Sunday, 19 July 2026

VinFast has introduced the VF 2 electric city car and launched it first in Vietnam, according to electrive. The company expects to begin customer deliveries in September.

Electrive reports the VF 2 is priced at 188 million dong (6,257 euros), below the Minio Green at 269 million dong (8,953 euros).

The car runs on a rear-mounted single motor producing 30 kW and 65 Nm of torque, according to electrive. VinFast offers Eco and Normal drive modes and claims a top speed of 80 kph.

Electrive reports the VF 2 uses an 18.3 kWh battery pack delivering a range of 210 kilometres. Charging runs at up to 24 kW, and a 10-70 per cent session takes approximately 34 minutes.

VinFast will include ten complimentary charging sessions per month at V-Green public charging stations across Vietnam until 10 February 2029, according to electrive.

Aptera announced a partnership with RepairPal that gives access to 4,300 service shops across the United States, according to Electrek. Only about 200 of those shops are currently certified to work on high-voltage EV batteries, Electrek reported.

RepairPal does not own its own shops. Instead it certifies local shops to work on particular models of car, according to Electrek.

The service deal arrives before the vehicle has cleared its full regulatory path. Aptera recently earned its EPA Certificate of Conformity, a regulatory step required for all vehicles, Electrek reported. The company is still waiting on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) certification.

Aptera is taking reservations now for USD 100, according to Electrek.

The initial incarnation of Aptera folded in 2011 and was brought back to life in 2019 by its original founders, Electrek reported.

Kempower and charge point operator PowerUp America opened a public DC fast charging station in Manchester, Kentucky, the first of 12 charging projects the two companies are building together in the Southeast, according to Electrek.

Electrek reported the Manchester site sits at 425 KY-80 and operates 24/7. It is the only Kentucky project in the initial rollout, with the remaining 11 sites under development in Georgia.

The station features four Kempower Flex Satellite chargers carrying both NACS and CCS1 connectors, per Electrek. The site offers up to 800 kW of available power across the chargers.

PowerUp designed the location with pull-through charging spaces for larger vehicles and towing, along with covered canopies, according to Electrek.

Monil Malhotra is president of Kempower North America.

Nissan is recalling 3,788 new 2026 Leaf EVs over faulty rear outboard seat belt assemblies, according to Electrek.

Consumer Reports engineers found that the 2026 Leaf's rear seat belt failed to stay locked when used to secure a child seat, per Electrek. The vehicle fails to meet federal safety standards for Occupant Crash Protection.

Consumer Reports notified Nissan of the rear seat belt issue on April 22, 2026, according to Electrek.

Nissan traced the fault to its supplier and found no other Nissan vehicles were affected.

Nissan expects a fix to be available this winter, according to Electrek. Notification letters warning owners of the safety risk will be mailed on July 17, 2026.

Global electric vehicle sales hit 2 million in June 2026, pushing sales for the year so far to 9.6 million, according to Electrek. That volume ran 7% ahead of the same month last year and 11% above May.

Europe posted its best EV month ever in June, according to Electrek. Sales there climbed 28% from May and 31% from a year earlier, while France, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal each logged fresh monthly highs. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence senior EV analyst George Whitcombe called the region a key driver of growth after another record month.

In France, Renault took a 20% slice of the EV market during the month, and four of the five top-selling models there carried Renault badges, according to Electrek.

North American sales tell a different story, down 20% so far this year. Benchmark ties much of that drop to weaker policy support after the US federal EV tax credit ended. All-electric sales at GM and Ford have slid deeper than the wider US EV market as both retool their EV plans, according to Benchmark.

China's home market remained down year over year, with June sales off 11% and the year-to-date figure off 14%, according to Electrek. Its automakers turned to shipments abroad, sending nearly 500,000 new energy vehicles overseas in June for another monthly record.

Lotus sent its first Chinese-built Eletre SUVs to Canada in early July under a tariff quota, according to Electrek. The arrangement lets up to 49,000 Chinese-built EVs enter at a 6.1% tariff, cut from a previous 100% surtax.

BYD's new Qin Max will join the Qin lineup as a larger sibling to the Qin L, positioned above it as a B-segment fast-charging sedan, according to Electrek.

