China’s EV industry delivered a three-part signal on September 15: XPeng switched on a 1MW megawatt charging station in Hong Kong, Geely opened global pre-sales for its Galaxy Battleship 700 electrified off-roader, and GAC Aion launched the 2027 AION i60 with both BEV and range-extender powertrains plus WeRide-assisted driving. Taken together, these moves show how Chinese automakers are widening the EV playbook beyond pure price competition—into ultra-fast charging infrastructure, intelligent driving, and new energy off-road segments. The bigger story is not just product cadence, but how brands are scaling technology into mainstream and adjacent markets.
XPeng Brings 1MW Charging to Hong Kong
XPeng announced that its first X-Energy megawatt flash-charging station in Hong Kong has officially entered operation. Built together with Halo and open to all brands, the site marks an important step in the company’s charging strategy outside mainland China.
The headline specification is clear:
- Peak charging power: 1MW (1000kW)
- Maximum liquid-cooled charging current: 1000A
- On-site energy storage: 400kWh
- Grid connection requirement: no more than 240kW
That last figure may be the most strategically important. In dense cities such as Hong Kong, grid upgrades are expensive and space is limited. By pairing the charger with energy storage, XPeng can deliver short bursts of very high charging power without needing a full megawatt grid connection. In effect, the battery buffers the difference.
This matters because urban charging economics often depend less on charger hardware than on permitting, land use, and utility access. XPeng’s solution is designed around that constraint.
Why Hong Kong matters for XPeng
XPeng entered the Hong Kong market in 2024 through local dealer cooperation and has already introduced models including the G6 and X9. In 2025, it said it would build out its own ultra-fast charging network in core commercial areas, including 360kW-class and above chargers. The new 1MW site takes that strategy a step further.
XPeng has also said its X-Energy megawatt charging and storage stations will expand into Europe, with plans for more than 1,000 self-operated ultra-fast charging stations across 13 European countries.
For consumers, the promise is obvious: charging times that move closer to the convenience of refueling. For XPeng, the real value is ecosystem control—selling not just EVs, but the infrastructure that makes premium EV ownership practical.
Geely Galaxy Battleship 700 Targets the New Energy Off-Road Boom
While XPeng focused on charging, Geely aimed squarely at a fast-growing niche: electrified rugged SUVs. The company officially opened global pre-sales for the Galaxy Battleship 700, described as Geely’s first AI all-terrain hardcore SUV.
Pre-sale pricing starts at RMB 199,800 and stretches to RMB 389,800 for a limited special edition, covering three powertrain types, five regular trims, and one special version.
Geely Galaxy Battleship 700 pre-sale lineup
| Variant | Powertrain | Price (RMB) |
|---|---|---|
| Exploration | 1.5T 2WD | 199,800 |
| Exploration+ | 1.5T 2WD | 209,800 |
| Yufeng | 1.5T tri-motor 4WD | 229,800 |
| Yufeng+ | 1.5T tri-motor 4WD | 239,800 |
| Peak | 2.0T tri-motor 4WD | 269,800 |
| Land Ark Edition | Special limited edition | 389,800 |
Geely is positioning the model as a bridge between urban comfort and serious off-road capability, claiming it opens the "new energy off-road 2.0" era.
Key specs and features
The Battleship 700’s numbers are deliberately attention-grabbing:
- 830kW system output
- 1,129hp combined power
- 0-100km/h in 3.95 seconds
- Up to 305km CLTC electric range
- Up to 1,770km combined range
- 47.14kWh CATL battery pack across the range
- 6C fast charging, with 10% to 80% in 10 minutes
- 80L fuel tank
- 800mm wading depth
- Claimed 100% gradeability
The model sits on Geely’s GTA native new energy off-road architecture and offers multiple technical hooks meant to separate it from traditional body-on-frame SUVs and softer crossovers.
Feature highlights include:
- Tri-motor four-wheel-drive setup on selected versions
- Rear mechanical differential lock on the high-end 2.0T 4WD version
- Closed dual-chamber air suspension
- CCD continuous damping control
- Aluminum double-wishbone suspension
- AI digital chassis functions
- G-ATS intelligent all-terrain mode
- 540-degree off-road view
- Satellite communication on flagship versions
- Flyme Auto 2 cockpit system
- Qianli Haohan H7 driver-assistance with point-to-point navigation support
Geely is also leaning heavily into lifestyle and premium positioning. Purchase incentives during the pre-sale period include:
- RMB 1,000 deposit expanding to RMB 5,000
- More than RMB 22,000 in options benefits
- RMB 8,000 limited-time modification voucher
The company also revealed actor and entertainer Nicholas Tse as the model’s global ambassador, underscoring how important image-building has become in China’s increasingly crowded EV market.
