Author: Alexander Reed

Six European Union countries have formally asked the European Commission to allow the continued sale of hybrid vehicles and cars powered by non-battery green technologies beyond the bloc’s planned 2035 phase-out of new combustion-engine models, according to a joint letter seen by Reuters on Friday. The letter was signed by the prime ministers of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia, and calls for broader technological neutrality in the EU’s long-term transport decarbonisation strategy. The move adds to mounting political and industry pressure on Brussels to soften the 2035 zero-emission requirement for new cars. See also: EU Carmakers…

Traton, the commercial vehicle unit of Volkswagen that owns brands including Scania and MAN, has signed a €500 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support research and development of its cross-brand Traton Modular System (TMS) platform. The financing is intended to accelerate the transformation of Europe’s heavy-duty commercial vehicle sector and aligns with the European Union’s Green Deal objectives, including cleaner transport and tighter carbon dioxide emissions standards. See also: Traton Group and Volkswagen Truck & Bus Launch Brazil’s First Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo Through the TMS programme, Traton is…

California regulators on Wednesday released revised draft rules that would allow companies to test and eventually deploy self-driving trucks on public highways, potentially opening the nation’s largest economy to autonomous freight operations for the first time. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which oversees autonomous vehicle regulation in the state, said the proposal is now subject to a 15-day public comment period ending Dec. 18. Current rules prohibit the testing of any driverless vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds on public roads, effectively blocking autonomous trucking despite the widespread rollout of robotaxi services in parts of San Francisco and…

Public transport operator Stagecoach West and Gloucestershire County Council will invest about £20 million (€23 million) to procure 42 battery-electric buses for deployment across Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury, with additional support from the British government, local authorities said. Stagecoach West will contribute the bulk of the funding at around £17 million, while the county council and the UK government will jointly cover the remaining cost. The first electric buses are expected to enter service in 2026, although the specific bus models have not yet been disclosed. See also: Stagecoach Launches Electric Bus Fleet on Edinburgh Airport Route The new vehicles…

London’s Metropolitan Police have issued a public reminder on the appropriate use of emergency services after sharing a recorded call in which a driver contacted police because he was unable to disconnect his electric vehicle from a charging station. The incident, posted on the force’s social media channels, featured a re-enactment of a conversation between a distressed caller and an officer at police headquarters. During the exchange, the officer repeatedly advised the caller to contact the vehicle dealer or charging provider, explaining that the issue did not constitute a police matter. See also: London Confirms Higher Congestion Charge And New…

Chinese automaker Geely has expanded the European footprint of its core brand with the launch of new models in Italy, adding momentum to a broader international expansion spanning Europe, Oceania and other overseas markets. The Italian rollout includes two sport utility vehicles: the battery-electric Geely EX5 and the Starray EM-i plug-in hybrid. The EX5 offers a driving range of up to 425 kilometres, while the Starray EM-i delivers around 90 kilometres of pure electric driving and a combined range of nearly 1,000 kilometres under WLTP standards. The models are being introduced in partnership with Jameel Motors, a Saudi Arabian company…

The Pandawa Team from Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) finished fourth overall in the 2025 Energy-Efficient Car Contest (Kontes Mobil Hemat Energi/KMHE), showcasing one of the strongest fuel-efficiency performances in the national competition. The event, organised by Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in collaboration with the University of Jember, was held from Oct. 23 to Oct. 27. Pandawa competed in the Urban Internal Combustion Engine–Ethanol category and recorded fuel efficiency of 276.361 kilometres per litre, placing the university among Indonesia’s leading institutions in energy-efficient vehicle development. See also: UNNES Expands Electrification Efforts with Solar and Alternative Energy Systems…

Data from Waymo’s robotaxi operations show that the majority of autonomous trips are made with one or two passengers, raising questions about the continued use of large five-seat vehicles in driverless ride-hailing fleets. An analysis of Waymo robotaxi trips conducted in the third quarter of 2025 found that about 90% of rides involved two or fewer occupants, while roughly 75% of trips carried one or no passengers at all. The data excludes operational movements such as vehicles returning to depots for charging or maintenance. See also: Study Proposes Adding ‘White Light’ to Traffic Signals for Autonomous Vehicles The findings point…

Leapmotor launched its new Lafa 5 electric hatchback in China on Thursday, entering the fast-growing compact EV segment with a limited-time starting price of 92,800 yuan ($13,100), the company said. The introductory price reflects a cut of 13,000 yuan, or about 12%, from the pre-sales price of 105,800 yuan, with deliveries set to begin shortly. The model is positioned to compete with vehicles including the Volkswagen ID.3, SAIC’s MG4, BYD’s Dolphin and Nio’s Firefly EV, as competition intensifies in China’s mass-market electric car segment. See also: Leapmotor Debuts A10 Compact EV With 500-km Range, LiDAR and Sub-RMB 100,000 Target Price…

Japanese autonomous driving software developer TIER IV and UK automotive engineering group HORIBA MIRA have formed a strategic collaboration to accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicle technologies across the United Kingdom and Europe, the two companies said. The partnership brings together TIER IV’s open-source autonomous driving platforms with HORIBA MIRA’s validation, testing and regulatory compliance capabilities. Under the agreement, TIER IV will provide its autonomous driving system, Minibus 2.0 electric vehicle, sensor packages and operational support, while HORIBA MIRA will deliver localisation, safety validation and engineering services to support regulatory approval in European markets. See also: TIER IV Deploys Autonomous…

