Chinese automaker BYD has been aggressively expanding its global footprint, with Brazil being a key part of its growth strategy. However, that momentum screeched to a standstill on Monday when Brazilian authorities halted construction on a new manufacturing plant, throwing the company’s plans into uncertainty.

According to government officials, the construction company responsible for the project, called Jinjiang Construction, treated its 163 workers like modern-day slaves. These workers, reportedly hired in China by a separate firm, were allegedly brought to Brazil through irregular—and highly questionable—means. To make matters worse, over 100 of them had their passports withheld, effectively trapping them in exploitative conditions.

The conditions we’re talking about here are truly brutal. The workers lived on the construction site. The accommodations offered by the company included beds without mattresses and, in one case, one bathroom for 31 workers. As such, an official report from the government says workers would often all wake up around 4 a.m. so that everyone could have access to the restroom before beginning work at 5:30 a.m.

More: BYD To Finalize Location For Mexican Factory This Year

“In one of the rooms, occupied by a cook, pots with prepared food were found left open on the floor, exposed to dirt and without refrigeration, to be served the following day,” says the Public Labor prosecutor’s office.As if that weren’t bad enough, the construction company, Jinjiang Construction Brazil LTD., based in Sichuan, China, evidently made life harder when it came to pay and job freedom.

“The workers were required to pay a deposit, had 60% of their wages withheld (receiving only 40% in Chinese currency), faced excessive costs for terminating their contracts, and had their passports withheld by the company,” authorities added.

These conditions were bad enough that Jinjiang Brazil LTD is now prohibited from continuing its operations. While the workers will remain in the same accommodations for the time being, they are no longer allowed to work for Jinjiang. Authorities are scheduled to meet with BYD and Jinjiang on the 26th to determine the next steps.

Alexandre Baldy, Senior Vice President of BYD Brasil, stated, “BYD Auto do Brasil reiterates its commitment to full compliance with Brazilian legislation, especially with regard to the protection of workers’ rights and human dignity.”

BYD, short for Build Your Dreams, is already the top-selling EV car brand in the country and the new facility was supposed to come online next year. However, it’s now unclear how this controversy will impact the company’s plans moving forward.

Credit: MPT Brazil / HT: SCMP.com

Canoo seems to be up a creek without a paddle. On December 18, the company sent its employees home on a “mandatory unpaid break,” which is set to last through the end of 2024. As of now, the outlook for the EV startup in 2025 remains uncertain. o put it simply, nothing appears rosy for the once-promising electric vehicle manufacturer.

All of this caps off an incredibly challenging year for Canoo. In April, reports revealed that the company spent twice as much on the CEO’s private jet as it earned in all of 2023. By August, it was facing lawsuits for missing payments to a debtor. Then, in November, the company furloughed 23 percent of its staff.

Read: Canoo Furloughs 23% Of Factory Staff After Selling Only 22 Vehicles Last Year

TechCrunch reports that the brand locked employees out of their access to Canoo systems beginning on December 20. Benefits are said to last throughout the rest of the month. On top of this, a new report from KFOR says that Canoo lied about building cars in Oklahoma.

In November 2023, the brand announced it was delivering its first “made in Oklahoma” EVs to the state government. The governor even celebrated the occasion, stating, “For the first time in 17 years, vehicle manufacturing is back in Oklahoma.” However, it turns out that might not be entirely true.

In an interview with KFOR, a former employee of Canoo claims that not a single car was made in the factory there. They also shed some light on the financial trouble the brand is facing. “They hired too many, too quick, and paid too much,” the former employee said. “Everybody was a boss, and everybody wanted to be everybody’s boss… everybody had a director title, so nobody’s doing anything. They have tons of equipment… It looks great. They have literally everything to run an entire assembly line for cars.”

Despite that equipment, they made no bones about where the production cars came from. “I can tell you, those did not come off our assembly line… If you talk to any Canoo employee, they’ll tell you those do not come off the assembly line.”

