Author: James Bryant

Chinese autonomous driving (AD) technology developer QCraft is entering the European market with the opening of a German headquarters and a strategic partnership with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. The expansion signals QCraft’s formal entry into the European Union and other international markets. The company plans to deploy its full-stack Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) system in around one million vehicles globally, with mass production and deliveries in Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea expected to begin in 2026. The German hub will manage research and development integration, certification, and business development, ensuring the company’s autonomous systems meet European and international…

UK-based Andersen said on Saturday its premium electric vehicle (EV) charge points are now integrated with Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Octopus Go tariff, offering new customers 5,000 free charging miles as part of a promotional deal running until the end of 2025. The partnership enables Andersen units to schedule charging during off-peak hours when electricity is cheapest and most renewable. Octopus Energy’s smart tariff provides rates as low as £0.07 per kilowatt-hour, which the companies said could save drivers up to £585 a year compared with a standard tariff based on 10,000 annual driving miles. “This marks a new milestone to…

U.S. electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors unveiled its Gravity SUV at the IAA Mobility show in Munich on Monday, marking the European debut of its second model as it seeks to expand its footprint beyond the Lucid Air sedan. The Gravity Grand Touring, priced from €116,900 in Germany, is now available to order in select European markets, with first deliveries expected in early 2026. A lower-priced Touring variant, expected to start at €99,900, will follow at a later date, Lucid said. Leasing options will also be offered, starting at €1,169 per month in Germany. “With the Lucid Gravity, we have…

Hubject, in collaboration with Bosch Road Services, FRYTE and Shell-owned SBRS, unveiled what it called the first fully interoperable reservation and point-of-interest (POI) data hub for commercial vehicle charging at the Intercharge Network Conference (ICNC) in Berlin. The pilot project, developed with support from charging point operators OMV, Smatrics and Citywatt, integrates the OCPI 2.3 booking module to enable cross-network reservations for heavy-duty electric vehicles. Hubject said the system addresses “evolving responsibilities in the booking process, contractual and tariff considerations, and the handling of CDRs in an open ecosystem.” “Unlike existing single-network solutions, this creates a basis for fleet operators…

Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast (VFS.O) posted a larger net loss for the second quarter on Thursday as it increased spending on global expansion and marketing to boost demand and support its growth strategy. The company reported a net loss of $812 million for the quarter ended June 30, up 15% from the previous quarter. Revenue rose 1.9% from the prior quarter and 91.6% year-on-year to $663 million. Vehicle deliveries climbed 172% year-on-year to 35,837 units, bringing total deliveries for the first half of 2025 to 72,167, compared with its annual sales target of 200,000 units. Vietnam remained the company’s…

Blink Charging said on Monday that its UK subsidiary, Blink Charging UK Ltd., will collaborate with Flowbird Smart City UK to provide exclusive electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions across National Health Service (NHS) properties in the United Kingdom. The partnership covers NHS Property Services (NHSPS), which manages around 3,000 buildings supporting Integrated Care Boards, Trusts, and General Practitioner practices. Under the agreement, the rollout of EV chargers at NHSPS locations will begin immediately, offering both fast-charging options and smart, data-driven management through Blink’s platform integrated with NHSPS’s Smarter Building portal. Alex Calnan, Managing Director of Europe at Blink Charging, said:…

Toyota said on Wednesday it will produce its first fully electric vehicle in Europe at its factory in Kolin, Czech Republic, alongside plans to add a new battery assembly facility. The investment, valued at around €680 million ($796 million), will expand the site and introduce new production capabilities. The project will enlarge Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic’s plant from 152,000 to 173,000 square metres to accommodate the new vehicle and battery lines, along with new paint and welding shops. Funding will come from Toyota’s capital expenditures, with up to €64 million provided by the Czech government toward the battery unit.…

Daimler Truck has begun deliveries of its Mercedes-Benz eEconic electric heavy-duty truck in Singapore, providing the city-state with low-emission solutions for waste management, the company said on Monday. In partnership with local dealer Cycle & Carriage, Daimler Truck handed over the first eEconic to 800 Super Holdings Limited, a private waste management company. The company plans to supply a total of 18 units under the current order. The eEconic, unveiled at IFAT 2022, is a low-floor truck built on the Mercedes-Benz eActros platform. It features two electric motors delivering 330 kW continuous output (400 kW peak) and a two-speed transmission.…

Tesla has officially started production of the new Model Y Performance at its Giga Berlin factory, marking a key step in the company’s European expansion. The announcement was made via Tesla’s Manufacturing account on X, accompanied by photos showing six freshly built Model Y Performance vehicles in various colors, including the new Diamond Black, parked outside the factory. The company also shared images of the team responsible for launching production. The milestone follows shortly after Giga Berlin reached its 100,000th refreshed Model Y, underscoring the rapid scale-up of the facility, which began operations in 2022. https://twitter.com/gigafactories/status/1962544213628706855 The Model Y Performance…

The student-built Sophie 8X electric vehicle has won the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in the Cruiser class, completing the 3,021.5 km (1,877.5 miles) journey across Australia in 44 hours, according to the event’s preliminary results. The dual-seat solar EV, developed by a team from Hong Kong’s Vocational Training Council (VTC), was powered by a 15.2 kWh battery pack supported by 6 square meters of rooftop solar panels. It averaged 68.7 kph (42.7 mph) during the race from Darwin to Adelaide, organizers said. The Sophie 8X features custom SiC (silicon carbide) motors that the team said improve energy conversion efficiency…

