BMW M GmbH was founded in 1972, and it’s just reached an important milestone. The one-millionth vehicle recently rolled off the assembly line in Munich, Germany.

The model was an M3 with a BMW Individual Fire Orange III paint job. It was presented to Peter Weber, head of BMW Group Plant Munich, by BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel.

More: BMW M3 EV Lays Down 11s Trying To Shake Xiaomi At The Ring

The executive said, “BMW M combines road and racetrack capabilities with everyday practicality. The one-millionth BMW M vehicle shows that these values are still very much appreciated by our customers, 40 years after the market launch of the first BMW M3.”

The automaker said surprisingly little about the car, but it appears to be an M3 Competition. The model has a twin-turbo 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine that has outputs of 503 hp (375 kW / 510 PS) and 523 hp (390 kW / 530 PS). When equipped with all-wheel drive, the sedan can rocket from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 3.4 seconds before hitting a limited top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h).

Of course, the current model is living on borrowed time as BMW recently introduced the eighth-generation 3-Series. In fact, the company noted the Munich plant will build only fully electric vehicles starting in 2027.

The automaker is investing around €650 ($732) million into the facility, and i3 production started in August. The plant will eventually build the M3 EV as well.

BMW M3 EV Teased

BMW is staying tight-lipped about the M3 Electric, but it released new images of a camouflaged prototype. It closely echoes the concept that was introduced in June, but features a toned-down design.

As you can see, it has a less aggressive front bumper and a smaller splitter. The car also adopts conventional mirrors and flush-mounted door handles. Designers went on to give the road-going model a more traditional rear end, which eschews the boy racer aesthetic.

Despite a number of changes, the production model keeps the yellow headlight graphics and squared-off lower lighting units from the concept. We can also see a ventilated hood and a small rear spoiler.

BMW is keeping specifications a closely guarded secret, but the M3 EV is expected to have a quad-motor powertrain. The rumored output has been all over the map, with numbers ranging from 691 hp (515 kW / 700 PS) to 986 hp (735 kW / 1,000 PS). However, the Mercedes-AMG C-Class Electric is expected to have a tri-motor powertrain with around 789 hp (588 kW / 800 PS), so BMW could also land somewhere around there.

Dacia already sells an eclectic mix of vehicles, and soon, it will add perhaps its most striking and intriguing vehicle to date. Starting next year, Dacia is expected to start manufacturing a production version of its wild Hipster concept in China.

This new model, which could be priced in Europe at less than €11,500, or under $13,000 at current exchange rates, will slot below the all-new Spring in Dacia’s line-up. The same Chinese facility that built the previous-generation Spring will handle production of the Hipster. As for the new Spring, it will be built in Slovenia.

Read: Dacia’s Tiny EV Declares War On Europe’s Overpriced Cars

Dacia unveiled the dramatic Hipster concept 12 months ago. It is incredibly basic and extremely compact, measuring just 118.1 inches (3 meters) long, standing 60.6 inches (1.54 meters) tall, and just 61 inches (1.55 meters) wide. It’s not just the concept’s compact footprint that turns heads, but also its blocky exterior design and the small areas of color, contrasting with the matte grey paint found across most of the Hipster’s body.

Small And Light

The Hipster has been designed to comply with L7e quadricycle regulations in Europe and, as such, it cannot weigh more than 992 lbs (450 kg), excluding the battery, putting into perspective just how compact it is. A final decision on the Hipster’s battery and its chemistry is still pending, but it will reportedly be around 15 kWh.

Autocar understands the Shiyan, China, plant that built the old Spring has been sitting idle since July. Beyond the Hipster’s production being penciled in for this site, engineers at the plant will also aid in the development of the new EV.

Patent images Autoweek uncovered earlier this year show the production version will look almost identical to the concept. Changes include a slightly simpler front bumper and grille, as well as a tiny windshield wiper not featured on the concept. The doors are also slightly different, and there’s a small horizontal bar running across the side windows. Tweaks have also been made to the shape of the rear window, tailgate, and bumper.

