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It's ev.news Briefly for Wednesday 12 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.

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KIA PRICES 2027 EV3 IN US FROM $29,890
Kia will sell the EV3 in America starting at $29,890 for the Light front-wheel-drive model, with up to 321 miles of EPA-estimated range on the long-range version, five trim levels, and a standard NACS port for Tesla Supercharger access. The entry-level electric SUV offers front-wheel drive with 201 horsepower, all-wheel drive with 261 horsepower, or a GT variant at 288 horsepower, with AWD costing an extra $3,200 on most trims.
BRITAIN'S USED EV SALES RISE 67% TO 110,761 IN SECOND QUARTER
Britain's used EV market surged 67% to 110,761 sales in the second quarter of 2026, capturing a record 5.5% share of the used car market and claiming one in every 18 second-hand purchases. Electric cars nearly doubled their market penetration from 3.3% a year earlier as traditional petrol and diesel vehicles continued to dominate with 86.7% of transactions.
USED EV VALUES RISE 1.6% IN JULY, FOURTH STRAIGHT MONTHLY GAIN
Three-year-old battery electric vehicles in the UK gained 1.6% in value during July, marking their fourth consecutive month of growth since March and a cumulative 7% increase of roughly £1,500 per car. Fleet EVs like the Peugeot 208 Electric, Mercedes EQB, VW ID.4, and Tesla Model Y now sell within 14 days, positioning them as the fastest-selling used cars in the market.
AUSTRALIAN EV SALES DOUBLE AS PETROL HITS $2.53 A LITRE
Electric vehicle sales in Australia more than doubled in the second quarter of 2026 as unleaded petrol reached a record $2.53 per litre, making up one in five new cars sold. Market share for fully electric vehicles climbed from 12.25% to over 21% in the first half of 2026, driven primarily by fuel prices rather than policy.
EVGO OPENS 350KW FLAGSHIP CHARGING SITE IN DETROIT WITH MEIJER AND GM
EVgo opened a 350kW flagship charging station in Detroit with 12 CCS and NACS stalls beneath a canopy, capable of delivering a full charge in as little as 15 minutes and accommodating vehicles towing trailers through pull-through access. The site represents EVgo's vision for charging infrastructure, with the company expecting more than 100 flagship locations online by the end of 2026 after building nearly 2,400 stalls nationwide with GM's backing.
GERMAN INSURER REPORTS 12% OF PRIVATE CAR SWITCHES GO ELECTRIC
German insurer HUK Coburg reported that 12% of private vehicle changes switched to battery-electric cars in the second quarter of 2026, more than double the pre-war rate of 6.3%, with 24% of licence holders citing fuel prices since the Iran conflict as motivation. Germany registered 368,000 new BEVs in the first half of 2026 (48% more than 2025) for a 24.8% market share, while Tesla's share among switchers jumped from 5.6% to 12.2% and German brands lost ground except in the used market.
SAMSUNG SDI BUYS GM'S 49.99% STAKE IN INDIANA BATTERY VENTURE
Samsung SDI has acquired General Motors' 49.99% stake in SynergyCells, the Indiana battery venture formed in 2024, citing slower-than-expected EV demand and pivoting the plant to produce cells and modules for energy storage systems rather than GM vehicles. The $3.5 billion venture will still open in 2026, though Samsung SDI and GM have signed a separate agreement to develop next-generation prismatic cells together for possible future EVs.
TOKYO RAISES EV SUBSIDY TO 1.3 MILLION YEN PER VEHICLE
Tokyo's metropolitan government raised its electric vehicle subsidy to 1.3 million yen per vehicle with no purchase limit, stackable with national incentives and bonuses for vehicle-to-load capability, charging equipment installation, renewable energy, and solar power usage. The scheme grades manufacturers by subsidy level—Toyota, Nissan, and Honda receive 400,000 yen while BYD receives only 100,000 yen in Tokyo—allowing buyers to potentially pay as little as 2.2 million yen for a 4.8 million yen Toyota bZ4X after stacking both subsidy tiers.
FORMULA E SPLITS INTO TWO RACE FORMATS FROM 2026/27
From the 2026/27 season, Formula E will run two distinct race formats: the E-Prix Unleashed as a 30-minute sprint with high downforce and no mandatory pit stop, and the conventional E-Prix as a 45-minute race with low-downforce aerodynamics and compulsory pit stops. The split reflects the capabilities of the new GEN4 car, which features permanent all-wheel drive, up to 600kW output, and 0-62 mph acceleration in roughly 1.8 seconds.
V ENGINEERING BUILDS 12.4KWH REPLACEMENT BATTERY FOR MCLAREN P1
V Engineering, a McLaren specialist based in Berkshire, has developed Project Continuum, a replacement high-voltage hybrid battery for the P1 that stores 12.4kWh compared to the original 4.72kWh while weighing 23kg less and requiring no rewiring. Customer installations will begin in spring 2027 for cars across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, addressing the 2010-era battery's deterioration after approaching 16 years in service.