BMW is advancing plans to launch its first series-production hydrogen fuel cell model in 2028, with development and supply chain preparations already underway in Bavaria and Austria. The German manufacturer said prototype fuel cell systems are currently being assembled at competence centres in Munich and Steyr. These early units are intended to validate assembly and testing processes, with a focus on industrialisation, quality assurance and scalability. “Prototype production is currently focused on development and validation of the assembly and testing processes, with particular attention paid to industrialisation, quality assurance and scalability in the longer term,” BMW said. The new fuel…

Automaker Ashok Leyland, India’s third-largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, said on Monday it will invest more than 50 billion rupees ($571.4 million) in electric vehicle (EV) battery production over the next 7 to 10 years. The investment will support its EV arm, Switch, and also supply batteries to other automakers and for energy storage applications. Ashok Leyland said it will partner with China’s CALB, one of the world’s top EV battery producers, for the project. CALB provides batteries for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and energy storage systems. The move brings Ashok Leyland in line with peers Tata Motors and Ola…

Overland AI, a Seattle-based developer of autonomous off-road technology, has been selected to participate in the U.S. Army’s UxS Autonomous Maneuver Program, the company said on Monday. The initiative, awarded through the National Advanced Mobility Consortium, will assess the integration of commercial autonomy solutions into the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV). The program will run a six-month evaluation with a Transforming in Contact unit, focusing on reliability, robustness and operational impact of autonomy in real-world scenarios. “UxS is a significant milestone in shaping the Army’s ground autonomy portfolio,” said Stephanie Bonk, Overland AI’s co-founder and president. Overland, founded in 2022, has…

Finland said on Sunday it will become the majority owner of domestic supplier and contract manufacturer Valmet Automotive, with state-run Finnish Minerals Group (FMG) also set to take a 70% stake in the firm’s battery subsidiary Ioncor, citing the country’s “changed geopolitical situation.” Valmet Automotive said the move was part of efforts to safeguard industrial know-how for broader use, including in defence. “In the changed geopolitical situation, Valmet Automotive’s special expertise in industrial serial production will strongly benefit the whole of Finland,” the company said in a statement. The Finnish state and Pontos Group acquired 20.6% of Valmet Automotive from…

General Motors (GM) will temporarily halt production of some of its largest and most expensive electric vehicles, including the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ, at its Factory Zero plant in Detroit-Hamtramck from Labor Day through October 6, the company confirmed. The pause, first reported by the Detroit Free Press, will suspend both first- and second-shift operations and affect about 160 workers. It follows an earlier round of temporary layoffs announced in April that impacted 200 employees as sales of GM’s big electric trucks and SUVs slowed. A company spokesperson said the move is part of normal production planning.…

Eaton, an intelligent power management company, and ChargePoint, a U.S.-based provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, have unveiled a new ultrafast DC charging architecture designed to scale across North America and Europe. The ChargePoint Express Grid, powered by Eaton, will debut at the RE+ trade show on Sept. 9, featuring advanced vehicle-to-everything (V2X) capabilities and charging capacity of up to 600 kilowatts for passenger EVs, while also supporting megawatt charging for heavy-duty fleets. The system, which integrates Eaton’s electrical solutions with ChargePoint’s Express platform, aims to address rising demand for efficient and reliable EV infrastructure. It offers a modular…

Onvo, the sub-brand of Nio Inc, reported record deliveries in August as sales of its L90 electric SUV surpassed 10,000 units, marking a milestone for the model’s first full month on the market. The company highlighted the achievement at the Chengdu auto show, where the 10,000th L90 was handed over. Onvo also presented the seven-seat version of the SUV at the event, with customer deliveries of that variant expected to begin in late September. The L90, officially launched on July 31, began deliveries on Aug. 1. The six-seat version is currently being delivered. Onvo’s previous monthly record was 10,528 units…

Turkish electric carmaker Togg confirmed that it will present both its T10X SUV and the new T10F electric saloon at the IAA Mobility show in Munich this September, marking its entry into the German market. The company said the T10X, already on sale in Türkiye since 2023, will launch in Germany later this year, earlier than the autumn 2024 timeline originally announced. German pricing will be revealed at the fair, while in Türkiye the model starts at around €41,000. Togg will also stage “the world premiere of the series-production version” of the T10F, with the saloon scheduled for release in…

First Bus, one of the UK’s largest bus operators, said on Thursday that its new battery storage facility in Hampshire will begin operations next month, storing surplus energy for grid export and supporting power supply for more than 1,200 electric buses. The site, located at the company’s Hoeford depot, will initially hold up to three bus batteries capable of storing as much as 1 megawatt of power. The company said it will recycle batteries from its electric fleet to expand capacity over time. First Bus added that it also aims to begin work later this year on an “even larger”…

Bird has re-entered the German market with the launch of 3,350 electric scooters through mobility app Freenow, marking a return after its withdrawal in 2022. The scooters are now available in Munich, Würzburg and Reutlingen, with a broader rollout planned in the coming months. Freenow, which operates in nine European countries, was acquired this year by U.S. ride-hailing company Lyft and has been rebranded as “FreeNow by Lyft.” The company said the partnership adds to its portfolio of around 20 mobility service providers in Germany, with Bird scooters bookable via its existing platform using current accounts and payment options. Bird…