Posts in category: Automotive & EV Developments

All 15 EVs kept going after the dash showed empty. They averaged another 10 miles (16 km).
The Leapmotor B10 went farthest at 19.9 miles (32 km), followed by the Tesla Model Y at 19.3 miles (31 km). The Xpeng P7+ stopped after just 0.6 miles (1 km).
A car can show 0% charge while it still predicts some range; 0% and zero miles don’t always coincide.

What do you do when your EV’s range prediction shows zero and the nearest charger is still a few miles away? Will you make it? In a Tesla Model Y Long Range, you’d pull in with miles to spare, while in an Xpeng P7+, you’d have been on the phone with roadside assistance, even if the Xpeng goes farther on a full charge.

That’s one of the more revealing findings from AUTOBEST’s 2026 ECOBEST Challenge. All 15 EVs that took part in the group test kept moving after their dashboards showed empty, averaging 10 miles (16 km) before they stopped. The Leapmotor B10 led with 19.9 miles (32 km), about a mile ahead of the Model Y. At the other end, the Xpeng barely managed 0.6 miles.

How They Ran The Cars Down

Car journalists drove these production-spec EVs in convoy near Milan, Italy, on a set route containing a mix of city streets, country roads and highways. A lead car set the pace, and drivers traded cars every 19 miles (30 km) to level out potential differences in driving style.

Only the driver was aboard each car; all vehicles were set to their standard (not Eco) mode, with climate control on and tires set to the recommended pressures. Temperatures ranged from 68–77°F (20–25°C).

The final stretch took place at Quattroruote’s Vairano proving ground. When a car’s dashboard showed either zero remaining range or 0% battery charge, its driver kept going until the car could no longer move under its own power. They measured the distance between those two points to see how far each EV could still go.

They used a Zeekr 7GT as a support vehicle to quickly reach drivers whose EVs had stopped. Using its vehicle-to-load (V2L) function, it drew electricity from its own battery pack to get the other vehicles moving again, eliminating the need for a dedicated EV road assistance van.

What ‘Empty’ Actually Means

When your EV says it’s empty, it means you’ve used up the range the car promised you. You may still have enough energy to drive a little farther, since all EVs have a buffer. As the state of charge goes down, the voltage in the battery cells also drops. Before it goes too low, which can damage the cells, the car cuts power to the motor.

So, even when an EV shows 0% and can’t move, some charge remains in the pack—the car won’t let it go completely flat.

Zero percent is the car’s estimate of its remaining usable charge. The range estimate approximates how far that energy will take you. Interestingly, those numbers don’t necessarily have to coincide; they can hit zero at different times. For instance, in one range test, the Tesla Model 3 still showed 2 miles (3.2 km) of range when the state of charge dropped to 0%. It went another 31 miles (50 km) after that point.

ZF’s new motor spins at 30,000 rpm to deliver the same power in a smaller package.
The company claims nearly 25% less drive-unit weight and bulk, with half the magnet material.
Production is targeted for 2030, but ZF hasn’t named any cars that will use it.

An electric motor spinning at 30,000 rpm sounds like something you might find in a high-power EV supercar. ZF has something less extravagant in mind: making the hardware that powers everyday EVs smaller, lighter, and less hungry for expensive materials.

ZF’s new High Revolution Drive combines the motor, power electronics, and transmission all in the same housing. Unlike Mercedes-Benz, though, it doesn’t also put the brakes inside the same housing.

Compared with one of ZF’s comparable Select drive units, which spins up to 18,000 rpm, the company claims nearly 25% less weight and volume, half the magnet mass, and a similar efficiency of almost 93%.

ZF High Revolution Drive

This helps because less mass improves EV range, and fewer magnets reduce costs and supply-chain dependence.

According to ZF, spinning the motor faster lets it deliver the same power from a smaller, lighter package. Gears then reduce that speed and increase the turning force sent to the wheels, using a reduction ratio of about 18:1. The version ZF showed produces up to 268 horsepower, with the gearing delivering peak torque of 2,581 pound-feet (3,500 Nm) to the wheels.

The torque measurement comes after the gearing has multiplied the motor’s output. The “two-stage transmission” doesn’t actually mean a two-speed gearbox. It describes successive gear reductions, not two separate driving ratios.

