Two new electric car records were set in Norway in September: 98.3 per cent of all new passenger cars in September were BEVs. What’s more, after the first nine months of the year, electric cars accounted for 95 per cent of new car sales. That’s another new record. Read more…

Mercedes-Benz announces collaboration with Athos Silicon, a specialised semiconductor company founded by former engineers from Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America. This cooperation aims to accelerate the introduction and scaling of chiplet technology for autonomous driving, among other things. Read more…

The Cologne Transport Authority (KVB) wants to significantly expand its electric bus fleet and has ordered 38 articulated buses and 40 solo buses from Irizar e-mobility – the largest order to date from Germany for the Spanish manufacturer. The first vehicles are scheduled for delivery in October 2026. Read more…

The US Department of energy (DOE) has restructured its loan agreement with Canadian mining company Lithium Americas for the Thacker Pass lithium project – by taking an equity stake in both the company and its joint venture with General Motors Read more…

Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned energy company, has just launched its first fleet of EVs. 20 electric light delivery vehicles and trucks are to be deployed across the company’s Distribution and Generation divisions. Read more…

Following lengthy negotiations, ZF and employee representatives have agreed on a ‘restructuring alliance’ for the struggling Electrified Drive Technologies division. A sale of the division is off the table for the time being, as are site closures, but there will still be major personnel cuts. Read more…

Tesla has release the 338 kW Performance version of the updated Model Y in the USA. The timing was fortuitous for the company: The sales launch coincided with the with the expiry of the US tax credit for electric cars. Customers had just a few hours left to secure this advantage when purchasing. Read more…

Tesla has release the 338 kW Performance version of the updated Model Y in the USA. The timing was fortuitous for the company: The sales launch coincided with the with the expiry of the US tax credit for electric cars. Customers had just a few hours left to secure this advantage when purchasing. Read more…

Solid-state battery developer QuantumScape is entering into a partnership with Corning, a materials specialist best known for its Gorilla Glass for smartphone displays. The partners plan to jointly establish mass production of ceramic separators, which QuantumScape needs for its solid-state batteries. Read more…

To support the use of electric buses on travel routes, Daimler Buses is becoming a charge point operator: the manufacturer has now announced that it will install its own public charging stations for electric buses from 2026 onwards, focusing on highly frequented tourist locations in Europe. It will start in Cologne. Read more…

Toyota is set to install more high-powered EV chargers at its dealerships in Japan. The carmaker is now aiming to have 500 additional fast chargers operational by the end of March 2026. Read more…

NextStar Energy, the battery joint venture between Stellantis and LG Energy Solution, has officially completed construction of its factory in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with the receipt of its operating licence. Operations are scheduled to ramp up later this year. Read more…

The UK-based fleet and battery storage company Zenobē has just launched 35 new school buses in the US state of Massachusetts, in partnership with NRT Bus, Beacon Mobility and other stakeholders. A charging site for the new buses has also been completed. Read more…

Leyland Trucks has announced the successful completion of its £5.1 million Zero Emissions Truck Testing Automation (ZETTA) project. The project has enabled Leyland Trucks to expand its production capacity for electric vehicles and it is now in a position to supply battery-powered DAF trucks on a larger scale. Read more…

In China, the new Smart #5 EHD is available for pre-order starting at 189,900 yuan (approx. £22,700), making it cheaper than the all-electric version. The plug-in hybrid SUV offers an electric range of 252 kilometres. Combining both the battery and fuel tank full, the #5 has a range of up to 1,615 kilometres. Read more…

The “HoLa – High-Power Charging for Long-Distance Truck Transport” project, coordinated by Fraunhofer ISI and the P3 Group, has now opened Germany’s megawatt charging point for electric trucks at the Lipperland Süd rest stop on the A2 motorway. There, electric trucks can recharge for hundreds of kilometers of range in just 30 to 45 minutes. Read more…

Bentley has opened a new Engineering Technical Centre in Crewe, where prototype production, material testing and software integration for upcoming electric vehicles will be consolidated. The 13,000-square-metre site is set to be a central component of the ‘Beyond100+’ strategy. Read more…

South Korea’s Ministry of Environment is looking at the possibility of a ban on the sale of new petrol or diesel vehicles by 2035. It would bring South Korea in line with other regions in the world such as the EU. Read more…

Tesla has opened its first next-generation Supercharger site in Redwood City with V4 switch cabinets, which enable charging speeds of up to 500 kW for the Cybertruck (and later also for 800-volt electric vehicles from other manufacturers) and up to 1.2 MW for the Semi electric truck. Read more…

Aerofugia, a subsidiary of Chinese automotive group Geely, has started prototype production of the AE200-100. The electric vertical take-off aircraft can seat six people and can be used as an air taxi, for example. Read more…