It was the Paris Motor Show, but you’d hardly have known it. Walking through the plazas of the Paris expo Porte de Versailles, I was bombarded with advertisements for Geely and BYD. The first booth I saw was for Li Auto. While Renault, Peugeot, and other members of the Continental home team were present, if you give half a crap about EV technology, they weren’t the ones likely to catch your eye.

 

No, it was Zeekr, Li Auto, Denza, BYD, and that lot who were offering 10-minute charging times, mind-bending power figures, and unconventional designs. Between the ultra-plug-in-hybrid Zeekr 9X with its 111-mile electric range and plush recliners and the Li Auto Megahome with its “mobile home from the future” aesthetic, these brands are offering things I couldn’t have imagined five years ago. BYD, meanwhile, showed off cars with 10-97% charge times of 9 minutes, a mind-bending figure.