The company says the production High Revolution Drive should deliver 200 to 268 hp and work with both 400- and 800-volt platforms. Reusing its modular Select architecture should simplify installation, shorten development and control costs, and retain manufacturing flexibility. Talks with automakers are underway, with production targeted by 2030.

ZF isn’t alone in trying to squeeze more useful output from a smaller package. One prototype of Yasa’s ultra-compact axial-flux motor produced over 1,000 hp and weighed just 28 pounds. That’s its short-term peak figure, with continuous output estimated at 469–536 bhp.

Yasa’s figure describes only the motor, while ZF’s weight reduction refers to the whole integrated drive unit. Gearing and power electronics still need somewhere to live, and they also add weight.

More On This

ZF has also introduced repair kits intended to let workshops fix individual drive unit components, such as gearbox bearings, instead of replacing entire assemblies. That addresses a different problem from shrinking and making hardware lighter, but one buyers may care about considerably more once the warranty expires.

However, ZF hasn’t said whether these two developments are connected, or whether the kits it revealed should be taken as a repairability promise for this new drive. There’s also no mention of which production EV would get this new drive unit. We also don’t know whether those engineering gains will remain unchanged from today’s announcement to something you can actually buy.

Still, this kind of EV development deserves attention even without a four-figure horsepower claim. A family car doesn’t need to break acceleration records, but making its drive unit lighter and less expensive (and possibly easier to repair, too) is exactly what it needs. Whether any savings reach buyers is another question, but giving cars the same power with smaller and less hardware is a good place to start.

General Motors is introducing its Super Cruise hands-free driving system in Europe.
Three Cadillac electric crossovers will be the first models to deliver the semi-automated feature.
Based on pre-mapped lidar data, Super Cruise will be available on over 111,000 miles of European roads across 16 countries.

Super Cruise, General Motors’ hands-free driving assistance system, is heading to Europe, where it will be available starting in mid-December on a handful of Cadillac EVs.

The 2025 Optiq, as well as the 2026 Lyriq and Vistiq electric crossovers, will be able to do semi-automated driving on more than 180,000 kilometers (111,000 miles) of compatible roads across 16 European countries beginning at the end of the year. Germany, France, and Switzerland are among the first European countries where the system will go live.

Photo by: Cadillac

Super Cruise, which is already available in the United States, Canada, China, and South Korea, uses pre-mapped roads, real-time cameras, radar sensors, GPS data, and adaptive cruise control to enable hands-free driving. That said, the system is still considered a Level 2 driver assistant, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers, so it doesn’t make the car run autonomously, and the driver still needs to pay attention at all times when driving.

A driver monitoring system makes sure that the person behind the steering wheel is alert and can take control at any time, if needed.

When active, Super Cruise displays a green light bar at the top of the steering wheel. The system keeps the vehicle centered in the lane and maintains an appropriate distance from the car in front, without the driver having to touch the steering wheel or pedals. It can do lane changes, but the driver has to initiate the maneuver by activating the indicator.

The feature can be used on compatible roads, including highways and dual carriageways, at speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour (81 miles per hour), including in heavy stop-and-go traffic.

Photo by: Cadillac

Cadillac has integrated Google Maps into the navigation map display, which shows roads where Super Cruise can be used and how much of a trip can be driven hands-free. The automaker says the driver assistance feature is designed to make driving more comfortable and convenient—so drivers shouldn’t expect to be able to take a nap while on the road.

“Super Cruise brings together Cadillac’s premium driving experience, connected services and advanced driver assistance technology to make everyday journeys more comfortable,” said Maximilian Wittich, Managing Director, Digital Services and Experiences. “We are excited to bring this hands-free experience to customers in Europe and to offer technology that has been tested and adapted for European roads and requirements.”

GM said it did a lot of performance testing and validation, as well as regional route testing and Europe-specific software tweaks to make Super Cruise compatible with European legislation and driving conditions.

Since debuting in 2017, Super Cruise has delivered over a billion hands-free driving miles, GM said. In North America alone, there are roughly 750,000 Super Cruise-enabled vehicles, but the American auto giant estimates that the number of users will exceed 850,000 by the end of the year.

