Episode #170 - EU Tariff fallout, VW Group + Rivian Mashup, New Robotaxi Pilots in BJ

Tu and Lei unpack who they think could be the winners and losers from the recently announced EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and how they may react to tariffs being considered in other markets. 

Tu and Lei then look a bit forward to what they expect to see later this year as we get past summer and move towards the always exciting year-end sales dash including the impact some of the new vehicles scheduled to begin delivery will have on the competitive landscape.

The discussion moves over to the VW Group investment and partnership announcement with Rivian as the two dissect how the partnership may work. Tu raises questions about both Cariad's and Scout's future place in the VW Group hierarchy now that they've effectively partnered with two strong EV startups in China and in the ROW - rest of the world. 

Lei spends a few minutes talking about his visit to NIO's Hefei factory and what he saw. 

The podcast ends with Lei giving his take on the new pilots being offered by WeRide and Baidu in Beijing from the Daxing airport to downtown.