Read: Canoo Made $886,000 In 2023, Spent $1.7 Million On CEO’s Private Jet

“All those were handmade in Justin, Texas, by a totally separate company called AFV,” the unnamed employee said. “They made them, they handmade them, and then they just brought them here. And most of them, they ended up just getting – like 90 percent of all the vehicles just got decals swapped out on them.”

Notably, the CEO of Canoo, Tony Aquila also owns AFV. Carscoops reached out to the company to get its take on the situation and has not receive a reply as of this writing. 

Tesla’s Cybertruck is supposed to be the future of transportation, a stainless steel creation that promised to redefine what trucks could be. Instead, it’s often making headlines for redefining customer frustration. One brand-new Cyberbeast was delivered to its owner only to start leaking oil almost immediately. After all, when you drop six figures on Elon’s vision of the future, an oil slick in your driveway is exactly what you signed up for.

To make matters worse, Tesla estimates it will take at least a month to fix the issue, leaving the unhappy customer stuck with a Nissan loaner in the meantime. On top of that, the company reportedly refused to provide a refund or offer a replacement Cybertruck.

More: Pothole Snaps Cybertruck Frame Leading To $34,000 In Repairs, Owner Still Sings Its Praises

The owner of the Cyberbeast, who chose to remain anonymous, shared his story with the nearly 240,000 members of the Tesla Cybertruck Group on Facebook, complete with a few photos documenting the unfortunate leak.

“My brand new Cyberbeast is 3 days old and already having major issue after just one night at home – there’s oil all over the place from the back of the truck (maybe half a gallon per day),” the owner wrote in the post. “According to Tesla, they need to take it back in for service for at least a month or more. It looks like it’s losing drive train oil.”

Photos: Tesla Cybertruck / Facebook

The owner added: “The problem is, I haven’t even driven it once. What should I do? I think Tesla must buy it back and get me a new one. For now, I’m stuck without a truck driving a loaner Nissan they gave us and still have to make a payment! They won’t give me my money back only after they fix it give it back to me and then they can ask their legal department for a buy back… a nightmare”

While electric vehicles don’t require regular oil changes like their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, they do rely on lubricants for high-friction components like electric motors and single-speed transmissions. When something goes wrong, those lubricants can spill out, leading to a situation like this one.

Read: Cybertruck Owner Fixes Problem Tesla Dealer Couldn’t Solve With A $13 Amazon Part

It’s easy to sympathize with the frustration of dealing with a major issue on a truck you’ve never even had the chance to drive. Hopefully, Tesla will not only resolve the problem but also work to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a Cybertruck has been reported leaking oil. In a previous incident, a small rock reportedly struck a hole in the electric motor’s housing during light off-roading, causing a similar issue. That repair came with a $7,660 bill, which the Tesla dealer refused to cover under warranty.

Muscle car enthusiasts in Europe and the Middle East will soon gain access to Dodge’s full range of new Charger models, with sales expected to begin late next year, Stellantis confirmed to Carscoops. While it won’t do much to quell the controversy among traditionalists over the retirement of the Challenger name, the phasing out of the Hemi V8, and the introduction of a battery-electric powertrain, it does signal Dodge’s attempt to dip its toes into export markets.

We reached out to Dodge to ask whether the new Charger would be offered in markets outside North America. “The Dodge Charger will also be sold in the Middle East beginning in the second half of 2025,” a Stellantis spokesperson told us. “It will be available through importers in Europe, also in the second half of 2025.”

Read: Dodge Dealers Already Discounting New Charger Daytona EV Under MSRP

While Dodge has yet to specify which versions of the Charger will be the first to go on sale in these markets, the spokesperson confirmed that all four variants—including two- and four-door body styles, available with both internal combustion engines and EV powertrains—will eventually be offered in both regions.

First EV Charger: The Daytona

The first new-age Charger to launch in the United States is the two-door Charger BEV, known as the Charger Daytona. It’s available in two configurations. The base model features a pair of electric motors producing 456 hp and 404 lb-ft (547 Nm) of torque, powered by a 100.5 kWh battery pack. For power-hungry enthusiasts, the flagship Daytona Scat Pack offers a more robust 630 hp and 627 lb-ft (849 Nm), propelling it to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 3.3 seconds.

