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VOLKSWAGEN TURNS ID.BUZZ INTO CALIFORNIA CRUISE https://evne.ws/a0zog

MERCEDES-AMG CLA 45 IS A DIFFERENT BEAST https://evne.ws/lynpc

51% OF U.S. CONSUMERS WOULD CONSIDER A CHINA-MADE VEHICLE https://evne.ws/2qd1a

ELECTRIFIED MODELS FILL JULY'S FASTEST-SELLING USED-CAR TOP 10 https://evne.ws/w9zc5

TERRA CHARGE PLANS 2,500 NACS POINTS IN JAPAN https://evne.ws/xy5jz

DCBEL PLATFORM ADOPTED IN THREE V2X PILOTS https://evne.ws/yp52l

KGM RAISES MUSSO EV AWD TOWING RATING https://evne.ws/bsfit

PSW WINS ESTONIA FERRY MCS CONTRACT https://evne.ws/zltv9

WAYMO SAYS L2 IS INSUFFICIENT FOR L4 https://evne.ws/izqqh

It's ev.news Briefly for Friday 28 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.
Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnews

VOLKSWAGEN TURNS ID.BUZZ INTO CALIFORNIA CRUISE
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has unveiled the fully electric ID. California Cruise in Düsseldorf, offered in short- and long-wheelbase forms with 79 kWh and 86 kWh batteries respectively, sleeping accommodation for two, and first deliveries due in early 2027 from €60,761 (about $70,800). Standard kit includes the Interior Style and Comfort Packages plus the PowerSocket vehicle-to-load adapter, which delivers 2 kW continuous and 3.6 kW peak power, while California Mode keeps USB ports live and air conditioning running at sleeping temperature for up to 48 hours depending on charge and outside conditions.

MERCEDES-AMG CLA 45 IS A DIFFERENT BEAST
The electric Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 saloon is on sale in the UK at £66,750 (about $90,660), matching the outgoing petrol car's price and undercutting the plug-in hybrid C63 by £34,000 for comparable output, with the Shooting Brake £1000 more and the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N its nearest rival at £65,800. Three Yasa axial-flux motors produce 671bhp for a 3.0sec 0-62mph time in the 2.3-tonne saloon, with claimed ranges of 416 and 398 miles, 330kW charging giving 10-80% in 22 minutes, a rear-axle drift mode, and deliveries starting next year.

51% OF U.S. CONSUMERS WOULD CONSIDER A CHINA-MADE VEHICLE
A Dave Cantin Group market outlook report found 51% of U.S. consumers would consider a China-made vehicle despite Chinese brands not being sold there, with willingness at 77% among under-35s versus 36% among those 55 and older, driven by affordability as average transaction prices sit near $50,000 and monthly payments run far above five-year-ago levels. Chinese brands have taken roughly 10% share in Europe and Mexico in under five years, a pace that took Japanese and Korean makers nearly two decades, and the resulting collapse in established automakers' China business, combined with the EV unwind and tariffs, is already reshaping product and production decisions with direct consequences for U.S. dealers.

ELECTRIFIED MODELS FILL JULY'S FASTEST-SELLING USED-CAR TOP 10
For the first time since Autotrader UK began tracking the data, no petrol or diesel model appeared in July's 10 fastest-selling used cars, with eight BEVs and two hybrids from MG and Toyota filling the list, led by the hybrid MG ZS at 13 days, the Kia Niro at 15 and the Tesla Model 3 at 17. A year earlier BEVs held only four of the ten places, and July's slowest-selling used models were entirely petrol and diesel, with no BEV among them.

TERRA CHARGE PLANS 2,500 NACS POINTS IN JAPAN
Japan's Terra Charge will begin adding NACS charging from 2028 at commercial sites, major transport routes and hotels, targeting 2,500 points by the end of 2033 and studying a NACS-based AC charger for hotels and apartment blocks, though no specifications or timeline have been disclosed. The move responds partly to Tesla driver demand reported by Nikkei Asia, but with only 1,323 registered NACS points against roughly 68,000 charging points nationally, most on CHAdeMO, and a government goal of 300,000 points by 2030, NACS will add connector variety rather than displace the incumbent standard.

DCBEL PLATFORM ADOPTED IN THREE V2X PILOTS
Dcbel's bidirectional charging platform has been selected for three V2X pilots — California's REDWDS scheme, a PG&E programme and a MassCEC demonstration — offering drivers and fleets equipment funding, lower bills and payments of up to $3,200 per vehicle per year for exporting energy to the grid. The economics depend on vehicle-to-grid export, yet customers have so far opted for vehicle-to-home installations, dcbel had shipped nothing under the programmes at the time of reporting, and most jurisdictions still prohibit grid export altogether.