Having established itself as the largest car manufacturer in China, BYD is looking to conquer overseas markets. This includes Europe, where it believes it will need four factories as part of a significant local expansion that threatens to shake up the industry and will no doubt leave legacy rivals trembling with fear.

Current advisor for BYD’s European operations, and former Fiat Chrysler executive Alfredo Altavilla, revealed earlier this week that BYD wants to establish three vehicle assembly plants in Europe, in addition to a site dedicated to assembling batteries for EVs.

Read: BYD’s New Electric Semi For Europe Beats Tesla In Almost Every Metric

BYD has just finished building a factory in Szeged, Hungary, and has kicked off trial production. Altavilla says the brand has already started speaking with car manufacturers and governments in Spain, France, and Italy for other sites, as it’s looking to potentially acquire underutilized factories instead of building all-new ones.

“Over the longer term, we will need three ​assembly plants ​and one ⁠battery plant,” Altavilla revealed to Reuters. “Obviously, this is not something that will ​happen overnight. However, it is ​clear ⁠that, to achieve the volume targets we have in mind, while at the ⁠same ​time complying with European ​regulations, that is what we will need.”

Altavilla said BYD wants to decide on the location of a second manufacturing site by the end of the year. It will then need to decide whether it prioritizes a third manufacturing plant or a local battery plant.

Surging Overseas Demand

BYD’s site in Hungary will have the capacity to produce up to 200,000 vehicles annually, with current plans calling for large-scale production to commence in either November or December. In 2024, BYD announced plans for a plant capable of building 150,000 vehicles annually in Manisa, Turkey, originally hoping to start production in late 2026. However, work at this site has been put on indefinite hold.

The automaker is focusing on overseas markets as sales in China decline. This year, BYD sales in its home market have fallen 32.7 percent to 1.505 million. By comparison, overseas deliveries have soared, and the brand expects to end 2026 having sold between 1.9 million and 2.0 million vehicles internationally.

Update: A Toyota spokesperson in the US told Carscoops the company has not changed the timeline it announced back in July, which targets a 2027 launch, likely within the first months of the year. That framing sits at odds with Nikkei Asia’s report of a fresh delay to “2027 or later”. Revised article follows below.

The all-new Toyota Highlander EV was unveiled in February 2026 and was supposed to enter production this autumn. Then, in July, Toyota said the timeline had slipped by at least “eight weeks” for “final adjustments.” Earlier today, Nikkei Asia reported the start of assembly has moved back again by several months, possibly by as much as a year, pushing the electric SUV’s market launch “to 2027 or later.”

More: Toyota’s Third Best-Selling Vehicle Has A Supercar-Style Waiting List

The Highlander EV will be built in Georgetown, Kentucky. According to Nikkei Asia, the three-row SUV is expected to reach the line in January 2027 “at the earliest.” The same publication says Toyota has already notified its supplier network about the revised schedule. A January start would sit inside the early-2027 window Toyota says it has been working toward all along.

Toyota Says It’s About Quality Checks

A representative for Toyota’s North American division clarified that the extra time is allocated to final checks and quality validation before rolling out full-scale production. This aligns with the automaker’s previous stance in July, when a media preview was postponed.

Subaru’s Getaway Is Stuck Too

Toyota has insisted that the holdup has nothing to do with EV demand in the US, and points out that its EV sales are “still growing.” The numbers back that up, to a point, as US EV sales fell 21% year-over-year in Q2, while Toyota’s own EV deliveries more than tripled over the same stretch. Growing from a small base is easier when the lineup keeps expanding, which is exactly what Toyota has been doing in the region.

