Rivian’s headlights are among the most distinctive in the business. The trouble is, the lamps on some 2025 examples aren’t fulfilling their primary obligation to help drivers see and be seen. As a result the automaker is recalling more than 17,000 examples of its two R1 models.

The problem lies with the low beam headlights on the R1T truck and R1S SUV, which may fail to wake up when owners attempt to start their EVs in cold weather conditions. One or more of the lights might not illuminate and owners won’t have to wait until they’re flashed by oncoming drivers to know it. The EV will display a message on the screen telling them “Low beam mights not working. Service low beams soon.”

Related: Guess How Much It Costs To Repair This Rivian R1T

Rivian traced the issue back to incorrectly configured parts supplied during manufacturing and fitted to vehicles produced between April 29, 2024, and February 3, 2025. A total of 17,260 of the company’s electric utilities now need headlamp control modules replaced, which means this is no OTA quick fix, and requires some wrenching by a Rivian technician.

Although the company does have some service centers across North America, it doesn’t have a ton of them compared with legacy automakers like Mercedes or BMW. There were only around 60 at last count, though Rivian is rolling out more every year and hopes to have more than 100 by the end of 2025. And it does have mobile technicians that move about the country dealing with issues for those who can’t get to a fixed service site.

Rivian owners are no strangers to headlight headaches. In June 2024, the company recalled certain R1T and R1S models due to headlight level errors, where the headlamps were aimed slightly too low, potentially leading to insufficient road illumination.

Having lights that don’t work as they should is obviously inconvenient and could be dangerous (though Rivian says it’s received no reports of accidents related to the latest problem). But it’s also illegal, making the vehicle noncompliant with FMVSS 108, the section of US law governing vehicle lamps.

Tesla has announced a recall of nearly 380,000 vehicles in the United States due to a power steering assist failure. The problem affects 2023 Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers equipped with older software versions. Some owners reported finding their EVs’ steering heavier than usual, but others experience a complete loss of steering control.

The root cause of the problem has been identified as an overvoltage breakdown, which places undue stress on motor drive components within the circuit board. This malfunction can lead to the power steering assist system failing, though the design means drivers will never lose assist when their EV is in motion.

Related: US Probes Tesla EVs For Losing Power Steering, Over 50 Cars Left Stranded

But when the cars reach a standstill the power assist vanishes. It’s still theoretically possible to steer a 3 or Y if this happens, but have you tried to heave a 4,400 lbs (2,000 kg) car around without power steering recently? It’s seriously hard work.

As if the sweat on their brows and the ache in their shoulders, wrists and forearms wasn’t enough to let drivers know their steering had failed, a visual alert appears on the screen with the message “Steering assist reduced. Steering may require increased effort.”

Though the recall has only been announced this month, Tesla has acknowledged over 3,000 warranty claims related to the issue and began an internal investigation almost two years ago in response to customer complaints about high steering effort. The glitch was also the subjects of a formal investigation starting in December 2023 by a non-US market and America’s NHTSA opened its own probe in February 2024. But the automaker states it has received no reports of crashes or injuries associated with the defect.

As with many Tesla quality and safety goofs, this is another software one, which means it’s an easy and inexpensive one to put right. To address the problem, Tesla is rolling out an over-the-air software update for 376,241 EVs.

This recall comes on the heels of a previous one in January 2025, where Tesla recalled approximately 240,000 vehicles due to faulty rear-view cameras. The affected models in that instance included the 2024-2025 Model S, 2023-2025 Model X, 2023-2025 Model Y, and 2024-2025 Model 3. The issue was traced back to a firmware problem that could cause a shorting failure on the car’s computer board, leading to rear-view camera malfunctions.

We’ve already got a pretty good idea what BMW’s Neue Klasse cars will look like both inside and out thanks to a couple of previous concepts and a Land of the Giants interior mock-up at this year’s CES in Vegas. But now, BMW is ready to talk tech and give us an idea of what its potentially game-changing models will be like under the skin.

Gen6 eDrive 800v Tech

Taking over from the current Gen5 eDrive technology, Gen6 arrives later this year in the first of the Neue Klasse cars, the iX3. But it will be rolled out to the entire lineup of BMW EVs in time, including M models, and will also find its way into Mini and Rolls Royce cars.

Related: BMW Vision Vehicle Is Our Best Look Yet At The iM3 Neue Klasse

At the heart of the package is 800-volt charging capability and a battery built from cylindrical, rather than than prismatic cells, that are a fifth more energy dense. BMW says Gen6 EVs will charge 30 percent faster and offer an additional 30 percent of range compared with the brand’s current electric cars, with certain models achieving even higher figures.

That range boost can’t come soon enough for some BMW EVs. The new iX2 xDrive30, for instance, has a WLTP rating of less than 285 miles (460 km). And the automaker says certain models will see range gains better than 30 percent. All Gen6 EVs will also be capable of bi-directional charging.

The cells are packed directly into the battery, rather than first being put into modules, and the battery becomes a structural component in the Neue Klasse cars. That helps cut weight and increase strength, and the completed battery packs are also very slim, BMW says, making them suitable for all kinds of cars, not just high-riding SUVs. That bodes well for the chance of BMW delivering some real sports cars in the electric age.

BMW has also revealed it will fit asynchronous motors to the front axle of all-wheel drive xDrive EVs because they are more compact and cheaper to build than the permanent synchronous type.

