Sunday, 12 July 2026

Toyota's global sales, including the Lexus brand, fell 7.2% in May 2026 from a year earlier to 834,279 units, according to Electrek. Over the same month, the company's global electric vehicle sales rose 170% to 37,313 units, Electrek reported.

The steepest drop came in China, one of Toyota's largest markets, where sales fell 31.7% in May to 102,299 units, according to Electrek. Toyota attributed the China decline in part to rising gasoline prices, citing a challenging market environment that led to a year-on-year decrease.

Battery electric volume climbed faster over the year to date. Through May 2026, Toyota sold 155,074 battery electric vehicles, up 138% from the same period in 2025, according to Electrek. Even so, pure-electric vehicles accounted for only 7% of Toyota's total sales through May, Electrek reported.

In the United States, Toyota bZ sales reached 17,553 in the first half of 2026, up 90% from the prior year, according to Electrek. The 2026 bZ offers up to 314 miles of range, 25% more than the outgoing model, and starts at USD 35,000, Electrek reported.

BYD sold 403,472 all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles worldwide in June, its second consecutive monthly sales increase, according to electrive. Sales rose 5.5% year-on-year and 5.2% compared with May.

The gains came from overseas markets. Electrive reported that BYD's overseas sales reached a record 175,349 vehicles in June, up nearly 95% against June 2025.

The picture at home was weaker. In China, BYD sold 228,123 new energy vehicles in June, a 22% year-on-year decline, according to electrive.

For the second quarter, BYD sold 1.108 million NEVs, a 3.2% decline against the same quarter a year earlier, electrive reported. Sales surged more than 58% compared with the often weaker first quarter in China.

Across the first half of the year, total sales reached 1.81 million vehicles, 15.7% below the previous year's figure, according to electrive. Domestic sales in China fell almost 40% year-to-date, while international sales jumped over 70% to 792,256 vehicles.

TU Wien has launched the eMOTION Lab, a research platform for power electronics and electric drivetrain technology, according to electrive.

The first phase of the infrastructure, an inverter test bench, has been operational since the beginning of July, electrive reported. The bench is open to industrial companies, research institutions, and university partners for development and testing.

Core research areas at the lab include inverter technologies, efficiency optimisation, thermal management, and immersion cooling, where electronic components are directly surrounded by a liquid, according to electrive.

TU Wien plans to expand the laboratory with a high-voltage integration test bench and an e-axle test bench.

The eMOTION Lab is based at Automotive & Mobility Engineering GmbH (ame), a wholly owned subsidiary of TU Wien. Austrian company AVL List is among the partners providing test and measurement technology for the research infrastructure, according to electrive.

Rivian handed over 12,194 vehicles in the quarter that closed June 30, 2026, running past its own delivery outlook of 9,000 to 11,000 units, according to Electrek. Output at its Normal, Illinois plant reached 12,613 vehicles across the same period.

Electrek attributed the delivery figure clearing the outlook to quarter-over-quarter gains in EDV and R1, plus the start of R2 deliveries.

Rivian raised its full-year 2026 delivery guidance to a range of 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles, up from the earlier band of 62,000 to 67,000, according to Electrek.

Second quarter 2026 financial results are due after market close on July 30, 2026. An audio webcast follows at 5:00 p.m. ET that day covering business performance and outlook.

CTM Cagliari has received 47 electric Iveco E-Way midi-buses, each 10.7 meters long, according to electrive. The delivery lifts the operator's fleet to a total of 236 e-buses.

Electrive reports the vehicles were procured under Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The entire investment programme amounts to approximately EUR 92 million, allocated to CTM to support its ecological transition.

Each midi-bus carries an NMC battery with a total capacity of 350kWh, enabling a range of up to 350km on a single charge, according to electrive.

CTM Cagliari has achieved a 70% electric share in its bus fleet and aims to operate only zero-emission vehicles by 2030.

Tesla delivered 480,126 vehicles in Q2 2026, up 25% from the same quarter a year earlier and roughly 74,000 units above Wall Street's consensus, according to Electrek.