Autonomous driving company WeRide and Uber Technologies have launched fully driverless Level 4 robotaxi services for public use in Abu Dhabi, marking the first commercial driverless operation in the Middle East and the first city outside the United States to host fully autonomous rides on Uber’s platform. Commercial operations began on Yas Island, with wider expansion planned across Abu Dhabi’s core urban areas. The launch follows regulatory approvals secured earlier this year. In October 2025, WeRide obtained a federal permit for fully driverless commercial robotaxi operations, after which Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre granted WeRide and local fleet operator Tawasul…

Range Zero Emissions has signed an agreement with RIZON Truck USA to become an authorized sales and service partner, expanding access to Daimler Truck’s RIZON Class 4–5 electric trucks in the Pacific Northwest and Upper Midwest. The company said the partnership positions it as the first authorized RIZON dealer in Washington State, with additional coverage extending into surrounding regions. Range Zero Emissions, described as the first nationwide dealership dedicated exclusively to multi-brand commercial electric vehicles, will leverage its headquarters in Fife, Washington, and a facility near Minneapolis to support vehicle distribution, infrastructure planning, and ongoing service. RIZON’s Class 4–5 trucks…

Tesla plans to roughly double the size of its robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, in December, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday, signaling a fresh step-up in the company’s push to expand its self-driving ride-hailing service. “The Tesla Robotaxi fleet in Austin should roughly double next month,” Musk said in a post on social media platform X, which he also owns. Tesla has not disclosed how many robotaxis it currently operates in the city. See also: Tesla Receives Nevada Approval to Operate Autonomous Vehicles on Public Roads Tesla’s robotaxi service is currently running in two U.S. markets — Austin…

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio celebrated its 11th anniversary on Monday as cumulative deliveries approach one million units, the company said on its mobile app. The milestone coincides with the release of its third-quarter earnings report. A poster shared on the Nio App indicated that the company’s one-millionth mass-produced vehicle is nearing completion. Nio delivered a record 40,397 vehicles in October, bringing total deliveries since its inception to 913,182. See also: Nio’s Firefly Begins Mass Production of Right-Hand Drive Model The company recorded its 100,000th production vehicle on April 7, 2021, a milestone acknowledged by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as…

Volkswagen’s chief strategist Stefan Weckbach is reportedly preparing to leave the company for a competing automaker, according to a report by German business publication Manager Magazin. The move has not been confirmed publicly, and the magazine did not specify which competitor he is expected to join. Volkswagen declined to comment when approached, the report said. Weckbach joined Volkswagen in 2023 after being appointed by CEO Oliver Blume, serving as head of corporate strategy, corporate product strategy and as Blume’s executive secretary. The publication described the unexpected exit as causing “internal strife,” as Weckbach has held a central role in shaping…

BYD and Tesla remained the world’s top battery electric vehicle (BEV) makers in the third quarter, holding a combined global share of nearly 29 percent, according to a new report from market research firm TrendForce. BYD led the BEV market with a 15.4 percent global share, though its sales slipped from the second quarter. The company sold 582,522 passenger BEVs in the July–September period, up 31.37 percent year-on-year but down 4.03 percent compared with the previous quarter. Tesla ranked second with a 13.4 percent share after posting strong quarter-on-quarter momentum. The company delivered 497,099 vehicles in the third quarter —…

Britain plans to introduce a £1.5 billion ($2 billion) package to speed up the transition to electric vehicles, including an additional £1.3 billion for its Electric Car Grant scheme, the government said on Tuesday. The programme, launched in July, has supported more than 35,000 drivers in switching to an EV by reducing upfront purchase costs by up to £3,750. The measures will be detailed in the Nov. 26 budget and will include a further £200 million to accelerate the installation of public chargepoints across the country. The initiatives form part of Britain’s strategy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by…

A new consortium of Scottish logistics and charging infrastructure companies has formed to test electric heavy-duty trucks and shared charging hubs across the country. The initiative, known as SCALE (Scotland Charging to Accelerate Logistics Electrification), is led by Glasgow-based charging specialist Voltempo and supported by Transport Scotland’s £2 million HGV Market Readiness Fund. The SCALE project aims to deploy electric trucks ranging from 7.5 tonnes to 44 tonnes from multiple manufacturers, testing them in real-world applications including pharmaceutical distribution, food logistics, and parcel delivery to remote areas. Fleet operators participating in the consortium include Creel Maritime through its Net Zero…

Delta Charge, a German-Swedish developer of charging and battery storage systems for electric trucks, has raised $4.3 million in an oversubscribed equity round as it prepares to scale its platform across Europe. The Munich-founded company, established in 2024, said the round attracted participation from executives in the German corporate sector as well as climate-tech investors. The company focuses on pairing battery energy storage systems with depot charging infrastructure and power management software. Delta Charge says the model enables fleet operators to avoid costly high-capacity grid connections and benefit from “large-scale energy platforms.” The startup is backed by Delta Capacity, a…

General Motors has introduced a vehicle-to-home energy platform that enables Cadillac electric vehicles to supply backup power during outages, expanding the automaker’s presence in the home energy management sector. The GM Energy Home System, demonstrated at a residence in Calabasas, California, uses bidirectional charging technology integrated across Cadillac’s six-model EV portfolio. The system allows properly equipped homes to draw electricity from a vehicle’s battery during grid failures. GM said the setup is compatible with new and existing residential infrastructure and can work alongside third-party solar installations. The demonstration provided real estate professionals with an overview of how the system can…