Thursday, 6 August 2026

Battery-electric vehicles took a record 27.5 per cent of the UK passenger car market in July, with registrations up 44.5 per cent year on year, according to electrive.

The overall market grew as well. The UK registered 156,571 new passenger cars during the month, an increase of 11.7 per cent on the same month a year earlier, electrive reported.

Vans posted the sharper move. Battery-electric van registrations climbed 74.1 per cent year on year in July, taking BEVs to a record 14.7 per cent of the light commercial vehicle market, according to electrive. Across the first seven months of the year, battery-electric vans held 10.6 per cent of van registrations, still short of the 24 per cent share required under the UK's ZEV mandate for light commercial vehicles.

Plug-in hybrids also gained. PHEV registrations rose 33.6 per cent year on year, lifting the segment to 14.9 per cent of the passenger car market, electrive reported.

The car-side gap to policy remains wide. The SMMT expects battery-electric vehicles to reach 27.4 per cent of total new car registrations across the year, up slightly from its earlier forecast of 26.8 per cent but below the ZEV mandate target of 33 per cent, according to electrive.

SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes tied the monthly record to spending by carmakers rather than underlying demand. "July's record EV performance is a great achievement, reflecting the industry's huge investment in zero-emission mobility," Hawes said, adding that "that progress cannot be sustained if manufacturers continue haemorrhaging billions in EV discounts, distorting demand to avoid even steeper penalties".

Kempower has finished its first UK electric vehicle charging project paid for through leasing partner DLL, with the hardware installed at a forecourt in Bedfordshire, according to electrive.

The site at Astwick service station runs four Kempower Double Satellite chargers, electrive reported, giving a total of eight CCS2 charging points. Each connected vehicle can draw charging capacities of up to 400 kW, according to electrive.

The project marks the first UK installation financed under the arrangement between the charger maker and its leasing partner. Leasing shifts the upfront hardware cost away from the site operator, an approach the two companies have been pushing at forecourt locations.

Kempower and DLL set up the financing partnership in 2024 to back the rollout of DC fast charging infrastructure across Europe, electrive reported. The Bedfordshire forecourt is the first UK site delivered under that structure.

California has launched MyFirstEV, a financial incentive program aimed at supporting electric vehicle adoption, CleanTechnica reported. Fourteen manufacturers are taking part, according to CleanTechnica.

The rationale, as CleanTechnica described it, was to lift EV adoption again after it dropped when the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress ended the federal EV tax credit prematurely.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has granted Amazon subsidiary Zoox an exemption allowing it to charge for rides in purpose-built robotaxis that carry no steering wheel and no pedals, according to electrive. It is the first such exemption NHTSA has issued for a purpose-built vehicle of this kind.

The permission is not open-ended. electrive reports the exemption is capped at a maximum of 2,500 vehicles per year and runs for the next two years.

Zoox intends to switch on fares in Las Vegas next month as its first commercial step, according to electrive.

The company arrives at that point with a large operating record built entirely on unpaid trips. electrive reports that since the launch of the free service in Las Vegas and the Zoox Explorers Programme in San Francisco, more than half a million passengers have been carried, all free of charge under permits covering public testing of the autonomous ride service.

NHTSA is also moving on the rulebook that will govern vehicles of this type. The agency has announced a three-year partnership with the SAE Industry Technologies Consortia (ITC), funding a five-million-dollar consortium tasked with establishing a unified safety standard, according to electrive.

The pairing of a vehicle-count ceiling with a fixed two-year window means the commercial phase and the standards work run on overlapping clocks: the consortium has three years to produce a common safety benchmark, while Zoox's authority to sell rides in a steering-wheel-free vehicle expires after two. Until a unified standard exists, exemptions remain the route to market for vehicles built without conventional driver controls.

New York City will install 600 additional curbside charging points for electric vehicles on its PlugNYC network over the next three years, electrive reported.

The rollout takes public curbside Level 2 charging points from 88 to nearly 700, according to electrive.

Demand at the existing sites is the argument for the build-out. The city's 88 Level 2 curbside points have run at utilisation rates above 70 per cent, and some locations approach 99 per cent occupancy, electrive reported.

Curbside chargers are not the only piece. NYC DOT is deploying 92 fast charging points and a further 180 Level 2 points at municipal parking facilities across the city, according to electrive.

Responsibilities are split between two public bodies. The New York Power Authority will procure the equipment and oversee construction; NYC DOT will handle operation and maintenance of the network, electrive reported.

Ford's affordable electric pickup will be called the Fathom and will open at USD 28,350 for the standard-range model, with pre-orders excluding a USD 1,595 delivery fee, according to Electrek.

The truck goes on sale in early 2027 and is the first vehicle built on Ford's new Universal EV Platform, Electrek reported.

On range, the outlet said the Fathom is expected to deliver at least 300 miles, citing Ford's focus on aerodynamics and efficiency. The pre-order price of USD 28,350 applies to the standard-range version, and the USD 1,595 delivery fee sits on top.

Cell chemistry is central to the cost target. Ford will fit prismatic LFP batteries sourced from its BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan, a choice Electrek said is meant to cut costs and maximize interior space.

Charging hardware is integrated rather than adapted: the pickup carries a built-in NACS port, per Electrek.

The Fathom will also be the first vehicle with Apple Maps built in, delivering turn-by-turn directions from real-time data, EV routing and battery preconditioning through the navigation display, according to Electrek.

Volkswagen Tianjin has signed an agreement with Chinese supplier Leadrive Technology to jointly develop silicon carbide power modules for electric vehicles, according to electrive.

The work extends beyond the modules themselves. electrive reported that the collaboration covers power semiconductor modules, electronic control systems and complete electric drive solutions.

The two sides have worked together before. According to electrive, the agreement expands an existing technical partnership between Volkswagen Group and Leadrive that previously focused on electric drive systems and dual-controller solutions for hybrid powertrains, moving the relationship into power electronics.

Leadrive was founded in 2017 and develops power semiconductor modules, motor controllers and integrated power bricks in-house, electrive reported.

The partners did not disclose financial details, production targets or vehicle programmes linked to the memorandum, according to electrive.

BMW is hurrying to ramp up production of its new i3 electric sedan after opening orders earlier than planned, with demand running ahead of expectations, according to Electrek.

Assembly is running at BMW Plant Munich in Germany, Electrek reported. The i3 follows the iX3, which entered production at BMW's plant in Debrecen, Hungary.

Orders for the i3 50 xDrive Launch Edition opened in Germany on June 18 at a starting price of EUR 75,340, per Electrek.

The car carries a 108.7 kWh battery and a WLTP range of up to 912 km, or 566 miles, according to the same report. An 800V architecture supports DC fast charging at up to 400 kW, which Electrek said can add close to 250 miles of range in roughly 10 minutes.

Ratings differ by test cycle. The 2027 BMW i3 50 xDrive is rated at an EPA-estimated range of about 440 miles, Electrek reported.

The early order book is what forced the schedule change. BMW opened the order banks ahead of plan and is now accelerating output to match the response.