Jennifer Mossalgue

Swedish automaker Volvo has rolled out its last diesel-powered passenger vehicle, after a 45-year relationship with the powertrain and cranking out millions of oil-burning cars. Between 2012 and 2016, diesel accounted for half of the company’s global sales. But those days are over now as the company moves toward an all-electric future.

It’s not a good week to be working at Stellantis. As it (finally) moves to try to sell EVs in the US, the automaker just laid off 400 US salaried tech workers and software engineers on Friday. Today the company announced that it was slashing more than 1,500 jobs in Turin, Italy, due to what it says are slow sales of its all-electric Fiat 500e city car. [Updated: Stellantis announced later after publication that the total number of layoffs in Italy would be 2,500.]

Chinese EV giant BYD just released its 2023 annual profit report, and it looks like it missed analyst estimates by a smidge, netting $4.16 billion (30.04 billion yuan) compared to the estimated $4.29 billion (30.94 billion yuan). Still, the company reported a more than 80% rise in net profit last year, so it is showing no signs of slowing down.

French automaker Renault is exploring a lucrative business prospect by partnering with companies to extract  and recycle lithium and other metals in EV batteries, creating a circular economy that can bring in billions of dollars and reduce reliance on China.

The heads of BMW, Volkswagen, and Renault have spoken out against European Union’s emission targets in recent days, arguing that the phase-out rules put too much pressure on the industry and that consumers aren’t buying EVs fast enough. Next year, the policy will tighten ahead of the full ban of gas and diesel cars in 2035, leaving automakers to pay steep fines if they fall short.

Lovers of the retro VW bus can get a sporty, all-wheel-drive, all-electric version with 335 hp – the most powerful ID. Buzz to date. Today, Volkswagen has followed up the recently announced ID.3 GTX and ID.7 GTX with the debut of its high-performance microbus Volkswagen ID. Buzz GTX.

Stellantis-owned Fiat has had high hopes for its all-electric Fiat 500, available in the US, but now a report says that the company may backtrack due to low demand and add an ICE version to the lineup.

Stellantis – the parent company of Jeep, Chrysler, Fiat, Dodge, and Ram – says that it will comply with California’s stricter emissions policy requiring two-thirds of new cars to be zero-emissions or all-electric by 2030 – and will commit to the deal even if former President Donald Trump makes a return to office and tries to dismantle the policy.

Volkswagen has canceled plans to build its all-electric ID.3 at its main factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, due to low demand, adding that “every euro that we do have to spend counts.” It will keep production at its EV-only plant, where it has been shaving off jobs for months.

Tesla battery supplier Panasonic Energy is considering pouring new investments potentially up to $4 billion in its De Soto, Kansas, plant to produce 4680 battery cells for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla’s next-gen vehicles.

Just as the EU is considering tariffs on Chinese EVs imported into Europe, three US Democratic senators are urging that the Biden administration hike import tariffs on Chinese EVs to address national security risks.

As Tesla’s NACS connector and Supercharger network are gaining critical mass, Stellantis and GM charging station partner Charge Enterprises – helmed by a longtime GM and Ford executive – has filed for bankruptcy.

Airbus has introduced its latest zero-emission eVTOL, designed to carry four people with a noise decibel range lower than a hairdryer when flying – which will radically cut into the noise pollution factor of a futuristic vision of eVTOLs buzzing around busy cities. Nearly five years in the making, this prototype targets a flight range of 50 miles (80 km) and a cruising speed of 75 mph (120 km/h).

In three short years, battery electric vehicles will be cheaper to produce than ICE vehicles of the same size due to improved manufacturing methods – at least that’s the latest prediction from market research firm Gartner. Of course, those gains may be lost to the rising price of EV repairs.

After months of investigation, the European Commission says it has found evidence that China has been “unfairly” subsidizing the EVs it exports to Europe. Possible “remedies” on the table include retroactive tariffs on Chinese EVs.

Michigan-based EV battery startup ONE, Our Next Energy – considered one of the most valuable privately held companies in the US and Biden’s darling for homegrown batteries – is once again cutting its workforce after months of problems.

British automaker Jaguar – set to become an EV-only brand next year – is officially ending production of its ICE vehicles by June and stepping into a new era of very expensive but powerful EVs. Assembly lines are stopping to transition to an entirely new EV platform from the one underpinning the long-troubled I-Pace.

French automaker Renault is hoping it has a winner on its hands with the upcoming Renault 5 BEV, which the company says already has 50,000 orders on the waitlist just a few days after its debut at the Geneva Motor Show.

After recently reducing prices of its refreshed Han and Tang models, Build Your Dreams (BYD) just launched a new version of its top-selling EV Yuan Plus – known as the Atto 3 in overseas markets – to $16,644 in China, making it one of the lowest-priced EVs out there.

The CEO of Toyota isn’t mincing words, saying that he believes EVs will only make up 30% of the US new-vehicle market in 2030, half of the target the EPA sought last year. As the car industry’s largest hybrid pusher, Toyota says it is better positioned to just buy credits to close the EPA gap rather than “waste” money on BEVs, its CEO said.

Honda’s popular CR-V compact crossover is now getting a hydrogen-powered plug-in hybrid version that will begin deliveries this year in California – the car allows you to recharge via Level 2 charging for quick trips, or rely on hydrogen power for long hauls.

Renault confirmed today that it is in talks with Volkswagen to build a BEV minicar for the European market.

Volkswagen and Chinese EV maker Xpeng say they are jointly developing two mid-sized BEVs for 2026 for mainland China, with the first model being an SUV.

After promising what would be the “world’s most thrilling and highly desirable” EV, luxury automaker Aston Martin says that it is pushing back its plan to launch its first BEV by a year due to what it says is “low consumer demand.” Guess those thrills will have to wait.