MyOpinion

Kia Europe has a plan to become the go-to choice in Europe and the UK for battery-electric light commercial vehicles, known in the auto industry as LCVs. The light commercial vehicle is how business gets done. It is the van that painters, plumbers, carpenters, and electricians use to get to a job site with all the tools and supplies they need. It is how most things get delivered, from flowers to packages, and office furniture to auto parts. An LCV is dead simple. It is a box on wheels with a place for a driver and one passenger and big doors to make loading and unloading easy.

Many companies have dreamed of manufacturing an electric version of the light commercial vehicle, primarily because the major automakers have shown little interest in doing so. Workhorse was one of the first with its N-Gen all-wheel drive van, a product we thought would be a sure winner. StreetScooter decided to build its own electric delivery vans after it couldn’t find a manufacturer to make them. Chanje said it would make one, as did Arrival and several others. Today, Mercedes has the E-Sprinter, Ford has the E-Transit, and Ram has the Promaster EV, but all those other companies have fallen by the wayside.

Chinese automakers are aiming to more than double their full-process manufacturing capacity outside of China, all in hopes of beating out import tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles and meeting demand for EVs, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Bloomberg reports that Chinese carmakers are set to boost annual production capacity in foreign plants from 1.2 million vehicles in 2023 to more than 2.7 million by 2026.

As the US, the European Union, and Turkey are set to impose tariffs, Chinese companies are pouring tons of investments into full-process manufacturing – which involves all four major steps in auto production, from stamping, welding, painting, and final assembly, according to the report. While expensive to build, it has high-production capacity compared to knock-down assembly, where key parts of cars are made in China, for example, and then shipped overseas for assembly.

“As the electric vehicle market in China saturates, increasing domestic competition and overcapacity are pushing Chinese EV brands abroad in search of new growth markets,” Bloomberg said in the report.

In total, Chinese automakers have built full-process manufacturing plants in nine countries, with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million vehicles as of 2023. But that will double to 2.7 million units over a dozen countries by 2026 “if company announcements are all delivered on time,” Bloomberg reports.

BYD along with Chinese state-backed Chery, Changan, GAC, and SAIC have announced 10 new or expansion projects for their overseas plants, namely in Thailand, Indonesia, and Brazil, from 2023 to the end of August. Of course, China automakers are expanding all over the world, with BYD and Geely-owned Volvo driving the expansion in Europe. BYD is building a plant in Hungary with another announced for Turkey, which gives it access to the EU. Spain, Italy, and Poland are pursuing investments, with Geely, Dongfeng, and Xpend reportedly looking for locations for future plants in Europe.

The Kia EV9 has been one of the most widely acclaimed electric vehicles of the last couple of years. It has won numerous awards and has gotten rave reviews (including from us). The model is yet to break 10,000 US sales a quarter, but that has to be coming. in any case, the news of the day is that 2025 Kia EV9 pricing is out.

The three-row electric SUV still has quite competitive pricing, only getting a slight price bump. The Light Long Range trim has had its MSRP increase by only $700, and pricing on other trims remained the same.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump isn't done taking your order as the final days of the 2024 campaign are turning into a fast food fight with many Americans still stressed over how much it costs to eat.

After creating a viral moment on Sunday by sporting an apron and working as a fry cooker at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, the former president's campaign is now selling "MAGADonald's" t-shirts.

"I have a McGift for you!" the campaign's online gift shop says above a t-shirt featuring a photo of Trump leaning out a drive-thru window.

The visit was called a stunt by some critics, but it was part of a larger effort by the Trump campaign to undermine Vice President Kamala Harris and her appeals to working-class and middle-class voters, specifically how she emphasized working at the $225 billion fast food chain in college.

BYD has a higher overall gross margin (i.e., cost of goods sold vs. what you sell them for) and much higher when just looking at automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits. BYD invests more in R&D and employs by far the most R&D engineers of any automaker. BYD has more clean tech IP. BYD is more vertically integrated. BYD makes all of its own batteries and supplies most of the materials within them. BYD has a larger business beyond automotive with a larger electronics, ESS, and solar presence (although these are lower-margin segments). BYD has a much larger commercial vehicle presence. And BYD is selling most of their vehicles below the $30,000 price point that Elon has been promising for over a decade but has never delivered upon.

BYD’s sales are growing while Tesla’s sales are stagnating. BYD has been capacity constrained and has multiple new factories under construction or ramping up. BYD has fresher product and more new product on the way. BYD has an 18 month full product development cycle, using a comprehensive digital twin. That is a shorter period than the average Tesla product launch delay. Combined with very flexible factories (U8 and Seagull are made in the same factory), they have the agility to rapidly shift to meet market needs.

A fan of Tesla might think that the automaker just can't catch a break when it comes to its autonomous driving tech. It’s already subject to several federal investigations over its marketing and deployment of technologies like Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD), and as of last week, we can add another to the list involving around 2.4 million Tesla vehicles. This time, regulators are assessing the cars' performance in low-visibility conditions after four documented accidents, one of which resulted in a fatality.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says this new probe is looking at instances when FSD was engaged when it was foggy or a lot of dust was in the air, or even when glare from the sun blinded the car’s cameras and this caused a problem.

