ev.news

IONNA HITS 1,488 FAST-CHARGING PORTS

Ionna has expanded to 1,488 fast-charging ports across 174 US stations, with ports up 50% and locations 74% in six months, while its Alpitronic hardware offers up to 400 kW charging, card readers and Plug and Charge support. The automaker-backed network has already ranked first in JD Power’s US charging-experience study, is offering discounts to owners of several major EV brands, and is targeting 30,000 charging bays by 2030.

KIA’S PV7 BRINGS 800-VOLT CHARGING TO ITS VAN RANGE

Kia’s larger PV7 electric van will arrive in South Korea and Europe in the second half of 2027 with 71.5 or 96.2 kWh batteries, more than 460 km provisional WLTP range and an 800-volt architecture capable of roughly 10–80% charging in 25 minutes. With up to 8.0 cubic metres of cargo space, 1,200 kg payload and eventually 23 variants, the PV7 extends Kia’s PBV strategy into a commercial class where charging downtime, payload and operating economics will determine its success.

KIA PV5 PASSES 50,000 GLOBAL SALES

Kia’s PV5 has passed 50,000 global sales just 13 months after launch, reaching 53,530 units by the end of July with around 60% sold outside South Korea. It was Kia’s third-best-selling EV during the first seven months of the year, giving the company meaningful evidence that its dedicated electric-commercial-vehicle platform has enough demand to support expansion into models such as the larger PV7.

LEAPMOTOR B03X STARTS AT €24,900 IN EUROPE

Leapmotor will open European orders for the B03X in July from €24,900, with a 39.8 kWh version offering up to 292 km WLTP and a 53.0 kWh model reaching 382 km. Both claim 30–80% charging in 16 minutes, while generous storage and extensive standard technology make the B03X a potentially strong value proposition if those specifications and prices survive localisation across European markets.

LEAPMOTOR MOVES B10 PRODUCTION TO SPAIN

Leapmotor will begin assembling the B10 at Stellantis’s Figueruelas plant near Zaragoza next month, initially targeting 40,000 cars annually while also localising battery-module and chassis production in Spain. British customers are expected to continue receiving Chinese-built cars because the UK does not impose the EU’s additional anti-subsidy tariffs, illustrating how European EV manufacturing decisions are increasingly being shaped by trade policy rather than production efficiency alone.

GM WANTS US-MADE SODIUM-ION CELLS BY 2029

General Motors and Peak Energy are targeting US commercial production of sodium-ion batteries around 2029, slightly later than their original 2028 goal, as GM seeks a cheaper domestic chemistry primarily suited to stationary energy storage. Sodium-ion offers lower energy density than lithium-ion but potentially lower costs, wider temperature tolerance and reduced cooling requirements, although GM must still overcome a supply chain currently dominated by China.

MAXUS REVEALS 615-KWH ELECTRIC TRUCK

Maxus has revealed its first 42-tonne electric tractor unit, the eDeliver 420L, using a huge 615 kWh CATL battery that it says can charge from 20–80% in 25 minutes, potentially fitting charging into mandatory driver rest periods. The crucial missing figure is range, but the truck marks SAIC-owned Maxus’s move into long-haul electric freight alongside the smaller 120 kWh eDeliver 75, which offers up to 250 km WLTP range.

A BYD KEPT A SYDNEY PUB OPEN FOR SIX HOURS

A Sydney pub used vehicle-to-load from a BYD EV to power essential equipment for six hours during a power cut, allowing it to continue serving customers rather than closing. The improvised setup did not power the whole building, but it provides a practical real-world example of how bidirectional-capable EV hardware can provide useful backup energy beyond the usual camping and power-tool use cases.

COSTCO MOTOR OIL JUMPS TO $58

Costco has raised a 10-quart pack of Kirkland synthetic motor oil from roughly the mid-$30s to $58 as surging base-oil costs tighten lubricant supplies, while also restricting how much customers can buy. Battery-electric cars avoid engine-oil changes entirely, unlike combustion cars, plug-in hybrids and range-extenders, modestly strengthening the BEV ownership-cost advantage even if higher oil prices alone are unlikely to change purchasing behaviour.

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BYD’S SEALION 08 PUTS NEW BLADE BATTERY ON THE ROAD https://evne.ws/l2cd1

BYD’S SOLID-STATE BATTERY GETS A 2027 ROAD TEST https://evne.ws/y4qzk

GEELY’S EX5 GAINS 800V AND 6C CHARGING https://evne.ws/qk799

XIAOMI’S SKYNOMAD ARRIVES AS EREV SALES FALL https://evne.ws/mo1ck

FOREIGN PETROL CARS HIT 23.4% DISCOUNTS IN CHINA https://evne.ws/67oyt

YANGWANG TEASES BYD’S NEXT ULTRA-LUXURY FLAGSHIP https://evne.ws/pyxuz

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JAECOO 7 TOPS UK SALES AS CHINESE BRANDS NEAR 25% SHARE https://evne.ws/0sli5

HYUNDAI MAY FILL TWO BIG GAPS IN ITS IONIQ RANGE https://evne.ws/slhw9

HYUNDAI SELLS 800V IONIQ V AT $15,000 BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE IT https://evne.ws/bgano