The Gen6 drive systems have been in pre-production at BMW’s Steyr, Austria, plant since summer 2024, but series production kicks off this September in time for the launch of the iX3 this fall. But to safeguard itself from any future political upheaval the batteries for the Neue Klasse cars will be built in five new production sites in Germany, Hungary, China, Mexico and the US.

If you’re on the lookout for a new set of family-sized wheels but struggling to find something that really gets you excited, set a Siri reminder for May 27. That’s the date Alpine will pull the covers back on its second EV, the A390, and if it looks anything like the concept that previewed it last year, it’s going to be a doozy.

The four-seat, low-riding crossover (Alpine prefers “sport fastback”) is the second of three electric cars that comprise Alpine’s Dream Garage series, the others being the COTY-winning A290 hot hatch unveiled in 2024 and the new A110 still to come.

Related: How Similar Will the Alpine A390 Look To Last Year’s A390_β Concept?

Alpine released a single teaser image to go with the launch date confirmation, a silhouetted close-up of the nose revealing the front-end styling, which appears very close to that of the A390_β concept. It shows a transverse light bar with the Alpine name spelled out below, and 12 triangle-shaped DRL LEDs arranged together to form a larger triangle at each corner.

It also looks like showroom cars will retain the “flying bridge” nose seen on the concept in which the section of bodywork containing the light bar is higher than the leading edge of the hood, potentially for aerodynamic effect.

Alpine had previously said that the A390_β concept was 85 percent of the real thing, and our spy shots confirmed the overall silhouette and side window shape would be carried over to the street virtually intact. But a big chunk of the 15 percent of the show car that you won’t find in your Alpine dealer later this year is located in the interior.

The A390_β concept had rear-hinged rear doors, no B-pillar or carpets, and a set of chairs that looked like they’d been lifted out of the company’s Le Mans contender. But the real thing will be considerably sanitized, while still maintaining a clear performance feel. We’re expecting to see plenty of Alcantara, or something similar, and lots of screen space, too.

Under the skin is the Renault Group AmpR Medium architecture, previously known as the CMF-EV platform and used on cars like the Renault Megane E-Tech. If that sounds underwhelming, don’t worry: Alpine says the A390 will feature torque vectoring to maximize agility and could deliver upwards of 600 hp (608 PS / 447 kW) in its most dynamic trim levels.

The A390 should be on sale in Europe late in 2025, but while Alpine is planning to expand to the US with larger crossovers and SUVs, the A290 and A390 won’t be making the trip.

Mercedes says it will cut production costs over the next two years while at the same time, it will roll out almost 40 new or heavily revised models in an effort to reverse its fortunes. The automaker expects earnings to take a big hit in 2025 and thinks a renewed focus on traditional combustion power could help stop the slide.

It wasn’t long ago that Mercedes was vowing to go EV-only in major markets by 2030, but terrible sales figures for many of its electric cars has prompted a major rethink. The brand isn’t turning its back on EVs by any means – 17 of the new models it will launch by 2027 will be battery-powered. But 19 of the new cars will have combustion power and live on well into the 2030s.

Related: Customers Pull The Plug On Mercedes EV Sales, EQS Plummets 52%

This time, however, there will be very little design differentiation between ICE and EV models, even in the top-end models that ride on entirely different platforms and unlike smaller cars that will use a common architecture for both electric and combustion powertrains. The egg-shaped EQS has been a sales bomb for Mercedes and having learned from that mistake, future EVs will look like their gas brothers.

New products in showrooms this year include the CLA sedan, which will be available in EV and ICE forms with very similar prices and spawn a family of cars built on the same platform. The new CLA model family will feature many different body styles, including an SUV and wagon. All-electric GLC and C-Class cars are also on the way and Mercedes confirmed it is working on an E-Class EV to rival BMW’s i5.

On the combustion side, the company will soon unveil a facelifted S-Class and says engines with four to eight cylinders will be available across the Mercedes range, equipped to meet Euro 7 emissions standards. And it’s also hanging onto the mighty V12 engine for its flagship sedans.

Earnings at Benz’s car division dropped by 39 percent to €8.7 billion ($9.1 bn) during a tough 2024 and it expects 2025 to be even more brutal. It has pledged to cut costs by 10 percent by 2027 and reduce them even further by 2030.

Despite the announced cuts, Mercedes won’t shut down its German factories but it will move production of at least one model line from Germany to Hungary, where production is 70 percent less expensive. Mercedes also says it will increase its focus on building models for America and China within those countries to future-proof itself from looming tariff threats.

We came away seriously impressed after driving the Kia EV3, but there’s one thing that might have put a few potential buyers off: the limited powertrain options. When we say limited, we mean there aren’t any, because every EV3 comes with one motor, but that’s about to change, as these spy shots of an EV3 GT prove.

Kia openly admits that a sporty GT version of the baby SUV is coming, but it hasn’t revealed any details of the new range-topper. Sources close to the company, however, told Carscoops that the GT will feature a dual-motor drivetrain making around 276 hp (280 PS).

Related: New Kia EV3 Confirmed For US, Gets Sporty GT Too

If correct, that means the wildest EV3 won’t be quite as wild as some people were expecting given that EV6 GT now makes 601 hp (448 kW / 609 PS). But it will still make the EV3 GT feel completely different from the current single-motor EV3, which only generates 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS). We’d expect the GT to do 0-60 in around five seconds, helped by its all-wheel drive traction.

