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Volkswagen is preparing to quit building cars at four German factories. Every one of them builds EVs.

On Thursday this week, in Wolfsburg, Volkswagen's supervisory board voted unanimously — a day ahead of schedule — to approve something called Future Plan 2030.

50,000 more job cuts by the end of the decade. The model range gutted and cut roughly in half by 2035. And four German plants placed under a review that could end vehicle production at all of them.

Those four plants are Emden. Zwickau. Hanover. And Audi's Neckarsulm.

Zwickau was the first large car factory in Europe converted entirely to electric vehicles and Emden was the second. Hanover currently builds the ID. Buzz whilst Neckarsulm builds the e-tron GT and the A6 e-tron.

Volkswagen spent something like 2.2bn euros converting Zwickau and Emden alone.

Six years later, the company says it cannot demonstrate a competitive future use for either of them.
So the question isn't "is Volkswagen in trouble."

We knew that already.

The question is why the factories it electrified hardest are the ones it now says it can’t justify - and what that tells you about how Europe built its EV industrial policy.

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GENESIS GV90 DROPS THE B-PILLAR https://evne.ws/pfmrd

GENESIS UNVEILS GV90 ELECTRIC FLAGSHIP https://evne.ws/exjvc

CHINESE AUDI EVS REACH EUROPE THROUGH IMPORTER https://evne.ws/xptav

EV OWNERS FLAG CHARGING GAP https://evne.ws/p4r3p

VOLVO PLANTS MAY BUILD GEELY MODELS https://evne.ws/4f2z3

CHERY SETS OUT BRITISH R&D PLAN https://evne.ws/gljo4

CHERY PREPARES GERMAN LAUNCH FROM FRANKFURT https://evne.ws/ln5bl

HYUNDAI AND GENESIS GET IONNA CHARGING DISCOUNTS https://evne.ws/f6n2d

HYUNDAI AND KIA LINK WITH KALUZA https://evne.ws/iqj0n

UNIVÉ LIMITS COVER FOR FOURTEEN BRANDS https://evne.ws/gcwqg

It's ev.news Briefly for Thursday 20 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.
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GENESIS UNVEILS 648BHP GV90 ELECTRIC SUV
Genesis has revealed the GV90, a production version of the Neolun concept and its largest, most luxurious model yet, measuring almost 5.3m long with a 123.5kWh battery, up to 311 miles of range, 800V charging at 350kW and a 648bhp dual-motor setup with limited-slip differentials on each axle. It goes on sale in South Korea next month and reaches Europe in the first half of 2027, with UK orders expected to open above £100,000.

IMPORTER BRINGS CHINESE-MARKET AUDI EVS TO EUROPE
Auto China is importing, homologating and registering Chinese-market AUDI E5 Sportback and E7X electric cars for European sale, undercutting Audi's own models — the 776hp E5 costs €28,000 less than the 543hp S6 Sportback e-tron — with a charging adapter and a two-year warranty through independent repairers. The risks include unclear parts supply, workshops unfamiliar with the cars, driver-assistance tuned for Chinese roads, and the precedent of Volkswagen suing over imported ID.6s in 2023, after which those cars were destroyed.

68% OF AUSTRALIAN EV OWNERS FLAG CHARGING GAP IN NRMA SURVEY
An NRMA survey of 42,472 members, including 1,730 EV owners, found 68% of EV owners concerned about a lack of charging infrastructure, while purchase price and range anxiety are fading and EVs near cost parity with petrol cars over a vehicle's life. Fuel costs were the top worry for combustion drivers at 75%, and electrified vehicles took 49.16% of Australia's new-car market in Q2, including 69,414 battery electric vehicles.

VOLVO'S EUROPEAN PLANTS TO BUILD GEELY BRANDS FROM 2028
Geely Auto Group's new chief An Conghui says Volvo's European factories are expected to build luxury models for sibling brands such as Zeekr and Lynk & Co from 2028, with the 61-year-old Ghent plant in Belgium a likely candidate following an upgrade deal with the Belgian and Flemish governments. Building in Europe would sidestep the EU's 18.8% tariff on Geely's Chinese-built EVs and support the group's target of 1.5 million annual sales outside China.

CHERY TO OPEN UK R&D CENTRE AT MILLBROOK IN LATE 2026
Chery will open a research and development centre at UTAC Millbrook in Bedfordshire in late autumn 2026, starting with chassis and driver-assistance tuning for British roads before extending into autonomous driving and AI, alongside a pact with Nissan to explore building its UK cars at Sunderland. Chinese brands took about 16% of UK registrations in the first half, with the Jaecoo 7 the third best-selling vehicle overall at 23,840 units, up 184%.

