Friday, 14 August 2026

Tesla is reportedly planning to stop building vehicles at its China factory for almost a month in January 2027, CleanTechnica reported.

The outlet did not establish a reason for the planned shutdown.

The reported pause lands against weaker demand for the carmaker in the Chinese market. Tesla sales in China fell 9% in the first half of the year, according to a China EV sales report cited by CleanTechnica.

EV Flex, a six-month smart charging trial, starts in mid-August under Irish distribution system operator ESB Networks together with smart charging company Ohme, electrive reported.

Households signed up to the trial stand to collect up to EUR 78, with the payment tied to connecting the car each time it is parked at home, according to electrive.

Ohme has run a comparable programme before. Its participation in the UK flexibility trial CrowdFlex covered the period from May 2024 through September 2025, spanning more than 400 flexibility events, electrive reported.

Under CrowdFlex, the company reached as many as 20,000 customers in a single trial, distributed GBP 750,000 in participant payments and shifted just under 150 MW of electricity, according to electrive.

EV Flex will test that charging model on the distribution system operated by ESB Networks in Ireland over a six-month window.

An incentive of 337 euros for used electric vehicles is "rather low," Romain Ryon, President of Mobilee, told electrive.

The scheme draws on CEE certificates. Funding comes from energy and fuel suppliers including EDF, Engie and TotalEnergies, which are required to contribute under the polluter-pays principle, according to electrive.

Mobilee specialises in CEE certificates for the transport sector.

Nio has brought its fifth-generation battery swap stations into service for the first time, with the launch taking place in China, electrive reported. The redesigned bays take vehicles with wheelbases stretching to 3.5 metres, a span that runs from compact cars up to large SUVs.

Firefly models gain access to the swap network through these stations, the first time that brand has been able to use it, according to electrive.

Cumulative swaps reached 120 million on 7 August, electrive reported. On that date the company was running 4,006 swap stations in China. Its charging side counted 5,160 stations holding 29,801 individual charging points.

In Europe, Nio has no plans to build additional swap sites or proprietary chargers for now, having pulled back on international expansion, electrive reported. New models built on the company's 900-volt NT3 platform are not expected to reach European buyers before late 2027 or early 2028.

Heart Aerospace flew its battery-electric X1 demonstrator for the first time on 12 August 2026 at a test site at Plattsburgh International Airport in the northern part of New York State, according to electrive.

The company describes the X1 as the largest electric aircraft ever flown, electrive reported.

The airframe measures 32.3 metres across the wings and 23.2 metres in length, with a height of 7.3 metres, per electrive. Take-off weight is approximately 11,340 kilogrammes.

Regulatory cover came from a Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental Category issued by the FAA, the US aviation authority, according to electrive.

The demonstrator is intended to supply the technical foundation for the ES-30, a hybrid-electric regional aircraft, electrive reported. Heart Aerospace has scheduled the ES-30 for market introduction in 2031.