Author: James Bryant

Xpeng announced that it has produced its one-millionth vehicle, a milestone for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker. The announcement was made by Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng at the opening day of the 2025 Guangzhou auto show. The milestone comes 14 months after Xpeng reached 500,000 vehicles, which took 82 months from the company’s first production car, He said. Delivery of the one-millionth vehicle is expected in the coming days. As of the end of October, Xpeng’s cumulative deliveries reached 945,588 vehicles, with 42,013 units delivered in October alone. This represents a 75.66 percent increase compared with the same…

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) will exempt electric trucks from time-slot restrictions at its Hamburg container terminals under a pilot programme running until mid-2026, allowing the vehicles to be processed flexibly at any time during the booked day. HHLA introduced its slot booking system in 2017 to reduce congestion at Germany’s busiest seaport. All container trucks must reserve a time window for processing, and those arriving without a valid booking cannot be handled. Trucks are normally processed only within a 60-minute slot, with additional tolerance depending on capacity. Significant delays require cancelling and rebooking, and slots cannot be arranged…

The European Commission has approved more than €600 million in grants for 70 projects aimed at electrifying and decarbonising transport across the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), marking the latest funding round under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF). The projects span 24 EU countries and cover road, maritime, inland waterway and air transport. According to the Commission, the selected initiatives will “deploy alternative fuels supply infrastructure such as electric recharging stations, hydrogen refuelling stations, electricity supply and ammonia and methanol bunkering facilities.” The programme will help install more than 1,000 charging points of 150 kW for passenger cars and light…

Germany’s Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), working with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics (EMI), has reported that sodium-ion batteries require tailored safety designs after a series of controlled stress tests revealed major differences in behaviour compared with established lithium-based cells. The institutions examined three cylindrical 18650 cell types: sodium-ion cells containing nickel, iron and manganese (NFM), lithium-ion cells with nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC532) cathodes commonly used in electric vehicles and portable electronics, and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells often deployed in energy storage systems. The assessment focused on mechanical abuse conditions…

Hyundai Motor Group said it will significantly expand investment in domestic electric vehicle production as South Korea increases financial support for zero-emission mobility and sets new regulatory targets for automakers. The company plans to boost exports of electrified vehicles—including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, hybrid and fuel-cell models—from 690,000 units in 2024 to 1.76 million units by 2030. The target is part of Hyundai’s 125.2 trillion won investment plan for 2026–2030, the group’s largest domestic commitment to date and 36.1 trillion won more than its spending over the past five years. See also: Hyundai Reportedly in Talks with Baidu, Momenta, and XPeng…

Latvia has rolled out the Baltic region’s first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service through a partnership between Imagry and Carguru, marking a new phase in the country’s mobility strategy. The companies have begun deploying Level 4 autonomous electric roboshuttles on public roads, integrating Imagry’s AI-based perception and motion-planning system into compact electric passenger vehicles. The program is supported by the Ministry of Economics and aims to set regulatory and operational foundations for broader driverless transit services. As Latvia’s Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis said, “Latvia is becoming one of the first countries in Europe to implement an autonomous public transport project.”…

STRADVISION and AMD have announced a multi-year collaboration aimed at strengthening AI-powered vision perception systems for next-generation autonomous vehicles. The partnership combines STRADVISION’s deep learning–based perception software with AMD’s automotive-grade AI compute platforms to deliver improved performance, efficiency, and scalability for higher-level automation. A joint demonstration of real-time multi-camera perception using STRADVISION’s MultiVision software on the AMD Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 VEK385 platform is scheduled for CES 2026. Under the partnership, STRADVISION’s SVNet and MultiVision software will be integrated with AMD’s automotive system-on-chips to create a production-ready solution for automakers and Tier-1 suppliers. The goal is to support…

Mercedes-Benz is preparing to launch the GLC 200 EQ, an entry-level variant of its electric mid-size SUV, priced below €60,000 and offering a range of up to 485 kilometres, according to new information from the Mercedes fan portal JESMB. The GLC 400 4MATIC EQ, delivering 360 kW and 800 Nm of torque, has been available to order since late October with a starting price of €71,281. Mercedes is now broadening the lineup ahead of customer deliveries. See also: Mercedes-Benz Opens Orders for New CLA Hybrid Range in Europe, Starting at €46,243 The entry-level GLC 200 EQ is expected to deliver…

Los Angeles-based electric truck startup Harbinger has secured $160 million in Series C financing, a round co-led by FedEx, as the company scales up production of its medium-duty commercial vehicle platform. As part of the deal, FedEx placed an order for 53 electric truck chassis, which Harbinger expects to deliver by the end of the year. The order marks the logistics company’s most substantial engagement with a new EV manufacturer since its last major procurement attempt in 2018. See also: Harbinger Launches Medium-Duty Electric Vehicles Across Canada Founded in 2022 by former employees of Canoo and QuantumScape, Harbinger has pursued…

Hydrohertz, a UK-based battery thermal management specialist, has introduced a patented cooling technology designed to shorten electric vehicle fast-charging times while improving range, safety and service life. The system, known as Dectravalve, is built to manage several independent temperature zones inside a battery pack, a feature the company says marks a significant departure from conventional cooling plates that regulate the pack as a single unit. See also: EU Confirms Funding for Five Battery Cell Projects After Porsche Unit Withdraws The compact system is engineered to heat, cool or recover energy with high precision by routing coolant through multiple isolated channels.…

Leapmotor said its year-to-date sales have exceeded 500,000 units, reaching its original 2025 target more than a month early. The company reaffirmed its goal of selling 1 million vehicles in 2026 and advanced the launch of its upcoming Lafa 5 electric hatchback to November 27, one day earlier than previously planned. The company began pre-sales of the Lafa 5 on November 7, positioning the model against other compact electric hatchbacks such as the Volkswagen ID.3, SAIC MG4, BYD Dolphin, and Nio Firefly EV. See also: Leapmotor Begins Pre-Sales of Lafa 5 Electric Hatchback Ahead of November Launch The Lafa 5…

Mercedes-Benz has increased the discount on its electric G-Class, the G580 EQ, to 10% in Germany as demand continues to fall short of projections, reducing the base price by nearly €15,000. The move comes after a full year of sluggish global sales for the battery-electric version of the off-road model. From its launch in April 2024 to the end of April 2025, Mercedes sold only 1,450 units of the G580 EQ worldwide, compared with 9,700 units of the combustion-engine G-Class over the same period. The traditional six- and eight-cylinder versions remain in strong demand, particularly the AMG G63 with its…