Fuel-powered Cars 'Done For'? Changan Ford New Energy Business Halts; Major Accord Redesign Incoming

1. Top 10 May Auto Sales Feature No Fuel-powered Vehicles

Fuel-powered cars have completely exited the stage of the top ten in passenger car retail sales for the past May. According to the May passenger car retail sales ranking released by the media, all top ten models are new energy vehicles. Among them, Geely Xingyuan ranks first with 38,800 units, Tesla Model Y ranks second with 28,900 units, Xiaomi SU7, Leapmotor A10, and Li Auto i6 rank third to fifth respectively. Among the top ten list, pure electric, extended-range, and plug-in hybrid each occupy one spot, while not a single fuel car can be seen.

In April, there was still one fuel car, Geely Binyue, in the top ten list; in March, five fuel cars were included; this number was 7 models in January this year. It took less than half a year for fuel-powered cars to go from accounting for the majority to returning to zero. CPCA Secretary-General Cui Dongshu pointed out that the May car market showed a 'cool fuel, hot new energy' trend, with the domestic new energy retail penetration rate rising to 62.9%, setting a new historical high, and the electrification substitution speed exceeding expectations.

2. Changan Ford New Energy Business Halts

Changan Ford New Energy Automotive Technology Co., Ltd., established less than three years ago, is facing a key node of shareholders selling equity. Recently, according to the Chongqing United Property Exchange, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. has listed for transfer the 40% equity it holds in Changan Ford New Energy, with a transfer reserve price of 154 million yuan. If the transfer is successful, Changan Automobile will no longer directly hold Changan Ford New Energy equity. The most eye-catching part of this announcement is not the number, but a detail: starting from October 1, 2025, Changan Ford New Energy will no longer undertake relevant business for Ford brand vehicle sales and after-sales, and currently has no business plans or related investment plans for vehicle sales, parts sales, etc. in the future.

In September 2023, Changan Ford New Energy was jointly established by Changan Automobile and Changan Ford Automobile Co., Ltd. At that time, Ford's pure electric SUV Mustang Mach-E was performing poorly in China. After Changan Ford New Energy was established, it quickly took over the Mach-E's operations in China and optimized and upgraded the powertrain, battery management system, and smart configurations of the vehicle. However, the sales of Ford Mach-E at the terminal market never made much progress, selling only 35 units throughout 2025. In addition to introducing Ford Mach-E, Changan Ford New Energy originally planned to launch a new model annually starting from 2025, focusing on pure EV and extended-range categories, with the first strategic model code-named CX810. However, from being exposed in early 2024 until now, two years have passed, but this model code-named CX810 still failed to hit the market.

3. Tesla Publishes Global Pending Approval List for FSD Markets

Recently, Tesla announced the global approval progress and complete list of pending entry countries and regions for its Full Self-Driving System (FSD). As of early June 2026, over 1.3 million Tesla vehicles worldwide have activated FSD, mainly concentrated in markets that have completed approval. Among them, the North American market has already fully opened FSD, the South American region has become Tesla's next expansion focus, and Europe is the region where FSD is advancing fastest recently.

In terms of the Asia-Pacific market, China has completed FSD approval and launched it early, with this function landing in 2025 with Version 13.0, initially open only to some owners. According to Tesla's recently updated Chinese owner's manual and official website information, the FSD equipped with the latest Version 14.0 will soon be re-launched in China. According to plans, Tesla aims to land in Japan by the end of 2026; India, Malaysia, Thailand and other Asian countries are also in the approval sequence.

4. Saidou Technology Launches New Brand AIVA

Another new car brand—AIVA—was released. The brand was launched by Saidou Technology, with the presence of Serres, CATL, state-owned capital platform, and Volcengine, and the brand focuses on the currently popular 'AI-defined cars' track.

The first mass-produced model AIVA ME7 is positioned as a crossover, to be released within the year, with the entire series covering the mainstream market above 200,000 yuan. The new car is produced at Serres Phoenix Factory, with plans to establish independent sales channels and target domestic and overseas markets. In terms of intelligence, AIVA will standardly equip an Intelligent Cockpit System based on the Doubao Large Model for the entire series, and Intelligent Driving will adopt the Assisted Driving Solutions provided by DeepRoute.ai.

