Saturday, 11 July 2026

Chinese dealers told Lanjinger that buyers can still order the Ferrari Luce EV by putting down a deposit of 400,000 to 500,000 yuan to claim a place in the first production batch, with quotes ranging from 400,000 yuan at some dealerships to 500,000 yuan at others.

Early orders move buyers up the queue, several dealers said, and the first batch of customers should get their cars starting in the third quarter of next year.

Ferrari showed the Luce in May, calling it the first regular production sedan in the company's history and the brand's first car penned by ex-Apple designer Jony Ive, according to Electrek.

Ferrari's stock fell more than 6% in a single day after negative feedback on the Luce, according to Electrek. The company then removed chief marketing and commercial officer Enrico Galliera and installed former BMW Italy boss Massimiliano Di Silvestre.

CEO Benedetto Vigna said the Luce is "clocking up orders" despite the negative reception.

Electrify America is expanding its North American Charging Standard (NACS) pilot to more of its busiest charging stations in California and along the East Coast, according to Electrek.

Electrek reported that later this month the network will begin adding NACS connectors to five large-format charging hubs in California by converting some existing CCS connectors. Later this summer, Electrify America will convert four California charging stations to use only NACS connectors, according to Electrek.

On the East Coast, the company will convert some CCS connectors to NACS at five additional locations later this summer, per Electrek. The network currently runs NACS pilot stations in Connecticut and Florida.

Electrek reported that Electrify America has the largest open non-Tesla DC fast-charging network in the US and is treating the rollout as a pilot rather than a network-wide conversion. The move marks the next step in its shift to NACS.

Tesla has been dispatching Cybercabs across the United States for early testing and Full Self Driving calibration, according to CleanTechnica.

CleanTechnica reported that some of the Cybercabs observed during this early testing have carried steering wheels, resembling normal cars, even though the vehicles are not supposed to have steering wheels, pedals, and stalks.

An uncamouflaged Rivian R2 fitted with LiDAR was photographed near Rivian's headquarters in Irvine, CA, according to Electrek. The sighting comes as Rivian ships early R2 units without the sensor.

Rivian said the first few months of R2 production will not include LiDAR sensors, according to Electrek. The R2 began shipping on June 9, per the same report.

LiDAR is expected to come to R2 vehicles in late 2026, according to Electrek.

In place of the sensor, launch R2 vehicles come with a launch package that includes an exclusive color, a tow package, and a lifetime subscription to Autonomy+, Rivian's driver-assist software, according to Electrek.

Rivian sent emails to reservation-holders stating that R2 Performance with Launch Package will remain available until it is their time to order, according to Electrek.

The entry-level Dacia Spring now lists at GBP 11,990 in the UK, a price that undercuts every current EV and new car on sale, according to electrive.

At that level the Spring sits GBP 1,005 under the Leapmotor T03 and close to GBP 2,800 beneath the petrol Dacia Sandero, whose UK pricing opens at GBP 14,765, electrive reported.

The GBP 11,990 figure covers the Spring Expression trim, which runs a 52 kW motor and claims a range of up to 140 miles, or 225 kilometres, according to electrive. The more powerful Spring Extreme opens at GBP 12,990 and carries a 75 kW motor plus extra equipment.

A technical update at the end of 2025 gave the current Spring upgraded brakes, retuned suspension and a 24.3 kWh LFP battery, electrive reported. Dacia says that pack recharges from 20 to 80 per cent in under 30 minutes.

Neither the Spring nor the T03 clears the UK's Electric Car Grant, both being built in China, which leaves the current cuts financed by the carmakers themselves, according to electrive. On the T03 side, that support takes the form of a manufacturer-backed 'Leap Grant' trimming GBP 3,000 off the model's original list price.

ESB eCars has raised charging tariffs across its public electric vehicle network in Ireland and Northern Ireland, increasing costs for both pay-as-you-go users and subscribers, according to electrive.

In the Republic of Ireland, pay-as-you-go drivers now pay EUR 0.60/kWh at AC chargers up to 50 kW and EUR 0.72/kWh at DC chargers above 50 kW, electrive reported. The subscription plan costs EUR 4.79 per month and requires a 12-month commitment, according to electrive, and cuts the rates to EUR 0.55/kWh for AC and EUR 0.67/kWh for DC.

In Northern Ireland, subscribers pay GBP 0.57/kWh up to 50 kW and GBP 0.70/kWh above 50 kW, according to electrive, while pay-as-you-go users are charged GBP 0.60/kWh and GBP 0.74/kWh respectively.

Drivers connected to rapid or high-power chargers for more than 45 minutes face overstay fees of GBP 0.50 or EUR 0.50 per minute depending on the jurisdiction, up to a maximum of GBP 22.50 or EUR 22.50, electrive reported.

