China's electric-vehicle story moved from the show floor to the balance sheet on August 24. SAIC's MG 7 debuted at the Chengdu Motor Show with a class-down 845 km range and took 10,000 orders in under two minutes, while Leapmotor posted a record first-half revenue and BYD's Seal U became the best-selling Chinese-branded model in Europe. Below is today's roundup of new-model launches, overseas sales milestones, and industry shifts — with PHEV, EREV and BEV moves all in the mix.
1. MG 7 launches at Chengdu — 845 km range, 10K orders in 1m57s
SAIC's MG brand put the MG 7 on sale at the Chengdu show across seven trims in both battery-electric and hybrid powertrains. The pure-electric version brings a CLTC range of up to 845 km, the first time that number has reached the sub-¥150,000 (about $21,000 USD) class, backed by an 18-in-1 HeatMatrix active-cooling motor that holds zero-to-hundred acceleration without fade. Within 1 minute 57 seconds of opening firm orders the car passed 10,000 reservations; Momenta's R7 world model assisted-driving enters the sub-¥120,000 (roughly $17,600 USD) bracket with lidar and 4D mmWave radar. The China-market launch version is priced from around RMB 125,900 (approximately $17,600 USD) at preview; no overseas variant has been announced, though MG's global-first positioning means a Europe/ASEAN rollout is widely expected to follow the China debut.
2. Leapmotor posts record H1 revenue and a 372% overseas surge
Leapmotor (9863.HK) reported first-half 2026 revenue of RMB 38.11 billion (about $5.33 billion USD), a record for the period, with net profit of RMB 0.21 billion (roughly $29 million USD) — its third consecutive profitable half-year. Global deliveries hit 356,487 units, up 60.8% year-on-year, and July alone crossed 101,267 units (+102%), the first time the brand broke 100,000 in a single month. Exports reached 96,294 units in H1, up 372.6%, already surpassing all of 2025; in Italy Leapmotor led the pure-electric market with over 25% share. The model shown is the China-market range (C10/B10/B05); European models are sourced via the Stellantis joint venture with local assembly in Spain and Malaysia.
3. BYD Seal U becomes best-selling Chinese model in Europe
According to Dataforce, the BYD Seal U mid-size SUV sold 10,007 units in Europe in July, making it the best-selling Chinese-branded model in the region and the plug-in hybrid volume leader. For January–July, Chinese-brand EVs and PHEVs in Europe totaled 813,000 units, already above the full-year 2025 sum. The Seal U is sold in Europe as a plug-in hybrid (DM-i) and battery-electric variant; the Europe-spec car differs from the China market in battery size, charging port and ADAS feature set — the overseas PHEV uses the same DM-i hybrid architecture as the China-market Song Plus.
4. Jetour opens pre-orders for Traveller 7, 7C-DM and the all-electric "Huan You Zhe"
At Chengdu, Jetour opened pre-orders on three traveller-focused models. The Traveller 7 keeps a 2.0T + 8AT powertrain with XWD intelligent four-wheel drive (ICE). The Traveller 7C-DM is the electrified sibling: a 1.5T plug-in hybrid with a CATL large battery, 575 kW combined and 835 N·m, a 245 km CLTC pure-electric range and 1,400 km combined range, using Huawei Qiankun ADS 5. The Huan You Zhe ("Voyager") is Jetour's first pure-electric "urban box SUV" — LFP battery, 67.2 kWh, 200 kW (RWD) / 275 kW (AWD), over 550 km CLTC, with 6.6 kW vehicle-to-load. All three are China-market launches; Jetour sells in 100+ countries, and the PHEV/HEV variants are the ones most likely to reach Middle East and Latin American markets first.
5. Ora 5 GT HEV to launch August 28
Great Wall's Ora brand confirmed the 5 GT HEV will go on sale on August 28. The compact car gets a dedicated sport exterior and interior package aimed at younger buyers; Ora did not detail the hybrid system, but the HEV (self-charging, non-plug-in) positioning places it below the brand's BEV line on price. China-only for now; no overseas variant has been announced.
