Ford is preparing to launch a $30,000 electric truck, and the steady drumbeat of promotion is starting to wear a little thin. Earlier this month, the Blue Oval released three glorified blog posts about the affordable mid-size pickup and a 14 minute video, which was approximately 10 minutes too long.

Before that, the company talked about failure and Henry Ford’s ill-fated stints at the Detroit Automobile Company and the Henry Ford Company. The automaker then said they’re pursuing similar bold efforts as it “works to design and assemble affordable electric vehicles.”

More: Ford’s ‘Model T Movement’ Is A New $30,000 Electric Pickup

The thing is that $30,000 electric vehicles already exist and can be bought today. While the upcoming model will be notable for being a mid-size truck that introduces some new techniques and technology, it might not be as revolutionary as Ford would have you believe.

The Blue Oval will likely continue trickling out trivial details for months to come, but shoppers could easily head to their nearest Chevy dealer and snag an Equinox EV. While the model starts at $34,995, the company is offering $6,500 in incentives, and this lowers the price of entry to $28,495 before factoring in the $1,800 destination fee.

The bowtie brand also recently brought back the Bolt, which starts at $27,600 and has a $1,395 destination fee. This means you can get an electric hatchback with 262 miles (422 km) of range for $28,995.

Chevrolet isn’t alone as the redesigned Nissan Leaf starts at $29,990 before a $1,495 destination charge. It will eventually be joined by an even more affordable variant that has a smaller battery pack and a less powerful electric motor.

All three of these vehicles are available now, although they lack a truck bed. Ford is banking on the latter being a big differentiator, although early teaser images suggest this won’t be your typical pickup as the company is focusing on range and efficiency.

Electric vehicles have come a long way in the past few years, and the progress is finally showing up where it matters most: in owner satisfaction. According to the latest data, these steady gains in technology and infrastructure are translating into record-high approval from drivers.

That’s the verdict from JD Power’s 2026 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study, which found premium EV satisfaction climbed from 756 points last year to 789 in 2026. Mainstream EVs also improved two points to hit 727 out of 1,000.

More: A Third of Americans Are Priced Out Of New Cars, And It’s Getting Worse

The highest rated premium EVs were the Tesla Model 3 (804), Tesla Model Y (797), and BMW i4 (795). On the flip side, the new Audi Q6 e-tron came in dead last at 690. It placed well below the Lucid Air (740) and Rivian R1T (739).

Segment Standouts And Stragglers

On the mass market side of the equation, the Ford Mustang Mach-E took top honors with a score of 760. The electric pony car was followed by the Hyundai Ioniq 6 (748) and Kia EV9 (745). Interestingly, the two lowest rated EVs were the Chevrolet Blazer EV (711) and Honda Prologue (623). That’s a huge point spread considering both models are built by GM and have a lot in common.

Of course, things aren’t completely straightforward as the study examined ten different factors. This includes the “accuracy of stated battery range, availability of public charging stations, battery range, cost of ownership, driving enjoyment, ease of charging at home, interior and exterior styling, safety and technology features, service experience, and vehicle quality and reliability.”

Encouragingly, 96 percent of EV owners said they would consider buying or leasing another one and the study also found quality has improved. That’s especially true of premium EVs, which had 15.9 fewer problems per 100 vehicles compared to last year. This brought the total down to 75 and JD Power said this was driven by noise improvements as well as fewer problems with driver assistance technology.

Is Charging Still A Concern?

The study also found that EV drivers are becoming more satisfied with public charging. Scores climbed by over 100 points and this is being attributed to growing charging infrastructure as well as the opening of Tesla’s Supercharger network to other automakers.

Last but not least, EV drivers are more satisfied than those with plug-in hybrids. Premium EVs scored 114 points higher than their PHEV rivals, while mainstream electric vehicles had a 117 point advantage. Part of this can be chalked up to the cost of ownership as plug-in hybrid drivers have to deal with a more complex powertrain that involves gas and electricity.

In a statement, JD Power’s Brent Gruber said “Improvements in battery technology, charging infrastructure and overall vehicle performance have driven customer satisfaction to its highest level ever. What’s more, the vast majority of current EV owners say they will consider purchasing another EV for their next vehicle, regardless of whether they benefited from the now-expired federal tax credit.”

GM’s BrightDrop electric vans may not be done just yet. After nearly four months of uncertainty, an unexpected lifeline may be taking shape. GM had announced it would end production of the vans at its Ontario plant in Canada, effectively shutting down one of its more high-profile EV ventures. Now, a European engineering firm has reportedly shown interest in buying the facility and restarting production.

The company in question is Dumarey Group, a Belgium-based engineering and manufacturing firm. In 2020, Dumarey acquired GM’s propulsion engineering center in Turin, Italy, and now appears poised to deepen its relationship with the American automaker.

Read: GM And Stellantis Got The Cash, Now Canada Wants A Refund

According to a recent report, the group aims to build BrightDrop vans in Canada, then ship them across the Atlantic to European markets.