Lu Tian, general manager of BYD's Ocean series, previewed the Qin Max for the first time on BYD's Weibo page on Sunday, Electrek reported.

BYD vehicles equipped with Blade Batteries 2.0 and Flash Charging can recharge from 10% to 97% in nine minutes, and from 10% to 70% in five minutes, per Electrek.

A filing with China's MIIT lists the Qin Max at 4,866 mm long, 1,880 mm wide, and 1,495 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,790 mm, according to Electrek.

The Qin Max EV motor will be offered with two power outputs, 120 kW (160 hp) or 240 kW (321 hp), Electrek reported.

According to CarNewsChina, the Qin Max will offer 52.868 kWh and 64.315 kWh Blade Battery options, delivering CLTC ranges of 530 km (330 miles) and 630 km (391 miles) respectively.

BYD said the Qin L EV, launched last year starting at 119,800 yuan ($17,500), sold over 10,000 units in its first week, per Electrek.

Clean Motion has put a swappable battery into its lightweight EVIG and started on-road trials in Stockholm, drawing on GoCimo's existing swap network, according to electrive. The van is running live delivery routes, including runs for Foodora.

The trial pairs Clean Motion with the City of Stockholm, Lund University, GoCimo, and Foodora, electrive reported. Test routes cover Stockholm's Old Town and the city's low-emission zones.

Depending on how the EVIG is configured, its stated range runs from 100 to 150 kilometres, according to electrive. A roof-mounted solar module is expected to add 40 to 50 kilometres of daily range when the weather cooperates.

GoCimo built its swap batteries mainly around electric scooters, electrive reported. Fitting the same packs to the EVIG carries that swap model into light electric commercial vans.

Getting the van ready took a year, according to electrive. Over the past twelve months the partners reworked the battery, mechanics, and interfaces so the EVIG could draw on the same swappable packs as other vehicles in the GoCimo fleet.

Volkswagen opened pre-orders for the ID. Cross on Wednesday in Germany, according to Electrek. The standard Trend model, with 85 kW output and a 37 kWh battery, will go on sale in mid-October starting at 27,995 euros ($32,000), Electrek reported.

The ID. Cross will be offered with two battery options, according to Electrek: a 37 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack and a 52 kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) pack. The larger pack delivers a WLTP range of up to 427 km (265 miles), per Electrek.

Electrek reported that the 37 kWh battery supports DC fast charging of up to 90 kW, allowing it to recharge from 10% to 80% in around 23 minutes.

Hainan has become the first province in China to bring in a political ban on the sale of petrol-powered vehicles, according to electrive. The province plans to prohibit the sale of pure combustion-engine vehicles by 2030 and to electrify all new and replacement vehicles in the private sector, electrive reported.

The share of New Energy Vehicles, which cover battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, in Hainan's vehicle fleet is set to rise from 23.75% in 2025 to 45% by 2030, according to electrive.

The plan states the province will promote fuel cell vehicles in heavy-duty trucks, cold-chain logistics and public transport, electrive reported.

Hainan's provincial government has confirmed it will continue to follow the timetable established in 2022, according to electrive.

Guatemala plans to procure around 300 electric buses from 2027 as part of efforts to build an integrated public transport system, according to electrive.

The Ministry of Finance has established a state guarantee fund worth approximately EUR 57 million, according to electrive. The government says the fund could unlock financing of up to around EUR 517 million.

The government estimates that battery-electric buses could cut fuel costs by up to 51% compared with diesel-powered vehicles, electrive reported.

Government projections put the long-term replacement need at around 2,100 buses, creating annual demand for approximately 300 vehicles, according to electrive.

The plans draw on the Metropolitan Area Mobility Master Plan, which covers 17 municipalities in the Guatemala City metropolitan region and was developed with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), electrive reported.

According to government figures cited by electrive, commuters in the region lose an average of around 1,300 hours per year in traffic. The economic impact of congestion is estimated at more than 25 billion Quetzal, around EUR 2.9 billion, annually.

China is assigning dense travel corridors to electric rail rather than beginning from aircraft demand, according to CleanTechnica.