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BYD LAUNCHES 2027 SEAL 06 FROM $14,800 https://evne.ws/5v0h3

CHINA'S JULY NEV RETAIL SHARE REACHES 65.1%, SALES DOWN 3.9% https://evne.ws/sbwag

LEAPMOTOR PRICES A05 FROM $9,500 / £7,000 https://evne.ws/1j7ba

FANG CHENG BAO REVEALS TI 9 SIX-SEAT PLUG-IN HYBRID SUV https://evne.ws/dcecp

VOLKSWAGEN OPENS ID. ERA 5S PRE-SALES FROM 119,900 YUAN  https://evne.ws/e62b9

XPENG OPENS G9L PREORDERS  https://evne.ws/iupwg

TEARDOWN PUTS XIAOMI SU7'S CATL CELL AT 175.7 WH/KG https://evne.ws/a0hm8

GM ENDS CHEVROLET NEW-CAR SALES IN CHINA https://evne.ws/nae40

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TESLA EXHAUSTS MYFIRSTEV REBATE ALLOCATION IN FIVE DAYS https://evne.ws/zwroz

USED EV PRICES ROSE 3.3% YEAR-ON-YEAR IN JULY, AUTOTRADER SAYS https://evne.ws/r12xy

CDK STUDY FINDS 1% OF US EV OWNERS CONSIDERING PETROL https://evne.ws/rxy2k

CHECK BEFORE RECORDING https://evne.ws/78l2f

MITSUBISHI AUSTRALIA CONFIRMS ASX VR-E ELECTRIC SUV FOR LATE 2026 https://evne.ws/78l2f

WESTERN EUROPEAN BEV FORECAST RAISED TO 3.07M UNITS FOR 2026 https://evne.ws/5q36s

RAC WARRANTY SELLS 15,000 EV POLICIES IN FIRST HALF OF 2026 https://evne.ws/7li40

U.S. COMMITS $1.4 BILLION LOAN TO SILA NANOTECHNOLOGIES https://evne.ws/s9y2k

PARIS MAKES HELMETS COMPULSORY FOR E-SCOOTER RIDERS, €135 FINE https://evne.ws/cmal4

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TESLA EXHAUSTS MYFIRSTEV REBATE ALLOCATION IN FIVE DAYS https://evne.ws/zwroz

USED EV PRICES ROSE 3.3% YEAR-ON-YEAR IN JULY, AUTOTRADER SAYS https://evne.ws/r12xy

CDK STUDY FINDS 1% OF US EV OWNERS CONSIDERING PETROL https://evne.ws/rxy2k

CHECK BEFORE RECORDING https://evne.ws/78l2f

MITSUBISHI AUSTRALIA CONFIRMS ASX VR-E ELECTRIC SUV FOR LATE 2026 https://evne.ws/78l2f

WESTERN EUROPEAN BEV FORECAST RAISED TO 3.07M UNITS FOR 2026 https://evne.ws/5q36s

RAC WARRANTY SELLS 15,000 EV POLICIES IN FIRST HALF OF 2026 https://evne.ws/7li40

U.S. COMMITS $1.4 BILLION LOAN TO SILA NANOTECHNOLOGIES https://evne.ws/s9y2k

PARIS MAKES HELMETS COMPULSORY FOR E-SCOOTER RIDERS, €135 FINE https://evne.ws/cmal4

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BYD CONVERTS SHANGHAI PETROL STATION INTO 1500KW CHARGING HUB https://evne.ws/605o5

