For the last few weeks, we’ve been running a sidebar survey about whether our Electrek believed there might be some silver lining to the record-breaking fuel prices following the start of the war in Iran. After nearly 2,000 responses, here’s what you told us.
In case you missed the survey, the question read, “they say that every dark cloud has a silver lining, and the recent run of record fuel prices certainly seems like a dark cloud. Can we put a positive spin on it? In other words: what’s the silver lining of $7/gallon gas?”
For a lot of fleet managers, whether or not electrified equipment assets will lead to real world savings that are worth the higher up-front costs might feel theoretical, but early adopters Groupe Bellemare have been operating battery-powered heavy equipment for years – and their real-world results are real impressive.
In 2024, the abrasives and minerals division of Canadian Groupe Bellemare partnered with the Institut du véhicule innovant (IVI) on a three-year program called Plug-In Fleet Heavy Equipment to test and document the equipment’s performance on a functioning job site.
As record-breaking diesel prices drive demand for electric big rigs, so, too is the demand for commercial truck charging climbing. To meet that demand, EV Realty as announced a new, Inland Empire site for its next electric semi truck charging hub.
With companies like BYD and Volvo about to roll out their third generation electric trucks and the Tesla Semi allegedly in production after nearly a decade of waiting, it seems like American fleets are starting to understand what the rest of the world has already figured out: predictable fuel costs means predictable operating budgets, and predictable budgets means less volatile consumer pricing and a happier, less guillotine-y populace. To that end, fleets are buying EVs in record numbers – much to the dismay of that News Corp/Fox-owned rag, the Wall Street Journal, who are so desperate to spread that narrative that they’ve published essentially the same article under different bylines several times. (lol)
Mitusbishi’s North American dealers have been trudging along with an aging, badge-engineered model line for years – but overseas? It’s a different story, and the 459 hp all-wheel drive ASX VR-e electric hot hatch shown here is plug-in proof.
Let’s get the technicalities out of the way: the Mitsubishi ASX VR-e isn’t built by Mitsubishi. It’s built in Taiwan by phone and TV manufacturing giant Foxconn under its Foxtron automotive brand. If you’re a cynic, you might argue that the ASX VR-e is just another example of a badge-engineered product meant to fill dealer showrooms.
The BYD Q3 battery-electric semi truck shown here marked a major production milestone this week, becoming the 150,000th new energy commercial vehicle to roll off the assembly line at BYD’s truck plant in Huai’an, Jiangsu province.
Global EV leader BYD has spent years growing its passenger car and battery businesses, and now it’s looking to put that growth mindset to work in the commercial vehicle space, too. Heavy trucks are a critical piece of that puzzle, with HDEVs offering fleet operators a way to dramatically cut diesel consumption and emissions without sacrificing the performance needed to move heavy loads across a continent.
While oil prices and range anxiety dominate Western EV headlines, Nio’s battery-swap system in China keeps reaching new milestones that prove the technology can rival a traditional refueling infrastructure at scale, performing 1.2 million battery swaps over the holiday.
Nio kicked off this year busting record after record, posting six-figure swap numbers during the third day of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations and marking the third such record for Nio in as many days – but the company hasn’t stoped there. New reports indicate the company broke those impressive records again, performing nearly 1.2 million swaps over the National Day celebrations last week.
A 450-megawatt (MW) solar farm with a massive battery system is now under construction in Arizona – and Tesla has already lined up about 90% of its expected electricity output.
ContourGlobal held a groundbreaking ceremony on October 6 for Project Sterling, around 20 miles north of Lake Havasu City in Mohave County. The project will cover more than 2,000 acres in the Mojave Desert, and it’s expected to come online in 2028.
Hyundai’s electric SUVs are even more tempting this month with a 10% discount, or up to $7,000 in total savings.
Hyundai is having quite the year. After its best-ever third quarter, the Korean automaker is now on track to notch its sixth straight year of record US retail sales in 2026.
Most Americans say 75 miles of range would be more than enough for their daily drive, but when it comes to choosing an EV, a fair number want a much bigger cushion.
A new BMW Group survey found that 73% of US adults say 25 to 75 miles is enough to cover their daily routine. Yet 42% of Americans want at least 300 miles of range before they’d consider buying an EV – and 18% want 400 miles or more.
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla finally launching V2H, our Kia EV3 first drive, Jaguar Type 01, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
You can’t miss BMW’s new “Double-X” lights, which debut on the all-electric iX5 and X5. The new iX5 was spotted testing ahead of its upcoming US launch, giving us a look at the new lighting signature in real life.
After BMW opened orders for the all-new iX5 in Europe this week, those in the US will get their chance soon.
We’re closing out this week’s Green Deals led by the Bluetti Encore Sale that is completely switching up its power station deals, including bringing back the winter-ready 900Wh Pioneer Na(Sodium) Portable Power Station at an exclusive $665 low. Right behind that, we have three exclusive deals on Anker solar multi-cam kits with HomeBase 3 that end tonight, starting from $290. There’s also the Navee Fall EV Sale that is offering a nice array of bonus extra savings (up to 65% off total) on e-scooters, like the premium UT5 Ultra X Electric SuperScooter down at a new $1,600 low at $900 off. You’ll also find lows for an EGO carbon fiber string trimmer kit, a compact Greenworks chainsaw, a Linkind Matter outdoor smart plug, and more. Don’t forget, we also have all the lasting Prime Day deals collected in our Fall Prime Day Green Deals hub here, as well as the hangover deals from yesterday at the bottom of the page, including the Anker SOLIX Encore Sale, the extended Segway electric scooter deals, EcoFlow’s latest flash sale lineup, and more.
Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals.
Kia’s 7-seat PV5 electric van is now eligible for the UK Government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG), bringing the starting price down to £35,495 ($47,000).
The PV5, Kia’s first dedicated electric van, has been a huge success. It’s primarily sold in two body types: Cargo for commercial use and Passenger, designed as an everyday family hauler.
The Seagull is BYD’s most affordable electric vehicle, starting at about $10,000 in China and sold overseas as the Dolphin Surf. BYD is preparing to introduce a new version that will likely be an even “bigger” hit.
BYD opens pre-orders for the new Seagull EV
Tesla’s driver-assistance package is now called “Tesla Assisted Driving” in Europe. The company’s German website no longer mentions “Full Self-Driving,” and the old address now redirects to a new “Tesla Assisted Driving” page.
The rename follows Germany’s Transport Ministry calling the FSD name misleading, and it’s part of a deal that has Berlin backing Tesla’s push for EU-wide approval.
Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Tiguan, an all-electric version of its best-selling vehicle. The ID. Tiguan will go on sale in early 2027, replacing the ID.4 and ID.5 with up to 372 miles of range and plenty of other upgrades.
The ID.4 and ID.5 are on the way out as the new ID. Tiguan steps in. With over 950,000 models sold since they went on sale in 2021, the ID.4 and ID.5 have been at the core of Volkswagen’s EV lineup.
Tesla has opened its first Semi Megacharger sites in the Southeast: an 8-stall station just south of Atlanta and a 6-stall station outside Savannah, each rated for up to 1.2 MW per stall.
The Savannah site is also the first Megacharger at a Pilot truck stop, a rollout that was supposed to start this summer. Together, the two stations give the Tesla Semi its first public charging corridor outside California.
Geely is coming to Canada. The Chinese automaker’s mainstream brand announced today that it has started setting up Canadian operations and recruiting a dealer network, with its first vehicles going on sale in 2027.
What Geely isn’t saying is which vehicles. There are no models, no prices and no dealer locations, just a new website at geely.ca and a promise of more details closer to launch.
