Thursday, 3 September 2026

BYD has launched the Sealion 08 and begun mass producing a 4D radar chip, according to CleanTechnica.

The two moves pair a new model with in-house sensing hardware, with the chip now at mass-production stage rather than prototype, per CleanTechnica's report.

CleanTechnica also reported that BYD's battery-electric passenger vehicle sales were up a lot in August.

Some drivers of the Tesla Model Y have reported suspension problems, according to CleanTechnica, which said the complaints have come from owners in China and the US.

CleanTechnica described the issue as one that has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some Model Y drivers.

The complaints sit alongside the vehicle's commercial standing. The Model Y continues to hold a strong position in EV sales globally and in the US, CleanTechnica said.

Hyundai Mobis has begun operations at its first European plant for electric drive systems, located in Nováky, Slovakia, according to electrive.

The Nováky site covers around 106,000 square metres, with a total floor area of 8,500 square metres, electrive reported.

The supplier is targeting 40 per cent of revenue from global customers by 2033, according to electrive. That target frames the plant as a supply base for buyers outside the group rather than a captive facility.

Rideshare drivers in California will be able to apply in September for electric-vehicle incentives under a program whose initial implementation plan the CPUC signed off on 2 July, according to electrive.

Eligibility for the Drivers Assistance Program is set by income and platform: drivers earning low and middle incomes who work for Uber, Lyft or HopSkipDrive. Those same three platforms define the applicant pool when the window opens.

Up to USD 1,170 per year is available towards charging costs, according to CPUC.

The RIDE program draws its money from a regulatory fee levied on TNCs, with the Center for Sustainable Energy running the scheme. Drivers apply through the Center for Sustainable Energy, which also issues incentive payments and handles outreach and ongoing support.

Collecting the fee from transportation network companies keeps the funding inside the rideshare sector. The package pairs purchase incentives with the annual charging allowance, covering both the vehicle and the electricity that moves it.

MAN Truck & Bus and its partners will put around EUR 700 million into expanding the European service and sales network by the end of 2030, electrive reported. Around one-third of that sum is earmarked specifically for electromobility and digitalisation.

The bulk of the commitment comes from the network itself. MAN dealers, service partners and importers plan to invest around EUR 400 million in their MAN service locations across Europe, according to electrive. The remainder brings the combined programme to the EUR 700 million figure through the end of the decade.

"The scale of these investments is unprecedented in MAN's history," said Friedrich Baumann, Board Member for Sales and Customer Solutions at MAN.

The electromobility and digitalisation share accounts for roughly a third of the planned spending. The charging component is not being built alone: electrive reported that the charging network expansion embedded in the programme is being carried out in cooperation with energy company E.On.

The two partners are targeting up to 400 charging points at up to 170 locations across Europe, with up to 125 sites in Germany alone. That concentration puts more than seven in ten of the planned locations in a single market.

Density is the stated goal on the service side as well. MAN aims for almost 80% of customers to have a travel time of under 30 minutes to the nearest MAN service location, according to electrive. That target defines what the EUR 400 million of partner-level spending on workshop sites is meant to buy: coverage measured in drive time rather than site count.

India's Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is weighing a new support scheme covering as many as 100,000 heavy-duty electric vehicles, with a total outlay pegged at 98.52 billion rupees, or about EUR 896 million, according to electrive.

Dr. Hanif Qureshi said the programme could support up to 50,000 electric buses and 50,000 electric trucks over the next five years, electrive reported.

The design under discussion leans on credit risk rather than purchase subsidy. Industry rumour cited by electrive is that the ministry is considering guaranteeing up to 80% of the outstanding loan amount if a borrowing fleet owner defaults.

The scale would dwarf what has been backed so far. Indian government support has previously been announced for more than 31,000 electric buses, comprising over 7,000 units under FAME, 14,028 under PM E-Drive and 10,000 under PM E-Bus Sewa, alongside 5,643 electric trucks under PM E-Drive, according to electrive.

Electric trucks remain a rounding error in the wider market. Of 2,339,501 EVs sold in India in 2025, just 573 units were trucks, a share of 0.02%, electrive reported.

Bus numbers are moving faster but from a small base. Registrations reached 4,615 electric buses in 2025 against 3,905 in 2024, growth of 18.2%.

MHI has separately extended the electric truck benefits available under the PM E-Drive Scheme from 31 March 2026 to 31 March 2028, according to electrive.

The Mercedes EQA holds the most battery capacity of any model measured at 150,000 km, with a median state of health of 94%, according to Electrek's report on diagnostics firm AVILOO's battery study. The Hyundai IONIQ 5 follows at 93.8% and the BMW i4 at 93.6%.

The dataset covers more than 500,000 battery tests spanning 20 popular EV models, measured at up to 150,000 km of use, Electrek reported.

At the bottom of the table sit three small-pack cars. The Nissan Leaf recorded a median SoH of 86.7%, the MINI Cooper SE 87.1%, and the Renault Zoe 87.3% at the same mileage, per the AVILOO figures cited by Electrek.

The Cooper SE degraded fastest of any model in the study, shedding seven points of SoH between 50,000 and 150,000 km.

Tesla placed in the bottom third. Electrek reported the Model Y at 90.3% and the Model 3 at 88.9% at 150,000 km, with the Model 3 the second-worst result of any model carrying a battery its size.

Model averages hide wide spreads. Between the best and worst individual example of a single model, AVILOO found gaps reaching 13.5% in SoH, which the firm equates to tens of kilometers of real-world range per charge.

AVILOO's commercial position gives the dataset weight beyond its size. Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Porsche Holding have each named the firm their preferred independent battery-testing provider for European dealerships, according to Electrek.

The company extended that testing into a financial product this summer, launching a Battery Warranty across 12 European countries. It pays 2,700 pounds or 3,000 euros, depending on market, if a car's pack falls below an individual SoH floor within a year.

Volkswagen's supervisory board unanimously approved the automaker's Future Plan 2030 on Thursday, a package that prepares another 50,000 job cuts worldwide and leaves four German plants without confirmed future production, Electrek reported.

The additional reductions bring Volkswagen's total planned workforce cut to around 100,000, according to Electrek. Against a global headcount of roughly 650,000, that is about 15% of the workforce.

The four sites facing an uncertain future are Emden, Zwickau, Hanover, and Audi's Neckarsulm factory. Volkswagen said it cannot currently secure "competitive future production" for them once their existing vehicle allocations run out at staggered points between 2031 and 2034.

The overhang behind that language is capacity. Volkswagen acknowledged its European factories can build more than 500,000 vehicles a year beyond what customers are buying, per Electrek.

Product complexity is being cut alongside plant footprint. The company plans to shrink its global model lineup by around 50% by 2035 and to reduce equipment choices and other variants by roughly 75%, according to Electrek.

Spending is not being cut in parallel. Volkswagen expects to commit EUR 135 billion (USD 157 billion) to capital investment and research and development from 2027 through 2031.