The Highlander EV shares its bones with the Subaru Getaway, and both three-row EVs will be built on the same Georgetown line. Subaru confirmed its own delay in July, saying production would slip “to allow sufficient time for final adjustments before launch.” Toyota used almost identical wording, which suggests the two are moving in step. Subaru still hasn’t named a new date or said whether deliveries will shift.

BMW’s electric adventure has officially passed a big milestone. Almost 13 years after the original i3 arrived, the company has handed over its two millionth fully electric vehicle. And one of the factors making that possible is that EV sales are currently going gangbusters in one specific region.

The landmark two-millionth car was an i5 M60 xDrive built in Dingolfing and delivered to a customer in Spain. Add plug-in hybrids and BMW Group says it’s shifted around 3.5 million electrified vehicles since 2013, while more than one in four of its global sales during the first half of 2026 had some form of electric propulsion.

Related: BMW Thinks Drivers Under 45 Are Done Poking Buttons. Other Brands Disagree

Things are moving particularly quickly in Europe. BMW’s European BEV sales jumped 38 percent during the second quarter to 81,445 cars. Fully electric models represented roughly 28 percent of BMW’s European sales during 2026’s first half.

That’s not happening in isolation. Almost 1.5 million BEVs were registered across Europe through July, up 30 percent year over year. July alone saw electric cars grab 35 percent of the French market and 29 percent in Germany. Denmark, meanwhile, hit 80 percent, Reuters reports.

BMW’s new iX3 appears well placed to seize the opportunity. The automaker says it’s approaching 100,000 orders, and since its unveiling, one in three electric BMWs ordered in Europe has been an iX3. And half of European X3-family orders are already for the electric version, which admittedly looks miles better than its ICE brother inside and out.

Growing Family

The Neue Klasse family is expanding, too. Series production of the new electric i3 3-series began in Munich this month, with BMW reporting strong early demand ahead of its market launch. And the new X5 has an electric variant for the first time that will be in showrooms in spring 2027.

But cross the Atlantic and the EV party suddenly gets quieter. US electric sales across the industry fell more than 20 percent year over year in the second quarter following the removal of federal tax incentives, leaving EVs with around a 6 percent share of the market.

No Love For iX

BMW’s own figures show that while North American sales of PHEV vehicles grew 22.9 percent in Q2, sales of electrified (EV and hybrid) vehicles tanked to the tune of -18.1 percent, revealing just how bad demand for EVs is now that US tax credits have gone. Sales of the iX electric SUV, for example, are down almost 50 percent year-to-date, official automaker figures say, though a recent facelift and price cut might help going forward. And Cox Automotive suggests BMW’s overall EV sales in the US are down 56 percent year-to-date. Ouch.

The arrival at BMW showrooms in September of the confident Neue Klasse iX3, whose fresh design will also help improve BMW EVs sales, no doubt. As will the iX5 we mentioned previously (pictured below). But the electric story is still going to be very different from one side of the Atlantic to the other.

BMW

Hyundai’s massive product push dominated their investor day event, but it wasn’t the only thing the company announced. Quite the opposite as the automaker talked about increasing production, ramping up autonomous driving efforts, and offering improved technology.

Starting with autonomous driving, the first Ioniq 5 Waymo robotaxis will be delivered in the fourth quarter and they’ll “enable an international expansion of robotaxi services as early as 2027.”

More: Hyundai Is Launching More Than 100 New Vehicles By 2030

Besides the Waymo effort, Hyundai-owned Motional will use Ioniq 5 robotaxis. They’re scheduled to begin commercial operations later this year in Las Vegas. Additional cities should then follow in 2027.

On the consumer front, “Hyundai Motor Group is standardizing its sensor architecture around the NVIDIA ecosystem so that data acquired by Hyundai Motor, Kia, 42dot, and Motional can be integrated and used to a single consistent standard.” This means learnings from one company can be applied to others.

Hyundai is also working to deploy its autonomous driving artificial intelligence, known as Atria AI, by the end of the year. It will eventually be used to power the company’s Level 2+ system, which arrives in 2028.

