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What happened in China this month? June 2026


June demonstrated how Chinese automakers are competing on multiple fronts, balancing European expansion with continued updates for the domestic market. These developments highlight the ongoing pressure to sustain growth through expansion into other markets, and the maintaining of domestic market share. From XPENG’s over the air update (OTA), to deliveries in Europe of the Leapmotor Lafa5, June provided a clearer picture of how automakers are pursuing growth.


Here are the developments you should be aware of:

On June 2, XPENG announcement that their OTA 6.2.0 update had begun. The update was innovative because it introduced navigation-free NGP (Navigation Guided Pilot). NGP can now be activated without a pre-set navigation route. Memory-based driving system can now learn previously driven routes and repeat these routes autonomously.


Whilst the OTA was significant, XPENG aren’t unique in releasing OTA updates. At least 6 other Chinese automakers released significant OTA updates in the past two months. It remains to be seen whether these features will be introduced in Europe. It is likely that regulatory requirements in Europe will slow deployment.


Denza (owned by BYD) also released an OTA in June but it was less significant. The update introduced new in-car entertainment features, enhanced audio effects, cross-screen video playback, shared listening, and data monitoring for music usage. It also added a passenger “nap mode”. Compared to Xpeng, the update appeared to be relatively high-level and focused on infotainment and cockpit features.



Xpeng ranks highly in SBD’s SDV capability ranking while also sitting in the upper mid-tier of SBD’s OTA performance ranking. In contrast, Denza sits lower in both OTA and SDV ranking, but their update demonstrated that meaningful customer-facing features can be delivered without advanced SDV foundations. That being said, Denza’s SDV capabilities may constrain their ability to extend improvements into deeper, system-wide innovation.

 

On June 12, 2026, Leapmotor began deliveries of the Lafa5 in Europe. The model starts around €30,000 - about the same as a Renault 5 or an MG4 and was originally launched in Europe in April. It was announced that Valentine Debise, a French professional motorcycle rider was the first owner in Europe. Interestingly, Valentine Debise races for ZXMOTO, a Chinese motorcycle brand.

Leapmotor continues to show strong growth considering the company was founded in 2015 and delivered their first vehicle in 2019. In June, Leapmotor announced they had reached 1.5 million cumulative vehicle deliveries globally. If we assumed linear growth over the 7 years, that would equate to around 17,000 deliveries per month. However, over the past 8 months, the company has achieved closer to 62,000 deliveries per month.


Stellantis acquired a stake in Leapmotor in 2023, and created a Joint Venture in 2024, which gave Stellantis rights outside China to sell, distribute and manufacture Leapmotor cars. This has potentially opened the market for Leapmotor uniquely compared to other Chinese automakers. More new Leapmotor models are expected to be launched in 2026 and we will be looking out for any Stellantis models in Europe adopting Leapmotor technology.


On the theme of expanding to new markets, on June 10, Xpeng CEO announced that he will lead the company’s robotics division which is targeting mass production of the IRON humanoid robot by end of 2026.


At an architectural level the IRON robot is similar to others (like Tesla) but has higher dexterity and is built on Xpeng’s EV supply chain and autonomous driving AI. The announcement is positive but shouldn’t be over hyped. The business case for humanoid robots has not yet been proven, and Xpeng have not yet announced customers. It is a move towards deployment - not just R&D - with support from executive leadership. It is significant that production deadlines have been put in place.

 

Summary of themes in 2026 so far: 

 


If you’re looking to keep track of the other new products and announcements in China’s automotive market, including other OTA updates and chipset and software developments, SBD’s China Innovation Tracker provides a quarterly view of the most innovative technologies and features entering the market, both in China and from Chinese companies globally.


I’ll be back next month with the next “What happened in China?” update.


"June appeared to be a quieter than May, but the underlying market pressures haven’t gone away. There is a lot of management going on of costs whilst keeping up with market demand. It will expose those not prioritizing the bringing of products to market with meaningful customer benefits."


Mike Levet - Senior Analytical Reports Specialist at SBD Automotive


If you or your team would like access to the Auto China 2026 Premium Report or to understand how the highlighted technologies, partnerships and market dynamics could impact your strategy, we invite you to get in touch. Email info@sbdautomotive.com to connect with one of our experts and discuss your specific requirements.


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