GT design giveaways

Heavy disguise on this prototype prevents us from pinpointing the bodywork changes, which will build on the styling tweaks already seen on the existing GT-Line trim. Compared with the entry-level Air, GT Line adds gloss black arches, angrier-looking bumpers, and full LED lights.

We can see that the lime green brake calipers, a GT feature pinched from the EV6 GT, but the EV3’s lower weight and smaller power output means Kia appears to have cheaped-out and fitted basic sliding calipers to the front axle rather than the four-piston units it uses on the EV6 GT. Don’t pay too much attention to the wheels, by the way. They’re from the Hyundai Ioniq 6 (it even says so on the rim face) and will be swapped by the time the GT makes its debut.

Sport seats, lime accents

Our spy photographer also managed to knock off a few interior shots, revealing the GT legend embossed into the headrests of the new sports seats and more GT-specific lime green highlights. Like other EV3s, the GT should have a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment display, and a separate 5-inch touchscreen for climate controls, positioned between them.

The GT will skip the small 58.3 kWh battery that’s only available on the base EV3 Air and instead come with an 81.4 kWh pack. A front-wheel drive, single-motor GT-Line S fitted with that battery and 19-inch wheels has a WLTP range of 362 miles (583 km), but the heavier dual-motor GT won’t be quite as long-legged.

And like other EV3s it’ll have to make do with 400-volt charging tech rather than the 800-volt architecture offered in Kia’s bigger EVs. A 10-80 percent fill on a charger dishing out at least 150 kW should take the same 31 minutes it does on other big-battery EV3s.

The EV3 GT should debut later this year, but it’s not the only new EV3 Kia has planned. It’s also working on a less-speedy, non-GT dual-motor version with about 227 hp (230 PS) for folks who want all-wheel drive but aren’t bothered about outright performance.

Images: Baldauf

Nikola this week joined Fisker, Proterra, and Lordstown Motors in a rogues’ gallery of EV startups that have bitten the dust. The electric truck maker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after running out of cash and failing to find a rescuer.

The Phoenix-based company has been on the skids for some time, struggling with weak demand, falling share prices, and the fallout of a scandal that resulted in its founder receiving a four-year jail term for fraud.

Related: Nikola Is In Trouble As EV Maker’s Stocks Tumble 95%

Nikola said it is looking to sell its assets, which it values at between $500 million and $1 billion. But court documents list its liabilities at $1-10 billion, Reuters reports.

“Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic factors that have impacted our ability to operate,” Nikola CEO Steve Girsky said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, our very best efforts have not been enough to overcome these significant challenges, and the Board has determined that Chapter 11 represents the best possible path forward under the circumstances for the Company and its stakeholders.”

It’s hard to believe that five years ago at the height of the crazy EV startup boom, this same company was more valuable than Ford. Nikola had a market capitalization of $27 billion in 2020 despite it never having sold a single vehicle and signed a multi-billion dollar deal with GM that was supposed to see the Detroit company taking an 11 percent stake, supply Nikola with battery and hydrogen tech, and build the startup’s Badger electric pickup.

The Badger should have had 906 hp (919 PS) and a range of 600 miles (966 km) in fuel-cell form (a straight EV was also planned) but it never made it to production. Nikola did get its large trucks out onto America’s roads, however, but not without a struggle. It produced its first electric rig in 2021 but soon encountered setbacks including vehicle fires that forced the company to announce a safety recall.

Nikola was also engulfed in scandal when founder Trevor Milton was found guilty of fraud for faking a video of one of the brand’s trucks driving under its own steam when it was really rolling down a hill. Milton additionally made fraudulent claims leading investors to believe the company was closer to production than was true.

The Tesla Model Y is far and away America’s most popular electric vehicle and at the start of this year the automaker unveiled a facelifted Model Y, codenamed ‘Juniper’ with a very different look and some important changes on the inside. Most people seem to think the update was a success, so should Tesla roll out the same changes to the Model 3 sedan?

We’re helped in answering that question by a series of renders from independent artist Sugar Design that show how the four-door EV would look with its SUV brother’s new nose and tail.

Related: At $59,990, New 2025 Tesla Model Y Juniper Launch Series Is $4K Cheaper Than The Old One

Tesla already facelifted the Model 3 in late 2023, giving the sedan slimmer headlights and a sleeker, more rounded, nose. The Model 3 had been on sale for six years by this point, so it was ripe for some botox, but the tweaks couldn’t prevent sales falling. The ‘Highland’ Model 3 went on sale in the US midway through 2024 (it debuted earlier in China and Europe), but America deliveries for the year dropped 17.4 percent to 189,903.

There are plenty of reasons for that, including the late arrival of the updated car (and public knowledge that it was coming), a general decline in the popularity of sedans and more competition from legacy automakers. But you have to wonder whether potential customers weren’t left disappointed by the minimal changes Tesla made to the interior and exterior design, and alarmed by one specific interior ‘advance.’

You’ll have your own opinion about the Highland front end, but ours is that it made the Model 3 look sleeker, but blander. True, transverse front light bars are everywhere these days, but we think Sugar Design’s renderings prove applying the Juniper look to the front end of the sedan would be a big improvement. In fact, the design works better on the 3 than on the Y. We like the new rear-end design too, which makes the Model 3 look wider, lower and sportier.

