Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
MIKE RUTHERFORD
Auto Express
|November 05, 2025
I'VE just served a 30-day stretch in North East Asia, doing my digital nomad bit.
-
I'VE just served a 30-day stretch in North East Asia, doing my digital nomad bit. Temporary homes, offices, eateries and sacred places ranged from a room with no view in Beijing to the delights of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club, the bonkers Insa-Dong Ppong Da Bang (honest!) tea room/cafe, and the neighbouring Jogyesa Buddhist Temple, which calms me like no other place on Earth.
This is a region that has quietly, comprehensively and controversially taken over as the centre of the car-producing world. While the UK makes hundreds of thousands of cars a year, China builds around 28 million, Japan seven million, South Korea four million.
This story is from the November 05, 2025 edition of Auto Express.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Auto Express
Auto Express
China bans retractable and flushfitting door handles in safety fears
RETRACTABLE and flush-fitting door handles will be banned in China from 1 January 2027, prompted by safety concerns over occupants not being able to exit a vehicle in an emergency.
1 min
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
AUTO EXPRESS PERFECT SPEC
How we would option up four of the country's most popular new models
2 mins
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
Ioniq 3 seen testing ahead of April reveal
HYUNDAI is stepping into a new segment with the upcoming loniq 3, which we've spied ahead of its unveiling in April.
1 mins
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
Some Chinese brands are doomed to disappear, warns Skoda boss
Marketing chief Martin Jahn reckons the number of marques is not sustainable
2 mins
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
SCOOP YARIS TO SPREAD BETS ACROSS HEV AND EV
Fifth generation of Toyota's popular supermini will be offered with internal-combustion, hybrid and electric powertrains to suit buyers' needs
4 mins
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
USED BUYER'S GUIDE Range Rover Mk5
FROM £65,000 When it comes to high-end luxury and peerless off-road capability, there isn't much that can hold a candle to the fifth-generation Range Rover
5 mins
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
New Mitsubishi Shogun has its sights set on Discovery
SIX years after the firm announced that it was leaving the UK new-car market, Mitsubishi is poised to make a sensational return - and one of the first models it could bring here is this: the next-generation Shogun.
1 mins
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
DRIVER POWER
OWNER VIEWS ON THE UK'S BEST CARS
2 mins
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
MINI JCW
SINCE the JCW arrived on our fleet, MINI has upped the price from £31,200 to £33,530.
1 min
February 11, 2026
Auto Express
Kona Electric is first Hyundai to qualify for grant
THE Hyundai Kona has become the Korean brand's first model to receive the Government's Electric Car Grant, ensuring savings for buyers, as well as users of the Motability scheme.
1 min
February 11, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size