Limited details about the potential deal are known, but GM Authority reports the firm’s chief executive and founder, Guido Dumarey, plans to tour the Ingersoll plant soon.

A Fragile Hope for CAMI Employees

This could be great news for workers at the plant, many of whom have been facing an uncertain future since GM announced it would stop production. However, a significant number of the laid-off employees remain on GM’s callback list in case production resumes on a new vehicle at the CAMI facility. That means Dumarey would likely need to negotiate with GM to bring those workers on board.

Speaking with CTV News, Brendan Sweeney, managing director of a London-based non-profit agency, said Dumarey could be a good fit. However, he suspects it may only need a few hundred workers to handle production, meaning it’s unlikely the plant will return to the 3,000-strong workforce it had when it was building the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain.

“[Dumarey are] diversified,” Sweeney said. “They engage with a number of different technologies, including fuel cells, which is a really interesting play for Canada that, you know, might get a bit more gain more steam.”

The CAMI assembly plant began producing BrightDrop electric vans in 2022. Despite GM’s hopes, the program struggled to maintain momentum. Even after BrightDrop was folded into Chevrolet to bolster visibility and sales, the vans failed to establish a solid foothold in the EV delivery space.

The Chinese-built Buick Envision got slammed by Trump’s tariffs and the company recently hiked prices by $3,000. This followed an earlier increase, which means the cost of entry has shot up $4,500 in less than a year.

As a result, the 2026 Envision now starts at $41,000 before a $1,995 destination fee. That’s pretty steep and the price increases appear to have started weighing on sales.

More: Buick’s Chinese-Built Envision Survives Trump’s Tariffs With A Massive Price Hike

While the model was only down 11.4 percent last year to 41,924 units, fourth quarter sales plummeted 60.9 percent. Even with the steep decline, the Envision finished the year as Buick’s third best-selling vehicle, accounting for just over a fifth of the brand’s total annual sales of 198,155 deliveries.

However, the situation was unsustainable and General Motors has effectively admitted as much. In a brief statement, the company said they’ll “onshore production of the next-generation Buick compact SUV to Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City, beginning in 2028.”

The automaker didn’t have much to say about the move, but stated the “decision further strengthens GM’s domestic manufacturing footprint and supports U.S. jobs, building on $5.5 billion in new investments announced across our U.S. manufacturing sites in the last year.”

We also asked whether the current model will remain on sale until its replacement arrives in 2028. A GM spokesperson told us, “We are working through the model transition plan”, a rather a noncommittal response that suggests the company isn’t ready to confirm details just yet.

Chevrolet Bolt Dies Soon

Interestingly, the announcement also revealed the impending death of the Chevrolet Bolt. While the EV was just relaunched, the company had previously referred to it as a “limited run model.”

They weren’t joking as Fairfax Assembly will be retooled to build the Chevrolet Equinox starting in 2027. This suggests the Bolt will only be sticking around for about a year.

The third-generation Envision will follow one year after the Equinox and this could hint at some commonality between the two models. This remains to be seen, but the bowtie brand’s crossover has a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder that develops 175 hp (131 kW / 177 PS) and up to 203 lb-ft (275 Nm) of torque. It’s connected to a continuously variable or eight-speed automatic transmission.

The Chevrolet Equinox EV is one of GM’s most important electric vehicles, serving as a homegrown competitor to the likes of the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E. But more than 80,000 units are now being recalled across the United States for a rather unusual reason: they’re too quiet.

Under US regulations, all new electric vehicles must emit a pedestrian warning sound at speeds below 6.2 mph (10 km/h) to ensure they’re audible in areas like parking lots. While the Equinox EV is equipped with such a system, GM has admitted it isn’t doing its job properly. The system was miscalibrated during production and doesn’t produce sufficient sound to alert nearby pedestrians.

Read: Chevrolet Equinox EV’s Adaptive Cruise Control May Not Activate Brakes

Given the volume of vehicles rolling out of GM’s Ramos Arizpe Assembly plant in Mexico, this isn’t the sort of issue that should have slipped through unnoticed. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an Equinox EV that can’t be heard poses a genuine risk to pedestrian safety.

The recall affects a total of 81,177 Chevrolet Equinox EVs. Of those, 59,537 are from the 2025 model year, built between July 22, 2024, and August 12, 2025. The remaining 21,640 units belong to the 2026 model year and were assembled between April 7 and December 16 of 2025.

GM launched an internal investigation in November after one of its engineers filed a report through the company’s Speak Up For Safety program, flagging the issue during testing of a 2025 model.

Surprisingly, this isn’t GM’s first brush with a too-quiet Equinox EV. In September of the previous year, the automaker recalled 23,700 units from the 2024 model year for the exact same problem. Those earlier vehicles used a different calibration than the 2025 and 2026 models now being flagged.

The one bit of relief for owners is that the fix is straightforward. GM will deploy an over-the-air update to recalibrate the body control module. For those who prefer in-person service, a dealership visit remains an option. Notifications will begin reaching owners on February 2.