GAC Aion’s 2027 AION i60 Pushes Smart Driving Into the Mass Market
If Geely’s announcement was about category expansion, GAC Aion’s new 2027 AION i60 was about democratizing advanced driver assistance. Officially launched on September 15, the five-seat SUV starts at RMB 118,800 under launch-rights pricing and is offered in both BEV and REEV forms.
The more important story, however, is software and compute. The AION i60 adopts WeRide’s WRD 3.0 driver-assistance system, which GAC says is already in mass production.
What WRD 3.0 brings
The system is positioned as a single-stage end-to-end assisted driving solution, derived from WeRide’s broader autonomous driving technology stack and its years of Level 4 robotaxi development.
Functions highlighted for the AION i60 include:
- P-gear activated full-scenario Navigation Driving Assist (NDA)
- Navigation-free roaming in park or campus environments
- Remote exit-and-park assistance
- Three-point turn support
- Ground parking lot space-to-space navigation assistance
These are described as L2++ capabilities available when users take delivery, signaling that high-end ADAS is moving into more affordable, mainstream Chinese SUVs.
WeRide says the underlying intelligence benefits from nearly a decade of Level 4 autonomous driving R&D and operations, including deployment across 13 countries and more than 60 cities. The company’s stack includes:
- WeRide One autonomous driving platform
- WeRide WITT physical AI foundation model
- WeRide GENESIS world model
The argument is that real-world Level 4 experience in multiple climates and road systems can improve perception, prediction, and decision-making in consumer ADAS systems. In practice, that means smoother behavior in complex urban traffic and better handling of unusual edge cases.
This is not the first GAC-WeRide collaboration—the article notes the AION i60 follows the AION N60—but it does suggest the partnership is moving from single-model validation to multi-model scale deployment.
At a Glance: Three Strategies, One Industry Shift
These announcements came from very different corners of the market, but together they map where China’s EV sector is heading next.
| Company | Main news | Key number | Strategic focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| XPeng | Opened first Hong Kong megawatt charging site | 1MW peak power | Charging infrastructure and ecosystem expansion |
| Geely | Global pre-sales of Galaxy Battleship 700 | RMB 199,800 starting price | New energy off-road and premium lifestyle EVs |
| GAC Aion / WeRide | Launched 2027 AION i60 with WRD 3.0 | RMB 118,800 starting price | Mass-market intelligent driving |
Why This Matters
Three broader themes stand out.
1. Chinese EV competition is moving beyond the car itself
Charging, software, and ecosystem control are now core differentiators. XPeng’s Hong Kong charging station is a good example: the innovation is not just headline power, but infrastructure adapted to constrained urban grids.
2. Electrification is spreading into new body styles and use cases
The Geely Galaxy Battleship 700 shows that Chinese brands no longer see EVs and hybrids as limited to sedans and family SUVs. Electrified off-roaders are becoming a serious sub-segment, blending long range, high torque, and software-led terrain management.
3. Advanced driver assistance is moving down-market
GAC Aion’s AION i60 suggests that features once reserved for premium smart EVs are reaching vehicles around the RMB 120,000 mark. If execution is strong, this could intensify competition not only among Chinese brands, but also against legacy joint-venture models still catching up on software-defined features.
Global Implications
For overseas observers, these developments reinforce a pattern that has become increasingly hard to ignore: Chinese EV makers are scaling multiple technology layers at once.
- XPeng is exporting charging architecture, not just vehicles.
- Geely is testing whether Chinese brands can define global electrified off-road tastes rather than follow them.
- GAC Aion and WeRide are compressing the timeline for mainstream adoption of sophisticated ADAS.
That combination matters in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and even mature premium markets. The next phase of competition will not be won solely on battery cost or acceleration figures. It will be won on how seamlessly brands combine energy replenishment, intelligent assistance, and specialized product design.
What Comes Next
The obvious next question is execution. XPeng must prove that megawatt charging can be deployed economically at scale. Geely needs to show that the Galaxy Battleship 700’s ambitious specification sheet translates into real demand in a niche that values durability as much as technology. GAC Aion and WeRide, meanwhile, face the challenge of making advanced assisted driving trustworthy and easy to use in everyday traffic.
Still, September 15 offered a useful snapshot of the Chinese EV market’s next chapter. It is no longer just about making electric cars cheaper or faster. It is about building a full-stack mobility experience—where charging is quicker, software is smarter, and product categories are far more diverse than they were just a few years ago.