CATL'S NING SERVICE LAUNCHES $150 MILLION SUBSIDY https://evne.ws/ynvdo

GM AND SAIC EXTEND CHINA JOINT VENTURE BY 20 YEARS https://evne.ws/881j6

CHANGAN'S AVATR 07L LAUNCHES WITH 955 HP TRI-MOTOR OPTION https://evne.ws/d9kj4

CHINA ENDS LITHIUM BATTERY TAX BREAK FOR E-BIKES https://evne.ws/sno1z

CHINA DEREGISTERED 7,632 EV-RELATED COMPANIES IN FIRST HALF OF 2026 https://evne.ws/08mqw

CHINA RAISES NEV DURABILITY ROAD TEST TO 30,000 KILOMETRES (18,641 MILES) https://evne.ws/9rkbo

NON-CHINA EV SALES REACH 4.6M IN H1 2026, UP 30.3% https://evne.ws/i7y82

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AVERAGE EV PRICE FALLS 9% TO $37,000 https://evne.ws/52rc2

GLOBAL EV BATTERY DEPLOYMENTS HIT 608.5 GWH IN H1 2026 https://evne.ws/l2ivm

HOME-CHARGED EVS SAVE £960 A YEAR, UP £180 https://evne.ws/1kmgx

2027 GMC SIERRA EV ADDS THREE CAMERAS AND NACS PORT https://evne.ws/pmqek

FLORIDA DIVERTS $197 MILLION EV CHARGER FUNDS TO SCI-FI FLYING TAXIS https://evne.ws/pnc5x

GOVERNMENT PUTS £65M INTO ELECTRIC VEHICLE FIRMS, SUPPORTING 1,800 JOBS https://evne.ws/skfwx

ZERO PAYS EUROPEAN NEW RIDERS €500 CASH BACK https://evne.ws/n7svb

MACH-E OWNER SUES FORD OVER $1.3 BILLION TARIFF REFUND https://evne.ws/v4ahv

ELUMINA DS400 CHARGER OPENS IN COCKBURN, FUNDED BY ITS OWNER https://evne.ws/7rr0l

WORLD'S LARGEST BATTERY-ELECTRIC SHIP LEAVES TASMANIA FOR SOUTH AMERICA https://evne.ws/fa98n

It's ev.news Briefly for Monday 10 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.

Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnews

AVERAGE EV PRICE FALLS 9% TO $37,000 https://evne.ws/52rc2

GLOBAL EV BATTERY DEPLOYMENTS HIT 608.5 GWH IN H1 2026 https://evne.ws/l2ivm

HOME-CHARGED EVS SAVE £960 A YEAR, UP £180 https://evne.ws/1kmgx

2027 GMC SIERRA EV ADDS THREE CAMERAS AND NACS PORT https://evne.ws/pmqek

FLORIDA DIVERTS $197 MILLION EV CHARGER FUNDS TO SCI-FI FLYING TAXIS https://evne.ws/pnc5x

GOVERNMENT PUTS £65M INTO ELECTRIC VEHICLE FIRMS, SUPPORTING 1,800 JOBS https://evne.ws/skfwx

ZERO PAYS EUROPEAN NEW RIDERS €500 CASH BACK https://evne.ws/n7svb

MACH-E OWNER SUES FORD OVER $1.3 BILLION TARIFF REFUND https://evne.ws/v4ahv

ELUMINA DS400 CHARGER OPENS IN COCKBURN, FUNDED BY ITS OWNER https://evne.ws/7rr0l

WORLD'S LARGEST BATTERY-ELECTRIC SHIP LEAVES TASMANIA FOR SOUTH AMERICA https://evne.ws/fa98n

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MAEXTRO MPVS TAKE 3,500 ORDERS IN A DAY https://evne.ws/7igci

TYPHOON DOLPHIN PUSHES LEAPMOTOR A05 LAUNCH TO 11 AUGUST https://evne.ws/pvj82

ZEEKR 7X CATCHES FIRE IN NINGBO AFTER EARLIER COLLISION https://evne.ws/6bjv9

ZEEKR 7X SELLS 1892 IN JULY, ENTERS AUSTRALIA'S TOP 10 https://evne.ws/25n2p

SAIC LISTS MG 07 PHEV WITH 245KM (152 MILES) ELECTRIC RANGE https://evne.ws/vcs01