KGM RAISES MUSSO EV AWD TOWING RATING
KGM has lifted the all-wheel-drive Musso EV dual-cab ute's braked towing rating from 1,800kg to 2,300kg, exceeding the 2,000kg rating of Toyota's AWD electric Hilux. The revision undercuts the claim made by former prime minister Scott Morrison during the 2019 Australian election that EVs could not tow a trailer or boat to a camping spot, an argument that became part of the climate culture war, though what any BEV can tow still rests on the rating its manufacturer assigns.

PSW WINS ESTONIA FERRY MCS CONTRACT
Norway's PSW Power & Automation will equip Estonia's Virtsu–Kuivastu route with a Megawatt Charging System of two charging points at each end, each rated up to 5 MW on a 1,500-volt architecture, to recharge the country's new battery-electric ferry during port stops before its scheduled completion by the end of 2028. The ferry will carry 380 passengers and either 110 cars or eight lorries, making it smaller than the incumbent Piret and Toll, while the charging system will also be open to other compatible vessels, drawing on PSW's Nordic record of more than 250 MW of shore power and over 100 MWh of battery storage.

WAYMO SAYS L2 IS INSUFFICIENT FOR L4
Waymo has published 10 AI lessons drawn from over 200 million fully autonomous miles, arguing that incrementally improving a Level 2 driver-assistance system is a "false summit" that cannot safely reach Level 4, because neither billions of simulated miles nor millions of supervised miles replicate operating without a human backup. The company, which runs more than 500,000 paid driverless rides a week and targets a million by year-end, uses camera, lidar and radar redundancy and warns against black-box end-to-end networks, in contrast to Tesla's camera-only Tesla Vision, its end-to-end Full Self-Driving versions 14 and 15, and an Austin robotaxi service that has logged 380,000 unsupervised miles.

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BMW IX3 LOCKS-IN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BLIND ORDERS https://evne.ws/mlqge

BYD FLASH CHARGING NETWORK REACHES 10,000 CHINA STATIONS https://evne.ws/83j14

CHINA AUTOMOTIVE PROFITS FALL 28% IN JULY https://evne.ws/j0k54

CHERY LAUNCHES 600KM FULWIN T7 FROM 97,900 YUAN https://evne.ws/2qn9a

GEELY ZHANJIAN 700 TO DEBUT AI OFF-ROAD SUITE https://evne.ws/10n32

LI AUTO SETS EUROPEAN I6 LAUNCH FOR FOURTH QUARTER https://evne.ws/3b55z

NIO ES9 RECEIVES 2026 CHASSIS AND INTELLIGENCE AWARDS https://evne.ws/j7cu5

BYD, XIAOMI AND NIO ANNOUNCE RMB 22 MILLION IN DONATIONS https://evne.ws/3sufb

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HYUNDAI PLANS 41 EUROPEAN MODELS BY 2030 https://evne.ws/d6tn8

HYUNDAI PLANS INTERMEDIATE N PERFORMANCE TIER https://evne.ws/vps2i

HYUNDAI SELECTS KALUZA FOR SMART CHARGING https://evne.ws/fvopx

OMODA 4 SET FOR BARCELONA ESPORTS DEBUT https://evne.ws/l6osz

VOLVO ADDS SHARED ANIMAL HAZARD ALERTS https://evne.ws/s19po

VOLTPOST ADDS CEILING AND SURFACE EV CHARGERS https://evne.ws/hgyan

PLUG-IN SOLAR PANELS LEGALISED ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN https://evne.ws/t80kb

NIO CERTIFIED USED EVS START AT 26,900 EUROS https://evne.ws/9jpdk

APTERA SECURES UP TO $44 MILLION INVESTMENT https://evne.ws/yhv69

VESSEV RAISES $A27 MILLION FOR HYDROFOIL PRODUCTION https://evne.ws/v7hza

It's ev.news Briefly for Thursday 27 August 2026, only today’s headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.
Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnews

HYUNDAI PLANS 41 EUROPEAN MODELS BY 2030
Hyundai and Genesis will launch 41 new or updated models in Europe by 2030, targeting more than 420,000 EV sales a year against 116,000 in 2025, with Ioniq 3 production having started at İzmit on 14 August and a small electric SUV, a mid-sized electric SUV and commercial vehicles to follow. CEO José Muñoz said Europe is one of the most competitive regions on the planet and that every EV credit protects the ICE and hybrid business, while the claimed 30% battery-cost reduction is a planned saving on 2027 models using mid-nickel NCM cells rather than an achieved one.

