zhiyou Wujie announced it recently closed an angel round of nearly 20 million yuan. The financing was exclusively invested by Pine Venture Capital and will be used primarily for the continued development of industrial universal robots, the iteration of core technologies, and the expansion of market applications.