China’s Dark Factories: So Automated, They Don't Need Lights | WSJ

The Wall Street Journal July 18, 2025
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Ford’s CEO says China’s EV industry poses an existential threat to global automakers. The country’s dark factories, which have robots run 24/7 with limited human interaction, aim to further widen the gap between Chinese car manufacturers and everyone else. As China grapples with overproduction and Trump’s trade war with Beijing continues, one big question remains: who will buy all these vehicles? WSJ visited Zeekr, a Chinese luxury EV-maker, to learn about China’s hyper-automation. Chapters: 0:00 China’s dark factories 0:40 China’s labor costs 1:19 Inside Zeekr 2:21 China’s automation 3:13 U.S. playing catchup 4:13 Challenges in the Chinese economy News Explainers Some days the high-speed news cycle can bring more questions than answers. WSJ’s news explainers break down the day's biggest stories into bite-size pieces to help you make sense of the news. #China #EV #WSJ

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