The revised pricing simplifies the tariff structure by grouping all DC chargers above 50 kW into a single category, according to electrive.

ESB stated that its public charging rates had remained unchanged since July 2025, when it also raised prices because of rising costs, according to electrive.

Two mandatory safety standards took effect in China on July 1, 2026, raising safety requirements for traction batteries and electric vehicles, according to electrive. The two standards are GB 38031-2025 for traction batteries and GB 18384-2025 for electric vehicles.

The battery standard requires that systems must not catch fire or explode even in the event of thermal runaway, electrive reported. Previous regulations only required manufacturers to provide a warning signal at least five minutes before a potential battery fire or explosion.

Under the new safety assessment procedure, batteries must withstand 300 fast-charging cycles before being subjected to a short-circuit test, according to electrive.

The Safety Requirements for Electric Vehicles standard requires EVs to feature a manual one-touch mechanism for disconnecting the entire high-voltage system.

Compliance with the new requirements could raise battery system costs by 15 to 20 per cent, according to China Auto News citing estimates from a market research company.

CATL markets its No Thermal Propagation (NP) Technology and says it already has the necessary technologies in place to meet the new standards, electrive reported.

Norway registered 18,875 new battery-electric cars in June, giving EVs a 96.5% share of all new passenger car registrations, according to electrive. The country's electric vehicle fleet has now surpassed one million vehicles.

Across the first half of 2026, EVs accounted for 97.6% of new registrations, up from 93.7% in the first half of 2025, electrive reported.

The Tesla Model Y led the market in June with 2,257 new registrations, according to electrive.

Electric vans also gained ground. Registrations rose 11.3% to 6,303 vehicles in the first half of 2026, lifting the electric van share from 45.2% to 54.5%.

Uptake varied by region in June. Telemark reached an EV share of 99.8% and Rogaland 99%, while Oslo recorded 93.7% and the surrounding Akershus region 92%, per electrive.

Geir Inge Stokke of OFV said the electric car market is entering a new phase in which customers choose between brands, models, prices, and usage needs rather than between electric and combustion vehicles, a shift he said is intensifying competition.

Nepal's May 29 fiscal policy imposed a 5% value-added tax on heavy electricity users and levied fresh taxes on imported electric vehicles, Mongabay reported. Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle set out the measures in his first budget speech.

The VAT proceeds are earmarked for upgrades to the national electricity transmission network, Prime Minister Balendra Shah told parliament, according to Mongabay.

Electric vehicles are projected to make up 73% of new car sales in Nepal in 2025, a share Mongabay described as the world's second-highest. The report tied that uptake to lighter import duties on EVs than on internal combustion engine vehicles.

Nepal spends 300 billion rupees ($2 billion) a year on fossil fuel imports and channels roughly 9 billion rupees ($59.5 million) annually into cooking gas subsidies, Mongabay reported.

An Institute for Integrated Development Studies analysis cited by Mongabay quantified the cost of the EV import regime. Importing 11,700 EVs rather than equivalent ICE vehicles in FY 2023-2024 cost the treasury 15.59 billion rupees ($103 million) in forgone revenue. That figure climbs to 61 billion rupees ($403 million) if the same foreign exchange had gone entirely to ICE imports, per the analysis.

Installed generating capacity hit 3,591 MW at the close of FY 2024-2025, including 434 MW commissioned during the year, Mongabay reported. National peak demand runs at 2,409 MW.

Meeting projected domestic demand by 2035 requires 13,468 MW, and Nepal has fixed an export goal of 15,000 MW, according to Mongabay.

The governing Rastriya Swatantra Party campaigned on far larger numbers. Its March election manifesto pledged to triple per-capita electricity consumption to 1,500 kilowatt-hours and to build 30,000 MW of generation within a decade, Mongabay reported.

Toyota Motor Corporation and Joby Aviation have set up a joint venture in California to manufacture electric air taxis, according to electrive. The venture is named Joby Toyota Aero Manufacturing Preparation Company.

Toyota holds a 51% stake in the venture and Joby owns the remaining 49%, electrive reported.

The partnership builds on earlier Toyota funding. The company invested USD 394 million in Joby in 2020 and added a further USD 500 million in 2024, according to electrive.

Pilot production of the first aircraft, the Joby S4, is already underway in Marina, California, electrive reported.

The S4 is designed to carry four passengers and one pilot, according to electrive. It has a top speed of 200 mph and a range of 100 miles.

Joby plans to deploy the aircraft in major urban markets including New York City, Los Angeles and Dubai, electrive reported.

Gujarat has commissioned 70 electric buses for public transport, deploying 40 in the state capital Gandhinagar on June 28 and 30 in Vadodara on June 29, according to electrive.