ICE Lives On: Hurricane Powertrains

For those craving the visceral thrill of a gas-powered engine, two ICE versions of the Charger coupe and sedan will be available down the line, both equipped with the Hurricane 3.0-liter inline-six engine. Offered in two configurations, the standard-output and high-output, the base model generates 420 hp and 470 lb-ft (637 Nm), while the more powerful version ups the ante to 550 hp and 550 lb-ft (746 Nm).

Unfortunately for purists, it doesn’t look like a manual gearbox will be part of the lineup. Instead, both models are expected to feature the new 880RE eight-speed automatic transmission, based on the fourth-gen ZF unit that replaces the outgoing TorqueFlite 8HP70 found in the previous Charger and Challenger.

As for US availability, Dodge has yet to confirm when buyers can expect the Charger Sixpack to hit dealerships. However, recent reports suggest its local launch may have been moved up to early 2025 after pressure from Dodge dealers. Do note, though, that these reports emerged before the abrupt resignation of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, meaning the timeline could still shift as the company adjusts to its leadership changes.

Toyota plans to open a factory in Shanghai around 2027 to build next-generation Lexus EVs. The new manufacturing facility will serve an important role in Toyota’s planned Chinese expansion as it aims to double local production by the decade’s end.

The Japanese carmaker will be alone in building this new Chinese plant, rather than through a joint venture, like its existing FAW Toyota or GAC Toyota businesses. This could make it the first Japanese carmaker to have a plant in China, underlining the importance of the world’s largest car market.

Read: Toyota Wants To Build Up To 3 Million Cars A Year In China By 2030

While details about the factory are few and far between, Nikkei Asia notes that Lexus wants 100% of its global sales to come from EVs by 2035 and is aiming to sell 1 million EVs by 2030. The brand sold roughly 180,000 vehicles in China last year and whereas most other Western carmakers have struggled through 2024, Lexus sales were up 3% from last year.

Prior to 2018, foreign carmakers wanting to establish manufacturing sites in China had to partner with a local firm. However, brands can now enter the market without a joint venture. Building a plant in China will help Toyota benefit from the cheap, skilled, and efficient local labor force needed to manufacture EVs.

Nikkei Asia did not specify which Lexus EVs will be built at the Shanghai plant but it could be the production versions of the LF-ZC and LF-ZL concepts. The two new models are underpinned by a next-generation EV architecture featuring gigacasted modular front, center, and rear portions. By using structurally independent front and rear sections, Lexus will be able to integrate new and improved batteries when they become available.

The launch of these new models has been pushed back from 2026 to 2027, which lines up nicely with the planned opening of the Chinese site.

Mercedes-Benz is working on both ICE and EV versions of the next-generation GLB, and the electric variant has been spotted testing for for the first time. It’s expected to hit the market in 2026 and while it’ll have a similar boxy shape to the outgoing model, it will have all-new underpinnings.

This prototype may be covered in camouflage, but some black tape across the front end hints at the shape of the new grille. Whereas the current GLB has a single horizontal slat across the grille, this new one appears to have three, but importantly, the grille itself doesn’t appear to be any bigger.

Read: 2026 Mercedes GLB Spied With New Styling And Both EV And Gas Power

The new headlights include LED daytime running lights shaped like a three-pointed star, mimicking a design first previewed by the CLA Concept, which will become a common styling trait among every next-gen Mercedes model. Elsewhere, a panoramic glass roof is visible on this prototype, as are silver roof rails.

As with the current model, the glasshouse will remain quite large while the new taillights extend across the rear quarter panels, and their shape is hidden quite well but a combination of camouflage wrap and dummy panels.

The spy shots also offer a glimpse of the interior, where part of the digital gauge cluster is visible. Mercedes is doubling down on its seamless dashboard design, which integrates both the gauge cluster and infotainment screens into one panel, for a clean, modern layout.