In the U.S., over 20 GM models are compatible with Super Cruise. The system is included for free for the first three years from the date of first registration. When the free trial ends, owners need to pay for a Super Cruise subscription and a Connected Services plan to keep using hands-free driving.

The Chinese-made Yangwang U9 Xtreme is the first production car in the world to go faster than 500 kph (310 mph).
BYD’s electric hypercar already had several speed records under its belt, and now it has added two more.
The FIA and Guinness World Records made the latest attempt official.

A Chinese EV is officially the fastest production car in the world and the first production car in history to break the 500 kilometers per hour (310 miles per hour) barrier. BYD’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme, a two-door electric hypercar, reached 503.17 kph (312.6 mph) on a public road in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on November 1.

As a reminder, the U9 Xtreme was already the world’s fastest car, after it reached 496.22 kph (308.3 mph) back in September 2025, but the Chinese automaker had already set its sights last year on breaking the 500 kph barrier—something that no other production car has ever managed.

The latest and most impressive record happened on a roughly 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) stretch of the E11 road in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Region, which was closed to public traffic. German racing driver Marc Basseng, the same driver who delivered the previous record, was behind the wheel and needed four runs over the course of two days to set the new record.

The first two runs happened on October 31, when the maximum speed was 490 kph (304.4 mph). Engineers made adjustments to the vehicle’s aerodynamics, suspension settings, and tire pressures to improve stability and performance. Then, on the last run of the second day, the Racelogic recorder made the 503.17 kph (312.6 mph) run official.

According to Guinness World Records, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme now holds the records for the highest speed achieved by a production car and an electric production car in a single-direction run. The FIA also confirmed the achievement on its website.

That last part is particularly interesting because the usual way of breaking records involves two separate runs in opposite directions to account for elevation change, wind speed, and any potential breakdown. BYD went for a single run in a single direction, which could make companies like Rimac, Bugatti, and Koenigsegg raise an eyebrow and challenge BYD’s result.

Nevertheless, going over 500 kph in a production car—albeit a limited-production model—is immensely impressive, especially considering that it’s an EV. BYD plans to make just 30 units of the U9 Xtreme, which is the most powerful and fastest version of the U9 supercar. Powered by four electric motors totaling 2,977 horsepower, the Xtreme uses a 1,200-volt lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack that can discharge at a 30C rate. A set of semi-slick GitiSport e-GTR2 Pro tires keeps the car on the road and provides stopping power, helped by titanium calipers and carbon-ceramic rotors.

Requiring EU-made battery cells could add €2,100 to the cost of an EV with a 60-kWh battery.
Buyers could pay more if carmakers pass on those costs.
Bruegel says protection should be temporary and give European carmakers time to build cheaper EVs.

Buying a European EV can come with a potentially expensive catch. Policymakers want more of the batteries powering Europe’s electric cars to be made locally, helping secure jobs and reduce dependence on China. But those batteries cost more to produce, and someone has to cover the difference. It will likely be the buyer.

That’s the warning in a September 22 policy brief from Brussels think tank Bruegel, which was picked up by Euronews. The report argues that protecting established manufacturers risks leaving consumers (and taxpayers) with the bill.

Its battery calculation is pretty straightforward. Requiring EU-made cells could raise costs from €50 to €85 per kilowatt-hour. Multiply that by 60 kWh, and it works out to €2,100. A proposed low-carbon steel requirement could add another €200. Simplifying vehicle approval, meanwhile, would save manufacturers an estimated €61 per car, according to the report.

Volkswagen Group PowerCo Battery plant in Salzgitter, Germany.

None of this is set in stone, though, and what buyers would actually end up paying depends on the final form of the rules, government subsidies, and how much of the extra cost carmakers pass on to consumers. Regardless of the details, those looking to buy at the most affordable end of the market would be hit hardest.

The pressure to protect Europe’s industry is real. EU car production has fallen 19% since 2019, while buyers purchased 2.2 million fewer new cars in 2025 than in 2019. The wider automotive sector employs around 14 million people. However, Bruegel also points to continued exports and roughly €3 billion in quarterly investment in battery and EV factories. It raises concerns that Europe is gradually losing technology, suppliers, and overseas customers.