The company produced 451,758 vehicles in the quarter, Electrek reported. The Model 3 and Model Y drove the bulk of the volume, accounting for 442,936 units produced and 467,762 delivered.

The result marks Tesla's best-ever Q2, surpassing the 466,140 vehicles delivered in Q2 2023, according to Electrek. It still trails the company's all-time record of 497,099 deliveries set in Q3 2025.

The quarter reverses a weak start to the year. Tesla delivered 358,023 vehicles in Q1 2026, missing a consensus of 365,645 and building more than 50,000 vehicles it could not sell, Electrek reported.

Tesla deployed 13.5 GWh of energy storage products in Q2 2026, up more than 40% from the 9.6 GWh deployed in Q2 2025, according to Electrek.

BYD stayed ahead of Tesla in global battery-electric sales, delivering 557,090 fully electric vehicles in Q2 2026, Electrek reported.

Tesla delivered 480,126 electric vehicles globally in the second quarter of 2026, a 25 per cent increase over the 384,122 units handed over in the same quarter of 2025, according to electrive.

Production reached 451,768 vehicles in the quarter, up 10 per cent from the 410,244 vehicles built a year earlier, electrive reported. Because deliveries outpaced output, the stock of unsold vehicles fell by 28,358 units. That reversed the pattern of Q2 2025, when production exceeded sales and inventory built up.

Compared with the opening quarter of 2026, deliveries rose 34 per cent while production stayed nearly flat, according to electrive. Tesla produced 408,386 vehicles and delivered 358,023 in Q1 2026.

The Q2 2026 total sits close to the all-time high of 497,099 vehicles set in Q3 2025, electrive said. That earlier peak was driven by a pull-forward effect ahead of the phase-out of electric vehicle incentives in the US.

The quarter marks a shift after a weaker prior year. Tesla's deliveries declined by 9.1 per cent last year, falling to around 1.6 million vehicles, according to electrive.

Tesla plans to ramp up production at its Grünheide plant in two phases, raising weekly output from the current 5,000 Model Y units to 7,500 vehicles by October, electrive reported.

In Germany, Tesla recorded 5,111 new registrations in May, a 322.4 per cent increase and the latest available figure from the Federal Motor Transport Authority.

A University of Michigan life-cycle analysis finds that both battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty trucks can significantly reduce lifetime emissions when powered by low-carbon energy, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The analysis compares conventional diesel trucks against battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell options, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The Hyundai IONIQ 3 is expected to start at around EUR 30,000 (USD 35,000) in Europe and GBP 25,000 in the UK, according to Electrek. Electrek reports Hyundai has not yet announced prices.

The hatchback comes with two battery pack options, according to Electrek: a 42.2 kWh pack and a 61 kWh pack, offering WLTP ranges up to 213 miles and 308 miles respectively.

With DC fast charging, the 42.2 kWh version can recharge from 10% to 80% in around 29 minutes, while the 61 kWh version takes about 30 minutes, per Electrek.

To cut costs, the IONIQ 3 uses a 400V architecture rather than the 800V system in the IONIQ 5 and 9, according to Electrek.

Electrek reports the IONIQ 3 is Hyundai's first vehicle in Europe to feature its next-generation Pleos Connect infotainment system, available with either a 12.9-inch or 14.6-inch center touchscreen.

The car measures 4,155 mm in length, 1,800 mm in width, and 1,505 mm in height, with a 2,680 mm wheelbase, according to Electrek.

The IONIQ 3 is produced at Hyundai's İzmit plant in Turkey, which Electrek says would make importing it costly because of the Trump Administration's tariffs.

Charging sessions on Rosatom's company-owned network climbed 40 per cent from 21 to 28 June, the operator said, linking the surge to the fuel shortages now hitting Russia.

The network runs more than 290 charging points, according to electrive.

Russia counted roughly 208,000 battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids at the start of April, according to figures from the analytics firm Autostat. Plug-in hybrid sales reached 24,600 units from January through May, up 125 per cent on the same stretch a year earlier.