Powertrain and Performance

Underpinning the new GLB will be the all-new MMA platform, which will be also used in the next Mercedes-Benz CLA. Electric models will feature an 800-volt electrical architecture that should offer an impressive 320 kW charging speed, capable of adding ~248 miles (400 km) when plugged in for just 15 minutes at a rapid DC charging station. At least two different battery packs are expected, and the longest-range model could offer a driving range of up to 466 miles (750 km) on a single charge.

What About The ICE Model?

For those who still prefer the hum of a combustion engine, the ICE-powered lineup will feature a mild-hybrid 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine paired with a small electric motor within an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The engine will be available in different outputs: 134 hp (136 PS), 161 hp (163 PS), and 188 hp (190 PS), with an additional 27 hp (20 kW) from the electric motor. Later on, we should see AMG performance version, likely incorporating hybrid assistance to provide extra power.

Norway is the largest exporter of salmon in the world. And while some of those fish are wild-caught, many are raised in "fish farms"- large cylindrical pens made of nylon in the open water. Sometimes these farmed fish escape, mixing with the local population and causing ecological issues. In a story we first brought you in October, we see farmed fish in a Norwegian fjord and hear about potential solutions to the problem.

(Image credit: Rob Schmitz)

In the early 20th century, a blight fungus wiped out most of the 4 billion American chestnut trees on the eastern seaboard. The loss was ecologically devastating. Short Wave host Emily Kwong dives deep into how scientists are trying to resurrect the American chestnut tree — and recent controversy over a plan to plant genetically modified chestnuts in the wild.

Want to hear about more efforts to recover endangered or lost species? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Martin Cheek, a conservation botanist for the Royal Botanic Gardens, about new plant and fungus species he and his colleagues discovered this year.

The Leapmotor C10 lineup is expanding as the company has announced a new range-extended variant, ahead of its debut at the Brussels Motor Show. It promises to combine the “benefits of electric vehicles and traditional gasoline cars, offering extended range and superior fuel efficiency.”

Starting under the hood, there’s a 1.5-liter engine, a 28.4 kWh battery pack, and a 212 hp (158 kW /215 PS) electric motor. The battery provides an electric-only WLTP range of 90 miles (145 km), while the engine increases that distance to over 590 miles (950 km) combined.

More: New Leapmotor B10 Goes After Europe’s EV Market With Stellantis In Its Corner

Leapmotor didn’t go into many specifics, but said the crossover primarily operates as an electric vehicle. When the battery becomes low, the internal combustion engine activates to generate electricity and recharge the battery. The company added that in combined mode, the model has a fuel consumption rating of 0.4 L/100 km and CO2 emissions of 10 g/km.

If you’d prefer not to use gas, a DC fast charger can deliver approximately 45 miles of range (72.5 km) in 18 minutes.

We can expect to learn more next month, but the C10 REEV presumably echoes the fully electric variant. This means we can expect LED headlights, a panoramic glass roof, and 18-inch wheels. They’re joined by privacy glass and flush-mounted door handles.

The interior is a tad plain, but C10 buyers will find power front seats, a wireless smartphone charger, a 12-speaker audio system, and a 14.6-inch infotainment system. German customers can also get a higher-end variant that has heated and ventilated front seats, an ambient lighting system, a power liftgate, and larger 20-inch wheels.

Hyundai EV owners are getting a last minute Christmas gift in the form of a North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapter. It will be free to customers who have purchased or leased an eligible vehicle on or before January 31, 2025.

The adapter will enable users to charge at over 20,000 Tesla Superchargers. In order to secure one, owners will need to log into the MyHyundai portal and make a request starting in the first quarter of 2025. Hyundai will then ship out the adapter at no charge.