We saw this at the Paris motor show this year, where Chinese brands brought compelling software, luxurious gadget-filled interiors, and advanced charging technology, while European manufacturers leaned heavily on their history and design. The BMW iX3 and Mercedes’ electric GLC showed that Europe can fight back, but a familiar badge doesn’t sell cars as easily as it used to.

Local battery production is a hugely important component, but it’s proving difficult to set up in Europe. Northvolt’s failure, Porsche’s retreat from manufacturing at Cellforce, and shelved ACC factories show how hard it is to match China’s costs. Even batteries made in Europe often rely on equipment and know-how from Asia.

Europe’s additional duties on Chinese EVs, which can be as high as 35.3%, targeted fully electric cars while excluding plug-in hybrids. Bruegel points to flattening BEV imports from China while hybrid imports surge. It also cites French research that found EVs excluded from purchase subsidies suffered a 60% sales decline relative to eligible models, potentially slowing overall adoption and strongly suggesting that subsidies matter.

Bruegel says agreeing with China to temporarily limit the number of electric cars and plug-in hybrids sent to Europe could help. That would give European carmakers more time to develop cheaper EVs. The deal would have a clear end date, and restrictions could tighten if China broke it.

But with fewer Chinese cars available, they could end up costing more. Europe previously limited Japanese car imports, and Canada now limits Chinese EV imports. Both show the trade-off: protecting local carmakers can make cars more expensive for buyers.

Foreign investment can help Europe catch up, the report’s authors argue. South Korean firms already own 65% of its battery cell manufacturing capacity, and Chinese companies own 55% of the capacity currently under construction. European factories need that outside expertise to function.

BMW Group’s third-quarter EV sales reached 20% globally.
After throwing plug-in hybrids into the mix, the percentage reaches 27.4%.
Europe leads the way, with nearly 35% of cars sold in Q3 being EVs.

The BMW Group, which operates the BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce car brands, saw 20% of its global vehicle sales in the third quarter represented by all-electric models. Adding plug-in hybrids increases the electrified models’ share to 27.4%, the company said in its latest earnings report.

From the beginning of the year through September, EVs have accounted for 18.4% of the three automakers’ total sales worldwide, with PHEVs raising the figure to 26.1%.

BMW Group Q3 2026 global sales

Despite the promising numbers, the automotive group clearly has a regionalization problem on its hands. Europe is leading the way by a wide margin, with 34.7% of sales represented by EVs and 46.9% by all electrified models.

Meanwhile, over in the United States, just 4.7% of BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce models sold were EVs. That’s a huge difference, and it puts the U.S. at the bottom of the BMW Group’s list for electrification. By comparison, Chinese EV sales amounted to 6.5%, while the Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions totaled 18% EV sales.

The only thing that saves the day for the company’s electrified lineup in the U.S. is plug-in hybrids, which, together with EVs, had an 11.4% share in the third quarter. It’s also worth noting that the new iX3 and i3 models are just starting to trickle down to American dealers, and the U.S. also doesn’t get the electric iX2 and iX2 that Europeans have access to. The updated i7 is also on its way, but that has always been a low-volume car that never made a meaningful impact on the company’s sales reports.

What’s more, even though one in every five BMW Group models was all-electric in Q3, the company’s year-to-date numbers aren’t so promising. Globally, the group sold 314,552 EVs and 131,653 PHEVs from January through September, a 5.1% decrease compared to the same period last year. EVs saw a 2.7% drop, while PHEV sales declined 10.3%.

The only positive number in the company’s electrification Excel sheets has to do with how many EVs were sold in comparison to everything else in the portfolio. In the first three quarters of 2026, the share of EV sales within the BMW Group reached 18.4%, up from last year’s 18%.

Things should improve once the iX3 and i3 are widely available everywhere in the world, but they’re not guaranteed to be a success in the U.S., where policy whiplash has severely slowed the adoption of all-electric vehicles.