In Gandhinagar, the municipal corporation is running the new buses on 18 routes, electrive reported. The service is free for the first 15 days, after which fares will range from 5 to 30 Indian rupees.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the state capital will receive 60 more electric buses in the second phase, according to electrive. Vadodara Municipal Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu said the city will induct 200 more electric buses by December, split equally between the second and third phases.

The 100 buses for Gandhinagar and 250 for Vadodara will join fleets funded under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) PM e-Bus Sewa scheme, electrive reported. The scheme carries a total outlay of 576.13 billion rupees and is intended to support the deployment of 10,000 electric buses in 169 cities across India.

The JBM Ecolife e9 accommodates 38 passengers, including 25 seated and 13 standees, and is equipped with a hydraulic ramp for wheelchair access, according to electrive.

Overall vehicle sales in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow more slowly than previously forecast, mainly because of rising fuel costs triggered by the Iran war, according to a new report cited by Semafor Net Zero. The same report finds that EV purchases on the continent should stay robust despite the wider slowdown.

Part of the resilience in EV demand reflects pricing parity. In most African markets, Chinese EVs cost the same as their internal combustion engine alternatives, according to research firm BMI.

Higher fuel prices are sharpening the economic case further in import-reliant markets. Soaring fuel costs in countries such as Kenya have strengthened the argument for EVs, especially for high-usage consumers and fleet operators, according to the report.

The report also flags constraints that could limit broader uptake. Weak charging infrastructure, limited and unreliable electricity supply outside major cities, and high financing costs could hold back widespread EV adoption in Africa, even as investors race to build out infrastructure.

Vattenfall InCharge and WirelessCar have completed a pilot project for the automated charging of electric vehicles, using a cloud-based service called Seamless Charging, according to electrive. The service is designed to enable charging sessions without a charging card or smartphone app.

More than 700 drivers in Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany tested the system during pilot trials this spring, according to electrive.

Seamless Charging will initially support vehicles from Volvo Cars and Tesla equipped with the required connectivity features, electrive reported.

Authentication differs from the ISO 15118-based Plug & Charge process, according to electrive. Rather than relying on digital vehicle certificates, the system uses a one-time link between the vehicle and the user account, followed by cloud-based verification of vehicle data.

Seamless Charging is scheduled to become available across all InCharge charging stations in autumn or winter 2026, according to electrive.

A growing number of Tesla Cybertruck owners are losing the ability to charge at home because of failures in the truck's Power Conversion System, the unit that handles AC charging and steps the high-voltage pack down to the 48-volt system, according to Electrek.

Tesla is replacing the failing part case-by-case but has not issued a recall, Electrek reported, leaving owners waiting weeks for replacement units they cannot source.

An owner-run poll on the Cybertruck Owners Club recorded 223 votes, with 91 owners, or 40.8%, reporting a PCS failure replaced under warranty, according to Electrek. Another 15 owners, 6.7%, suspected a failure pending confirmation, and only 2, or 0.9%, paid out of pocket.

For owners out of warranty, the repair reportedly ran $5,000 to $7,200 in parts and labor, Electrek reported. Tesla has since dropped that out-of-warranty price to roughly $1,000 as a goodwill gesture.

Tesla quietly added a new 7-year/70,000-mile propulsion warranty for 2026 Cybertrucks that explicitly covers the PCS, according to Electrek, but the coverage is not retroactive.

To keep affected trucks running, Tesla pushed a firmware update that keeps Supercharging enabled even when AC charging is down, and it is covering Supercharging costs for affected owners until their trucks are fixed.

The fix is a revised PCS, with owners tracking hardware revisions E, F, and now G, part number 1777777-T2-G, along with a new wiring harness, Electrek reported.

The issue follows an earlier hardware problem. In late 2024, Tesla recalled more than 2,000 Cybertrucks to replace inverters that could cause a loss of power, also a MOSFET issue, according to Electrek.

Fiat unveiled its micromobility strategy at an event in Rome, built around the battery-electric Topolino, the three-wheeled Fiat Tris commercial vehicle and the new Multiplina Concept, according to electrive.

The manufacturer expects a new record for Topolino orders in Q2 2026, up around 30% versus the same period last year, electrive reported.

Fiat plans to introduce a four-seater battery-electric light vehicle in the L7e category, offering more space and comfort than the Topolino, according to electrive. The production version is scheduled for 2028.

Fiat has announced a partnership with Caffe Vergnano to develop mobile coffee concepts based on the Tris platform, according to electrive.

Global plugin vehicle registrations rose 4% year over year in May, reaching around 1.7 million units, according to CleanTechnica.

The two segments moved in opposite directions. Battery electric vehicle registrations grew 15% year over year, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicle registrations fell 15% year over year, CleanTechnica reported.