There is also one big Juniper feature that you can’t see in these renders, but which Tesla urgently needs to introduce to the Model 3 regardless of what it decides to do with the head- and taillights. That’s the turn signal control, which was relocated to the steering wheel during the Highland update. Having listened to criticism Tesla has retained an old-fashioned turn-signal stalk for the Model Y.

Based on these images do you think Tesla should use the Model Y’s tricks on the Model 3? Drop a comment below and let us know.

Credit: Sugar Design

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Ford, GM, and Tesla aren’t the only automakers who see a demand for electric trucks. So does Korea’s KG Mobility, whose engineers have been spotted ironing out any bugs in the company’s new Musso EV before it makes its debut this spring.

KG Mobility is the new name for Ssangyong, which in 2023 showed a metallic orange pickup concept called the 0100. Two years on, and looking hardly any different, that concept is about to hit the market badged as the KGM Musso EV.

Related: SsangYong’s Successor Turns Musso Into A Pickup Brand

KGM is spinning the Musso name off as a truck-focused sub-brand and recently showed the production version of the EV at a Korean festival. There’s something decidedly Hummer-ish about the segmented LEDs running across the nose beneath the hood, but even if it doesn’t feel entirely original it’s a good-looking truck with plenty of presence.

Under the skin, the Musso EV shares its platform with KGM’s Torres EVX, though the truck’s wheelbase has been stretched over the 105.5 inches (2,680 mm) of the SUV. The rough early-stage prototype in our spy shots has the same front and rear doors as the Torres, but you can see by looking at how much further back the wheels are that the wheelbase is massively extended.

Images of the finished car at the bottom of this post reveal the production doors with their fatter, more upright C-pillar and the tailgate with stamped KGM lettering, flanked by a pair of taillights with a wrench-like LED design.

Images: Baldauf

The pickup is expected to use the same BYD-sourced 73.4 kWh battery as the Torres EVX, though the extra weight of the longer body and inferior aerodynamics mean the Musso is unlikely to match KGM’s 311-mile (500 km) WLTP range predictions for the SUV.

KGM offers the Torres EVX with both ICE and electric power, and we know it’ll do the same for the Musso, though judging by some teaser sketches the automaker revealed earlier this year, the gas-swilling trucks will have a very different front-end design.

The Torres EVX is front-wheel drive only and comes with a single, 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS) electric motor, while the ICE version, badged simply Torres, gets a 168 hp (125 kW / 170 PS) 1.5-liter petrol four that can be ordered with two- or all-wheel drive. We’re expecting KGM to also offer the Musso EV with dual motors driving both axles.

A Korean-market launch for the electric Musso takes place in the next few weeks, but KGM will open up availability to other markets such as Europe and Australia before the end of the year.

Photos: KOTRA / Autospy, KGM

Electric cars are hailed by many supporters as a key tool for reducing global warming as well making our air cleaner to breathe. But EVs might not be the panacea some think they are. New research suggests brake dust, which is emitted by both EVs and ICE cars, is so toxic that it’s more harmful than sucking up a lungful of rolling coal.

That might come as a surprise, considering EVs rely heavily on regenerative braking, which significantly reduces the use of traditional friction brakes. However, EVs are also significantly heavier than their internal combustion (non-PHEV) counterparts, meaning when they do use their brakes, they generate more dust per stop.

Brake Pad Toxins: The Dirty Secret of Stopping Power

Scientists from the University of Southampton in the UK looked at the effect on lung health of emissions particulates from different types of brake pads. One type of pad had a low metallic composition, while the other three were semi-metallic, non-asbestos organic and hybrid ceramic.

Related: Americans Increasingly Don’t Believe EVs Are Cleaner Than ICE Cars

Normally we associate anything with the organic label as being healthier for us, but in tests the non-asbestos organic pads induced the most inflammation. They were assessed as even more toxic to human lungs than diesel emissions. According to the study’s authors, it’s these kind of pads that are most common in the US because they’re cheap, quiet and have a fairly low wear rate.

Developed to replace older, asbestos-containing pads, they contain copper fibers, which improve thermal conductivity, something the asbestos previously provided. Asbestos was removed from the mix because of its links to lung disease but the copper dust in the modern pads was found also to be linked to lung ailments like cancer, asthma and chronic pulmonary disease.

Regulations Are Coming—But Slowly

California and Washington in the US have both passed laws to reduce copper content in brake pads, though the report says this was pushed through with an eye on eradicating runoff and protecting aquatic life, rather than protecting our lungs. And Euro 7 emissions regulations that come into play in 2026 will also start to limit brake dust emissions, though presumably that will only affect new cars and not parts available for existing ones.

As things stand, there’s very little regulation around the world governing non-tailpipe vehicle emissions, including from tires, which are another big source of dangerous particles. As mentioned, EVs do use regenerative braking, but they also have conventional friction brakes, so do produce brake dust, and they tend to be heavier than ICE vehicles, meaning they produce even more tire pollution.

Source: University of Southampton

Land Rover delayed earlier plans to launch half a dozen EVs by 2026, but we’re about to see a wave of electric models from the British luxury brand, including this battery-powered Range Rover Velar caught by our spy photo team during winter maneuvers.

The electric Velar arrives too late to be Land Rover’s first EV – that honor goes to the full-size Range Rover that debuts later this year. But the Velar won’t be far behind, its launch believed to be slated for early 2026, meaning it’ll probably arrive in showrooms midway through the year as a 2027 model.

