Scooter Doll

Autonomous robotaxi startup Pony.ai has garnered its latest permit in China – this time allowing rides in the city of Guangzhou without a safety officer present in the vehicle. The permit follows recent permissions awarded to the startup in Beijing, as it continues to expand through China and beyond.

Vietnamese EV automaker VinFast can continue its development and steadfast global expansion, thanks to a fresh round of funding from parent company VinGroup and its chair, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong. The chair has offered up $1 billion of his own assets to the automotive branch just months after telling the public that the well had run dry.

BMW is now weeks away from the world premiere of an all-electric version of its long-running 5 series and has shared some camouflaged images of the new i5 eDrive40 completing summer testing. BMW also shared some design and performance specs i5 customers can expect to see in the new EV.

Fisker Inc. has just confirmed regulatory certification in Europe that will allow sales and deliveries of the first Ocean SUVs to reservation holders. Fisker has taken a unique dual homologation process for both Europe and the US simultaneously, and while deliveries overseas appear just over a week away, reservation holders in the US might have a wait quite a bit longer.

Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt is taking its technology to the skies, announcing a new program surrounding lightweight, energy-dense lithium metal cells and modules to support electric aviation. The electric plane battery development is already underway through Northvolt’s subsidiary Cuberg, which has some milestones to share.

According to a recent post from its CEO, robotaxi operator Cruise is now operating nonstop operations in San Francisco. The post said we will see full Cruise robotaxi operations open up to other cities, which may soon include Dallas, Texas – according to a recent company job posting.

Drivers in the US might want to start keeping their eyes open for a new EV while out on the road, because they may soon catch a glimpse of Lucid’s long-teased Gravity SUV. The American automaker shared a development update today announcing that public road testing is now underway, sharing two new images of the all-electric SUV alongside a quick video teaser.

Boston Public Schools has kicked off an ambitious new program to eventually convert its entire fleet of 750 vehicles to electric. The first Blue Bird Vision electric school buses are now in service, transporting thousands of students daily in what local government officials are calling the largest electric bus deployment in the Northeast.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a massive deal with German automaker Volkswagen Group to implement its first electric vehicle plant outside of Europe in the country. Canada has promised the group billions in matched subsidies offered by the US government to construct its massive new battery gigafactory north.

Since it was first unveiled this past January, Winnebago’s all-electric eRV2 prototype has been on my radar as an EV I’d love to experience firsthand, especially since many of my loaners are focused solely on driving, and this electric RV offers so much more. Winnebago gave me the chance to take the eRV2 for a spin, and I spent the night in it down in San Diego. Check out my thoughts and video review below.

Hyundai Motor Group has shared details of the development of an autonomous lunar exploration rover it is designing with Korean aerospace partners to one day navigate the surface of the moon. The Group is aiming to deliver a launch-capable model utilizing Kia and Hyundai technologies by 2027.

Following its delayed but long-anticipated battery guidance pertaining to federal EV tax credits, the US Treasury Department’s requirements are about to kick in, and it’s not great news for all prospective EV buyers. Beginning tomorrow, EVs from major automakers like BMW and Nissan will no longer qualify for any tax credits at the federal level, while Tesla’s base Model 3 is cut in half.

Booming luxury EV brand ZEEKR is celebrating production milestones while simultaneously setting its sights on its next phase of expansion into Europe. The Geely-backed automaker recently rolled its 100,000th EV off its assembly line in China, a mere 18 months after flagship production began. For ZEEKR, however, it’s all part of a much larger set of goals and its pace is only getting faster.

Citing a massive consumer demand overseas, Ford is expanding its ultra-popular F-150 Lightning to markets outside the US for the first time, beginning in Norway. Ford says it will kick off its entry to Europe with a limited number of F-150 Lightning Lariat Launch Editions, equipped to handle Norway’s snowy terrain, as you’ll see in the images and video below.

Autonomous EV freight developer Einride continues to expand its global footprint of commercial vehicles, announcing plans to sustainably transport goods in the UK. Together with the Walkers brand under the PepsiCo umbrella, Einride’s electric vehicles are expected to reduce thousands of tons of CO2 emissions over the next three years.

The world’s largest battery maker continues to showcase why it’s the name to beat in its given segment. During the Shanghai Auto Show, CATL launched a new condensed battery that delivers the proper safety and energy density to enable the flight of electric passenger planes. If this technology sounds like it’s still several years away, think again – CATL expects to begin mass production sooner than you’d think.

As part of a recently announced restructuring plan in which defunct start-up Atlas Technologies (Lightyear) rose from the ashes of bankruptcy, it is auctioning off hundreds of assets to pay back its creditors and transition into a new business entity. Today, you can buy one of several Lightyear 0 prototypes as well as a bunch of other components used to assemble the solar EVs.

As promised, XPeng Motors has pulled the sheet off its fifth EV model – an “ultra smart coupe SUV” called the G6. The G6 arrives as XPeng’s first production model to sit atop its next-generation SEPA 2.0 platform architecture, enabling it to offer many new design and performance features, including a huge range increase. Have a look.

Commercial EV startup Volta Trucks has achieved a pivotal milestone in its “Trucks as a Service” journey. The 16-ton Volta Zero truck has begun series production in Steyr, Austria, as the company begins a test drive program to educate customers and ensure quality before the first customer deliveries later this year.

Building off a previous relationship with INEOS Automotive for contracted vehicle engineering, Magna is adding a new model to its complete vehicle manufacturing branch – an all-electric 4×4 designed to go off-road.

Vietnamese EV automaker Vinfast just relayed that its new VF 8 electric SUV has been added to the list of eligible vehicles under the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) created by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). New and existing VinFast customers can now qualify for up to $7,500 in tax rebates in California, which can extend to other participating states. Learn how to apply below.

We may still be a ways away from seeing the production intent design of the Ypsilion EV, which has been promised as the kickoff to legacy brand Lancia’s renaissance – but the Italian automaker has given us the design language that represents its 100% electric vision for the next decade in the form of a new concept called the Pu+Ra HPE. As the first vehicle inspired by the world of furniture, Lancia hopes its future customers will feel right at home inside its uniquely designed EVs.

Today, Mercedes-Maybach has unveiled the ultra-lux EQS 680 SUV – a souped-up version of the existing Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV that “combines technical perfection with Maybach exclusivity.” Aside from having more Maybach logos than we’ve ever seen integrated into a single-vehicle design, the all-electric Mercedes SUV has some truly unique, forward-thinking features, both inside and out, that you’ve got to see.

This morning, Chinese EV automaker XPeng Motors unveiled its next-generation EV architecture that will be the backbone to future models going forward. XPeng states the new SEPA 2.0 platform will not only shorten future models’ R&D cycles, but offer a modular, interchangeable, end-to-end solution that will support a multitude of vehicle types – like its upcoming G6 coupe sedan.