Author: Joshua Morris

Li Auto said on Monday it has completed construction of its 3,000th supercharging station in China, marking a key infrastructure milestone. The company announced the achievement on its official Weibo account, stating, “The 3,000th Li Auto supercharging station has been completed, and the nation’s largest supercharging network is ready for the launch of the i8.” According to Li Auto, its supercharging network now covers 258 cities across all 31 provinces in China, with 16,523 charging piles installed nationwide. The Li i8, features a 97.8-kWh ternary lithium battery and supports 5C ultra-fast charging. The company says the vehicle can add 500…

The UK government has launched a £25 million grant to help local councils install pavement channels for electric vehicle (EV) charging cables, aiming to support residents without off-street parking. The new initiative forms part of a wider £63 million package announced in July to accelerate the country’s transition to electric mobility. Known as the Pavement Channels Grant, the programme supports the installation of in-ground cable channels that allow households to run EV charging cables safely from their homes to roadside vehicles. The scheme targets urban and suburban areas where private driveways are not available, helping to bridge the access gap…

Johnson Matthey has announced a major upgrade to its Gothenburg facility, expanding its capabilities to support testing of hydrogen internal combustion engines (H₂ICE) as part of efforts to develop cleaner mobility solutions. The facility, already home to diesel engine test cells for both heavy- and light-duty vehicles, will now be able to conduct full-scale H₂ICE engine testing for the first time. The new test area is expected to be operational by autumn 2025. The upgrade will enable Johnson Matthey to assess catalyst performance within complete engine aftertreatment and control systems, generating critical data for hydrogen mobility development. This follows the…

Indonesia has increased its share of global refined nickel supply to 62%, driven by its vast reserves, competitive production costs, and economies of scale, according to a new report by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. The firm’s latest Nickel Cost Model revealed that at the average London Metal Exchange (LME) price of $15,380 per tonne in the first half of 2025, 22% of global nickel producers were operating at a loss. This includes several Indonesian rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) and nickel matte operations. Benchmark noted wide variations in nickel production costs depending on the processing route. Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) producers, particularly…

Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo said on Monday it plans to begin operating its autonomous ride-hailing service in Dallas by 2026, expanding its U.S. footprint through a new partnership with Avis Budget Group. The announcement comes as Waymo accelerates its national rollout, adding new cities through collaborations with fleet operators and ride-hailing platforms. Under the Dallas initiative, Avis will oversee vehicle maintenance, depot management, and other fleet operations as part of a multi-year agreement. “We look forward to bringing our fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the people of Dallas next year, offering a new era of safe and seamless transportation,” said…

Orbis Electric has introduced HaloDrive, a modular axial flux motor-generator designed to boost electric mobility across industries ranging from transportation and marine to aerospace and power generation. The new system delivers a torque density of 100 Nm/kg—comparable to that of a V8 engine—while achieving 97% operational efficiency. According to the company, HaloDrive’s architecture supports up to 35% cost savings in drivetrain applications and offers up to 90% lower operational costs in select configurations. The unit’s modular four-part design includes an injection-molded plastic stator and tunable gearset, which help reduce weight, increase thermal stability, and minimize manufacturing costs compared to traditional…

Athens is set to retire its fleet of 130 electric trolleybuses and replace them with 100 new electric buses by 2027, marking a major shift in the city’s public transportation strategy. The move, announced by the Athens public transport company OASA, will also include the removal of the overhead lines that currently power the trolleybuses. Trolleybuses have served the Greek capital since at least 1949, with some sources citing operations as early as 1929. Despite periodic updates, most of the vehicles currently in use are around two decades old. Due to age-related inefficiencies, the actual performance of the fleet is…

The European Union and the United States have reached a trade agreement that will see a 15% base tariff applied to most EU goods entering the US market, in a move EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described as the “best tariff we can get” following earlier threats of significantly higher duties. The accord, announced Sunday after a meeting between von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump at the latter’s golf resort in western Scotland, sets a new framework for transatlantic trade covering goods such as automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. Certain strategic items, including aircraft and spare parts,…

Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai announced on Friday that it has begun 24/7 robotaxi testing in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, extending its daily testing window beyond the previous 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. schedule. The company said the move marks a step forward in the maturity of autonomous driving technology and has the potential to support the evolution of urban mobility. “The launch of tests covering all hours of the day demonstrates the maturity of autonomous driving technology and has far-reaching implications for the improvement and upgrading of urban transportation,” Pony.ai said in a statement. Late-night and early-morning hours are…

Tesla has begun notifying users about the rollout of its robotaxi service in California’s Bay Area, clarifying that rides will be conducted with safety drivers using its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software, according to Business Insider. The information, reportedly shared via a user notification, outlines that the service operates under existing permissions granted by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). While Tesla has indicated that rides in California will include a safety driver, the company does not hold the permits required to operate fully autonomous vehicles in the state and has not applied for them, the CPUC confirmed. This contrasts with…

Tesla said on Wednesday it is preparing to broaden the release of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised software in China and Europe later this year, pending regulatory approval. The announcement came as part of the company’s second-quarter earnings disclosure, which also highlighted growing usage of its autonomous technology and global vehicle sales performance. “We continue to prepare for broader release of FSD (Supervised) in China this year, pending regulatory approval,” Tesla wrote in its Q2 shareholder deck, referring to the world’s largest market for new energy vehicles. The company added, “We continue to prepare for the launch of FSD (Supervised)…

Battery-electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for 15.6% of new car registrations in the European Union in the first half of 2025, up from 12.5% during the same period last year, according to figures published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). A total of 869,271 EVs were newly registered from January to June, representing a 22% year-on-year increase. However, market developments varied widely across the bloc. Germany led with a 35.1% rise in EV registrations, despite the absence of subsidies for private buyers. Belgium (+19.5%) and the Netherlands (+6.1%) also saw growth, while France recorded a 6.4% decline. These divergences reflect…