Ford collected battery health data from around 36,000 Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs and shared the results.
Battery degradation is one of the top concerns from car buyers, but Ford’s data shows that there isn’t much to worry about.
Even Mach-Es with 100,000 or 200,000 miles on the odometer retained most of their original range.

It’s one of the top questions I get about EVs: “How long will the battery last?” Understandably, people want to know that their car will go the distance before dropping tens of thousands of dollars on a new car with new-to-them technology.

A growing body of research shows that modern electric cars hold up just fine over years of normal use. And a huge study of Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs further proves the point.

The Detroit automaker collected battery-health data from 36,000 Mach-E SUVs from the 2021 model year that were sold in the U.S. and Canada. The results, released Monday, should help quiet fears that EVs degrade like smartphones, which struggle to hold a charge after a few years of daily use.

On average, the cars had traveled 55,000 miles over 5.2 years and retained 92% of their usable battery capacity. That means a top-trim 2021 Mustang Mach-E with 305 miles of EPA range would in theory be rated for around 280 miles today. All the cars in the study have nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery packs, since Ford didn’t introduce a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery for the Mach-E starting until the 2023 model year.

The 2021 Mustang Mach-Es Ford studied retained 92% of their battery health on average after five years on the road.

Ford physically tests cells in the lab and tries to predict battery degradation using computer models before a model launches, Kevin Vander Laan, the automaker’s technical leader of high-voltage battery cells and systems, told me in an interview. But the real test comes after a car spends years on the road.

“Our report card slowly trickles in over time,” he said. “So here we are with a five-year report card, and it looks great.”

Interestingly enough, putting on twice as many miles as average in the same time period barely impacted overall battery health. Ford says the over 2,000 SUVs with more than 100,000 miles on the odometer retained more than 91% of their battery capacity.

More On Battery Degradation

Those few drivers who put some 40,000 miles on their Mach-Es each year still had strong battery health after five years. Ford says the 30-plus cars in its dataset that had covered more than 200,000 miles showed 88% battery health.

Of course, these are just averages. So your results may vary depending on lots of factors. EVs that spend their lives in the hot American Southwest tend to age more rapidly than those driven in more temperate climates. Likewise, EV batteries that are frequently fast-charged to 100% and drained to near-empty typically wear out faster than those that are kept in the happy zone of 20% to 80%.

Still, Ford says the distribution of results is encouraging for its battery engineers: It says 95% of the 36,000 cars fell between 87% and 97%.

The results are in line with what other research has uncovered about how EVs age. Some early EVs (notably the first-gen Nissan Leaf) had less sophisticated battery thermal management and saw steep degradation as a result. But modern EVs tend to age far more gracefully.

According to Recurrent, a firm that tracks range retention in used EVs that opt in, the average EV retains 97% of its original observed range after three years and 95% after five years.

In September, battery-health startup Aviloo released the results of 500,000 EV battery tests. After 150,000 kilometers (around 93,000 miles), most models studied showed between 90% and 94% health. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, BMW i4, and Mercedes EQA stood out with readings near the top end of that range. The Mustang Mach-E did just about as well as Ford’s own data show: 92.5% battery health. The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y came in at 88.9% and 90.3%, respectively.

The 2027 Ford Mustang Mach-E Trail

Ford makes some familiar recommendations to drivers looking to make sure their EVs last as long as possible. The company says to manage temperature extremes by parking in the shade on scorching days and preconditioning the cabin while the vehicle is plugged in. It also recommends relying on Level 2 charging for daily driving, and using Level 3 DC fast chargers sparingly.

Vander Laan says the learnings from this crop of EVs and how they perform contribute to the development process for Ford’s next-generation electric cars, like the sub-$30,000 Fathom pickup coming next year.

“It’s really continuous learning,” he said. “We have a design that we deeply understand, the data is flowing in, we’re learning learning from that, and feeding that to the engineering teams in the company here.”

You may not need the gas engine on the 2027 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid all that much.
It gets a native NACS port now located near the driver’s side door.
The RAV4 is among a handful of plug-in hybrids with fast-charging capability.

Toyota has quietly upgraded the sixth-generation RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid. All trims of the model year 2027 RAV4 PHEV now get a Tesla-style North American Charging Standard (NACS) port straight from the factory—plus fast-charging capability.