5. Stelato New MPV, Hardcore SUV Spy Shots Exposed

Road test spy shots of two new models from the Stelato brand have been exposed, respectively a mid-to-large MPV and a Hardcore SUV. Reports say, the two new cars are planned to be launched successively within 2026. From the spy shots, the wheelbase performance of this MPV is outstanding, the side lines are neat and smooth, high probability it will focus on the mid-to-high-end new energy MPV market, focusing on intelligent cockpit, luxury driving experience and space performance, expected to be equipped with Huawei's latest HarmonyOS Intelligent Cockpit, high-level Intelligent Driving Assistance Systems and other core configurations.

The new Hardcore SUV targets the high-temperature rising high-end new energy hardcore off-road market. The road test vehicle body outline is tough and square, possessing typical high ground clearance and tough body proportions. The landing of the two new models will help Stelato build a 'Sedan+MPV+Hardcore SUV' diversified product matrix, break the limitations of single-model layout, and comprehensively cover mainstream high-end new energy submarkets.

6. Wang Chuanfu Makes Bold Claim: BYD to be No. 1 Globally in Five Years

BYD Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu stated at the 2025 Annual General Meeting held recently, "In the first quarter this year, new energy vehicles experienced the darkest moment. Affected by the January 2026 New Energy Vehicle Purchase Tax Halving Policy, car buying demand was front-loaded in November and December of last year. In the first two months this year, BYD's sales declined, but in the following March and April, with the iteration of new technologies and the rise in global oil prices, the company's new energy vehicle sales recovered month by month."

Wang Chuanfu stated that BYD's second-generation Blade Battery production capacity, released in March, is currently ramping up, and many operating data are starting to recover. With the production capacity ramping up, it is expected that monthly sales will increase by 20,000 to 30,000 units until year-end; at the same time, the company's cash flow will also improve synchronously, returning to previous levels. Looking forward, Wang Chuanfu believes that under domestic and foreign dual-wheel drive, BYD will gain significant growth in 2030, and it is expected that the company's production and sales scale can become No. 1 globally. In the past two years, BYD ranked fifth in the global auto sales rankings with sales of 4.27 million units and 4.6 million units; Toyota Motor has exceeded 10 million units in sales for five consecutive years, stably topping the global rankings.

7. 11th Gen Accord Major Redesign Incoming

Recently, the Head of Honda US Product Planning stated when interviewed by the media that the Honda Accord will undergo a major redesign, with the new car's appearance and driving experience all comprehensively innovated, with overall performance close to a brand new model.

According to informed sources, the design of the new Accord will reference the Honda 0 Series Pure Electric Sedan, and achieve balance in style. In appearance, the new car will possibly use longer shaped headlights, an optimized front grille, the rear end redesigned synchronously, paired with a new tail light group. Inside the cabin, it is expected to be equipped with a larger center console entertainment screen, while continuing the driver-centric cockpit layout. As for power, it is highly likely to continue using the current powertrain, but may be equipped with a brand new S+ Shift System.

8. Audi Unveils New Flagship Supercar

Audi unveiled the new flagship supercar Nuvolari, which is not only the spiritual successor to the R8, but is also called by Audi CEO Gao Denuo 'the manifesto for the brand's future'. This mid-engine supercar with a V8 Hybrid System, limited to 499 units, with an output of 1001 horsepower, has become the fastest and most powerful mass-produced road car Audi has ever had, planned to start delivery in the first half of next year, with an estimated starting price of about 500,000 pounds.

This car is Audi's first mass-produced car with a full carbon fiber exterior, the body is made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer, and is paired with an aluminum alloy space frame. The rear wing can be adjusted to three modes: closed, low drag, and high downforce. The cockpit uses a minimalist layout with the driver at the center, with key functions located within the driver's view. The powertrain is built based on the same component unit as the Lamborghini Temerario, after exclusive tuning by Audi, zero to hundred acceleration is only 2.6 seconds.