The automaker went on to say “Atria AI will be extended progressively across mass-produced vehicles, building a full lineup of autonomous driving capability from Level 2+ to Level 4.” Since Hyundai sells millions of vehicles annually, they’ll collect a ton of data, and this will be used to rapidly improve the AI’s self-driving capabilities and performance.

Improved EVs

Hyundai has been an electric vehicle pioneer and this experience is about to pay off as the company has developed its own battery cells. They “deliver more than double the output of the high-nickel cells … used previously, while cutting charging time by 40 percent.” The new cells will apparently debut in the upcoming Santa Fe or Genesis range-extended vehicle.

Starting next year, EVs will use new “mid-nickel NCM cells.” This will reduce battery costs by approximately 30%, while “maintaining optimal performance under real-world driving conditions.” Furthermore, the new batteries will have 30% more energy than equivalent LFP batteries of the same size.

Lastly, the company will improve its cloud-based battery management system by 2028. This will reportedly extend battery life by an average of 20%.

Amazon Partnership

Hyundai’s partnership with Amazon on Amazon Autos appears to be a success as they’ll expand listings to markets outside of the United States next year. Alexa built-in will also roll out across the Hyundai lineup, while Genesis models will follow.

Speaking of tech, Hyundai is relying on Amazon Web Services to accelerate their “cloud and AI capabilities.” Amazon is also said to be looking at using Hyundai fuel cell vehicles.

Increased Production Capacity

With more than 100 new models coming by 2030, Hyundai is ramping up their production capacity by 1.27 million units globally. North American plants will be able to build an additional 500,000 units, while Indian facilities add 320,000 units. Korean production will increase by 200,000 vehicles, while CKD sites will see their capacity grow by 250,000 units.

Focusing in on North America, Hyundai is increasing their local parts sourcing target to 80%. That’s up from 60% and the automaker confirmed there will be more than ten hybrids on the continent by 2030, which are produced at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama and Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.

The European expansion of Chinese car manufacturers is in its early stages, and already, local production is growing rapidly. Within the next decade, as many as 1.5 million vehicles from Chinese brands could be built in Europe annually.

This year, Chinese brands like BYD, Leapmotor, and Chery are expected to manufacture approximately 90,000 of these vehicles in Europe, either in new factories or existing ones that have been underutilized. Global Mobility expects this figure to grow to 1 million units annually by 2030 and 1.5 million by 2035.

Read: The Chinese Brand That Didn’t Exist In Britain A Year Ago Just Outsold Honda And Mazda Combined

However, lawmakers in Europe are eager to ensure that brands don’t exclusively rely on Chinese parts when building new vehicles, and instead work with local suppliers. They’re doing this through the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), which aims to strengthen Europe’s industrial base and boost domestic manufacturing.

Chinese, But With European Parts

Details are still being ironed out, but the act is expected to introduce quotas for European parts to be used in vehicles manufactured across the continent. Without this act, “the main risk is that China will open pure assembly plants for Chinese components in the EU – with minimal economic added value for the Europeans,” economist Sander Tordoir said.

BYD will soon start production of its cars in Hungary and is also looking to add a plant in Spain to its local portfolio. In addition, several Jaecoo and Omoda vehicles are being built in Spain, and soon, Leapmotor will also start building EVs at the Stellantis site in Zaragoza. Geely will also manufacture vehicles in Valencia through a partnership with Ford.

The key reason Chinese brands are building locally is to avoid paying hefty import tariffs. However, if the IAA enforces car companies to increase their reliance on European suppliers and manufacture more components locally, brands like BYD, which have a high degree of vertical integration, will have to consider if the investments are worthwhile.

“Because, to be considered ‘Made in Europe,’ large parts of the components, including the battery, would then have to be manufactured locally,” Gregor Williams from the Rhodium Group think tank told Automobilwoche.