Related: Range Rover Velar To Get A Sporty, Electric Makeover

And while the Velar can’t claim to be the brand’s first SUV without a combustion engine, it will be the first to get the automaker’s new EMA electric vehicle architecture. The bigger Range Rover EV will instead use an electrified version of the MLA platform, also used in the ICE-powered flagship SUVs that’ll be sold alongside it.

Like the current combustion Velar, the new EV has a distinctive low roofline and tapering side window design, giving it a very sporty look by SUV standards. The rear window is incredibly shallow and appears to be covered in a plastic panel making us wonder if it might not have any glass there at all. We already know that sister brand Jaguar’s new EV sedan won’t have a rear window.

And that might not be the only change JLR has planned. ICE-powered Velars only have two rows of seats but judging from the position of the rear door relative to the rear wheel it looks like there could be room for an emergency third-row in the new one. Either that or trunk space is about to get a big boost.

The clamshell bonnet design, large alloy wheels, and flush door handles all look very similar to those on the existing car, but at the rear the license plate has moved from the hatch to the bumper below it, echoing the look of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport that have been introduced in the last few years.

When it gets to dealers, the Velar will be fighting for market share with the Porsche Macan Electric, and will probably closely match it in terms of power and performance. Base Macans are two-wheel drive, cost $75,300, and make 355 hp (360 PS / 265 kW) while the top version, the Turbo Electric, will set you back $105,300 and pumps out 630 hp (639 PS / 470 kW).

Images: Baldauf

Not content with making electric power affordable in new cars for used-car money, BYD now wants to democratize driver-assist technology. The Chinese automaker launched today its new ‘God’s Eye’ systems, vowing to make them available on 21 models in China, right down to the Seagull SUV that costs the equivalent of under $10k.

The announcement made by CEO Wang Chuanfu at a live-streamed event doesn’t mean that BYD is about to unleash a full self-driving car for less than $10k because there are multiple versions of the “God’s Eye” tech suite and some are more advanced than others. But the brand’s determination to make the technology available in cars previously considered too cheap to warrant it is sure to have massive ramifications for the entire industry.

Related: BYD’s Seagull EV Now Costs Under $10k, The West Is Doomed

At least 21 BYD models will get God’s Eye, including every single car costing more than ¥X100,000 ($13,960), and some priced below that point, including the ¥69,800 ($9,550) Seagull, Car News China reports. The basic system is called God’s Eye C and relies on 12 cameras (three front-view, five panoramic, four surround-view) and 17 different radar sensors. This is heading for BYD-branded cars.

God’s Eye B is more advanced and includes a Lidar sensor. This mid-level system will find its way into some high-end BYD vehicles but is mostly intended for Denza and Fang Cheng Bao cars, according to the same report.

The top-flight ‘A’ version of God’s Eye gets three Lidars and is earmarked for BYD’s Yangwang brand, the one responsible for the U9 supercar that was last seen jumping over potholes in a promotional film. In a sequel to that absurd video, BYD showcased the power of the God’s Eye A tech by letting us watch a U9 rocket around a racetrack without a driver at the wheel.

The report says the God’s Eye C system supports navigation-based assistance only in motorway-type situations, but the A and B versions can also use their navigation systems to drive in cities. That’s something even Mercedes’ Level 3 Drive Pilot system, the most advanced ADAS in the West as far as regulators are concerned, can’t yet do. All versions will apparently be connected to the DeepSeek AI tech whose announcement sent Nvidia shares freefalling last month.

More than a quarter of a century ago Volvo’s Cross Country badge helped it bridge the gap between cars like the V70 and the SUVs its range lacked. But now for the first time with the EX30 Volvo has teamed up an SUV and the Cross Country label, bringing some extra attitude to its baby EV.

Volvo doesn’t claim the newest EX30 in any way revolutionizes off-road vehicles. Most people are going to buy the Cross Country for the way it looks, which is a lot more macho than the stock SUV. You get small black plastic arch extensions, a black panel across the back and another one on the nose that features a relief map of Sweden’s Kebnekaise mountains. There’s also a Cross Country callout on the C-pillar instead of the usual EX30 script.

Related: Volvo To Introduce 5 Models In 2025, EX60 Coming In 2026

But even though this new variant is mostly about standing out in the city, it’s not entirely without substance. You get an unspecified amount of additional ground clearance, protective skid plates for the underneath, and the standard 19-inch wheels can be swapped for 18-inch versions wrapped in off-road rubber if you select the ‘Cross Country Experience’ package.

Other options included in that bundle include front and rear mud flaps, black load carriers and a roof basket that looks great but is sure to eat into the 265 miles (427 km) Volvo claims the Cross Country gets from its 69 kWh battery. That range is, to save you checking, already down from 280 miles (450 km), and there’s a performance penalty to pay, too.

The only powertrain available at launch is the regular EX30’s best-performing setup, a 422 hp (428 PS / 315 kW) bi-motor affair. Volvo quotes 3.7 seconds to 62 mph (100 kmh), which is a tenth slower than the same motor configuration in the non-Cross Country variant.

Volvo hasn’t explicitly ruled out expanding the Cross Country motor lineup in future, so it’s possible it might offer the model with the single 272 hp (275 PS / 200 kW) electric motor available to other EX30 buyers, though the lack of all-wheel drive really would undermine the credibility of the Cross Country package.