2027 Toyota RAV4 PHEV Fast-Charging Upgrades

That’s a pretty big deal for a few key reasons. When the RAV4 PHEV launched last year, it arrived with a CCS charging port at a time when all new EVs had started transitioning to native NACS ports. At the time, only the PHEV XSE and Woodland trims could fast charge, meaning you had to pay at least a $4,000 premium for the capability.

Now that fast-charging capability expands to the full PHEV lineup, all the way down to the entry SE model, which costs $42,100. The same goes for the top-trim GR Sport. Owners can now simply drive the 2027 RAV4 PHEV to Tesla Superchargers or any of the new stations equipped with NACS cables. It will charge at maximum rate of 50 kilowatts, enough to go from 10-80% in just 30 minutes.

Moreover, not many PHEVs get fast-charging capability, let alone native NACS ports. The RAV4 PHEV is now the first and only major PHEV in the U.S. to transition to the NACS port, joining the wave of new fully electric models doing the same.

Some other notable PHEVs that have fast-charging capability include the Mercedes GLC 350e which gets a CCS port and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV which gets the outdated CHAdeMO connector.

2027 Toyota RAV4 PHEV Home Charging Capability

If owners are used to plugging-in at home, they can continue to do so. The RAV4 PHEV gets an onboard AC charger for Level 1 and Level 2 charging. And home charging can now be faster as well, with GR Sport and SE trims getting 11 kW AC charging, up from 7 kW before. The XSE and Woodland were already rated for 11 kW since last year.

And the one final notable upgrade is that the charging port is now located near the driver’s side door—it was previously at the passenger’s side. This could be useful depending on how you park at home and where you live, since there’s no industry standard for the charging port location.

The newer V4 Tesla Superchargers, as well as Ionna, Walmart, and pretty much every major new station have long cables with well-engineered retraction systems, so the location of the port shouldn’t be a problem. The older V3 Tesla Superchargers will be a challenge since they were designed for rear left ports.

The RAV4 PHEV gets up to 52 miles of EPA range from its 22.7 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. If you regularly plug it in, you can cover your everyday driving needs using battery power alone and use the gas engine for longer trips. And now, it looks like that charging experience just got a little better.

Nearly 30,000 Hyundai Kona EVs in the U.S. are being recalled for a potential airbag fault.
The affected vehicles were built in South Korea between 2018 and 2023.
A software update fixes the problem, but a visit to the dealer is needed.

Hyundai is recalling nearly 30,000 first-generation Kona Electric crossovers in the United States because their airbags and seatbelt pretensioners may not work as intended in the event of an accident.

All affected vehicles, 29,058 in total, were built in South Korea between August 28, 2018, and July 26, 2023, representing model years 2019 through 2023. The problem also affects nearly 9,000 Hyundai Veloster N gas-powered hatchbacks sold here between 2019 and 2022.

2023 Hyundai Kona Electric

The Airbag Control Unit (ACU) is the culprit here. According to the recall report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), data that needs to be written to the ACU’s memory may become corrupted during certain driving conditions, causing the airbag malfunction light (MIL) to pop up on the instrument cluster and the airbag system to deactivate.

Without a working system, the airbags will not deploy during a crash, which increases the risk of injury to the driver and passengers.

Hyundai said that the ACU data may become corrupted if a system reboot or a power interruption occurs while the control unit is writing data to its internal memory. The company’s North America office opened a new investigation back in 2024, after the number of airbag warning light warranty claims went up.

The automaker worked with ZF, the supplier that made the airbag control units, to replicate the problem on other vehicles, but couldn’t. However, a fault was induced during bench testing, and a solution was found.

To fix the problem, owners of affected vehicles need to book an appointment with a Hyundai service center, where technicians will update the ACU software for free. In other words, it’s not a hardware fix, but a software fix. According to Hyundai, the new software rolls back to the last known valid data if the transfer is interrupted for one of the reasons described above.

The maker of the Kona EV said that it’s aware of 331 individual incidents related to the ACU issue that affects the electric crossover and gas-powered hot hatch. The car manufacturer is not aware of any crashes, fires, or injuries associated with the ACU data corruption problem in the U.S.