GM’S LIMITED-RUN BOLT MEANS 35,000 CARS https://evne.ws/buj28

BMW WANTS GENERIC PARTS TO DOMINATE €80BN BUDGET https://evne.ws/v7i80

AMPOL BUYS SCALE IN EV CHARGING WITH EVIE DEAL https://evne.ws/y5cvb

FEDEX ORDERS 2,000 HARBINGER ELECTRIC TRUCKS https://evne.ws/zj0lw

STELLANTIS STOPS PLANTS AS BIG EV BATTERIES RUN SHORT https://evne.ws/qja9q

RIVIAN SPIN-OFF ALSO TESTS WHAT EUROPE WANTS FROM ITS E-BIKE https://evne.ws/89def

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GASOLINE CARS LOSE THEIR GLOBAL MAJORITY https://evne.ws/srjql

TESLA SUPERCHARGERS PASS 85,000 — AND GET BUSIER https://evne.ws/s1148

TESLA'S CHEAPER MODEL 3 GAINS IN CANADA https://evne.ws/cdqk0

GM BETS ON LMR AS ITS NEXT EV BATTERY https://evne.ws/z334q

BMW STARTS NEUE KLASSE BATTERY RAMP EARLY https://evne.ws/i53u6

VOLVO EV SALES RISE AS COMPANY WARNS ON PROFITS https://evne.ws/9sxxn

ELECTRIC G-CLASS GETS NACS AND MORE EPA RANGE https://evne.ws/b0ug3

MERCEDES BRINGS SIX SHOW PREMIERES TO PARIS https://evne.ws/0gyhk

It's ev.news Briefly for Saturday 03 October 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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GASOLINE CARS LOSE THEIR GLOBAL MAJORITY

Pure petrol cars fell below half of global new-car sales for the first time in the first half of 2026, dropping 10% year on year to 20.25 million vehicles and a 49% market share. EVs reached 6.87 million sales and 17% share, so this is not an EV takeover but a milestone showing the global market fragmenting across battery-electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and other powertrains.

TESLA SUPERCHARGERS PASS 85,000 — AND GET BUSIER

Tesla’s Supercharger network has passed 85,000 stalls across more than 9,000 sites worldwide, while third-quarter charging sessions rose 29% year on year to 69 million and delivered around 2.4 TWh of electricity. Tesla is also introducing factory-assembled Supercharger designs to accelerate deployment, but rising utilisation suggests the network’s economics are increasingly being driven by how intensively existing chargers are used, not simply how many are installed.

TESLA'S CHEAPER MODEL 3 GAINS IN CANADA

Tesla’s Shanghai-built Model 3 is gaining sales in Canada after the country reopened limited imports of Chinese-made EVs under a 49,000-vehicle annual quota carrying a 6.1% tariff instead of the previous 100% surtax. Despite being ineligible for Canada’s federal EV incentive, the Model 3’s lower Chinese manufacturing costs have enabled aggressive pricing, potentially providing an early indication of how competitive Chinese-built EVs from Tesla and forthcoming brands such as BYD, Chery and Changan could be in North America.

GM BETS ON LMR AS ITS NEXT EV BATTERY

GM and LG Energy Solution plan to convert their Spring Hill, Tennessee battery plant to produce lithium-manganese-rich cells from 2028, betting that LMR can provide around 33% more energy density than LFP at roughly similar cost. GM sees the chemistry as particularly attractive for electric pickups and large SUVs and potentially important enough to displace LFP from its future EV portfolio, although durability, capacity retention and fast-charging performance remain unresolved.

BMW STARTS NEUE KLASSE BATTERY RAMP EARLY

BMW has started series production of sixth-generation Neue Klasse battery packs at its €1 billion Irlbach-Straßkirchen plant in Bavaria earlier than planned, initially supplying the new i3 from Munich. The factory is part of BMW’s strategy of assembling batteries close to vehicle plants worldwide, and its early ramp-up shows Neue Klasse moving beyond launch into large-scale industrial production.

VOLVO EV SALES RISE AS COMPANY WARNS ON PROFITS

Volvo Cars has withdrawn its annual guidance and warned of weaker earnings and cash flow after third-quarter deliveries fell 11%, with difficult conditions in China and a slower-than-expected US premium-market recovery weighing on the business. Its EV sales nevertheless rose 29% and reached almost one-third of total deliveries, showing that Volvo’s electrification is progressing even as broader market weakness and pricing pressure damage profitability.

ELECTRIC G-CLASS GETS NACS AND MORE EPA RANGE

Mercedes-Benz has given the 2027 G 580 Electric native NACS fast-charging access in the US, increased EPA range from 239 to 249 miles and cut its claimed 10–80% charging time from 32 to 29 minutes while retaining a 200 kW peak charging rate. The changes improve usability, particularly through easier Tesla Supercharger access, but do not resolve the larger question of weak demand for the electric G-Class compared with its combustion counterpart.

MERCEDES BRINGS SIX SHOW PREMIERES TO PARIS

Mercedes-Benz will bring six major models to the Paris Motor Show on 12 October, including the GLA, electric VLE, GLE, S-Class, AMG CLA 45 and AMG GT 4-Door Coupé, although these are show premieres rather than six new world debuts. The electric VLE, with seating for up to eight and more than 700 km of claimed WLTP range, will be one of the main EV attractions alongside electric versions of the C-Class and GLC as Mercedes demonstrates the breadth of its current product renewal.