The Cross Country is only available in the EX30’s poshest Ultra trim that brings goodies like a panoramic roof, Park Pilot assistant and 360-degree camera. One of those currently costs £42,350 in the UK and $47,895 in the US, and you can expect your Cross Country off-road dress-up kit to add at least a grand.

Cupra is a rising star in Volkswagen’s empire, and the Spanish company is the first in the German Group to get to use a new small EV platform that makes its production debut on the 2026 Raval seen in these fresh spy shots.

The Raval is the culmination of a project we first met as the motorsport-inspired UrbanRebel concept and which later involved into another concept of the same name that was sanitized for road duties, losing its huge rear wing in the process.

Related: New Cupra Raval EV Looks Like A Baby Panamera Hatch

Cupra then renamed the UrbanRebel the Raval, and has promised it’ll debut the electric hatch in 2025. That means Cupra’s take on the MEB Short architecture could arrive in showrooms several months earlier than VW’s version, the ID.2.

VW previously claimed it would also debut the ID.2 in 2025, and that might be the case, but a recent report by Bloomberg said VW would have to get through this year without any new EV products, and the fact that we’ve only seen the ID.2 testing using an ID.3 as a mule, suggests it’s a long way from being ready for the showroom. But we have seen VW’s EV in concept form, as the 2023 ID.2all, and assuming production versions of the Raval and ID.2 look very similar to the concepts that previewed them, which would you take?

Though they share a 2.6 m (102.4 inches) wheelbase (which, is practically identical to a current ICE Golf’s), the Raval adopts Cupra’s bird-like nose, has a pinched waist and some dynamic-looking lines to connect the front fender to the rear side window and make the taillights wrap around the rear quarter panel.

VW’s design, on the other hand, treads a less showy path, carefully borrowing some classic Golf design cues and feel, without coming across as overly retro. You can check out both designs in the gallery at the bottom of the page to see how radically different they look.

Under the skin, of course, like most VW Group products, they’ll be incredibly similar, and both cars will be built in Pamplona, Spain, together with another brother, the Skoda Epiq. The MEB Short platform is front-wheel drive by default (the current MEB is RWD or AWD) and a choice of 38 kWh and 56 kWh batteries will allow VW and Cupra to deliver a low €25k ($26k) entry price for the value conscious and a decent range (up to 450 km / 280 miles) for those with more money to spend.

Both automakers talked about the concepts having a 222 hp (226 PS / 166 kW) electric motor and being able to hit 62 mph (100 kmh) in less than 7 seconds, though we’re sure less powerful versions will also be offered. For those wanting even more power, Cupra is working on a VZ variant using the concept’s 335 horsepower (340PS / 250kW) dual-motor setup, and VW will surely match it.

Whose version of the VW Group baby EV project do you prefer? Would you go for the edgy Cupra Raval or wait a few months longer to get your hands on the more grown-up ID.2?

Images: Baldauf

Ford desperately wants to head off the threat posed by the Chinese car industry, but it needs China’s own technical expertise to make it happen, according to the Blue Oval’s boss.

CEO Jim Farley told The New York Times that China is years ahead when it comes to making batteries for EVs and that Ford’s only chance of getting on equal footing with the country’s auto industry, and then pulling ahead, is to leverage their tech.

Related: Ford CEO Slams Trump’s Unfair Tariffs That Benefit Foreign Brands

“The way we compete with them is to get access to their IP just the way they needed ours 20 years ago, and then use our innovative ecosystem and American ingenuity and our great scale and our intimacy with the customer to beat them globally,” Farley told the NYT’s Thomas L. Friedman. “It will be one of the most important races to save our industrial economy.”

Farley isn’t talking about some far off future plan, but something that’s already happening. The automaker’s massive BlueOval Battery Park is currently mid-build, and when it’s up and running in 2026 it’ll be churning out thousands of lithium ion phosphate (LFP) batteries that rely on tech from China’s CATL.

Paying China for American technology

That much we knew, but there’s something we didn’t know about CATL’s clever chemistry, and maybe you didn’t either: it was originally developed in the US and then picked up for pennies by the Chinese. Referencing an earlier Bloomberg story, the NYT explains how LFP was discovered by scientists at the University of Texas, then commercialized by A123 Systems LLC, a startup that received a ton of cash by the Obama administration.

But the EV market was slow to develop and A123 went bust, the remnants of it, including the battery IP, eventually being bought out by what at the time was China’s biggest auto parts company.

You might argue that hindsight is a wonderful thing and that no-one really could have known a decade ago that EVs would become such a large part of the car industry. But the Chinese figured it would. Tesla also did before any other Western brand. Every major automaker was working on EVs because they knew they’d eventually have to sell them in huge numbers to meet emissions goals.

Looking back from a 2025 vantage point, it seems incredible that the tech was allowed not just to leave US hands, but drop into the hands of one its biggest adversaries. One that, according to the Bloomberg report, controls 83 percent of all lithium-ion battery manufacturing.

Ford is working on a sub $30k baby EV to battle affordable electric cars from China that haven’t yet landed in the US, but are already making their presence felt in other regions where Ford also sells cars. While tariffs on cars imported from China to the US protect Ford from the threat of the likes of BYD in America (for now), they also make the Chinese-built Lincoln Nautilus more expensive once shipped to US dealers.