More: 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Packs More Range, NACS Port And New XRT Trim

Eligible models include the 2024 and earlier Kona Electric, Ioniq hatchback, Ioniq 5, and Ioniq 6. They’re joined by the 2025 Ioniq 5 N, 2025 Ioniq 6, and 2025 Kona Electric. The 2025 Ioniq 5 is absent from the list as it’s the first non-Tesla vehicle on sale to have a factory-installed NACS port.

Hyundai Motor North America’s senior vice president of product planning and mobility strategy, Olabisi Boyle, said “These adapters will make DC fast-charging more convenient for current owners. Plus, the NACS port on new models like the upcoming Ioniq 9 along with improvements to our digital charging ecosystem, will further enhance the customer experience for future EV drivers.”

If you accidently lose your adapter or forget to request one, they’ll be available to purchase at Hyundai dealers in the future.

In related news, Genesis announced it is also participating in the program. Details will be released early next year, but it will likely benefit owners of the GV60 as well as electric versions of the GV70 and G80.

Kia America announced their program last fall and it will see EV6 and EV9 owners receive an adapter early next year. They’ll then gain access to Tesla’s Supercharger network around January 15.

Hertz is culling its portfolio of EVs in response to the sharp depreciation affecting some of its most popular models, including the Tesla Model 3. In what appears to be an aggressive effort to offload these vehicles, the rental giant has begun reaching out directly to customers currently renting them, offering an opportunity to purchase the cars outright on the spot.

While we haven’t been able to find an announcement from Hertz directly regarding the scheme, a Reddit user recently shared a screenshot of an email they received from Hertz while renting a 2023 Tesla Model 3. In the email, Hertz offered the renter the chance to buy the EV for just $17,913.

Read: Hertz Offers Teslas For Under $20K, But You Probably Shouldn’t Jump On It

The renter says the Model 3 they rented had less than 30,000 miles (~48,000 km) on the clock, and having the opportunity to buy it at that price sounds like a steal. Last month, we published a story about many of Hertz’s Tesla Model 3s being sold, but none of them were this cheap. A look through Hertz’s current inventory shows it has three 2022 Model 3s available for less than $20,000. However, they all have over 130,000 miles (~209,000 km) on the clocks.

The Redditor hasn’t said if they jumped on the offer to buy the relatively low-mileage Model 3 for just $17,913, but if Hertz has promoted similar offers to other renters, we suspect they’ll be plenty that consider deals like this too good to pass up.

Of course, buying an ex-rental car comes with inherent risks, as it’s almost guaranteed that these vehicles have been driven hard. It’s also worth noting that the Tesla’s battery is warranted for 8 years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes first) for RWD models. Purchasing a vehicle still within this warranty period is highly advisable, as battery replacements are among the most expensive repairs EV owners can face.

Another user from the same subreddit says they recently rented a Polestar (presumably a Polestar 2) and were sent a similar email, offering them the chance to buy it for $28,500. While we don’t know how many miles it had on the clock, that offer doesn’t seem like such a good deal. A browse through Auto Trader reveals dozens of Polestar 2s available across the US for less than $25,000, many of which have less than 20,000 miles on the clock, making the Hertz offer seem far less competitive by comparison.

Nissan is in a spot of bother at the moment. Not only does it plan to cut jobs and delay the launch of several new models, but it also plans to merge with Japanese rival Honda to stay afloat. That’s a shame because Nissan has some solid models in its lineup, including the all-electric Ariya, which has just been confirmed for the 2025 model year.

Earlier this year, Nissan USA slashed starting prices for the 2024 Ariya by as much as $6,000. For 2025, it has slightly increased prices but the electric SUV remains significantly cheaper than it was in 2023. The automaker has also reduced the number of variants available in an effort to streamline the model range.

Read: Your Questions About The Nissan Ariya EV Answered

Still sitting at the entry point of the Ariya range is the Engage FWD. The cheapest Ariya started at $39,590 for 2024, but this year that price has been adjusted to $39,770. It’s available with the entry-level battery pack with a nominal capacity of 66 kWh and a usable capacity of 63 kWh. Interestingly, Nissan is now marketing the battery as a 66 kWh unit despite previously referring to it as a 63 kWh pack.

