Author: Todd Gilbert

Pilot Company, General Motors, and EVgo have expanded their fast-charging network to more than 130 locations across 25 U.S. states, the companies said. The initiative, aimed at supporting long-distance electric vehicle (EV) travel, is set to grow to as many as 500 sites along key interstate highways and major travel routes. The network currently includes charging hubs along the I-75 corridor from Michigan to Georgia, as well as other high-traffic routes such as Dallas to Nashville, Detroit to Cleveland, Minneapolis to Milwaukee, and San Antonio to Houston. The companies plan to install charging stations at approximately 50-mile intervals across the…

Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has spun off its skunkworks program into a new startup called Also, which has secured $105 million in funding from Eclipse Ventures to focus on micromobility and the development of compact electric vehicles. Initially an internal project at Rivian, Also explored whether the company’s technology could be adapted for smaller EVs, including vans, trucks, and SUVs. The findings led to the realization that Rivian’s technology stack could be applied to a new category of electric mobility. See also: Tesla, Rivian Charging Networks Rated Most Reliable in Consumer Reports Survey “We’ve been taking the Rivian technology stack…

Tesla and Rivian charging networks have the fewest reported problems among public EV charging options, according to a recent Consumer Reports survey. The findings, drawn from approximately 5,700 charging sessions reported by 1,230 EV and plug-in hybrid owners, indicate that automaker-operated networks outperform independent providers in reliability. See also: Siemens to Focus on Fast Charging, Cut 450 Jobs Amid Strategic Reorganization Survey respondents reported issues with Tesla chargers 4% of the time and Rivian chargers 5% of the time. In contrast, third-party networks fared significantly worse, with Shell Recharge experiencing issues 48% of the time, EVgo 43%, and Blink 41%.…

Public transport operator Transdev has won the Hoeksche Waard/Goeree-Overflakkee (HWGO) concession in the Netherlands, with VDL Bus & Coach set to supply 42 electric buses as part of the agreement. The concession runs from December 2025 to December 2038 and will cover regional bus services connecting Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Barendrecht, and other surrounding areas. See also: Transdev Nederland Orders 96 Electric Buses from Solaris for Utrecht The vehicles, VDL’s latest generation Citea LE-122, are 12.2-meter-long low-entry buses that feature batteries integrated into the floor rather than on the roof. The design, which premiered in 2021, is expected to improve weight distribution…

Portugal has expanded its electric vehicle (EV) incentive program, increasing the maximum eligible vehicle price for its €4,000 rebate from €38,500 to €55,000, provided the EV has between six and nine seats. The incentive remains contingent on scrapping a vehicle over 10 years old that has been owned for at least a year. The rebate is part of a broader push by the Portuguese government to promote electric mobility, funded through the Environmental Fund (Fundo Ambiental). In addition to purchase incentives, EV buyers benefit from tax exemptions on road and vehicle taxes, while businesses can fully deduct VAT on electric…

Indian electric vehicle charging solutions provider ThunderPlus has partnered with commercial EV financing firm Turno to establish a megawatt charging network aimed at supporting the adoption of heavy-duty electric vehicles across the country. The companies plan to deploy 1 MW charging stations along key highways, initially focusing on the Hyderabad-Vizag corridor, a 600+ km stretch linking the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The rollout will take place in two phases, beginning with chargers on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada route before expanding to Vijayawada-Vizag. See also: India’s EV Policy to Limit Investment Credits for Charging Infrastructure “We are starting with the…

Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto has introduced its next-generation autonomous driving architecture, MindVLA (Visual-Language-Action), which the company claims is a major step toward achieving fully autonomous driving. Jia Peng, head of autonomous driving technology at Li Auto, unveiled the new system at the Nvidia GTC 2025 event. The model integrates spatial, linguistic, and behavioral intelligence, allowing autonomous vehicles to perceive, reason, and adapt to their surroundings. See also: Li Auto Reports In-Line Q4 Revenue as Net Income Rebounds, Gross Margin Declines “MindVLA is a Visual-Language-Action large model, but we prefer to call it a ‘robot large model,'” Li Xiang,…

Milence has announced the opening of three electric truck charging hubs along the Barcelona-Lyon freight corridor, a move aimed at enabling electrified logistics across 700 km of road. Milence, a joint venture between Daimler Truck, Volvo Group, and Traton Group, said the new hubs will connect the port of Barcelona with Lyon, France’s second-largest logistics center. The facilities, located in Perpignan, Béziers, and Malataverne, will offer fast charging for electric trucks of all brands at a standard tariff of €0.399 per kWh. See also: Milence Opens First UK Electric Truck Charging Hub at Able Humber Port Positioned along the TEN-T…

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio has signed a strategic agreement with leading battery supplier CATL to develop a nationwide battery swapping network, a move aimed at improving battery service efficiency and advancing standardization efforts in the industry. Under the partnership, the two companies will build what they describe as the world’s largest and most advanced battery swapping network for passenger vehicles. The collaboration will enhance the sharing of swapping infrastructure and promote unified battery standards to accelerate the adoption of the technology, Nio said in a statement. See also: Shanghai and Hefei Introduce Battery Swap Station Subsidies, Benefiting Nio…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Wednesday that it will begin efforts to reverse the Biden administration’s vehicle emissions rules, which would have required automakers to increase electric vehicle production in the coming years. The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader rollback of policies aimed at boosting EV adoption, including the rescission of a target that called for electric vehicles to make up at least 50% of new car sales by 2030. See also: Stellantis Warns U.S. Dealers of Competitive Risks from New Tariffs The EPA said it would reconsider its 2024 rule that sought to…

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has suspended plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming $1 billion factory in southern India, citing challenges in balancing cost and quality for locally sourced components, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. “For India, all the work (on JLR electric vehicles) has stopped. Everything has been suspended since about two months,” said a supplier source. See also: Jaguar’s Type 00 Concept Makes Public Debut in Paris Amid EV Transformation JLR’s decision reflects broader industry trends, as global automakers adjust their electrification strategies amid rising competition from Chinese manufacturers, shifting consumer demand toward…

VEV, a subsidiary of energy and commodities firm Vitol, has completed work on an electric bus hub for Stagecoach in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, paving the way for the deployment of 57 electric buses in spring 2025. The new fleet will replace more than two-thirds of the diesel buses currently operating in the area. The hub, an expansion of Stagecoach’s existing Chesterfield depot, includes 27 dual DC 120 kW chargers supplied by Eko Energetyka, providing a total of 54 charging sockets. A 2.5 MVA power upgrade has also been installed, and VEV is in the process of adding rooftop solar panels, which…