Jaguar was all over the news at the tail end of 2024, but just because the brand isn’t in the headlines now doesn’t mean it’s not busy. The R&D team has been putting the new Type 00 electric sedan through its paces and we’ve got the first shots of it testing in Sweden.

The long, four-door EV is the production version of Jaguar’s controversial Type 00 coupe concept unveiled in Miami in December. You might recall that Jag itself released some images of a disguised prototype for the real car just prior to the concept’s unveiling, but it only gave us three, none of which showed the car from behind.

Related: Radical Jaguar Type 00 Concept Previews Make-Or-Break MY26 Electric Sedan

Now we’ve got a full set of shots showing the Bentley-chasing EV from every angle, including the rear, confirming that there’s no back window. Bulky disguise on the roof and around the panel where the rear window would normally go makes this prototype look more frumpy and formal than it really is.

Expect to see a sexy plunging roofline and smooth tail when the production car debuts this fall ahead of a 2026 on-sale date – unless that XJ-S flying buttress effect around the C/D-pillars isn’t all disguise…

These images also give us an even better idea of the scale and proportions of the car. Most EVs have long wheelbases and push the wheels into the four corners, and the passenger cell forward, but Jag has taken a different tack, instead opting to replicate the proportions of a classic cab-backward, front-engined, rear-wheel drive sedan or GT.

The space between the door and the front wheel is large enough to fit a huge square charging flap. We’re not sure why it’s so big, but we do know that there’s one on each side. We can also see the flush door handles and we can tell from the shutlines that this sedan is actually a liftback.

Not visible are the front and rear grilles, which judging from your reaction to the concept, seem to be the bits you think need more work before this big cat is ready for the showroom. We also didn’t get to see the interior on this occasion (the concept had a his-and-hers dual-screen setup) and are still waiting to hear more about the mechanical package. But we do know Jag is targeting a WLTP range of up to 770 km (478 miles) and ultra-fast charging that can add 321 km (200 miles) in 15 minutes.

Images: Baldauf

Porsche’s Cayenne is going electric, that much we knew. But these fresh spy shots prove that the crossover-style Cayenne Coupe is also getting the EV treatment.

While the smaller Macan Electric launched in 2024 is, like its combustion counterpart, only available with a single SUV body style, Porsche clearly thinks it’s worth engineering two version of the Cayenne Electric to match the two body designs offered on the ICE-powered Cayenne.

Related: Porsche Sold Nearly Twice As Many Macan EVs As ICE In Q4 2024, But There’s A Catch

The slope of the roofline and angle of the rear window in the regular-shape Cayenne EVs we’ve seen previously are already pretty sporty by SUV standards, but the Coupe seen here pushes that theme much harder after the B-pillar. The window in the rear door is much shallower and designers have added extra rake to the rear screen.

Ditching the SUV’s roof rails amplifies the low-slung stance, but the rear lights and  lower section of the rear hatch and bumper appear very similar to those of the earlier, squarer prototypes. Also similar is the front-end design, which borrows heavily from Macan Electric. Four DRL lozenges are mounted into what look like headlights above the bumper, though the real headlights appear to be mounted below, hidden in a bumper recess.

Audi employs this same visual trick on its A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron, and that’s not all they share. Audi’s EV duo and the Porsche Macan Electric and Cayenne Electric are all built around the same PPE architecture. But the Cayenne’s wheelbase will be stretched over the circa-2.9 m (114 inches) seen in the Macan and Q6. And to ensure it still feels agile even with that extra length, Porsche has fitted rear-axle steering, which you can see in action as this prototype negotiates a tight bend.

Dual motors and all-wheel drive should be standard, and there will be some crossover with the Macan’s powertrains, though the most powerful Cayenne’s price and output will surely eclipse the 630 hp (639 PS / 470 kW) served up by today’s Macan flagship, the $105,300 Turbo.

Porsche previously said it would debut the Cayenne Electric in 2026 and given the automaker’s love for separating model launches out to maximize exposure, we expect the Coupe version to arrive a few months after the SUV, as a 2027 model year in North America.

And don’t worry, none of this affects the combustion Cayenne and Cayenne Coupe, which ride on a totally different platform, and whose lives have been extended deep into the 2030s thanks to Porsche’s acknowledgment that not all of its customers are ready to make the switch to EVs.

Baldauf

Ferrari will launch its first ever electric car this fall, the brand’s CEO has confirmed during a presentation of the automaker’s financial results. Playing his cards close to his chest, as Ferrari chiefs always do, Benedetto Vigna declined to offer any detail about the company’s first zero-emissions car, but said the automaker would offer something different to other EVs, claiming the model’s combination of style, performance and driving thrill would make it “unique.”

Based on what our spy photo team has sent us the car appears to be a crossover, or at least a GT, and not a sports car. Test mules of a four-door hatchback-style crossover have been spied around Maranello wearing fake exhaust pipes and emitting synthesised engine sounds as they pass spy photographers cameras.

Related: Listen To Ferrari’s EV Prototype Fake V8 Sounds

The EV is a huge deal for both Ferrari and the car enthusiast world. Because even if it drives you mad that Ferrari’s so much as thinking about making an EV, you have to be at least a little curious to see what the engineers and design team have come up with.

And though it’s surely the most important car Ferrari will launch in 2025 from a news point of view, it’s far from the only new car coming this year. We can expect the automaker to debut five other cars besides its first combustion-free car, one of which, as confirmed by Ferrari in this week’s financial presentation, is a 12Cilindri Spider.