An all-wheel-drive version of the Engage is also offered, priced at $43,770 compared to $43,590 for the previous 2024 model. Nissan ditched the Venture+ FWD from earlier this year, which served as the base model with the larger 91 kWh (nominal / 87 kWh useable) battery pack. Whereas it had started at $41,190, now the most affordable 91 kWh model is the Evolve+ FWD, priced at $44,370. Sitting above are the Engage+ e-4ORCE ($45,370), the Evolve+ e-4ORCE ($48,370), and the Platinum+ e-4ORCE ($54,370).

2025 Nissan Ariya

No significant upgrades have been made to the 2025 model, although all models now receive wireless phone charging. Nissan Ariya owners can also now access 17,800 Tesla Superchargers across the US. Those who want to use the network must pay $235 for a North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapter kit. From next year, the Ariya will be built with an NACS plug, eliminating the need for this adapter.

It's looking like 2024 will be the hottest year since record-keeping began, unseating 2023 for the top spot. Climate change is playing a role, and scientists say it was even hotter than expected.

(Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon)

It was a packed year for School Transportation News magazine. Tony and Ryan review the top article in each monthly issue and what student transporters have to say about their operations and challenges.

Read more at stnonline.com/digital-editions.

This episode is brought to you by Transfinder.

Message from Thomas Built Buses.

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Stream, subscribe and download the School Transportation Nation podcast on Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube.

The post (STN Podcast E240) 2024 in Review: Top STN Magazine Articles appeared first on School Transportation News.

Nio has finally launched the much-anticipated Firefly brand in China, which will be targeting the most affordable corner of the EV market. Its first model is a small electric hatchback with swappable batteries, aimed at global markets including Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Firefly EVs will be positioned below the Nio and Onvo in terms of size, features, and pricing. The goal of the brand is to make “small, electric high-end cars accessible to a broader audience”.

More: Is BYD Making A Cutprice Electric Porsche 911 Rival? (New Photos)

The urban hatchback is simply known as the Firefly. Responsible for its design is ex-BMW and Ford designer Kris Tomasson. The exterior has a few references to the discontinued Honda e, with a similar greenhouse, a black-finished roof, and matching pillars. The signature trait of the Firefly is the three-piece circular LED headlights and taillights that look like iPhone cameras.

Other highlights include the flush door handles, the six-spoke wheels, and the clean surfacing. According to Firefly, the plastic cladding on the lower part of the bodywork is made from a sustainable material. The company didn’t reveal the dimensions of the EV, which looks like a rival to the likes of the BYD Dolphin, Citroen e-C3, Fiat Grande Panda, and Renault 5.

The latest Chinese EV features a 92-liter (3.2 cubic feet) frunk with layered storage and a drainage function, which is larger than what you get in most EVs. This is combined with a boot that can reach up to 1,250 lt (44 cubic feet) when the rear seats are folded flat. There are no photos of the interior, but earlier spy shots revealed a minimalist dashboard with a Tesla-style infotainment touchscreen and a digital instrument cluster.

Firefly claims that the turning circle of 9.4 m (30.8 feet) and the “multi-scene automatic parking assist function” will make it easy to navigate the EV in tight urban areas.

The EV has been engineered to score five-star ratings on the C-NCAP and Euro-NCAP tests. This was made possible thanks to the extensive use of high-strength steel and aluminum comprising 83.4% of the body structure, double anti-collision beams in the front doors, and nine airbags as standard, and claims to offer the best torsional stiffness in its segment (35,700 Nm).

Details about the electric motors and battery pack have yet to be announced. However, we know that the latter will be swappable, although not compatible with the existing battery swapping stations of Nio and Onvo due to its smaller size.

The Firefly is already available to pre-order in China for ¥148,800 ($20,400), ahead of its official market launch in April 2025. The model will reportedly roll out in Europe in the first half of 2025, where it is expected to be more expensive. As reported by Car News China, Nio wants the products of the Firefly brand to be available in 25 countries by the end of 2025.

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