6. Cadillac XT5 PHEV makes first public appearance; Audi E7X launched
SAIC-GM showed the Cadillac XT5 PHEV at Chengdu for the first time — a "full-terrain assisted-driving hybrid SUV" pairing a combustion range-extender with electric drive. Separately, the Audi E7X Pioneer quattro "Love Edition" went on sale. Both are China-market joint-venture electrified models; the XT5 PHEV's overseas future depends on Cadillac's global plug-in roadmap, and the China version may differ in trim and ADAS from any future export model.
7. Mengshi X700全球首发 — brand's first X-series flagship
Dongfeng's premium off-road brand Mengshi unveiled the X700, the first model of its new X series and a flagship alongside the 917, M and X lines. The 917 is a range-extender (EREV), and the X700 is expected to follow an electrified (range-extender / PHEV) flagship formula, though final powertrain details were not disclosed. China-market launch timing was not announced; three more X-series models are planned over the next three years.
8. China leads first solid-state-battery international standard; July NEV sales hit 1.56M
China's proposal for the first international standard on solid-state batteries was formally approved, a milestone in setting global rules for the next-generation chemistry. On the demand side, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported 1.561 million NEVs sold in July (+23.7% YoY) and 553,000 exported (+145.8%), with the full-year forecast raised to 18.56 million units. (Note: NEV here includes BEV, PHEV and EREV under China's official definition.)
9. Toyota hands model-development lead to its China team
Toyota confirmed it has, for the first time, handed full vehicle-development leadership to its China organization — GAC-Toyota's Liu Wenbin becomes the first China chief engineer — after the locally led bZ3X (Platinum 3X) gained traction with 65% local supplier content. It signals how seriously global OEMs now treat China's electrified-product pace. The bZ3X is a China-market BEV; Toyota's global bZ line spans BEV only.
10. Chinese EVs make up 87% of Jordan's cleared imports
People's Daily reports that in 2025 Jordan cleared about 48,400 imported EVs, of which 42,300 (87%) were Chinese brands, as the country targets EVs at 60% of new-car sales by 2035. Chinese makers are winning on price and after-sales coverage — a pattern repeating across the Middle East and North Africa. Most China-branded EVs sold in Jordan are BEV and PHEV passenger cars imported from China.
Show-floor follow-ups (Covered in earlier editions)
- Fangchengbao Tai 9 officially debuted at Chengdu today as the flagship of the Tai boxy SUV line — a large plug-in hybrid six-seat SUV with the family's square-body design. Previewed in our Aug 23 edition; no new price/config disclosed today.
- SAIC Volkswagen ID. ERA 5S officially launched at Chengdu at a limited-time starting price of RMB 89,900 (about $12,600 USD) (guide RMB 119,900–149,900, ≈ $16,800–$21,000). Previewed in our Aug 21 edition as "Under $13K"; now confirmed on sale.
- Luxeed V9 (Huawei's first MPV under Harmony Intelligent Mobility) passed 20,000 cumulative deliveries; launched May 15, it set the fastest NEV-MPV-to-10k record (by Jul 20). New milestone; no new model action today.
- Roewe Jiayue 07 ("world's first AI-native car") opened public experience at Chengdu with blind orders above 11,000. New this week; covered as a launch-adjacent item.
Power-type mix and overseas footprint
Today's 10 items span BEV (MG 7 EV, Jetour Voyager, BYD Seal U EV, Ora future BEV line, Audi E7X), PHEV (MG 7 hybrid, Jetour Traveller 7C-DM, BYD Seal U PHEV, Cadillac XT5 PHEV, Toyota bZ3X is BEV but the JV push is hybrid-diverse), EREV (Mengshi X700 expected, Leapmotor's EREV models in its global mix) and HEV (Ora 5 GT HEV). Overseas-relevant brands lead the roster: MG, Leapmotor, BYD (Europe), Cadillac/Audi (global JV), Toyota (China-led), and Jordan market-data — five of ten items carry explicit overseas sales or export signals.
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