Swedish mining equipment specialist Sandvik has landed its biggest BEV order to date. Australian mining group South32 has commissioned a fleet of underground machines – primarily electric – for its new Hermosa Critical Minerals project in Arizona, USA. Read more…

Owners of the Kia EV6, EV9 and Niro can now access over 21,500 fast chargers on the US Tesla Supercharger network, all via the Kia Access app. It brings the total of DC chargers available to Kia drivers up to 40,000 across the States, marking an 80 per cent expansion. Read more…

Charge point operator Avia Volt has acquired competitor Plug’n Roll, a Swiss CPO and a subsidiary of energy provider Repower. With the takeover, Avia Volt has added 2,345 new charge points to its network in Switzerland. Read more…

Reservations for Renault’s new 5 Turbo 3E have opened, enabling customers to gain priority reservation on one of 1980 available vehicles for €50,000. A customisation phase is planned for 2026, with initial deliveries to begin in 2027. Read more…

France will scrap the exemption from vehicle registration fees for electric cars from 1 May in most regions, ending a policy that has been in place since 2020. The only region expected to maintain the exemption is Hauts-de-France. Read more…

QuantumScape, the solid-state battery developer backed by Volkswagen, has entered into a strategic agreement with Murata Manufacturing to explore collaboration on large-scale production of ceramic separators for its next-generation battery cells. Read more…

Octopus’ ‘Intelligent Drive Pack’ is being billed as the UK’s first ‘unlimited’ EV charging subscription. It costs £30 per month and enables EV drivers to charge their vehicles during set hours scheduled by Octopus. Read more…

The charge point manufacturer will display its new generation of the Net Zero Series (NZS GEN2) at the Power2Drive in Munich at the beginning of May. It combines battery storage, photovoltaic integration and fast charging in a single system. Read more…

Dongfeng has just unveiled its new compact electric SUV at Auto Shanghai, with pre-sales due to start later in April. It’s based on the Dongfeng Quantum Architecture Platform 3 and will initially only be sold in China. Read more…

ABB E-mobility is set to unveil three new DC charging systems, extending its portfolio to cover megawatt charging for heavy vehicles, depot charging for fleets, and modular high-power charging for passenger cars. Read more…

Canadian rare earth recycling company Cyclic Materials, which is backed by BMW and JLR among others, is investing over $20 million in its first commercial plant in the USA. The plant in Mesa, Arizona, is expected to process 25,000 tonnes of used parts containing rare earth permanent magnets per year. Read more…

In the US, a new electric vehicle startup is making waves. Slate Auto – backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – has entered the EV arena with an ambitious plan: to launch a fully electric pickup truck priced from just $25,000, or under $20,000 post-incentives. Read more…

The company’s factory in Ghent has just started production of the fully electric EX30. The model was previously only built in China, but the Belgium factory will now support production capacity for sales across Europe. Read more…

Nissan has abandoned its plans to launch two electric saloons produced in the US and will build another EV at its Canton plant in Mississippi instead. The carmaker appears set to proceed with its planned electric crossovers – albeit on a revised timeline. Read more…

Automotive group Stellantis and US-based battery developer Factorial Energy have successfully validated solid-state battery cells for electric vehicles. The move marks a key milestone on the road to deploying a demonstration fleet equipped with this battery technology next year. Read more…

The partners aim to establish a fleet of thousands of autonomous vehicles in the US over the next decade, based on Volkswagen’s all-electric ID. Buzz. The rollout is due to start in LA later this year. Read more…

The new Mini Cooper E aims to be both an icon and an innovation. Although the previous generation was already electric, it was not convincing in all respects. So how much progress has been made in the new edition, which is now manufactured in China? A driving report between a sense of style and range reality.

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GAC Aion has just revealed a new EV with Level 4 automation at Auto Shanghai. It’s built in partnership with DiDi Autonomous Driving, with the vehicle scheduled for production and delivery by the end of 2025. Read more…

The partly state-owned company says it will discontinue its public hydrogen refuelling operations in Austria, citing falling demand and a lack of profitability. OMV will instead ‘expand its commitment to electromobility’, with plans for a Austrian fast-charging network on the table. Read more…

The VW-owned brand will appoint Oliver Wollinsky as its new Chief Production Officer, where he will lead the US company’s manufacturing efforts. This includes the completion and ramp-up of the firm’s new production facility in South Carolina. Additionally, Scout has hired former Bentley exec Jan-Henrik Lafrentz as COO. Read more…