What the car can "see" is the big issue here. It's also what Tesla bet its future on.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday the department is working "as fast as we can" to finalize $1.7 billion in grants to fund the conversion of plants to build electric vehicles and components. "We are working as fast as we can to finalize as much as we can -- to get the commitments in contract with all of those who have been selected," Granholm said in an interview on the sidelines of a Reuters Next conference. "We have a few months to make sure that we're doing that."

DOE announced plans in July to award General Motors to convert its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan to EVs at an unspecified future date and to award Chrysler-parent Stellantis $334.8 million to convert its shuttered Belvidere Assembly plant to build EVs and $250 million to convert its Indiana Transmission Plant in Kokomo to produce EV components. The United Auto Workers has threatened strikes over Stellantis delays in the planned Belvidere investment, which has prompted Stellantis to file suits to prevent work stoppages.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E can't afford to rest on its laurels. Sure, it's still the second best-selling electric SUV after the Tesla Model Y, and Ford says more than half of Mach-E customers are new to the brand. But it's still been around since late 2020 now and new competition is showing up all of the time.

To keep that momentum going, Ford has refreshed the electric 'stang for 2025 with some key updates inside and out—and most importantly, a lower starting price. The 2025 Mach-E now starts at $36,495 (excluding destination), a $3,500 drop compared to the current model.

The biggest update comes in the form of a heat pump, which will be standard on all 2025 trims. A heat pump improves heating and cooling efficiency, pulling warmth from outside air (even in the cold) to heat the cabin or battery and removing heat to cool the car when it gets toasty outside. This reduces battery drain and helps preserve range, especially in extreme temperatures. Heat pumps were added to the F-150 Lightning last year, so it's great to see them on the Mach-E as well.

I’ve never been so conflicted about a new car. After all, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz. It was delayed for too long, and now arrives with carryover, mediocre software and a high price. Its range is on the low end of middling, its user interface isn’t good and it doesn’t feel as practical as a proper minivan.

Yet one look at it and I can forgive any of these things. I just like it, and I’d be happy to have one.

That’s how powerful the ID. Buzz’s design is. It feels fresh and interesting in a world that is optimized to dreariness. The only failing is one of imagination. VW had the killer design; it’s had it for over a decade when we first saw an electric concept for the reborn Microbus.

What came all these years later is charming enough to be a success. But if the company had doubled down on the vision of what the bus could be, it could have created an aspirational icon. Something full of innovation and clever features, enough to charm people out of any EV skepticism they have. A sign that VW’s electric era will give the brand new relevance in the U.S. That’s not what it this van is. The ID. Buzz is simply a solid people mover with a delightful design.

Deals on used electric vehicles are plentiful right now. Lightly used Tesla Model S sedans are going for Model Y money. Subaru Solterras can be had for around $20,000. Low-mileage Lucid Airs are going for half off. All in all, there’s never been a better time to get plugged in on a budget.

But if you can wait until early next year, things are about to get much, much better. Many, many more EVs will become eligible for the federal used EV tax credit in January. According to research from battery health startup Recurrent, “this coming January, the largest ever influx of EVs to the used market gains eligibility.”

The firm, which tracks battery health in used EVs, says that 65% of EVs listed on the used market are already old enough to qualify for the credit. Thanks to booming electric sales in 2023, another 24% will meet that requirement come January 1. Say hello to a 2023 Chevy Bolt for just over $10,000.

Tesla fans criticized cars like the BYD e6, yes. I thought it was too heavy, but I had no issue with the batteries. Others found fault with the batteries, but not those with experience with LFP like me, for instance. In fact, I did not at first understand what Tesla was doing with a clearly volatile, and fire-prone battery chemistry. Then I found out they were using special fire suppressant materials in their packs, and they used fusible links in series with each cell so that if a cell shorted out, it would blow the link. They also worked on their cell caps to reduce pressure in the event of outgassing. None of that could stop the greater volatility and susceptibility to thermal runaway and pack fire. It only reduced the spread speed, and gave time for occupants to exit. They armored the pack against puncture with a thick aluminum pan and gave it strong side supports. Every NMC and NCA pack will catch fire if punctured. Winston showed movies of LFP punctured by nails and bullets. Those are standard tests. There is a flame test, a bake test, and a full short test. (Don’t try this at home.)

Done right, LFP can be punctured with no fire. Tesla just went ahead and used NMC and NCA anyway, and dealt with it with clever countermeasures. As NMC went to more energy density with higher nickel content, it became even more volatile.

On top of the safety benefits, LFP has much higher cycle life, a minimum of 4,000 cycles, a stiff discharge profile, and very low internal resistance. It is a really good power source. Those of you with LFP Teslas or other vehicles, hang on to them. Their battery packs could last a lifetime.

Leasing has swiftly taken over the electric-vehicle market. Nearly 80% of new EVs bought at dealerships are now leased, according to Edmunds data cited by The Wall Street Journal.

That’s up from 16% at the beginning of last year, per Edmunds. And it’s at least triple the industry average, which sits around 20%. One caveat: since we’re talking about EVs bought at dealerships, these figures exclude direct-to-consumer EV makers like Rivian, Lucid and (most importantly) Tesla. Tesla tends to push leases less than many conventional brands, too. Since it makes the three best-selling EVs on sale, the full-market figure is likely considerably less than 80%.

Still, the rise of leasing is among the strangest dynamics in today’s EV market, and the long-term impacts could be immense.