Rosatom CEO Alexei Lichatschow said he sees no rapid switch to electric vehicles in the near term, though he expects the fuel squeeze might lead some drivers to weigh battery-electric models more seriously for their next purchase.

Tesla opened US and Puerto Rico orders for the Model Y L, with a Launch Series carrying a sticker of $61,990, according to Electrek. The all-wheel-drive trim runs a 2+2+2 arrangement that seats six.

Tesla puts the Model Y L at 325 miles of EPA-estimated range and a 0-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds, Electrek reported.

The stretched body gains 150 mm (5.9 inches) at the wheelbase, taking it to 3,040 mm, plus about 180 mm (7 inches) in overall length to create space for a third row, per Electrek. Cargo capacity is listed at 89 cubic feet.

Against the rest of the lineup, the $61,990 Launch Series runs roughly $4,000 more than the $57,990 Model Y Performance and about $22,000 more than the $39,990 rear-wheel-drive Model Y, Electrek reported.

The model first went on sale in China in August 2025, where it started near $47,000.

The Kia EV9 opens at $54,900 with a range of up to 304 miles, while the Hyundai Ioniq 9 starts at $58,955 and reaches up to 335 miles, according to Electrek.

BYD's passenger vehicle exports rose 94.7% year over year in June, according to CleanTechnica.

CleanTechnica reported that BYD's passenger vehicle exports climbed 95% year over year in June.

The growth extended a pattern set the prior month. BYD's passenger vehicle sales outside of China rose 80% year over year in May, according to CleanTechnica.

Xpeng has opened pre-orders for its Mona L03 SUV in China, with pre-sale prices starting at 143,800 yuan, equivalent to EUR 18,500, according to electrive. The company will hold the model's launch on July 16 in Munich rather than in China, positioning the Mona L03 as an EV for global markets.

The battery-electric version comes with two battery options, delivering CLTC ranges of 525 and 625 km respectively, electrive reported. An extended-range electric version pairs an onboard range extender for a maximum combined CLTC range of 1,330 km and a pure electric range of 315 km.

The Mona L03 supports 3C fast charging, which allows the battery to charge from 10 to 80 percent in just under 20 minutes, according to the manufacturer. Higher trims carry two Turing AI chips delivering a combined 1,500 TOPS of computing power.

Sales of the Mona saloon have fallen. According to CN EV Post, cumulative deliveries reached 48,291 units in the first five months of 2026, down 33.15% year-on-year.

Xpeng announced last month that Magna Steyr in Graz would produce a fourth Xpeng model, though no model name has been specified, electrive reported.

China will abolish its annual vehicle tax exemption for plug-in hybrids, range-extender vehicles, and several classes of electrified commercial vehicles from January 1, 2027, according to electrive.

The decision to adjust the national vehicle and vessel tax was made by China's Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, electrive reported.

The exemption for the affected vehicle categories has been in place since 2012, according to electrive.

Battery-electric passenger cars will stay tax-exempt because they are not subject to China's displacement-based vehicle tax under Chinese law, electrive reported.

The levy is tied to engine displacement. For passenger cars with an engine displacement between 1.6 and 2.0 litres, the annual vehicle and vessel tax ranges from 360 to 660 yuan per year, depending on the province, according to electrive.

The change comes as the share of so-called new energy vehicles in China's passenger car market recently reached a record high of 62.9%, electrive reported.

Contractor Leonhard Nilsen & Sønner AS took delivery of the first Volvo A30 Electric articulated haul trucks, a 30-ton model, and has begun running them at the Hafslund hydropower project, according to Electrek.

Two of the trucks will start out hauling material for a 20 km tunnel, Electrek reported. The Hafslund development is scheduled for completion in 2029 and is projected to produce more than 100 GWh of renewable electricity a year, according to Electrek.

Each A30 Electric carries a 29 tonne payload and is designed for a full day of work on one charge of its 245 kWh lithium-ion battery, according to Electrek. Power comes from a 350 kW electric motor, routed through a torque-amplifying gear reduction gearbox.

The tunnelling job suits battery machines because blasting cycles create pauses long enough to recharge, said LNS Project Site Manager Steffen Solstrand Ludvigsen. "That makes electric haulers particularly well suited to the work here," he said.