HYUNDAI CLAIMS MORE THAN 600 MILES FOR SANTA FE EREV
Hyundai's first range-extender EV, the Santa Fe EREV, is due in North America in the first half of 2027 with a claimed 600-plus miles of total range from a battery less than half the size of a comparable EV's, using electric motors for drive and an engine solely as a generator. Production begins in Alabama in early 2027, with Hyundai expecting EREVs to matter more in North America than in Europe, and an Ioniq V EREV planned for China plus a Genesis EREV in early 2027.

HYUNDAI PLANS INTERMEDIATE N PERFORMANCE TIER
Hyundai is creating an unnamed performance tier between N Line trims and full N models, using N powertrains but at lower cost and better suited to daily driving. It sees the high-volume middle ground as a sales opportunity that could also free the flagship N cars, such as the Ioniq 5 N and Ioniq 6 N, to become more track-focused, though no technical details have been disclosed.

HYUNDAI SELECTS KALUZA FOR SMART CHARGING
Hyundai has named London-based Kaluza its global partner for EV smart charging and vehicle-to-grid services, starting with Hyundai and Kia in the UK and expanding to Australia, with OVO becoming the first UK retailer to offer smart charging through the Kia App. The deal sits within Hyundai Motor Group's AllDayEnergy programme launched in July, expanding existing pilots in Jeju, the US and the Netherlands, with V2G services planned for next year.

OMODA 4 SET FOR BARCELONA ESPORTS DEBUT
Chery brand Omoda will launch its 4.4-metre Omoda 4 compact crossover in Europe at the Valorant Champions Tour EMEA finals in Barcelona from 28 to 30 August, targeting younger technology-oriented buyers, before an Italian debut at the Turin show on 11 September. Europe accounts for more than 40 percent of Omoda and Jaecoo's global sales, and Chery, Europe's second bestselling Chinese automaker in July behind BYD, opened its first European hub and R&D centre in Barcelona in April.

VOLVO ADDS SHARED ANIMAL HAZARD ALERTS
A Volvo software update lets EX60, EX90 and ES90 cars use sensors and cameras to detect large animals such as deer and sheep, upload the location to the cloud and warn approaching vehicles, including those on the European Data for Road Safety programme, with added alerts for pedestrians, cyclists, roadworks and accidents ahead. Safety chief Åsa Haglund said the newer models' computing power makes this possible but that warnings must be trustworthy, since false positives deteriorate trust in driver-assistance systems.

VOLTPOST ADDS CEILING AND SURFACE EV CHARGERS
Voltpost has extended its Voltpost Air range beyond lamppost retrofits with ceiling-mounted chargers that lower retractable cables in parking garages and surface-mounted units for walls, pedestals and kerbside sites without poles. It claims installations take hours rather than days and can cut costs by up to 70%, though it has told Massachusetts regulators each charger needs 40A and dual-port units 80A, with some sites requiring power upgrades or a new meter.

PLUG-IN SOLAR PANELS LEGALISED ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN
Plug-in solar panels became legal to buy and use across Great Britain on 27 August, with kits generating up to 800W, meeting up to 20% of a home's electricity use and saving up to £110 a year, after independent safety testing found compliant panels safe under a specification stricter than Germany's. Complete kits are expected to cost around £400–£600 initially and will be stocked by Amazon, Argos, Currys, B&Q, Screwfix and Wickes, with government assuming 15% of households pay for mounting help and 20% need minor electrical work.

NIO CERTIFIED USED EVS START AT 26,900 EUROS
Nio's cheapest certified used EV in Europe costs 26,900 euros without a battery, which buyers instead subscribe to under Battery as a Service at 169 euros a month for 75kWh or 289 euros for 100kWh in Germany and the Netherlands, adding close to 7,000 euros over the remaining warranty for the larger pack. All cars are 2023 or 2024 builds with roughly two years of warranty left, drawn from Nio's own fleet and given full technical, cosmetic and structural inspections, original-parts repairs and no scheduled servicing for six months or 10,000 kilometres.

APTERA SECURES UP TO $44 MILLION INVESTMENT
Aptera Motors has secured a strategic investment of up to $44 million from Shanghai Launch Automotive Technology, or Launch Design, covering fixtures, tooling, testing and pilot production for its first 40 solar electric vehicles at its planned Carlsbad, California site. The company is targeting the start of production in Q4 2026, with first vehicle bodies and chassis expected in October 2026.

VESSEV RAISES $A27 MILLION FOR HYDROFOIL PRODUCTION
Auckland-based Vessev has raised $US19 million in Series A and follow-on funding led by Blackbird Ventures to scale production of its electric hydrofoiling vessels, grow its market team and develop onboard software and telemetry. The 2017-founded firm, which launched the 40-nautical-mile VS-9 in 2024 and has since added the VS-12, has delivery agreements in Sydney, Perth and Tasmania and named FlyTahoe as its first US customer, though its first Perth VS-9s only arrive in early 2027 pending classification and regulatory approval.