CATL AND BYD BOTH SET 2027 SOLID-STATE TRIAL PRODUCTION https://evne.ws/e5sco

CATL'S 350 WH/KG AVIATION BATTERY PASSES TWO-CELL PROPAGATION TEST https://evne.ws/6x7bx

CHINA-BUILT VEHICLE IMPORTS TO CANADA REACH 9,813 OF 24,500 QUOTA https://evne.ws/fmppl

DONGFENG MENGSHI X700 FILES WITH MIIT IN TWO HYBRID FORMS https://evne.ws/ag02l

CAC NAMES CAI SHEN DAO FOR FALSE PRODUCT EVALUATIONS https://evne.ws/5vdqm

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FORD FATHOM STARTS AT $29,945 DELIVERED https://evne.ws/mbpca

CALIFORNIA’S MYFIRSTEV REBATES START PAYING OUT https://evne.ws/3wmjz

BMW STARTS I3 PRODUCTION IN MUNICH https://evne.ws/p6l0d

ŠKODA STARTS PEAQ PRODUCTION IN MLADÁ BOLESLAV https://evne.ws/ra59e

CHINESE BRANDS GAIN GROUND IN GERMANY https://evne.ws/2qp0m

ROYAL MAIL HITS 9,000 ELECTRIC VANS https://evne.ws/kpizv

KIA PV5 TAKES 37% OF EUROPEAN MARKET https://evne.ws/a92rl

ARNOLD CLARK ADDS £8.99 CHARGING SUBSCRIPTION https://evne.ws/x3bm6

VAUXHALL CORSA GSE STARTS AT £32,995 https://evne.ws/fjuv5

NEW YORK TO ADD 600 CURBSIDE CHARGERS https://evne.ws/wgmie

It's ev.news Briefly for Friday 07 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.

Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnews

FORD FATHOM STARTS AT $29,945 DELIVERED
Ford has named its affordable electric pickup the Fathom, priced from $28,350 for the standard-range model, or $29,945 including the mandatory $1,595 delivery fee, and it is the first vehicle on Ford's new Universal EV Platform, which uses megacasting and an "assembly tree" process at Louisville Assembly Plant to cut parts count by 20% and process workstations by 40%, alongside prismatic LFP cells from BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan and an expected range of at least 300 miles (480km). Every trim gets a large touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, BlueCruise, bidirectional charging, a digital key, a native NACS port and the first embedded Apple Maps navigation, with pre-orders and the full reveal due in early 2027 and customer deliveries later that year.
CALIFORNIA'S MYFIRSTEV REBATES START PAYING OUT
California's MyFirstEV programme has begun paying out $3,500 off a new EV and $1,750 off a used EV at the point of sale, funded by $135.5 million from the state matched by $135.5 million from manufacturers for a $271 million pot that could support more than 73,000 clean vehicles, with new vehicles capped at $50,000 MSRP, used at $25,000, and buyers required to attest they have never owned an EV. The caveats are significant: the price caps do not apply to California-headquartered makers Lucid and Rivian, carmakers choose which models and trims qualify, CARB judges eligibility on base-trim MSRP so pricier variants like the Model Y Performance still qualify, and used EVs must be certified pre-owned from franchised dealerships and at least two model years old.
BMW STARTS I3 PRODUCTION IN MUNICH
BMW began series production of the i3 at Plant Munich on 6 August, making it the second Neue Klasse model to reach series production after the iX3, with orders opening in mid-June and demand forcing an unusually steep ramp-up curve. Plant Munich head Peter Weber said the launch cuts manufacturing costs by a further 10% through forward planning, supplier collaboration, targeted automation, digitalisation and the Neue Klasse architecture, with the First Edition priced at €75,340 ($87,100) and the later base i3 50 xDrive at €65,900 ($76,180).
ŠKODA STARTS PEAQ PRODUCTION IN MLADÁ BOLESLAV
Škoda Auto has started series production of the Peaq, its largest and most expensive electric model, at Mladá Boleslav, where it shares a line with the electric Elroq, electric Enyaq and combustion Octavia Combi, allowing output to shift between powertrains as demand changes; the model went on sale in June and had almost 8,500 orders by the end of July. Batteries are assembled on site, with a 91 kWh gross/86 kWh net pack offering more than 640 km (398 miles) of range and a smaller 63 kWh gross/59 kWh net pack starting at €49,990 (about $58,000).
CHINESE BRANDS GAIN GROUND IN GERMANY
Chinese brands took 3.8% of German registrations in the first half of 2026, up from 2.2% in 2025, achieved in Europe's largest car market while overall demand stayed flat. Research from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand found Korean-brand owners most open to switching, with nearly one in two considering a Chinese model and one in five certain to buy, against nearly one in three of Japanese-brand owners and roughly one in four German-brand owners, though the German figures are not presented on a comparable basis and stated intent does not prove actual defection.
ROYAL MAIL HITS 9,000 ELECTRIC VANS
Royal Mail has taken delivery of its 9,000th electric van, assigned to the Colchester Delivery Office, in what it calls Britain's largest electric delivery fleet, with 44 delivery sites now diesel-free and almost a third of routes zero-emission. The programme began in 2017 with an order for 100 vans and is justified by lower running and maintenance costs on short urban rounds, and now extends beyond the last mile with the first electric HGV added in December 2025 and more than 100 micro electric vehicles being deployed across the UK.
KIA PV5 TAKES 37% OF EUROPEAN MARKET
Kia's first electric van, the PV5, arrived at the end of 2025, beat the company's own launch forecasts and now holds 37% of Europe's small electric van market according to ACEA data, leading its segment in 12 countries including the UK and Germany across Passenger, Cargo and Chassis forms. In Britain the PV5 Cargo leads all electric vans on 2026 registrations to date, and July brought Kia's first four-figure electric van month with 1,019 registrations, split 784 Cargo and 235 Passenger.
ARNOLD CLARK ADDS £8.99 CHARGING SUBSCRIPTION
Arnold Clark has launched an £8.99 ($12) monthly subscription on its Arnold Clark Charge network, available only through Octopus Electroverse, cutting ultra-rapid charging to 39p/kWh from the 55p/kWh standard tariff, a 16p/kWh saving that repays the fee at roughly 56kWh a month or about one and a half fills of a mid-size battery. The move carries weight because Arnold Clark is Britain's largest independent dealer group, with 140 service centres, 16 accident repair sites, 38 rental branches and Central Car Auctions, and recently reported annual revenue above £5.56bn ($7.5bn) with new-car sales up 11.2% in 2025 on the back of new EV franchises.
VAUXHALL CORSA GSE STARTS AT £32,995
Vauxhall has priced the electric Corsa GSE at £32,995 ($44,400) after the UK Electric Car Grant, with order books opening in September and first deliveries due in winter. Built on Stellantis's electric hot-hatch version of the e-CMP platform and shared with the Opel Corsa GSE, it uses a 207 kW (278 hp) front motor for a claimed 0-62 mph in 5.5 seconds, making it the quickest-accelerating production Vauxhall on sale and the most powerful Corsa ever, and positioning it as successor to the Nova GTE/GSi, Corsa GSi and Corsa VXR.
NEW YORK TO ADD 600 CURBSIDE CHARGERS
New York City's Department of Transportation plans to add 600 curbside charging points to the PlugNYC network across all five boroughs over three years, lifting public curbside Level 2 points from 88 to 688, with each site carrying at least two posts and four charging points plus spare electrical connections for future e-mobility uses where grid capacity allows. Priority goes to dense neighbourhoods with little off-street parking and high numbers of taxi and ride-hailing drivers as well as low- and moderate-income communities, with Commissioner Mike Flynn tying the scheme to the Mamdani administration's 2050 net-zero goal, while a separate expansion at municipal parking facilities will add 92 fast and 180 Level 2 charging points procured and built by the New York Power Authority.
One flag worth raising: the Ford story contains an error in the source copy — "$29,945, or £22,30" is a malformed sterling conversion. Also, your instruction was two sentences per story, but several of these items carry more load-bearing detail than two sentences comfortably hold; I've kept to two, but the Ford and California summaries in particular are doing a lot of work in single sentences and would read better at three or four if the format allows it.