Volvo CE first showed the electric articulated hauler at last year's Bauma construction expo, according to Electrek.

The Trailseeker was Subaru's top-selling EV in June with 953 units, ahead of the Uncharted at 699 and the Solterra at 218, according to Electrek.

Over the first half of 2026, the ranking flips. Electrek reported the Solterra remains in front with 5,137 units sold, followed by the Uncharted at 2,491 and the Trailseeker at 2,436.

Subaru set 2027 Trailseeker prices to start at $39,995, matching the current model, according to Electrek. The smaller 2027 Uncharted EV will start at $35,000, Electrek reported.

The Trailseeker produces a combined 375 hp and can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, which Electrek said makes it Subaru's quickest production vehicle ever sold in the US.

It uses a 74.7 kWh battery for a range of up to 281 miles, according to Electrek. With DC fast charging up to 150 kW, the model can recharge from 10% to 80% in as little as 28 minutes.

The 2027 Trailseeker will go on sale this fall, Electrek reported.

Harris County prosecutors charged Michael David Butler, 44, with manslaughter on July 1 in the June 19 death of 76-year-old Martha Avila in Katy, Texas, according to Electrek.

Prosecutors allege Butler overrode Tesla's Full Self-Driving to accelerate to 73 mph in a residential cul-de-sac, Electrek reported. Investigators say the accelerator pedal was pressed to the floor for about six seconds and the brake was never touched in the final minute before the crash.

Investigators found no mechanical failure, no stuck pedal, and no floor-mat interference, according to Electrek. Medical testing found no seizure, stroke, or heart attack, and no alcohol or drugs.

Prosecutors recovered Google searches from Butler's phone, including "Tesla fsd not aggressive enough 2026" and "Tesla fsd too timid," Electrek reported.

Butler remains in jail on a $150,000 bond, per Electrek. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony in Texas, carrying two to 20 years.

Avila's family has sued Tesla, citing a Florida verdict in which a jury assigned 67% of the blame to the driver and found Tesla 33% responsible in a $243 million judgment, according to Electrek.

Tesla has drawn a Robotaxi service area over a narrow section of the Miami metro, releasing a geofence that reaches only West Miami and a corridor running toward Doral and Sweetwater, according to Electrek.

The map names Miami among five US cities Tesla is targeting for the first half of 2026, joining Phoenix, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, Electrek reported.

Tesla is mapping Miami while its only live market stays small. City officials put the Austin Robotaxi fleet at roughly 50 vehicles a year after the June 2025 launch, according to Electrek.

Recent figures cited by Electrek show the unsupervised fleet has slid from a peak of about 25 cumulative vehicles toward roughly 14 active cars.

On Tesla's Q1 2026 earnings call, Musk told investors that safety validation is the limiting factor for Robotaxi expansion, and that the company is waiting for improvements in a rewritten FSD v15, Electrek reported.

Tesla has filed multiple crash reports to NHTSA in Austin, and independent analysis cited by Electrek found a crash rate roughly four times worse than the average human driver.

Volkswagen's next electric SUV, the ID. Tiguan, will make its debut by the end of 2026 and will replace the ID.4 at the company's plant in Emden, Germany, according to Automotive News.

Volkswagen announced in April that it would end production of the ID.4 at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, according to Electrek. The company said it had enough supply of current ID.4 models to support customer demand into 2027, when the next electric SUV is set to go on sale.

The ID. Tiguan will be built on Volkswagen's new MEB+ platform, the same architecture that underpins the ID. Polo and ID.3 Neo, Electrek reported.

On range, the current ID.4 runs an 82 kWh battery, according to Electrek. The rear-wheel-drive version carries an EPA-estimated range of up to 291 miles, while the all-wheel-drive model drops to around 263 miles. Under WLTP conditions, the 2026 ID.4 is rated at up to 351 miles, or 566 km, Electrek reported.

Volkswagen reintroduced physical buttons for climate control and other functions in response to driver feedback, according to Electrek. The controls sit below the center navigation screen and on the steering wheel.