CHERY TO LAUNCH IN GERMANY IN 2027 WITHOUT AN EV
Chery is establishing its German headquarters at Frankfurt's Gateway Gardens and will launch the Chery brand in the first half of 2027 with four Tiggo SUVs, all hybrids or plug-in hybrids and no battery-electric model, despite EVs being Germany's fastest-growing powertrain. An electric Chery Q, compared with the Renault 5 E-Tech, will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October, as the group targets 30 dealers at launch and 100 by the end of 2027.

HYUNDAI AND GENESIS DRIVERS GET IONNA CHARGING AT $0.31/KWH
From 20 August, Hyundai and Genesis EV owners in the US can stack two 10% discounts on Ionna's $0.39/kWh base rate, cutting it to $0.31/kWh, with one discount expiring 30 September and the other continuing indefinitely. Sessions must be started through the car maker's app or Plug & Charge rather than the on-site card reader, and eligible models include the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 9, Kona Electric, GV60 and Electrified GV70, but not the recently discontinued Ioniq 6.

HYUNDAI AND KIA PARTNER WITH KALUZA ON SMART CHARGING
Hyundai Motor Group has partnered with Kaluza to build smart charging into Hyundai and Kia EVs from August 2026, integrating with the Kia and myHyundai apps so drivers can set a ready-by time and charge on cheaper, cleaner power, launching in the UK first and then Australia. Vehicle-to-grid services are due from 2027, adding to Kaluza's existing work with Stellantis, Volvo, Volkswagen, Porsche and Mitsubishi Motors.

DUTCH INSURER UNIVÉ RESTRICTS COVER FOR 14 CAR BRANDS
Univé, a Dutch insurer with over 1.8 million members, has restricted or excluded 14 car brands based on parts availability, repair information and access to qualified workshops, limiting Dongfeng, Lucid, Firefly, Nio and Zeekr to third-party liability and fully excluding Hongqi, Changan, Voyah, KGM, Leapmotor, VinFast, Jaecoo, MHero and Omoda. The brands took 3.6% of July's Dutch registrations, up from 1.0% a year earlier, and dealers call the warning heavily overblown, with Chery saying it holds more than 30,000 parts at Schiphol-Rijk.

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FREELANDER 8 LAUNCHES FROM 289,900 YUAN https://evne.ws/a3zvu

BYD SEALION 08 GETS MORE THAN 12,000 ORDERS https://evne.ws/gu25d

CATL CHAIRMAN CITES 7.4 MILLION CHINA NEV SALES https://evne.ws/ern4n

CHERY PLANS 2027 SOLID-STATE ROAD TESTS https://evne.ws/1ztp9

CHINA NEV RETAIL SALES FALL 4% IN AUGUST https://evne.ws/q5vhc

AUDI AND SAIC CREATE SHANGHAI R&D CENTRE https://evne.ws/be5gb

XIAOMI AUTO SIGNS EIGHT GERMAN DEALERS https://evne.ws/sgwm0

HORSE UNVEILS 3DHT200 OFF-ROAD PHEV SYSTEM https://evne.ws/x9tq5

ZEEKR 7X GAINS 85 KWH PACK IN CHINA https://evne.ws/ruhfc

CHINA IMPORTS 125 BATTERY-ELECTRIC PASSENGER CARS https://evne.ws/r20x1

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BEVS BECOME UKS LEADING POWER SOURCE DESPITE INDUSTRY PUSHBACK https://evne.ws/yacje

STELLANTIS SETS NOVEMBER JEEP, MID-APRIL RAM PRODUCTION https://evne.ws/upt50

PHEVS EMIT 4.6 TIMES OFFICIAL CO₂ VALUES https://evne.ws/6kkvf

FORD AIMS FOR 100,000 FATHOM SALES https://evne.ws/jlarm

BEVS OUTSELL PETROL AND DIESEL IN AUSTRALIA https://evne.ws/rarkh

BATTERY TRUCKS PROJECTED TO BEAT DIESEL COSTS https://evne.ws/bpm7x

MAN PARTNERS PLAN AROUND €400M FOR EUROPEAN SERVICE SITES https://evne.ws/wyh3d

WAYVE AND UBER OFFER LONDON AUTONOMOUS RIDES https://evne.ws/47nxs

BARCELONA OFFERS FOUR MILLION EUROS ELECTRIC BIKE SUBSIDIES https://evne.ws/o7rvv

XIAOMI SIGNS EIGHT GERMAN DEALER ARRANGEMENTS https://evne.ws/ikay0