I Drove China's Advanced EVs. Now My Brain Is Broken

There's kind of a running joke at the InsideEVs office about Staff Writer Kevin Williams: he's been to China so many times, and driven so many of China's hyper-advanced electric vehicles, that he doesn't like anything we get offered stateside anymore.

Don't get me wrong; Kevin is as fair, thorough and thoughtful as any journalist in this business, if not more so. But once you've driven a bunch of battery-swapping Nios and high-performance Zeekrs, well, your garden-variety Chevrolet Equinox EV elicits more of a "bless your heart" reaction than perhaps it once did.

Well, I've been to China now too. I joined Kevin in seeing and driving a bunch of those cars. And I came back to the U.S. with the adamant belief that this country—its auto industry, its policymakers and even its consumers—need to have a long, hard discussion about the technological leadership we have ceded to that country.

That's the big story on today's episode of the Plugged-In Podcast. My co-host Tim Levin (whom I have already drafted for the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, because he needs to see this stuff too) and I recap some of the most impressive things we covered at the Shanghai Auto Show this week and last. And I am hoping at least some of our coverage, which will continue on the site and our YouTube channel soon as well, will serve as some kind of wake-up call.

I joined the Geely Group, the parent company of Volvo, Polestar, Zeekr, Lynk & Co and others, for the show. Besides walking seven miles each day at the Shanghai Auto Show itself, I drove cars from those last two brands in Hangzhou; experienced battery-swapping Nios in Shanghai; and some of BYD's most cutting-edge new models in Beijing. 

On today's episode, you can hear my takes on all of them. But believe me when I say that Western automakers need to be treating this as a five-alarm fire, and tariffs will not save them from what's coming.

Additionally, Tim and I discuss a bombshell Wall Street Journal report that indicates Tesla's board may have opened a search to replace Elon Musk as CEO (although the automaker vehemently denied this.) Is it time to seriously begin thinking about what a post-Musk Tesla may look like? 

Check out the show wherever you get your podcasts: We're on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more. If you haven't yet, please subscribe to the show and leave us a review. 

And we're looking to answer more listener questions on the show! Drop your burning questions about EVs, EV buying and the future of transportation below, or email us at podcast@insideevs.com. 

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

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