Another likely newcomer, though this time not confirmed by Ferrari, is the replacement for the Roma. The front-engined GT went out of production in 2024 and we’ve spied its successor testing in Italy wearing heavy disguise.

Vigna said the petrol-hybird-EV plan he laid out in 2022 has not changed as a result of a cooling EV market, and he also claimed Ferrari’s strategy wouldn’t be affected by President Trump’s tariff plans, which look likely to include duties on products imported from Europe.

The CEO was speaking as Ferrari announced its Q4 and full-year 2024 results, revealing that the company sold 13,752 cars last year, up 89 on 2023’s figure. It made €2.56 billion ($2.64 bn) in 2024 but predicts earnings will rise to €2.68 billion ($2.77 bn) in 2025 with the help of its six new product launches.

We all fixate on the purchase price or monthly loan/lease cost when looking to get a new car, when the true cost of running a vehicle is affected by all kinds of other factors. Two years down the road the car that looked dirt cheap, might turn out to have cost you more than the one you crossed off your shopping list for being too expensive.

But which models really do have the lowest running costs, and which have the worst? A new study by Self set out to answer that question by crunching the numbers on 50 popular vehicles in the US on sale between 2022-24.

Related: Which Brand’s Cars Cost Least To Run Over 10 Years?

For each car, truck or SUV, analysts calculated the energy or ‘fuel’ costs, insurance and maintenance costs and the price of taxes and fees. We’ll get to the winners and losers in a second, but first let’s consider the cost of running the average vehicle based on the data.

Average running costs

The average annual total cost came to $6,462, more than 34 percent of which ($2,246) is swallowed by fuel, the single biggest expense. Insurance and maintenance accounted for just over 25 percent each, with annual taxes and fees making up the rest.

But those numbers are skewed when you break the cars down by fuel type. The total running costs of the average hybrid ($5,485) are slightly lower than those for the average EV ($5,517) and much lower than for the average ICE car ($6,544). But within those columns there are also big differences. The average EV costs much less in fuel than the other two, but is far more expensive to insure.

Running costs by powertrain

Which is why when we look at the big table of car models, yes, the Tesla Model 3 comes top with an annual running cost of $5,061, but the combustion Hyundai Elantra is only $43 behind. The Elantra costs $979 more in energy and $292 in servicing every year, but is $694 less expensive to insure and saves you $533 in taxes and fees.

Predictably, the pricey end of the table is dominated by trucks and SUVs, the most expensive of which is the Chevy Tahoe. One of those monsters will cost you a hefty $3,276 every year in gas, and $8,644 overall.

Running costs by model

Next, the study team used the same data to rank brands according to running costs, and again, Tesla came top, with a total annual cost of $5,517. Nissan grabbed second spot, despite its best performing single model making it no higher than eighth in the model table. The average Nissan costs $5,629, whereas the study says you’ll pay $5,759 for a Honda, $5,963 for a Subaru and $6,315 for a Hyundai even though the Elantra scored well in the by-model rankings.

Most expensive brand? That dubious honor goes to Lexus, whose cars will on average cost you more than $8k every year, though it should be noted that most other luxury brands are missing from this list, and would likely cost you far more.

Running costs by brand

Source: Self

President’s Trump’s pick for transportation secretary had to navigate a few road blocks on his way to office, but now he’s got his feet behind the desk Sean Duffy is intent on making his presence felt. One of Duffy’s first acts was to begin dismantling ambitious fuel economy mandates set by the previous administration.

Under rules put in place by former president in June of last year, Joe Biden, the average fuel consumption of American automakers’ light vehicle fleets must hit 50.4 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) by 2031. The regulations were intended to cut greenhouse gases to help limit global warming and to encourage drivers to switch to EVs.

Related: Donald Trump Signs Executive Orders Scrapping Biden’s “EV Mandate”

But Duffy sent a memo to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week ordering the agency to re-evaluate mpg rules for both cars and trucks made from the 2022 model year.

“Artificially high fuel economy standards impose large costs that render many new vehicle models unaffordable for the average American family and small business owner,” the memo said, according to the New York Times.

Duffy claims he is concerned that the tough MPG rules don’t reflect the true size of America’s oil reserves or the potential vulnerability of the electric grid. He also expressed worries over the idea of US automakers relying on foreign materials for their EV batteries.

Trump has also pledged to scrap EV tax credits that were introduced in their current form as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Available credits of up to $7,500 have been a big driver of electric car sales, which climbed 7 percent in 2024, giving EVs an 8 percent share of the car market.

Many automakers, having poured billions into developing EVs, are worried about the prospect of demand for them tanking if the credits are axed. But some will also be relived to see Trump’s team row back those stringent mpg standards, which could have presented some difficult engineering challenges to meet if EV demand doesn’t mature.

Alfa Romeo this week became the latest automaker to push back its switch to an all-EV lineup. The Italian brand’s Tonale SUV was supposed to be its last new combustion vehicle, but plans for the next-generation Stelvio SUV and Giulia sedan have now been tweaked to include provision for hybrid and combustion powertrains as well as fully electric ones.

The decision to switch was made easier by the flexibility of the Stellantis STLA Large platform that both cars will use, and which they share with the Dodge Charger and its Charger Daytona EV brother.