That approach runs against a market Boeing sizes at 8,830 new commercial aircraft, which the manufacturer expects Chinese airlines to require by 2043, according to CleanTechnica. By deciding how people should move and routing high-density corridors to electric rail, China reduces the role that new aircraft orders play in meeting that travel demand.

Montra Electric has delivered 65 electric heavy-duty trucks in a single batch, the first lot of a 260-unit order, according to electrive. The company flagged off the batch from its factory in Manesar, Haryana, on 8 July.

The delivered model is the Rhino 5538 EV tractor-trailer, powered by a 280 kW permanent magnet synchronous electric motor with a 6-speed automated manual transmission, electrive reported.

The truck uses a 282 kWh LFP battery pack, which Montra Electric claims delivers a range of 198 kilometres in the 4x2 variant and 169 kilometres in the 6x4 variant. It supports dual-gun fast-charging at up to 240 kW, with a 20 to 100 percent session taking 60 minutes, according to electrive.

Ex-factory prices start at 11.5 million rupees (approx. 105,500 euros) for the 4x2 variant and 11.8 million rupees (approx. 108,300 euros) for the 6x4 variant.

The truck is eligible for incentives of up to 960,000 rupees (approx. 8,800 euros) under the Ministry of Heavy Industries' PM E-Drive scheme, electrive reported.

Volvo is considering launching two new electric vehicles in the United States, an electric sedan and a wagon, with prices expected to start in the low $50,000s, according to Electrek.

A source briefed on the matter told Automotive News the models could reach showrooms in 2028.

Both would use Volvo's SPA3 platform, which debuted on the EX60 earlier this year and uses an 800-volt architecture and cell-to-body construction, according to Electrek. Volvo tech boss Anders Bell said the SPA3 platform "opens new possibilities" as a dedicated EV platform.

Volvo is forecasting about 10,000 annual sales for the electric sedan and wagon in America, per Electrek.

Volvo's V60 Cross Country station wagon for the US market rolled off the assembly line in April 2026.

Global electric vehicle sales reached a record 2 million deliveries in June, led by the European market, according to Electrek.

In the United States, sales remain below last year's peak but rose more than 20% from the previous month, Electrek reported.

California introduced a new EV incentive worth USD 3,500, according to Electrek.

Wallbox and Turning Point Energy said they have surpassed 10,000 electric vehicle chargers sold and installed across Saudi Arabia, according to CleanTechnica.

Wallbox, listed on the NYSE under the ticker WBX, is a global provider of electric vehicle charging and energy management solutions, per CleanTechnica. Turning Point Energy is described by the same outlet as a leading EV infrastructure provider in Saudi Arabia.

BMW is pulling back 29,119 plug-in hybrids in the United States after finding a starter-system defect that can short-circuit and spark a fire, according to electrive.

Four model lines fall under the action: the 330e iPerformance from model years 2016 through 2018, the 530e iPerformance and 530e xDrive iPerformance from 2018 through 2020, and the 740Le xDrive iPerformance from 2017 through 2019, electrive reported.

The fault sits in an electrical relay inside the engine starter. Water reaching that relay can corrode it, disrupting the electrical connection and stopping the combustion engine from starting, according to electrive. Corrosion can also make the relay overheat and short-circuit in some cases.

The high-voltage battery packs are not implicated, according to electrive. No crashes or injuries tied to the defect have been reported.

BMW will fit a new engine starter at no cost, electrive reported. Letters to affected owners are due to go out on 28 August 2026.

Gridserve has opened its fifth Electric Forecourt in the UK at Markham Vale, sited at Junction 29A of the M1, according to electrive. The company describes it as its largest charging station to date.

The site holds 39 rapid charging bays, electrive reported. Of those, 36 serve passenger EVs and three are set aside for larger vehicles such as electric HGVs, coaches, vans, or tow vehicles.

On-site generation comes from 138 rooftop 455W solar panels, according to electrive. The facility also draws on rainwater harvesting to cut mains water use.

The retail building runs from 6AM to 9PM daily, while the charging bays stay operational 24 hours a day year-round, electrive reported.

The opening lifts Gridserve's UK charging network past 200 locations, according to electrive.

Ross Watson, General Manager at Markham Vale, said the site brings a world class facility and an entirely new scale of charging provision to the region.